authentic narrative of the death of lord nelson: with the circumstances preceding, attending, and subsequent to, that event; the professional report on his lordship's wound, and several interesting anecdotes. by william beatty, m.d. surgeon to the victory in the battle of trafalgar, and now physician to the fleet under the command of the earl of st. vincent, k.b. &c. &c. &c. london: printed by t. davison, white-friars; for t. cadell and w. davies, in the strand. 1807. _to the public_. the surgeon of the late illustrious lord nelson feels himself called upon, from the responsible situation which he held on the eventful day of the 21st of october 1805, to lay before the british nation the following narrative. it contains an account of the most interesting incidents which occurred on board the victory. (lord nelson's flag-ship) from the time of her sailing from england, in the month of september, till the day of battle inclusively; with a detail of the particulars of his lordship's death, the mode adopted for preserving his revered remains during the subsequent long passage of the victory to england, and the condition of the body when it was deposited in greenwich hospital. this short statement of facts is deemed a small but necessary tribute of respect to the memory of the departed hero, as well as a professional document which the public had a right to expect from the man who had the melancholy honour of being his principal medical attendant on that occasion: and is presumed to be not unappropriately concluded by observations on the state of his lordship's health for some time previous to his fall; with his habits of life, and other circumstances, strongly proving that few men had a greater prospect of attaining longevity, on which account his premature death is the more to be deplored by his country. it was originally intended that this narrative should be published in the life of lord nelson, undertaken by the rev. j.s. clarke and j. m'arthur, esq. and it will still form a part of that work; but from the length of time which must necessarily elapse before so extensive and magnificent a publication can be completed, the author has been induced to print it in a separate form. narrative lord nelson sailed from st. helen's in the victory, with the euryalus frigate, on the morning of the 15th of september 1805, to take the command of the british fleet cruizing before cadiz. on the 18th he appeared off plymouth; where he was joined by his majesty's ships thunderer and ajax, with which he proceeded for his destined station. on the 20th he communicated by private signal with the squadron under the command of rear-admiral stirling, which passed within a few miles of the victory; and the same day at noon, spoke his majesty's ship le decade, having on board rear-admiral sir richard bickerton, who, was on his return to england for the recovery of his health. some bad weather and adverse winds were experienced by the victory in crossing the bay of biscay, and on the 27th cape st. vincent was seen. lord nelson had dispatched the euryalus ahead on the preceding day, to acquaint admiral collingwood with his approach; and to direct that no salute should take place, nor any public compliments be paid to his flag, on his assuming the command, as he wished the enemy to be kept ignorant of a reinforcement being received by the british fleet. in the evening of the 28th, the victory joined the fleet; now consisting of twenty-seven ships of the line, including the victory, ajax, and thunderer: the city of cadiz was seen distant about fifteen miles, with the combined fleets at anchor; and admiral louis, with five or six ships under his command, close in shore, watching the motions of the enemy. on the 29th, prompt and decisive measures were adopted to prevent the enemy from receiving any supplies of provisions by sea, which his lordship was informed they were very much distressed for: cruizers were stationed off the capes st. vincent, st. mary's, and trafalgar; and the frigates euryalus and hydra were ordered to keep off the entrance of cadiz. his lordship now retired with the fleet to the vicinity of cape st. mary's, about fifty or sixty miles westward of cadiz; keeping up a constant communication with the frigates in shore, by means of three or four ships of the line placed at convenient intervals for distinguishing the signals of each other. this distance from, the enemy's port was preserved by his lordship, to prevent them from being speedily acquainted with the force of the fleet under his command; and that he might avoid the necessity of bearing up in bad weather, and running with the fleet through the straits of gibraltar when the westerly gales prevailed: as the inconvenience of being forced into the mediterranean, had been felt by former commanders in chief; and would now have afforded a favourable opportunity to the enemy of effecting their escape from cadiz, or at all events have rendered their obtaining supplies less difficult. on the 1st of october admiral louis joined the fleet, with a part of his squadron (the canopus, spencer, and tigre), from before cadiz; and departed the next day with those ships, the queen, and the zealous, for gibraltar, to procure a supply of provisions, stores, and water, which they were much in want of. on the 4th he rejoined with his squadron; having received intelligence from the euryalus by telegraph, that the french ships in cadiz were embarking their troops, and preparing to sail. lord nelson however conceived this to be merely intended as a stratagem, to draw him nearer to cadiz, for the purpose of obtaining a knowledge of his force; and therefore directed admiral louis to proceed in the execution of the orders before delivered to him. between the 7th and the 13th, his lordship was reinforced by the royal sovereign, belleisle, defiance, agamemnon, and africa, from england, and the leviathan from gibraltar. the agamemnon, sir edward berry, joined on the 13th;[1] with intelligence that she had been chased on the coast of portugal a few days before by an enemy's squadron, consisting of six sail of the line. on the 13th in the evening, sir robert calder, in his majesty's ship the prince of wales, parted company with the fleet, on his return to england. his departure lord nelson had some days before evinced an anxious wish to procrastinate, and was heard that very day to declare his firm belief that the combined fleets would be at sea in the course of ten days or a fortnight.[2] on the 18th the donegal, captain malcolm, left the fleet for gibraltar. on the 19th his majesty's ships the colossus, mars, defence, and agamemnon, formed the cordon of communication with the frigates in shore: the fleet was lying to. about half past nine in the morning, the mars, being one of the ships nearest to the fleet, repeated the signal from the ships further in shore, that "the enemy were coming out of port." lord nelson immediately ordered the general signal to be made, with two guns, for a chace in the south-east quarter. the wind was now very light; and the breezes partial, mostly from the south-south-west. the fleet made all possible sail; and about two o'clock the colossus and mars repeated signals from the ships in shore, communicating the welcome intelligence of "the enemy being at sea." this cheered the minds of all on board, with the prospect of realizing those hopes of meeting the enemy which had been so long and so sanguinely entertained. it was well known to his lordship, that all the enemy's ships had the iron hoops on their masts painted black; whereas the british ships, with the exception of the belleisle and polyphemus, had theirs painted yellow: and as he considered that this would serve for a very good mark of distinction in the heat of battle, he made known this circumstance to the fleet, and ordered the belleisle and polyphemus to paint their hoops yellow; but the evening being far advanced when the signal was made to them for this purpose, his lordship, fearing that it might not be distinctly understood, sent the entreprenante cutter to them to communicate the order. during the night the fleet continued steering to the south-east under all sail, in expectation of seeing the enemy; and at day-break on the 20th found itself in the entrance of the straits of gibraltar, but nothing of the enemy to be discovered. the fleet now wore, and made sail to the north-west; and at seven in the morning the phoebe was seen making signals for "the enemy bearing north." at eight o'clock the victory hove to; and admiral collingwood, with the captains of the mars, colossus, and defence, came on board, to receive instructions from his lordship; at eleven minutes past nine they returned to their respective ships, and the fleet made sail again to the northward. in the afternoon the wind increased, and blew fresh from the south-west; which excited much apprehension on board the victory, lest the enemy might be forced to return to port. the look-out ships, however, made several signals for seeing them, and to report their force and bearings. his lordship was at this time on the poop; and turning round, and observing a group of midshipmen assembled together, he said to them with a smile, "this day or to-morrow will be a fortunate one for you, young men," alluding to their being promoted in the event of a victory. a little before sunset the euryalus communicated intelligence by telegraph, that "the enemy appeared determined to go to the westward." his lordship upon this ordered it to be signified to captain blackwood (of that ship) by signal, that "he depended on the euryalus for keeping sight of the enemy during the night." the night signals were so clearly and distinctly arranged by his lordship, and so well understood by the respective captains, that the enemy's motions continued to be made known to him with the greatest facility throughout the night: a certain number of guns, with false fires and blue lights announced their altering their course, wearing, and making or shortening sail; and signals communicating such changes were repeated by the look-out ships, from the euryalus to the victory. the enemy wore twice during the night: which evolution was considered by his lordship as shewing an intention, on their part, of keeping the port of cadiz open; and made him apprehend that on seeing the british fleet, they would effect their retreat thither before he could bring them to a general action. he was therefore very careful not to approach their fleet near enough to be seen by them before morning. the british fleet wore about two o'clock in the morning; and stood on the larboard tack with their heads to the northward, carrying their topsails and foresails, and anxiously expecting the dawn of day. when that period arrived, the combined fleets were distinctly seen from the victory's deck, formed in a close line of battle ahead on the starboard tack, standing to the south, and about twelve miles to leeward. they consisted of thirty-three ships of the line; four of which were three-deckers, and one of seventy guns: the strength of the british fleet was twenty-seven ships of the line; seven of which were three-deckers, and three of sixty-four guns. lord nelson had, on the 10th, issued written instructions to the admirals and captains of the fleet individually, pointing out his intended mode of attack in the event of meeting the enemy;[3] and now, previously to appearing himself on deck, he directed captain hardy to make the necessary signals for the order and disposition of the fleet accordingly. his lordship came upon deck soon after day-light: he was dressed as usual in his admiral's frock-coat, bearing on the left breast four stars of different orders which he always wore with his common apparel.[4] he displayed excellent spirits, and expressed his pleasure at the prospect of giving a fatal blow to the naval power of france and spain; and spoke with confidence of obtaining a signal victory notwithstanding the inferiority of the british fleet, declaring to captain hardy that "he would not be contented with capturing less than twenty sail of the line." he afterwards pleasantly observed that "the 21st of october was the happiest day in the year among his family," but did not assign the reason of this.[5] his lordship had previously entertained a strong presentiment that this would prove the auspicious day; and had several times said to captain hardy and doctor scott (chaplain of the ship, and foreign secretary to the commander in chief, whose intimate friendship he enjoyed), "the 21st of october will be our day." the wind was now from the west; but the breezes were very light, with a long heavy swell running. the signal being made for bearing down upon the enemy in two lines, the british fleet set all possible sail. the lee line, consisting of thirteen ships, was led by admiral collingwood in the royal sovereign; and the weather line, composed of fourteen ships, by the commander in chief in the victory. his lordship had ascended the poop, to have a better view of both lines of the british fleet; and while there, gave particular directions for taking down from his cabin the different fixtures, and for being very careful in removing the portrait of lady hamilton: "take care of my guardian angel," said he, addressing himself to the persons to be employed in this business. immediately after this he quitted the poop, and retired to his cabin for a few minutes: where he committed to paper the following short but devout and fervent ejaculation, which must be universally admired as truly characteristic of the christian hero; and the codicil to his will, which follows it: "may the great god whom i worship grant to my country, and for the benefit of europe in general, a great and glorious victory; and may no misconduct in any one tarnish it, and may humanity after victory be the predominant feature in the british fleet! for myself individually, i commit my life to him that made me; and may his blessing alight on my endeavours for serving my country faithfully! to him i resign myself, and the just cause which is entrusted to me to defend. amen, amen, amen." * * * * * "october 21st, 1805. _then in sight of the combined fleets of france and spain, distant about ten miles_. "whereas the eminent services of emma hamilton, widow of the right honourable sir william hamilton, have been of the very greatest service to my king and country, to my knowledge, without ever receiving any reward from either our king or country: "first, that she obtained the king of spain's letter, in 1796, to his brother the king of naples, acquainting him of his intention to declare war against england; from which letter the ministry sent out orders to the then sir john jervis, to strike a stroke if opportunity offered, against either the arsenals of spain or her fleets:--that neither of these was done, is not the fault of lady hamilton; the opportunity might have been offered:[6] "secondly: the british fleet under my command could never have returned the second time to egypt, had not lady hamilton's influence with the queen of naples caused letters to be wrote to the governor of syracuse, that he was to encourage the fleet's being supplied with every thing, should they put into any port in sicily. we put into syracuse, and received every supply; went to egypt, and destroyed the french fleet: "could i have rewarded these services, i would not now call upon my country; but as that has not been in my power, i leave emma lady hamilton therefore a legacy to my king and country, that they will give her an ample provision to maintain her rank in life. "i also leave to the beneficence of my country my adopted daughter, horatia nelson thompson; and i desire she will use in future the name of nelson only. "these are the only favours i ask of my king and country, at this moment when i am going to fight their battle. may god bless my king and country, and all those i hold dear! my relations it is needless to mention: they will of course be amply provided for. "nelson and bronte. "witness {henry blackwood. {t.m. hardy" the prayer and codicil were both written with his lordship's own hand, within three hours before the commencement of the engagement. as the victory drew near to the enemy, his lordship, accompanied by captain hardy, and the captains of the four frigates (euryalus, naiad, sirius, and phoebe) who had been called on board by signal to receive instructions, visited the different decks of the ship. he addressed the crew at their several quarters, admonishing them against firing a single shot without being sure of their object; and expressed himself to the officers highly satisfied with the arrangements made at their respective stations. it was now plainly perceived by all on board the victory, that from the very compact line which the enemy had formed, they were determined to make one great effort to recover in some measure their long-lost naval reputation. they wore in succession about twenty minutes past seven o'clock; and stood on the larboard tack, with their heads toward cadiz. they kept a good deal of sail set; steering about two points from the wind, with topsails shivering. their van was particularly closed, having the santissima trinidada and the bucentaur the ninth and tenth ships, the latter the flag-ship of admiral villeneuve: but as the admirals of the combined fleets declined shewing their flags till the heat of the battle was over, the former of these ships was only distinguished from the rest by her having four decks; and lord nelson ordered the victory to be steered for her bow. several officers of the ship now communicated to each other their sentiments of anxiety for his lordship's personal safety, to which every other consideration seemed to give way. indeed all were confident of gaining a glorious victory, but the apprehensions for his lordship were great and general; and the surgeon made known to doctor scott his fears that his lordship would be made the object of the enemy's marksmen, and his desire that he might be entreated by somebody to cover the stars on his coat with a handkerchief. doctor scott and mr. scott (public secretary) both observed, however, that such a request would have no effect; as they knew his lordship's sentiments on the subject so well, that they were sure he would be highly displeased with whoever should take the liberty of recommending any change in his dress on this account: and when the surgeon declared to mr. scott that he would avail himself of the opportunity of making his sick-report for the day,[7] to submit his sentiments to the admiral, mr. scott replied, "take care, doctor, what you are about; i would not be the man to mention such a matter to him." the surgeon notwithstanding persisted in his design, and remained on deck to find a proper opportunity for addressing his lordship; but this never occurred: as his lordship continued occupied with the captains of the frigates (to whom he was explaining his intentions respecting the services they were to perform during the battle) till a short time before the enemy--opened their fire on the royal sovereign, when lord nelson ordered all persons not stationed on the quarter-deck or poop to repair to their proper quarters; and the surgeon, much concerned at this disappointment, retired from the deck with several other officers.[8] the boats on the quarters of the ship, being found in the way of the guns, were now lowered, down, and towed astern. captain blackwood, of the euryalus, remained on board the victory till a few minutes before the enemy began to fire upon her. he represented to his lordship, that his flag-ship would be singled out and much pressed by the enemy; and suggested the propriety therefore of permitting one or two ships of his line to go ahead of the victory, and lead her into action, which might be the means of drawing in some measure the enemy's attention from her. to this lord nelson assented, and at half past nine o'clock he ordered the temeraire and leviathan by signal (the former of which ships, being close to the victory, was hailed by his lordship) to go ahead for that purpose; but from the light breeze that prevailed they were unable, notwithstanding their utmost efforts, to attain their intended stations. captain blackwood foresaw that this would be the case; and as the victory still continued to carry all her sail, he wished captain hardy to acquaint his lordship, that unless her sail was in some degree shortened, the two ships just mentioned could not succeed in getting ahead previously to the enemy's line being forced: this however captain hardy declined doing, as he conceived his lordship's ardour to get into battle would on no account suffer such a measure.[9] about half an hour before the enemy opened their fire, the memorable telegraphic signal was made, that "england expects every man will do his duty," which was spread and received throughout the fleet with enthusiasm. it is impossible adequately to describe by any language, the lively emotions excited in the crew of the victory when this propitious communication was made known to them: confidence and resolution were strongly pourtrayed in the countenance of all; and the sentiment generally expressed to each other was, that they would prove to their country that day, how well british seamen _could_ "do their duty" when led to battle by their revered admiral. the signal was afterwards made to "prepare to anchor after the close of the day;" and union-jacks were hoisted at the fore-topmast and top-gallant-stays of each ship, to serve as a distinction from the enemy's, in conformity with orders previously issued by the commander in chief. by his lordship's directions also, the different divisions of the fleet hoisted the st. george's or white ensign, being the colours of the commander in chief: this was done to prevent confusion from occurring during the battle, through a variety of national flags. the royal sovereign now made the signal by telegraph, that "the enemy's commander in chief was in a frigate." this mistake arose from one of their frigates making many signals. lord nelson ordered his line to be steered about two points more to the northward than that of his second in command, for the purpose of cutting off the retreat of the enemy's van to the port of cadiz; which was the reason of the three leading ships of admiral collingwood's line being engaged with the enemy previously to those of the commander in chief's line. the enemy began to fire on the royal sovereign at thirty minutes past eleven o'clock; in ten minutes after which she got under the stern of the st. anna, and commenced a fire on her. lieutenant pasco, signal officer of the victory, was heard to say while looking through his glass, "there is a top-gallant-yard gone." his lordship eagerly asked, "whose top-gallant-yard is that gone? is it the royal sovereign's?" and on being answered by lieutenant pasco in the negative, and that it was the enemy's, he smiled, and said: "collingwood is doing well."[10] at fifty minutes past eleven the enemy opened their fire on the commander in chief. they shewed great coolness in the commencement of the battle; for as the victory approached their line, their ships lying immediately ahead of her and across her bows fired only one gun at a time, to ascertain whether she was yet within their range. this was frequently repeated by eight or nine of their ships, till at length a shot passed through the victory's main-top-gallant-sail; the hole in which being discovered by the enemy, they immediately opened their broadsides, supporting an awful and tremendous fire. in a very short time afterwards, mr. scott, public secretary to the commander in chief, was killed by a cannon-shot while in conversation with captain hardy. lord nelson being then near them, captain adair of the marines, with the assistance of a seaman, endeavoured to remove the body from his lordship's sight: but he had already observed the fall of his secretary; and now said with anxiety, "is that poor scott that is gone?" and on being answered in the affirmative by captain adair, he replied, "poor fellow!" lord nelson and captain hardy walked the quarter-deck in conversation for some time after this, while the enemy kept up an incessant raking fire. a double-headed shot struck one of the parties of marines drawn up on the poop, and killed eight of them; when his lordship, perceiving this, ordered captain adair, to disperse his men round the ship, that they might not suffer so much from being together. in a few minutes afterwards a shot struck the fore-brace-bits on the quarter-deck, and passed between lord nelson and captain hardy; a splinter from the bits bruising captain hardy's foot, and tearing the buckle from his shoe. they both instantly stopped; and were observed by the officers on deck to survey each other with inquiring looks, each supposing the other to be wounded. his lordship then smiled, and said: "this is too warm work, hardy, to last long;" and declared that "through all the battles he had been in, he had never witnessed more cool courage than was displayed by the victory's crew on this occasion." the victory by this time, having approached close to the enemy's van, had suffered very severely without firing a single gun: she had lost about twenty men killed, and had about thirty wounded. her mizen-topmast, and all her studding-sails and their booms, on both sides were shot away; the enemy's fire being chiefly directed at her rigging, with a view to disable her before she could close with them.[11] at four minutes past twelve o'clock she opened her fire, from both sides of her decks, upon the enemy; when captain hardy represented to his lordship, that "it appeared impracticable to pass through the enemy's line without going on board some one of their ships." lord nelson answered, "i cannot help it: it does not signify which we run on board of; go on board which you please; take your choice." at twenty minutes past twelve, the tiller-ropes being shot away, mr. atkinson, the master, was ordered below to get the helm put to port; which being done, the victory was soon run on board the redoutable of seventy-four guns. on coming alongside and nearly on board of her, that ship fired her broadside into the victory, and immediately let down her lower-deck ports; which, as has been since learnt, was done to prevent her from being boarded through them by the victory's crew. she never fired a great gun after this single broadside. a few minutes after this, the temeraire fell likewise on board of the redoutable, on the side opposite to the victory; having also an enemy's ship, said to be la fougueux, on board of _her_ on her other side: so that the extraordinary and unprecedented circumstance occurred here, of _four_ ships of the line being _on board of each other_ in the heat of battle; forming as compact a tier as if they had been moored together, their heads lying all the same way. the temeraire, as was just before mentioned, was between the redoutable and la fougueux. the redoutable commenced a heavy fire of musketry from the tops, which was continued for a considerable time with destructive effect to the victory's crew: her great guns however being silent, it was supposed at different times that she had surrendered; and in consequence of this opinion, the victory twice ceased firing upon her, by orders transmitted from the quarter-deck. at this period, scarcely a person in the victory escaped unhurt who was exposed to the enemy's musketry; but there were frequent huzzas and cheers heard from between the decks, in token of the surrender of different of the enemy's ships. an incessant fire was kept up from both sides of the victory; her larboard guns played upon the santissima trinidada and the bucentaur; and the starboard guns of the middle and lower decks were depressed, and fired with a diminished charge of powder, and three shot each, into the redoutable. this mode of firing was adopted by lieutenants williams, king, yule, and brown, to obviate the danger of the temeraire's suffering from the victory's shot passing through the redoutable; which must have been the case if the usual quantity of powder, and the common elevation, had been given to the guns.--a circumstance occurred in this situation, which shewed in a most striking manner the cool intrepidity of the officers and men stationed on the lower deck of the victory. when the guns, on this deck were run out, their muzzles came into contact with the redoutable's side; and consequently at every discharge there was reason to fear that the enemy would take fire, and both the victory and the temeraire be involved in her flames. here then was seen the astonishing spectacle of the fireman of each gun standing ready with a bucket full of water which as soon as his gun was discharged he dashed into the enemy through the holes made in her side by the shot. it was from this ship (the redoutable) that lord nelson received his mortal wound. about fifteen minutes past one o'clock, which was in the heat of the engagement, he was walking the middle of the quarter-deck with captain hardy, and in the act of turning near the hatchway with his face towards the stern of the victory, when the fatal ball was fired from the enemy's mizen-top; which, from the situation of the two ships (lying on board of each other), was brought just abaft, and rather below, the victory's main-yard, and of course not more than fifteen yards distant from that part of the deck where his lordship stood. the ball struck the epaulette on his left shoulder, and penetrated his chest. he fell with his face on the deck. captain hardy, who was on his right (the side furthest from the enemy) and advanced some steps before his lordship, on turning round, saw the serjeant major (secker) of marines with two seamen raising him from the deck; where he had fallen on the same spot on which, a little before, his secretary had breathed his last, with whose blood his lordship's clothes were much soiled. captain hardy expressed a hope that he was not severely wounded; to which the gallant chief replied: "they have done for me at last, hardy."--"i hope not," answered captain hardy. "yes," replied his lordship; "my backbone is shot through." captain hardy ordered the seamen to carry the admiral to the cockpit; and now two incidents occurred strikingly characteristic of this great man, and strongly marking that energy and reflection which in his heroic mind rose superior even to the immediate consideration of his present awful condition. while the men were carrying him down the ladder from the middle deck, his lordship observed that the tiller-ropes were not yet replaced; and desired one of the midshipmen stationed there to go upon the quarter-deck and remind captain hardy of that circumstance, and request that new ones should be immediately rove. having delivered this order, he took his handkerchief from his pocket and covered his face with it, that he might be conveyed to the cockpit at this crisis unnoticed by the crew. several wounded officers, and about forty men, were likewise earned to the surgeon for assistance just at this time; and some others had breathed their last during their conveyance below. among the latter were lieutenant william andrew ram, and mr. whipple captain's clerk. the surgeon had just examined these two officers, and found that they were dead,[12] when his attention was arrested by several of the wounded calling to him, "mr. beatty, lord nelson is here: mr. beatty, the admiral is wounded."--the surgeon now, on looking round, saw the handkerchief fall from his lordship's face; when the stars on his coat, which also had been covered by it, appeared. mr. burke the purser, and the surgeon, ran immediately to the assistance of his lordship, and took him from the arms of the seamen who had carried him below. in conveying him to one of the midshipmen's births, they stumbled, but recovered themselves without falling. lord nelson then inquired who were supporting him; and when the surgeon informed him, his lordship replied, "ah, mr. beatty! you can do nothing for me. i have but a short time to live: my back is shot through." the surgeon said, "he hoped the wound was not so dangerous as his lordship imagined, and that he might still survive long to enjoy his glorious victory." the reverend doctor scott, who had been absent in another part of the cockpit administering lemonade to the wounded, now came instantly to his lordship; and in the anguish of grief wrung his hands, and said: "alas, beatty, how prophetic you were!" alluding to the apprehensions expressed by the surgeon for his lordship's safety previous to the battle. his lordship was laid upon a bed, stripped of his clothes, and covered with a sheet. while this was effecting, he said to doctor scott, "doctor, i told you so. doctor, i am gone;" and after a short pause he added in a low voice, "i have to leave lady hamilton, and my adopted daughter horatia, as a legacy to my country." the surgeon then examined the wound, assuring his lordship that he would not put him to much pain in endeavouring to discover the course of the ball; which he soon found had penetrated deep into the chest, and had probably lodged in the spine. this being explained to his lordship, he replied, "he was confident his back was shot through." the back was then examined externally, but without any injury being perceived; on which his lordship was requested by the surgeon to make him acquainted with all his sensations. he replied, that "he felt a gush of blood every minute within his breast: that he had no feeling in the lower part of his body: and that his breathing was difficult, and attended with very severe pain about that part of the spine where he was confident that the ball had struck; for," said he, "i felt it break my back." these symptoms, but more particularly the gush of blood which his lordship complained of, together with the state of his pulse, indicated to the surgeon the hopeless situation of the case; but till after the victory was ascertained and announced to his lordship, the true nature of his wound was concealed by the surgeon from all on board except only captain hardy, doctor scott, mr. burke, and messrs. smith and westemburg the assistant surgeons. the victory's crew cheered whenever they observed an enemy's ship surrender. on one of these occasions, lord nelson anxiously inquired what was the cause of it; when lieutenant pasco, who lay wounded at some distance from his lordship, raised himself up, and told him that another ship had struck, which appeared to give him much satisfaction. he now felt an ardent thirst; and frequently called for drink, and to be fanned with paper, making use of these words: "fan, fan," and "drink, drink." this he continued to repeat, when he wished for drink or the refreshment of cool air, till a very few minutes before he expired. lemonade, and wine and water, were given to him occasionally. he evinced great solicitude for the event of the battle, and fears for the safety of his friend captain hardy. doctor scott and mr. burke used every argument they could suggest, to relieve his anxiety. mr. burke told him "the enemy were decisively defeated, and that he hoped his lordship would still live to be himself the bearer of the joyful tidings to his country." he replied, "it is nonsense, mr. burke, to suppose i can live: my sufferings are great, but they will all be soon over." doctor scott entreated his lordship "not to despair of living," and said "he trusted that divine providence would restore him once more to his dear country and friends."--"ah, doctor!" replied his lordship, "it is all over; it is all over." many messages were sent to captain hardy by the surgeon, requesting his attendance on his lordship; who became impatient to see him, and often exclaimed: "will no one bring hardy to me? he must be killed: he is surely destroyed," the captain's aide-de-camp, mr. bulkley, now came below, and stated that "circumstances respecting the fleet required captain hardy's presence on deck, but that he would avail himself of the first favourable moment to visit his lordship." on hearing him deliver this message to the surgeon, his lordship inquired who had brought it. mr. burke answered, "it is mr. bulkley, my lord."--"it is his voice," replied his lordship: he then said to the young gentleman, "remember me to your father." an hour and ten minutes however elapsed, from the time of his lordship's being wounded, before captain hardy's first subsequent interview with him; the particulars of which are nearly as follow. they shook hands affectionately, and lord nelson said: "well, hardy, how goes the battle? how goes the day with us?"--"very well, my lord," replied captain hardy: "we have got twelve or fourteen of the enemy's ships in our possession; but five of their van have tacked, and shew an intention of bearing down upon the victory. i have therefore called two or three of our fresh ships round us, and have no doubt of giving them a drubbing." "i hope," said his lordship, "none of _our_ ships have struck, hardy."--"no, my lord," replied captain hardy; "there is no fear of that." lord nelson then said: "i am a dead man, hardy. i am going fast: it will be all over with me soon. come nearer to me. pray let my dear lady hamilton have my hair, and all other things belonging to me." mr. burke was about to withdraw at the commencement of this conversation; but his lordship, perceiving his intention, desired he would remain. captain hardy observed, that "he hoped mr. beatty could yet hold out some prospect of life."--"oh! no," answered his lordship; "it is impossible. my back is shot through. beatty will tell you so." captain hardy then returned on deck, and at parting shook hands again with his revered friend and commander. his lordship now requested the surgeon, who had been previously absent a short time attending mr. rivers, to return to the wounded, and give his assistance to such of them as he could be useful to; "for," said he, "you can do nothing for me." the surgeon assured him that the assistant surgeons were doing every thing that could be effected for those unfortunate men; but on his lordship's several times repeating his injunctions to that purpose, he left him surrounded by doctor scott, mr. burke, and two of his lordship's domestics. after the surgeon had been absent a few minutes attending lieutenants peake and reeves of the marines, who were wounded, he was called by doctor scott to his lordship, who said: "ah, mr. beatty! i have sent for you to say, what i forgot to tell you before, that all power of motion and feeling below my breast are gone; and _you_" continued he, "very well _know_ i can live but a short time." the emphatic manner in which he pronounced these last words, left no doubt in the surgeon's mind, that he adverted to the case of a man who had some months before received a mortal injury of the spine on board the victory, and had laboured under similar privations of sense and muscular motion. the case had made a great impression on lord nelson: he was anxious to know the cause of such symptoms, which was accordingly explained to him; and he now appeared to apply the situation and fate of this man to himself.[13] the surgeon answered, "my lord, you told me so before:" but he now examined the extremities, to ascertain the fact; when his lordship said, "ah, beatty! i am too certain of it: scott and burke have tried it already. _you know_ i am gone." the surgeon replied: "my lord, unhappily for our country, nothing can be done for you;" and having made this declaration he was so much affected, that he turned round and withdrew a few steps to conceal his emotions. his lordship said: "i know it. i feel something rising in my breast," putting his hand on his left side, "which tells me i am gone." drink was recommended liberally, and doctor scott and mr. burke fanned him with paper. he often exclaimed, "god be praised, i have done my duty;" and upon the surgeon's inquiring whether his pain was still very great, he declared, "it continued so very severe, that he wished he was dead. yet," said he in a lower voice, "one would like to live a little longer, too:" and after a pause of a few minutes, he added in the same tone, "what would become of poor lady hamilton, if she knew my situation!" the surgeon, finding it impossible to render his lordship any further assistance, left him, to attend lieutenant bligh, messrs. smith and westphall midshipmen, and some seamen, recently wounded. captain hardy now came to the cockpit to see his lordship a second time, which was after an interval of about fifty minutes from the conclusion of his first visit. before he quitted the deck, he sent lieutenant hills to acquaint admiral collingwood with the lamentable circumstance of lord nelson's being wounded.[14]--lord nelson and captain hardy shook hands again: and while the captain retained his lordship's hand, he congratulated him even in the arms of death on his brilliant victory; "which," he said, "was complete; though he did not know how many of the enemy were captured, as it was impossible to perceive every ship distinctly. he was certain however of fourteen or fifteen having surrendered." his lordship answered, "that is well, but i bargained for twenty:" and then emphatically exclaimed, "_anchor_, hardy, _anchor_!" to this the captain replied: "i suppose, my lord, admiral collingwood will now take upon himself the direction of affairs."--"not while i live, i hope, hardy!" cried the dying chief; and at that moment endeavoured ineffectually to raise himself from the bed. "no," added he; "do _you_ anchor, hardy." captain hardy then said: "shall _we_ make the signal, sir?"--"yes," answered his lordship; "for if i live, i'll anchor."[15] the energetic manner in which he uttered these his last orders to captain hardy, accompanied with his efforts to raise himself, evinced his determination never to resign the command while he retained the exercise of his transcendant faculties, and that he expected captain hardy still to carry into effect the suggestions of his exalted mind; a sense of his duty overcoming the pains of death. he then told captain hardy, "he felt that in a few minutes he should be no more;" adding in a low tone, "don't throw me overboard, hardy." the captain answered: "oh! no, certainly not."--"then," replied his lordship, "you know what to do:[16] and," continued he, "take care of my dear lady hamilton, hardy; take care of poor lady hamilton. kiss me, hardy." the captain now knelt down, and kissed his cheek; when his lordship said, "now i am satisfied. thank god, i have done my duty." captain hardy stood for a minute or two in silent contemplation: he then knelt down again, and kissed his lordship's forehead. his lordship said: "who is that?" the captain answered: "it is hardy;" to which his lordship replied, "god bless you, hardy!" after this affecting scene captain hardy withdrew, and returned to the quarter-deck, having spent about eight minutes in this his last interview with his dying friend. lord nelson now desired mr. chevalier, his steward, to turn him upon his right side; which being effected, his lordship said: "i wish i had not left the deck, for i shall soon be gone." he afterwards became very low; his breathing was oppressed, and his voice faint. he said to doctor scott, "doctor, i have _not_ been a _great_ sinner;" and after a short pause, "_remember_, that i leave lady hamilton and my daughter horatia as a legacy to my country: and," added he, "never forget horatia." his thirst now increased; and he called for "drink, drink," "fan, fan," and "rub, rub:" addressing himself in the last case to doctor scott, who had been rubbing his lordship's breast with his hand, from which he found some relief. these words he spoke in a very rapid manner, which rendered his articulation difficult: but he every now and then, with evident increase of pain, made a greater effort with his vocal powers, and pronounced distinctly these last words: "thank god, i have done my duty;" and this great sentiment he continued to repeat as long as he was able to give it utterance. his lordship became speechless in about fifteen minutes after captain hardy left him. doctor scott and mr. burke, who had all along sustained the bed under his shoulders (which raised him in nearly a semi-recumbent posture, the only one that was supportable to him), forbore to disturb him by speaking to him; and when he had remained speechless about five minutes, his lordship's steward went to the surgeon, who had been a short time occupied with the wounded in another part of the cockpit, and stated his apprehensions that his lordship was dying. the surgeon immediately repaired to him, and found him on the verge of dissolution. he knelt down by his side, and took up his hand; which was cold, and the pulse gone from the wrist. on the surgeon's feeling his forehead, which was likewise cold, his lordship opened his eyes, looked up, and shut them again. the surgeon again left him, and returned to the wounded who required his assistance; but was not absent five minutes before the steward announced to him that "he believed his lordship had expired." the surgeon returned, and found that the report was but too well founded: his lordship had breathed his last, at thirty minutes past four o'clock; at which period doctor scott was in the act of rubbing his lordship's breast, and mr. burke supporting the bed under his shoulders,[17] thus died this matchless hero, after performing, in a short but brilliant and well-filled life, a series of naval exploits unexampled in any age of the world. none of the sons of fame ever possessed greater zeal to promote the honour and interest of his king and country; none ever served them with more devotedness and glory, or with more successful and important results. his character will for ever cast a lustre over the annals of this nation, to whose enemies his very name was a terror. in the battle off cape st. vincent, though then in the subordinate station of a captain, his unprecedented personal prowess will long be recorded with admiration among his profession. the shores of aboukir and copenhagen subsequently witnessed those stupendous achievements which struck the whole civilized world with astonishment. still these were only preludes to the battle of trafalgar: in which he shone with a majesty of dignity as far surpassing even his own former renown, as that renown had already exceeded every thing else to be found in the pages of naval history; the transcendantly brightest star in a galaxy of heroes. his splendid example will operate as an everlasting impulse to the enterprising genius of the british navy.[18] from the time of his lordship's being wounded till his death, a period of about two hours and forty-five minutes elapsed; but a knowledge of the decisive victory which was gained, he acquired of captain hardy within the first hour-and-a-quarter of this period. a partial cannonade, however, was still maintained, in consequence of the enemy's running ships passing the british at different points; and the last distant guns which were fired at their van ships that were making off, were heard a minute or two before his lordship expired. a steady and continued fire was kept up by the victory's starboard guns on the redoutable, for about fifteen minutes after lord nelson was wounded; in which short period captain adair and about eighteen seamen and marines were killed, and lieutenant bligh, mr. palmer midshipman, and twenty seamen and marines, wounded, by the enemy's musketry alone. the redoutable had been on fire twice, in her fore-chains and on her forecastle: she had likewise succeeded in throwing a few hand-grenades into the victory, which set fire to some ropes and canvas on the booms. the cry of "fire!" was now circulated throughout the ship, and even reached the cockpit, without producing the degree of sensation which might be expected on such an awful occasion: the crew soon extinguished the fire on the booms, and then immediately turned their attention to that on board the enemy; which they likewise put out by throwing buckets of water from the gangway into the enemy's chains and forecastle, thus furnishing another admirable instance of deliberate intrepidity. at thirty minutes past one o'clock, the redoutable's musketry having ceased, and her colours being struck, the victory's men endeavoured to get on board her: but this was found impracticable; for though the two ships were still in contact, yet the top-sides or upper-works of both fell in so much on their upper decks, that there was a great space (perhaps fourteen feet or more) between their gangways; and the enemy's ports being down, she could not be boarded from the victory's lower nor middle deck. several seamen volunteered their services to lieutenant quilliam, to jump overboard, swim under the redoutable's bows, and endeavour to get up there; but captain hardy refused to permit this. the prize however, and the victory, fell off from each other; and their separation was believed to be the effect of the concussion produced by the victory's fire, assisted by the helm of the latter being put to starboard. messrs. ogilvie and collingwood, midshipmen of the victory, were sent in a small boat to take charge of the prize, which they effected.[19] after this, the ships of the enemy's van that had shewn a disposition to attack the victory, passed to windward; and fired their broadsides not only into her and the temeraire, but also into the french and spanish captured ships indiscriminately: and they were seen to back or shiver their topsails for the purpose of doing this with more precision.[20] the two midshipmen of the victory had just boarded the redoutable, and got their men out of the boat, when a shot from the enemy's van ships that were making off cut the boat adrift. about ten minutes after taking possession of her, a midshipman came to her from the temeraire; and had hardly ascended the poop, when a shot from one of those ships took off his leg. the french officers, seeing the firing continued on the prize by their own countrymen, entreated the english midshipmen to quit the deck, and accompany them below. the unfortunate midshipman of the temeraire was carried to the french surgeon, who was ordered to give his immediate attendance to him in preference to his own wounded: his leg was amputated, but he died the same night. the redoutable suffered so much from shot received between wind and water, that she sunk while in tow of the swiftsure on the following evening, when the gale came on; and out of a crew originally consisting of more than eight hundred men, only about a hundred and thirty were saved: but she had lost above three hundred in the battle.[21] it is by no means certain, though highly probable, that lord nelson was particularly aimed at by the enemy. there were only two frenchmen left alive in the mizen-top of the redoutable at the time of his lordship's being wounded, and by the hands of one of these he fell. these men continued firing at captains hardy and adair, lieutenant rotely of the marines, and some of the midshipman on the victory's poop, for some time afterwards. at length one of them was killed by a musket-ball: and on the other's then attempting to make his escape from the top down the rigging, mr. pollard (midshipman) fired his musket at him, and shot him in the back; when he fell dead from the shrouds, on the redoutable's poop. the writer of this will not attempt to depict the heart-rending sorrow, and melancholy gloom, which pervaded the breast and the countenance of every individual on board the victory when his lordship's death became generally known. the anguish felt by all for such a loss, rendered doubly heavy to _them_, is more easy to be conceived than described: by his lamented fall they were at once deprived of their adored commander, and their friend and patron. the battle was fought in soundings about sixteen miles to the westward of cape trafalgar; and if fortunately there had been more wind in the beginning of the action, it is very probable that lord nelson would still have been saved to his country, and that every ship of the line composing the combined fleets would have been either captured or destroyed: for had the victory been going fast through the water, she must have dismasted the redoutable, and would of course have passed on to attack another ship; consequently his lordship would not have been so long nor so much exposed to the enemy's musketry. from the same circumstance of there being but little wind, several of the enemy's ships made off before the rear and bad-sailing ships of the british lines could come up to secure them. the victory had no musketry in her tops: as his lordship had a strong aversion to small arms being placed there, from the danger of their setting fire to the sails; which was exemplified by the destruction of the french ship l'achille in this battle. it is a species of warfare by which individuals may suffer, and now and then a commander be picked off: but it never can decide the fate of a general engagement; and a circumstance in many respects similar to that of the victory's running on board of the redoutable, may not occur again in the course of centuries. the loss sustained by the victory amounted to fifty-five killed, and a hundred and two wounded;[22] and it is highly honourable to the discipline and established regulations of the ship, that not one casualty from accident occurred on board during the engagement. on the day after the battle, as soon as circumstances permitted the surgeon to devote a portion of his attention to the care of lord nelson's honoured remains, measures were adopted to preserve them as effectually as the means then on board the victory allowed. on the surgeon's examining the nature of the wound, and the course of the ball, a quantity of blood was evacuated from the left side of the breast: none had escaped before. the ball was traced by a probe to the spine, but its lodgment could not at that time be discovered. there was no lead on board to make a coffin: a cask called a leaguer, which is of the largest size on shipboard, was therefore chosen for the reception of the body; which, after the hair had been cut off, was stripped of the clothes except the shirt, and put into it, and the cask was then filled with brandy.[23] in the evening after this melancholy task was accomplished, the gale came on with violence from the south-west, and continued that night and the succeeding day without any abatement. during this boisterous weather, lord nelson's body remained under the charge of a sentinel on the middle deck. the cask was placed on its end, having a closed aperture at its top and another below; the object of which was, that as a frequent renewal of the spirit was thought necessary, the old could thus be drawn off below and a fresh quantity introduced above, without moving the cask, or occasioning the least agitation of the body. on the 24th there was a disengagement of air from the body to such a degree, that the sentinel became alarmed on seeing the head of the cask raised: he therefore applied to the officers, who were under the necessity of having the cask spiled to give the air a discharge. after this, no considerable collection of air took place. the spirit was drawn off once, and the cask filled again, before the arrival of the victory at gibraltar (on the 28th of october): where spirit of wine was procured; and the cask, shewing a deficit produced by the body's absorbing a considerable quantity of the brandy, was then filled up with it. on the 29th the victory's seamen and marines dangerously wounded in the action, were sent on shore to the naval hospital at gibraltar. the interval between this day and the 2nd of november was employed in repairing the damage sustained by the ship, erecting jury-masts, fitting her rigging, and completing her in every respect for the voyage to england. on the 2nd of november, preparations were made on board to receive the wounded from the hospital, who had unanimously entreated captain hardy not to leave them behind: but their embarkation could not be effected this day; and the victory being ordered to quit the anchorage in gibraltar bay, to make room for the disabled ships and prizes daily arriving, she sailed in the evening for tetuan bay, for the purpose of taking on board a supply of fresh water, and awaiting there a favourable wind to pass the straits. during the night however, and before the victory gained the coast of barbary, the wind, which had blown for several days from the west, shifted to the eastward, and a fresh breeze sprung up; she therefore changed her course, and stood back again for gibraltar, where she arrived early in the morning. she then lay-to in the bay without anchoring, and the boats were immediately sent on shore for the wounded; who were all brought off by noon, except five of the worst cases who could not be removed.[24] in the afternoon the victory and belleisle sailed from gibraltar bay, and passed through the straits during the night of the 4th. the next day at noon they joined the squadron under the command of admiral collingwood, then cruising off cadiz; from which they parted company the same evening, and pursued their course together for england. when the victory had proceeded some weeks on her voyage, adverse winds and tempestuous weather having prolonged the passage much beyond the period that is generally expected, it was thought proper to draw off the spirit from the cask containing lord nelson's body, and renew it; and this was done twice. on these occasions brandy was used in the proportion of two-thirds to one of spirit of wine. at length the victory arrived at spithead, after a tedious passage of nearly five weeks from gibraltar: and as no instructions respecting his lordship's remains were received at portsmouth while the ship remained there, and orders being transmitted to captain hardy for her to proceed to the nore, the surgeon represented to him the necessity of examining the state of the body; common report giving reason to believe that it was intended to lie in state at greenwich hospital, and to be literally exposed to the public. on the 11th of december therefore, the day on which the victory sailed from spithead for the nore, lord nelson's body was taken from the cask in which it had been kept since the day after his death. on inspecting it externally, it exhibited a state of perfect preservation, without being in the smallest degree offensive. there were, however, some appearances that induced the surgeon to examine the condition of the bowels; which were found to be much decayed, and likely in a short time to communicate the process of putrefaction to the rest of the body: the parts already injured were therefore removed. it was at this time that the fatal ball was discovered: it had passed through the spine, and lodged in the muscles of the back, towards the right side, and a little below the shoulder-blade. a very considerable portion of the gold-lace, pad, and lining of the epaulette, with a piece of the coat, was found attached to the ball: the lace of the epaulette was as firmly so, as if it had been inserted into the metal while in a state of fusion.[25] the following is the professional report on his lordship's wound and death, made by the surgeon on this occasion; "_his majesty's ship victory, at sea, 11th december, 1805_. "about the middle of the action with the combined fleets on the 21st of october last, the late illustrious commander in chief lord nelson was mortally wounded in the left breast by a musket-ball, supposed to be fired from the mizen-top of la redoutable french ship of the line, which the victory fell on board of early in the battle. his lordship was in the act of turning on the quarter-deck with his face towards the enemy, when he received his wound: he instantly fell; and was carried to the cockpit, where he lived about two hours.[26] on being brought below, he complained of acute pain about the sixth or seventh dorsal vertebra, and of privation of sense and motion of the body and inferior extremities. his respiration was short and difficult; pulse weak, small, and irregular. he frequently declared his back was shot through, that he felt every instant a gush of blood within his breast, and that he had sensations which indicated to him the approach of death. in the course of an hour his pulse became indistinct, and was gradually lost in the arm. his extremities and forehead became soon afterwards cold. he retained his wonted energy of mind, and exercise of his faculties, till the last moment of his existence; and when the victory as signal as decisive was announced to him, he expressed his pious acknowledgments, and heart-felt satisfaction at the glorious event, in the most emphatic language. he then delivered his last orders with his usual precision, and in a few minutes afterwards expired without a struggle. "_course and site of the ball, as ascertained since death._ "the ball struck the fore part of his lordship's epaulette; and entered the left shoulder immediately before the processus acromion scapulae, which it slightly fractured. it then descended obliquely into the thorax, fracturing the second and third ribs: and after penetrating the left lobe of the lungs, and dividing in its passage a large branch of the pulmonary artery, it entered the left side of the spine between the sixth and seventh dorsal vertebrã¦, fractured the left transverse process of the sixth dorsal vertebra, wounded the medulla spinalis, and fracturing the right transverse process of the seventh vertebra, made its way from the right side of the spine, directing its course through the muscles of the back; and lodged therein, about two inches below the inferior angle of the right scapula. on removing the ball, a portion of the gold-lace and pad of the epaulette, together with a small piece of his lordship's coat, was found firmly attached to it.[27] "w. beatty." the remains were wrapped in cotton vestments, and rolled from head to foot with bandages of the same material, in the ancient mode of embalming. the body was then put into a leaden coffin, filled with brandy holding in solution camphor and myrrh.[28] this coffin was inclosed in a wooden one, and placed in the after-part of his lordship's cabin; where it remained till the 21st of december, when an order was received from the admiralty for the removal of the body. the coffin that had been made from the mainmast of the french commander's ship l'orient, and presented to his lordship by his friend captain hollowell, after the battle of the nile, being then received on board, the leaden coffin was opened, and the body taken out; when it was found still in most excellent condition, and completely plastic. the features were somewhat tumid, from absorption of the spirit; but on using friction with a napkin, they resumed in a great degree their natural character. all the officers of the ship, and several of his lordship's friends, as well as some of captain hardy's, who had come on board the victory that day from the shore, were present at the time of the body's being removed from the leaden coffin; and witnessed its undecayed state after a lapse of two months since death, which excited the surprise of all who beheld it. this was the last time the mortal part of the lamented hero was seen by human eyes; as the body, after being dressed in a shirt, stockings, uniform small-clothes and waistcoat, neckcloth, and night-cap, was then placed in the shell made from l'orient's mast, and covered with the shrouding. this was inclosed in a leaden coffin; which was soldered up immediately, and put into another wooden shell: in which manner it was sent out of the victory into commissioner grey's yacht, which was hauled alongside for that purpose. in this vessel the revered remains were conveyed to greenwich hospital; attended by the reverend doctor scott, and messrs. tyson and whitby. lord nelson had often talked with captain hardy on the subject of his being killed in battle, which appeared indeed to be a favourite topic of conversation with him. he was always prepared to lay down his life in the service of his country; and whenever it should please providence to remove him from this world, it was the most ambitious wish of his soul to die in the fight, and in the very hour of a great and signal victory. in this he was gratified: his end was glorious; and he died as he had lived, one of the greatest among men. the following prayer, found in his lordship's memorandum-book,--and written with his own hand on the night of his leaving merton, at one of the places where he changed horses (supposed to be guildford) on his way to join the victory at portsmouth,--is highly illustrative of those sentiments of combined piety and patriotic heroism with which he was inspired: _"friday night, 13th september_. "friday night, at half past ten, drove from dear, dear merton, where i left all which i hold dear in this world, to go to serve my king and country. may the great god whom i adore, enable me to fulfil the expectations of my country! and if it is his good pleasure that i should return, my thanks will never cease being offered up to the throne of his mercy. but if it is his good providence to cut short my days upon earth, i bow with the greatest submission; relying that he will protect those, so dear to me, that i may leave behind. his will be done! "amen, amen, amen." his lordship had on several occasions told captain hardy, that if he should fall in battle in a foreign climate, he wished his body to be conveyed to england; and that if his country should think proper to inter him at the public expence, he wished to be buried in saint paul's, as well as that his monument should be erected there. he explained his reasons for preferring saint paul's to westminster abbey, which were rather curious: he said that he remembered hearing it stated as an old tradition when he was a boy, that westminster abbey was built on a spot where once existed a deep morass; and he thought it likely that the lapse of time would reduce the ground on which it now stands to its primitive state of a swamp, without leaving a trace of the abbey. he added, that his actual observations confirmed the probability of this event. he also repeated to captain hardy several times during the last two years of his life: "should i be killed, hardy, and my country not bury me, you know what to do with me;" meaning that his body was in that case to be laid by the side of his father's, in his native village of burnham thorpe in norfolk: and this, as has been before mentioned (in page 48), he adverted to in his last moments. an opinion has been very generally entertained, that lord nelson's state of health, and supposed infirmities arising from his former wounds and hard services, precluded the probability of his long surviving the battle of trafalgar, had he fortunately escaped the enemy's shot: but the writer of this can assert that his lordship's health was uniformly good, with the exception of some slight attacks of indisposition arising from accidental causes; and which never continued above two or three days, nor confined him in any degree with respect to either exercise or regimen:[29] and during the last twelve months of his life, he complained only three times in this way. it is true, that his lordship, about the meridian of life, had been subject to frequent fits of the gout: which disease however, as well as his constitutional tendency to it, he totally overcame by abstaining for the space of nearly two years from animal food, and wine and all other fermented drink; confining his diet to vegetables, and commonly milk and water. and it is also a fact, that early in life, when he first went to sea, he left off the use of salt, which he then believed to be the sole cause of scurvy, and never took it afterwards with his food. his lordship used a great deal of exercise, generally walking on deck six or seven hours in the day. he always rose early, for the most part shortly after day-break. he breakfasted in summer about six, and at seven in winter: and if not occupied in reading or writing dispatches, or examining into the details of the fleet, he walked on the quarter-deck the greater part of the forenoon; going down to his cabin occasionally to commit to paper such incidents or reflections as occurred to him during that time, and as might be hereafter useful to the service of his country. he dined generally about half past two o'clock. at his table there were seldom less than eight or nine persons, consisting of the different officers of the ship: and when the weather and the service permitted, he very often had several of the admirals and captains in the fleet to dine with him; who were mostly invited by signal, the rotation of seniority being commonly observed by his lordship in these invitations. at dinner he was alike affable and attentive to every one: he ate very sparingly himself; the liver and wing of a fowl, and a small plate of macaroni, in general composing his meal, during which he occasionally took a glass of champagne. he never exceeded four glasses of wine after dinner, and seldom drank three; and even these were diluted with either bristol or common water. few men subject to the vicissitudes of a naval life, equalled his lordship in an habitual systematic mode of living. he possessed such a wonderful activity of mind, as even prevented him from taking ordinary repose, seldom enjoying two hours of uninterrupted sleep; and on several occasions he did not quit the deck during the whole night. at these times he took no pains to protect himself from the effects of wet, or the night-air; wearing only a thin great coat: and he has frequently, after having his clothes wet through with rain, refused to have them changed, saying that the leather waistcoat which he wore over his flannel one would secure him from complaint. he seldom wore boots, and was consequently very liable to have his feet wet. when this occurred he has often been known to go down to his cabin, throw off his shoes, and walk on the carpet in his stockings for the purpose of drying the feet of them. he chose rather to adopt this uncomfortable expedient, than to give his servants the trouble of assisting him to put on fresh stockings; which, from his having only one hand, he could not himself conveniently effect. from these circumstances it may be inferred, that though lord nelson's constitution was not of that kind which is generally denominated strong, yet it was not very susceptible of complaint from the common occasional causes of disease necessarily attending a naval life. the only bodily pain which his lordship felt in consequence of his many wounds, was a slight rheumatic affection of the stump of his amputated arm on any sudden variation in the state of the weather; which is generally experienced by those who have the misfortune to lose a limb after the middle age. his lordship usually predicted an alteration in the weather with as much certainty from feeling transient pains in this stump, as he could by his marine barometer; from the indications of which latter he kept a diary of the atmospheric changes, which was written with his own hand. his lordship had lost his right eye by a contusion which he received at the siege of calvi, in the island of corsica. the vision of the other was likewise considerably impaired: he always therefore wore a green shade over his forehead, to defend this eye from the effect of strong light; but as he was in the habit of looking much through a glass while on deck, there is little doubt, that had he lived a few years longer, and continued at sea, he would have lost his sight totally. the surgeon had, on the occasion of opening his lordship's body, an opportunity of acquiring an accurate knowledge of the sound and healthy state of the thoracic and abdominal viscera, none of which appeared to have ever been the seat of inflammation or disease. there were no morbid indications to be seen; other than those unavoidably attending the human body six weeks after death, even under circumstances more favourable to its preservation. the heart was small, and dense in its substance; its valves, pericardium, and the large vessels, were sound, and firm in their structure. the lungs were sound, and free from adhesions. the liver was very small, in its colour natural, firm in its texture, and every way free from the smallest appearance of disorganization. the stomach, as well as the spleen and other abdominal contents, was alike free from the traces of disease. indeed all the vital parts were so perfectly healthy in their appearance, and so small, that they resembled more those of a youth, than of a man who had attained his forty-seventh year; which state of the body, associated with habits of life favourable to health, gives every reason to believe that his lordship might have lived to a great age. the immediate cause of his lordship's death was a wound of the left pulmonary artery, which poured out its blood into the cavity of the chest. the quantity of blood thus effused did not appear to be very great: but as the hemorrhage was from a vessel so near the heart, and the blood was consequently lost in a very short time, it produced death sooner than would have been effected by a larger quantity of blood lost from an artery in a more remote part of the body. the injury done to the spine must of itself have proved mortal, but his lordship might perhaps have survived this alone for two or three days; though his existence protracted even for that short period would have been miserable to himself, and highly distressing to the feelings of all around him. w. beatty. footnotes: [1] by this ship his lordship received some newspapers from england, one of which contained a paragraph stating that general mack was about to be appointed to the command of the austrian armies in germany. on reading this, his lordship made the following observation: "i know general mack too well. he sold the king of naples; and if he is now entrusted with an important command, he will certainly betray the austrian monarchy." [2] captain hardy left england in a bad state of health, with which he had been afflicted during the last twelve months; but was now in a progressive state of amendment. lord nelson asked the surgeon this day, "how long he thought it might be before captain hardy's perfect recovery;" and on the surgeon's answering that "he hoped not more than a fortnight,"--"ah!" replied his lordship, "before a fortnight the enemy will be at sea, the business will be done, and we shall be looking out for england." [3] these instructions will be found at the end of the narrative. [4] his lordship did not wear his sword in the battle of trafalgar: it had been taken from the place where it hung up in his cabin, and was laid ready on his table; but it is supposed he forgot to call for it. this was the only action in which he ever appeared without a sword. [5] it has been since recollected that on the 21st of october 1757, his lordship's maternal uncle, captain suckling, in the dreadnought, in company with two other line of battle ships, attacked and beat off a french squadron of four sail of the line and three frigates, off cape franã§ois. the french commodore was towed into cape franã§ois; and the english ships, being too much disabled to follow up their success, bore away to jamaica to refit. [6] this phrase has been subjected to misconstruction; to the writer of these pages, however, both the purport and expression of it seem very clear, thus; "_might have been_ offered" (though it _was not_). [7] the victory's sick-report for this day numbered only ten convalescents, who all attended their respective quarters during the battle; and the whole fleet was in a high state of health. indeed the excellent health enjoyed by the crew of the victory from december 1804 up to this period, is perhaps unprecedented: and is attributable solely to captain hardy's attention to their subordination, temperance, warm clothing, and cleanliness; together with the means daily adopted to obviate the effects of moisture, and to accomplish the thorough ventilation of every part of the ship. the victory arrived at spithead from the memorable and arduous chace of the enemies' fleets to egypt and the west indies, in august 1805: and notwithstanding the operation of the unfavourable circumstances of rapid change of climate, and the privation of refreshments experienced in that chace, as well as frequent increase of numbers (as in the west indies there were at one time embarked in her above 990 souls), there was not now a single hospital-patient on board, nor did any occur during the several weeks of her stay in england; with which lord nelson expressed himself highly pleased when he joined the ship again, on the 14th of september, at st. helen's. the victory's casualties from the 29th of december 1804 to the 20th of october following, were only five fatal cases (one of these by accidental injury), and two patients sent to a naval hospital. [8] it has been reported, but erroneously, that his lordship was actually requested by his officers to change his dress, or to cover his stars. [9] his lordship just at this time found fault with the officer commanding on the forecastle, because the lee (or starboard) lower studding-sail had not been set sooner; a circumstance which, though trivial in itself, shews how well captain hardy knew his lordship's sentiments. [10] his lordship in a few minutes after this called lieutenant pasco, mr. ogilvie, and some other officers, near him, and desired them to set their watches by the time of that which his lordship wore. [11] the enemy's fire continued to be pointed so high throughout the engagement, that the victory did not lose a man on her lower deck; and had only two wounded on that deck, and these by musket-bulls. [12] the reader may judge of the surgeon's feelings at this momentous period, when informed that that excellent young officer mr. ram was one of his dearest friends. [13] the instance here alluded to occurred in the month of july, in the victory's return to europe from the west indies; and the man survived the injury thirteen days. his lordship, during the whole of that time, manifested much anxiety at the protracted sufferings of an individual whose dissolution was certain, and was expected every hour. [14] captain hardy deemed it his duty to give this information to admiral collingwood as soon as the fate of the day was decided; but thinking that his lordship might feel some repugnance to this communication, he left directions for lieutenant hills to be detained on deck at his return, till he himself (captain hardy) should come up from the cockpit. lieutenant hills was dispatched on this mission from the victory, at the very time when the enemy's van ships that had tacked were passing her to windward and firing at her. [15] meaning that in case of his lordship's surviving till all resistance on the part of the enemy had ceased, captain hardy was then to anchor the british fleet and the prizes, if it should be found practicable. [16] alluding to some wishes previously expressed by his lordship to captain hardy respecting the place of his interment. [17] it must occur to the reader, that from the nature of the scene passing in the cockpit, and the noise of the guns, the whole of his lordship's expressions could not be borne in mind, nor even distinctly heard, by the different persons attending him. the most interesting parts are here detailed. [18] immediately after his lordship expired, captain hardy went on board the royal sovereign, to communicate the melancholy event, and the nature of his lordship's last orders, to admiral collingwood. [19] the redoutable lay alongside and still foul of the temeraire for some time after this, and till several seamen were sent from the latter to the assistance of the two officers and men belonging to the victory who had before taken possession of the prize. [20] these were the ships commanded by admiral dumannoir, and afterwards captured by the squadron under the command of sir richard strachan. they were nearly half an hour in passing to windward, during the whole of which time they continued firing on the british ships. [21] about twenty of the redoutable's guns were dismounted in the action. those on that side of her lower deck opposed to the victory, were all dismounted except five or six. [22] many of those who were slightly wounded did not apply for assistance till after the public return of killed and wounded had been transmitted to admiral collingwood, which therefore reports a smaller number than here stated. [23] brandy was recommended by the surgeon in preference to rum, of which spirit also there was plenty on board. this circumstance is here noticed, because a very general but erroneous opinion was found to prevail on the victory's arrival in england, that rum preserves the dead body from decay much longer and more perfectly than any other spirit, and ought therefore to have been used: but the fact is quite the reverse, for there are several kinds of spirit much better for that purpose than rum; and as their appropriateness in this respect arises from their degree of strength, on which alone their antiseptic quality depends, brandy is superior. spirit of wine, however, is certainly by far the best, when it can be procured. [24] of the victory's wounded, three died before she reached gibraltar, one on the day of her arrival there, and another at the naval hospital at that place a few days afterwards: all the rest got well on board except the five left at gibraltar, and five others not perfectly recovered from their wounds in january following; when the victory being put out of commission at chatham, they were sent to the sussex hospital-ship at sheerness. [25] the ball was _not_ fired from a rifle piece. [26] it was not deemed necessary to insert in this report the precise time which his lordship survived his wound. this, as before stated, was in reality two hours and three quarters. [27] fig. 1. in the annexed plate represents the ball in the exact state in which it was extracted. drawn by mr. w.e. devis, who was then on board the victory. fig. 2. (drawn also by mr. devis) shews the ball in its present state; as set in crystal by mr. yonge, and presented to the writer of this narrative by sir thomas hardy. the ball, in perforating the epaulette, passed through many of the silk cords supporting the bullions, and through the pad and a doubling of silk besides; as the bag of the pad was composed of yellow silk. this circumstance militates strongly against an opinion entertained by some, that silk possesses in an eminent degree the power of resisting the force, or arresting the velocity, of a musket or pistol ball. [28] the stock of spirit of wine on board was exhausted and from the sound state of the body, brandy was judged sufficient for its preservation. [29] these complaints were the consequence of indigestion, brought on by writing for several hours together. his lordship had one of these attacks from that cause a few days before the battle, but on resuming his accustomed exercise he got rid of it. this attack alarmed him, as he attributed it to sudden and violent spasm; but it was merely an unpleasant symptom (_globus hystericus_) attending indigestion. _appendix._ _instructions_ _issued by_ lord nelson _to the admirals and captains of his fleet, several days previous to the battle_. victory, off cadiz, 10th of october, 1805. general memorandum _sent to the commanders of ships_. thinking it almost impossible to bring a fleet of forty sail of the line into a line of battle in variable winds, thick weather, and other circumstances which must occur, without such a loss of time that the opportunity would probably be lost of bringing the enemy to battle in such a manner as to make the business decisive, i have therefore made up my mind to keep the fleet in that position of sailing, with the exception of the first and second in command, that the order of sailing is to be the order of battle: placing the fleet in two lines, of sixteen ships each with an advanced squadron of eight of the fastest-sailing two-decked ships; which will always make, if wanted, a line of twenty-four sail, on whichever line the commander in chief may direct. the second in command will, after my intentions are made known to him, have the entire direction of his line; to make the attack upon the enemy, and to follow up the blow until they are captured or destroyed. if the enemy's fleet should be seen to windward in line of battle, and that the two lines and advanced squadron could fetch them, they will probably be so extended that their van could not succour their rear. i should therefore probably make the second in command's signal to lead through about their twelfth ship from their rear; or wherever he could fetch, if not able to get so far advanced. my line would lead through about their centre: and the advanced squadron to cut three or four ships ahead of their centre, so as to ensure getting at their commander in chief, on whom every effort must be made to capture. the whole impression of the british fleet must be, to overpower from two or three ships ahead of their commander in chief (supposed to be in the centre) to the rear of their fleet. i will suppose twenty sail of the enemy's line to be untouched: it must be some time before they could perform a manoeuvre to bring their force compact to attack any part of the british fleet engaged, or to succour their own ships; which indeed would be impossible, without mixing with the ships engaged. the enemy's fleet is supposed to consist of forty-six sail of the line; british, forty:[30] if either is less, only a proportional number of enemy's ships are to be cut off; british to be one-fourth superior to the enemy cut off. something must be left to chance: nothing is sure in a sea-fight, beyond all others; shot will carry away masts and yards of friends as well as foes: but i look with confidence to a victory before the van of the enemy could succour their rear; and then that the british fleet would most of them be ready to receive their twenty sail of the line, or to pursue them should they endeavour to make off. if the van of the enemy tack, the captured ships must run to leeward of the british fleet: if the enemy wear, the british must place themselves between the enemy and captured, and disabled british ships: and should the enemy close, i have no fear for the result. the second in command will, in all possible things, direct the movements of his line, by keeping them so compact as the nature of the circumstances will admit. captains are to look to their particular line as their rallying-point; but in case signals cannot be seen or clearly understood, no captain can do very wrong if he places his ship alongside that of an enemy. plan of the intended attack from to-windward, the enemy in line of battle ready to receive an attack: --------advanced squadron.} -----------------weather line. } british. -----------------lee line. } ------------------------------------------------ enemy's line. the divisions of the british fleet will be brought nearly within gun-shot of the enemy's centre. the signal will be made for the lee line to bear up together; to set all their sail, even studding-sails, in order to get as quickly as possible to the enemy's line; and to cut through, beginning from the twelfth ship from the enemy's rear. some ships may not get through their exact place, but they will always be at hand to assist their friends. if any are thrown in the rear of the enemy, they will effectually complete the business of twelve sail of the enemy. should the enemy wear together, or bear up and sail large, still the twelve ships composing in the first position the enemy's rear, are to be the object of attack of the lee line, unless otherwise directed by the commander in chief: which is scarcely to be expected; as the entire management of the lee line, after the intentions of the commander in chief are signified, is intended to be left to the admiral commanding that line. the remainder of the enemy's fleet, thirty-four sail, are to be left to the management of the commander in chief; who will endeavour to take care that the movements of the second in command are as little interrupted as possible. nelson and bronte. by command of the vice admiral. jno. scott. memorandum book _the following interesting extracts are faithfully copied from_ his lordship's _memorandum book, written entirely with his own hand_. saturday, september 14th, 1805. at six o'clock arrived at portsmouth; and having arranged all my business, embarked at the bathing-machines with mr. rose and mr. canning, who dined with me. at two got on board the victory, at st. helen's. wednesday, sept. 25th, 1805. light airs southerly. saw the rock of lisbon s.s.e. ten leagues. at sunset the captain of the constance came on board, and sent my letters for england to lisbon, and wrote to captain sutton[31] and the consul. the enemy's fleet had not left cadiz the 18th of this month, therefore i yet hope they will wait my arrival. saturday, sept. 28th, 1805. fresh breezes at n.n.w. at day-light bore up, and made sail. at nine saw the ã�tna cruising. at noon saw eighteen sail. nearly calm. in the evening joined the fleet under vice admiral collingwood. saw the enemy's fleet in cadiz, amounting to thirty-five or thirty-six sail of the line. sunday, sept. 29th. fine weather. gave out the necessary orders for the fleet. sent euryalus to watch the enemy with the hydra off cadiz. wednesday, october 9th. fresh breezes easterly. received an account from blackwood, that the french ships had all bent their top-gallant-sails. sent the pickle to him, with orders to keep a good look-out. sent admiral collingwood the nelson truth.[32] at night wind westerly. monday, oct. 14th. fine weather: westerly wind. sent amphion to gibraltar and algiers. enemy at the harbour's mouth. placed defence and agamemnon from seven to ten leagues west of cadiz; and mars and colossus five leagues east of the fleet, whose station is from fifteen to twenty west of cadiz: and by this chain i hope to have a constant communication with the frigates off cadiz. wednesday, oct. 16th. moderate breezes westerly. all the forenoon employed forming the fleet into the order of sailing. at noon fresh breezes w.s.w. and squally. in the evening fresh gales. the enemy as before, by signal from weazle. thursday, oct. 17th. moderate breezes north-westerly. sent the donegal to gibraltar, to get a ground-tier of casks. received accounts by the diligent storeship, that sir richard strachan was supposed in sight of the french rochefort squadron; which i hope is true. friday, oct. 18th. fine weather: wind easterly. the combined fleets cannot have finer weather to put to sea. saturday, oct. 19th. fine weather: wind easterly. at half past nine the mars, being one of the look-out ships, made the signal that the enemy were coming out of port. made the signal for a general chace s.e. wind at south; cadiz bearing e.s.e. by compass, distance sixteen leagues. at three the colossus made the signal that the enemy's fleet was at sea. in the evening made the signal to observe my motions during the night; for the britannia, prince, and dreadnought, to take stations as most convenient; and for mars, orion, belleisle, leviathan, bellerophon, and polyphemus, to go ahead during the night, and to carry a light, standing for the straits' mouth. sunday, oct. 20th. fresh breezes s.s.w., and rainy. communicated with phoebe, defence, and colossus, who saw near forty sail of ships of war outside of cadiz yesterday evening; but the wind being southerly, they could not get to the mouth of the straits. we were between trafalgar and cape spartel. the frigates made the signal that they saw nine sail outside the harbour. sent the frigates instructions for their guidance; and placed the defence, colossus, and mars, between me and the frigates. at noon fresh gales, and heavy rain: cadiz n.e. nine leagues. in the afternoon captain blackwood telegraphed that the enemy seemed determined to go to the westward;--and _that_ they shall _not_ do, if in the power of nelson and bronte to prevent them. at five telegraphed captain blackwood, that i relied upon his keeping sight of the enemy. at five o'clock naiad made the signal for thirty-one sail of the enemy n.n.e. the frigates and look-out ship kept sight of the enemy most admirably all night, and told me by signal which tack they were upon. at eight we wore, and stood to the s.w.; and at four wore and stood to the n.e. monday, oct. 21st. at day-light saw enemy's combined fleets from east to e.s.e. bore away. made the signal for order of sailing, and to prepare for battle. the enemy with their heads to the southward. at seven the enemy wearing in succession. * * * * * _then follow the prayer and codicil already inserted in pages_ 14 _and_ 15 _of the narrative, which conclude_ his lorship's _manuscript_. footnotes: [30] with such an inferiority of force as this, his lordship confidently expected not only to gain a decisive victory, but (to use his own favourite phrase) "completely to _annihilate the enemy's fleet_!" [31] of his majesty's ship amphion, then in the tagus. [32] it is presumed that his lordship here meant the preceding instructions, which were transmitted the next day to the whole fleet. the letters of lord nelson to lady hamilton; with a supplement of _interesting letters_, by distinguished characters. in two volumes. vol. ii. london: printed by macdonald and son, smithfield, for thomas lovewell & co. staines house, barbican; and sold by all the booksellers. 1814. contents. vol. ii. letters from lord nelson to lady hamilton. letter xl. page 5 xli. 10 xlii. 21 xliii. 26 xliv. 29 xlv. 34 xlvi. 36 xlvii. 39 xlviii. 48 xlix. 53 l. 56 li. 62 lii. 65 liii. 67 liv. 73 lv. 77 lvi. 79 lvii. 83 lviii. 87 lix. 96 lx. 100 supplement. _letters from lord nelson to miss horatia nelson thomson, now miss horatia nelson, lord nelson's adopted daughter; and to miss charlotte nelson, daughter of the present earl_. letter to miss horatia nelson page 107 to miss charlotte nelson 109 _letters from alexander davison, esq. to lady hamilton._ letter i. page 113 ii. 115 iii. 119 _letter from lady hamilton to alexander davison, esq. inclosing her ladyship's verses on lord nelson_ page 125 _letter from lady hamilton to the right honourable henry addington, now viscount sidmouth_ page 131 _letters from sir william hamilton, k.b. to lady hamilton._ letter i. page 137 ii. 140 iii. 143 iv. 146 v. 149 vi. 150 vii. 152 viii. 155 ix. 157 x. 160 xi. 163 xii. 166 xiii. 169 xiv. 171 xv. 174 xvi. 177 xvii. 180 _letters from sir william hamilton, k.b. to lord nelson._ letter i. page 185 ii. 190 iii. 192 iv. 194 v. 197 vi. 199 vii. 200 viii. 205 ix. 207 x. 210 xi. 216 xii. 220 _letters from lord nelson to sir william hamilton, k.b._ letter i. page 225 ii. 227 iii. 231 iv. 233 v. 240 vi. 243 vii. 245 viii. 247 ix. 254 x. 256 xi. 258 xii. 261 the letters of lord nelson to lady hamilton. letter xl. victory, under majorca, january 13th, 1804. my own dear beloved emma, i received, on the 9th, your letters of september 29th, october 2, 7, 10, 12, 17th, november 5th, 8th, to the 24th: and i am truly sensible of all your kindness and affectionate regard for me; which, i am sure, is reciprocal, in every respect, from your own nelson. if that lady bitch knew of that person's coming to her house, it was a trick; but which, i hope, you will not subject yourself to again. but, i do not like it! however, it is passed; and, we must have confidence in each other: and, my dearest emma, judging of you by myself, it is not all the world that could seduce me, in thought, word, or deed, from all my soul holds most dear. indeed, if i can help it, i never intend to go out of the ship, but to the shore of portsmouth; and that will be, if it pleases god, before next christmas. indeed, i think, long before, if the french will venture to sea. i send you a letter from the queen of naples. they call out, might and main, for our protection; and, god knows, they are sure of me. mr. elliot complains heavily of the expence; and says, he will retire the moment it is peace. he expected his family, when they would sit down eleven elliots! if, my dear emma, you are to mind all the reports you may hear, you may always be angry with your nelson. in the first place, instead of eight days, mr. acourt; he came on board one day, just before dinner, and left me next morning, after breakfast. what pleasure people can have in telling lies! but, i care not what they say; i defy them all. you may safely rely, that i can for ever repeat, with truth, these words--for ever i love you, and only you, my emma; and, you may be assured, as long as you are the same to me, that you are never absent a moment from my thoughts. i am glad you are going to merton; you will live much more comfortable, and much cheaper, than in london: and this spring, if you like to have the house altered, you can do it. but, i fancy, you will soon tire of so much dirt, and the inconvenience will be very great the whole summer. all i request, if you fix to have it done, [is] that mr. davison's architect, who drew the plan, may have the inspection; and, he must take care that it does not exceed the estimate. if it is done by contract, you must not _alter_; or a bill is run-up, much worse than if we had never contracted. therefore, i must either buy the materials, and employ respectable workmen, under the architect; or, contract. i rather believe, it would be better for me to buy the materials, and put out the building to a workman; but, you must get some good advice. with respect to the new entrance-* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * letter xli. victory, march 14th, [1804] off toulon. young faddy, my dearest emma, brought me, two days ago, your dear and most kind letter of november 26th, and you are sure that i shall take a very early opportunity of promoting him; and he appears to be grown a fine young man, but vacancies do not happen very frequently in this station. however, if he behaves well, he may be sure of me. with respect to mr. jefferson, i can [neither] say nor do any thing. the surgeon of the victory is a very able, excellent man, and the ship is kept in the most perfect state of health; and, i would not, if i could--but, thank [god] i cannot--do such an unjust act, as to remove him. he is my own asking for! and, i have every reason to be perfectly content. mr. jefferson got on, by my help; and, by his own misconduct, he got out of a good employ, and has seen another person, at malta hospital, put over his head. he must now begin again; and act with much more attention and sobriety, than he has done, to ever get forward again: but, time may do much; and, i shall rejoice to hear of his reformation. i am not surprised, my dearest emma, at the enormous expences of the watering place; but, if it has done my own emma service, it is well laid out. a thousand pounds a year will not go far; and we need be great economists, to make both ends meet, and to carry on the little improvements. as for making one farthing more prize-money, i do not expect it; except, by taking the french fleet: and, the event of that day, who can foresee! with respect to mrs. græfer--what she has done, god and herself knows; but i have made up my mind, that gibbs will propose an hundred pounds a year for her: if so, i shall grant it, and have done. i send you mrs. græfer's last letter. whilst i am upon the subject of bronte, i have one word more--and your good, dear, kind heart, must not think that i shall die one hour the sooner; on the contrary, my mind has been more content ever since i have done: i have left you a part of the rental of bronte, to be first paid every half year, and in advance. it is but common justice; and, whether mr. addington gives you any thing, or not, you will want it. i would not have you lay out more than is necessary, at merton. the rooms, and the new entrance, will take a good deal of money. the entrance by the corner i would have certainly done; a common white gate will do for the present; and one of the cottages, which is in the barn, can be put up, as a temporary lodge. the road can be made to a temporary bridge; for that part of the _nile_, one day, shall be filled up. downing's canvas awning will do for a passage. for the winter, the carriage can be put in the barn; and, giving up mr. bennett's premises, will save fifty pounds a year: and, another year, we can fit up the coach-house and stables, which are in the barn. the foot-path should be turned. i did shew mr. haslewood the way i wished it done; and mr. -----will have no objections, if we make it better than ever it has been: and, i also beg, as my dear horatia is to be at merton, that a strong netting, about three feet high, may be placed round the nile, that the little thing may not tumble in; and, then, you may have ducks again in it. i forget, at what place we saw the netting; and either mr. perry, or mr. goldsmid, told us where it was to be bought. i shall be very anxious until i know this is done. i have had no very late opportunities of sending to naples: but, _viâ_ malta, i wrote to gibbs, to desire he would send over and purchase the _amorins_. they will arrive in time. i hope, the watch is arrived safe. the british fair cutter, i hope, is arrived safe. she has three packets, from me, to england, the expences of the alterations at merton _you are_ not to pay from the income. let it all be put to a separate account, and i will provide a fund for the payment. all i long for, just now, is to hear that you are _perfectly_ recovered; and, then, i care for nothing: all my hopes are, to see you, and be happy, at dear merton, again; but, i fear, this miscarriage of pichegru's, in france, will prolong the war. it has kept the french fleet in port, which we are all sorry for. sir william bolton was on board yesterday. he looks thin. the fag in a brig is very great; and i see no prospect of his either making prize-money, or being made post, at present: but, i shall omit no opportunity. i wrote to mrs. bolton a few months ago; and gave her letter, yesterday, to bolton. he conducts himself very well, indeed. ever, my dearest emma, for ever, i am your most faithful, and affectionate nelson & bronte. although i cannot well afford it, yet i could not bear that poor blind mrs. nelson should be in want in her old days, and sell her plate; therefore, if you will find out what are her debts, if they come within my power, i will certainly pay them. many, i dare say, if they had commanded here, would have made money; but, i can assure you, for prizes taken within the mediterranean, i have not more than paid my expences. however, i would rather pinch myself, than she, poor soul, should want. your good, angelic heart, my dearest beloved emma, will fully agree with me, every thing is very expensive; and, even we find it, and will be obliged to economise, if we assist our friends: and, i am sure, we should feel more comfort in it than in loaded tables, and entertaining a set of people who care not for us. an account is this moment brought me, that a small sum is payable to me, for some neutral taken off cadiz in may 1800; so that i shall not be poorer for my gift. it is odd, is it not? i shall, when i come home, settle four thousand pounds in trustees hands, for horatia; for, i will not put it in my own power to have her left destitute: for she would want friends, if we left her in this world. she shall be independent of any smiles or frowns! i am glad you are going to take her home; and, if you will take the trouble with eliza and ann, i am the very last to object. tom, i shall certainly assist at college; and, i am sure, the doctor expects that i should do the same for horace: but i must make my arrangements, so as not to run in debt. april 9th. i have wrote to the duke; but, by your account, i fear he is not alive. i write, because you wish me; and, because i like the duke, and hope he will leave you some money. but, for myself, i can have no right to expect a farthing: nor would i be a legacy hunter for the world; i never knew any good come from it. i send you a letter from mr. falconet. i am afraid, they have made a jumble about the _amorins_. and i send you a very impertinent letter from that old cat. i have sent her a very dry answer, and told her, i should send the sweetmeats to you. i always hated the old bitch! but, was she young, and as beautiful as an angel, i am engaged; i am all, soul and body, my emmas: nor would i change her for all this world could give me. i would not have horatia think of a dog. i shall not bring her one; and, i am sure, she is better without a pet of that sort. but, she is like her mother, would get all the old dogs in the place about her. april 14th. i am so sea-sick, that i cannot write another line; except, to say--god almighty bless you, my dearest beloved emma! prays, ever, your faithful nelson & bronte. letter xlii. victory, april 2d, 1804. i have, my dearest beloved emma, been so uneasy for this last month; desiring, most ardently, to hear of your well doing! captain capel brought me your letters, sent by the thisbe, from gibraltar. i opened--opened--found none but december, and early in january. i was in such an agitation! at last, i found one without a date: which, thank god! told my poor heart, that you was recovering; but, that dear little emma was no more! and, that horatia had been so very ill--it all together upset me. but, it was just at bed-time; and i had time to reflect, and be thankful to god for sparing you and our dear horatia. i am sure, the loss of one--much more, both--would have drove me mad. i was so agitated, as it was, that i was glad it was night, and that i could be by myself. kiss dear horatia, for me: and tell her, to be a dutiful and good child; and, if she is, that we shall always love her. you may, if you like, tell mrs. g. that i shall certainly settle a small pension on her. it shall not be large, as we may have the pleasure of making her little presents; and, my dearest emma, i shall not be wanting to every body who has been kind to you, be they servants or gentlefolks. admiral lutwidge is a good man; and, i like mrs. lutwidge--and shall, always more, because she is fond of you. never mind the great bashaw at the priory. he be damned! if he was single, and had a mind to marry you, he could only make you a marchioness: but, as he is situated, and i situated, i can make you a duchess; and, if it pleases god, that time may arrive! amen. amen. as for your friend lady h----, she is, in her way, as great a pimp as any of them. what a set! but, if they manage their own intrigues, is not that enough! i am sure, neither you or i care what they do; much less, envy them their _chere amies_. as for lord s----, and the other, i care nothing about them; for i have every reason, by my own feelings towards you, to think you care only for your nelson. i have not heard of your receiving the little box from naples; bracelets, i fancy, but i did not open them. i wish the _amorins_ may come in time for the conveyance of captain layman; who has, most unfortunately, lost his sloop: he is strongly recommended, by the governor and garrison of gibraltar. but, perhaps, he may not be able to obtain it. we have such reports about the king's health, that the present ministry may be out; and, for what i know or care, another set may be no better, for you or me. as for the admiralty, let who will be in, they can neither do me any great good or harm: they may vex me, a little; but, that will recoil upon themselves. i hope, however, they will confirm captain layman; for he is attached not only to me, but is a very active officer. but, it was his venturing to know more about india than troubridge, that made them look shy upon him; and, his tongue runs too fast. i often tell him, not to let his tongue run so fast, or his pen write so much. letter xliii. victory, off toulon, april 10th, 1804. my dearest emma, i have received all your truly kind and affectionate letters, to january 25th, by the thisbe; and, last night, your letter of january 13th, by naples. the _amorins_ will go under the care of captain layman; who, unfortunately, lost his sloop: but, with much credit to himself, he has been acquitted of all blame. i rejoice that dear horatia is got well; and, also, that you, my dearest emma, are recovered of your severe indisposition. in our present situation with spain, this letter, probably, may never reach you. i have wrote fully; and intend to send them by the argus, who i expect to join every minute. elphi bey, i hear, has had all his fine things taken from him. he escaped into the desert, and is pursued; probably, his head is off, long before this time. the french fleet came out on the 5th, but went in again the next morning. yesterday, a rear-admiral, and seven sail of ships, including frigates, put their nose outside the harbour. if they go on playing this game, some day we shall lay salt upon their tails; and so end the campaign of, my dearest emma, your most faithful and affectionate -------i am glad to hear that you are going to take my dear horatia, to educate her. she must turn out an angel, if she minds what you say to her; and eliza and ann will never forget your goodness. my health is _so, so_! i shall get through the summer; and, in the winter, shall go home. you will readily fancy all i would say, and do think. my kind love to all friends. letter xliv. victory, april 19th, 1804. my dearest emma, i had wrote you a line, intended for the swift cutter; but, instead of her joining me, i had the mortification, not only to hear that she was taken, but that _all_ the dispatches and letters had fallen into the hands of the enemy; a very pretty piece of work! i am not surprised at the capture; but am very much so, that any dispatches should be sent in a vessel with twenty-three men, not equal to cope with any row-boat privateer. as i do not know what letters of your's are in her, i cannot guess what will be said. i suppose, there will be a publication. the loss of the hindostan, was great enough; but, for importance, it is lost, in comparison to the probable knowledge the enemy will obtain of our connections with foreign countries! foreigners for ever say--and it is true--"we dare not trust england; one way, or other, we are sure to be committed!" however, it is now too late to launch out on this subject. not a thing has been saved out of the hindostan, not a second shirt for any one; and it has been by extraordinary exertions, that the people's lives were saved. captain hallowell is so good as to take home, for me, wine as by the inclosed list; and, if i can, some honey. the spanish honey is so precious, that if [any one has] a cut, or sore throat, it is used to cure it. i mention this, in case you should wish to give the duke a jar. the smell is wonderful! it is to be produced no where, but in the mountains near rosas. the cyprus wine, one hogshead, was for buonaparte. i would recommend the wine-cooper drawing it off: and you can send a few dozens to the duke; who, i know, takes a glass every day at two o'clock. i wish, i had any thing else to send you; but, my dearest emma, you must take the will for the deed. i am pleased with charlotte's letter; and, as she loves my dear horatia, i shall always like her. what hearts those must have, who do not! but, thank god, she shall not be dependent on any of them. your letter of february 12th, through mr. falconet, i have received. i know, they are all read; therefore, never sign your name. i shall continue to write, through spain; but never say a word that can convey any information--except, of eternal attachment and affection for you; and that, i care not, who knows; for i am, for ever, and ever, your, only your, nelson & bronte. poor captain le gros had your note to him in his pocket-book, and that was all he saved. mr. este left him at gibraltar, and went to malta in the thisbe. captain le gros is now trying. i think, it will turn out, that every person is obliged to his conduct for saving their lives. she took fire thirteen leagues from the land. letter xlv. victory, april 23,1804. my dearest emma, hallowell has promised me, if the _admiralty_ will give him leave to go to london, that he will call at merton. his spirit is certainly more independent than almost any man's i ever knew; but, i believe, he is attached to me. i am sure, he has no reason to be so, to either troubridge or any one at the admiralty. i have sent, last night, a box of marischino veritabile of zara, which i got jemmy anderson to buy for me, and twelve bottles of _tokay_. i have kept none for myself, being better pleased that you should have it. i am, ever, and for ever, your most faithful and affectionate nelson & bronte. hallowell parted last night; but, being in sight, i am sending a frigate with a letter to the admiralty. may god almighty bless you, and send us a happy meeting! letter xlvi. victory, may 5, 1804. i find, my dearest emma, that your picture is very much admired by the french consul at barcelona; and that he has not sent it to be admired--which, i am sure, it would be--by buonaparte. they pretend, that there were three pictures taken. i wish, i had them: but they are all gone, as irretrievably as the dispatches; unless we may read them in a book, as we printed their correspondence from egypt. but, from us, what can they find out! that i love you, most dearly; and hate the french, most damnably. dr. scott went to barcelona, to try to get the private letters; but, i fancy, they are all gone to paris. the swedish and american consuls told him, that the french consul had your picture, and read your letters; and, doctor thinks, one of them probably read the letters. by the master's account of the cutter, i would not have trusted a pair of old shoes in her. he tells me, she did not sail, but was a good sea-boat. i hope, mr. marsden will not trust any more of my private letters in such a conveyance; if they choose to trust the affairs of the public in such a thing, i cannot help it. i long for the invasion being over; it must finish the war, and i have no fears for the event. i do not say, all i wish; and which, my dearest _beloved_ emma--(read that, whoever opens this letter; and, for what i care, publish it to the world)--your fertile imagination can readily fancy i would say: but this i can say, with great truth, that i am, for ever, your's -------letter xlvii. victory, may 27th, 1804. my dearest emma, yesterday, i took charles connor on board, from the phoebe, to try what we can do with him. at present, poor fellow, he has got a very bad eye--and, i almost fear, that he will be blind of it--owing to an olive-stone striking his eye: but the surgeon of the victory, who is by far the most able medical man i have ever seen, and equally so as a surgeon, [says] that, if it can be saved, he will do it. the other complaint, in his head, is but little more, i think, than it was when he first came to deal; a kind of silly laugh, when spoken to. he always complains of a pain in the back part of his head; but, when that is gone, i do not perceive but that he is as wise as many of his neighbours. you may rely, my dear emma, that nothing shall be wanting, on my part, to render him every service. capel--although, i am sure, very kind to younkers---i do not think, has the knack of keeping them in high discipline; he lets them be their own master too much. i paid charles's account, yesterday; since he has been in the phoebe, one hundred and fifty-five pounds, fourteen shillings. however, he must now turn over a new leaf; and i sincerely hope, poor fellow, he will yet do well. i wrote you on the 22d, through rosas, in spain; and i shall write, in a few days, by barcelona: this goes by gibraltar. i have wrote admiral lutwidge; mrs. lutwidge must wait, for i cannot get through all my numerous letters: for, whoever writes, although upon their own affairs, are offended if they are not answered. i have not seen young bailey: i suppose, he is in the leviathan. by the parcel, i see, he is in the canopus; and i can, at present, be of no use to him. may 30th. charles is very much recovered. i write you, this day, by barcelona. your dear phiz--but not the least like you--on the cup, is safe: but i would not use it, for the world; for, if it was broke, it would distress me very much. your letters, by swift, i shall never get back. the french consul, at barcelona, is bragging that he has three pictures of you from the swift. i do not believe him; but, what if he had a hundred! your resemblance is so deeply engraved in my heart, that there it can never be effaced: and, who knows? some day, i may have the happiness of having a living picture of you! old mother l---is a damned b----: but i do not understand what you mean, or what plan. i am not surprised at my friend kingsmill admiring you, and forgetting mary; he loves variety, and handsome women. you touch upon the old duke; but, i am dull of comprehension: believing you all my own, i cannot imagine any one else to offer, in any way. we have enough, with prudence; and, without it, we should soon be beggars, if we had five times as much. i see, lord stafford is going to oppose mr. addington; the present ministry cannot stand. i wish mr. addington had given you the pension; pitt, and hard-hearted grenville, never will. what a fortune the death of lord camelford gives him! every thing you tell me about my dear horatia charms me. i think i see her, hear her, and admire her; but, she is like her dear, dear mother. i am sorry, if your account of george martin's wife is correct; he deserved a better fate. but, he is like foley; gave up a great deal, to marry the relation of a great man: although, in fact, she is no relation to the duke of portland. i wish, i could but be at dear merton, to assist in making the alterations. i think, i should have persuaded you to have kept the pike, and a clear stream; and to have put all the carp, tench, and fish who muddy the water, into the pond. but, as you like, i am content. only take care, that my darling does not fall in, and get drowned. i begged you to get the little netting along the edge; and, particularly, on the bridges. i admire the seal; and god bless you, also! amen. the boy, south, is on board another ship, learning to be a musician. he will return soon, when he shall have the letter and money. i hope, he will deserve it; but he has been a very bad boy: but good floggings, i hope, will save him from the gallows. mr. falcon is a clever man. he would not have made such a blunder as our friend drake, and spencer smith. i hear, the last is coming, _viâ_ trieste, to malta. perhaps, he wants to get to constantinople; and, if the spencers get in, the smiths will get any thing. mr. elliot, i hear, is a candidate for it. he complains of the expence of naples, i hear; and, that he cannot make both ends meet, although he sees no company. the histories of the queen are beyond whatever i have heard from sir william. prince leopold's establishment is all french. the queen's favourite, lieutenant-colonel st. clair, was a subaltern; la tour, the captain in the navy; and, another! however, i never touch on these matters; for, i care not how she amuses herself. it will be the upset of acton; or, rather, he will not, i am told, stay. the king is angry with her; his love is long gone by. i have only one word more--do not believe a syllable the newspapers say, or what you hear. mankind seems fond of telling lies. remember me kindly to mrs. cadogan, and all our mutual friends; and be assured, i am, for ever, my dearest emma, your most faithful and affectionate nelson & bronte. george campbell desires me always to present his best respects; and make mine to good mr. yonge. what can i write him? i am sure, he must have great pleasure in attending you: and, when you see sir william scott, make my best regards acceptable to him. there is no man i have a higher opinion of, both as a public and private character. you will long ago have had my letter; with one to davison, desiring he will pay for the alterations at merton. i shall send you a letter for the hundred pounds a month, to the bank. letter xlviii. victory, june 6th, 1804. since i wrote you, my dearest emma, on the 30th and 31st may, nothing new has happened; except our hearing the _feu de joie_ at toulon, for the declaration of emperor. what a capricious nation those french must be! however, i think it must, in any way, be advantageous to england. there ends, for a century, all republics! by vessels from marseilles, the french think it will be a peace; and they say, that several of their merchant ships are fitting out. i earnestly pray, that it may be so; and, that we may have a few years of rest. i rather believe, my antagonist at toulon, begins to be angry with me: at least, i am trying to make him so; and then, he may come out, and beat me, as he says he did, off boulogne. he is the admiral that went to naples in december 1792, la touche treville, who landed the grenadiers. i owe him something for that. i am better, my dear emma, than i have been, and shall get through the summer very well; and i have the pleasure to tell you, that charles is very much recovered. there is no more the matter with his intellects, than with mine! quite the contrary; he is very quick. mr. scott, who has overlooked all his things, says, his clothes, &c. are in the highest order he has ever seen. i shall place him in the niger, with captain hilliar, when he joins; but, all our ships are so full, that it is very difficult to get a birth for one in any ship. would you conceive it possible! but, it is now from april 2d, since i have heard direct from ball. the average time for a frigate to go, and return, is from six to seven weeks. from you, i had letters, april 5th, and the papers to april 8th, received may 10th, with a convoy. this goes through friend gayner. sir william bolton joined last night; and received his letters, announcing his being called _papa_. he is got a very fine young man and good officer. lord st. vincent has desired he may have the first admiralty vacancy for post; but nobody will die, or go home. _a-propos_! i believe, you should buy a piece of plate, value fifty pounds, for our god-daughter of lady bolton; and something of twenty or thirty pounds value, for colonel suckling's. but, my emma, you are not to pay for them, let it rest for me; or, if the amount is sent me, i will order payment. remember me most kindly to horatia, good mrs. cadogan, charlotte, miss connor, and all our friends at dear, dear merton; where, from my soul, i wish i was, this moment: then, i sincerely hope, we should have no cause for sorrow. you will say what is right to mr. perry, newton, patterson, mr. lancaster, &c. you know all these matters. god in heaven bless and preserve you, for ever! prays, ever, your's most faithfully, -------letter xlix. victory, june 10th, 1804. my dearest emma, i wrote to you, on the 6th, _viâ_ rosas: this goes by barcelona; to which place i am sending sir william bolton, to fetch dr. scott, who is gone there, poor fellow, for the benefit of his health! i have just had very melancholy letters from the king and queen of naples, on account of general acton's going to sicily. the insolence of buonaparte was not to be parried without a war; for which they are unable, if unassisted. i have letters from acton, may 28, on board the archimedes, just going into palermo. he will probably return to naples, unless new events arise: and that may be; for a minister, once out, may find some difficulty in renewing his post. he has acted with great and becoming spirit. i am better, but i have been very unwell. it blows, here, as much as ever. yesterday was a little hurricane of wind. i dare say, prince castelcicala knows it by express; if not, you may tell him, with my best respects. he, and every one else, may be sure of my attachment to those good sovereigns. by this route, i do not choose to say more on this subject. with my kindest regards to horatia and your good mother, charlotte, miss c. and all our friends, believe me, my dear emma, for ever, your most faithful and affectionate -------i fear, sardinia will be invaded from corsica before you get this letter. i have not small ships to send there, or any where else; not in the proportion of one to five. you may communicate this to mr. addington, if you think that he does not know it; but, to no one else, except castelcicala, of what relates to naples. i have very flattering letters from the grand vizier, in the name of the sultan; and from cadir, now capitan pacha. letter l. victory, july 1st, 1804. although i have wrote you, my dearest emma, a letter, by rosas, of june 27th, not yet gone, the weather being so very bad, that ships cannot get across the gulph of lyons, yet i will [not] miss the opportunity of writing by gibraltar. you must not, my emma, think of hearing from me by way of malta; it takes as long to send a letter to malta, as to england. the monmouth, which you complain of not hearing by, i knew nothing of her movements for some months before. the ships from malta, with the convoys, pick up our letters at gibraltar. therefore, do not hurt my feelings, by telling me that i neglect any opportunity of writing. your letters of april 13th, 22d, and may 13th, through mr. falconet, came safe, a few days ago. mr. falconet is the french banker; and he dare not buy a little macaroni for me, or let an englishman into his house. gibbs is still at palermo: i fancy, he will make a good thing of my estate; however, i wish it was settled. he wrote me, a short time since, that he wished i would give him a hint (but without noticing that it came from him) that i thought mrs. græfer and her child had better go to england; on pretence of educating her daughter, &c. but i would have nothing to do with any such recommendation. it would end in her coming to me, in england; and saying, that she could not live upon what she had, and that i advised her to come to england, or she should not have thought of it. in short, gibbs wants to remove her. he is afraid of his pocket, i fancy; and the daughter is, i fancy, now in some seminary at palermo, at gibbs's expence. i wrote him word, fully, i would advise no such thing; she was to form her own judgment. what our friends are after at naples, they best know. the poor king is miserable at the loss of acton. the queen writes me about honest acton, &c. &c. and i hear, that she has been the cause of ousting him: and they say--her enemies--that her conduct is all french. that, i do not believe; although she is likely to be the dupe of french emigrés, who always beset her. i doubt much, my dear emma, even her constancy of real friendship to you; although, in my letter to acton, which mr. elliot says he read to her, i mentioned the obligations she was under to you, &c. &c. in very strong terms. what could the name of the minister signify! it was the letter which was wanted to the prime-minister. but, never mind; with prudence, we shall do very well. i have wrote to davison, by land: who, i am very sorry for; but, he never would take a friend's caution, and he has been severely bit. your accounts of merton delight me; and you will long ago have known, that i have directed the bills for the alterations to be paid. i never could have intended to have taken it from the hundred pounds a month. you will not hear of my making prize-money. i have not paid my expences these last nine months. i shall expect to eat my christmas dinner at merton; unless those events happen which i can neither foresee nor prevent. i am not well: and must have rest, for a few months, even should the country [want me;] which, very likely, they will not. news, i can have none. april 9th, leviathan sailed; so government don't care much for us. kiss my dear horatia, for me! i hope you will have her at merton; and, believe me, my dear emma, that i am, for ever, as ever, your attached, faithful, and affectionate, nelson & bronte. letter li. victory, august 12th, 1804. although, my dearest emma, from the length of time my other letters have been getting to you, i cannot expect that this will share a better fate; yet, as the childers is going to rosas, to get us some news from paris--which is the only way i know of what is passing in england--i take my chance of the post: but, i expect the kent will be in england before this letter; and by which ship i write to the admiralty relative to my health. therefore, i shall only say, that i hope a little of your good nursing, with ass's milk, will set me up for another campaign; should the admiralty wish me to return, in the spring, for another year: but, i own, i think we shall have peace. the ambuscade arrived this day fortnight, with our victuallers, &c. and very acceptable they were. by her, i received your letters of may 14th, 22d, and 30th, _viâ_ lisbon; and, of april 9th, 18, 15th, may 10th, 18th, 29th, june 1st, 5th, through, i suppose, the admiralty. the box you mention, is not arrived; nor have i a scrap of a pen from davison. the weather in the mediterranean seems much altered. in july, seventeen days the fleet was in a gale of wind. i have often wrote to davison, to pay for all the improvements at merton. the new-building the chamber over the dining-room, you must consider. the stair window, we settled, was not to be stopped up. the underground passage will, i hope, be made; but i shall, please god, soon see it all. i have wrote you, my dear emma, about horatia; but, by the kent, i shall write fully. may god bless you, my dearest best-beloved emma! and believe me, ever, your most faithful and affectionate -------kind love, and regards, to mrs. cadogan, and all friends. god bless you, again and again! letter lii. victory, august 20th, 1804. my dearest emma, the kent left us three days ago; and, as the wind has been perfectly fair since her departure, i think she will have a very quick passage, and arrive long before this letter. but, as a ship is going to rosas, i will not omit the opportunity of writing through spain; as, you say, the letters all arrive safe. we have nothing but gales of wind; and i have had, for two days, fires in the cabin, to keep out the very damp air. i still hope that, by the time of my arrival in england, we shall have peace. god send it! i have not yet received your muff; i think, probably, i shall bring it with me. i hope, davison has done the needful, in paying for the alterations at merton. if not, it is now too late; and we will fix a complete plan, and execute it next summer. i shall be clear of debt, and what i have will be my own. god bless you! amen. amen. george elliot goes to malta, for a convoy to england, this day. if you ever see lord minto, say so. -------letter liii. victory, august 31st, 1804--say 30th, at evening. therefore, i wrote, in fact, this day, through spain. my ever dearest emma, yesterday, i wrote to you, through spain; this goes by naples. mr. falconet, i think, will send it; although, i am sure, he feels great fear from the french minister, for having any thing to do with us. mr. greville is a shabby fellow! it never could have been the intention of sir william, but that you should have had seven hundred pounds a year neat money; for, when he made the will, the income tax was double to what it is at present; and the estate which it is paid from is increasing every year in value. it may be law, but it is not just; nor in equity would, i believe, be considered as the will and intention of sir william. never mind! thank god, you do not want any of his kindness; nor will he give you justice. i may fairly say all this; because my actions are different, even to a person who has treated me so ill. as to ----, i know the full extent of the obligation i owe him, and he may be useful to me again; but i can never forget his unkindness to you. but, i guess, many reasons influenced his conduct, in bragging of his riches, and my honourable poverty; but, as i have often said, and with honest pride, what i have is my own; it never cost the widow a tear, or the nation a farthing. i got what i have with my pure blood, from the enemies of my country. our house, my own emma, is built upon a solid foundation; and will last to us, when his house and lands may belong to others than _his children_. i would not have believed it, from any one but you! but, if ever i go abroad again, matters shall be settled very differently. i am working hard with gibbs about bronte, but the calls upon me are very heavy. next september, i shall be clear; i mean, september 1805. i have wrote to both acton and the queen about you. i do not think she likes mr. elliot; and, therefore, i wish she had never shewn him my letters about you. we also know, that he has a card of his own to play. dr. scott, who is a good man--although, poor fellow! very often wrong in the head--is going with staines, in, the cameleon, just to take a peep at naples and palermo. i have introduced him to acton, who is very civil to every body from me. the admiralty proceedings towards me, you will know much sooner than i shall. i hope they will do the thing, handsomely, and allow of my return in the spring; but, i do not expect it. i am very uneasy at your and horatia being on the coast: for you cannot move, if the french make the attempt; which, i am told, they have done, and been repulsed. pray god, it may be true! i shall rejoice to hear you and horatia are safe at merton; and happy shall i be, the day i join you. _gannam justem._ gaetano is very grateful for your remembrance of him. mr. chevalier is an excellent servant. william says, he has wrote twice; i suppose, he thinks that enough. this is written within three miles of the fleet in toulon, who are looking very tempting. kind regards to mrs. cadogan, charlotte, &c. and compliments to all our joint friends; for they are no friends of mine, who are not friends to emma. god bless you, again and again! captain hardy has not been very well: and, i fancy, admiral murray will not be sorry to see england; especially, since he has been promoted * * * * * * * * * * * * * * he expects his flag may get up. god bless you, my dearest emma; and, be assured, i am ever most faithfully your's. ---------letter liv. victory, september 29th, 1804. this day, my dearest emma, which gave me birth, i consider as more fortunate than common days; as, by my coming into this world, it has brought me so intimately acquainted with you, who my soul holds most dear. i well know that you will keep it, and have my dear horatia to drink my health. forty-six years of toil and trouble! how few more, the common lot of mankind leads us to expect; and, therefore, it is almost time to think of spending the few last years in peace and quietness! by this time, i should think, either my successor is named, or permission is granted me to come home; and, if so, you will not long receive this letter before i make my appearance: which will make us, i am sure, both truly happy. we have had nothing, for this fortnight, but gales of easterly winds, and heavy rains; not a vessel of any kind, or sort, joined the fleet. i was in hopes dr. scott would have returned from naples; and that i could have told you something comfortable for you, from that quarter: and it is now seven weeks since we heard from malta. therefore, i know nothing of what is passing in the world. i would not have you, my dear emma, allow the work of brick and mortar to go on in the winter months. it can all be finished next summer; when, i hope, we shall have peace, or such an universal war as will upset that vagabond, buonaparte. i have been tolerable well, till this last bad weather, which has given me pains in my breast; but, never mind, all will be well when i get to merton. admiral campbell, who is on board, desires to be remembered to you. he does not like much to stay here, after my departure. indeed, we all draw so well together in the fleet, that i flatter myself the sorrow for my departure will be pretty general. admiral murray will be glad to get home; hardy is as good as ever; and mr. secretary scott is an excellent man. god bless you, my dearest emma! and, be assured, i am ever your most faithful and affectionate n. & b. kiss dear horatia. i hope she is at merton, _fixed_. letter lv. victory, october 7, [1804.] 2 p.m. i wrote you, my dearest emma, this morning, by way of lisbon; but a boat, which is going to torbay, having brought out a cargo of potatoes, will i think get home before the lisbon packet. i shall only say--_guzelle gannam justem_--and that i love you beyond all the world! this may be read by french, dutch, spanish, or englishmen; for it comes from the heart of, my emma, your faithful and affectionate nelson & bronte. i think the gentry will soon come out. i cannot say more by such a conveyance. letter lvi. victory, october 13, 1804. my dearest emma, the dreadful effects of the yellow fever, at gibraltar, and many parts of spain, will naturally give you much uneasiness; till you hear that, thank god, we are entirely free from it, and in the most perfect health, not one man being ill in the fleet. the cold weather will, i hope, cure the disorder. whilst i am writing this letter, a cutter is arrived from england with strong indications of a spanish war. i hope, from my heart, that it will not prove one. but, however that is, my die is cast; and, long before this time, i expect, another admiral is far on his way to supersede me. lord keith, i think a very likely man. i should, for your sake, and for many of our friends, have liked an odd hundred thousand pounds; but, never mind. if they give me the choice of staying a few months longer, it will be very handsome; and, for the sake of others, we would give up, my dear emma, very much of our own felicity. if they do not, we shall be happy with each other, and with dear horatia. the cutter returns with my answers directly; therefore, my own emma, you must only fancy all my thoughts and feelings towards you. they are every thing which a fond heart can fancy. i have not a moment; i am writing and signing orders, whilst i am writing to my own emma. my life, my soul, god in heaven bless you! your letter is september 16th, your last is august 27th. i have not made myself understood, about mrs. bolton's money. you give away _too_ much. kiss our dear horatia a thousand times, for your own faithful nelson. i send two hundred pounds, keep it for your own pocket money. you must tell davison, and haslewood, that i cannot answer their letters. linton cannot be fixed; but you will know whether i come home, or stay, from mr. marsden. god bless you! tell my brother, that i have made mr. yonge a lieutenant, into the sea-horse frigate, captain boyle. once more, god bless my dearest emma! ---------write your name on the back of the bill, if you send any person for the money. i have scrawled three lines to davison, that he should not think i neglected him in his confinement. i have received the inclosed from allen. can we assist the poor foolish man with a _character_? letter lvii. victory, november 23,1804. as all our communication with spain is at an end, i can now only expect to hear from my own dear emma by the very slow mode of admiralty vessels, and it is now more than two months since the john bull sailed. i much fear, something has been taken; for they never would, i am sure, have kept me so long in the dark. however, by management, and a portion of good luck, i got the account from madrid in a much shorter space of time than i could have hoped for; and i have set the whole mediterranean to work, and think the fleet cannot fail of being successful: and, if i had had the spare troops at malta at my disposal, minorca would at this moment have had english colours flying. this letter, my dearest beloved emma, goes--although in mr. marsden's letter--such a roundabout way, that i cannot say all that my heart wishes. imagine every thing which is kind and affectionate, and you will come near the mark. where is my successor? i am not a little surprised at his not arriving! a spanish war, i thought, would have hastened him. ministers could not have thought that i wanted to fly the service, my whole life has proved the contrary; and, if they refuse me now: i shall most certainly leave this country in march or april; for a few months rest i must have, very soon. if i am in my grave, what are the mines of peru to me! but, to say the truth, i have no idea of killing myself. i may, with care, live yet to do good service to the state. my cough is very bad; and my side, where i was struck on the 14th of february, is very much swelled; at times, a lump as large as my fist, brought on, occasionally, by violent coughing: but, i hope, and believe, my lungs are yet safe. sir william bolton is just arrived from malta. i am preparing to send him a cruise, where he will have the best chance i can give him of making ten thousand pounds. he is a very attentive, good, young man. i have not heard from naples this age. i have, in fact, no small craft to send for news. if i am soon to go home, i shall be with you before this letter. may god bless you! thomson desires to be most kindly remembered to his dear wife and children. he is most sincerely attached to them; and wishes to save what he can for their benefit. as our means of communicating are cut off, i have only to beg that you will not believe the idle rumours of battles, &c. &c. &c. may heavens bless you! prays, fervently, my dear emma, ever your most faithful and affectionate nelson & bronte. letter lviii. victory, march 9th, 1805. i do assure you, my dearest emma, that nothing can be more miserable, or unhappy, than your poor nelson. from the 19th of february, have we been beating from malta to off palma; where i am now anchored, the wind and sea being so very contrary and bad. but i cannot help myself, and no one in the fleet can feel what i do: and, to mend my fate, yesterday captain layman arrived--to my great surprise--not in his brig, but in a spanish cartel; he having been wrecked off cadiz, and lost all the dispatches and letters. you will conceive my disappointment! it is now from november 2d, that i have had a line from england. captain layman says--he is sure the letters are sunk, never to rise again; but, as they were not thrown overboard until the vessel struck the rock, i have much fear that they may have fallen into the hands of the dons. my reports from off toulon, state the french fleet as still in port; but, i shall ever be uneasy at not having fallen in with them. i know, my dear emma, that it is in vain to repine; but my feelings are alive to meeting those fellows, after near two years hard service. what a time! i could not have thought it possible that i should have been so long absent; unwell, and uncomfortable, in many respects. however, when i calculate upon the french fleet's not coming to sea for this summer, i shall certainly go for dear england, and a thousand [times] dearer merton. may heavens bless you, my own emma! i cannot think where sir william bolton is got to; he ought to have joined me, before this time. i send you a trifle, for a birth-day's gift. i would to god, i could give you more; but, i have it not! i get no prize-money worth naming; but, if i have the good fortune to meet the french fleet, i hope they will make me amends for all my anxiety; which has been, and is, indescribable. how is my dear horatia? i hope you have her under your guardian wing, at merton. may god bless her! captain layman is now upon his trial. i hope he will come clear, with honour. i fear, it was too great confidence in his own judgment that got him into the scrape; but it was impossible that any person living could have exerted himself more, when in a most trying and difficult situation. march 10th. poor captain l. has been censured by the court: but, i have my own opinion. i sincerely pity him; and have wrote to lord melville, and sir evan nepean, to try what can be done. all together, i am much unhinged. to-morrow, if the wind lasts, i shall be off toulon. sir william bolton is safe, i heard of him this morning. i hear, that a ship is coming out for him; but, as this is only rumour, i cannot keep him from this opportunity of being made post: and, i dare say, he will cause, by his delay, such a tumble, that louis's son, who i have appointed to the childers, will lose his promotion; and, then sir billy will be wished at the devil! but, i have done with this subject; the whole history has hurt me. hardy has talked enough to him, to rouze his lethargic disposition. i have been much hurt at the loss of poor mr. girdlestone! he was a good man; but there will be an end of us all. what has charles connor been about? his is a curious letter! if he does not drink, he will do very well. captain hilliar has been very good to him. colonel suckling, i find, has sent his son to the mediterranean; taking him from the narcissus, where i had been at so much pains to place him. i know not where to find a frigate to place him. he never will be so well and properly situated again. i am more plagued with other people's business, or rather nonsense, than with my own concerns, with some difficulty, i have got suckling placed in the ambuscade, with captain durban, who came on board at the moment i was writing. march 31st. the history of suckling will never be done. i have this moment got from him your letter, and one from his father. i shall say nothing to him; i don't blame the child, but those who took [him] out of the most desirable situation in the navy. he never will get into such another advantageous ship: but, his father is a fool; and so, my dear emma, that _ends_. the box which you sent me in may 1804, is just arrived in the diligent store-ship. i have sent the arms to palermo, to gibbs. the clothes are very acceptable; i will give you a kiss, for sending them. god bless you! amen. april 1st. i am not surprised that we should both think the same about the kitchen; and, if i can afford it, i should like it to be done: but, by the fatal example of poor mr. hamilton, and many others, we must take care not to get into debt; for, then, we can neither help any of our relations, and [must] be for ever in misery! but, of this, we [will] talk more, when we walk upon the poop at merton. do you ever see admiral and mrs. lutwidge? you will not forget me when you do. to mrs. cadogan, say every thing that is kind; and to all our other friends: and, be assured, i am, for ever and ever, your's, and only your's, nelson & bronte. as i know that all the mediterranean letters are cut and smoaked, and perhaps read, i do not send you a little letter in this; but your utmost stretch of fancy cannot imagine _more_ than i feel towards my own dear emma. god bless you! _amen._ letter lix. victory, off plymouth, september 17th, [1805.] nine o'clock in the morning. blowing fresh at w.s.w. dead foul wind. i sent, my own dearest emma, a letter for you, last night, in a torbay boat, and gave the man a guinea to put it in the post-office. we have had a nasty blowing night, and it looks very dirty. i am now signalizing the ships at plymouth to join me; but, i rather doubt their ability to get to sea. however, i have got clear of portland, and have cawsand bay and torbay under the lee. i intreat, my dear emma, that you will chear up; and we will look forward to many, many happy years, and be surrounded by our children's children. god almighty can, when he pleases, remove the impediment. my heart and soul is with you and horatia. i got this line ready, in case a boat should get alongside. for ever, ever, i am your's, most devotedly, nelson & bronte. mr. rose said, he would write to mr. bolton, if i was sailed; but, i have forgot to give him the direction: but i will send it, to-day. i think, i shall succeed very soon, if not at this moment. wednesday, september 18th, off the lizard. i had no opportunity of sending your letter yesterday, nor do i see any prospect at present. the ajax and thunderer are joining; but, it is nearly calm, with a swell from the westward. perseverance has got us thus far; and the same will, i dare say, get us on. thomas seems to do very well, and content. tell mr. lancaster, that i have no doubt that his son will do very well. god bless you, my own emma! i am giving my letters to blackwood, to put on board the first vessel he meets going to england, or ireland. once more, heavens bless you! ever, for ever, your nelson & bronte. letter lx. victory, october 1st, 1805. my dearest emma, it is a relief to me, to take up the pen, and write you a line; for i have had, about four o'clock this morning, one of my dreadful spasms, which has almost enervated me. it is very odd! i was hardly ever better than yesterday. freemantle stayed with me till eight o'clock, and i slept uncommonly well; but, was awoke with this disorder. my opinion of its effect, some one day, has never altered. however, it is entirely gone off, and i am only quite weak. the good people of england will not believe, that rest of body and mind is necessary for me! but, perhaps, this spasm may not come again these six months. i had been writing seven hours yesterday; perhaps, that had some hand in bringing it upon me. i joined the fleet late on the evening of the 28th of september, but could not communicate with them until the next morning. i believe, my arrival was most welcome; not only to the commander of the fleet, but also to every individual in it: and, when i came to explain to them the _nelson touch_, it was like an electric shock. some shed tears, all approved--"it was new, it was singular, it was simple!" and, from admirals downwards, it was repeated--"it must succeed, if ever they will allow us to get at them! you are, my lord, surrounded by friends whom you inspire with confidence." some may be judas's; but the majority are certainly much pleased with my commanding them. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * supplement. _interesting letters_, elucidatory of lord nelson's letters to lady hamilton, &c. vol. ii. letters from lord nelson, to miss horatia nelson thomson, now miss horatia nelson, (_lord nelson's adopted daughter;_) and miss charlotte nelson, (_daughter of the present earl._) letters of lord nelson, &c. to miss horatia nelson thomson. victory, april 13th, 1804. my dear horatia, i send you twelve books of spanish dresses, which you will let your guardian angel, lady hamilton, keep for you, when you are tired of looking at them. i am very glad to hear, that you are perfectly recovered; and, that you are a very good child. i beg, my dear horatia, that you will always continue so; which will be a great comfort to your most affectionate nelson & bronte. to miss charlotte nelson. victory, april 19th, 1804. my dear charlotte, i thank you very much for your kind letters of january 3d, and 4th; and i feel truly sensible of your kind regard for that dear little orphan, horatia. although her parents are lost; yet, she is not without a fortune: and, i shall cherish her to the last moment of my life; and _curse_ them who _curse_ her, and heaven _bless_ them who _bless_ her! dear innocent! she can have injured no one. i am glad to hear, that she is attached to you; and, if she takes after her parents, so she will, to those who are kind to her. i am, ever, dear charlotte, your affectionate uncle, nelson & bronte. letters from alexander davison, esq. to lady hamilton. letters of alex. davison, esq. &c. i. [1804.] my dear madam, i have, equally with yourself, felt extremely uneasy all night, thinking on _the_ letter, which is a very serious one; and, until we receive our next dispatches, i shall still feel every day more and more anxious. i rely on that kind providence, which has hitherto sheltered him under every danger, upon the occasion. he was on the eve of engaging, for protection--and preservation--it is, indeed, an anxious moment! i have long thought, a plan was in agitation regarding the toulon fleet being given up; but, whether it was in contemplation at the period the last letter was written, i know not. i am rather disposed to think otherwise. the next packet will explain the whole; and, i trust, will relieve our minds of that burden, hardly supportable at present. i shall, this evening, go quietly into the country, and return to town about noon to-morrow: as i require air, and a little relaxation; for i am, actually, overpowered with business. your's, most truly, alex. davison. thursday morning. ii. [1804,] my dear madam, yesterday, i wrote to you just in time to save the post: but, whether that letter, or even this, reach you, i have my doubts--if they do not, you have only yourself to blame; for i cannot, for the soul of me, make out the name of the place. you have been in such a hurry, when writing it, that it really is not legible; and i do not sufficiently know norfolk, to guess at it. i did yesterday, as i shall this--imitate your writing, leaving it to the post-office gentlemen to find it out. i acquainted you, that i would take care to obey your wishes, and hold back your check on coutts and co. till such time as it would be quite convenient to yourself, and you tell me to send it for payment. your mind may be perfectly at ease on that score: as, indeed, it may in every thing in which you have to do with me--though we do, now and then, differ a little in trifles; but, not in essentials: having one, only one, object in mind, that of the comforts, and ultimate happiness, of our dear--_your_ beloved nelson; for whom, what would you or i not do? what a world of matter is now in agitation! every thing is big with events; and soon, very soon, i hope to see--what i have long desired, and anxiously [been] waiting for--an event to contribute to the glory, the independency, of our nelson. i still hope, ere christmas, to see him: that hope founded on the darling expectation of his squadron falling in with a rich _spanish_ flotilla. i think, too, that the french fleet will _now_ come out. i have written to our dear friend every information i have been able to collect, and have sent him a continuation of all the newspapers. it affords me particular pleasure, to hear you feel so happy in norfolk. how is it possible it can be otherwise! seated, as you are, in the midst of the friends of your best friend; enjoying every kindness and attention in their power to shew to the favourite of their brother. i shall be very much rejoiced, when you come back, to talk over very interesting objects which our dear friend will _now_ have to pursue. my best respects to your fire-side; and believe me, most sincerely, your's, alex. davison. iii. saturday, 22d september 1804. my dear madam, ever obedient to your _lawful_ commands, i have implicitly obeyed your orders, in the purchase, this morning, of messrs. branscomb and co. four quarter lottery-tickets- { no. 593.} { 10,376.} { 14,381.} { 20,457.} each, i hope, will come up prize; and be entitled to receive, at least, on the whole, twenty thousand pounds! i paid eighteen pounds eight shillings for them; and i have written upon the back of each--"_property of lord nelson, 22d september 1804. a.d."_ when i have the pleasure of seeing you, i shall deliver the trust over to you, to receive the _bespoken_ said sum of twenty thousand pounds. what a glorious receipt will it be! i am glad you received my letters, though i could not make out the name of the place; the post-office runners are expert at it. what do you say to a spanish war? i think, now, the breeze begins to freshen; and that the flames, _at last_, will succeed. i sent off, last night, a very long epistle to our dear nelson. i am truly distressed at his not receiving my letters; though i can pretty well guess how to account for it, and in whose hands they were detained. experience teaches us how better to guard against similar misfortunes; and, in future, i shall be cautious to whom i give my letters. so that i know the hero of heroes is well, i care the less about letters; knowing that writing, delivering, or receiving them, will not, either in him or me, make the least alteration, or lessen our attachment or affection. i am pleased to see how happy you are in norfolk. i wish you may not find it so fascinating, that the arrival of "lord nelson" at merton would not induce you to [quit] the county!!! i beg you will make my best respects acceptable to _every_ friend (real) of that invaluable man, lord nelson. your's, most truly, alex. davison. letter from lady hamilton to alexander davison, esq. inclosing _her ladyship's verses on lord nelson_. letter of lady hamilton, &c. clarges street, [_26th january 1805._] i have been very ill, my dear sir; and am in bed with a cold, very bad cold indeed! but, the moment i am better, i will call on you. i am invited to dine with mr. haslewood to-morrow, but fear i shall not be able to go. i am very anxious about letters; but admiral campbell has told me, he thinks my dear lord will soon be at home. god grant! for, i think, he might remove that stumbling-block, sir john o! devil take him! that _polyphemus_ should have been nelson's: but, he is rich in great and _noble deeds_; which t'other, poor devil! is not. so, let dirty wretches get pelf, to comfort them; victory belongs to nelson. not, but what i think money necessary for comforts; and, i hope, _our_, _your's_, and _my_ nelson, will get a little, for all master o. i write from bed; and you will see i do, by my scrawl. i send you some of my bad verses on my soul's idol. god bless you! remember, you will soon be free; and let that cheer you, that you will come out with even more friends than ever. i can only say, i am your ever obliged, and grateful, emma hamilton. i long to see and know nepean! why will you not ask me to dine with, him _en famille?_ {yes.} {_a.d._} * * * * * emma to nelson. i think, i have not lost my heart; since i, with truth, can swear, at every moment of my life, i feel my nelson there! if, from thine emma's breast, her heart were stolen or flown away; where! where! should she my nelson's love record, each happy day? if, from thine emma's breast, her heart were stolen or flown away; where! where! should she engrave, my love! each tender word you say? where! where! should emma treasure up her nelson's smiles and sighs? where mark, with joy, each secret look of love, from nelson's eyes? then, do not rob me of my heart, unless you first forsake it; and, then, so wretched it would be, despair alone will take it. letter from lady hamilton to the right honourable henry addington, now viscount sidmouth. letter of lady hamilton, &c. april 13th. [1803.] sir, may i trouble you, and but for a moment, in consequence of my irreparable loss; my ever-honoured husband, sir william hamilton, being no more! i cannot avoid it, i am forced to petition for a portion of his pension: such a portion as, in your wisdom and noble nature, may be approved; and so represented to our most gracious sovereign, as being right. for, sir, i am most sadly bereaved! i am now in circumstances far below those in which the goodness of my dear sir william allowed me to move for so many years; and below those becoming the relict of such a public minister, who was proved so very long--no less than thirty-six years--and, all his life, honoured so very much by the constant friendly kindness of the king and queen themselves: and, may i mention--what is well known to the then administration at home--how i, too, strove to do all i could towards the service of our king and country. the fleet itself, i can truly say, could not have got into _sicily_, but for what i was happily able to do with the queen of naples, and through her secret instructions so obtained: on which depended the refitting of the fleet in sicily; and, with that, all which followed so gloriously at the nile. these few words, though seemingly much at large, may not be extravagant at all. they are, indeed, true. i wish them to be heard, only as they can be proved; and, being proved, may i hope for what i have now desired? i am, sir, with respect more than i can well utter, your obedient servant, emma hamilton. letters from sir william hamilton, k.b. to lady hamilton. letters of sir william hamilton, k.b. _&c._ i. persano, [wednesday] jan. 4, 1792. we arrived here, yesterday, in little more than five hours, and had nearly began with a disagreeable accident; for the king's horse took fright at the guard, and his majesty and horse were as near down as possible. however, all ended well; and he was as gay as possible, yesterday. our first _chasse_ has not succeeded; though there were two wolves, and many wild boars, in the _mena_: but the king would direct how we should beat the wood, and began at the wrong end; by which the wolves and boars escaped, and we remained without shooting power. however, ten or twelve boars have been killed, some how or other, and some large ones. the king's face is very long, at this moment; but, i dare say, to-morrow's good sport will shorten it again. i was sorry, my dear em. to leave you in affliction: you must harden yourself to such little misfortunes as a temporary parting; but, i cannot blame you for having a good and tender heart. believe me, you are in thorough possession of all mine, though i will allow it to be rather tough. let us study to make one another as comfortable as we can; and "_banish sorrow, till to-morrow_:" and so on, every day. you are wise enough to see the line it is proper for you to take; and have, hitherto, followed it most rigorously: and i can assure you, that i have not the least doubt of your continuing in it. amuse yourself as well as you can, as i am doing, whilst we are separate; and the best news you can give me is, that you are well and happy. my cold is already better for having passed the whole day in the open air, and without human _seccatura_. adieu! my dear, dear emma. i am, with my love to your good mother, your's ever, and faithfully, w.h. ii. persano, thursday, [jan. 5th, 1792.] we got home early, and i have not yet received your daily advertiser. no sport, again! in the midst of such a quantity of game, they have contrived to carry him far off, where there is none. he has no other comfort, to-day, than having killed a wild cat; and his face is a yard long. however, his majesty has vowed vengeance on the boars to-morrow, and will go according to his own fancy; and, i dare say, there will be a terrible slaughter. the last day, we are to keep all we kill; and, i suppose, it will be night before we get home. yesterday, the courier brought the order of st. stephano, from the emperor, for the prince ausberg, and the king was desired to invest him with it. as soon as the king received it, he ran into the prince's room; whom he found in his shirt, and without his breeches: and, in that condition, was he decorated with the star and ribbon by his majesty, who has wrote the whole circumstance to the emperor. leopold may, perhaps, not like the joking with his first order. such nonsense should, certainly, be done with solemnity; or it becomes, what it really is, a little tinsel, and a few yards of broad ribbon. the prince, _entre nous_, is not very wise; but he is a good creature and we are great friends. i have wrote to mrs. dickinson. i forget whether you have, or not: if not, pray do it soon; for, you know, she is a good friend of your's. i have just received your good letter. i am glad they have taken the guarda patana's son-in-law. i insist upon smith's letting the regent of the vicaria know of his having stabbed my porter. he ought to go to the gallies; and my honour is concerned, if this insult offered my livery is unnoticed. the girl had better cry, than be ill-used, and her father killed. adieu, my sweet em. your's, with all my heart, w.h. iii. persano, friday evening. [jan. 6th, 1792.] i inclose our friend knight's admirable letter to you. i could not refrain reading it; and, i am sure, it was his intention i should do so, having left it unsealed. he is a fine fellow; it was worth going to england, to secure such a sensible friend. you will probably have seen general werner last night; this is friday night, and he will have told you i am well. we have been out all day in the rain; i killed none, and the king and party but few. such obstinate bad weather i really never experienced, for so long a time together. you did perfectly right in buying the lamps; and i am glad the prince asked to dine with you. i am sure, he was comfortably received by you. you see what devils [there are] in england! they wanted to stir up something against me; but our conduct shall be such as to be unattackable: and i fear not an injustice from england. twenty-seven years service--having spent all the king's money, and all my own, besides running in debt, deserves something better than a dismission! the king has declared, he will return to naples next saturday se'n-night; so you know the worst, my dear emma. indeed, i shall embrace you most cordially; for i would not be married to any woman, but yourself, on earth, for all the world. lord a. hamilton's son, you see, recommends a friend of his; who, i suppose, is arrived: if so, receive him well. adieu, again! your's, ever, w.h. iv. persano, saturday night, [january 7th, 1792.] this has been one of the cruel days which attend the king's _chasse_. all the posts--except the king's, prince ausberg, d'onerato, and priori--bad. we have been out all day, in cold rain, without seeing a boar. the king has killed twenty-five, and a wolf; and the other good posts, in proportion. why not rather leave us at home, than go out with the impossibility of sport? but we must take the good and bad, or give it up. lamberg is too delicate for this business; he has been in bed, with a slight fever, all to-day. you will have another boar, to-day; which boar being a _sow_, i have made a _bull_! the sows are much better than the boars; so you may keep some to eat at home, and dispose of the rest to your favourite english. i am glad all goes on so well. i never doubted your gaining every soul you approach. i am far from being angry at your feeling the loss of me so much! nay, i am flattered; but, believe me, the time will soon come, that we shall meet. years pass seemingly in an instant; why, then, afraid of a few days? upon the whole, we are sociable here; but we go to bed at nine, and get up at five o'clock. i generally read an hour, to digest my supper; but, indeed, i live chiefly on bread and butter. salandra desires his compliments to you, as does lamberg and prince ausberg. adieu, my dear emma! ever your's, and your's alone, w.h. i send you back your two letters. dutens was very satisfactory. i send the papers to smith; who will give them to you first, if you have not read them. the cold and fatigue makes my hand something like your's--which, by the bye, you neglect rather too much: but, as what you write is good sense, every body will forgive the scrawl. v. sunday night, [jan. 8th, 1792.] we are come in late; and i have but a moment to tell you we are well, and i have killed three large boars, a fox, and four woodcocks. nothing pleases me more, than to hear you do not neglect your singing. it would be a pity, as you are near the point of perfection. adieu, my dearest emma! your's, with my whole soul, w.h. vi. persano, [monday] january 10th, [9th] 1792. your letter of yesterday, my sweet em. gave me great pleasure; as, i see, all goes on perfectly right for you at naples. your business, and mine, is to be civil to all, and not enter into any party matters. if the wilkinsons are not content with our civilities, let them help themselves. we have had a charming day, and most excellent sport. more than a hundred wild boars, and two wolves, have fallen. i killed five boars, truly monsters! and a fox. vincenzo could not follow me to-day; he cannot walk two steps, without being out of breath. however, i load the guns myself; and, with the peasant i brought from caserta, and another i hire here, i do very well. i fear, poor vincenzo will not hold long. if he chooses it, i mean to send him to naples, to consult noody [nudi.] general werner, prince of hesse, and count zichare, are here since last night; they brought me your compliments. lamberg is still confined. amuse yourself, my dearest emma, and never doubt of my love. your's, ever, w.h. vii. persano, [tuesday] jan. 10th, 1792. the day has been so thoroughly bad, that we have not been able to stir out; and the king, of course, in bad humour. i am not sorry to have a day's repose, and i have wrote my letters for to-morrow's post. lamberg is still in bed with a fever, and prince ausberg's eyes are a little inflamed with cold and fatigue. my cold was renewed a little yesterday; but a good night's rest, and quiet to-day, has set all to rights again. vincenzo was so bad, yesterday, that he could not follow me, and was blooded. he is better, to-day; but he will never serve more, except to load my guns at the post. he cannot walk a mile, without being out of breath. i am glad you have been at the academy, and in the great world. it is time enough for you to find out, that the only real comfort is to be met with at home; i have been in that secret some time. you are, certainly, the most domestic young woman i know: but you are young, and most beautiful; and it would not be natural, if you did not like to shew yourself a little in public. the effusion of tenderness, with regard to me, in your letter, is very flattering; i know the value of it, and will do all i can to keep it alive. we are now one flesh, and it must be our study to keep that flesh as warm and comfortable as we can. i will do all in my power to please you, and i do not doubt of your doing the same towards me. adieu, my dearest emma! having nothing interesting to write, and as you insist upon hearing from me every day, you must content yourself with such a stupid letter as this. your ladyship's commands shall always be punctually obeyed by, dear madam, your ladyship's most obedient and faithful servant, w. hamilton. viii. persano, wednesday, 11th jan. [1792.] i have just received your letter--and, as i always do--with infinite pleasure. i hope you received twelve wood-biddies, to-day; and, to-morrow, you will have a wild boar: all left to your discretion. no talk of returning, yet. we must complete sixteen days shooting, and one day has been lost by bad weather. we had a good day, and tolerable sport. i have killed two, and one the largest boar i have seen yet here. vincenzo, they say, will be well in a day or two, as it is only a cold; i fear, it is more serious. the king has killed twenty-one boars to-day, and is quite happy. the germans all drink tea with me every evening. lamberg is better. adieu, my ever dear emma! we are always in a hurry; though we have, absolutely, nothing to do, but kill, examine, and weigh, wild boars. i assure you, that i shall rejoice when i can embrace you once more. a picture would not content me; your image is more strongly represented on my heart, than any that could be produced by human art. your most affectionate husband, w.h. ix. persano, thursday night, [jan. 12th, 1792.] never put yourself in a hurry, my dear emma. i have got your two kind letters. send for gasparo; and give your orders, that the servants attend your call: and let him discharge them, if they do not. you are my better half, and may command. translate this part of the letter to him. we have had good sport to-day, though the bad weather came on at eleven o'clock. fifty-four wild boars have been killed, i had seven shot; and killed five, three of which are enormous. dispose of the boar i send you to-day as you think proper. i always thought ruspoli a dirty fellow; but what has he done of late? as to your mother's going with you to the english parties, very well; but, believe me, it will be best for her, and more to her happiness, to stay at home, than go with you to the neapolitan parties. the king is in good humour to-day, as i foretold. we continue to dine at eight at night, and have nothing from breakfast to that hour. but i give tea and bread and butter, of which prince ausberg and lamberg partake with pleasure. the prince, having no opportunity of making love, does nothing but talk of his new flame, which is lady a. hatton. i put him right; for he thought she spelt her name with two _rr_, instead of two _tt_. i rejoice at your having aprile again; pray, tell him so: for i know the rapid progress you will make under his care. my cold is near gone. the worst is, my room smokes confoundedly; and so do all the other rooms, except the king's. adieu, my dear emma! amuse yourself as well as you can; and believe me, ever, your's alone, with the utmost confidence, w.h. x. persano, friday night, [jan. 13th, 1792.] we have had a miserable cold day, but good sport. i killed two boars, and a doe; the king, nineteen boars, two stags, two does, and a porcupine. he is happy beyond expression. i send you charles's letter; but do not lose it, as i will answer it when i return. you see, the line we have taken will put it out of the power of our enemies to hurt us. i will give up my judgment of worldly matters to no one. i approve of all you do in my absence; but it would be nonsense, and appear affected, to carry your scruples too far. divert yourself reasonably. i am sure of your attachment to me, and i shall not easily be made to alter my opinion of you. my cold is better, notwithstanding the weather. i have no time to _in'gler_; so, adieu! my dearest wife. your's, w.h. _p.s._ let gasparo pay thirty ducats, for the vase, to d. andrea. by way of charity, we may give thirty ounces to that shabby dog, hadrava; though he knows the picture is not worth more than ten at most. his writing to you in such a stile is pitiful indeed. you will often have such letters, if you do not tell him, now, that it is for once and all. xi. persano, saturday, 14th jan. [1792.] my dear emma, i have received a letter from douglass; with one inclosed, from mr. durno; who, to my surprise, says, he has not received my order on biddulph, cockes, and co. for one thousand five hundred and ninety pounds; which, you know, i sent from caserta. i find, in my book of letters, 20th of december, that i wrote, that day, a letter to mr. burgess, to deliver to messieurs biddulph and co.--to lord abercorn--and to mr. durno, with the order inclosed. pray, send for smith; and ask him, if he remembers having put such letters in the post, and let him inquire at the naples post about them: and let him send the inclosed, by tuesday's post, to rome. i certainly will not give another order until this matter is cleared up. i fear some roguery. we have had a fine day, and killed numberless boars; a hundred and fifty, at least. i have killed four, out of six shot; and am satisfied, as one is a real monster--the king, thirty--d'onerato, eighteen,--and so on, the favoured shooters. vincenzo is rather better, but not able to serve me. my best compliments to alexander hamilton. you did well, to invite copley. adieu! my sweet em. ever your's, in deed and in truth, w.h. xii. persano, sunday, jan. 15, 1792. you did admirably, my dear em. in not inviting lady a.h. to dine with the prince; and still better, in telling her, honestly, the reason. i have always found, that going straight is the best method, though not the way of the world. you did, also, very well, in asking madame skamouski; and not taking upon you to present her, without leave. in short, consult your own good sense, and do not be in a hurry; and, i am sure, you will always act right. we have been at it again, this morning, and killed fifty boars; but were home to dinner, at one o'clock: and this is the first dinner i have had, since i left you; for i cannot eat meat breakfasts or suppers, and have absolutely lived on bread and butter and tea. as the prince asked you, you did well to send for a song to douglass's; but, in general, you will do right to sing only at home. the king is very kind to me, and shews every one that he really loves me: and he commends my shooting; having missed but very few, and killed the largest of the society. only think of his not being satisfied with killing more than thirty, yesterday! he said, if the wind had favoured him, he should have killed sixty at least. we must be civil to mr. hope, as recommended by lord auckland; and also to monsieur de rochement, and prince bozatinsky, as recommended by my friend saussure. i inclose his letter, as you are mentioned in it; also knight's, as you desire. god knows, we have no secrets; nor, i hope, ever shall. we have much business between this and saturday: and we are to shoot, saturday morning; so that we shall arrive late. what say you to a feet washing that night? _o che gusto_! when your _prima ora_ is over, and all gone. adieu, my sweet emma! ever your's, w.h. xiii. persano, monday night, [jan. 16th, 1792.] for your long and interesting letter, i can only write a line, to tell you i am well. we have been out, till an hour in the night, from day-break; and i have fired off my gun but once, having had a bad post. the king, and favoured party, have diverted themselves. to-morrow will, probably, be a good day for me. pray, let smith get orders for the museum, &c. for lord boyle and mr. dodge, as they are recommended by mr. eden. adieu, my lovely emma! let them all roll on the carpet, &c. provided you are not of the party. my trust is in you alone. your's, ever, w.h. xiv. persano, tuesday night, [jan. 17, 1792.] i told you, my dear em. that i expected good sport to-day! i have killed five boars, and two great ones got off after falling; two bucks; six does; and a hare: fourteen in all. by the bye, i must tell you, that _accept_ and _except_ are totally different. you always write--"i did not _except_ of the invitation;" when, you know, it should be "_accept_." it is, only, for want of giving yourself time to think; but, as this error has been repeated, i thought best to tell you of it. pray, write a very kind letter to our friend the archbishop; and convince him, that emma, to her friends, is unalterable. do not say a word about the telescope; for, i must try it, first, against mine. if it should be better, i cannot part with it, as you know how much use we make of a telescope. the king has killed eighty-one animals, of one sort or other, to-day; and, amongst them, a wolf, and some stags. he fell asleep in the coach; and, waking, told me he had been dreaming of shooting. one would have thought, he had shed blood enough. this is a heavy air; nobody eats with appetite, and many are ill with colds. we shall be home on saturday; and, indeed, my sweet emma, i shall be most happy to see you. to-morrow, we go to a mountain; but no great expectation of sport. your's, ever, my dear wife, w.h. xv. persano, wednesday, [jan. 18th, 1792.] it was not your white and silver, alone, that made you look like an angel, at the academy. suppose you had put it on nine parts out of ten of the ladies in company, would any one have appeared angelic? i will allow, however, that a beautiful woman, feeling herself well dressed, will have a sort of confidence, which will add greatly to the lustre of her eye: but take my word, that, for some years to come, the more simply you dress, the more conspicuous will be your beauty; which, according to my idea, is the most perfect i have yet met with, take it all in all. it is long-faced day with the king. we went far; the weather was bad; and, after all, met with little or no game: i did not fire off my gun. yesterday, when we brought home all we killed, it filled the house, completely; and, to-day, they are obliged to white-wash the walls, to take away the blood. there were more than four hundred; boars, deer, stags, and all. to-morrow, we are to have another slaughter; and not a word of reason or common sense do i meet with, the whole day, till i retire to my volumes of the old gentleman's magazine, which just keeps my mind from starving. except to-day, on a mountain, i have never felt the least appetite; there, i eat the wings of a cold chicken with pleasure. hamilton is delighted with your civilities. he has wrote me a long letter. i do not mean to keep pace with him in writing; so, send him a line or two, only, in answer. i do not recollect the name of marino soolania; and, if i received a letter from him, it was in the hurry of my arrival, and is lost: so that smith may desire the dutch consul to desire him to write again, and i will answer. i always rejoice when i find you do not neglect your singing. i am, i own, ambitious of producing something extraordinary in you, and it is nearly done. adieu! my sweet em. i rejoice that the time of our re-union is so near--_saturday night_! w.h. xvi. venasso, friday, 27th january 1794. my dear em. by having grumbled a little, i got a better post to-day; and have killed two boars and a sow, all enormous. i have missed but two shot since i came here; and, to be sure, when the post is good, it is noble shooting! the rocks, and mountains, as wild as the boars. the news you sent me, of poor lord pembroke, gave me a little twist; but i have, for some time, perceived, that my friends, with whom i spent my younger days, have been dropping around me. lord pembroke's neck was very short, and his father died of an apoplexy. my study of antiquities, has kept me in constant thought of the perpetual fluctuation of every thing. the whole art is, really, to live all the _days_ of our life; and not, with anxious care, disturb the sweetest hour that life affords--which is, the present! admire the creator, and all his works, to us incomprehensible: and do all the good you can upon earth; and take the chance of eternity, without dismay. you must tell the archbishop, that he will have the leyden gazettes a week later; as i cannot read them time enough to send by this messenger. the weather is delightful; and, i believe, we shall have done all our business, so as to return on thursday. pray, find out if the queen goes to caserta. here, all is a profound secret. i must work hard, myself, at translating, when i return; for i believe the language-master totally incapable of it. i dined, this morning, at nine o'clock; and, i think, it agreed better with me than tea. i found myself growing weak, for want of a good meal, not daring to eat much at supper. adieu, my sweet love! adieu. divert yourself--i shall soon be at you again. your's, ever, w.h. xvii. burford, eighty miles from london. saturday night, [july 27th, 1801.] here we are, my dear emma, after a pleasant day's journey! no extraordinary occurrence. our chaise is good, and would have held the famous "_tria juncta in uno_," very well: but, we must submit to the circumstances of the times. sir joseph bankes we found in bed with the gout: and, last night, his hot-house was robbed of its choicest fruit--peaches and nectarines. amuse yourself as well as you can; and you may be assured, that i shall return as soon as possible, and you shall hear from me often. ever your's, my dear emma, with the truest affection, wm. hamilton. my kindest love to my lord, if he is not gone. _p.s._ corn, at this market, fell fifteen pounds a load to-day. letters from sir william hamilton, k.b. to lord nelson. letters of sir william hamilton, k.b. &c. i. [_written before lord nelson's elevation to the peerage._] naples, march 26th, 1796. my dear sir, the moment i received your letter of the 11th of march from leghorn, i went with it to general acton: and, although i could not, from your letter only, in my ministerial character, demand from this court the assistance of some of their xebecs, corvettes, &c. that are the fittest for going near shore; as i think, with you, that such vessels are absolutely necessary on the present occasion, i told his excellency--that i trusted, as this government had hitherto shewn itself as sanguine in the good cause, and more so, than any of the allies of great britain, that he would lay your letter before the king at naples; and, without waiting for the demand which i should probably receive soon from sir john jervis, send you such small armed vessels as his excellency thought would be proper for the service on which you are employed. the general, without hesitation, said--that orders should be immediately given for the preparing of such a flotilla, which should join you as soon as the weather would permit. at present, indeed, it is not very encouraging for row-boats. we wait a courier from vienna, to decide the march of eight thousand eight hundred infantry, and artillery included, intended to join the emperor's army in italy: and, although the grand duke of tuscany has refused the permission for these troops to march through his dominions, the king of naples has told his son-in-law that, whenever the safety of italy should require it, he would, nevertheless, march them through tuscany; a liberty which the emperor would likewise take, whenever the good of the service required it. however, the thousand cavalry sent from hence have taken their route, by loretto, through the pope's state. we have had, as i suppose you know, the admirals hotham and goodall here, for some weeks. i can, _entre nous_, perceive that my old friend hotham is not quite awake enough for such a command as that of the king's fleet in the mediterranean, although he appears the best creature imaginable. i did not know much of your friend lord hood, personally; but, by his correspondence with me, his activity and clearness was most conspicuous. lady hamilton and i admire your constancy, and hope the severe service you have undergone will be handsomely rewarded. when i reported to lord grenville, in my last dispatch, the letter i received from you lately, i could not help giving you the epithet of "_that_ _brave officer, captain nelson._" if you do not deserve it, i know not who does. with our love to sam, i am, ever, dear sir, your's, sincerely, wm. hamilton. ii. palermo, february 13th, 1799. my lord, having received an application from this government, that they might be supplied with lead from on board the british merchants ships in this harbour, that have that article on board--and that, without the help of about a hundred _cantarra_ of lead, this country, and the common cause, would be much distressed--i am to beg of your lordship to use your kind endeavours that this urgent want may be supplied as soon as possible: well understood, that the proprietors of this article should be perfectly satisfied with this government, as to the price of the lead, freight, &c. i have the honour to be, my lord, your lordship's most obedient and most humble servant, wm. hamilton. iii. palermo, sunday night late, near winding-up-watch hour, may 19th, 1799. my very dear lord, ten thousand thanks for your kind attention in sending us hallowell's letter to troubridge. it comforts us in one respect, as it flatters us with commodore duckworth's four ships joining you soon. but, i must own, from the junction of five spanish ships and frigates, i now think, something more than going into toulon is intended, and that your lordship may have a brush with them. god send you every success, that your unparalleled virtues and bravery so well merit. adieu, my dear lord! your lordship's truly affectionate, and eternally attached, wm. hamilton. iv. palermo, may 26th, 1799. my dear lord, whilst emma was writing to your lordship, i have been with acton, to get a felucca, to send ball's dispatch to you. it is of so old a date, that i make no doubt of ball's having joined you before his dispatch reaches. i send your lordship an interesting letter i have just received from our consul at trieste: and acton's answer to my yesterday's letter communicating your kind resolution of taking care of their sicilian majesties and their kingdoms; and which, your lordship will see, gives them great satisfaction. as to the fleet having been seen by the towers near messina, and to the westward--i believe, it was your squadron. i send you, likewise, a strange rhapsody from lord bristol: but something may be collected from it; or, at least, it will amuse you, and you have leisure enough on board, which i have not on shore. be so good as to send back that letter, and graham's, by the first opportunity. above all, take care of your health; that is the first of blessings. may god ever protect you! we miss you heavily: but, a short time must clear up the business; and, we hope, bring you back to those who love and esteem you to the very bottom of their souls. ever your affectionate friend, and humble servant, wm. hamilton. v. palermo, june 17th, 1799. my dear lord, i am happy to receive the packet from major magra, and which i shall instantly send to general acton. nothing has happened, worth telling you, since the few hours we have been separated. god bless you, my very dear friend; and my mind tells me, that you will soon have reason, either by good news, or by a proper reinforcement sent to you, to be in a much happier state of mind than you could possibly be when you left us this morning. all looks melancholy without you. ever, my dear lord, your truly attached friend, wm. hamilton. vi. palermo, june 20th, 1799. eight o'clock at night. my dear lord, having wrote fully by the felucca to-day, that went off at three o'clock--and have not yet general acton's answer, with respect to what the court would wish you to do when you hear how the french fleet is disposed of--i have nothing to write by the transport. god bless you! and i hope, somehow or other, we shall meet again soon. my dear lord, your's, most sincerely, wm. hamilton. vii. piccadilly, february 19th, 1801. my dear lord, whether emma will be able to write to you to-day, or not, is a question; as she has got one of her terrible sick head-achs. among other things that vex her, is--that we have been drawn in to be under the absolute necessity of giving a dinner to ****** on sunday next. he asked it himself; having expressed his strong desire of hearing banti's and emma's voices together. i am well aware of the danger that would attend ******* frequenting our house. not that i fear, that emma could ever be induced to act contrary to the prudent conduct she has hitherto pursued; but the world is so ill-natured, that the worst construction is put upon the most innocent actions. as this dinner must be, or ****** would be offended, i shall keep it strictly to the musical part; invite only banti, her husband, and taylor; and, as i wish to shew a civility to davison, i have sent him an invitation. in short, we will get rid of it as well as we can, and guard against its producing more meetings of the same sort. emma would really have gone any lengths, to have avoided sunday's dinner. but i thought it would not be prudent to break with ******; who, really, has shewn the greatest civility to us, when we were last in england, and since we returned: and she has, at last, acquiesced to my opinion. i have been thus explicit, as i know well your lordship's way of thinking; and your very kind attachment to us, and to every thing that concerns us. the king caught cold at the chapel the other day, and there was no levee yesterday; and, to-day, the queen alone will be at the drawing-room: and, i believe, the new ministry will not be quite fixed, until the levee-day next week. as to my business--i have done all i can to bring it to a point. the pension recommended by lord grenville was only like walpole's--a nominal two thousand pounds. i have represented the injustice of that--after my having had the king's promise of not being removed from naples, but at my own request; and having only empowered lord grenville to remove me, on securing to me a nett income of two thousand pounds per annum. lord grenville has recommended to the treasury, the taking my extraordinary expences into consideration. i have fully demonstrated, to lord grenville and treasury, that eight thousand pounds is absolutely necessary for the clearing off my unfunded debt, without making up for my losses. upon the whole, then, i do not expect to get more than the nett annuity above mentioned, and the eight thousand pounds. but, unless that is granted, i shall, indeed, have been very ill-used! i hope, in my next, to be able to inform your lordship that all has been finally settled. i am busy in putting in order the remains of my vases and pictures, that you so kindly saved for me on board the fourdroyant; and the sale of them will enable me to go on more at my ease, and not leave a debt unpaid. but, unfortunately, there have been too many picture sales this year, and mine will come late. adieu! my very dear lord. may health and success attend you, wherever you go! and, i flatter myself, this political jumble may hasten a peace, and bring you back soon. your lordship's ever obliged, and most sincerely attached, friend and servant, wm. hamilton. viii. piccadilly, february 20th, 1801. my dear lord, you need not be the least alarmed, that emma has commissioned me to send you the newspapers; and write you a line, to tell you that she is much better--having vomited naturally, and is now purposing to take a regular one of tartar emetic. all her convulsive complaints certainly proceed from a foul stomach; and i will answer for it, she will be in spirits to write to you herself to-morrow. adieu! my very dear lord. i have not a moment to lose, as the bell is going. your ever attached and obliged humble servant, wm. hamilton. ix. piccadilly, march 7th, 1801. my very dear lord, i wish it was in my power to profit of your kind invitation; you would soon see me and emma on board the st. george: but i am now totally occupied in preparing for the sale of my pictures, and what i have saved of my vases. to my great satisfaction, i have found some of the most capital vases; and which i thought, surely, lost on board the colossus. it has comforted me much. we remain in the same cruel state with respect to the king's recovery. there can be no doubt, but that his majesty is better. however, if my conjectures are true, the regency must soon take place: as it may be long before his majesty could be troubled with business, supposing even his _fever_ to have totally subsided; and, the times admit of no delays. we see, now, the certainty of the french squadron's being in the mediterranean. god knows, how all this will end! but i hope it will be your lordship's lot to bring paul to his senses. god send you every success; and send you home, safe and well, crowned with additional laurels! and then, i hope, you will repose your shattered frame; and make your friends happy, by staying with them. emma emma is certainly much better, but not quite free from bile. ever, my dear lord, your lordship's most attached, and eternally obliged, humble servant, wm. hamilton. x. piccadilly, april 16th, 1801. what can i say, my dear lord! that would convey the smallest idea of what we felt yesterday, on receiving the authentic letters confirming your late most glorious victory: and read, in your own hand, that god had not only granted you complete success against the enemies of our country; but, in the midst of such perils, prevented your receiving the smallest scratch! we can only repeat what we knew well, and often said, before--that nelson _was_, _is_, and to the _last_ will ever be, _the first_. however, we all agree that, when we get you safe home once more--that you should never more risk your shattered frame. you have done enough, and are well entitled to the motto of virgil- "_hic victor cæstus artemque repono_." the famous broughton, after he had beaten every opponent, that dared to measure hard blows with him, set up an ale-house--the broughton's head--in london, with the above verse of virgil under it. some years after, he was persuaded to accept the challenge of a coachman, and was beaten. not that i mean to convey, that any such thing could happen to your lordship; but, you have done enough. let others follow your examples; they will be remembered to the latest posterity. it appeared to me most extraordinary, that the 6th inst. the date of your last letter to emma, the death of the emperor paul (which we have no doubt of here) should not be known at copenhagen! it appears to us that, as soon as that great event is known in sweden and denmark, with the severe blow you have just given the latter, the formidable giant, northern coalition, will of itself fall to pieces; and that we shall have the happiness of embracing you again here, in a very short time. you would have laughed to have seen what i saw yesterday! _emma_ did not know whether she was on her head or heels--in such a hurry to tell your great news, that she could utter nothing but tears of joy and tenderness. i went to davison yesterday morning; and found him still in bed, having had a severe fit of the gout, and with your letter, which he had just received: and he cried like a child! but, what was very extraordinary, assured me that, from the instant he had read your letter, all pain had left him, and that he felt himself able to get up and walk about. your brother, mrs. nelson, and horace, dined with us. your brother was more extraordinary than ever. he would get up suddenly, and cut a caper; rubbing his hands every time that the thought of your fresh laurels came into his head. in short, except myself, (and your lordship knows that i have some phlegm) all the company, which was considerable, after dinner--the duke, lord william, mr. este, &c.--were mad with joy. but, i am sure, that no one really rejoiced more, at heart, than i did. i have lived too long to have _extacies_! but, with calm reflection, i felt for my friend having got to the very summit of glory!--the "_ne plus ultra!_"--that he has had another opportunity of rendering his country the most important service; and manifesting, again, his judgment, his intrepidity, and humanity. god bless you, my very dear lord, and send you soon home to your friends. enemies you have none, but those that are bursting with envy; and such animals infest all parts of the world. the king, be assured, is (though weak) getting well fast. lord loughborough told livingston, who has just been here, that he was with the king the day before yesterday, before and after delivery of the seals, and that he was perfectly calm and recollected. ever your sincerely attached, and truly obliged, humble servant, wm. hamilton. xi. milford, august 12th, 1801. my dear lord, emma has constantly given me every possible intelligence relative to your lordship, and the important operations you are about at this most interesting moment. you have already calmed the minds of every body with respect to the threatened french invasion. in short, all your lordship does is complete; like yourself, and nobody else. but still, i think, there is no occasion for the commander in chief to expose his person as much as you do. why should you not have a private flag, known to your fleet and not to the enemy, when you shift it and go reconnoitring? captain hopkins, going from hence in the speedwell cutter to join your lordship, will be happy to introduce himself to you by presenting this letter himself. they give him a good character in this country, but my acquaintance with him is but of two days. i was yesterday with captain dobbins, in the diligence cutter. we sailed out of this glorious harbour; and, the day being fine, sailed out some leagues, and examined the crow rock, which is reckoned the greatest danger as to entering the harbour. but the two light-houses lately erected take off all danger in the night; and [it] is visible in the day-time, except a short time in spring tides. i am delighted with the improvements at milford. it will surely be a great town, if we have peace, in three years; the houses rising up, like mushrooms, even in these difficult times. we allow any one to build--at their own expence--at an easy ground-rent, and to fall in at the expiration of three lives, or sixty years. you may judge that, having two thousand acres all round the town, these inhabitants will want land for cows and horses, and gardens, &c. and, of course, i must be a gainer in the end. i visited the two light-houses, and found them perfectly clean, and in good order: and i never could conceive the brilliant light that they give; one has sixteen reflected lights, and the other ten. to-day, i go upon my last visit to lord milford; and, on saturday, set out for piccadilly: and where i am not without hopes of meeting your lordship; as i think, in the manner you dispatch business, you will have completed all by wednesday next, the day i shall probably be in london. charles greville's kind compliments. the name of nelson is in every mouth; and, indeed, we owe every thing to your judgment and exertions. adieu! god bless you. ever your lordship's affectionate friend, and obliged humble servant, wm. hamilton. xii. piccadilly, april 28th, 1802. my dear lord, emma says--i must write a letter to you, of condolence for the heavy loss your lordship has suffered. when persons, in the prime of life, are carried off by accidents or sickness--or what is, i believe, oftener the case, by the ignorance and mistakes of the physicians--then, indeed, there is reason to lament! but as, in the case of your good father, the lamp was suffered to burn out fairly, and that his sufferings were not great; and that, by his son's glorious and unparalleled successes, he saw his family ennobled, and with the probability, in time, of its being amply rewarded, as it ought to have been long ago--his mind could not be troubled, in his latter moments, on account of the family he left behind him: and, as to his own peace of mind, at the moment of his dissolution, there can be no doubt, among those who ever had the honour of his acquaintance. i have said more than i intended; but dare say, your lordship had nearly the same thoughts--with the addition of the feelings of a dutiful son, for the loss of a most excellent father. it is, however, now--as your lordship is the father of your family--incumbent upon you to take particular care of your own health. nay, you are, by the voice of the nation, its first prop and support. keep up your spirits; and, that you may long enjoy your well-earned honours, is the sincere wish of your lordship's affectionate friend, and attached humble servant, wm. hamilton. letters from lord nelson to sir william hamilton, k.b. letters of lord nelson, &c. i. bastia, may 24th, 1794. my dear sir, will you have the goodness to forward the inclosed to mr. brand, and to present my letter to lady hamilton? every lover of his country will rejoice in our great and almost unexampled success, to the honour of my lord hood, and to the shame of those who opposed his endeavours to serve his country. general stewart, i am happy to say, is just arrived. we shall now join, heart and hand, against calvi. when conquered, i shall hope to pay my respects to your excellency at naples; which will give real pleasure to your very faithful, and obliged, horatio nelson. ii. agamemnon, leghorn, march 11th, 1796. sir, mr. wyndham having communicated to mr. udney the conversation of the french minister with the tuscans, i cannot, being intrusted by the admiral with the command of the small squadron in the gulph of genoa, but think it right for me to beg that your excellency will apply for such vessels of war belonging to his sicilian majesty, as may be judged proper to cruize in the gulph of genoa, and particularly off the point of the gulph of especia. xebecs, corvettes, and frigates, are the fittest to cruize; and the first have the great advantage of rowing, as well as sailing, i am told, very fast. general [acton] knows, full as well as myself, the vessels proper to prevent the disembarkation of troops on this coast; therefore, i shall not particularly point them out. last campaign, the word _flotilla_ was misunderstood. i can only say, that all vessels which can sail and row must be useful; and, for small craft, port especia is a secure harbour. whatever is to be done, should be done speedily; for, by mr. wyndham's account, we have no time to lose. if we have the proper vessels, i am confident, the french will not be able to bring their ten thousand men by sea; and; should they attempt to pass through the genoese territories, i hope the austrians will prevent them: but, however, should all our precautions not be able to prevent the enemy's possessing themselves of leghorn, yet we are not to despair. fourteen days from their entry, if the allied powers unite heartily, i am confident, we shall take them all prisoners. i am confident, it can--and, therefore, should such an unlucky event take place, as their possessing themselves of leghorn, i hope, will--be done. i have sent to the admiral. i am, very lately, from off toulon; where thirteen sail of the line, and five frigates, are ready for sea, and others fitting. with my best respects to lady hamilton, believe me, dear sir, your excellency's most obedient servant, horatio nelson. iii. vanguard, syracuse, july 20th, 1798. my dear sir, it is an old saying, "the devil's children have the devil's luck." i cannot find--or, to this moment learn, beyond vague conjecture--where the french fleet are gone to. all my ill fortune, hitherto, has proceeded from want of frigates. off cape passaro, on the twenty-second of june, at day-light, i saw two frigates, which were supposed to be french; and it has been said, since, that a line-of-battle ship was to leeward of them, with the riches of malta on board. but it was the destruction of the enemy, and not riches for myself, that i was seeking: these would have fell to me, if i had had frigates; but, except the ship of the line, i regard not all the riches in this world. from my information off malta, i believed they were gone to egypt: therefore, on the twenty-eighth, i was communicating with alexandria in egypt; where i found the turks preparing to resist them, but knew nothing beyond report. from thence i stretched over to the coast of caramania; where, not speaking a vessel who could give me information, i became distressed for the kingdom of the two sicilies: and, having gone a round of six hundred leagues, at this season of the year, (with a single ship, with an expedition incredible) here i am, as _ignorant_ of the situation of the enemy as i was twenty-seven days ago! i sincerely hope, the dispatches, which i understand are at cape passaro, will give me full information. i shall be able, for nine or ten weeks longer, to keep the fleet on active service, when we shall want provisions and stores. i send a paper on that subject, herewith. mr. littledale is, i suppose, sent up by the admiral to victual us, and i hope he will do it cheaper than any other person: but, if i find out that he charges more than the fair price, and has not the provisions of the very best quality, i will not take them; for, as no fleet has more fag than this, nothing but the best food, and greatest attention, can keep them healthy. at this moment, we have not one sick man in the fleet. in about six days, i shall sail from hence: and, if i hear nothing more of the french, i shall go to the archipelago; where, if they are gone towards constantinople, i shall hear of them. i shall go to cyprus; and, if they are gone to alexandretta, or any other part of syria or egypt, i shall get information. you will, i am sure, and so will our country, easily conceive what has passed in my anxious mind; but i have this comfort, that i have no fault to accuse myself of: this bears me up, and this only. i send you a paper, where a letter is fixed for different places: which i may leave at any place; and, except those who have the key, none can tell where i am gone to. july 21. the messenger is returned from cape passaro; and says, that your letters for me are returned to naples. what a situation am i placed in! as yet, i can learn nothing of the enemy: therefore, i have no conjecture but that they are gone to syria; and, at cyprus, i hope to hear of them. if they were gone to the westward, i rely that every place in sicily would have information for me; for it is too important news to leave me in one moment's doubt about. i have no frigate, or a sign of one. the masts, yards, &c. for the vanguard, will i hope be prepared directly: for, should the french be so strongly secured in port that i cannot get at them, i shall immediately shift my flag into some other ship, and send the vanguard to naples to be refitted; for hardly any person but myself would have continued on service so long in such a wretched state. i want to send a great number of papers to lord st. vincent; but i durst not trust any person here to carry them, even to naples. pray, send a copy of my letter to lord spencer; he must be very anxious to hear of this fleet. i have taken the liberty of troubling your excellency with a letter for lady nelson. pray, forward it for me; and believe me, with the greatest respect, your most obedient servant, horatio nelson. sent on shore, to the charge of the governor of syracuse. iv. vanguard, syracuse, july 22d, 1798. my dear sir, i have had so much said about the king of naples's orders only to admit three or four of the ships of our fleet into his ports, that i am astonished! i understood, that private orders, at least, would have been given for our free admission. if we are to be refused supplies, pray send me, by many vessels, an account, that i may in good time take the king's fleet to gibraltar. our treatment is scandalous, for a great nation to put up with; and the king's flag is insulted at every friendly port we look at. i am, with the greatest respect, your most obedient servant, horatio nelson. _p.s._ i do not complain of the want of attention in individuals, for all classes of people are remarkably attentive to us. sent on shore, to the charge of the governor of syracuse. v. vanguard, mouth of the nile, august 8th, 1798. my dear sir, almighty god has made me the happy instrument in destroying the enemy's fleet; which, i hope, will be a blessing to europe. you will have the goodness to communicate this happy event to all the courts in italy; for my head is so indifferent, that i can scarcely scrawl this letter. captain capel, who is charged with my dispatches for england, will give you every information. pray, put him in the quickest mode of getting home. you will not send, by post, any particulars of this action, as i should be sorry to have any accounts get home before my dispatches. i hope there will be no difficulty in our getting refitted at naples. culloden must be instantly hove down, and vanguard all new masts and bowsprit. not more than four or five sail of the line will probably come to naples; the rest will go with the prizes to gibraltar. as this army never will return, i hope to hear the emperor has regained the whole of italy. with every good wish, believe me, dear sir, your most obliged and affectionate horatio nelson. 9th august. i have intercepted all buonaparte's dispatches going to france. this army is in a scrape, and will not get out of it. vi. august 12th, 1798. my dear sir, as the greater part of this squadron is going down the mediterranean, we shall not want the quantity of wine or bread ordered; therefore, what is not already prepared had better be put a stop to. i will settle all the matter, if ever i live to see naples. i have the satisfaction to tell you, the french army have got a complaint amongst them--caused by the heat, and nothing but water--which will make egypt the grave of the greatest part. ever your's, faithfully, horatio nelson. vii. vanguard, off malta; october 24th, 1798. my dear sir, i am just arrived off this place; where i found captain ball, and the marquis de niza. from those officers, i do not find such an immediate prospect of getting possession of the town as the ministers at naples seem to think. all the country, it is true, is in possession of the islanders; and, i believe, the french have not many luxuries in the town; but, as yet, their bullocks are not eat up. the marquis tells me, the islanders want arms, victuals, mortars, and cannon, to annoy the town. when i get the elect of the people on board, i shall desire them to draw up a memorial for the king of naples, stating their wants and desires, which i shall bring with me. the marquis sails for naples to-morrow morning. till he is gone, i shall not do any thing about the island; but i will be fully master of that subject before i leave this place. god bless you! is the sincere prayer of horatio nelson. viii. vanguard, off malta, october 27th, 1798. my dear sir william, although i believe i shall be at naples before the cutter, yet i should be sorry to omit acknowledging your kind letter of the twenty-sixth. when i come to naples, i can have nothing pleasant to say of the conduct of his sicilian majesty's ministers towards the inhabitants of malta, who wish to be under the dominion of their legitimate sovereign. the total neglect and indifference with which they have been treated, appears to me _cruel_ in the extreme. had not the english supplied fifteen hundred stand of arms, with bayonets, cartouch-boxes, and ammunition, &c. &c. and the marquis supplied some few, and kept the spirit of those brave islanders from falling off, they must long ago have bowed again to the french yoke. could you, my dear sir william, have believed, after what general acton and the marquis de gallo had said, in our various conversations relative to this island, that nothing had been sent by the governor of syracuse--_secretly_ (was the word to us) or openly--to this island? and, i am farther assured, that the governor of syracuse never had any orders sent him to supply the smallest article. i beg your excellency will state this, in confidence, to general acton. i shall, most assuredly, tell it to the king! the justice i owe myself, now i feel employed in the service of their sicilian majesties, demands it of me; and, also, the duty i owe our gracious king, in order to shew that i am doing my utmost to comply with his royal commands. as i have before stated, had it not been for the english, long, long ago, the maltese must have been overpowered. including the fifteen hundred stand of arms given by us, not more than three thousand are in the island. i wonder how they have kept on the defensive so long. the emerald will sail--in twenty-four hours after my arrival--for malta; at least, two thousand stand of small arms complete, ammunition, &c. &c. should be sent by her. this is wanted, to defend themselves: for offence, two or three large mortars; fifteen hundred shells, with all necessaries; and, perhaps, a few artillery--two ten-inch howitzers, with a thousand shells. the bormola, and all the left side of the harbour, with this assistance, will fall. ten thousand men are required to defend those works, the french can only spare twelve hundred; therefore, a vigorous assault in many parts, some one must succeed. but, who have the government of naples sent to lead or encourage these people? a very good--and, i dare say, brave--old man; enervated, and shaking with the palsy. this is the sort of man that they have sent; without any supply, without even a promise of protection, and without his bringing any answer to the repeated respectful memorials of these people to their sovereign. i know, their majesties must feel hurt, when they hear these truths. i may be thought presuming; but, i trust, general acton will forgive an honest seaman for telling plain truths. _as for the other minister, i do not understand him_; we are different men! he has been bred in a court, and i in a rough element. but, i believe, my heart is as susceptible of the finer feelings as his, and as compassionate for the distress of those who look up to me for protection. the officer sent here should have brought supplies, promises of protection, and an answer from the king to their memorials: he should have been a man of judgment, bravery, and _activity_. he should be the first to lead them to glory; and the last, when necessary, to retreat: the first to mount the walls of the bormola, and never to quit it. this is the man to send. such, many such, are to be found. if he succeeds, promise him rewards; my life for it, the business would soon be over. god bless you! i am anxious to get this matter finished. i have sent ball, this day, to summon goza; if it resists, i shall send on shore, and batter down the castle. three vessels, loaded with bullocks, &c. for the garrison, were taken yesterday; from tripoli ten more are coming, but we shall have them. i had almost forgot to mention, that orders should be immediately given, that no quarantine should be laid on boats going to the coast of sicily for corn. at present, as a matter of favour, they have _fourteen_ days only. yesterday, there was only four days bread in the island. luckily, we got hold of a vessel loaded with wheat, and sent her into st. paul's. once more, god bless you! and ever believe me, your obliged and affectionate horatio nelson. this day, i have landed twenty barrels of gunpowder (two thousand eight hundred pounds) at malta. ix. palermo, january 10th, 1800. sir, your excellency having had the goodness to communicate to me a dispatch from general acton; together with several letters from _girganti_, giving an account that a violence had been committed, in that port, by the seizing, and carrying off to malta, two vessels loaded with corn--i beg leave to express to your excellency my real concern, that even the appearance of the slightest disrespect should be offered, by any officers under my command, to the flag of his sicilian majesty: and i must request your excellency to state fully to general acton, that the act ought not to be considered as any intended disrespect to his sicilian majesty; but as an act of the most absolute and imperious necessity, either that the island of malta should have been delivered up to the french, or that the king's orders should be anticipated for these vessels carrying their cargoes of corn to malta. i trust, that the government of this country will never again force any of our royal master's servants to so unpleasant an alternative. i have the honour to be, with the greatest respect, your excellency's most obedient and faithful servant, b.n. x. march 8th, 1800. my dear sir william, i thank you kindly for all your letters and good wishes. it is my determination, _my health requiring it_, to come to palermo, and to stay two weeks with you. i must again urge, that four gunb-oats may be ordered for the service of malta; they will most essentially assist in the reduction of the place, by preventing small vessels from getting in or out. i think, from the enemy, on the night of the fourth, trying and getting out for a short distance, a very fast-sailing polacca, that vaubois is extremely anxious to send dispatches to france, to say he cannot much longer hold out: and, if our troops, as captain blackwood thinks, are coming from gibraltar and minorca, i have no idea the enemy will hold out a week. i beg general acton will order the gun-boats. troubridge has got the jaundice, and is very ill. as i shall so very soon see you, i shall only say, that i am ever, your obliged and affectionate bronte nelson. xi. palermo, march 30th, 1800. my dear sir william, as, from the orders i have given, to all the ships under my command, to arrest and bring into port all the vessels and troops returning by convention with the porte to france--and as the russian ships have similar orders--i must request that your excellency will endeavour to arrange with the government of this country, how in the first instance they are to be treated and received in the ports of the two sicilies: for, it is obvious, i can do nothing more than bring them into port; and, if they are kept on board ship, the fever will make such ravages as to be little short of the plague. it is a very serious consideration for this country, either to receive them, or let them pass; when they would invade, probably, these kingdoms. in my present situation in the king's fleet, i have only to obey; had i been, as before, in the command, i should have gone one short and direct road to avert this great evil: _viz._ to have sent a letter to the french, and the grand vizir, in egypt, that i would not, on any consideration, permit a single frenchman to leave egypt--and i would do it at the risk of even creating a coldness, for the moment, with the turks. of two evils, choose the least; and nothing can be so horrid, as permitting that horde of thieves to return to europe. if all the wise heads had left them to god almighty, after the bridge was broke, all would have ended well! for i differ entirely with my commander in chief, in wishing they were permitted to return to france; and, likewise, with lord elgin, in the great importance of removing them from egypt. no; there they should perish! has ever been the firm determination of your excellency's most obedient and faithful servant, bronte nelson of the nile. xii. palermo, april 10th, 1800. my dear sir william, reports are brought to me, that the spanish ships of war in this port are preparing to put to sea; a circumstance which must be productive of very unpleasant consequences, to both england and this country. it is fully known, with what exactness i have adhered to the neutrality of this port; for, upon our arrival here, from naples, in december 1798, from the conduct of his catholic majesty's minister, i should have been fully justified in seizing those ships. we know, that one object of the spanish fleet, combined with the french, was to wrest entirely from the hands of his sicilian majesty his kingdoms of the two sicilies. the spaniards are, by bad councils, the tools of the french; and, of course, the bitter enemy of his sicilian majesty and family. the conduct i have pursued towards these ships, circumstanced as they are, has been moderate, and truly considerate towards his sicilian majesty. the time is now come--that, profiting of my forbearance, the spanish ships are fitting for sea. it is not possible, if they persist in their preparations, that i can avoid attacking them, even in the port of palermo; for they never can, or shall, be suffered to go to sea, and placed in a situation of assisting the french, against not only great britain, but also the two sicilies. i have, therefore, to request, that your excellency will convey my sentiments on this very delicate subject to his sicilian majesty's ministers, that they may take measures to prevent such a truly unpleasant event happening; which would be as much against my wish as it can be against their's: and i request that your excellency will, through its proper channel, assure his sicilian majesty, that his safety and honour is as dear to me as that of our royal master. i have the honour to be, with the greatest respect, my dear sir william, your excellency's most affectionate, humble servant, bronte nelson of the nile. the end. printed by macdonald and son, cloth fair, london. the letters of lord nelson to lady hamilton; with a supplement of _interesting letters_, by distinguished characters. in two volumes. vol. i. * * * * * london: printed by macdonald and son, smithfield, for thomas lovewell & co. staines house, barbican; and sold by all the booksellers. 1814. advertisement. in presenting to the public the letters of lord nelson to lady hamilton, something may justly be expected elucidatory of them. their mutual attachment is so generally known, that for the editors to have given notes, however desirable and explanatory, might not, perhaps, have been deemed perfectly decorous. they now stand on their own real merits. some parts (though not very numerous) have been suppressed, from the most honourable _feelings to individuals_, as they would certainly have given pain. that portion of letters now offered to the british nation, written by the first of her _naval commanders_, will shew his most private sentiments of _men_ and _measures_, of _countries_ and their _rulers_. it is the duty of the editors to state, that every letter has been most accurately transcribed, and faithfully compared with the _originals in their possession_. should our immortal hero have expressed an erroneous opinion of some individuals and of things, let us ever remember, they were written (_often under the feelings of sickness and of disappointment_) by him who so repeatedly fought, and almost as frequently bled, for _our country_--for his "dear england;" and let us never forget, that to him we owe more than to any man for our existence as a great and powerful nation. his country has truly honoured him; and it is not presumptuous in the editors to affirm, that his deeds will be remembered, not _only in name_, but in _their consequences_, by our remotest posterity. were we to dedicate them, unto whom should we?--to the british navy; as the genuine sentiments of a _true seaman_--the _first_ even of their own _heroes_; for nelson could forego all private feelings, _all selfish motives_, for that which will ever be the first object of a truly great and brave man--the _glory and happiness of his country_. our task, which has, from various causes, been attended with more difficulties than could be imagined, is thus far accomplished; and we have the pleasure to inform the public, that a very large collection of lord nelson's _most important public and private correspondence_, &c. with the most distinguished characters (_at home and abroad_) is now in preparation for the press. many of the documents will certainly throw a light on political transactions at present _very imperfectly understood_; and those which we intend to present to the world, we doubt not, will be found more than usually interesting. contents. * * * * * vol. i. * * * * * letters from lord nelson to lady hamilton. letter i. page 3 ii. 7 iii. 9 iv. 11 v. 13 vi. 15 vii. 18 viii. 20 ix. 23 x. 28 xi. 32 xii. 34 xiii. 39 xiv. 44 xv. 48 xvi. 53 xvii. 58 xviii. 60 xix. 65 xx. 69 xxi. 74 xxii. 77 xxiii. 82 xxiv. 84 xxv. 88 xxvi. 89 xxvii. 91 xxviii. 96 xxix. 101 xxx. 104 xxxi. 108 xxxii. 113 xxxiii. 124 xxxiv. 130 xxxv. 133 xxxvi. 135 xxxvii. 147 xxxviii. 152 xxxix. 155 supplement. _letters from lord nelson to mrs. thomson_. letter i. page 173 ii. 175 _letters from lady hamilton to lord nelson_. letter i. page 181 ii. 185 _letters from the reverend edmund nelson, (lord nelson's father) to lady hamilton_. letter i. page 189 ii. 191 _letters from the reverend dr. nelson, now earl nelson, to lady hamilton_. letter i. 195 ii. 199 iii. 202 iv. 206 v. 210 vi. 213 _letters from the earl of st. vincent to lady hamilton._ letter i. page 217 ii. 219 iii. 222 iv. 225 v. 227 _letters from sir alexander john ball to lady hamilton._ letter i. page 233 ii. 236 _letters from the earl of bristol, bishop of derry in ireland, to lady hamilton_. letter i. page 241 ii. 243 iii. 245 iv. 248 v. 249 vi. 250 vii. 252 viii. 253 ix. 255 x. 257 _letter from the honourable charles greville, nephew of sir william hamilton, to lady hamilton_. page 265 _letters from lady hamilton to the honourable charles greville_. letter i. page 269 ii. 273 the letters of lord nelson to lady hamilton. the letters of lord nelson to lady hamilton. letter i. vanguard, off malta, oct. 24, 1798. my dear madam, after a long passage, we are arrived; and it is as i suspected--the ministers at naples know nothing of the situation of the island. not a house or bastion of the town is in possession of the islanders; and the marquis de niza tells me, they want arms, victuals, and support. he does not know, that any neapolitan officers are in the island; perhaps, although i have their names, none are arrived; and it is very certain, by the marquis's account, that no supplies have been sent by the governors of syracuse or messina. however, i shall and will know every thing as soon as the marquis is gone, which will be to-morrow morning. he says, he is very anxious to serve under my command; and, by his changing his ship, it appears as if he was so: however, i understand the trim of our english ships better. ball will have the management of the blockade after my departure; as, it seems, the court of naples think my presence may be necessary, and useful, in the beginning of november. i hope it will prove so; but, i feel, my duty lays at present in the east; for, until i know the shipping in egypt are destroyed, i shall never consider the french army as completely sure of never returning to europe. however, all my views are to serve and save the two sicilies; and to do that which their majesties may wish me, even against my own opinion, when i come to naples, and that country is at war. i shall wish to have a meeting with general acton on this subject. you will, i am sure, do me justice with the queen; for, i declare to god, my whole study is, how to best meet her approbation. may god bless you and sir william! and ever believe me, with the most affectionate regard, your obliged and faithful friend, horatio nelson. i may possibly, but that is not certain, send in the inclosed letter. shew it to sir william. this must depend on what i hear _and see_; for i believe scarcely any thing i hear. once more, god bless you! letter ii. [may 12, 1799.] my dear lady hamilton, accept my sincere thanks for your kind letter. nobody writes so well: therefore, pray, say not you write ill; for, if you do, i will say--what your goodness sometimes told me--"you l--e!" i can read, and perfectly understand, every word you write. we drank your and sir william's health. troubridge, louis, hallowell, and the new portuguese captain, dined here. i shall soon be at palermo; for this business must very soon be settled. no one, believe me, is more sensible of your regard, than your obliged and grateful nelson. i am pleased with little mary; kiss her for me. i thank all the house for their regard. god bless you all! i shall send on shore, if fine, to-morrow; for the feluccas are going to leave us, and i am sea-sick. i have got the piece of wood for the tea-chest; it shall soon be sent. pray, present my humble duty and gratitude to the queen, for all her marks of regard; and assure her, it is not thrown away on an ungrateful soil. letter iii. vanguard, may 19, 1799, eight o'clock. calm. my dear lady hamilton, lieutenant swiney coming on board, enables me to send some blank passports for vessels going to procida with corn, &c. and also one for the courier boat. to tell you, how dreary and uncomfortable the vanguard appears, is only telling you, what it is to go from the pleasantest society to a solitary cell; or, from the dearest friends, to no friends. i am now perfectly the _great man_--not a creature near me. from my heart, i wish myself the little man again! you, and good sir william, have spoiled me for any place but with you. i love mrs. cadogan. you cannot conceive what i feel, when i call you all to my remembrance. even to mira, do not forget your faithful and affectionate nelson. letter iv. may 20, 1799. my dear lady hamilton, many thanks to you and sir william for your kind notes. you will believe i did not sleep much, with all my letters to read, &c. &c. my letters from lord st. vincent are may 6th. he says--"we saw the brest squadron pass us yesterday, under an easy sail. i am making every effort to get information to lord keith; who i have ordered here, to complete their water and provisions. i conjecture, the french squadron is bound for malta and alexandria, and the spanish fleet for the attack of minorca." i must leave you to judge, whether the earl will come to us. i think he will: but, _entre nous_, mr. duckworth means to leave me to my fate. i send you (_under all circumstances_) his letter. never mind; if i can get my eleven sail together, they shall not hurt me. god bless you, sir william, and all our joint friends in your house; noble, gibbs, &c. and believe me ever, for ever, your affectionate friend, nelson. letter v. february 3, 1800. my dear lady hamilton, having a commander in chief, i cannot come on shore till i have made _my manners_ to him. times are changed; but, if he does not come on shore directly, i will not wait. in the mean time, i send allen to inquire how you are. send me word, for i am anxious to hear of you. it has been no fault of mine, that i have been so long absent. i cannot command; and, now, only obey. mr. tyson, and the consul, have not been able to find out the betrothed wife of the priore; although they were three days in their inquiries, and desired the neapolitan consul to send to pisa. i also desired the russian admiral, as he was going to pisa, to inquire if the countess pouschkin had any letters to send to palermo; but, as i received none, i take for granted she had none to send. may god bless you, my dear lady; and be assured, i ever am, and shall be, your obliged and affectionate bronte nelson. letter vi. off la valette, feb. 20, 1800. my dear lady hamilton, had you seen the peer receive me, i know not what you would have done; but, i can guess. but never mind! i told him, that i had made a vow, if i took the genereux by myself, it was my intention to strike my flag. to which he made no answer. if i am well enough, i intend to write a letter to prince leopold, and to send him the french admiral's flag; which i hope you will approve of, as it was taken on the coast of his father's kingdom, and by as faithful a subject as any in his dominions. i have had no communication with the shore; therefore, have seen neither ball, troubridge, or graham: nor with the lion; when i have, i shall not forget all your messages, and little jack. i only want to know your wishes, that i may, at least, appear grateful, by attending to them. my head aches dreadfully, and i have none here to give me a moment's comfort. i send the packet to general acton; as i think it may go quicker, and he will be flattered by presenting the flag and letter to the prince. malta, i think, will fall very soon, if these other corvettes do not get in. pray, make my best regards acceptable to mrs. cadogan, miss knight, little mary re giovanni, gibbs, &c. &c. and ever believe me your truly faithful and affectionate bronte nelson. letter vii. june 16, [1800.] seven o'clock. my dear lady hamilton, what a difference--but it was to be--from your house to a boat! fresh breeze of wind, the ship four or five leagues from the mole; getting on board into truly a hog-stye of a cabin, leaking like a sieve, consequently floating with water. what a change! not a felucca near us. i saw them come out this morning, but they think there is too much wind and swell. pray, do not keep the cutter; as i have not a thing, if any thing important should arrive, to send you. only think of tyson's being left! may god bless you, my dear lady; and believe me, ever, your truly affectionate and sincere friend, nelson. lady hamilton--put the candlestick on _my_ writing-table. letter viii. january 28, 1801. what a fool i was, my dear lady hamilton, to direct that your cheering letters should be directed for brixham! i feel, this day, truly miserable, in not having them; and, i fear, they will not come till to-morrow's post. what a blockhead, to believe any person is so active as myself! i have this day got my orders, to put myself under lord st. vincent's command: but, as no order is arrived to man the ship, it must be friday night, or saturday morning, before she can sail for torbay. direct my letters, now, to brixham. my eye is very bad. i have had the physician of the fleet to examine it. he has directed me not to write, (and yet i am forced, this day, to write lord spencer, st. vincent, davison about my law-suit, troubridge, mr. locker, &c. but you are the only female i write to;) not to eat any thing but the most simple food; not to touch wine or porter; to sit in a dark room; to have green shades for my eyes--(will you, my dear friend, make me one or two? nobody else shall;)--and to bathe them in cold water every hour. i fear, it is the writing has brought on this complaint. my eye is like blood; and the film so extended, that i only see from the corner farthest from my nose. what a fuss about my complaints! but, being so far from my sincere friends, i have leisure to brood over them. i have this moment seen mrs. thomson's friend. poor fellow! he seems very uneasy and melancholy. he begs you to be kind to her; and i have assured him of your readiness to relieve the dear good woman: and believe me, for ever, my dear lady, your faithful, attached, and affectionate, nelson & bronte. i will try and write the duke a line. my brother intended to have gone off to-morrow afternoon; but this half order may stop him. letter ix. san josef, february 8th, 1801. my dear lady, mr. davison demands the privilege of carrying back an answer to your kind letter; and, i am sure, he will be very punctual in the delivery. i am not in very good spirits; and, except that our country demands all our services and abilities, to bring about an honourable peace, nothing should prevent my being the bearer of my own letter. but, my dear friend, i know you are so true and loyal an englishwoman, that you would hate those who would not stand forth in defence of our king, laws, religion, and all that is dear to us. it is your sex that make us go forth; and seem to tell us--"none but the brave deserve the fair!" and, if we fall, we still live in the hearts of those females. you are dear to us. it is your sex that rewards us; it is your sex who cherish our memories; and you, my dear, honoured friend, are, believe me, the _first_, the best, of your sex. i have been the world around, and in every corner of it, and never yet saw your equal, or even one which could be put in comparison with you. you know how to reward virtue, honour, and courage; and never to ask if it is placed in a prince, duke, lord, or peasant: and i hope, one day, to see you, in peace, before i set out for bronte, which i am resolved to do. darby's is one of the ships sent out after the french squadron; i shall, therefore, give the print to hardy. i think, they might come by the mail-coach, as a parcel, wrapped up round a stick; any print shop will give you one: and direct it as my letters. the coach stops, for parcels, at the white bear, i believe, piccadilly. pray, have you got any picture from mrs. head's? i hope, mr. brydon has executed the frames to your satisfaction; the bill, he is directed to send to me. only tell me, how i can be useful to you and sir william; and believe, nothing could give me more pleasure: being, with the greatest truth, my dear lady, your most obliged and affectionate friend, nelson & bronte. i am told, the moment st. george arrives, that i am to be tumbled out of this ship; as the ville de paris is going to plymouth, to be paid, and the earl will hoist his flag here: and if i am as fortunate in getting a fresh-painted cabin, (which is probable) i shall be knocked up. at all events, i shall be made very uncomfortable by this hurry. it has been very good, and friendly, of mr. davison, to travel upwards of two hundred miles, to make me a visit. i rather think, the great earl will not much like his not having called on him; but his manner of speaking of mr. davison, for his friendship to me, in the matter of the law-suit, lord st. vincent states to my solicitors as offensive to him. why should it? only that mr. davison wishes that i should have justice done me, and not to be overpowered by weight of interest and money. once more, god bless you and sir william. n. & b. sir isaac heard has gazetted troubridge's, hood, &c.'s honours; but has not gazetted mine: and he has the king's orders for mine as much as the others. letter x. no 2. san josef, february 16th, 1801. my dearest friend, your letters have made me happy, to-day; and never again will i scold, unless you begin. therefore, pray, never do; my confidence in you is firm as a rock. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * i cannot imagine, who can have stopped my sunday's letter! that it has been, is clear: and the seal of the other has been clearly opened; but this might have happened from letters sticking together. your's all came safe; but the numbering of them will point out, directly, if one is missing. i do not think, that any thing very particular was in that letter which is lost. believe me, my dear friend, that lady a. is as damned a w---as ever lived, and mrs. w---is a bawd! mrs. u---a foolish pimp; eat up with pride, that a p---will condescend to put her to expence. only do as i do; and all will be well, and you will be every thing i wish. i thank you for your kindness to poor dear mrs. thomson. i send her a note; as desired by her dear good friend, who doats on her. i send you a few lines, wrote in the late gale; which, i think, you will not disapprove. how interesting your letters are! you cannot write too much, or be too particular. * * * * * though ----'s polish'd verse superior shine, though sensibility grace every line; though her soft muse be far above all praise. and female tenderness inspire her lays: deign to receive, though unadorn'd by the poetic art, the rude expressions which bespeak a sailor's untaught heart! a heart _susceptible_, sincere, and true; a heart, by fate, and nature, torn in two: one half, to duty and his country due; the other, _better half_, to love and you! sooner shall britain's sons resign the empire of the sea; than henry shall renounce his faith, and plighted vows, to thee! and waves on wares shall cease to roll, and tides forget to flow; ere thy true henry's constant love, or ebb, or change, shall know. the weather, thank god, is moderating. i have just got a letter from the new earl at the admiralty, full of compliments. but nothing shall stop my law-suit, and i hope to cast him. i trust, when i get to spithead, there will be no difficulty in getting leave of absence. the letters on service are so numerous, from three days interruption of the post, that i must conclude with assuring you, that i am, for ever, your attached, and unalterably your's, nelson & bronte. i shall begin a letter at night. letter xi. [march 1801.] you say, my dearest friend, why don't i put my chief forward? he has put me in the front of the battle, and nelson will be first. i could say more; but will not make you uneasy, knowing the firm friendship you have for me. the st. george will stamp an additional ray of glory to england's fame, if nelson survives; and that almighty providence, who has hitherto protected me in all dangers, and covered my head in the day of battle, will still, if it be his pleasure, support and assist me. keep me alive, in your and sir william's remembrance. my last thoughts will be with you both, for you love and esteem me. i judge your hearts by my own. may the great god of heaven protect and bless you and him! is the fervent prayer of your and sir william's unalterable friend, till death. letter xii. friday night, nine o'clock. st. george. [march 1801.] having, my truly dearest friend, got through a great deal of business, i am enabled to do justice to my private feelings; which are fixed, ever, on you, and about you, whenever the public service does not arrest my attention. i have read all, all, your kind and affectionate letters: and have read them frequently over; and committed them to the flames, much against my inclination. there was one i rejoiced not to have read at the time. it was, where you consented to dine and sing with * * * *. thank god, it was not so! i could not have borne it; and, now, less than ever. but, i now know, he never can dine with you; for, you would go out of the house sooner than suffer it: and, as to letting him hear you sing, i only hope he will be struck deaf, and you dumb, sooner than such a thing should happen! but, i know, it never now can. you cannot think how my feelings are alive towards you; probably, more than ever: and they never can be diminished. my hearty endeavours shall not be wanting, to improve and to give us new ties of regard and affection. i have seen, and talked much with, mrs. thomson's friend. the fellow seems to eat all my words, when i talk of her and his child! he says, he never can forget your goodness and kind affection to her and his dear, dear child. i have had, you know, the felicity of seeing it, and a finer child never was produced by any two persons. it was, in truth, a love-begotten child! i am determined to keep him on board; for, i know, if they got together, they would soon have another. but, after our two months trip, i hope, they will never be separated; and, then, let them do as they please. we are all bustle and activity. i shall sail, on monday, after your letter arrives. troubridge will send it, as an admiralty letter. on tuesday i shall be in the downs, if we have any wind; and troubridge will send, under cover to admiral lutwidge. it is not my intention to set my foot out of the ship, except to make my take-leave bow to admiral milbank. i have been much pressed to dine ashore: but, no; never, if i can help it, till i dine with you. eleven o'clock. your dear letters just come on board. they are sympathetic with my own feelings; and, i trust, we shall soon meet, to part no more! monday, i shall be here for letters; tuesday, at deal. recollect, i am, for ever, your's; aye, for ever, while life remains, your's, your's faithfully, nelson & bronte. i charge my only friend to keep well, and think of her nelson's glory. i have written to lord eldon, the chancellor, as my brother desired. pray, as you are going to buy a ticket for the pigot diamond--buy the right number, or it will be money thrown away. for ever, ever, your's, only your's. kindest regards to my dear mrs. thomson, and my god child. letter xiii. deal--[shall be on board the medusa before this letter go from the downs]--july 31, 1801. my dearest emma, did not you get my letter from sheerness on thursday morning, telling you i was just setting off for deal; as i have no letter from you of yesterday, only those of wednesday, which went to sheerness? it has been my damned blunder, and not your's; for which i am deservedly punished, by missing one of your dear letters. they are my comfort, joy, and delight. my time is, truly, fully taken up, and my hand aches before night comes. i got to bed, last night, at half past nine; but the hour was so unusual, that i heard the clock strike one. to say that i thought of you, would be nonsense; for, you are never out of my thoughts. at this moment, i see no prospect of my getting to london; but, very soon, the business of my command will become so simple, that a child may direct it. what rascals your post-chaise people must be! they have been paid every thing. captain parker has one receipt for seven pounds odd, and i am sure that every thing is paid; therefore, do not pay a farthing. the cart-chaise i paid at dartford. you need not fear all the women in this world; for all others, except yourself, are pests to me. i know but one; for, who can be like my emma? i am confident, you will do nothing which can hurt my feelings; and i will die by torture, sooner than do any thing which could offend you. give ten thousand kisses to my dear horatia. yesterday, the subject turned on the cow-pox. a gentleman declared, that his child was inoculated with the cow-pox; and afterwards remained in a house where a child had the small-pox the natural way, and did _not_ catch it. therefore, here was a full trial with the cow-pox. the child is only feverish for two days; and only a slight inflammation of the arm takes place, instead of being all over _scabs_. but, do you what you please! i did not get your newspapers; therefore, do not know what promise you allude to: but this i know, i have _none_ made me. the extension of the patent of peerage is going on; but the wording of my brother's note, they have wrote for a meaning to. the patent must be a new creation. first, to my father, if he outlives me; then to william, and his sons; then to mrs. bolton, and her sons; and mrs. matcham, and her's. farther than that, i care not; it is far enough. but it may never get to any of them; for the old patent may extend by issue male of my own carcase: i am not so very old; and may marry again, a wife more suitable to my genius. i like the morning chronicle. ever, for ever, your's, only your, nelson & bronte. best regards to mrs. nelson, the duke, and lord william. i have totally failed for poor madame brueys. bonaparte's wife is one of martinique, and some plan is supposed to be carried on. letter xiv. sheerness, august 11th, 1801. my dearest emma, i came from harwich yesterday noon; not having set my foot on shore, although the volunteers, &c. were drawn up to receive me, and the people ready to draw the carriage. parker had very near got all the honours; but i want none, but what my dear emma confers. you have sense to discriminate whether they are deserved or no. i came on shore; for my business lays with the admiral, who lives in a ship hauled on shore, and the commisioner. slept at coffin's: and, having done all that i can, am off for the downs; to-day, if possible. as far as september 14th, i am at the admiralty's disposal; but, if mr. buonaparte do not chuse to send his miscreants before that time, my health will not bear me through equinoctial gales. i wish that sir william was returned; i would try and persuade him to come to either deal, dover, or margate: for, thus cut off from the society of my dearest friends, 'tis but a life of sorrow and sadness. but, _patienza per forza_! i hope you will get the house. if i buy, no person can say--this shall, or not, be altered; and, you shall have the whole arrangement. remember me most kindly to mrs. nelson, the duke, and lord william. write to me in the downs. may the heavens bless and preserve you, for ever and ever! is the constant prayer of, my dear emma, your most affectionate and faithful nelson & bronte. the mayor and corporation of sandwich, when they came on board to present me the freedom of that ancient town, requested me [to] dine with them. i put them off for the moment, but they would not be let off. therefore, this business, _dreadful_ to me, stands over, and i shall be attacked again when i get to the downs. but i will not dine there, without you say, approve; nor, perhaps, then, if i can get off. oh! how i hate to be stared at. letter xv. deal, august 18th, 1801. my dearest emma, your dear, good, kind, and most affectionate letters, from saturday to last night, are arrived, and i feel all you say; and may heaven bless me, very soon, with a sight of your dear angelic face. you are a nonpareil! no, not one fit to wipe your shoes. i am, ever have been, and always will remain, your most firm, fixed, and unalterable friend. i wish sir william had come home a week ago, then i should have seen you here. i have this morning been attending the funeral of two young mids: a mr. gore, cousin of capt. gore, and a mr. bristow. one nineteen, the other seventeen years of age. last night, i was all the evening in the hospital, seeing that all was done for the comfort of the poor fellows. i am going on board; for nothing should keep me living on shore, without you were here. i shall come in the morning, to see parker, and go on board again directly. i shall be glad to see oliver: i hope he will keep his tongue quiet, about the tea-kettle; for, i shall not give it till i leave the medusa. you ask me, what troubridge wrote me? there was not a syllable about you in it. it was about my not coming to london; at the importance of which, i laughed: and, then, he said, he should never venture another opinion. on which, i said--"then, i shall never give you one." this day, he has wrote a kind letter, and all is over. i have, however, wrote him, in my letter of this day, as follows--_viz._ "_and i am, this moment, as firmly of opinion as ever, that lord st. vincent, and yourself, should have allowed of my coming to town, for my own affairs; for, every one knows, i left it without a thought for myself_." i know, he likes to be with you: but, shall he have that felicity, and _he_ deprive me of it? no; that he shall not! but this business cannot last long, and i hope we shall have peace; and, i rather incline to that opinion. but the devil should not get me out of the kingdom, without being some days with you. i hope, my dear emma, you will be able to find a house suited for my comfort. i am sure of being happy, by your arrangements. i have wrote a line to troubridge, about darby. parker will write you a line of thanks, if he is able. i trust in god, he will yet do well! you ask me, my dear friend, if i am going on more expeditions? and, even if i was to forfeit your friendship, which is dearer to me than all the world, i can tell you nothing. for, i go out; [if] i see the enemy, and can get at them, it is my duty: and you would naturally hate me, if i kept back one moment. i long to pay them, for their tricks t'other day, the debt of a drubbing, which, surely, i'll pay: but _when, where, or how_, it is impossible, your own good sense must tell you, for me or mortal man to say. i shall act not in a rash or hasty manner; that you may rely, and on which i give you my word of honour. just going off. ever, for ever, your faithful nelson & bronte. every kind thing to mrs. nelson. letter xvi. medusa, downs, august 31st, 1801. my dear emma! dearest, best, friend of nelson, sir william is arrived, and well; remember me kindly to him. i should have had the pleasure of seeing him, but for _one of my lords and masters_, troubridge; therefore, i am sure, neither you or sir william will feel obliged to him. the weather is very bad, and i am very sea-sick. i cannot answer your letter, probably; but i am writing a line, to get on shore, if possible: indeed, i hardly expect that your letter can get afloat. i entreat you, my dear friend, to work hard for me, and get the house and furniture; and i will be so happy to lend it to you and sir william! therefore, if you was to take the duke's house, _a cake house_, open to every body he pleases, you had better have a booth at once; you never could rest one moment quiet. why did not the duke assist sir william, when he wanted his assistance? why not have saved you from the distress, which sir william must every day feel, in knowing that his excellent wife sold her jewels to get a house for him; whilst his own relations, great as they are in the foolish world's eye, would have left a man of his respectability and age, to have lodged in the streets. did the duke, or any of them, give him a house _then_? forgive me! you know if any thing sticks in my throat, it must out. sir william owes his life to you; which, i believe, he will never forget. to return to the house--the furniture must be bought with it; and the sooner it is done, the better i shall like it. oh! how bad the weather is! the devils, here, wanted to plague my soul out, yesterday, just after dinner; but i would have seen them damned, before they should have come in. the countess montmorris, lady this, that, and t'other, came along-side, a mr. lubbock with them--to desire they might come in. i sent word, i was so busy that no persons could be admitted, as my time was employed in the king's service. then they sent their names, which i cared not for: and sent captain gore, to say it was impossible; and that, if they wanted to see a ship, they had better go to the overyssel (a sixty-four in the downs.) they said, no; they wanted to see me. however, i was stout, and will not be shewn about like a _beast_! and away they went. i believe, captain gore wishes me out of his ship; for the _ladies_ admire him, i am told, very much: but, however, no captain could be kinder to me than he is. these ladies, he told me afterwards, were his relations. i have just got your letters; many thanks, for them! you do not say, in the end, sir william is arrived. i am glad, that you approve. you may rely, my dear friend, that i will not run any unnecessary risk! no more boat work, i promise you; but, ever, your attached and faithful nelson & bronte. to the duke, and lord william, say every thing which is kind; and to mrs. nelson. i am so dreadfully sea-sick, that i cannot hold up my head! letter xvii. september 21st, [1801.] quarter past ten o'clock. my dear emma, i wish you would send the letter to mrs. dod's, directly; for, otherwise, he may, inadvertently. if done, and it comes to london, deliver some of the things. the wardrobe is her's; and if any of her clothes are at mr. dod's, they had better be separated from mine--and, indeed, what things are worth removing--to have them directly sent to merton. a bed, or two, i believe, belong to my father; but, am not sure. i send you dr. baird's comfortable note, this moment received. you will [find] parker is treated like an infant. poor fellow! i trust, he will get well, and take possession of his room at the farm. ever your affectionate, nelson & bronte. letter xviii. amazon, september 26, 1801. eight o'clock. my dearest emma, your kind letters came on board about six o'clock. you may rely upon one thing, that i shall like merton; therefore, do not be uneasy on that account. i have that opinion of your taste and judgment, that i do not believe it can fail in pleasing me. we must only consider our means; and, for the rest, i am sure, you will soon make it the prettiest place in the world. i dare say, mr. hazelwood acted, like all lawyers, whose only consideration was for their client: but, i am sure, you will do, for me, all the civil things towards mrs. greaves. if i can afford to buy the duck close, and the field adjoining, it would be pleasant; but, i fear, it is not in my power: but, i shall know, when my accounts are settled, at new year's day. to be sure, we shall employ the trades-people of our village, in preference to any others, in what we want for common use, and give them every encouragement to be kind and attentive to us. from my heart, do i wish that i was with you: and it cannot be long; for, to-day, i am far from well; violent head ache, and very cold; but, it may be agitation. whatever, my dear emma, you do for my little charge, i must be pleased with. probably, she will be lodged at merton; at least, in the spring, when she can have the benefit of our walks. it will make the poor mother happy, i am sure. i do not write to her to-day, as this goes through the admiralty; but, tell her all i would say. you know my unchangeable thoughts about her. i shall have the child christened, when i come up. have we a nice church at merton? we will set an example of goodness to the under-parishioners. would to god, i was with you at laleham. i shall never forget our happiness at that place. mr. davison will pay mrs. nelson fifty pounds, october 1st. i dare say, mr. shakespeare has some orders about it. i had, yesterday, a letter from my father; he seems to think, that he may do something which i shall not like. i suppose, he means, going to somerset street. shall i, to an old man, enter upon the detestable subject; it may shorten his days. but, i think, i shall tell him, that i cannot go to somerset street, to see him. but, i shall not write till i hear your opinion. if i once begin, you know, it will _all out_, about her, and her ill-treatment to her son. but, you shall decide. our accounts of dear parker, i fear, preclude all hopes of his recovery. it was my intention to have gone ashore this morning, to have called on admiral lutwidge: but, the wind's coming fresh from the s.w. i have declined it; for, i doubt, if i could get off again. at ten o'clock, with your letters, came off dr. baird's note, to say every hope was gone! i have desired, that his death should be sent, by telegraph, to the admiralty. they will, surely, honour his memory, although they would not promote him. what are our feelings, my dear emma! but, we must cheer up: and, with best regards to mrs. nelson, believe me ever, for ever, your most affectionate, nelson & bronte. best regards to sir william. i send you the last report. who knows! letter xix. amazon, october 8, 1801. my dearest friend, i do not expect, although i am writing, that any boat can communicate with us to-day. what can be the use of keeping me here? for, i can know nothing such weather; and, what a change since yesterday! it came on, in one hour, from the water like a mill-head, to such a sea as to make me very unwell. if i had gone to make my visit, i could not have got off again. i rejoice that i did not go. until i leave the station, i have no desire to go on shore; for, deal was always my abhorrence. that parker is a swindler. langford owed our dear parker twenty-five pounds, of which there was no account; but langford desired his agents to pay mr. parker. langford requested, that he would wait two or three months, as it would be more convenient to him. to which the other agreed--"aye, as long as you please." he got one pound eleven shillings and sixpence from samuel, by casting his account wrong. the first thing he does, is to desire langford's agents to pay thirty-four pounds for langford, nine pounds more than the debt. he is worse than a public thief. his conduct to me was, absolutely, the worst species of thieving; for, it was under false pretences. he sent dr. baird on board, to me, to say that, in london, his pocket book was stole, in which was twenty pounds; and begged my assistance to get him home; and that he had not a farthing to buy mourning for his dear son. at this time, he had forty-seven pounds in his pocket, besides what he had sold of his son's. he has behaved so unlike a gentleman, but very like a blackguard, to both captain sutton, bedford, and hardy, i am now clear that he never lost one farthing, and that the whole is a swindling trick. so, you see, my dear friend, how good-nature is imposed upon. i am so vexed, that he should have belonged to our dear parker! i have now done with the wretch, for ever. i hope he has got nothing from you; and, if you have promised him any thing, _do not send it_. ten o'clock. your kind letters are arrived. i rejoice that you have got into merton. i hope to get the letter on shore; but, it is very uncertain. ministry, my dearest friend, think very differently of my services from you! but, never mind; i shall soon have done with them afloat. make my kindest regards to sir william, and all our friends; and believe me, ever, your faithful and affectionate nelson & bronte. i have just got a very kind letter from captain read. he says, he will come and see me, be where it will. he inquired after you and sir william. letter xx. amazon, ten o'clock, october 12, 1801. my dearest friend, this being a very fine morning, and smooth beach, at eight o'clock, i went with sutton and bedford, and landed at walmer; but found billy fast asleep: so, left my card; walked the same road that we came, when the carriage could not come with us that night; and all rushed into my mind, and brought tears into my eyes. ah! how different to walking with such a friend as you, sir william, and mrs. nelson. called at the barracks, on lord george; but, he is gone to london. from thence to the admiral's, found him up; and, waiting half an hour to see mrs. lutwidge, who entreated me to stay dinner, came directly on board. i did not even call to see poor langford; who has been worse these few days past, and god knows when he will be well. i am afraid it will be a long time; for several pieces of bone are lately come away, and more to come. but troubridge has so completely prevented my ever mentioning any body's service, that i am become a cypher, and he has gained a victory over nelson's spirit. i am kept here; for what, he may be able to tell, i cannot: but long it cannot, shall not, be. sutton and bedford are gone a tour, till dinner time: but nothing shall make me, but almost force, go out of the ship again, till i have done; and the admiralty, in charity, will be pleased to release me. i am, in truth, not over well. i have a complaint in my stomach and bowels, but it will go off. if you was here, i should have some rhubarb; but, as you are not, i shall go without. sutton has sent into yorkshire, for a cow that, in the spring, will give fourteen pounds of butter a week; and, he has given allen the finest goat i ever saw. the latter, i am afraid, will be troublesome. just as i was coming off, i received your packet; and thank you, from my heart, for all your kindness. what can reverend sir want to be made a doctor for? he will be laughed at, for his pains! i thank you for the king's letters, i shall write a kind line to castelcicala, and answer the king's, very soon: and, write to acton; for he can make bronte every thing to me, if he pleases. i dare say, i did wrong, never to write him; but, as he treated sir william unkindly, i never could bring myself to it. i am glad the duke has been to see you; and taking plants from him, is nothing. make my kindest remembrances to him. i would have every body like your choice; for, i am sure, you have as fine a taste in laying out land, as you have in music. i'll be damned, if mrs. billington can sing so well as you. she may have stage trick, but you have pure nature. i always say every thing, for you and sir william. i wish you had translated the king's and acton's letters, banti cannot. i may be able to dispose of charles, but not of the other, and he would corrupt charles. for ever yours, nelson & bronte. mrs. lutwidge inquires always particularly after you. we all laugh, and say she is more fond of soldiers than ever, since general don has shewn her how he would keep off the french! letter xxi. amazon, october 15th, 1801. my dearest friend, i have received all your letters of yesterday, and the one sent from the post at merton; and, also, one mis-sent to poole: but i do not write direct to merton, till i hear that mine to sir william, sent yesterday, gets to you before those by london. the admiralty will not give me leave, till the 22d; and, then, only ten days. what a set of beasts! my cold is now got into my head; and i have such dreadful pain in my teeth, that i cannot hold up my head: but none of them cares a damn for me or my sufferings; therefore, you see, i cannot discharge my steward. and yet, i think, upon consideration, that i will send up all my things, and take my chance as to their sending me down again. what do you think? at all events, every thing except my bed. i have table-spoons, forks, every thing; at least, i shall have, soon, two hundred pounds worth. what a b---that miss knight is! as to the other, i care not what she says. my poor dear father is wrong. but more of this, when we meet: which will be friday, the 23d, at farthest; if possible, the 22d. but, the admiralty are hard upon me. i am sorry to hear, that you have been ill: and my cold is so dreadfully bad, that i cannot hold up my head; and am so damned stupid that you must, my dear friend, forgive my letter. admiral lutwidge is going to portsmouth. sir william parker is going to be tried, for something. make my kindest respects to sir william; and believe me, ever, your's most faithfully, nelson & bronte. i have wrote a line to merton. excuse my letter. letter xxii. amazon october 16th, 1801. my dearest friend, it being a very fine morning, and the beach smooth, i went to call on admiral lutwidge, and returned on board before ten o'clock. mrs. lutwidge is delighted with your present. sutton, &c. were called forth to admire it. she joins in abusing the admiralty. she pressed me very much to dine with them at three o'clock; but, i told her i would not dine with the angel gabriel, to be dragged through a night surf! her answer was, that she hoped soon i should dine with an angel, for she was sure you was one. in short, she adores you; but, who does not? you are so good, so kind, to every body; old, young, rich, or poor, it is the same thing! i called on poor langford; who has a long time to look forward to, for getting well; he told me your goodness, in writing him a line: and i called upon dr. baird; he disapproves of rhubarb, and has prescribed magnesia and peppermint: and i called on mr. lawrence. so, you see, i did much business in one hour i was on shore. civility to lutwidge was proper for me; and, indeed, my duty. the moment i got your letters, off i came, and have read them with real pleasure. they have made me much better, i think; at least, i feel so. i admire the pigs and poultry. sheep are certainly most beneficial to eat off the grass. do _you_ get paid for them; and take care that they are kept on the premises all night, for that is the time they do good to the land. they should be folded. is your head man a good person, and true to our interest? i intend to have a farming book. i am glad to hear you get fish; not very good ones, i fancy. it is, i thank god, only six days before i shall be with you, and to be shewn all the beauties of merton. i shall like it, leaves or no leaves. no person there can take amiss our not visiting. the answer from me will always be very civil thanks, but that i wish to live retired. we shall have our sea friends; and, i know, sir william thinks they are the best. i have a letter from mr. trevor, begging me to recommend a youngster for him; but, none before your charles. banti, i suppose, must return; but, at present, we know not what ships are to be kept in commission. i have a letter from a female relation of mine. she has had three husbands; and he, mr. sherstone, three wives. her brother, a nelson, i have been trying, ever since i have been in england, to get promoted. the last and present admiralty promised. i never saw the man; he is in a ship in the north seas, forty-five years of age. i have a letter from troubridge, recommending me to wear flannel shirts. does he care for me? _no_; but, never mind. they shall work hard, to get me back again. remember me, kindly, to sir william, the duke, and all friends; and believe me, ever, your most affectionate nelson & bronte. do you ever see castelcicala? he is a good man, and faithful to his master and mistress. letter xxiii. amazon, october 16th, 1801. my dearest friend, i send you a letter for allen's wife; and one for germany, which i wish you would make oliver put in the foreign post office, and pay what is necessary. i would send you the letter to which it is an answer, but it would be over-weight. it is all compliments; and, the man says, it is all truth. the wind is freshened cold, but very fine day. best regards to sir william, mrs. cadogan, mr. oliver, and all friends. for ever, your's faithfully, nelson & bronte. i have a letter from reverend doctor--he is as big as if he was a bishop; and one from the bedel of the university, to say how well he preached. i hope you ordered something good for him, for those big wigs love eating and drinking. letter xxiv. amazon, october 17th, 1801. my dearest friend, although my complaint has no danger attending it, yet it resists the medicines which dr. baird has prescribed; and, i fancy, it has pulled me down very much. the cold has settled in my bowels. i wish the admiralty had my complaint: but, they have no bowels; at least, for me. i had a very indifferent night, but your and sir william's kind letters have made me feel better. i send you a letter from lord pelham. i shall certainly attend; and let them see, that i may be useful in council as i have been in the field. we must submit; and, perhaps, these admiralty do this by me, to prevent another application. you may rely, that i shall be with you by dinner, on friday; at half past three, or four at farthest. i shall not dine with pitt, as mr. and mrs. long are staying there. not that i ever saw her in my life, nor care if i never do. i pray that i may not be annoyed, on my arrival: it is retirement with my friends, that i wish for. thank sir william, kindly, for his letter; and the inclosure, which i return. sutton is much pleased with your letter; and, with bedford, will certainly make you a visit. they are both truly good and kind to me. our weather has been cold these two days, but not bad. i have got a fire in the cabin; and, i hope my complaint will go off. may heaven bless you! i send this, through troubridge, direct in piccadilly. i shall, you may rely, admire the pig-stye, ducks, fowls, &c. for every thing you do, i look upon as perfect. dr. baird has been aboard, to see me. he thinks, i shall be better; and, that a few days on shore will set me up again. make my kind remembrances to sir william, the duke, and all friends; and believe me, ever, your most affectionate nelson & bronte. bedford has made me laugh. mrs. lutwidge has been babbling, that she will go to portsmouth with the admiral; who says, he shall be so fully employed that he cannot be much with her. she whispered bedford--"i have many friends in the army there!" she will certainly marry a soldier, if ever she is disposable. but, perhaps, you will agree with me, that no good soldier would take her. i am sure, the purchase would be dear, even if it was a _gift_. don't call this a bull. sutton's man was on the farm; and the sheep, when not belonging to the farm, always paid so much sheep, so much lambs: but, i dare say, you manage well. sir william's letter has delighted me, with your activity and prudence. letter xxv. the two letters would have been over-weight, so i send you the letter i have answered. pray, take care of it, it is a curiosity! ever your faithful nelson & bronte. amazon, 2 p.m. yawkins is in great distress: his cutter paid off; and he, like many others, very little to live upon. he begs his best respects to sir william. he breakfasted here this morning. many very long faces at peace! letter xxvi. my dearest friend, hardy begs you will send the inclosed to naples. i wish tyson would come home; for many are pulling at him, and i want to pay him. i will not be in his debt forty-eight hours after his arrival. hardy is just anchored, and his commodore gone on shore. ever your most faithful nelson & bronte. mrs. nelson had better direct her letters to me, unless i am on the spot. you see, you paid postage, and it lays me open to their post office conversation. letter xxvii. amazon, october 19th, 1801. my dearest friend, what a gale we have had! but admiral lutwidge's boat came off; and, as your letter was wrote, it got on shore: at least, i hope so; for the boat seemed absolutely swallowed up in the sea. none of our boats could have kept above water a moment; therefore, i could not answer all the truly friendly things you told me in your letters, for they were not opened before the boat was gone. i am sure, you did well to send mrs. lutwidge a gown, and she loves you very much, but there is no accounting for taste. she admires entirely red coats; you, true blue. they dine with billy pitt, to-day; or, rather, with mr. long; for pitt does not keep house, in appearance, although he asked me to come and see him: and that i shall do, out of respect to a great man, although he never did any thing for me or my relations. i assure you, my dear friend, that i had rather read and hear all your little story of a white hen getting into a tree, an anecdote of fatima, or hear you call--"cupidy! cupidy!" than any speech i shall hear in parliament: because i know, although you can adapt your language and manners to a child, yet that you can also thunder forth such a torrent of eloquence, that corruption and infamy would sink before your voice, in however _exalted_ a situation it might be placed. poor oliver! what can be the matter with him? i must leave my cot here, till my discharge, when it shall come to the farm, as cots are the best things in the world for our sea friends. why not have the pictures from davison's, and those from dodd's; especially, my father's, and davison's? _a-propos_! sir william has not sat, i fear, to beechey. i want a half-length, the size of my father's and davison's. i wonder your pictures are not come from hamburg! you have not lost the directions for unfolding them; nor the measure, that i may have frames made for them? for, up they shall go, as soon as they arrive. what, have your picture, and not hang it up? _no_; i will submit, in the farm, to every order but _that_. the weather, to-day, is tolerable; but, i do not think i could well get on shore: but thursday, i hope, will be a fine day. i shall call on mr. pitt, make my visit at the hospital, and get off very early on friday morning. my cold is still very troublesome, i cannot get my bowels in order. in the night i had not a little fever. but, never mind; the admiralty will not always be there. every one has their day. god bless you, my dear friend; and believe me, ever, your's most faithfully, nelson & bronte. write on wednesday. your letters of yesterday are received. reverend doctor would like to be a bishop. i have sent poor thomson's letter, and the distressed mrs. ----, to the earl. kindest regards to sir william. letter xxviii. amazon, october 20th, 1801. my dearest friend, how could you think, for a moment, that i would be a time-server to any minister on earth! and, if you had studied my letter a little closer, you would have seen that my intention was, to shew them that i could be as useful in the cabinet as in the field. my idea is, to let them see that my attendance is worth soliciting. for myself, i can have nothing; but, for my brother, something may be done. living with mr. addington a good deal; never, in your sense of the word, shall i do it. what, leave my dearest friends, to dine with a minister? damn me, if i do, beyond what you yourself shall judge to be necessary! perhaps, it may be _once_; and _once_ with the _earl_ but that you shall judge for me. if i give up all intercourse--you know enough of courts, that they will do nothing: make yourself of consequence to them, and they will do what you wish, in reason; and, out of reason, i never should ask them. it must be a great bore, to me, to go to the house. i shall tell mr. addington, that i go on the 29th to please him, and not to please myself; but more of this subject, when we meet. dr. baird is laid up with the rheumatism; he will now believe, that the cold may affect me. this is the coldest place in england, most assuredly. _troubridge_ writes me that, as the weather is set in fine again, he hopes i shall get _walks_ on shore. he is, i suppose, laughing at me; but, never mind. i agree with you, in wishing sir william had a horse. why don't you send to the duke, for a poney for him. i am just parting with four of my ships--captains conn, rowley, martin, and whitter--who are proceeding to the nore, in their way to be paid off. the surf is still so great on the beach, that i could not land dry, if it was necessary, to-day; but, i hope, it will be smooth on thursday: if not, i must go in a boat to dover, and come from thence to deal. sutton says, he will get the amazon under sail, and carry me down; for, that i shall not take cold: bedford goes with a squadron to margate; so that all our party will be broke up. i am sure, to many of them, i feel truly obliged. make my kindest respects to sir william; and believe me, ever, your most faithful and affectionate nelson & bronte. i wish banti was separated from charles, for he is a knowing one. i wish i could get him with a good captain, who would keep him strict to his duty. hardy cannot get paid a hundred pounds he advanced for mr. williams's nephew. many thanks for mrs. nelson's letters. the reverend doctor likes going about. only think of his wanting to come up with an address of thanks! why, [the] king will not receive him, although he is a doctor; and less, for being my brother--for, they certainly do not like me. letter xxix. amazon, october 20th, 1801. my dearest friend, only two days more, the admiralty could, with any conscience, keep me here; not that i think, they have had any conscience. i dare say, master troubridge is grown fat. i know, i am grown lean, with my complaint: which, but for their indifference about my health, would never have happened; or, at least, i should have got well, long ago, in a warm room, with a good fire, and sincere friends. i believe, i leave this little squadron with sincere regret, and with the good wishes of every creature in it. how i should laugh, to see you, my dear friend, rowing in a boat; the beautiful emma rowing a one-armed admiral in a boat! it will certainly be caricatured. well done, farmer's wife! i'll bet your turkey against mrs. nelson's; but, sir william and i will decide. hardy says, you may be sure of him; and, that he has not lost his appetite. you will make us rich, with your economy. i did not think, tell sir william, that impudence had got such deep root in wales. i send you the letter, as a curiosity; and to have the impudence to recommend a midshipman! it is not long ago, a person from yorkshire desired me to lend him three hundred pounds, as he was going to set up a school! are these people mad; or, do they take me for quite a fool? however, i have wisdom enough to laugh at their folly; and to be, myself, your most obliged and faithful friend, nelson & bronte. best regards to sir william, mrs. cadogan, and all friends. letter xxx. amazon, october 21st, 1801. my dearest friend, it blows strong from the westward, and is a very dirty day, with a good deal of surf on the beach; but hardy and sutton recommended my going on shore this morning, as they believe it may blow a heavy gale to-morrow. but, what comfort could i have had, for two whole days, at deal? i hope the morning will be fine: but i have ordered a deal boat, as they understand the beach better than our's; and, if i cannot land here, i shall go to ramsgate pier, and come to deal in a carriage. has mrs. cadogan got my peer's robe? for i must send for mr. webb, and have it altered to a viscount's. lord hood wrote to me, to-day, and he is to be one of my introducers. he wanted me to dine with him the 24th; but i'll be damned if i dine from home that day, and it would be as likely we should dine out the 23d. if you and sir william ever wish me to dine with his brother, it must be the time of a very small party; for it would be worse than death to me, to dine in so large a party. i expect, that all animals will increase where you are, for i never expect that you will suffer any to be killed. i am glad sir william has got the duke's poney; riding will do him much good. i am sorry to tell you, that dr. baird is so ill, that i am told it is very probable he may never recover. this place is the devil's, for dreadful colds: and i don't believe i should get well all the winter; for both cough, and bowels, are still very much out of order. you are now writing your last letter for deal; so am i, for merton, from deal: at least, i hope so; for, if i can help it, i will not return to it. i have much to do, being the last day on board; but ever, my dearest friend, believe me your truly affectionate nelson & bronte. i am literally starving with cold; but my heart is warm. i suppose i shall dine with lutwidge: but i am not very desirous of it; for i shall have sutton, bedford, and hardy, with me. you must prepare banti's mother, as it is a peace, for some other line of life than the navy. yesterday, he sold a pair of silver buckles; he would soon ruin poor charles, who is really a well-disposed boy. i never shall get warm again, i believe. i cannot feel the pen. make my kindest regards to sir william, mrs. cadogan, oliver, &c. sutton, hardy, and bedford, all join in kind remembrances. as monday is horace's birth-day, i suppose i must send him a one pound note. letter xxxi. may 22d, [1803.] eight o'clock in the morning. my dearest emma, we are now in sight of ushant, and shall see admiral cornwallis in an hour. i am not in a little fret, on the idea that he may keep the victory, and turn us all into the amphion. it will make it truly uncomfortable; but, i cannot help myself. i assure you, my dear emma, that i feel a thorough conviction, that we shall meet again, with honour, riches, and health, and remain together till a good old age. i look at your and my god's child's picture; but, till i am sure of remaining here, i cannot bring myself to hang them up. be assured, that my attachment, and affectionate regard, is unalterable; nothing can shake it! and, pray, say so to my dear mrs. t. when you see her. tell her, that my love is unbounded, to her and her dear sweet child; and, if she should have more, it will extend to all of them. in short, my dear emma, say every thing to her, which your dear, affectionate, heart and head, can think of. we are very comfortable. mr. elliot is happy, has quite recovered his spirits; he was very low, at portsmouth. george elliot is very well; say so, to lord minto. murray, sutton--in short, every body in the ship, seems happy; and, if we should fall in with a french man-of-war, i have no fears but they will do as we used to do. hardy is gone into plymouth, to see our dutchman safe. i think, she will turn out a good prize. gaetano desires his duty to miledi! he is a good man; and, i dare say, will come back: for, i think, it cannot be a long war; just enough to make me independent in pecuniary matters. if the wind stands, on tuesday we shall be on the coast of portugal; and, before next sunday, in the mediterranean. to mrs. cadogan, say every kind thing; to good mrs. nelson, the doctor, &c. &c. if you like, you may tell him about the entailing of the pension: but, perhaps, he will be so much taken up with canterbury, that it will do for some dull evening at hilborough. i shall now stop, till i have been on board the admiral. only, tell mrs. t. that i will write her the first safe opportunity; i am not sure of this. i shall direct to merton, after june 1st. therefore, as you change, make davison take a direction to nepean; but, i would not trouble him with too many directions, for fear of embroil. may 23d. we were close in with brest, yesterday; and found, by a frigate, that admiral cornwallis had a rendezvous at sea. thither we went; but, to this hour, cannot find him. it blows strong. what wind we are losing! if i cannot find the admiral by six o'clock, we must all go into the amphion, and leave the victory, to my great mortification. so much for the wisdom of my superiors. i keep my letter open to the last: for, i still hope; as, i am sure, there is no good reason for my not going out in the victory. i am just embarking in the amphion; cannot find admiral cornwallis. may god in heaven bless you! prays your most sincere nelson & bronte. stephens's publication i should like to have. i have left my silver seal; at least, i cannot find it. letter xxxii. [july 1803. my dearest emma, although i have wrote letters from various places, merely to say--"here i am," and "there i am;"--yet, as i have no doubt but that they would all be read, it was impossible for me to say more than--"here i am, and well:" and i see no prospect of any certain mode of conveyance, but by sea; which, with the means the admiralty has given me, of small vessels, can be but seldom. our passages have been enormously long. from gibraltar to malta, we were eleven days: arriving the fifteenth in the evening, and sailing in the night of the sixteenth--that is, three in the morning of the seventeenth--and it was the twenty-sixth before we got off capri; where i had ordered the frigate, which carried mr. elliot to naples, to join me. i send you copies of the king and queen's letters. i am vexed, that she did not mention you! i can only account for it, by her's being a political letter. when i wrote to the queen, i said--"i left lady hamilton, the eighteenth of may; and so attached to your majesty, that i am sure she would lay down her life to preserve your's. your majesty never had a more sincere, attached, and real friend, than your dear emma. you will be sorry to hear, that good sir william did not leave her in such comfortable circumstances as his fortune would have allowed. he has given it amongst his relations. but she will do honour to his memory, although every one else of his friends call loudly against him on that account." i trust, my dear emma, she has wrote you. if she can forget emma, i hope, god will forget her! but, you think, that she never will, or can. now is her time to shew it. you will only shew the king and queen's letters to some few particular friends. the king is very low; lives, mostly, at belvidere. mr. elliot had not seen either him or the queen, from the seventeenth, the day of his arrival, to the twenty-first. on the next day, he was to be presented. i have made up my mind, that it is part of the plan of that corsican scoundrel, to conquer the kingdom of naples. he has marched thirteen thousand men into the kingdom, on the adriatic side; and he will take possession, with as much shadow of right, of gaeta and naples: and, if the poor king remonstrates, or allows us to secure sicily, he will call it war, and declare a conquest. i have cautioned general acton, not to risk the royal family too long; but naples will be conquered, sooner or later, as it may suit buonaparte's convenience. the morea, and egypt, are likewise in his eye. an army of full seventy thousand men are assembling in italy. gibbs and noble are gone to malta. i am, you may believe, very anxious to get off toulon, to join the fleet. sir richard bickerton went from off naples, the day i left gibraltar. we passed monte christo, bastia, and cape corse, yesterday; and are now moving, slowly, direct for toulon. what force they have, i know not; indeed, i am totally ignorant: some say, nine sail of the line; some, seven; some, five. if the former, they will come out; for we have only the same number, including sixty-fours, and very shortly manned. however, i hope they will come out, and let us settle the matter. you know, i hate being kept in suspence. [july 8th. i left this hole, to put down what force the french have at toulon. seven sail of the line ready, five frigates, and six corvettes. one or two more in about a week. we, to day, eight sail of the line--to-morrow, seven; including two sixty-four gun ships. you will readily believe, how rejoiced i shall be to get one of your dear, excellent letters, that i may know every thing which has passed since my absence. i sincerely hope, that mr. booth has settled all your accounts. never mind, my dear emma, a few hundred pounds; which is all the rigid gripe of the law, not justice, can wrest from you. i thank god, that you cannot want; (although that is no good reason for its being taken from you:) whilst i have sixpence, you shall not want for fivepence of it! but, you have bought your experience, that there is no friendship in money concerns; and, your good sense will make you profit of it. i hope, the minister has done something for you. but, never mind, we can live upon bread and cheese. independence is a blessing; and, although i have not yet found out the way to get prize money--what has been taken, has run into our mouths--however, it must turn out very hard, if i cannot get enough to pay off my debts, and that will be no small comfort. i have not mentioned my bronte affairs to acton, as yet; but, if naples remains much longer, i shall ask the question. but, i expect nothing from them. i believe, even acton wishes himself well, and safely removed. i think, from what i hear, that the king's spirits are so much depressed, that he will give up the reins of naples, at least, to his son, and retire to sicily. sir william, you know, always thought, that he would end his life so. certainly, his situation must be heart-breaking! gaetano returned in the frigate. i believe, he saw enough of naples. he carried his family money; and mr. falconet (gibbs being absent) will pay mr. greville's pension to gaetano's family. i have now [sent] gaetano to the post: and he desires, to present his duty; and to tell you, that mr. ragland, from sir william's death, will not pay any more pensions, without orders from mr. greville. vincenzo has had none paid. he is very poor; keeps a shop. his son wanted, i find, to come in the frigate to me. i cannot afford to maintain him; therefore, i shall give no encouragement. old antonio was allowed a carline a day; that is, now, not paid. sabatello lives with mr. elliot. nicolo, and mary antonio, have left mr. gibbs, for some cause; gaetano says, he believes, for _amore_. francesca has two children living, and another coming. she lives the best amongst them, like _gallant homme_. pasqual lives with the duke montelione; and joseph, with the old russian. your house is a hotel; the upper parts are kept for the marquis, the owner. mr. elliot has taken the house of the baille franconi, on the chaia. doctor nudi inquired kindly after us; and all the women at santa lucia expected, when they saw gaetano, that you was arrived. bread never was so dear; every thing else in plenty. the wages not being raised, gaetano says, the poor of england are a million times better off. so much for gaetano's news. he desires his duty to signora madre; and remembrances to mary ann, fatima, &c. [july 8th. we joined, this morning, the fleet. the men in the ships are good; but the ships themselves are a little the worse for wear, and very short of their complements of men. we shall never be better: therefore, let them come; the sooner, the better. i shall write a line to the duke, that he may see i do not forget my friends; and i rely, my dearest emma, on your saying every kind thing, for me, to the doctor, mrs. nelson, mrs. bolton, mr. and mrs. matcham, mrs. cadogan; whose kindness, and goodness, i shall never forget. you will have the goodness to send the inclosed, as directed; and be assured, that i am, to the last moment of my life, your most attached, faithful, and affectionate, nelson & bronte. letter xxxiii. victory, off toulon, august 1, 1803. [i do not know that you will get this letter.] my dearest emma, your letter of may 31, which came under cover to mr. noble, of naples, inclosing davison's correspondence with plymouth, arrived by the phoebe two days ago: and this is the only scrap of a pen which has been received by any person in the fleet since we sailed from england. you will readily conceive, my dear emma, the sensations which the sight and reading even your few lines [occasioned.] they cannot be understood, but by those of such mutual and truly sincere attachment as your's and mine. although you said little, i understood a great deal, and most heartily approve of your plan and society for next winter; and, next spring, i hope to be rich enough to begin the alterations at dear merton. it will serve to amuse you; and, i am sure, that i shall admire all your alterations, even to planting a gooseberry bush. sutton joined me yesterday, and we are all got into the victory; and, a few days will put us in order. every body gives a very excellent character of mr. chevalier, the servant recommended by mr. davison; and i shall certainly live as frugal as my station will admit. i have known the pinch, and shall endeavour never to know it again. i want to send two thousand one hundred pounds, to pay off mrs. greaves, on october 1st. but, i have not received one farthing; but, i hope to receive some soon. but mr. haslewood promised to see this matter kept right for me. hardy is now busy, hanging up your and horatia's picture; and i trust soon to see the other two safe arrived from the exhibition. i want no others to ornament my cabin. i can contemplate them, and find new beauties every day, and i do not want any body else. you will not expect much news from us. we see nothing. i have great fear, that all naples will fall into the hands of the french; and, if acton does not take care, sicily also. however, i have given my final advice so fully and strongly that, let what will happen, they cannot blame me. captain capel says, mr. elliot cannot bear naples. i have no doubt, but that it is very different to your time. the queen, i fancy, by the seal, has sent a letter to castelcicala; her letter to me is only thanks for my attention to the safety of the kingdom. if dr. scott has time, and is able, he shall write a copy for you. the king is very much retired. he would not see the french general, st. cyr; who came to naples, _to settle the contribution for the payment of the french army_. the queen was ordered to give him and the french minister a dinner, but the king staid at belvidere. i think, he will give it up soon; and retire to sicily, if the french will allow him. acton has never dared give mr. elliot, or one englishman, a dinner. the fleet are ready to come forth; but, they will not come for the sake of fighting me. i have this day made george elliot, post; lieutenant pettit, a master and commander; and mr. hindmarsh, gunner's son, of the bellerophon, who behaved so well this day five year, a lieutenant. i reckon to have lost two french seventy-fours, by my not coming out in the victory; but i hope they will come soon, with interest. this goes to gibraltar, by sutton, in the amphion. i shall write the doctor in a day or two. i see, by the french papers, that he has kissed hands. with kindest regards to your good mother, and all at merton, &c. &c. &c. ever your's, most faithfully and affectionately, nelson & bronte. letter xxxiv. victory, off toulon, august 10th, 1803. my dearest emma, i take the opportunity of mr. acourt's going through spain, with mr. elliot's dispatches for england, to send this letter: for i would not, for the world, miss any opportunity of sending you a line. by gibraltar, i wrote you, as lately as the 4th; but all our ways of communicating with england, are very uncertain: and, i believe, the admiralty must have forgot us; for, not a vessel of any kind or sort has joined us, since i left spithead. news, i absolutely am ignorant of: except, that a schooner, belonging to me, put her nose into toulon; and four frigates popped out, and have taken her, and a transport loaded with water for the fleet. however, i hope to have an opportunity, very soon, of paying them the debt, with interest. mr. acourt says, at naples, they hope that the mediation of russia will save them: but, i doubt, if russia will go to war with the french for any kingdom; and they, poor souls! relying on a broken reed, will lose sicily. as for getting any thing for bronte, i cannot expect it; for, the finances of naples are worse than ever. _patienza_, however; i will-* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * i see, many bishops are dead. is my brother tired of canterbury? i wish i could make him a bishop. if you see him, or write, say that i have not ten minutes to send away mr. acourt, who cannot be detained. i hope lord st. vincent has sent out sir william bolton. as soon as i know who is first lord, i will write him. letter xxxv. my dear lady hamilton, your friend's godson arrived safe yesterday afternoon; and i shall, you know, always feel too happy in obeying your commands: for, you never ask favours, but for your friends. in short, in every point of view, from ambassatrice to the duties of domestic life, i never saw your equal! that elegance of manners; accomplishments; and, above all, your goodness of heart, is unparalleled: and only believe, for ever, and beyond it, your faithful and devoted nelson & bronte. victory, august 24th, 1803. letter xxxvi. [_n.b. the mysterious letter appears to have been inclosed in this packet_.] august 26th, 1803. wrote several days past. my dearest emma, by the canopus, admiral campbell, i have received all your truly kind and affectionate letters, from may 20th to july 3d; with the exception of one, dated may 31st, sent to naples. this is the first communication i have had with england since we sailed. all your letters, _my dear letters_, are so entertaining! and which paint so clearly what you are after, that they give me either the greatest pleasure or pain. it is the next best thing, to being with you. i only desire, my dearest emma, that you will always believe, that nelson's your own; nelson's _alpha_ and _omega_ is _emma_! i cannot alter; my affection and love is beyond even this world! nothing can shake it, but yourself; and that, i will not allow myself to think, for a moment, is possible. i feel, that you are the real friend of my bosom, and dearer to me than life; and, that i am the same to you. but, i will neither have p.'s nor q.'s come near you! no; not the slice of single gloster! but, if i was to go on, it would argue that want of confidence which would be injurious to your honour. i rejoice that you have had so pleasant a trip into norfolk; and i hope, one day, to carry you there by a nearer _tie_ in law, but not in love and affection, than at present. i wish, you would never mention that person's name! it works up your anger, for no useful purpose. her good or bad character, of me or thee, no one cares about. this letter will find you at dear merton; where we shall one day meet, and be truly happy. i do not think it can be a long war; and, i believe, it will be much shorter than people expect: and i shall hope to find the new room built; the grounds laid out, neatly but not expensively; new piccadilly gates; kitchen garden; &c. only let us have a plan, and then all will go on well. it will be a great source of amusement to you; and horatia shall plant a tree. i dare say, she will be very busy. mrs. nelson, or mrs. bolton, &c. will be with you; and time will pass away, till i have the inexpressible happiness of arriving at merton. even the thought of it vibrates through my nerves; for, my love for you is as unbounded as the ocean! i feel all your good mother's kindness; and, i trust, that we shall turn rich, by being economists. spending money, to please a pack of people, is folly, and without thanks. i desire, that you will say every kind thing from me to her, and make her a present of something in my name. dr. scott is gone with my mission to algiers, or i would send you a copy of the king and queen's letter. i send you one from the queen. both king, queen, and acton, were very civil to sir william bolton. he dined with acton. bolton does very well in his brig; but, he has made not a farthing of prize money. if i knew where to send him for some, he should go; but, unless we have a spanish war, i shall live here at a great expence: although mr. chevalier takes every care, and i have great reason to be satisfied. i have just asked william, who behaves very well, whether he chooses to remit any of his wages to his father. it does not appear, he _does_, at present. he is paid, by the king, eighteen pounds a year, as one of my retinue; therefore i have nothing to pay. i have told him, whenever he chooses to send any, to tell mr. scott, or captain hardy, and he will receive a remittance bill; so, he may now act as he pleases. _a-propos_ of mr. scott. he is very much obliged to you for your news of mrs. scott's being brought to bed. no letters came in the cutter, but to me, and he was very uneasy. he is a very excellent good man; and, i am very fortunate in having such a one. i admire your kindness to my dear sister bolton. i have wrote her, that certainly i will assist tom bolton at college. it is better, as i tell her, not to promise more than i am sure i can perform. it is only doing them a injury. i tell her, if _vacancies_, please god, should happen, that my income will be much increased. with respect to mr. bolton--every body knows, that i have no interest; nobody cares for me: but, if he will point out what he wants, i will try what can be done. but, i am sure, he will not be half so well off as at present. supposing he could get a place of a few hundreds a year, he would be a ten times poorer man than he is at present. i could convince you of it, in a moment; but, if i was to begin, then it would be said, i wanted inclination to render them a service. i should like to see sir h---p----'s book. i cannot conceive how a man that is reported to have been so extravagant of government's money, to say no worse, can make a good story. i wrote to the old duke, not long since. i regard him; but, i would not let him touch you for all his money. no; that would never do! i believe mr. bennett's bill to be correct; but, it was not intended you should pay that out of the allowance for merton; and, how could you afford to send mrs. bolton a hundred pounds. it is impossible, out of your income. i wish mr. addington would give you five hundred pounds a year; then, you would be better able to give away than at present. but your purse, my dear emma, will always be empty; your heart is generous beyond your means. your good mother is always sure of my sincerest regard; pray, tell her so. connor is getting on very well: but, i cannot ask captain capel to rate him; that must depend upon the boy's fitness, and capel's kindness. i have placed another year's allowance of thirty pounds in capel's hands, and given connor a present. what a story, about oliver and mr. matcham buying an estate in holstein; and, to sell out at such a loss! i never heard the like. i sincerely hope it will answer his expectations; it is a fine country, but miserably cold. how can tyson be such a fool! i sincerely hope, he will never want money. i am not surprised at troubridge's abuse; but, his tongue is no scandal. you make me laugh, when you imitate the doctor! i am quite delighted with miss yonge's goodness: and i beg you will make my best respects to her and her good father; and assure mr. yonge, how much obliged i feel for all his kind attentions to you. those who do that, are sure of a warm place in my esteem. i have wrote to dumourier; therefore, i will only trouble you to say how much i respect him. i fancy he must have suffered great distress at altona. however, i hope, he will now be comfortable for life. he is a very clever man; and beats our generals, out and out. don't they feel his coming? advise him not to make _enemies_, by shewing he knows more than some of us. envy knows no bounds to its persecution. he has seen the world, and will be on his guard. i put suckling into a frigate, with a very good man, who has a schoolmaster; he does very well. bulkley will be a most excellent sea-officer; it is a pity he has not served his time. i have answered mr. suckling's letter. gaetano is very well, and desires his duty. i think, sometimes, that he wishes to be left at naples; but, i am not sure. mr. denis's relation has been long in the victory; but, if the admiralty will not promote my lieutenants, they must all make a retrograde motion. but, i hope, they will not do such a cruel thing. i have had a very affectionate letter from lord minto. i hope george will be confirmed; but, the earl will not answer his application. i shall send you some sherry, and a cask of paxoretti, by the convoy. perhaps, it had better go to merton, at once; or, to davison's cellar, where the wine-cooper can draw it off. i have two pipes of sherry, that is bad; but, if you like, you can send the doctor a hogshead of that which is coming. davison will pay all the duties. send it entirely free, even to the _carriage_. you know, doing the thing well, is twice doing it; for, sometimes, carriage is more thought of than the prime cost. the paxoretti i have given to davison; and ordered one hogshead of sherry to canterbury, and one to dear merton. letter xxxvii. victory, september 10th, 1803. my dearest emma, what can i send you, buffeting the stormy gulph of lyons; nothing, but my warmest affection, in return for all your goodness to me and mine! i have sent to naples, to try and get some shawls from the king's manufactory; and have requested mr. falconet to ask his wife to choose some for you, and also some fine venetian chains. i only wish, my dear emma, that i knew what you would like, and i would order them with real pleasure; therefore, pray tell me. we have so very little communication with the mediterranean world, malta and toulon are in separate worlds. it takes, on the [average,] six or seven weeks to get an answer to a letter: and, in fifteen to twenty days, by the french papers, which we get from paris, we have news from london; not the best side of the question, you may be sure, but enough to give us an idea of how matters go on. i am of opinion, that we shall have a peace much sooner than is generally expected: and that will be, to me, the very highest pleasure in this world; to return to merton, and your dear beloved society. then, i agree with you, that "i would not give sixpence to call the king my uncle!" i have wrote again to gibbs, about my bronte affairs; and [the copy of a letter] to mrs. grã¦fer i will send you, if i can; but you must preserve it, for i have no other. it may be necessary, situated as i am, to keep her in good humour; for a thousand pounds may be easily sold off the estate, and i never the wiser. however, you will see what i have said. i have wrote to mr. elliot about sabatello. what a rascal he must be! gaetano is going to naples, and i shall tell him; but, of course, he would rather favour sabatello, his brother-in-law, than julia. i send you, my dearest emma, an hundred pounds, which you will dispose of as follows--a _present_ for yourself; and, if you like, a trifle to the servants: something to the poor of merton; something for mrs. cadogan, miss connor, charlotte, &c. &c. i only send this as a trifling remembrance from me, whose whole soul is at merton. september 16th. the day after i wrote the former part of this letter, mr. scott received from venice, and desired to present to you, two very handsome venetian chains, received from venice. this i would not suffer; for i allow no one to make my own emma presents, but her nelson. therefore, he will be paid for them; but, your obligation is not the less to him. he is a very worthy, excellent, modest man, and an excellent secretary. dr. scott is, at times, wrong in the head; absolutely, too much learning has turned him. but we all go on very well. i had a letter from gibbs about bronte, and from noble, which will begin another letter; only, believe me, at all times, sides, and ends, most faithfully your's, for ever, nelson & bronte. letter xxxviii. september 26th, 1803. my dearest emma, we have had, for these fourteen days past, nothing but gales of wind, and a heavy sea. however, as our ships have suffered no damage, i hope to be able to keep the sea all the winter. nothing, but dire necessity, shall force me to that out of the way place, malta. if i had depended upon that island, for supplies for the fleet, we must all have been knocked up, long ago; for, sir richard bickerton sailed from malta, the same day i left portsmouth. so that we have been a pretty long cruise; and, if i had only to look to malta for supplies, our ships companies would have been done for long ago. however, by management, i have got supplies from spain, and also from _france_; but it appears, that we are almost shut out from spain, for they begin to be very uncivil to our ships. however, i suppose, by this time, something is settled; but, i never hear from england. my last letters are july 6th, near three months. but, as i get french newspapers occasionally, we guess how matters are going on. i have wrote mr. gibbs, again, a long history about bronte; and, i hope, if general acton will do nothing for me, that he will settle something: but, i know, whatever is settled, i shall be the loser. till next year, the debt will not be paid off; how-* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * letter xxxix. victory, off toulon, october 18th, 1803. my dearest emma, your truly kind and affectionate letters, from july 17th, to august 24th, all arrived safe in the childers, the 6th of this month. believe me, my beloved emma, that i am truly sensible of all your love and affection, which is reciprocal. you have, from the variety of incidents passing before you, much to tell me; and, besides, you have that happy knack of making every thing you write interesting. here i am, one day precisely like the other; except the difference of a gale of wind, or not. since september 1st, we have not had four fine days; and, if the french do not come out soon, i fear, some of my ships will cry out. you are very good, to send me your letters to read. mrs. d---is a damned pimping bitch! what has she to do with your love? she would have pimped for lord b----, or lord l----, or captain m'n----, * * * * of * * * *, or any one else. she is all vanity: fancies herself beautiful; witty; in short, like you. she be damned! as i wrote you, the consulship at civita vecchia will not, in itself, pay their lodgings; and, the bad air will tip her off. there will be no lord bristol's table. he tore his last will, a few hours before his death. it is said, that it was giving every thing to those devils of italians about him. i wish he may have given mrs. denis any thing; but, i do not think it: and, as for you, my dear emma, as long as i can, i don't want any of their gifts. as for old q. he may put you into his will, or scratch you out, as he pleases, i care not. if mr. addington gives you the pension, it is well; but, do not let it fret you. have you not merton? it is clear--the first purchase--and my dear horatia is provided for: and, i hope, one of these days, that you will be my own duchess of bronte; and, then, a fig for them all! i have just had a letter from gibbs, of which i send you a copy. you see what interest he is taking about bronte. i begin to think, without some assistance like his, that i never should have touched a farthing. it will be 1805, before i touch the estate. neither principal or interest of the seven thousand ounces have been paid; and, it is now eight thousand ounces debt. you will see, gibbs, at last, has fixed on sending his daughter home; and i shall be glad of so good an opportunity of obliging him, as it will naturally tie him to my interest. he was a great fool, not to have sent the child with you, as you wished. i am glad to find, my dear emma, that you mean to take horatia home. _aye_! she is like her mother; will have her own way, or kick up a devil of a dust. but, you will cure her: i am afraid i should spoil her; for, i am sure, i would shoot any one who would hurt her. she was always fond of my watch; and, very probably, i might have promised her one: indeed, i gave her one, which cost sixpence! but, i go no where to get any thing pretty; therefore, do not think me neglectful. i send you noble's letter; therefore, i hope you will get your cases in good order: they have had some narrow escapes. i am glad you liked south end. how that coffin could come over, and palaver, rowley, keith, &c. and coffin to abuse the earl! now, i can tell you, that he is the earl's spy. it is coffin, who has injured sir andrew hammond so much: and his custom is, to abuse the earl, to get people to speak out; and, then, the earl takes his measures accordingly. to me, it is nothing. thank god! there can be no tales told of my cheating; or, i hope, neglecting my duty. whilst i serve, i will serve well, and closely; when i want rest, i will go to merton. you know, my dear emma, that i am never well when it blows hard. therefore, imagine what a cruize off toulon is; even in summer time, we have a hard gale every week, and two days heavy swell. it would kill you; and myself, to see you. much less possible, to have charlotte, horatia, &c. on board ship! and i, that have given orders to carry no women to sea in the victory, to be the first to break them! and, as to malta, i may never see it, unless we have an engagement; and, perhaps, not then: for, if it is _complete_, i may go home, for three months, to see you; but, if you was at malta, i might absolutely miss you, by leaving the mediterranean without warning. the other day, we had a report the french were out, and seen steering to the westward. we were as far as minorca, when the alarm proved false. therefore, my dearest beloved emma! although i should be the happiest of men, to live and die with you, yet my chance of seeing you is much more certain by your remaining at merton, than wandering where i may never go; and, certainly, never to stay forty-eight hours. you cannot, i am sure, more ardently long to see me, than i do to be with you; and, if the war goes on, it is my intention to get leave to spend the _next winter_ in england: but i verily believe that, long before that time, we shall have peace. as for living in italy, that is entirely out of the question. nobody cares for us, there; and, if i had bronte--which, thank god! i shall not--it would cost me a fortune to go there, and be tormented out of my life. i should never settle my affairs there. i know, my own dear emma, if she will let her reason have fair play, will say, i am right; but she is, like horatia, very angry, if she cannot have her own way. her nelson is called upon, in the most honourable manner, to defend his country! absence, to us, is equally painful: but, if i had either stayed at home, or neglected my duty abroad, would not my emma have blushed for me? she could never have heard of my praises, and how the country looks up. i am writing, my dear emma, to reason the point with you; and, i am sure, you will see it in its true light. but i have said my say, on this subject, and will finish. i have received your letter, with lord william's and mr. kemble's, about mr. palmer: he is also recommended by the duke of clarence; and, he says, by desire of the prince of wales. i have, without him, twenty-six to be made captains, and list every day increasing. it is not _one_ whole french fleet that can get through it. i shall, probably, offend many more than i can oblige. such is always the case: like the tickets--those who get them, feel they have a right to them; and those [who] do not get them, feel offended for ever. but, i cannot help it: i shall endeavour to do what is right, in every situation; and some ball may soon close all my accounts with this world of care and vexation! but, never mind, my own dear-beloved emma: if you are true to me, i care not--and approve of all my actions. however, as you say, i approve of them, myself; therefore, probably, i am right. poor reverend mr. scott is, i fear, in a very bad way. his head has been turned by too much learning, and the stroke of lightning will never let him be right again. the secretary scott is a treasure; and i am very well mounted: hardy is every thing i could wish or desire. our days pass so much alike that, having described one, you have them all. we now breakfast by candlelight; and all retire, at eight o'clock, to bed. naples, i fancy, is in a very bad way, in regard to money. they have not, or pretend not to have, enough to pay their officers; and, i verily believe, if acton was to give up his place, that it would become a province of france. only think of buonaparte's writing to the queen, to desire her influence to turn out acton! she answered, properly: at least, so says mr. elliot, who _knows more of naples_ than any of us; god help him!--and general acton has, i believe, more power than ever. by gibbs's letter, i see, he has sent over about my accounts at bronte. he can have no interest in being unfriendly to me. why should he? i want no great matters from him; and he can want nothing from me, that it is not my duty to give his sovereigns: therefore, why should he be against us! for my part, my conduct will not alter, whether he is or not. our friend, sir alexander, is a very great diplomatic character; and, even an admiral must not know what he is negotiating about: although you will scarcely believe, that the bey of tunis sent the man at my desire. you shall judge--_viz_. "the tunisian envoy is still here, negotiating. he is a moderate man; and, apparently, the best disposed of any i ever did business with." could even the oldest diplomatic character be drier? i hate such parade of nonsense! but, i will turn from such stuff. you ask me, do you do right to give charlotte things? i shall only say, my dear emma, whatever you do in that way, i shall always approve. i only wish, i had more power than i have! but, somehow, my mind was not sharp enough for prize-money. lord keith would have made twenty thousand pounds, and i have not made six thousand. poor mr. este, how i pity him! but, what shall i do with him? however, if he comes, i shall shew him all the kindness in my power. october 22d. the vessel is just going off. i have not a scrap of news! only, be assured of my most affectionate regard. remember me kindly to charlotte. shall always love those that are good to horatia. i will write her by another opportunity. remember me to mrs. cadogan. you may be sure, i do not forget charles, who has not been well; captain capel is very good to him. i am, ever, for ever, my dearest emma, your most faithful and affectionate nelson & bronte. supplement. * * * * * _interesting letters_, elucidatory of lord nelson's letters to lady hamilton. * * * * * vol. i. letters from lord nelson to mrs. thomson. letters of lord nelson, &c. i. see letter x. page 29. i sit down, my dear mrs. t. by desire of poor thomson, to write you a line: not, to assure you of his eternal love and affection for you and his dear child; but only to say, that he is well, and as happy as he can be, separated from all which he holds dear in this world. he has no thoughts separated from your love, and your interest. they are united with his; one fate, one destiny, he assures me, awaits you both. what can i say more? only, to kiss his child for him: and love him as truly, sincerely, and faithfully, as he does you; which is, from the bottom of his soul. he desires, that you will more and more attach yourself to dear lady hamilton. ii. see letter xxxvi. page 135. my dearest beloved * * * *, to say, that i think of you by day, night, and all day, and all night, but too faintly express my feelings of love and affection towards you * * * * * * * * * * unbounded affection. our dear excellent, good * * * * * * * is the only one who knows any thing of the matter; and she has promised me, when you * * * * * * again, to take every possible care of you, as a proof of her never-failing regard for your own dear nelson. believe me, that i am incapable of wronging you, in thought, word, or deed. no; not all the wealth of peru could buy me for one moment: it is all your's, and reserved wholly for you; and * * * certainly * * * * * * * * * from the first moment of our happy, dear, enchanting, blessed meeting. the thoughts of such happiness, my dearest only beloved, makes the blood fly into my head. the call of our country, is a duty which you would, deservedly, in the cool moments of reflection, reprobate, was i to abandon: and i should feel so disgraced, by seeing you ashamed of me! no longer saying--"this is the man who has saved his country! this is he who is the first to go forth to fight our battles, and the last to return!" and, then, all these honours reflect on you. "ah!" they will think; "what a man! what sacrifices has he not made, to secure our homes and property; even the society and happy union with the finest and most accomplished woman in the world." as you love, how must you feel! my heart is with you, cherish it. i shall, my best beloved, return--if it pleases god--a victor; and it shall be my study to transmit an unsullied name. there is no desire of wealth, no ambition, that could keep me from all my soul holds dear. no; it is to save my country, my wife in the eye of god, and * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * will tell you that it is all right: and, then, only think of our happy meeting. ever, for ever, i am your's, only your's, even beyond this world, nelson & bronte. for ever, for ever, your own nelson. august 26th, [1803.] letters from lady hamilton to lord nelson. letters of lady hamilton, &c. i. naples, june 30th, 1798. dear sir, i take the opportunity of captain hope, to write a few lines to you, and thank you for your kind letter by captain bowen. the queen was much pleased, as i translated it for her: and charges me to thank you; and say, she prays for your honour and safety--victory, she is sure you will have. we have still the regicide minister here, _garrat_: the most impudent, insolent dog; making the most infamous demands every day; and i see plainly, the court of naples must declare war, if they mean to save their country. _her majesty_ sees, and feels, all you said in your letter to sir william, dated off the faro di messina, in its true light; so does general acton. but, alas! their first minister, _gallo_, is a frivolous, ignorant, self-conceited coxcomb, that thinks of nothing but his fine embroidered coat, ring, and snuff-box; and half naples thinks him half a frenchman: and, god knows, if one may judge of what he did in making the peace for the emperor, he must either be very ignorant, or not attached to his masters or the _cause commune._ the queen and acton cannot bear him, and consequently [he] cannot have much power: but, still, a first minister, although he may be a minister of smoke, yet he has always something; enough, at least, to do mischief. the jacobins have all been lately declared innocent, after suffering four years imprisonment; and, i know, they all deserved to be hanged long ago: and, since garrat has been here, and through his insolent letters to gallo, these pretty gentlemen, that had planned the death of their majesties, are to be let out on society again. in short, i am afraid, all is lost here; and i am grieved to the heart for our dear, charming queen, who deserves a better fate! i write to you, my dear sir, in confidence, and in a hurry. i hope you will not quit the mediterranean, without taking _us_. we have our leave, and every thing ready, at a day's notice, to go: but yet, i trust in god, and you, that we shall destroy those monsters, before we go from hence. surely, their reign cannot last long! if you have any opportunity, write to us; pray, do: you do not know how your letters comfort us. god bless you, my dear, dear sir! and believe me, ever, your most sincerely obliged and attached friend, emma hamilton. ii. thursday evening, june 12th, [1799.] i have been with the queen this evening. she is very miserable; and says, that although the people of naples are for them, in general, yet things will not be brought to that state of quietness and subordination, till the fleet of lord nelson appears _off naples_. she therefore begs, intreats, and conjures you, my dear lord, if it is possible, to arrange matters so as to be able to go to naples. sir william is writing for general acton's _answer_. for god's sake, consider it, and do! we will go with you, if you will come and fetch us. sir william is ill; i am ill: it will do us good. god bless you! ever, ever, your's sincerely, e. hamilton. letters from the rev. edmund nelson (_lord nelson's father_) to lady hamilton. letters of the rev. edmund nelson, _&c_. i. madam, i am much favoured by your polite letter, and the very friendly regard with which sir william hamilton and yourself always mention my dear son; who is, certainly, a worthy, good, brave man, parental partiality _apart_. but, i myself am by no means satisfied with his present situation; as to its importance, its safety, or its merited rewards. it [is] his to sow, but others reap the yellow harvests. all things, i trust, however, will work together for good. captain parker's misfortune, i see, in every point of view, with a friendly concern. langford will quickly be upon his legs. though the amusements of a dirty sea-port are not the most refined, good health, and domestic cheerfulness, will be a happy substitute. i beg the whole party to accept this my remembrance; and assurance of my regard, respect, and love: and am, madam, your most humble servant, edm. nelson. burnham, august 11th, [1801.] ii. madam, your polite congratulation upon the entrance of a new year, i return seven-fold to you, and the whole of the party now under the hospitable roof of merton place. time is a sacred deposit committed to our trust; and, hereafter, we must account for the use we have made of it. to me, a large portion of this treasure has already been granted, even seventy-nine years. the complaint my dear son has felt is, i know, very, very painful: and can be removed, only, with much care and caution; not venturing, without a thick covering, both head and feet, even to admire your parterres of snow-drops, which now appear in all their splendour. the white robe which _january_ wears, bespangled with ice, is handsome to look at; but we must not approach too near _her_. i shall be very glad to know the lord of merton is recovered. i am, madam, your most humble servant, edm. nelson. bath, january 7th, 1802. letters from the rev. dr. nelson, now earl nelson, to lady hamilton. letters of earl nelson, &c. i. hilborough, near brandon, wednesday, march 4th, 1801. my dear lady, i have sent you, by this day's coach, a hunted hare; which, i hope, will prove tender and good. it was killed yesterday. we are very much gratified by your kind and friendly letters: they are very interesting to us, and they give an additional zest to our breakfast; indeed, they are the only things give us any comfort, in our absence. how unfortunate it was, we left town as we did! i had a letter, yesterday morning, from my great and beloved brother. he tells me, he has sent my letter to the new lord chancellor; god grant it may have the desired effect; but, they are all so engaged, that i fear it much. at any rate, our good friend has done what he can. he tells me, he shall be at yarmouth to-morrow or next day. a near relation of our's, who has not seen my lord since his return to england, has offered to take me in his carriage: so, we set out on sunday afternoon; for we parsons can't go till the sunday duty is over. we sleep at norwich, and hope to be at yarmouth early on monday. i have written to my brother by this post; so that, if he is likely to have sailed before monday, he has time to stop us. yarmouth is sixty miles from hence. i have written you all these particulars; because, i know, you like to know all about us. mrs. nelson does not go with us; so you must be charitable to her, and give her a letter or two. we shall return by the following sunday. i see, by the papers, the king was better on tuesday. mrs. nelson is going out for a day; when she returns, she will write. she will thank you to keep the _two_ guineas my lord left for charlotte, till you hear from her; as she has thought of laying it out in a frock for her. we both join in united regards to sir william; and believe me, your ladyship's faithful and most obliged and affectionate friend, wm. nelson. ii. hilborough, march 29th, 1801. my dear lady, as i have duty to-day, both morning and afternoon, and to preach _twice_, i have only time to scrawl a few lines to you between the services. i will write to my deary to-morrow. i do not much wonder we have no news from the baltic, considering the state of the wind; and, unless it changes, it may be some time first. pray god it may be good, when it does arrive. i was rather surprised to hear _tom tit_ (that bad bird) had taken his flight to town: but, he is a prying little animal, and wishes to know every thing; and, as he is so small and insignificant, his movements are not always observed. but, for god's sake, take care of him; and caution our little jewel to be as much upon her guard as she can. i am terribly afraid, this bird will endeavour to do mischief. he must be watched with a hawk's eye. i almost wish some hawk, or _jove's eagle_, would either devour him or frighten him away. it is not very likely i should hear from yarmouth before you, because our yarmouth letters generally go to london first; but if i should, accidentally, your ladyship shall depend on hearing from me immediately. i am glad my little horace looks so well; and that you think him so like his great, his glorious, his immortal uncle. why should he not be like him? is it so very uncommon for such near relations to have some similitude? they who say otherwise, only say it out of envy, malice and hatred, and all uncharitableness; out upon all such miscreants! say i. my love to deary, charlotte, and the hereditary duke of bronte. god bless you, my dear lady; and believe me, your's faithfully, wm. nelson. tell me, in your next, whether you have seen that little bird, called _tom tit_. iii. hilborough, august 23d, 1801. my dear lady hamilton, i have written two long letters to my jewel, but i still seem to have more to say. i can't find out whether a certain viscountess is expected at burnham, or no. i am pleased that you propose bringing mrs. nelson to hilborough. i hope, sir william will be able to amuse himself with fishing a little. the weather is too hot for me to come to london, and i can't leave my parish at this time. tell my brother, i should have great pleasure in seeing him; and will go with him to plymouth, or any where else, if he particularly desires it. when you have seen parker and langford, you can give me a particular account of the state of their wounds. i feel much for them. i think it is better the _cub_ did not speak to mrs. n. it will save some trouble. i wish you could get a comfortable house near london. you will find mr. nayler, of the herald's office, a pleasant young man. i believe, he is my friend, and will readily give every information in his power. if _jove_ gets a higher title, perhaps things may be settled more to our minds. now we are already in the patent, as _barons_; it will be no difficult matter, in that case, to have our entails advanced to the highest honour, if my brother wishes. this i only mention _entre nous_, without having a desire on the subject. i am perfectly satisfied, that i am in the patent. i don't mean to say more to my brother. i am told, there are two or three very old lives, prebends of canterbury, in the minister's gift--near six hundred pounds a year, and good houses. the deans of hereford, exeter, litchfield and coventry, york, and winchester, are old men. write from deal, and tell me when you are likely to return to london. you can't come from thence nearer than london, unless my brother lands you on the other side of the river thames, on the essex or suffolk coasts. if that plan takes place, mrs. nelson had better send sarah home before you go. compliments to sir william, and all friends. your's very faithfully, wm. nelson. iv. sunday morning, sept. 6th, [1801.] my dear lady, to be sure, you did promise to write to me on thursday last; and i was very much disappointed at not receiving a letter yesterday, and sent to the post office twice, to be certain there was no mistake: and, now, this morning, comes your roguish, waggish letter, on a sunday morning, (amidst all my meditations for the good of my parishioners) about love, courtship, marriage, throwing the stocking, going to bed, &c. &c. &c.--quite shocking to write to a country parson, who can have no idea of such _things_. it might do well enough for a king's chaplain; or a church dignitary, who is supposed to have more _learning_, and more knowledge of _things in general_. i wish you was here, and you should not laugh at me for nothing. i would give you as good as you brought, at any time. i'll have no emmas, at present. stay till there comes one or two of another sort, to keep the line of the nelsons in the true name and blood, without being obliged to go to others to assume a name which scarcely belongs to them; and, then, as many emmas, elfridas, evelindas, and evelinas, as you please. but, i hope to god, the present young horatio will go on as we all wish, and transmit a long race to posterity. i am delighted with dr. heath's letter to my brother, and the character he gives of him. my only fear is, that we shall spoil him among us. i have not yet heard from him, how he felt himself. i should have liked to have peeped slyly into his room, and seen how he acted on first receiving the joyful intelligence. i don't know enough how to thank my brother, for all his goodness to me and mine; my heart overflows, whenever i think of it: but i can't sit down, and write a formal letter of thanks; it would be too absurd for _me_ to write, or _him_ to read. he well knows me; and i leave it to your ladyship, (my best and truest friend) to say every thing to him, for and from me: it will come best from your lips, and adorned with your eloquence. i wish my brother had done with this business. i hope, a peace will soon put an end to his toils and dangers. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * v. hilborough, september 8th, 1801. my dear lady hamilton, i hope you will have received my long letter of sunday's date, by this time. i wonder you should accuse me of remissness, in not writing to _you_. i told you then, and i repeat it now, that i would always give you "_as good as you brought_:" and, upon looking back to the last week's letters, i find i have always answered your's, whenever i had one; and, generally, by the _same post_. as i wrote so much on sunday, and you said--you thought you should leave deal on tuesday or wednesday, i said--i should write no more till you got back to london. nor should i now, was it not to rebut the charge of remissness and inattention to you. i am glad mrs. nelson is likely to come home soon; but, i hear nothing about your intentions. i shall write to her to-morrow, and direct my letter to piccadilly; where, i hope, it will find her: and, if this letter travels to deal, and follows you to london, it is no matter; it is not worth having, when you get it. only, i could not bear the thoughts of the appearance of neglect, without deserving it. one or two letters i wrote to mrs. nelson last week, i gave public notice, were intended, in a great degree, for the whole party. mrs. bolton is here for a day, to help my solitary life. i find lady n. has taken a house in somerset street, portman square. she, and my father, are to spend the winter in london; and, i am informed, he is to pay half. whether it is ready-furnished, or not, i can't tell. mr. edwards is this moment gone, and begs his compliments to you all. believe me, your's most faithfully, wm. nelson. compliments to parker and langford. vi. canterbury, february 9th, 1805. dear lady hamilton, i send you a small parcel; which i will thank you to forward to my brother, if you think there is a chance of his getting it before he leaves the mediterranean. but, if you have reason to expect him home very soon, you will be kind enough to return it to me again; or, keep it till i see you. the ceremony of electing the new archbishop takes place on tuesday morning. i think it more than probable, we shall make choice of the person his majesty has recommended to us, in his letter, which the chapter received yesterday. mrs. nelson begs her love to you, charlotte, mrs. bolton, &c. &c. your's, very faithfully, wm. nelson. i received mrs. bolton's parcel safe on friday. letters from the earl of st. vincent to lady hamilton. letters of the earl of st. vincent, _&c._ i. my dear madam, the prodigies of valour performed by your new chevalier have, i fear, obliterated the memory of your ancient knight. nevertheless, i beg your ladyship will lay me at the feet of the queen of the two sicilies, and assure her majesty of my profound respect for her person, and that my life is devoted to the defence of it: and, for yourself, accept every kind wish of your ladyship's truly affectionate and faithful knight, st. vincent. gibraltar, 18th october 1798. ii. my dear lady hamilton, ten thousand most grateful thanks are due to your ladyship, for restoring the health of our invaluable friend nelson, on whose life the fate of the remaining governments in europe, whose system has not been deranged by these devils, depends. pray, do not let your fascinating neapolitan dames approach too near him; for he is made of flesh and blood, and cannot resist their temptations. lady st. vincent will be transported with your attention to her. i have sent the fan mounts for lady nelson and her, by sir james saumarez; who, after seeing the french prizes safe moored in the tagus, conveys the duke d'hervie. he, poor man! although a grandee of spain, having been driven out of that kingdom by the insolent intrigues of truguet. i have obeyed your ladyship's commands respecting tom bowen, who is now captain of l'aquilon, and gone to lisbon to take possession of her; and his brother william, who married a daughter of sir william parker, i have appointed to the caroline, the finest frigate i have, and he is employed on the most advantageous service for filling his pockets. should your ladyship have any other protegã©, i desire you will not spare me. i am very much penetrated with the condescension their majesties of the two sicilies have graciously shewn to me, through your ladyship, and i rely on your doing justice to my feelings upon the occasion. i have taken up my residence here for some months, that i may be ready to afford succour to the detachments of the fleet i have the honour to command, in the levant and before cadiz; and, when sir william and you arrive, i shall be able to give you some english mutton, in a plain way. continue to love me; and rest assured of the most unfeigned and affectionate regard of, my dear lady hamilton, your faithful and devoted knight, st. vincent. admiral's house, rosia, gibraltar, 28th october 1798. iii. my dear lady hamilton, i have to thank you, which i do most kindly, for your obliging letters of the 7th and 10th of november; and for the gracious letter which your ladyship had received from the charming, delightful queen of the two sicilies, at whose feet i am anxiously desirous to throw myself: and, as i have relinquished my intention of returning to england, (although in possession of leave to go) i hope the period is not far distant. in the meanwhile, have the goodness to keep me alive in the remembrance of her majesty: assure her of my profound respect and admiration for her as queen--i dare not give utterance to what i feel for her as one of the first and most lovely of her sex. our possession of the island of minorca will relieve her majesty, and the government, from one embarrassment, touching their last treaty with france; as lord nelson will now be able to refit his squadron, without committing an infraction of the treaty. our excellent friend, general o'hara, is very busy in erecting two rooms for the accommodation of your ladyship and sir william, when you visit this curious rock. he is among the most hospitable and entertaining of men: and we live together as all commanders of his majesty's land forces and fleets ought to do; and, i hope, will do, from the examples which have been shewn wherever i have acted with the army--as sir charles grey, the governor of this garrison, and general stuart, will testify; and, if the immortal wolfe could be conjured from the grave, he would do so too. i hope soon to hear, our dear lord nelson is quite well, under your fostering care; and, with my warmest wishes for every blessing to be showered down upon you and your's, i have the honour to be, with the truest respect, esteem, and regard, your ladyship's very affectionate, humble servant, st. vincent. rosia house, gibraltar, 7th dec. 1798. iv. my dear lady hamilton, permit me to introduce to your acquaintance and protection another hero of the nile, in captain darby, of the bellerophon; who you will find a pleasant, queer, and faithful irishman. i also beg leave to interest you in favour of mrs. lock; a daughter of the duchess of leinster, by mr. ogilvie. her husband is appointed consul at naples; which may occasion some difficulty in bringing her forward, unless the etiquette is altered touching consuls. god bless you, my dear madam; and, be assured, i always am your ladyship's truly affectionate st. vincent. rosia house, gibraltar, 1st january 1799. v. my dear lady hamilton, i cannot sufficiently thank you, for sending me her sicilian majesty's most gracious letter; the contents of which i feel, as becomes a good royalist, and loyal subject: and for your goodness to mrs. lock; who, poor thing! merits a more respectable situation than that of consuless. she is, certainly, a very comely woman, and truly amiable. the designation sir william has in contemplation for him, will place them in an honourable stile; and, i have no doubt, from the protection they have at home, will lead to ministerial character. you are very good to my old friend darby--who is a good-humoured, blundering irishman; and will make you laugh, in the midst of the pangs your ladyship must suffer for the destiny of the delightful city and country to which you have so long contributed a large portion of the gaiety and charming society of sir william's hospitable mansion: for, although i had not the good fortune to revisit naples after sir william's return, all my travelling friends did ample justice to the liberality of the representatives of our royal master and mistress. mr. preston was chargã©, when i was at naples with the duke of gloucester; and, though a worthy gentleman, and since a pious bishop, he was certainly a dry comedian. have the goodness to commend me to the queen; continue to nurse my excellent friend, nelson; and, when i have the happiness to see sir william and your ladyship here, i will pour the effusions of my heart upon you both. the governor has added two rooms to the convent, for your accommodation; and mrs. grey, late miss whitbread, wife to the captain of the ville de paris, will contribute all that this house affords for the entertainment of both. god bless you, my dear lady hamilton; and, be assured, no man respects and esteems you more truly than your ladyship's truly affectionate st. vincent. rosia house, 27th february 1799. letters from sir alexander john ball to lady hamilton. letters of sir alexander john ball, _&c_. i. my dear madam, i cannot help loving and esteeming you very much, although you have proved such a false gipsey to me. pray, do you recollect looking into my hand, and telling me a pretty story of carrying home sir william and lady hamilton, &c. &c. however, i forgive you; as you did not take money, and could only have in view giving me much pleasure. i beg leave to introduce to your ladyship's notice the abbã© savoye; who is a sensible man, and the most polished here. he has great influence with the maltese. pray, request sir william to introduce him particularly to le chevalier acton. i shall have the pleasure of seeing you and sir william hamilton in england, this summer. how very much i wished to be near you, when you were reading the parliamentary effusions of gratitude and joy for the services lord nelson has rendered his country! i would rather be lord nelson, than any duke--or, indeed, any man--in england; and you may guess how very proud i am in having such a friend. indeed, i feel, that i owe more to him than any man in this world. i have written to sir william; god bless you both! i remain, with sincere respect and esteem, my dear madam, your ladyship's most devoted and obliged humble servant, alexander john ball. alexander, 9th february 1799. davidge gould is sighing for palermo; _alias_ miss k----. i wish the admiral would let him recreate for a fortnight, and send hardy to me again. ii. my dear madam, i had the honour of writing to your ladyship and sir william, by the vanguard; since which, i have read the few lines you had the goodness to address to me at the bottom of lord nelson's letter of the 9th inst. i cannot entertain any hopes of personally paying my respects to you and sir william, before your departure for england; but, be assured, that i can never forget the very flattering attention you have both been pleased to honour me with. you must wait a month longer, for the warm weather; otherwise, the transition may be too great for sir william. we are anxiously waiting for the maltese deputies to return from palermo. the inhabitants are critically situated; but, i hope, all will end well. good news from you will determine it. i find, that you fascinate all the navy as much at palermo as you did at naples. if we had many such advocates, every body would be a candidate for our profession. god bless, and protect, you and sir william. may prosperous gales attend you! may you live a thousand years! believe me, with sincere respect and esteem, my dear madam, your ladyship's most devoted and obliged servant, alexander john ball. 23d february 1799. letters from the earl of bristol, _bishop of derry, in ireland_, to lady hamilton. letters of the earl of bristol, _bishop of derry, &c_. i. naples, sunday morning, [1795.] i return you the inclosed, my dearest emma, which does equal honour to the excellent head and heart of the writer. i shall begin, for the first time of my life, to have a good opinion of myself, after such honourable testimonials. in the mean time, i send you an extraordinary piece of news, just written me from ratisbon--a courier from the elector of mentz, desiring _the empire_ to make a separate peace with france. couriers have been sent from the diet to sweden and denmark, desiring their mediation: "and it is clear," says my letter, "_somebody_ is at the bottom of all this; the elector of mentz only lends his name." the suburbs of warsaw taken; the capitulation of the city daily expected. the king of prussia totally retired beyond potsdam, and supposed to be at the eve of madness. oh! emma, who'd ever be wise, if madness be loving of thee. b. ii. munich, 14th july 1795. dearest emma, here is great news from england. my letters of the 26th june assure me, seven thousand men are embarked for st. pol de leon, together with an immense number of emigrã©s--that, the week before, a bishop, and sixty priests, were most prosperously landed at the same place, and received with the greatest acclamations--that six sail of the line from russia, were in sight, and the pilots gone to conduct them--that, in amsterdam, and other towns of holland, there is the greatest insurrections in favour of that fool the stadtholder. all this, however, can only tend to facilitate peace, but not at all to restore that despicable, odious family of bourbons--the head of which is now at _verona_, where we left him eating _two capons_ a day; ('tis a pity the whole family are not _capons_!) and, what is more, dressing them himself in a superb kitchen--the true chapel of a bourbon prince. emma! if that dear queen of naples does not write, herself, to prince d'oria, for me, i won't look at your beautiful face these six months--"_coute qui coute_." to-morrow, for _pyrmont_, near hanover. emma--adieu! iii. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * there is no doubt but don luizi is implicated: that very circumstance, argues the extent of the mischief; for so cautious a man, and one whose sentiments are so publicly known, would not engage without good support. i have conversed with one of his intimates--one "who is no stranger to his dearest secret." the evidence will be difficult; perhaps, impracticable: unless his most confidential friends can be gained; and that, i deem, impossible. but the character of the garrison at capua is of the most alarming complexion; and, yet, is what i can best depend on. i think, _wade_ could tell much, if he would speak out. adieu! lovel and i were on vesuvius. he goes, like a true parson, only to eat the better. i foresee, he will once more fall into _nudi's_ hands. procyta will be another _duo_; for i hate large parties on such, and especially females--unless they be phoenixes, like yourself. it is a great discouragement to a caserta party, to view the whole town buried in a mist; and the belvidere alone, like a buoy, to point out the shoal. sweet emma--adieu! every wish of my heart beats for the dear queen. iv. send me word, dearest emma! how the invaluable, adorable queen, finds herself. the weather changed so unmercifully, yesterday, that lovel and i both grew ill; and this makes me the more anxious to hear of our too sensible and inestimable queen. my warmest wishes--physical, political, and moral--ever attend her. b. v. here is my cousin's answer, dearest emma--"_io lo capisco_." her brother assured me, there is not the semblance of an insurrection; and, that our dear, dear queen, is misled by a set of scoundrels. send me word where you will be. adieu! vi. yesterday, we dined on mount vesuvius; to-day, we were to have dined on its victim, pompeii: but, "by the grace of god, which passeth all understanding," since bartolomeo himself, that weather-soothsayer, did not foresee this british weather, we are prevented. in the mean time, all this week and the next, is replete with projects to ischia, procita, &c. &c. so god only knows when i can worship, again, my diana of ephesus. write me word, explicitly, how you are, _what_ you are, and where you are; and be sure that, wheresoever i am, still i am your's, my dearest emma. vii. wednesday. my dearest emma, the very unexpected intelligence, which prince augustus has most delicately communicated to me, of poor lord hervey's _decease_, has quite _bouleversã©e_ my already shattered frame. i would not allow your friendly mind to learn an event so interesting to me from any other hand than that of your affectionate and devoted friend, bristol. viii. my ever dearest lady hamilton, i should certainly have made this sunday an holy day to me, and have taken a sabbath day's journey to caserta, had not poor mr. lovel been confined to his bed above three days with a fever. to-day, it is departed; to-morrow, dr. nudi has secured us from its resurrection; and, after to-morrow, i hope, virtue will be its own reward, and that my friendship for lovel will be recompensed with the enjoyment. this moment i receive your _billet-doux_, and very dulcet it is! all public and private accounts agree, in the immediate prospect of a general peace. it will make a delicious foreground in the picture of the new year; many of which, i wish, from the top, bottom, and centre of my heart, to the incomparable emma--_quella senza paragona_! _dans ce moment, on m'assure que mayence est prise. je ne vous garantis pas cette maudite nouvelle--mais je me flatte que la paix se fait_. ix. ever dearest emma, i went down to your opera box two minutes after you left it; and should have seen you on the morning of your departure--but was detained in the _arms_ of _murphy_, as lady eden expressed it, and was too late. you say nothing of the adorable queen; i hope, she has not forgot me: but, as shakespeare says, "who doats, must doubt;" and i verily deem her the very best edition of a woman i ever saw--i mean; of such as are not in _folio_, and are to be _had_ in _sheets_. i will come on friday or saturday; but our british colony are so numerous, that my duties obstruct my pleasures. ever, and invariably, dearest, dear emma, most affectionately, your b. you see, i am but the second letter of your alphabet, though you are the first of _mine_. x. milan, 24th november 1798. i know not, dearest emma, whether friend sir william has been able to obtain my passport, or not; but this i know--that, if they have refused it, they are damned fools for their pains: for, never was a _malta orange_ better worth squeezing or sucking; and if they leave me to die, without a tombstone over me, to tell the contents--"_tant pis pour eux_!" in the mean time, i will frankly confess to you, that my health most seriously and urgently requires the balmy air of dear naples, and the more balmy atmosphere of those i love, and who love me; and that i shall forego my garret with more regret than most people of my silly rank in society forego a palace or a drawing-room. but i will augur better things from the justice of my neighbour; and that they will not condemn, against all rules of probability, one of their best friends, unheard: especially, one who, if he be heard, can say so much. my project, then, in case i receive the passport, is to travel on horseback as far as _spalato_ in dalmatia; and, from thence, cross over to manfredonia--a passage of a few hours--and which, in the year 1772, i performed with my horses on board; and, afterwards, had a most delightful jaunt through that unexplored region, dalmatia; where the very first object that strikes both the eye and the imagination, is a modern city built within the precincts of an ancient palace--for spalato stands within the innermost walls of diocletian's palace. for that wise sovereign quitted the sceptre for the pleasures of an architect's rule; and, when he had completed his mansion in that delightful climate, enjoyed that, and life, to a most advanced old age- "the world forgetting, by the world forgot." _a-propos_ to _spalato_! do not fail hinting to sir william, that a most safe, convenient, and expeditious packet-boat, might be established, in these perilous times, between that and manfredonia: by which all dispatches, and all travellers, either for business or pleasure, might make a very short and safe cut between naples and vienna, and naples and the rest of europe, without touching one palm of any ground but austrian and neapolitan; and, of course, without the risk of being ever stopped. the small towns, too, are in quick succession; and, the whole country being a limestone rock, the roads will make themselves, and afterwards pay themselves, by means of good turnpikes. nothing can exceed the dreariness, gloominess, and humidity, of a milanese sky in winter; which, i conclude, under the _old regime_, led to all the hospitality, and conviviality, practised here, by their voluptuous but social nobility. now, we have nothing left to _comfort_, but another _nudi_--a son of esculapius, born in italy; but an enthusiast for england, and all that is english--an excellent physician, but a still better friend; and, like nudi, when he has a pint of madeira in his belly, and the fumes of it in his brain, a most cheerful and improving companion: for, i protest to you that, during my convalescence, i made greater strides to recovery by his attic evenings, than by his morning potions, or even his beef broth. sweet emma, adieu! remember me in the warmest and most enthusiastic stile, to your friend, and my friend, and the friend of human kind. if sir william does not contrive to send me my passport, i will--i will--excommunicate him, and send him to the devil before his time. letter from the honourable charles greville, _nephew of sir william hamilton_, to lady hamilton. letter of the honourable charles greville, _&c_. august 18th, 1794. dear lady hamilton, you will, i am sure, be glad to hear, that a favourable change has been announced to me; and that i am reinstated in the king's household, and honoured with a gold key, as his vice-chamberlain--and i hope, in a few days, to be in parliament. you have seen me in prosperity, and in adversity; and know how much i estimate worldly concerns, according to their influencing the opinion of my real friends. friendship has borne me up in the most difficult times; and the general satisfaction which my friends express, on my promotion, renders me very happy at present: and, to make me more so, i have anticipated to my own mind the sincere satisfaction with which you will receive this news. i should not flatter myself so far, if i was not very sincerely interested in your happiness; and, ever, affectionately your's, c.f.g. letters from lady hamilton to the hon. charles greville, _nephew of sir william hamilton_. letters of lady hamilton, &c. i. 25th of february, [1800.] dear sir, i received your letter by mr. campbell. he is lodged with us. we find him a pleasant man; and shall write fully by him. he will tell you a little how we go on, as to our domestic happiness. we are more united and comfortable than ever, in spite of the infamous jacobin papers, jealous of lord nelson's glory, and sir william's and mine. but we do not mind them. lord n. is a truly virtuous and great man; and, because we have been fagging, and ruining our health, and sacrificing every comfort, in the cause of loyalty, our private characters are to be stabbed in the dark. first, it was said, sir w. and lord n. fought; then, that we played, and lost. first, sir w. and lord n. live like brothers; next, lord n. never plays: and this i give you my word of honour. so i beg you will contradict any of these vile reports. not that sir w. and lord n. mind it; and i get scolded by the queen, and all of them, for having suffered one day's uneasiness. our fleet is off malta: lord nelson has taken le genereux, and was after the frigates; so the attempt to relieve malta has failed. i have had a letter from the emperor of russia, with the cross of malta. sir william has sent his imperial majesty's letter to lord grenville, to get me the permission to wear it. i have rendered some services to the poor maltese. i got them ten thousand pounds, and sent corn when they were in distress. the deputies have been lodged in my house; i have been their ambassadress, so his [i.]m. has rewarded me. if the king will give me leave to wear it abroad, it is of use to me. the q----n is having the order set in diamonds for me; but the one the emperor sent is gold. i tell you this little history of it, that you may be _au fait_. ball has it also, but i am the first englishwoman that ever had it. sir w. is pleased, so _i am happy_. we are coming home; and i am miserable, to leave my dearest friend, the q----. she cannot be consoled. we have sworn to be back in six months; and i will not quit her, till sir william binds himself to come back. however, i shall have a comfort in seeing some of my old friends; and you, in particular. we have also many things to settle. i think, i can situate the person you mention about the court, as a _camerist_ to some of the r. f----y, if her education _is good_. it is a comfortable situation _for life_; so, i will bring her out. the q. has promised me. let this remain _entre nous_. ii. [april 1803.] lady hamilton will be glad to know how long mr. greville can permit her to remain in the house in piccadilly, as she must instantly look out for a lodging; and, therefore, it is right for her to know the full extent of time she can remain there. she also begs to know, if he will pay her debts, and what she may depend upon; that she may reduce her expences and establishment immediately. end of vol. i. printed by macdonald and son, cloth fair, london. the story of nelson, and other stories, by w.h.g. kingston. ________________________________________________________________________ there are three short stories in this little book. the first thing to say is that the book has no page-numbers, which must be just about unique. i cannot imagine what the point of this is. the three stories are of roughly equal length. the first is a story about nelson purporting to have been written by an admirer whose work at sea kept him near to nelson. the second story is about farming in the red river area of north america in the late 1700s or early 1800s. the weather, with flooding of the river, and the red indians, made it all rather difficult. the third story is about a young chap who while no more than fourteen distinguishes himself in battle, and is immediately promoted to midshipman. his bravery and seamanship win him several battles, with their prizes, and he is promoted till he is an admiral with a baronetcy. of course there are some jealous people on the way. but it is a pretty tale, with a pretty girl to be married. ________________________________________________________________________ the story of nelson; the grateful indian; the boatswain's son; by w.h.g. kingston. volume one, chapter one. the story of nelson. my great ambition as a boy was to be a sailor; the idea of becoming one occupied my thoughts by day and influenced my dreams by night. i delighted in reading naval histories and exploits and tales of the sea, and i looked upon rodney, howe, nelson, and saint vincent, as well as duncan, collingwood, exmouth, and sir sidney smith, as far greater men, and more worthy of admiration, than all the heroes of antiquity put together--an opinion which i hold even to the present day, and which, i hope, all my readers will maintain with me. once it happened during my summer holidays that, most unwillingly, i was taken up to london. during the time, a naval friend, having compassion on me, suggested that i might find matter of interest by a trip to greenwich, and a visit to the hospital. i jumped at the proposal. i can never forget the feelings with which i entered the wide, smooth space on which that beautiful collection of buildings stands, forming the royal hospital for seamen, with its broad terrace facing the river, and found myself surrounded by many hundreds of the gallant veterans who had maintained not only so nobly the honour of old england on the deep, but had contributed to preserve her from the numberless foes who had threatened her with destruction. the building is of itself interesting. on this spot once stood the royal palace of placentia, in which no less than four successive sovereigns were born--henry the eighth, edward the sixth, mary, and elizabeth. charles the second had intended to rebuild it, but left it unfinished; and it was put into the heart of good queen mary, the wife of william of orange, to establish that noble institution for the reception of the disabled seamen of the royal navy, which, much augmented in size, has ever since existed the noblest monument to a sovereign's memory. i visited the beautiful chapel and the painted hall, where already were hung a number of fine pictures, illustrative of england's naval victories; and my friend then took me to see an old shipmate of his, who was one of the officers of the hospital. when he heard that i wished to go to sea, and was so warm an admirer of nelson, he exclaimed--"he'll just suit me. let him stay here for a few days. we'll fish out some of our men who long served with nelson, and if he keeps his ears turning right and left he'll hear many a yarn to astonish him. he must have patience though. the old fellows will not open out at once; their memories are like wells, you must throw a little water down at first before you can get them to draw." i was delighted with the proposal. my friend, however, began to make excuses, saying that he ought to take me back, and that i had no clothes with me. at this the greenwich officer, lieutenant r---, laughed heartily. "a shirt-collar and a pocket-comb? what does a midshipman want more?" he exclaimed. "but i will find him all the luxuries he may require. let him stay, and tell his friends that he is in safe keeping." so it was arranged, and i found myself an inmate of greenwich hospital. after i had been seen walking up and down the terrace a few times with lieutenant r---, the pensioners, when i spoke to them, answered me readily, though at first rather shy of talking of themselves or their adventures. at length i fell in with a fine old man, and sitting down on one of the benches facing the river, i began to tell him how much i honoured and loved all sailors, and how i longed myself to become one. "ay, boy, there are good and bad at sea as well as on shore; but as to the life, it's good enough; and if i had mine to begin again, i would choose it before all others," he answered, and once more relapsed into silence. just then lieutenant h--passed; he nodded at me with a smile, saying, as he passed on, "my old friend there will tell you more of lord nelson than any man now in the hospital." the old man looked at me with a beaming expression on his countenance. "ay, that i can," he said, "boy and man i sailed with him all my life, from the day he got his first command till he was struck down in the hour of victory. so to speak, sir, i may say i knew him from the very day he first stepped on board a ship. this is how it was: my father was a seaman, and belonged to the `raisonable,' just fitted out by captain suckling, and lying in the medway. one afternoon a little fellow was brought on board by one of the officers, and it was said that he was the captain's nephew; but the captain was on shore, and there was nobody to look after him. he walked the deck up and down, looking very miserable, but not crying, as some boys would have done--not he. that wasn't his way at any time. when the captain did come on board, and he saw his nephew, he shrugged his shoulders, as much as to say that he didn't think he was fit for a sea-life. no more he did look fit for it, for he was a sick, weakly-looking little fellow. however, it wasn't long before he showed what a great spirit there was in him." "ay," said i, "there is a story i have heard which proved that, when he was merely a child. he and another little fellow had gone away bird's-nesting from his grandmother's house, and he not coming back, the servants were sent to look for him. he was found seated by the side of a brook, which he could not get over. `i wonder, child,' said the old lady, when she saw him, `that hunger and fear did not drive you home.' `fear, grandmamma!' answered the boy, `i never saw fear! what is it?'" "true, true!" exclaimed the old man. "fear! i don't think he ever felt it either. well, as i was going to tell you, my father followed captain suckling into the `triumph,' and young nelson went with him; but as she was merely to do duty as guard-ship in the thames, the captain sent his nephew out in a merchant-vessel to the west indies, to pick up some knowledge of seamanship. when he came back he soon showed that he had not lost his time, and that he was already a good practical seaman. soon after this an expedition was fitted out for a voyage of discovery towards the north pole, under captain phipps and captain lutwidge, in the `racehorse' and `carcass.' my father volunteered, and so did mr nelson, who got a berth as captain's coxswain with captain lutwidge. the ships, after entering the polar seas, were quickly beset with ice. mr nelson, who had command of a boat, soon showed what he was made of. my father was in another boat, and as they were exploring a channel to try and find a passage for the ships into the open sea, one of the officers fired at a walrus. `ah, i've hit him!' he exclaimed, `not a bad shot!' and he thought no more about the matter. but the brute gave a look up with a race like a human being, as much as to say, `we'll see more than one can play at that game,' and down he dived. presently up again he came, with some twenty or more companions, and with the greatest fury they set on the boat with their tusks, and tried to capsize her. my father and the rest of the crew fought desperately with boat-hook and axes, but they were getting the worst of it, and well-nigh gave themselves up as lost, when another boat was seen coming along the channel towards them. on she dashed; a young officer, a very little fellow, with an axe in his hand, sprang to the bows, and began dealing his blows right and left at the heads of the walruses till several were killed, when the rest dived down and took to flight. that young lad was nelson. soon after this, one morning he and another boy were missed from the ship. it was reported that they had gone away in pursuit of a bear which had been seen prowling about. a thick fog had come on, and they did not return. the captain began to think that they were lost, and a party was sent out to look for them. after wandering about for some time, the fog cleared off, and there was mr nelson, with a ship's musket in his hand, close up to a big white polar bear, who could have made mincemeat of him in a moment. the party shouted to him to return, but he wouldn't listen to them; and they expected every moment to see the bear turn and crush him. still on he went, moving sideways with the bear. when they got up, they found that there was a wide chasm which had prevented him from getting closer to the animal. they led him back to the ship, and when the captain asked him why he had gone, he answered, with a pouting lip, that he had set his heart on getting a bear's skin for his father, and that he didn't think he should have a better opportunity. "the captain reprimanded, but forgave him. there were greater dangers in store both for him and all in the expedition; and for a long time they had little hope of getting the ships clear of the ice. mr nelson exerted himself to cut a channel to let them escape; and at length a favourable wind getting up, they stood clear of it just as it was expected that they would be frozen in. they found themselves free, and reached england in safety. mr nelson had nearly been killed by the cold, and now he was to be tried by the scorching climate of the indian seas. such are the rapid changes we seamen have to undergo. he was appointed to the `seahorse,' and out she went to the indian station. the climate soon did what no dangers or common hardships could do; it took away the use of his limbs, and almost overcame his brave spirit. he retained home, feeling that he should never succeed in the navy or in anything else. but then suddenly he thought, `i was not born to die unknown. i'll try what i can do. i'll trust in providence. i'll serve my king and country--i will be a hero.' i heard him say this long after, and i have often since thought if all lads were to try to do their best, and trust in providence, we shouldn't hear of so many as we do getting into poverty and disgrace. "no officer, i have heard, ever passed a better examination for seamanship and navigation than did mr nelson. his uncle was present, but did not say who the young man was till the examination was over. whatever he did he tried to do as well as he could; that was the reason of his success. just about this time, young as i was, my father took me to sea with him, and we went out to the west indies. we were shortly turned over to the `hichinbrook,' a prize captured from the enemy, and mounting twenty-eight guns. i was walking the deck with my father when a thin, sallow, small young man stepped up the side. i should have taken him for a midshipman, but he had on a post-captain's uniform. he nodded, as an old acquaintance, to my father, who stood hat in hand with the other men to receive him. `that's mr nelson, our new captain,' said my father; `he'll not let the grass grow under his feet.' that was the first time i ever saw the great lord nelson. what my father said was true. we soon sailed to convoy a fleet of transports destined to attack saint juan de nicaragua. up a muddy river we pulled, led by our captain, with a hot scorching sun striking down on us. we arrived before a fort. captain nelson leaped on shore, sword in hand, leaving his shoes in the mud, to attack it. the fort was taken, and so was san juan itself; and though the grass did not grow under our feet, it was soon growing over the heads of numbers of the fine fellows who composed the expedition--both redcoats and seamen; and though our captain, receiving notice of his appointment to another ship, the `janus,' sailed away immediately, we lost the greater number of our people by sickness. the captain was so knocked up that he had to go home invalided, as did my father, who was never able again to go to sea. i went with him, and we lived for some time at deal. "i remember early in january, 1782, a tremendous gale sprang up. my father and i were standing on the shore, he with his glass in his hand watching the ships driving here and there, one running foul of another, when we observed a heavy store-ship drive right down on a frigate. "`they'll grind each other down to the water's edge,' observed my father. `does no one on board know what to do? i'd like to be off to lend a hand, but that's impossible; few boats could live in such a sea.' "while we were talking, a lad came running along the beach, saying that an officer was in a great taking, wanting to get off to his ship, and no one would go. "`who is he?' asked my father. "`a captain nelson,' answered the lad. "`i'll go, if any man will trust his boat,' exclaimed my father. `come along, ned.' "we ran along the beach, and there we found our late captain walking up and down, fuming away, and trying to persuade the boatmen to take him off. "`i'll go, sir, if i had a boat,' said my father. `i've long sailed with you.' "`ah! ned freeman. thank you--thank you,' exclaimed the captain. `i'm sure you'd go with me anywhere.' "`we'll take the captain off if he'll give us fifteen guineas,' observed several of the men, owners of a fine boat. "`done!' exclaimed the captain. `off we go at once.' "my father and i, with the other men, launched the boat. away we pulled with the white-topped seas dancing up round us and the dangerous goodwin sands to leeward, towards which the frigate was driving fast. captain nelson, by word and look, urged us on, though more than once i thought the boat would have been swamped, and all hands lost. we did succeed in getting alongside. the captain sprang on board, and soon had got the ships clear with only the loss of the frigate's bowsprit and pennant. "`well, freeman, if you can't sail with me, your boy must,' said the captain, as the boat was about to shove off for the shore; `i'll look after him.' "`will you go, ned?' said my father to me. "there was no time for consideration. i said, `yes, father.' "my kind father wrung my hand, and we parted never to meet again. "the `albemarle' soon after sailed for canada and the west indies. our captain had a kind heart. on our first cruise we captured a fishing vessel belonging to boston. the master wrung his hands, declaring that he had no other property, and a large family at home to support, who would all be brought to beggary. the captain told him not to be cast down; that he would employ him as a pilot, and give him back his vessel at the end of the time. he was as good as his word, and i never saw a poor fellow so happy and grateful as the fisherman was when he was put on shore. some time after, when we were all suffering from scurvy, not having had a fresh piece of meat or vegetables for many months, the same man came off to us with a full supply for several days, which i believe saved the lives of many poor fellows on board. "soon after this, while cruising off boston, a squadron of four french line-of-battle ships and a frigate were seen from the masthead. they made sail in chase, but the captain knew well all the shoals and quicksands in those parts, and soon got into channels where the big ships were afraid to follow. the frigate, however, kept on her course, and when we saw this we hove to, to wait for her. we all looked forward with joy to a brush, but she did not like our appearance, and much to our disappointment, about she went and rejoined her consorts. "i can't tell you all the things we did in the west indies. at last we went home, and were paid off; and i remained on shore with my widowed mother till i heard that captain nelson had commissioned the `boreas.' i went and joined him. he received me heartily, and away we sailed for the west indies. "young as was our captain, he found himself senior officer on the station--that is to say, second in command under the admiral; for in those days we had old heads on young shoulders; so we should now, if boys would try to imitate the example of wise and noble men, not to ape the folly of foolish ones. we were chiefly among the leeward islands. "while visiting the island of nevis, the captain fell in love with a lady, a mrs nisbet, and they married: a very good, kind young lady she was, that i remember; but after we returned home i saw no more of her. the `boreas' was paid off in 1787. thus i have told you most of what i remember about nelson's early days. he was soon to be known to the world as the greatest naval captain of his time." volume one, chapter two. "you have heard speak of the `agamemnon' of 64 guns. i was one of the old agamemnons, as we called ourselves. we, all her crew, were proud of her, and good reason we had to be so. captain nelson commissioned her on the 26th of january, 1793, and it wasn't many days after this that i joined her. you see i kept my eye on him. when a man has found a good captain, if he's wise he will follow him whenever he can. "i can't now remember all the places we went to. first, we were one of the channel fleet. then we were sent out to the mediterranean, where our captain astonished the admirals, and made the soldier-generals almost tear their eyes out by the way he did things. he took care that the weeds should not grow to the bottom of the ship he commanded. first we had to conquer the island of corsica. [see note.] we drove the french out of every place but the strong fort of bastia, so we landed, and hauled our guns up the heights, and kept up such a hot fire on the place that it gave up, and then the soldiers marched in and gained the glory. then we took a place called calvi. here it was that a shot, striking the ground, threw up some sand in the captain's eye, and though we thought but little of it at the time, he never saw again with that eye. it was very hard work, and the country was unhealthy, and many of us grew sick, so that we were heartily glad when it was over. there was something better in store for us too. news was brought us that the french fleet, nearly twice as strong as ours, was on the look-out for us. our fleet was under the command of admiral hotham. you may be sure that we kept a bright look-out for the enemy. at last they hove in sight, and one of our frigates, the `inconstant,' got so close that she brought to action the `ca ira,' a french eighty-four, which had carried away her main and foretop masts. the `inconstant,' however, was obliged to bear away, and a french frigate came up and took the line-of-battle ship in tow, while two other line-of-battle ships guarded her on her weather bow. "our captain had been watching all that took place, and, though we had no line-of-battle ship to support us, we made all sail in chase. there was not a man on board whose heart didn't beat high with pride at the way we went into action against odds so great; but we agamemnons knew well enough what our captain could do and would do. as soon as the enemy could bring their guns to bear, they kept firing away their stern-chasers at us. we stood on, without answering a shot, till we were within a hundred yards of them. `starboard the helm!' cried the captain. the after-sails were brailed up, and the ship falling off, our broadside was brought to bear on the retreating enemy. now we opened a tremendous fire on them, every gun telling. then the helm was put a-port, the after-yards braced up, and again we were after them. "again and again we practised the same manoeuvre, never allowing the `ca ira' to get a shot at us with one of her broadside guns. the enemy, however, were not idle with their after-guns, though it was not till we had torn her sails almost to ribbons that the french frigates began to open their fire upon us. then down came more of the enemy's ships towards us. the captain seemed only the better pleased at seeing this, and it's my opinion he would have hove to to meet them, and still managed to come off victorious by some means or other, even if the admiral had not made the signal of recall. though our sails and rigging were much cut up, we had only seven men wounded, while the `ca ira' lost one hundred and ten that day. "the next day we were again at it, for we managed to cut off the `ca ira,' and the `censeur,' which had her in tow. this time we got one on each side of us, and both of them fought well; but we fought better, and at length both struck, and our boats were sent on board to take possession i never before had witnessed such a scene as that i saw on board the `ca ira.' on her decks lay three hundred brave fellows, dead or dying, or badly wounded, besides those she had lost the day before, while the `censeur' had lost three hundred and fifty. our captain wanted to follow up the enemy, and it's my belief, if we had, we should have taken every one of them; but the admiral would not let him, and said we had done very well as it was. so we had; but, you see, our captain was the man who always wanted to do something better than well. _do well_ sits on the main-top--_do better_ climbs to the truck. "the `agamemnon' had been so knocked about, that the captain now shifted his flag into the `minerva' frigate, and took me and many other men with him. one of our first duties was to carry off the english garrison and privateers and merchantmen from corsica, which had declared for the french. we soon afterwards fought several actions with the enemy, and then war broke out between england and spain, and we had a narrow escape from an overwhelming force of spanish ships. we had just sailed from gibraltar, when two spanish line-of-battle ships followed us. we were keeping pretty well ahead when a man fell overboard. to let a man drown without trying to help him was against our captain's nature. a jolly-boat, commanded by lieutenant hardy, was lowered, and away she pulled to try and pick up the poor fellow. the boat was within range of the enemy's guns: the man was not to be seen. the captain had been anxiously watching all that took place. `i'll not lose hardy,' he exclaimed. `back the main-topsail!' no order was ever obeyed more readily, and soon we were dropping back towards our boat, and towards the enemy. we fully expected to be brought to action, but we did not care for that; we got back mr hardy and our boat, when what was our astonishment to see the headmost spaniard shorten sail to wait for his consort. there can be no doubt he thought we had assistance not far off. the spaniards were very timid of us in those days--they had good reason to be so. with flying colours we sailed out of the straits, laughing at our enemy. "both officers and men were constantly being shifted from ship to ship in those days; and, as soon as we reached cadiz we found ourselves transferred to the `captain,' a fine seventy-four. captain nelson hoisted his pennant, as commodore, on board of her, with captain miller under him. you have heard speak of the battle of saint vincent. sir john jervis, who was made earl saint vincent, was our admiral, and commodore nelson was second in command. he was now going to show all the world what he really was. the spaniards had twice as many ships as we had. they were much bigger, and carried heavier guns; but what did nelson or we care for that. it is the men who fight the battles, and nelson knew the stuff british seamen are made of. "early in the morning of the 14th of february, the spanish fleet hove in sight, and we bore down on them. they were in line, that is, one following the other. we managed to break that line, and cut off one part from the other, just as you cut a snake in two. we followed the head, the biggest part. that part bore away before the wind to join the tail. the `captain' was instantly wore round, instead of tacking, according to a signal just then made by the admiral, and away after them we went, followed by the `culloden,' `blenheim' and `diadem.' the `captain' was in the rear of the british line; but by the manoeuvre just performed, we came up with the spaniards, and in a short time we and the `blenheim' were tooth and nail with no less than seven spanish line-of-battle ships--one, the `santissima trinidade,' of 130 guns, and the `san josef' and `salvador del mundo' of 112, the others being of 80 and 74-guns. for nearly an hour we pounded away at them, till captain collingwood, in the `excellent,' came up, and gave us a helping hand by pouring a tremendous broadside into the `san nicolas.' "our captain now let us fall close alongside that ship, and then he called for boarders, and away we dashed into her. right through her we went; her flag was hauled down, and then, more boarders coming up, on we dashed aboard the big `san joseph,' and in a little time we had her also. we followed our captain to the quarterdeck, and then the spanish officers assembled, and their captain and all of them presented their swords to commodore nelson. as he received them he gave them to one of his barge-men, william fearney, who, with no little pleasure, tucked them under his arm, just as you see in the picture in the painted hall yonder. all the seven ships were taken, and if the spaniards had had any pluck we should have taken the remainder; but they hadn't, and made off while we were unable to follow. that is the worst of fighting with cowards. if they had been brave men they would have stopped to fight, and we should have captured every one of their ships. that was the battle of saint vincent. the commodore was made an admiral and a knight, and now everybody in england, high and low, rich and poor, had heard of him, and sung his praises. "you've seen a picture of sir horatio nelson, as he was then, in a boat attacked by spaniards, and his coxswain, john sykes, defending him, and receiving on his own head the blow made at him by one of the enemy. i'll tell you how it was:-"his flag was flying on board the `theseus,' and he had command of the inner squadron blockading cadiz. the spanish gunboats had annoyed us, and he resolved to attack them with the boats at night. in we pulled. in the admiral's barge there were only his ten barge-men--i was one of them--captain freemantle, and his coxswain, john sykes, when suddenly we found ourselves close up with a spanish launch carrying twenty-six men or more. to run was not in our nature, so we tackled to with the launch. it was desperate work, and the spaniards fought well. sir horatio was foremost in the fight; but the enemy seemed to know who he was, and aimed many a blow at his head. sykes, not thinking of himself, defended him as a bear does her whelps. blow after blow he warded off, till at last his own arm was disabled. still, instead of getting over to the other side of the boat, he stood by the admiral. down came another spaniard's sword which sir horatio could not ward off, but sykes sprung forward and received the blow on his own head, which it laid open. this did not make us less determined to beat the enemy. one after the other we cut them down till we killed eighteen, wounded the rest, and towed their launch off in triumph. it will just show you how the men who served with him loved the admiral. that was a desperate fight in a small way, let me tell you; but before long we had still worse work to go through. "many men are thought a great deal of if they gain one victory. nelson never but once suffered a defeat. it was at the island of teneriffe. he was sent there, by sir john jervis, with a squadron to cut out a rich manilla ship returning to spain, which lay in the harbour of santa cruz. our squadron consisted of four ships of the line, three frigates, and the `fox' cutter. our first attempt at landing failed, and then the admiral, who never would be beaten, against the orders of sir john himself; determined to take command of the expedition on shore. midnight was the time chosen for the attack. the orders were, that all the boats should land at a big mole which runs out from the town. away we pulled; the night was very dark, the boats got separated, and when we reached the mole there were only four or five boats there. a heavy fire was at once opened on us, but the admiral would not be turned back. drawing his sword, he was springing on shore, but the same moment he was struck by a musket ball, and fell back into the arms of his step-son, lieutenant kisbet. the lieutenant and one of our men bound up his arm, while all those who could be collected jumped into the boat to shove her off. it was difficult work, for she had grounded. we pulled close under the battery to avoid the heavy fire from it. as we moved on, all we could see was the bright flashes from the guns extending in a long line in front of us. on again pulling out, a fearful cry was raised. it came from the `fox' cutter. a shot had struck her between wind, and water, and down she went, leaving her crew struggling in the waves. the admiral had just before been lifted up in the stern-sheets by mr nisbet to look about him. "`give way, lads--give way,' he shouted, forgetting his own desperate wound. `we must save them.' "soon we were in among the struggling men, and hauling them into the boats as fast as we could, the shot all the time rattling about us. the admiral seemed to have recovered his strength, and worked away with his left arm, assisting in saving a great many. eighty men were saved, but more than half the crew were lost. the first ship we came to was the `seahorse.' her captain's wife, mrs freemantle, was on board, but he was with the boats, and no one could tell whether he was alive or dead. "`no, no,' exclaimed the admiral; `i can give the poor lady no tidings of her husband; she shall not see me in this state. pull to another ship.' "we managed to reach the `theseus,' a rope was lowered, he sprung up the side, and would have no help. we could scarcely believe our eyes, for we thought he was half dead. his was a wonderful spirit. then he sent us off to try and save a few more of the poor fellows from the `fox.' when we got back we found that he had made the surgeon at once cut off his arm. we brought him the news that captain freemantle, though badly wounded, had got off in safety to his ship. you may be sure that both he and all of us were very anxious to know what was going forward on shore. at length we heard that captain troubridge had managed to collect two or three hundred men--all who were not drowned or killed by shot--and having marched into the square, had taken the town. of course, he could do nothing against the citadel. some eight thousand spanish troops were collecting about the place, but he was not a man to be daunted; telling them that he would burn the town if they molested him, he was able to draw off all his men in safety. during that business we lost two hundred and fifty men and officers. it was a sad affair, but though it was a failure every man engaged in it did his duty bravely, and no one could blame the admiral for what had happened. we heard that the spaniards treated our wounded men who were left on shore with the greatest kindness and care. no one among the wounded suffered more than the admiral, and it was some months, i've heard say, before the pain left his arm. "once more we returned to old england, and the admiral went up to london to try and get cured of his wound. since he left home he had lost an eye and an arm, and had been terribly knocked about besides; but people thought of what he had done, not of how he looked, and he was received with honour wherever he went. "i and a few others of his old hands lived on shore, keeping a look-out for when he should get another command. we were afraid of being pressed, and made to serve somewhere away from him. one and all of us were ready enough to fight for our king and our country, provided we could fight under him. we had not long to wait. we soon got news that the `vanguard' was to be commissioned to carry sir horatio nelson's flag to join the mediterranean fleet under earl saint vincent. that was in the year 1798. "we sailed from gibraltar on the 9th of may with three line-of-battle ships, four frigates, and a sloop of war, to look after the french fleet, which consisted of thirteen ships of the line, seven frigates, twenty-four smaller ships of war, and a fleet of transports, bound, as we afterwards learned, for egypt. if the french had conquered that country, they would have gone on, there is no doubt of it, to attack our possessions in india. the admiral, i dare say, knew the importance of stopping that french fleet. in spite of their numbers we did not fear them. proud we were of our ship, and prouder still was our admiral of her and her crew and the fleet he commanded. while we were in the gulf of lyons, after it had been blowing hard all day, it came on one dark night to blow harder still, and, without warning, first our main and then our mizen-topmast went over the side, and lastly the foremast went altogether, so that we no longer could carry sail on it. what a crippled wreck we looked in the morning! there was a thick fog: not one of the squadron could be seen. we were boasting the day before that we were ready to meet more than an equal number of the finest ships the french could bring against us; and now we lay docked of our wings, and scarcely able to contend with the smallest frigate. providence was watching over us, and we had good reason to believe this when some time afterwards we learned that that very day the french fleet sailed from toulon, and passed within a few miles of us, while we were hid from them by the fog. at last captain ball, in the `alexander,' came up, and towed us into the harbour of san pietro in sardinia, where in four days, with the aid of his and other two ships' companies, we got completely refitted and ready for sea. away we went in search of the french fleet, with general bonaparte himself on board. we heard of the french at gozo, and our admiral would have attacked them there, but they had gone; then on we sailed for egypt, hoping to find them off alexandria, but not a sign of them could we discover. if we had had our frigates, we should have found them out fast enough. leaving alexandria, we steered for syracuse, where we provisioned and watered; we visited the morea; we hunted along the greek coast. at last we entered the gulf of coron, where captain troubridge brought us the news that the french fleet had been seen steering from candia for egypt four weeks before. instantly all sail was made for alexandria. still we scarcely expected to find the french fleet there. great then was our joy when the signal was seen flying from the masthead of the `zealous,' captain hood, that the enemy's fleet were moored in aboukir bay. not a moment was lost in clearing the ships for action. we all knew that we had hot work before us. we found the french fleet moored in a sort of curve in the bay, but far enough from the shore to let some of our ships get inside of them; that is, between them and the land. this the french little expected, and many hadn't even their guns loaded on that side. "oh! it was a magnificent sight, as on we sailed, receiving a hot fire from the shore batteries, but not answering a shot, while silently we furled our sails, and got ready for anchoring. i believe that silence made the hearts of the frenchmen quake more than our loudest hurrahs would have done. it was evening; the sun was just sinking into the ocean as we entered the bay. the `goliath' led the way, followed by the `zealous,' and then came the `orion,' all anchoring inside the enemy's line. the `vanguard' (our ship) was the first which anchored outside, within half pistol-shot of the `spartiate.' we had six colours flying, just as a sign to the frenchmen that come what might we were not likely to strike to them; and now there was very little to be seen but the flashes and thick smoke from the guns. other ships followed us outside the french line, but the greater number were inside. no sooner were our anchors dropped than we opened fire, our example being followed by the other ships as they brought up. we blazed away in right earnest; there was no flinching from our guns. what the frenchmen were about i cannot tell, but we seemed to fire two shots to their one; but then their guns carried heavier metal than ours, and they had many more of them. it was so dark that we had to get our fighting-lanterns hung up along the decks. just fancy us then stripped to the waist, with handkerchiefs bound round our heads, and straining every nerve as we ran in and out, and cleaned and loaded our heavy guns, and blazed away as fast as we could. we were covered, too, with smoke and powder, and before long most of us were sprinkled pretty thickly with our own or our shipmates' blood. such was the sight you would have seen between decks on board every ship in the action. "i must tell you what happened in other parts. there was a shoal we had to pass on our starboard hand. the `culloden,' the ship of the brave captain troubridge, struck on it when standing in, for by that time the darkness of night had come on. he instantly made signals which prevented the other ships, the `alexander,' `swiftsure,' and `leander,' following, and getting on shore. they did their best to help off the `culloden,' but could not get her off so stood on into the battle. before even they opened their fire, five of the enemy's ships had struck. on standing on, captain hollowell fell in with the old `billyruffian' (`bellerophon'), with already two hundred dead and wounded, and almost a wreck from the tremendous fire of `l'orient' of 120 guns. the `swiftsure' took her place, and soon made the frenchman pay dear for what she had done. i heard of this afterwards. a seaman at his gun can know little more of an action than what he sees before his nose, and that is chiefly smoke and fire, and part of the hull and rigging of one ship, and men struck down, and timbers and splinters flying about, and yards and blocks rattling down, while he hears alone the roar of the guns, the shouts, and shrieks, and groans of those around him. this sort of terrible work was going on for some time, when the word got about that the admiral himself was desperately wounded in the head. it made our hearts sink within us with sorrow, but it did not cause us to fight less fiercely, or be less determined to gain the victory. how anxiously we waited to hear what the surgeons would say about the wound of our noble chief! and when we were told that it was merely the skin of his head which was hurt, and which had almost blinded him, how hearty the cheer we gave. it must have astonished the frenchmen, who could not tell the cause. then at it again we went blazing away like fury, the round-shot and chain-shot and bullets whizzing and tearing along our decks, making the white splinters fly, and sending many a poor fellow out of the world, when suddenly the darkness, which had till now surrounded us, was lighted up by the bright flames which darted out of every port and twisted round the masts of a burning ship. we soon learned that she was a french ship, the big `l'orient,' with which the `billyruffian' had been engaged. never did i see such a sight; in a few minutes she was just one mass of flame, from her truck to the water's edge. her miserable crew, from one end of her to the other, were leaping into the water to avoid the scorching heat. `out boats!' was the order, and each of our ships near at hand sent as many boats as could be manned to the rescue of our unfortunate enemies. had they been our own shipmates, we could not have exerted ourselves more. still the battle raged from one end of the line to the other. suddenly there was a sound as if the earth were rent asunder. in one pointed mass of flame up went the tall masts, and spars, and the decks of the huge `l'orient.' they seemed, in one body of fire, to rise above our mastheads, and then down they came, spreading far and wide, hissing into the water among the boats and the hundreds of poor wretches struggling for their lives. among them was the french commodore. captain casabianca, i heard, was his name. he was a brave man. he had his son with him, a little fellow only ten years old, as gallant, those we rescued told us, as his father. they were blown up together. we saw the two, the father holding on his son clinging to a spar. we pulled towards them, but just then a bit of the burning wreck must have struck them and carried them down, for when we got up to the spot they were nowhere to be seen. that's the worst of a battle; there are so many young boys on board who often get as cruelly hurt as the men, and haven't the strength to bear up against their sufferings. well, as i was saying, we pulled about, picking up the half-burnt struggling wretches wherever we could find them among the bits of floating wreck. only seventy were saved out of many more than a thousand men on board. that was about ten o'clock. for some time not a shot was fired. every man felt that something awful had happened, but still many of the frenchmen hadn't given in. so at it again we went, and blazed away at each other till three in the morning. when daylight returned, only two of the enemy's ships of the line had their colours flying, and they had not been engaged. they, with two frigates, cut their cables in the forenoon, and stood out to sea, we having no ships in a fit state to follow them. there were thirteen french line-of-battle ships when the action began; we took nine, two were burned, and two escaped; and of the four frigates one was sunk and another burned; while the enemy lost three thousand one hundred and five men in killed and wounded. captain westcott was the only captain killed, but we lost in all nearly nine hundred other officers and men. as soon as the battle was over, an order was issued that all on board every ship should return thanks to almighty god, who had given us the victory. many a hearty thanksgiving was offered up that day. it was a solemn ceremony; not a word was spoken fore and aft till the chaplain began the prayers. a dead silence reigned throughout the fleet. the egyptians and arabs on shore could not make it out, i've heard say; and even the french officers, prisoners on board, infidels as they were, listened with respect, and could not help believing that there must be a god who had given us the victory. hard work we had to get our ships and prizes fit for sea again after the battering they had got; as it was, we had to burn four of our prizes, as it would have taken too long to refit them; and then at last away we sailed with the larger part of the fleet for naples. "the battle i've been telling you about was called the battle of the nile. it was, i've heard say, one of the most glorious and important ever fought on the sea." -----------------------------------------------------------------------note: lord hood was commander-in-chief. the object of the attack was to co-operate with the patriot corsicans, who, under their well-known gallant general paoli, desired to liberate themselves from the yoke of france, then ruled by the tyrannical and cruel convention. the story of the struggles of corsica to gain her independence is deeply interesting. volume one, chapter three. "after lying at naples for a long time, lord keith came out and took the chief command, and we sailed with a squadron for malta. on our way we fell in with a french fleet, the biggest ship of which was the `genereux,' one of the line-of-battle ships which had escaped from the nile. we captured her and a frigate, and not long afterwards the `guillaume tell,' the other line-of-battle ship, after in vain attempting to escape from valetta harbour, surrendered to us; and thus every ship of the fleet which had escorted bonaparte to egypt was captured, except, i fancy, one frigate. "at last we went into leghorn roads, and after some time lord. nelson and sir william and lady hamilton, and other people who had been on board, landed, and travelled through germany towards england. i have heard say that he was more than once very nearly caught by the french during the journey through italy. what a prize he would have been to them. i remained in the `foudroyant' for some time. we all missed the admiral, and hoped that he would come out again, and hoist his flag on board his old ship. whatever ship he went to it was the same, the men loved him, and would have done anything for him. at last i was sent home in a prize, and was paid off. as the admiral was taking a spell on shore, i thought i would take one too, and enjoy myself. i spent some time with my old mother; but one night, going down to see an old shipmate who was ill at a public-house near deal, i found myself in the hands of a press-gang, and carried aboard the `elephant,' captain foley, i had made up my mind to belong to the flag-ship of admiral nelson, whatever she might be. still, it couldn't be helped, and, of course, i determined to do my duty. i there learned that captain hardy had commissioned the `saint george,' of 98 guns, and that it was supposed lord nelson would hoist his flag on board her. this he shortly afterwards did, and it was some consolation, when we sailed for yarmouth roads, off the norfolk coast, to join him. it was soon whispered about that there was work for us to do, and we guessed that there was truth in the report when the fleet was ordered away up the baltic. this was in 1801; a long time ago it seems. you see that russia, and sweden, and denmark were all going to join against us to help the french; and as the danes had a fine fleet, it was necessary to destroy or capture it, to prevent it doing us mischief. we therefore sent to tell the danes that they must give it up and be friends, or that we would knock their city about their ears, and sink their ships. they dared us do our worst. they ought to have known what lord nelson was likely to do; but you must understand that sir hyde parker was commander-in-chief--he was only second in command. a great deal of time was lost in diplomatising, and all that time the danes were preparing their ships and batteries to receive us. if you take a look at a chart of the mouth of the baltic, you will see what numbers of shoals, and small islands, and narrow channels there are about copenhagen. fortunately one of our captains, captain dommet, knew the coast, and he persuaded sir hyde parker only to let the lighter ships go up to the attack. the `saint george' drew too much water, and, fortunately for us, lord nelson chose our ship to hoist his flag on board. didn't we cheer him as he came alongside. copenhagen stands on a dead flat facing the sea; it is defended by a large fort and two heavy batteries, thrown up on rocks or sand-banks. besides these there was the danish fleet drawn up in a long line before the city, and eighteen floating batteries, mounting no less than 690 guns. some way off, in front of the city, is a shoal called the middle ground, and then another channel, and then comes the long island of saltholm. on the last day of march we entered the channel between the swedish and danish coasts, having the castle of helsingburg on one side, and that of elsinore on the other, and on we sailed in front of the city till we came to an anchor off the island of arnak. sir hyde parker remained near the mouth of the channel with the heavier ships, so that lord nelson had the lighter ones all to himself, while the brave captain riou commanded the frigates. all the night was spent in preparing for battle, and captain hardy was employed in sounding the channel, through which we were to pass to the attack. he even reached in the darkness close up to one of the danish ships, and sounded round her. there was the whole squadron anchored so close in with the danish shore, that had our enemies known the range they might have done us much mischief. lord nelson spent the chief part of the night dictating orders to his clerks, to send round to his captains to tell them what to do. at last the morning broke, and, with a fair wind, the `edgar' leading under a press of sail, the fleet stood down the danish line, and took up their positions as arranged, the brave captain riou and his frigates being opposed to the crown battery, at the farther end. with a groan, we who once belonged to her saw the old `agamemnon' take the ground on the shoal i have spoken of; the `bellona' and `russel' touched also, but sufficiently within range to take part in the battle. soon after ten the `edgar' began the action, and one by one, as the other ships slipped from their anchors, and following at intervals, took up their position, they also commenced firing. the commander-in-chief; sir hyde parker, was away on our right, you'll understand, with the bigger ships, and from the way the wind was he could not have come up to help us. now, along the whole line the action became general. opposed to us there were the forts and the `floating batteries' and the danish ships of war, all blazing away together; and many of them had furnaces for heating red-hot shot, which several times nearly set our ships on fire. no men ever fought better than the danes, and several times when we had killed or wounded all the defenders of a battery, their places were supplied by fresh hands from the shore, who worked away at their guns as bravely as the first, till they, poor fellows, were shot down. more than once the ships of the enemy had hauled sown their flags, and when we were going to take possession again opened fire on us. this enraged us, as you may suppose; but we cut them up terribly, and many of their ships and floating batteries were sinking or on fire. for three hours or more we were at it, pounding away without being able to silence them. they were cutting us up too, let me tell you, riddling our hull, and round-shot, and red-hot shot, and chain-shot, and bar shot flying around, about, and through us. it seemed a wonder that a man was left alive on our decks. lord nelson kept pacing the quarterdeck, watching everything that was going on. a young danish officer had got a big raft, with a breastwork mounting some twenty guns, and in spite of our marines, who kept up a sharp fire on him, he held his post till the battle was over. the admiral praised him for his gallantry, and, i believe, would have been very sorry if he had been killed, much as he was annoying us. a shot now struck our mainmast, sending the splinters flying on every side. i saw the admiral smile. `this is hot work,' he observed to one of the officers; `in another moment not one of us may be alive, but, mark you, i would not be anywhere else for thousands.' it's my opinion that most men would have thought we were getting the worst of it; and if we hadn't had lord nelson for our chief; we should have thought so likewise. "sir hyde parker's flag-ship was near enough for us to make out his signals. it was reported that the signal for discontinuing the action had been made. `acknowledge it!' cried lord nelson. `is our signal for close action still hoisted?' `yes, sir,' was the answer. `then keep it so,' he replied. soon afterwards he put his glass up to his blind eye, and turning to captain foley, he exclaimed, `i have a right to be blind sometimes, and really i don't see the signal. never mind it, i say, nail mine to the mast.' admiral graves in like manner disobeyed the order, and the rest of the squadron, looking only to lord nelson, continued the action. "i was telling you about the brave captain riou and his frigates. the `amazon,' his ship, had suffered much, and was so surrounded by smoke that he could see nothing of the batteries to which he was opposed. he ordered, therefore, his men to cease firing to let the smoke clear off; that they might see what they were about. this allowed the danes to take better aim at them, and so tremendous was the fire opened on them that there seemed every chance of the frigates being sent to the bottom. just then, sir hyde parker's signal was seen flying. captain riou judged that he ought to obey it. he had already been badly wounded in the head by a splinter. `what will nelson think of us?' he exclaimed, mournfully, as the frigate wore round. just then his clerk was killed by his side, and directly afterwards shot struck down some marines who were hauling in the main-brace. it seemed as if not a man on board could escape. `come, then, my boys,' exclaimed their brave captain riou, `let us all die together!' they were the last words he ever spoke. the next moment a shot cut him in two. there was not a more gallant officer, or one the men loved better, in the service. "well, as i was saying, on we went at it for four long hours. in spite of the shot, and bullets, and splinters flying about on every side, i had not had a scratch. several poor fellows had been struck down close to me. i cannot say that i thought that i should not be hit, because the truth is i did not think about the matter. i went on working at my gun like the rest, only just trying how fast we could fire, and how we could do most damage to the enemy. that's the way to gain the victory; it does not do to think of anything else. at last i felt a blow as if some one had struck me on the side, and down i went. my trousers and belt were singed and torn, and the blood started from my side; but i bound my handkerchief over the wound, and in a little time got up and went back to my gun, and there i stayed till the fighting was done, and then i let them carry me below to the cockpit, for walk by myself i could not. "some of our ships suffered dreadfully. the `monarch' lost two hundred and ten men, the `isis' a hundred and ten, and the `bellona' seventy-five, and all the other ships great numbers. at last, however, the danes could stand it no longer, and ship after ship struck; but still the shore batteries kept firing on, and killed great numbers of men on board the prizes. one of their ships, the `danbrog,' after she had struck and was in flames, fired on our boats. notwithstanding this, when she was seen drifting away before the wind, the fire gaining on her, captain bertie, of the `ardent,' sent his boats to the assistance of the poor fellows as they leaped out of the ports to escape the flames. at last lord nelson, wishing to put a stop to the carnage, wrote to the crown prince, the danish commander, saying if he did not cease firing he must burn the prizes. a wafer was brought him. `that will not do,' said he, `we must not appear in a hurry; bring a candle and sealing-wax.' captain sir frederick thesiger, with a flag of truce, took the letter, and after some time the danes sent one in return to arrange what was to be done, and the battle of copenhagen, for so it was called, was over. "while negotiations were going on, lord nelson ordered the ships to take advantage of a fair wind, and to start out of the narrow channels. as we in the `elephant' were going out we grounded, as did the `defiance,' about a mile from the trekroner battery, and there we remained for many hours. at last, however, we got off. we had to burn all our prizes except one ship, the `holstein,' 64, which was sent home. the next day lord nelson went on shore to visit the prince, and settle matters. he was received with great respect, and he told the danes that he had never had a braver enemy, or known men fight better than they had done, and that now he hoped that they would all be friends again for ever after. lord nelson now returned to the `saint george,' and the fleet sailed to the eastward to look after the swedes. we were off bornholm, but the `saint george' could not get through a shallow channel which had to be passed, and was some twelve leagues astern of us. every minute we expected to be engaged with the enemy. at midnight, who should step on board the `elephant' but lord nelson himself. the night was very cold, but he had come all that distance in an open boat without even a cloak, so eager was he to be present at the expected battle. none took place, and after a little time i was sent home invalided." volume one, chapter four. "when i came home from the baltic, i and others were landed at yarmouth, and sent to the hospital. i was some time in getting well. i'll tell you what set me on my legs again. one day as i was lying on my bed in the crowded ward, thinking if i should ever recover, and be fit for sea again, the news came that a brig of war had entered the harbour with lord nelson on board. would you believe it, i was thanking heaven that our brave admiral had come back safe, and was in a half dreamy, dozing state, when i heard a cheer, and opening my eyes there he was himself going round from bed to bed, and talking to each of the men. he knew me at once, and told me that i must make haste and get well and join his ship, as it wouldn't be long probably before he again hoisted his flag. "`you shall have any rating you like, remember that,' said he, taking my hand. `we must have medals and prize-money for you; you have gallantly won them, all of you.' "he passed on, for he had a kind word to say to many hundred poor fellows that day. when i got well i went home for a spell; but before long i heard that lord nelson had hoisted his flag as commander-in-chief of the channel squadron on board the `medusa' frigate. i went on board, and the admiral instantly rated me as quartermaster. we had plenty of work before us, for general bonaparte, who was now emperor of france, wanted to come and invade england. he had got a flotilla of gunboats all ready to carry over his army, and he had a large fleet besides. many people thought he would succeed. we knew that the wooden walls of old england were her best defence, and so we afloat never believed that a french soldier would ever set foot on our shores. "they had, however, a large flotilla in boulogne harbour, and it was determined to destroy it with the boats of the squadron. i volunteered for one of our boats. the boats were in three divisions. we left the ships a little before midnight. it was very dark, and the divisions got separated. we knew that it was desperate work we were on. ours was the only division which reached the harbour. there were batteries defending the place, and troops on the shore, and soldiers on board the flotilla, and the outer vessels were guarded with iron spikes, and had boarding nets triced up, and were lashed together. in we darted. it was desperate work, and the fire of the great guns and musketry soon showed our enemies to us, and us to them. "`just keep off, you brave englishmen, you can do nothing here,' sung out a french officer in very plain english. "`we'll try that!' was our reply, as we dashed on board, in spite of iron spikes and boarding nettings. on we went; we cut out several of the vessels, and were making off with them with loads of frenchmen on board, when, would you believe it, if the enemy didn't open their fire on the boats, killing their own people as well as us. to my mind, those french, in war, are as bad as cannibals--that's what lord nelson always said of them. if it hadn't been for this we should have burned or captured most of them. while i was just springing on board another vessel, among the flashes from the guns, the flames and smoke, the hissing and rattling shot, i got a knock on my head which sent me back into the bottom of the boat. i knew nothing more till i found myself on board my own ship, and heard that we had lost some hundred and seventy poor fellows. i was sent to the hospital, where one of our gallant leaders, captain parker, died of his wounds. "the next ship i found myself on board was the `victory.' there wasn't a finer ship in the navy, more weatherly or more handy--steered like a duck, and worked like a top. lord nelson himself got me appointed to her. away we sailed for the mediterranean. while admiral cornwallis watched the french fleet at brest, we kept a look-out over that at toulon under the command of admiral la touche treville, who had commanded at boulogne, and boasted that he had beat off lord nelson from that port. he could not boast, though, that he beat him off from toulon; for, for eighteen long months, from the 1st of july, 1803, to the 11th of january, 1805, did we keep watch off that harbour's mouth. if such a gale sprung up as would prevent the french getting out, we went away, only leaving a frigate or so to watch what took place; but we were soon to be back again. thus the time passed on. we saw the shore, but were not the better for it; for few of us, from the admiral downwards, ever set on it. at last the french admiral, la touche treville, died, and a new one, admiral villeneuve, was appointed. we now began to hope that the french would come out and fight as; for you see lord nelson did not want to keep them in--only to get at them when they came out. if it hadn't been for the batteries on shore, we should have gone in and brought them out. we had gone away to the coast of sardinia, when news was brought that the french fleet was at sea. instantly we got under weigh, passing at night through a passage so narrow that only one ship could pass at a time, and fully expecting the next morning to be engaged with the enemy. first we looked for them about sicily; then after them we ran towards egypt, and then back to malta, where we heard that they had put into toulon. now, we kept stricter watch than ever, without a bulkhead up, and all ready for battle. "it was on the 4th of april, that the `phoebe' brought us news that admiral villeneuve, with his squadron, had again slipped out of toulon, and was steering for the coast of africa. frigates were sent out in every direction, to make sure that he had not gone eastward; and then after him we stood, towards the straits of gibraltar, but the wind was dead against us, and we had hard work to get there. i had never seen the admiral in such a taking before. we beat backwards and forwards against the head-wind, but all to no purpose--out of the gut we could not get without a leading-wind, and so we had to anchor off the barbary coast; there we got supplies. "at last, on the 5th of may, an easterly breeze sprung up, and away we went, with a flowing sheet, through the straits. we called off cadiz, and the coast of portugal, and then bore away for the west indies, where we heard the french had gone. we sighted madeira, and made barbadoes, then sailed for tobago; and next we were off for the gulf of paria, all cleared for action, making sure that we should find the enemy there. we thought it would have killed the admiral when he found that he had been deceived. back we sailed, and heard that the french had captured the diamond rock. you've heard about it. it's a curious place, and was commissioned like a man-of-war. if it hadn't been for false information, and if lord nelson had stuck to his own intentions, we should have caught the french up off port royal, and thrashed them just at the spot lord rodney thrashed admiral de grasse--so i've heard say. well, at last, we found that the french had left the west indies for europe, so back across the atlantic we steered; but though we knew we were close astern of them, they kept ahead of us, and at last we sighted cape spartel, and anchored the next day at gibraltar. "i know it for a fact, that it only wanted ten days of two years since lord nelson himself had last set his foot on shore. it was much longer than that since i and most on board had trod dry ground. that was serving our country, you'll allow--most of the time, too, under weigh, battling with tempests, and broiling under the sun of the tropics. "we victualled and watered at tetuan, then once more stood to the west'ard--then back to cadiz, and once more crossed the bay of biscay, thinking the enemy were bound for ireland. foul winds made the passage long. once more the enemy had baffled us, and at last, when off ushant, we received orders to return to portsmouth to refit. "that very fleet sir robert calder fell in with on the 22nd of july, just thirty leagues westward of cape finisterre, and, although his force was much smaller, he captured two of their line-of-battle ships. it was a very gallant affair; but people asked, `what would nelson have done?' while the admiral was on shore we were busily employed in refitting the `victory,' while a number of other ships he had wished to have with him were got ready for sea. on the 14th of september he once more came aboard the `victory,' and hoisted his flag. the next day, we sailed for cadiz. we arrived off that place on the 29th, where we found the squadron of admiral collingwood blockading the french and spanish fleets under admiral villeneuve. "what lord nelson wanted, you see, was to get the enemy out to fight him. he wanted also, not only to win a victory, but to knock the enemy's ships to pieces, so that they could do no more harm. to get them out we had to cut off their supplies; so we had to capture all the neutral vessels which were carrying them in. you must understand we in the `victory' with the fleet did not go close into cadiz, but kept some fifty or sixty miles off so that the enemy might not know our strength. we had some time to wait, however. lord nelson had already given the french and spaniards such a taste of his way of going to work, that they were in no hurry to try it again. you'll understand that there was a line of frigates, extending, like signal-posts, all the way from the fleet to the frigate cruising just off the mouth of the harbour--that is to say, near enough to watch what was going on there. "early in the morning on the 19th of october, the `mars,' the ship nearest the chain of frigates, repeated the signal that the enemy were leaving port, and, at two p.m., that they were steering s.e. on this lord nelson gave orders for the fleet to chase in that direction, but to keep out of sight of the enemy, fearful of frightening them back into port. still, you'll understand, the frigates kept in sight of them, and gave notice to the admiral of all their movements. the enemy had thirty-three sail of the line, and seven frigates, with above 4000 riflemen on board. our fleet numbered only twenty-seven sail of the line, and four frigates. we were formed in two lines. admiral collingwood, in the `royal sovereign,' led fourteen ships, and lord nelson, in the `victory,' eleven. "on the morning of the 21st of october, 1805--you'll not forget that day, it was a glorious one for england, let me tell you--we sighted the french and spanish fleet from the deck of the `victory' off cape trafalgar. they were formed in a double line in a curve, one ship in the further line filling up the space left between the ships of the nearest line. they also were trying to keep the port of cadiz under their lee, that they might escape to it. lord nelson determined to break the line in two places. we led the northern line with a light wind from the south-west. admiral collingwood led the southern, and got into action first, just astern of the `santa anna.' we steered so as to pass between the `bucentaur' and the `santissima trinidade.' "`well, there are a lot of the enemy,' exclaimed tom collins to me, as i was standing near the gun he served. "`yes, mate,' said i; `and a pretty spectacle they will make at spithead when we carry them there.' "`ay, that they will,' cried all who heard me, and i believe every man in the fleet felt as we did. "we were watching all this time the magnificent way in which the brave and good admiral collingwood stood into action and opened his fire. that was about noon. there was a general cheer on board our ship and all the ships of the fleet. at our masthead flew a signal. we soon knew what it meant. it was--`england expects that every man will do his duty.' for nearly half an hour the noble collingwood was alone among the ships of the enemy before any of his followers could come up. we, at the same time, had got within long range of the enemy. on we floated slowly, for the wind was very light, till at last our mainyard-arm was touching the gaff of the `bucentaur,' which ship bore the flag of admiral villeneuve; and though our guns were raking her and tearing her stern to pieces, we had ahead of us in the second line the `neptune,' which poured a heavy fire into our bows. our helm was then put up, and we fell aboard the `redoubtable,' while the `temeraire,' captain blackwood, ranged up on the other side of her, and another french ship got alongside the `temeraire.' there we were all four locked together, pounding away at each other, while with our larboard guns we were engaging the `bucentaur,' and now and then getting a shot at the big spaniard, the `santissima trinidade.' meantime our other ships had each picked out one or more of the enemy, and were hotly engaged with them. at the tops of all the enemy's ships marksmen were stationed. the skylight of the admiral's cabin had been boarded over. here lord nelson and captain hardy were walking. more than one man had fallen near them. mr scott, the admiral's secretary, had been struck down after we had been in action little more than an hour. suddenly as i turned my head i saw a sight which i would rather have died than have seen. lord nelson was just falling. he went on his knees, then rested on his arm for a moment, and it, too, giving way, he rolled over on his left side, before even captain hardy could run to save him. captain hardy had to remain on deck. i, with a sergeant of marines and another seaman, carried him below, covering his face with a handkerchief. we placed him in one of the midshipmen's berths. then the surgeons came to him. we feared the worst, but it was not generally known what had happened. i can tell you i was glad enough to get on deck again. it was bad enough there to see poor fellows struck down alongside me, but the sights and sounds in the cockpit were enough to overcome the stoutest heart--to see fine strong fellows mangled and torn, struggling in their agony--to watch limb after limb cut off--to hear their groans and shrieks, and often worse, the oaths and imprecations of the poor fellows maddened by the terrible pain; and there lay our beloved chief mortally wounded in the spine, parched with thirst and heat, crying out for air and drink to cool the fever raging within. for two hours and a half there he lay suffering dreadful pain, yet eagerly inquiring how the battle was going. twice captain hardy went below to see him; the first time to tell him that twelve of the enemy had struck; the last time that still more had given in, and that a few were in full flight, after whom our guns were still sending their shot. thus lord nelson died at the moment the ever-to-be-remembered battle of trafalgar was won. -----------------------------------------------------------------------"it was a sad voyage we had home, and great was the sorrow felt by all, from the highest to the lowest in the land, for the death of our beloved leader. i will not describe his funeral. it was very grand, that i know. many of the old `victory's' attended his coffin to his grave in saint paul's cathedral. when they were lowering his flag into the tomb--that flag which had truly so long and so gloriously waved in the battle and the breeze--we seized on it and tearing it in pieces, vowed to keep it as long as we lived, in remembrance of our noble chief. here is my bit--see, i keep it safe in this case near my heart." england's greatest military chief now lies by the side of one who had no equal on the ocean, in the heart of her metropolis. within the walls of her finest cathedral, what more appropriate mausoleum could be found for britain's two most valiant defenders, heaven-sent surely in the time of her greatest need to defend her from the hosts of her vaunting foes. volume two, chapter one. the grateful indian. we cannot boast of many fine evenings in old england--dear old england for all that!--and when they do come they are truly lovely and worthy of being prized the more. it was on one of the finest of a fine summer that mr frampton, the owner of a beautiful estate in devonshire, was seated on a rustic bench in his garden, his son harry, who stood at his knee, looking up inquiringly into his face. "father," said harry, "i have often heard you speak about the north american indians--the red men of the deserts. do tell me how it is that you know so much about them--have you ever been in their country?" "yes, my boy; i passed several of the earlier years of my life in that part of north america which may truly be said to belong as yet to the red men, though as there are but some fifty thousand scattered over the whole central portion of it, it must be acknowledged that they do not make the best possible use of the territory they inhabit. a glance at the map of north america will show you where the red river is, with its settlement founded by lord selkirk. i was very young when i went there with my father, my elder brother malcolm, and john dawes, a faithful servant who had been brought up in the family from childhood. john was a great sportsman, a most kind-hearted fellow, and could turn his hand to anything. we went through canada to lake superior, and from thence it took us, by a chain of lakes and rivers, about twenty-five days to reach the banks of the red river, i need not describe how we selected our ground, built a cottage, ploughed a field, and stocked our farm; we will suppose all these preliminaries over and our party permanently settled in our new home. i must tell you before i proceed a little about the indians of this region." volume two, chapter two. there are different tribes. some are called crees, others ojibways or salteux, and these are constantly at war with the sioux to the south, chiefly found across the united states boundary. there are also found on the prairies assiniboines, blackfeet, bloodies, and others with scarcely more attractive names. all these people were at that time sunk in the most abject state of heathenism, and were constantly at war with each other. they were clothed chiefly in skins made into leather, ornamented with feathers and stained grass and beads. the tents of the prairie indians were of skins, and those of the indians who inhabit the woods of birch bark. many had rifles, but others were armed only with bows and spears, and the dreadful scalping-knife. of these people the sioux bore the worst character, and were the great enemies of the half-bred population of the settlements. these halfbreds, as they are called, are descended from white fathers and indian mothers. there are some thousands of them in the settlements, and they live chiefly by hunting and fishing, and retain many indian customs and habits of life. such was the strangely mixed community among whom we found ourselves. the autumn was coming on, and the days were shortening, but the weather was very fine--sharp frosts at night, though warm enough, yet bracing, with a bright sky and pure atmosphere during the day. sometimes a light silvery mist or haze hung over the landscape. such is the indian summer, the most delightful period of the year in north america. the day's work was over, and while my brother and i were preparing the table, and sam dawes was cooking the supper, we were startled by a loud and peculiar shout, or rather shriek. our father, who had been sitting reading, started up, and taking his rifle from the wall, turned to the door. sam, quitting his frying-pan, also took down his rifle and followed with us. in the distance was an indian decked with war paint and feathers bounding over the ground towards us, while further off were five or six more, as if in hot pursuit of the first. "that first fellow is an ojibway by his adornments, and a young man by the way he runs," observed sam. "he's seeking protection here, that's poz." "and he shall enjoy it, though we should have to fight for him," observed my father warmly. "we must teach the red men that we always protect those in distress." the fugitive came on at great speed. he was flying for his life. his pursuers, however, were gaining on him. they had fire-arms in their hands, but did not use them. "they have exhausted their powder," observed my father. "that is fortunate." the young indian was within fifty yards of us. we could see the gleam of the scalping knives which his foes had drawn, thirsting for his blood. he bounded on up to the door of the hut and fell exhausted within. then for the first time his pursuers perceived that we stood armed at the entrance. guessing truly that we possessed plenty of ammunition, and two or more of their number might fall if they attempted to advance, they paused, casting glances of disappointed vengeance to wards their victim, who lay unconscious behind us. our father told malcolm and me to take him in and to try and revive him. we did so, and when we had moistened his lips with water he quickly revived. springing up he seized malcolm's gun and hurried to the door. the other indians had not moved. on seeing him, however, they instantly darted behind some trunks of trees for shelter, and then we saw them darting away till they got beyond range of our fire-arms. the young indian would have followed, but my father restrained him, and gave him to understand that though he had saved his life he had no intention of allowing him to take the lives of others. darkness was coming on, and we soon lost sight of the band. having closed our door with more than usual care, we placed food before our guest, of which he eagerly partook, and then told us that his name was sigenok; that he with others of his tribe had been out hunting, and had been surprised by a war party of sioux, who had taken the scalps of all the rest. he had wandered away unarmed from the camp when he saw all his companions killed. to revenge them, which the indian thought was his first duty, was then impossible, so he took to flight, hoping to retaliate on another occasion. his wary foes, however, discovered his trail and followed. he had caught sight of them when they were not aware of it, and redoubled his speed, making for the settlements. he gave us to understand that he could not have continued his flight many more hours, and that he was very grateful to us for preserving his life. we had brought a dog from england, and we had lately got another, both very sagacious animals, and so we stationed them outside the hut at a little distance to give us due notice should the sioux return. sigenok, as soon as he had satisfied his hunger, praying his confidence in us, laid himself down in a corner of the room and was immediately fast asleep. he spent two days with us to recover his strength, which had been greatly tried, and then set off to carry to his tribe the sad tidings of the loss of their friends. for an indian he was a good-looking young man, and decked with his war paint and feathers he had a picturesquely savage appearance. volume two, chapter three. the winter came--we did not feel the cold so much as we expected--it passed on and spring approached. we were looking forward to the pleasures of summer and to a buffalo hunt which we had promised ourselves, when, after finding the heat unusually great at night, on rising in the morning, loud cracks in the ice were heard, and we discovered that a thaw had commenced. we were surprised at the rapidity with which the snow melted, and the low shrubs and the green grass appeared, and long dormant nature seemed to be waking up to life. "how jolly," exclaimed malcolm; "we shall soon be able to paddle about in our canoe; we may as well have a look at her to see that she is in order." we had a supply of gum with which to cover up the seams as the indians do, and our canoe was soon fit for launching. "we must look to the plough and our spades," remarked our father; "we shall speedily be able to get in our seeds." perhaps sam dawes thought more of his fishing lines and nets and guns. the next day an indian coming up from the lake told us that there was an extraordinary accumulation of ice at the mouth of the river, which had begun to swell, with an impetuous torrent, carrying vast masses along with it. speedily it rose higher and higher, the waters came up the bank and then filled the narrow gully which usually discharged water into it after rain, but now carried its waters backward into the plain. "it will soon subside," observed our father. "that current will soon carry away the barriers at the month." so we all went as usual to bed. the next morning when we looked out we were on an island. the water covered our field and the greater part of the garden round the house. between us and the house of the nearest settler to the south was one sheet of water, while to the north not an habitation was visible. we made out at the distance of a mile our neighbour and his family crossing in a large boat to the hills on the east. "we may possibly have to follow his example," observed our father; "but i hope that the waters may decrease before that becomes necessary." the sheep and cows were now collecting of their own accord in the garden, and we had to drive up the pigs, whose stye was threatened with submersion. the scene was truly one of desolation as we looked beyond our own homestead; trunks of trees and palings, and now and then a haystack, and barns, and parts of houses, and occasionally whole dwellings came floating by, showing what ravages the flood must have committed above us. malcolm and i agreed that it was fortunate we had repaired our canoe. as the waters extended, the current in the river was less strong. our father observed this. "my sons," he said, "freight your canoe with the tent and some provisions, and take this case of books, and go off to the hills. should the waters increase return for sam and me; we must remain to look after the cattle. mounted on our horses we shall be able to drive them to yonder rising ground on the south-west." he pointed to a slight elevation, between which and us he considered that the water was not more than one foot and a-half deep. accustomed to obey without question, malcolm and i, having loaded our canoe with as many valuables as she could possibly carry, prepared to cross to the eastern hills, hoping that our father and sam would start at once with the cattle towards the more remote but seemingly more accessible ground to the west. just as we were shoving off he remarked-"the water has not risen lately; we may still avoid a remove. heaven prosper you, my dear boys." we hoped that his words would prove true--the sky was bright, the water smooth, and it was difficult to believe that there was any danger. malcolm and i were expert with the use of the paddle, but in crossing the river we were swept down some way, and narrowly escaped staving in the canoe against stumps of trees or palings and remnants of buildings. we persevered, however, and at length reached the eastern hills, or the mountains as they were called. here we found our neighbour and several other families encamped. he told us that he had driven his cattle off on the first day, and wished that we had done the same. the waters did not appear to be rising, though we looked with anxiety towards our home; but it was too small a speck to be visible among the wide expanse of waters at the distance we were from it. we had put up our tent and were intending to occupy it, when we recollected that there were several of the other settlers' wives and daughters without so good a covering, so we went and begged them to occupy it, while we slept under our canoe. the night was bright and starlight, but we could not sleep much for thinking of our father and sam dawes. we resolved as early as we could see in the morning to go back to them. we were awoke early in the morning by a peculiar murmuring and hollow sound. as soon as it was daylight we looked out over the flooded country. we asked others if they had heard the noise. they replied that they had, and that it was caused by the water rushing over the land. "then the flood must have increased," exclaimed malcolm and i with anxiety. "no doubt about it, boys," was the unsatisfactory reply. we were for starting off immediately, but one of the farmer's wives, to whom we had given up our tent, insisted on preparing some breakfast for us, and in putting a supply of food into our canoe. "it is a long voyage, my boys, and you do not know what you may require before you return," she observed. we paddled on very anxiously. we had only the line of eastern hills we were leaving and some high land to the south to guide us, but we thought that we could not help hitting upon the spot where our abode stood. for a long way we paddled on easily enough, only taking care not to run against stumps of trees, and as we got nearer the settlement, stakes or ruined buildings were our chief danger. too many evidences met us on either side that the water had increased considerably since the previous day. in vain our eyes ranged around, in no direction was our cottage visible. we must have mistaken the locality. the current was here very strong, we thought that we might have drifted down further than we had calculated on doing. we went further west, and then steered south, where the current was less strong. after going some way, malcolm stopped paddling suddenly, and exclaimed-"look, harry! look there! do you know that tree?" "its head is very like one that grows close to the house," i answered. we had both mechanically turned the head of the canoe in the direction in which he pointed. we had been engaged in fastening a flag-staff to the tree near our house. a minute would decide whether this was it. our hearts sank within us, our paddles almost dropped from our hands, when we perceived among the bare branches the rope and the pole which we had been about to erect. where was our cottage? where our kind father and the faithful sam? not a vestige of the cottage remained, it had too evidently been carried away by the flood. "had they been able to escape with the cattle?" was the question we asked each other. we hoped they might; but still it was too possible that our father would have persisted in remaining in the house, as a sailor will by his ship, to the last, and sam we knew, would never have deserted him. we could just distinguish the heads of some strong palings above the water, marking the position of our cottage. we made fast to the tree for a few minutes to rest and recover ourselves, and to consider what course to pursue. we naturally turned our eyes towards the rising ground in the south-west, to which our father intended to drive the cattle. it seemed a long, long way off, still we determined to attempt to reach it. we felt thankful that the farmer's wife had supplied us with provisions, though we were too anxious just then to be hungry. we left the tree and paddled on, but it was very hard work, for there was a current against us setting towards lake winnipeg; but the canoe was light, and as there was no wind we managed to stem it. hitherto the sky had been bright, and there had been a perfect calm, but as we paddled on we saw clouds rising above the high ground for which we were steering. they rose, and rose, and then rushed across the sky with fearful rapidity, and the water ahead of us, hitherto bright and clear, seemed turned into a mass of foam, which came sweeping up towards us. "we cannot face it," exclaimed malcolm. "quick, quick, about with the canoe, we must run before it." we were hardly in time. the blast very nearly upset the canoe, and we had to throw our whole weight over on the side the wind struck her, to prevent this, as she spun round like a top, and away we flew before it. all we could do was to keep the canoe before the wind, and to steer her clear of logs of wood or stumps of trees, against which she might have been cut and knocked to pieces. "but where are we going?" we asked ourselves. "if we continue thus, we may be driven into lake winnipeg, and hurled among the masses of ice which are dashing about on its waters." we thought still more about our father and sam. how disappointed they would be, should they have reached the dry land when the storm came on, and they knew that we could not get to them. but our attention, i must own, was soon concentrated on our own situation. the rain fell in torrents, sufficient of itself almost to swamp our light canoe, while the thunder roared and the lightning darted from the sky, filling my heart, at all events, with terror. i felt both awe-struck and alarmed, and could scarcely recover myself sufficiently to help malcolm. he was far less moved, and continued guiding the canoe with his former calmness. at last i could not help crying out-"oh, malcolm, how is it that you cannot see our danger?" "i do, harry, clearly," he answered gravely; "but we are in the performance of our duty, and god will take care of us." his words and tone made an impression on me which i have never forgotten. when dangers have surrounded me, i have asked myself, "am i engaged in the performance of my duty? then why need i fear, god will protect me. he always has protected me." the grandest receipt for enabling a person to be truly brave, is that he must ever walk on in the strict line of duty. we were driving northward at a fearful rate, for the rapidity of the current was greatly increased by the wind. we wished that we could get back to our oak tree, as we might make fast to its branches, but it was nowhere visible. to have paddled against the gale would have only exhausted our strength to no purpose. as malcolm found that he could guide the canoe without me, he told me to bail out the water. as i turned round to do so, i shouted with joy, for i thought i saw a large boat under full sail coming down towards us. on it came, much faster than we were driving; but as it drew near, it looked less and less like a boat, till to my bitter disappointment i discovered that it was a large haystack which had been floated bodily away. at length just before us appeared a clump of trees, and we hoped that the ground on which they stood might be out of water. malcolm steered towards the spot. we might remain there till the storm was over. the trees bent with the wind, and it appeared as if they could not possibly stand. we approached the spot perhaps with less caution than we had before employed. suddenly the canoe spun round, a large rent appeared in her bows, over she went, and we were thrown struggling into the water. before we could regain the canoe she had floated far away, and not without a severe struggle did we succeed in reaching the land. we climbed up by, some bushes, and found ourselves on the summit of a little knoll rising out of the water, and not comprising more than fifty square yards. our first impulse was to look-out to see what had become of our canoe, and we stood watching it with a bewildered gaze as it floated away half filled with water. it was not till it had disappeared in the distance that we remembered--it had contained all our provisions. that was bad enough, but we had never experienced hunger, and did not know how long we might exist without food. what appeared, then worse was, that the waters were rising round our island, and we might soon have no dry spot on which to rest our feet. we might climb up into the trees, but we had seen other trees washed away, and such might be the fate of these our last refuge. the day wore on, the storm ceased, and the weather again became calm and beautiful. i now grew excessively hungry, and cried very much, and felt more wretched than i had ever done before. malcolm, who bore up wonderfully, tried to comfort me, and suggested that we should hunt about for roots or underground nuts such as we had seen the indians eat. we fortunately had our pocket knives, and with these we dug in all directions, till we came upon some roots which looked tempting, but then we remembered that we had no means of kindling a fire to cook them, nor could we tell whether they were poisonous or not. the hunt had given us occupation, and prevented us for a time from dwelling on our misfortunes. we then tried every device we could think of to kindle a fire, for we wished to dry our clothes, if we could not cook our roots. none of our attempts succeeded, and malcolm suggested that we should run round and round our island to try and warm ourselves before night came on. at last i felt very sleepy, and so did malcolm, but he said that he would let me sleep first while he watched, lest the waters should rise and carry us away before we had time to climb up a tree. i lay down and was asleep in a minute, and when i awoke the stars were shining out brightly through the branches of the trees, the young grass blades reflecting them on their shining surfaces, while i saw my good brother still walking up and down keeping guard over me. the noise of the rushing waters sounded in my ears and made me desire to go to sleep again, but i aroused myself, ashamed that i had slept so long, and urged my brother to lie down. "no, harry," he answered, "i wished you to get as much rest as possible; but look there, we shall soon be obliged to climb a tree for refuge." walking a few paces, i found that the water had greatly encroached on our island; a southerly wind had begun to blow, which sent large waves rolling in on us. "should the wind increase, they will completely sweep over where we stand," i exclaimed. "oh, malcolm, what shall we do?" "trust in god," he replied calmly. "from how many dangers has he not already preserved us. but remember, our father has often told us that it is our business while praying to god for help, to exert ourselves, and so let us at once try and find a tree we can climb quickly in case of necessity, and whose boughs will afford us a resting-place." i loved malcolm dearly. i admired him now more than ever, and was ready to do whatever he wished. we soon found a tree up which we could help each other. the wind howled and whistled through the trees, the waves lashed the shore furiously, and malcolm had just time to shove me up the tree, when one larger than the rest swept completely over the ground on which we had been standing, with a force sufficient to have carried us off with it. we had seated ourselves among the branches, which waved to and fro in the wind, and as we looked down, we saw the water foaming round the trunk, and often it seemed as if it must be uprooted and sent drifting down with the current. malcolm said that he felt very sleepy, and told me that if i would undertake to hold him on, he would rest for a few minutes. i gladly promised that i would do as he wished, but asked him how he could think of sleeping while the tempest was raging round us. "why, harry, we are as safe up here as on the ground," he answered, in his usual sweet tone of voice, "god is still watching over us!" i need scarcely say how tightly i held on to his clothes, trembling lest he should fall. i felt no inclination to go to sleep, indeed i soon found that i must have slept the greater part of the night, for before malcolm again opened his eyes, i observed the bright streaks of dawn appearing over the distant hills in the east. daylight quickly came on. it was again perfectly calm, and on looking down, we could see the blades of grass rising above the water. malcolm woke up, saying that he felt much better. looking down below us, he said that he thought the water had decreased since he went to sleep. he might have been right, i could not tell. at that moment there was only one thing i thought of, the pain i was suffering from hunger. "i shall die! i shall die!" i exclaimed. malcolm cheered me up. "help will come though we cannot now see how," he observed; "god will protect us. trust in him." still i felt that i should die. it is very difficult to sustain gnawing hunger, such as i then felt for the first time. i have no doubt that malcolm felt the same, but he was too brave to show it. hour after hour passed by; the water did not appear to be rising; the blades of grass were still seen below us round the tree. i however felt that i could not endure many more hours of suffering. "i must fall, indeed i must," i cried out over and over again. i should indeed have let go my hold, had not my brave brother kept me up. even he at last showed signs of giving way, and spoke less encouragingly than before. he was silent for some time. i saw him looking out eagerly, when he exclaimed-"cheer up, harry, there is a canoe approaching; it will bring us help." i gazed in the direction towards which he pointed. at first i could only see a speck on the water. it grew larger and more distinct, till i could see that it was certainly a canoe. then we discovered that there were two indians in it. we shouted, but our voices sounded shrill and weak. the indians heard us, for they waved their paddles and turned the head of the canoe towards the clump of trees. the canoe could not get under the tree, but one of the indians jumped out, and malcolm told me to slide down. the indian caught me and carried me in his arms to the canoe, for i was too weak to walk. malcolm followed, and the indian helped him along also. it was not till we had been placed in the canoe that we recognised in our preserver the young indian, sigenok, whose life we had saved. we pronounced his name. he gave a well-satisfied smile. "ah, you have not forgotten me, nor i you," he said in his own language. "favours conferred bind generous hearts together. sigenok guessed that you were in distress. your elder brother has long been looking for you." it appeared that sigenok had been at a distance hunting when the flood commenced; that he had hastened back, and soon perceiving from the height the water had attained that our house was in danger, had embarked in his canoe and hastened toward it, but on his nearing the spot found that it had been swept away. guessing that we had escaped to the eastern hills, he paddled there, when our friends told him that we had proceeded in search of our father and servant. having ascertained the exact time of our departure, with the wonderful powers of calculation possessed by red men, he had decided the events which had occurred and the course we had pursued, and was thus able to look for us in the right direction. had he not found us there, he would have visited other places which he mentioned, where we might have taken refuge. as he was leaving the hills the farmer's wife had given him a supply of food for us, and on his producing it our hunger was soon satisfied. we now told him of our anxiety about our father and sam dawes. he listened attentively, and then shook his head. "they and the cattle never reached the hills," he observed. "we will search for them. there are still some hours of daylight. if the house has held together, they will be found much further down than this." i fancied by the indian's manner that his hopes were slight. we now shoved off from the little island which had afforded us so valuable a refuge, and sigenok and his companion paddled off at a rapid rate to the north. anxious as i was, i soon fell asleep, and so i believe did malcolm for a short time. i was aroused by a shout from sigenok. i lifted up my head and saw a dark object in the distance rising above the water. "it is our house!" exclaimed malcolm, "sigenok says so. oh, that our father may be there!" we kept our eyes anxiously fixed on the distant object. it was growing dusk. malcolm said that he saw something moving on it. "man there, alive!" observed sigenok. our hopes were raised; but he spoke only of one man. how long the time appeared occupied in reaching the spot! even through the gloom we could now distinguish the outline of our log hut, which had grounded on a bank among some strong fences and brushwood, and was now fixed securely, partly tilted over. "who is there? who is there?" we shouted. "father, father! we are malcolm and harry!" "woe's me, young masters, your father is not here," said a voice which, hollow and husky as it was, we recognised as that of sam dawes. we were soon up to our hut, to the roof of which sam was clinging. the indians lifted him into the canoe, for he had scarcely strength to help himself. "but our father, sam! our father!" we exclaimed. "where is he? what has happened?" "he no speak till he eat," observed sigenok, after he had secured the canoe to the hut. we took the hint, and gave him some food. in a short time he revived, and told us that our father, after we went away, would not believe that the water would rise higher, and that they had retired to rest as usual, when they were awoke by the sound of the water rushing round the house; that they both ran out and mounted their horses to drive off the cattle, as had been arranged. our father took the lead, urging on before him the cows and horses, while he followed with the sheep, when his horse fell and he was thrown into a deep hole. as he scrambled out, the current took him off his legs. he was nearly drowned, but after floundering about for some time, he found himself carried up against the hut. he immediately climbed to the roof and shouted as loud as he could in the hopes of recalling our father, but there was no answer. again and again he shouted. he tried to pierce the gloom which still hung over the land, though it was nearly morning. he felt a wish to leap off and try and follow his master, but what had become of his horse he could not ascertain. the waters were increasing round the cottage. he felt it shake violently, when, to his horror, it lifted and floated bodily away. the logs had been put together in a peculiar manner, dove-tailed into each other, which accounted for this. he told us how forlorn and miserable he felt, without another human being in sight, believing that his master was lost, uncertain as to our fate, and that he himself was hurrying to destruction. more than once he felt inclined to drop off the roof, but love of life, or rather a sense of the wickedness of so doing, prevailed, and he clung on till the hut grounded where we found it. we were now in as secure a place as any we could find in the neighbourhood, and so sigenok proposed seeking some necessary rest before continuing our search. we proposed going into the house to sleep, but we found that our bed-places had been carried away, and so, of course, had every particle of furniture, as the bottom of the hut had literally come out. we therefore returned to the canoe to sleep. at early dawn we once more paddled south. there was little current and a perfect calm. the waters, too, were subsiding, for several slight elevations, before submerged, were now visible. after paddling for many hours, we reached the south-western hills i have before described. several settlers were there, but no one had seen our father. we crossed back to the eastern hills before night-fall. there were no tidings of him there. the flood subsided, and we, like others, set off to return to the now desolate site of our former abode. sigenok conveyed us in his canoe, and we pitched our tent on the very spot our hut had occupied. in vain we searched for our father, in vain we made inquiries of other settlers, no one had seen him. day after day we waited, thinking that he might have been swept downward with the flood clinging to a piece of timber or some other floating body, and that he might as yet be unable to return. sam dawes looked more and more sad when we spoke of his return. sigenok, who had remained by us, shook his head. "he gone, no come back," he observed. our hearts sank within us as the sad truth forced itself on our minds that we were orphans. volume two, chapter four. long we continued to hope against hope. neither was our father's body, nor were any of the cattle he was driving off ever discovered. the current must have swept them down into lake winnipeg. "i aint much of a person for it, young masters," said sam dawes, taking a hand of each of us and looking at us affectionately, "but i loves ye as sons, and i'll be in the place of a father, that i will." faithfully did sam dawes keep his word. "grief is right and does us good in the end, depend on't, or it wouldn't be sent; but it mustn't make us forget duty. now you see it is our duty to live, and we can't live without food, and we can't get food without we work, so let's turn to and plough and sow the ground." this proposal may seem like mockery, but among the valuables placed by our father in the canoe was a good supply of seed corn and other seeds, and we had discovered our plough driven deep into the ground. sigenok disappeared the moment he understood our intentions, and sam looked very blank, and said that he feared he did not like work and had gone off. "i think not," observed malcolm; and he was right. in a few hours sigenok returned two horses and several hides well tanned, and needles, and fibre for thread. i thought sam would have hugged him, he was so delighted. without loss of time they set to work and cut out a set of harness, and, lighting a lamp, seated at the entrance to our tent, laboured at it the greater part of the night, malcolm and i helping as far as we could. sam made us go to sleep, but as i looked up they were still at work, and when i awoke in the morning it was finished. the horses were a little restive, evidently not being accustomed to ploughing, but they obeyed sigenok's voice in a wonderful way, though it was necessary in the first place to teach him what ought to be done. it is said by some that indians will not labour. i have reason to know that they will when they have a sufficient motive. sigenok showed this. his motive was gratitude to us, and affection excited by compassion. no white man would have laboured harder. when the wheat and indian corn was in the ground, he with his horses helped sam and us to bring in stuff for fencing and to put it up. all this time he slept outside our tent, under shelter of a simple lean-to of birch bark. another day he disappeared, and we saw him in the evening coming up the river towing some timber. he brought a heavy log up on his shoulders. "there is part of your house," he observed, "we can get the rest in time." so we did; we borrowed a large boat, and taking advantage of a northerly wind, we brought up, piece by piece, the whole of our hut, which had grounded near the banks of the river. our neighbours, in spite of the value of their time to themselves, came and helped us, and we very soon had our hut over our heads, though, excepting the articles we had saved in the canoe, we had no furniture remaining. "sigenok live here with you," observed our indian friend. "of course; very glad," we answered, thinking he intended to take up his abode in our hut. we had arranged that morning to go to the fort [fort garry, belonging to the hudson's bay company] to obtain flour and other articles. we were not without money, for our father had put his desk in the canoe, awl in it we found a sum of money, considerable for our wants. on our return from the fort, we found that sigenok had erected close to our door an indian wigwam. it was simple of construction. it consisted of about a dozen long poles stuck in the ground in a circle, and fastened together at the top so as to make the figure of a cone. against these pales were placed large slabs of birch bark, in layers, which, having a tendency to regain their circular form, cling round the cone, and are further secured with bands of fibre. in the centre is the fire, while the smoke escapes through an opening left in the top; some mats on the ground, and some lines stretched across on which clothes or other articles can be hung up, form the chief furniture of these wigwams. to these may be added a bundle of hides or mats, and an iron pot. we had purchased some bedding at the fort, and sam and malcolm soon knocked up some rough furniture, which served our purpose. we should often have been on short commons had not sam and sigenok been expert fishermen, so that we were never without an ample supply of white-fish, or gold-eyes, or sturgeon. "this very well," observed sigenok. "fish very good, but in winter buffalo better." "will you help us to go and hunt the buffalo, then?" we both exclaimed. sigenok nodded; it was what he had proposed to himself that we should do. although a wood indian, he had connections among the prairie indians, and from living with them had become a good rider and expert hunter. sam did not like our going; he was afraid some accident might happen to us, but he had not the heart to tell us so. he was to remain at home to take care of the farm. sigenok procured two other horses, one for himself, and another to drag a light cart which we bought, made entirely of wood. it was laden with our tent and provisions, and our rifles and powder and shot. we felt in high spirits when we were ready to start, and wishing sam an affectionate farewell, set off to join a large band of hunters proceeding to the plains. there were nearly three hundred men, besides their wives and children. the greater number were half-breeds, but there were also a large body of indians, among whom we found sigenok's relatives, who received us in the most cordial manner, and told us that we should be their brothers, that our friends should be their friends, and our foes their foes. the half-breeds had nearly five hundred carts, each with a distinguishing flag; and there must have been even a larger number of hunters, all mounted. their tents, or lodges, are formed of dressed buffalo-skins. they are pitched in a large circle, with the carts outside; and when in a hostile country, with the animals in the centre, otherwise they feed outside the circle. they have a captain, and regular officers under him; and a flag hoisted on a pole in the centre serves as a signal. when hauled down, it is a sign that the march is to be continued. when the whole body was on the move, it reminded us of a caravan in the east, with the long line of carts winding along over the plain, and the horsemen galloping about on either side. for several days we travelled on without seeing any buffalo, till one day, soon after we had camped, notice was brought by the scouts that a large herd were in the neighbourhood. all was now excitement and preparation in the camp. sigenok called us early in the morning, and, after a hasty breakfast, in high spirits we mounted our horses, and accompanied the band of hunters. we made a wide circuit, so as to let the wind blow from the buffaloes towards us. i should tell you that the animal denominated the buffalo by the north americans is what is properly called the bison by naturalists. they roam in vast herds over the interior of america, from mexico as far north as the large river saskatchewan and lake winnipeg. we rode on, drawing nearer and nearer, till, as we ascended a slight elevation, we saw over it on the plain on the other side a vast herd of big-headed, dark, hairy monsters, more buffaloes than i supposed existed on the whole continent. they were feeding quietly, as if not aware of the approach of foes. our captain, an experienced hunter, rode along the ranks commanding silence, directing every man to look to his arms, and exhorting the novices not to shoot each other, a danger which might justly be apprehended. each hunter now ascertained that his rifle was loaded, and then filled his mouth with bullets--a ready-at-hand pouch, that he might the more quickly drop them into his piece. i was afraid of following this example, for fear of the bullets dropping down my throat or of my gun bursting. malcolm and i kept close to sigenok. he told us to do what he did, not to lose sight of him, assuring us that our horses understood hunting perfectly. our hearts beat with eagerness. we had now got near enough, in the opinion of our leader, to charge. the signal was given, and at headlong speed the band of huntsmen dashed in among the astonished animals. the buffaloes fled in all directions, the horsemen following, firing right and left, and loading again with extraordinary rapidity, seldom missing; and as each animal fell, the hunter who had killed it dropped some article of his dress, or other mark, by which he might distinguish it. it was the most exciting scene in which i was ever engaged--the hunters, so lately a dense and orderly body, were now scattered far and wide over the plain, many miles apart, in pursuit of the buffaloes; some terror-stricken, others infuriated to madness. sigenok had killed five or six, and malcolm had also, much to our gratification, killed one, though i had not been so successful, from nervousness, i fancy; when the indian being at some distance, as we were in full chase of another buffalo, a huge bull started out from behind a knoll, and rushed towards us. my brother's horse started at the unexpected sight, and putting his foot into a badger hole, stumbled, and threw him over his head. the faithful animal stood stock still, but on came the bull. i shrieked out to malcolm to leap on his horse and fly, but he was stunned, and did not hear me. the bull was not twenty paces from him; in another instant he would have been gored to death. i felt thankful that i had not before fired. raising my rifle to my shoulder, i pulled the trigger, the huge animal was within ten paces of him; over it went, then rose on its knees, and struggled forward. i galloped up to malcolm, who was beginning to recover his senses. with a strength i did not fancy i possessed i dragged him up, and helped him on his horse just before the monster fell over the spot where he had lain, and would have crushed him with his weight. by the time sigenok returned, the buffalo was dead. he highly praised me when he heard what had occurred, but said that we had had hunting enough that day, and that he would now summon his people to take possession of the animals we had killed. the skins are called robes, and are valued as articles of trade, being taken by the fur traders and sent to canada, england, russia, and other parts of the world. parts of the flesh of the slain animals was carried into the camp for immediate consumption, but the larger portion was prepared forthwith in a curious way for keeping. the meat is first cut into thin slices and dried in the sun, and these slices are then pounded between two stones till the fibres separate. this pounded meat is then mixed with melted fat, about fifty pounds of the first to forty pounds of the latter, and while hob is pressed into buffalo-skin bags, when it forms a hard, compact mass. it is now called pemmican, from _pemmi_, meat, and _ken_, fat, in the cree language. one pound of this mixture is considered as nutritious as two of ordinary meat, and it has the advantage of keeping for years through all temperatures. volume two, chapter five. soon after the grand hunting-day i have described, our scout brought word that a party of sioux were in the neighbourhood. our fighting-men attacked them and killed several. a scalp-dance took place, and other orgies which i will not describe. i was so horrified with what i saw, that i agreed with malcolm that we would get back to the settlements as soon as we could. we expressed our wish to sigenok, and he promised to return with us on the following day. malcolm's great wish was to withdraw sigenok from his savage companions, and to induce him to settle down as a civilised man and a christian. we talked to him on the subject, but he replied, that he had been all his life accustomed to hunting and fighting, and that he could not abandon them. the next day we set out, leaving the larger body of indians still encamped. we had travelled on for two days, when the belief being entertained that we had no enemies to fear, there was less than the usual caution observed by the natives in our march. we were passing through a sparsely wooded country, i was in advance with sigenok, while malcolm and several young indians, whose interest he wished to excite by descriptions of england and the wonders of the civilised world, brought up the rear, at a considerable distance. suddenly sigenok stopped, the crack of a rifle was heard, several others followed. "the sioux!" he exclaimed, turning round his horse. "quick! quick! our friends are attacked." no other order was required; keeping close to him we all galloped back the way we had come, getting our rifles ready for action as we proceeded. a terrible anticipation of misfortune seized me as i thought of malcolm, and the fate which might have overtaken him. still he and his companions might be defending themselves, and we should be in time to rescue them. my heart sunk when the firing ceased. i knew that the sioux would not have attacked the party unless greatly superior in numbers, and i dreaded that all was over, and that having slaughtered their victims they had retired victorious. sigenok might have thought the same, for he sent out scouts on either side, and advanced with greater caution than before, though still at a rapid pace. we pulled up at an open glade. sad was the sight which met our eyes. on every side were strewed the bodies of our companions, all denuded of their scalps. i almost fell fainting from my horse. i dreaded to find the body of my dear brother among them; still i eagerly hurried on to ascertain his fate. he was not to be found among the slain. my hopes slightly revived. he might have escaped and be concealed somewhere near, or he might have been carried off as a prisoner. my blood ran cold when i thought of this latter possibility, for i had heard of the horrible mode in which the red men tortured their prisoners, and i dreaded lest such should be the lot of my poor brother. the rage and fury of the indians at finding that their friends had thus been cut off was terrific, and their threats of vengeance terrible. i had hitherto, till this expedition, seen the red men only under more favourable aspects. i now perceived what they could become when excited by passion. still the loss of my brother made me anxious that they should immediately undertake an expedition which might result in his recovery. i saw the indians examining the ground round on every side, and they soon pronounced an opinion that the party who had attacked their friends did not equal them in numbers, and would not have succeeded had they not lain in ambush and taken them by surprise. we must have passed close to the sioux, but in consequence of the superiority of our numbers they were afraid to attack us. a council was immediately held; the principal men spoke, and various plans were suggested. the result of them was, that it was determined to form a camp on the spot, while twenty well-mounted warriors should go in pursuit of the sioux, i entreated sigenok to allow me to accompany him. "you are young for warfare, but your heart is strong--you shall go," he answered. no time was to be lost. it was of great consequence to follow up the foe so rapidly that they might not be prepared for our approach. a hurried meal was taken, and each warrior furnishing himself with a supply of pemmican for several days, we immediately set off. three men, on foot, always kept ahead to act as scouts and to feel the way, while their horses were led by the rest, and when the first were tired others took their places. the sioux must have retreated very rapidly, for two whole days passed, and though my friends assured me we were on the right trail, we had not overtaken them. i was almost in despair, and began to doubt that, even if malcolm was alive, he could be with them. i had just expressed my fears to sigenok when one of the scouts came hurrying back and exhibited a tag--the end of a boot-lace, such as my brother had worn. this sigenok considered a sure sign that malcolm was with them. my eagerness, therefore, increased to overtake them, but the indians assured me that great caution was requisite, and that instead of going faster, it might be necessary to go slower. this is often the case i have since found in other affairs of life. more scouts were now sent out and still greater caution used. it was the intention of my companions, if possible, to make the onslaught on the camp of their foes at night. all depended, however, on our approach not being suspected. the sioux, of course, would have scouts out, and the difficulty was to avoid their meeting ours, or discovering any traces. at last, just before dusk, one of our scouts brought in word that they had encamped, and that we were about two miles from them. it was suspected, from the way in which they had formed their camp, they must have thought that they had distanced us. we had now no longer any doubt about overtaking them, but the question was as to the best means of making the attack. the indians' chief thought was of revenging themselves for the loss of their relatives, my only desire was to recover my brother should he still be alive. we continued to advance till we got within about half a mile of the sioux camp--the hilly nature of the ground and the woods concealing our approach. beyond that we dared not proceed, as the country was so open that we might easily have been seen had we made the attempt. the band, accordingly, here left their horses under charge of five of their number, and as soon as it was dusk they commenced their stealthy approach to the camp. sigenok and another young and active indian undertook to look after me. not a word was spoken after we set out--not a leaf was moved, scarcely a blade of grass was uselessly pressed down. on they crept slowly, and so gently that i could scarcely hear the footfalls even of my two companions. i imitated their way of walking, and as i had on mocassins i also was able to avoid making the slightest noise. we had got within a thousand yards of the camp when we all stopped to listen. the camp was still astir, and there were sounds of feasting and revelry. the indians with me ground their teeth--their enemies, fancying themselves secure, were about to indulge in a scalp-dance over the scalps they had taken in the morning. as yet the scouts had not got near enough to ascertain if my brother was with them. i entreated sigenok to let me go and ascertain. "not without me," was his answer. "bah, we will go." i eagerly and fearlessly pressed on. we had to crawl along the ground lest our figures might be perceived, by the sharp eyes of the sioux against the sky. we reached a small stream. the camp was formed a little way beyond it. we waded across it, and creeping up, looked over the bank. in the centre was a fire which, as it blazed up, threw a strange light on the groups of fierce savages clustering round it. at a little distance was a figure which attracted all my attention--it was that of my brother. he was seated on a log of wood, close to which a stake was driven in, and to this his wrists were tightly secured, though his feet were free. his head was bent down; he sat perfectly quiet, as if resigned to his fate. by the gestures of his captors i thought that they were talking about him, and i feared that they were proposing forthwith to put him to death. i dared not ask sigenok what he thought; the slightest sound might have betrayed us. oh how i longed to rush forward and join his fate, whatever that might be. i believe that i should have done so when i saw him lift up his pale countenance, so expressive of grief and pain, had not sigenok held me back. he was, i was sure, thinking of me, and how miserable i should be when he was taken from me, and i was left alone in the world. sigenok now made a sign to me to retreat; keeping close to him as before, i unwillingly left the spot. we crawled on till we rejoined our companions. it may seem surprising that the sioux should have been so completely off their guard; but this arose from their despising their foes, the fact being that the ojibways are generally very unwarlike, and they, therefore, believed that they would not venture to follow them. my companions' plans were soon formed. it was arranged that the whole party should creep forward as we had done, and that each man should single out one of the enemy according to his position, and that at a signal from sigenok, the low croak of a frog, all should fire at the same moment. with the sound of the first shot the men with the horses were to come galloping on, as if a fresh party were approaching the scene of conflict. as, undoubtedly, all the sioux would not be killed, some might, otherwise, attempt to rush on their concealed foes, but, with the fear of falling into the hands of their enemies, they would now take to flight. my heart beat quick as we now moved on towards the camp of our treacherous foes. the night was very dark, and so noiseless were the movements of the indians that, till i actually touched sigenok's heel, i fancied at one time that i must be alone. the shouting and shrieking of the sioux as they sang their songs of triumph yet farther assisted us to approach. in another moment the death volley would be given, and most of those fierce savages would be laid low. my only wish all the time was to rush forward and to release my beloved brother. how breathlessly i waited for the signal! the warriors were moving about, and sigenok was not yet satisfied, apparently, with the positions which they had taken up. little did they dream of the danger which threatened them. sigenok's object was to wait till the sioux were separated as much as possible, so that there should be no mistake as to which of them should be aimed at by the warriors of our party. after sitting down for some time, they all arose with eager and violent gestures; some went in the direction of the temporary wigwams they had formed, and others advanced towards malcolm. by their looks and gesticulations i had little doubt that it was with the intention of torturing him. poor malcolm lifted up his countenance and gazed with calm resignation at his approaching tormentors. my knees trembled for very anxiety. just then i heard a low "croak! croak!" though warned, i believed that it was really a frog close to me. it was followed by a click as if caused by the cocking of the rifles. the sioux one and all started and looked round. their quick ears had detected the sound. there was another low croak, and at the same instant a rattling volley, and fourteen savages lay stretched on the grass. the rest rushed in all directions seeking for shelter, but in their alarm, scarcely perceiving whence the volley had proceeded, some darted towards the bank of the stream where my friends still lay concealed rapidly reloading their rifles. scarcely had the smoke cleared off than i saw through it a savage darting towards malcolm with uplifted knife, resolved apparently, before he died, to plunge it in his bosom. i shrieked out, and sprang forward to throw myself between them. the savage saw me, and was about to vent his rage on my head, but at the moment his gleaming knife was uplifted to strike, a bullet struck him, fired from sigenok's rifle, and he fell within a foot of me, in vain endeavouring to reach me with his weapon. i sprang to my brother's side, he was unhurt, my knife was busily employed in cutting through the thongs which bound him. more shots were heard as my ojibway friends caught sight of their sioux foes endeavouring to escape. a few of the latter had, however, got to some distance and were trying to catch their horses, on which their only hope of safety now depended. the object of the ojibways was, of course, to prevent them, lest they should carry the news of what had happened to their tribe, who would, in their turn, send off another war party in pursuit of us. the approach of our horses was now heard. sigenok with a dozen other men threw themselves on their backs almost without stopping them, and galloped off in hot pursuit of their flying enemies. i stood by the side of my brother, who was too much bewildered to understand what had happened. his first words were, "harry, dear harry, tell me is it a dream or a reality. am i really free?" "free, malcolm, i trust," i answered; "though i might almost ask you the same question; i can scarcely believe my happiness." "now i take your hand and hear your voice, i know that it is true," he said eagerly. "and that poor savage who lies so helpless there, i thought he was going to kill me; but i have been mercifully protected; i will tell you all about it by and by. oh what a dreadful state of existence is this wild life; we will quit it, and return to our quiet home and never leave that. i had often read about savages, and thought them very fine fellows, but little knew what they really are--how bloodthirsty, cruel, murderous. let us fly, harry, let us fly at once. do not stay here." i pacified him after a little time, and persuaded him to remain till sigenok returned. "he, though still a savage, is, at all events, faithful," i observed; "he will not desert us till he has seen us home and safe again with sam dawes. i wish that we could wean him altogether from his mode of life, and induce him to become a civilised man." while malcolm and i were talking, the rest of the ojibways had collected, with the exception of those who had gone in pursuit of the sioux. the fire had sunk low, and i was thankful that the darkness prevented us from watching the horrid task in which they were engaged-that of scalping their fallen foes. the exclamations they uttered while thus employed, showed the delight they took in the dreadful work. "our brothers are avenged! our brothers are avenged!" they kept shouting. "their mothers, and wives, and children will not mourn alone; there will be grief and wailing also in the lodges of the sioux. they will no longer be able to boast that they are the great warriors of the plains. we have conquered them; we have slain them; we have their scalps to show." nearly an hour thus passed; so greatly excited all the time were the savages that they took little notice of us. at last we heard shouts in the distance, which became louder and louder, till by the light of the fire, which had been renewed, we saw sigenok and his companions ride into the camp flourishing at the end of their spears the dreadful trophies of their success. but i should not have described those scenes at all, were it not to afford you a true picture of savage life, not as it is painted by romance writers, but as it really is, debased, and wretched; and hopeless. we soon reached the camp and recommenced our return to the settlements as rapidly as we could push on. sigenok told us that the sioux of whom they had gone in chase, had nearly effected their escape, but that he had come up with them as they were attempting to pass a broad river, and where, from being in the water, not hearing the approach of their foes, he and his companions had shot them all down, so that he believed not one had got off. still, had one escaped he might prove as dangerous as many, and therefore it might be safer to proceed homeward at once. we urged him to do so, and accordingly without even resting, we at once set out to return to the camp. we reached it in safety; but i will not attempt to describe the scenes which took place, and the savage triumph even of the women; how they shrieked, and shouted, and danced, and clapped their hands till they appeared like so many furies rather than human beings. as a war party of the sioux would be able to travel much faster than we could, the household goods were at once packed, and we set out on our return homeward. we travelled rapidly, and to guard against surprise we had scouts in the rear constantly on the watch for the approach of a foe. the conversation of the men all the way related to the events of the expedition, and they evidently gloated over the way in which they had put their enemies to death. as we proceeded i often turned my head when i heard any noise behind me, expecting to see the enemy darting out of a wood, or scouring over the prairie in chase of us, and at night, while we were encamped, i frequently started up under the belief that the sioux were upon us. "all our sufferings, and the dangers we have gone though, and the horrors we have witnessed, have been owing to our folly," observed malcolm; "had we remained at home, steadily assisting sam dawes to cultivate the farm, we should have escaped them all. we will be wiser in future." volume two, chapter six. with great satisfaction, and gratitude for the dangers we had escaped, our eyes once more rested on the silvery waters of the red river, as it wound its way though the rich plains of the settlement, towards the lengthened expanse of lake winnipeg. malcolm and i, putting our spurs into our mustangs' flanks, galloped on eager to announce our arrival to sam dawes. he was labouring by himself, putting up a fence to a new field. he saw us coming, and, throwing down his axe, hurried forward to meet us. never was there a more happy meeting. he had a great deal to tell us, as we had to tell him. gathering up his tools, he walked by our sides to the hut; a hut though it was no longer, for by his persevering industry he had converted it into a very comfortable residence; while he had replaced, though in a somewhat rough fashion, nearly as the furniture we had lost. my brother and i felt ashamed at having deserted him for so long, while he was labouring for our benefit. "well, dear masters, i did ofttimes feel sad and lonely like while you were away, but now i've got you back safe all that seems as light as a feather," he exclaimed, pressing our hands and looking into our faces with the affection of a parent. he told us that great changes had taken place in the settlement during our absence, that a clergyman had settled near us, that a church was built and a school established, and that many new colonists had bought land along the banks of the river for many miles towards the south as well as to the north of us. the good clergyman had also induced several families of indians to settle in the neighbourhood, and that they seemed to have accepted with joy the glad tidings of salvation which he had been the means of offering them. "i wish that sigenok would come and join them then," exclaimed malcolm warmly; "so brave and energetic a man would bring many others over to the truth." the next day sigenok himself came in to see us. malcolm opened the subject of which he had been speaking. sigenok listened attentively, and said that he would go and hear what the missionary had to say. he did so. the winter set in, and the river and lake were frozen over, and the ground was covered with snow, and sleighs had taken the place of carts, and thick buffalo-skin coats of light dress, and stoves were lighted and windows closed, and the whole face of nature seemed changed. sigenok came to us. "ah!" he exclaimed, "when i knew you first my heart was like the great prairie when the fire has passed over it, all black and foul; now it is white like that field of glittering snow an which we gaze. i am a christian; i look with horror on my past life, and things which i considered before praiseworthy and noble, i now see to be abominable and vile." day after day, in spite of cold and wind and snow, did sigenok come up to the missionary's house to receive instruction in the new faith which had brought such joy to his heart. many followed in his footsteps, and there now exists a whole village of christian indians in the settlement who have put away and for ever their medicine men and their charms, and their false manitou, and their cruelties and bloodthirstiness, and are worshippers of the true god in sincerity and simplicity of faith. several of the indian boys brought up at the school have obtained a considerable amount of learning, and some are ordained ministers of the gospel, and others catechists and schoolmasters at various missionary stations scattered throughout the wide extent of rupert's land. you may like to hear something more about that wonderful land, that _terra incognita_ of british central america. at the time of which i have been speaking it was supposed that the only fertile land was to be found on the banks of the red river, but it is now ascertained that an extremely rich and fertile belt extends from the red river right across the continent, for eight hundred miles or more, to the base of the rocky mountains, where it unites with the new province of columbia. this fertile belt is capable of supporting innumerable herds of cattle, flocks of sheep, and droves of horses, and of giving employment and happy homes to millions of the human race. it produces wheat and barley, and oats, and indian corn, or maize, in great perfection, and potatoes and variety of other roots and vegetables of all sorts, and the finest grass for hay, and hemp and tobacco, and many other plants with difficulty grown in england. the rivers are fall of fish, and game of all sorts abound. the climate is very uniform throughout, like that of upper canada-warm in summer and very cold in winter, but dry and healthy in the extreme. when, as i hope the case may be before long, those lakes and rivers along which we travelled on our journey from lake superior to the red river are made navigable for steamers, this country will become the great highway to british columbia, to china, japan, and the wide-spreading shores and isles of the pacific. with a line of settlements established across it, the journey may easily be performed, and some day, harry, you and i will run over, and we will pay a visit to the very scenes which i have been describing to you; but instead of roving savages, murdering and scalping in every direction, living by hunting and fishing, i hope that we may find the indians settled down as christian men, and persevering cultivators of the soil which providence will compel to yield a rich return for their labour. you will wish to know more of your uncle malcolm's and my proceedings. we soon became acquainted with the good clergyman i have mentioned, and after a time he suggested to us that, as our education was far from perfect, it would be wise if we recommenced our studies. this we did, and though we continued to help sam dawes in his farm labours even more efficiently than before, so steady was our application when engaged with our books under our kind tutor, that we made considerable progress in our studies. for three years or more lived on very happily, with nothing, to change our course of life, when we received notice from england that a relation of our father's especially wished us to return. on consulting our friend the clergyman, he strongly recommended us to accept the invitation offered us. as we expected speedily to return we left sam dawes in charge of the farm, though he was almost heart-broken at parting from us. he would, indeed, never have consented to remain had he not believed that it was for our interest to do so. on reaching england great was our surprise to find that our relative intended to leave us his property. on ascertaining our attainments in knowledge, he insisted on our both going to the university. your uncle malcolm took high honours, and entered into holy orders. i became, as was our relative, a merchant, and without allowing business to absorb me, i have considerably increased the small portion he left me. your uncle malcolm and i have constantly talked of going over to visit sam dawes, but circumstances have prevented us. we long ago made over the farm to him, and he has greatly increased and improved it. he is, we hear, a hale old man. and now, harry, i have told you a long story enough for to-day. some other time i will tell you more about the wonders of rupert's land. volume three, chapter one. the boatswain's son. it was the memorable 1st of june. a sea fight ever to be renowned in history was raging between the fleets of england and france. the great guns were thundering and roaring, musketry was rattling, round-shot, and chain-shot, and grape, and langridge, and missiles of every description, invented for carrying on the bloody game of war, were hissing through the air, crashing against the sides of the ships, rending them asunder, shattering the tall masts and spars, sending their death-dealing fragments flying around, and hurling to the deck, mangled and bleeding, the gallant seamen as they stood at their quarters in all the pride of manhood, fighting for the honour and glory of their respective countries. a dark canopy hung over the scene, every moment increasing in density as the guns belched forth their flashes of flame and clouds of smoke, filling the pure air of heaven with sulphureous vapours, and almost concealing the fierce combatants from each other's gaze. "who is that brave youngster?" asked the captain of the renowned "marlborough," a seventy-four, which lay hotly engaged surrounded by foes in the thick of the fight; "i never saw a cooler thing or better timed." "the son of mr ripley the boatswain, sir," was the answer. "i must have my eye on him, there is stuff in that lad," observed the captain. the deed which had called forth this eulogium was certainly well worthy of praise. the "marlborough" had for some time been furiously engaged, almost broadside to broadside, with the "impetueux," a french seventy-four, which ship had just fallen aboard her, the frenchman's bowsprit becoming entangled in her mizen rigging. to keep her antagonist in that position was of the greatest consequence to the "marlborough," as she might thus rake her fore and aft, receiving but little damage in return. an officer and two or three men sprang into the "marlborough's" mizzen rigging to secure the bowsprit to it. the french small-arm men rushed forward to prevent this being done, by keeping up a fire of musketry. the two seamen fell. the lieutenant still hung in the rigging, but the rope with which he was lashing the bowsprit to it was shot from his hand; no other was within reach. having just delivered the powder he had brought from below, young ripley was watching the proceeding. seizing a rope he sprang into the rigging unhurt amid a shower of bullets, and handed it to the brave officer. together they made the required turns for lashing it fast, and descended to the deck in safety. the young powder-boy then resuming his tub was speedily again seen at his station, composedly sitting on the top of it as if he had performed no unusual deed. the "marlborough" had soon another antagonist, the "mucius," seventy-four, which fell aboard her on the bow, the three ships thus forming a triangle, of which the british ship was the base. with these two opponents, each more powerful than she was, the "marlborough" continued the seemingly unequal fight, but the stout arms and hearts of her crew made amends for their inferiority in numbers. her mizzenmast fell soon after the "mucius" engaged her, her fore and main masts followed, and the frenchmen began to hope that victory was to be theirs, but they had not discovered at that time the stuff of which british tars are made. though dismasted herself, she had her foes fast so that they could not escape. so well did her crew work their guns, that they quickly shot away the bowsprit and all the lower masts of the "impetueux," those of the "mucius" soon sharing the same fate. at this juncture another french ship, the "montagne," passing under the "marlborough's" stern, fired a broadside into her of round-shot and langridge, killing many of her brave crew, and wounding among others her captain, though receiving but a few shots in return. the first battle in that long, protracted, and bloody war was over, and won by england's veteran admiral, lord howe; six of the enemy's finest line of battle ships forming the prize of victory, and among them the "impetueux." the "marlborough's" captain had not forgot the promise he had made to himself in favour of young ripley. as he lay wounded in his cabin he sent for the boatswain. the proud father had heard of his son's gallantry, and the captain's words had been repeated to him. it would have been difficult to find a finer specimen of the superior class of british seaman, the pith and sinew of the navy, than the boatswain of the "marlborough" presented, as, still in the prime of manhood, he stood, hat in hand, before his captain. by his manner and appearance he looked indeed well fitted for the higher ranks of his profession, but it was his lot to be a boatswain, and he did not complain. with unfeigned satisfaction he heard the account of his son's gallantry and coolness rehearsed by the captain's lips. "you have always proved yourself to be a brave man and a good officer, and although i have it not in my power to reward you as you deserve, i can your son," said the captain. "would it be satisfactory to you to see him placed on the quarterdeck?" the father's heart beat quick; the blush of gratified pride rose to his cheeks as he answered, "it is the thing of all others i should prize. i trust that he will not be found unfitted for the rank to which he may attain if you thus put his foot on the lower ratlins." "i am glad to have hit the thing to please you, mr ripley," said the captain. "your son shall at once be rated as a midshipman in the ship's books;" and then he added, a shade of grief passing across his countenance, "he will have no difficulty in getting an outfit from the kits of the four youngsters who were killed on the 1st. by the by, what is he called?" "pearce, sir--pearce ripley is his name," answered the boatswain. "very well; send my clerk to me, and tell your boy that he is a midshipman. the first lieutenant will introduce him to his new messmates, and secure him a favourable reception," said the captain as the boatswain withdrew. pearce ripley was a fine-looking lad of about fourteen, with an ingenuous countenance and frank manner, which spoke of an honest, brave heart. with the ship's company he had been a general favourite; it was to be proved how far he would recommend himself to the officers. in the afternoon the young gentlemen, as all the members of the midshipmen's mess were called, were summoned on the quarterdeck, and briefly addressed by mr monckton, the first lieutenant. pearce ripley was then sent for, and the boatswain's son had no cause to complain of his, reception by those whose messmate he was about to become. they, with one exception, came forward and cordially shook him by the hand, and when he entered the berth they all seemed to vie who should pay him the most unobtrusive attention as forthwith to place him at his ease. so surely will true bravery and worth be rightly esteemed by the generous-hearted officers of the british navy. pearce had gained the respect of his messmates; he soon won their regard by his readiness to oblige, his good temper, his evident determination not to give or take offence, and his general kind bearing towards all. on duty he showed that he was resolved to merit the good opinion which had been formed of him. the only person who differed from the majority was harry verner, a midshipman of about his own age. though verner had shaken hands with him, it had been with reluctance and marked coldness. his manner was now haughty and supercilious in the extreme, and he took every opportunity of making sneering remarks about men who had risen from the lower orders always being out of place and never doing any good. "if such were to become customary in the service, it would drive all the gentlemen out of it," he remarked one day in. pearce's hearing. "not if those who entered it knew how to behave as gentlemen," pearce replied, quietly. verner said nothing in return, but he gave a look to show his intense displeasure. generally pearce walked away when verner spoke in that style, or when at table, and he could not move, pretended not to hear what was said. the fleet reached portsmouth. great was the satisfaction of the british nation at the victory won. the good king george the third and the kind queen charlotte went on board all the ships and visited the wounded; honours were awarded to the chiefs, and those officers who had especially distinguished themselves were presented to their sovereigns. among others was pearce ripley, as midshipman who had helped to take the "impetueux." the "marlborough's" crew declared on this that he was a marked man and must get on in the service. the remark greatly excited harry verner's indignation and wrath. "it is high time for me to quit the service after this," he remarked, when the king patted pearce on the head, but did not even glance towards him. of memorable days in english history, the 1st of june, 1794, stands justly prominent. volume three, chapter two. the "marlborough," though victorious, had received so tremendous a battering from her numerous opponents, that it was very clear the stout craft could not again go to sea without a thorough repair. her officers and crew were therefore distributed among other ships then fitting out, and thus pearce, for the first time in his life, was separated from his father, to whom he had always been accustomed to look up for guidance and advice. in some respects this might have been an advantage to the young midshipman, but the parting cost both more pains than either confessed. "i am no great preacher, my boy, but remember there's one ever watching over you, and he'll be true to you if you try honestly to be true to him," said the boatswain, as he wrung his son's hand, and stepped down the side of the fine frigate to which pearce through the interest of his late captain had been appointed. the crew went tramping round the capstan to the sound of the merry fife, the anchor was away, and under a wide spread of snowy canvas the dashing "blanche" of thirty-two guns, commanded by the gallant captain faulkner, stood through the needle passage between the isle of wight and the main, on her way down channel, bound out to the west indies. it was a station where hurricanes, yellow fever, and sicknesses, and dangers of all sorts were to be encountered, but it was also one where enemies were to be met with, battles to be fought, prizes to be captured, and prize-money to be made, glory, honour, and promotion to be obtained, and who on board for a moment balanced one against the other? several of pearce's old shipmates were on board the "blanche," and two of his messmates, from one of whom, harry verner, he would rather have been separated; the other, david bonham, he was very glad to see. between bonham and verner the contrast was very great; for the former, though of excellent family, was the most unpretending fellow possible, free from pride, vanity, and selfishness, and kind-hearted, generous, good tempered, and the merriest of the merry. the first a.b. who volunteered for the "blanche," when he knew mr pearce had been appointed to her, was dick rogers, an old friend of his father's, with whom he had served man and boy the best part of his life; and if there was one thing more strongly impressed on dick's mind than another, it was that john ripley, the boatswain, ought to have been a post-captain. for his father's sake dick had at first loved pearce, and now loved him for his own. "though his father isn't what he should be, he shall be, that he shall, or it won't be my fault," he said to himself. dick was no scholar, and had not many ideas beyond those connected with his profession, except that particular one in favour of pearce which might or might not be of any service to him, and yet let us never despise a friend, however humble. pearce did not, though he possibly had not read the fable of the lion and the mouse. dick rogers was short and broad in the shoulders, though not fat, with a huge, sandy beard, a clear blue eye, and an honest smile on his lips, and saying that he was a seaman every inch of him, he needs no further description. verner let it be known, among their new messmates, that pearce ripley was only the boatswain's son; and hearing this, bonham took great care to recount to them his gallant act on the 1st of june, and to speak otherwise in his praise. dick forward did not fail to make the young midshipman his theme, and there the fact of his parentage was undoubtedly in his favour. "we shall be, no doubt, alongside an enemy some day soon, and then will be seen what stuff the youngsters are made of," was the remark of several on board. they were not wrong in their prognostications. the island of desiderade, near guadeloupe, was in sight to windward. "a sail on the weather bow!" was shouted by the look-out at the mast's head, always the keenest sighted of the seamen on board in those days. the frigate made all sail in pursuit of the stranger, a large schooner under french colours. the chase stood into a bay defended by a fort, where she was seen to anchor with springs to her cables. along the shore a body of troops were also observed to be posted. the drum beat to quarters as the "blanche" worked up towards the fort, when, the water shoaling, she anchored and opened her fire in return for that which the fort, the schooner, and the soldiers were pouring in on her. captain faulkner's first object was to silence the fort. this was soon done. the schooner, which it was clear was heavily armed, must be brought out. the boats were called away, under command of the second lieutenant. pearce leaped into the one to which he belonged. a master's mate, fitzgibbon, had charge of her, and dick rogers formed one of her crew. harry verner was in another. away the boats dashed, at a rate boats always do move pulled by british seamen when a prize is to be taken. the frenchmen worked their guns bravely. a shot disabled the leading boat. pearce, sitting by fitzgibbon's side, heard a deep groan, and before he could even look up the master's mate fell forward, shot through the head. his boat took the lead. "now's your time," cried dick rogers; "we'll be the first aboard, lads." the crew were not slack to follow the suggestion. in another moment they were up to the schooner, and, leaping on her deck, led by pearce, laid on them so fiercely with their cutlasses that the frenchmen, deserting their guns, sprang over the bulwarks into their boats on the other side nearest the shore, and, before another boat reached the vessel, pulled away towards where the troops were marching down to their support. the cables were quickly cut, and amid a shower of bullets sail was made, and the prize carried out. "i said as how he'd do it--i said he wouldn't be wanting," exclaimed dick rogers, as he gave his account of the cutting-out expedition to his chums on board. "he'll do more too come another occasion." that occasion did occur before many days were over. two days afterwards the "blanche" was joined by the "quebec" frigate, and together, when sailing by guadeloupe, they discovered the french thirty-six-gun frigate "pique" lying at anchor in the harbour of pointe-a-pitre, ready for sea. not to deprive his brother captain of the honour he might obtain by engaging an antagonist so worthy of him, captain carpenter parted company, and the "quebec," steering westward, was soon out of sight. the next thing to be done was to get the french frigate to come out from under her protecting batteries to fight. this seemed no easy matter, for prizes were captured and sent away under her very nose, and still she did not venture forth. at length, however, on the memorable evening of the 4th of january, the "blanche," towing off another prize in triumph, the "pique" was seen to follow. the sun went down. it was the last many a brave man was destined to see. darkness had come on, when the french frigate was observed through the gloom astern. the "blanche" tacked in chase. in the solemn hour of midnight, while darkness covered the face of the deep, the two vessels approached each other, their relative positions clearly distinguished by the light from the fighting-lanterns which streamed from their ports. the british crew, mostly stripped to the waist, stood at their quarters, grim and determined, with the gun-tackles in hand, eager for the moment to open fire. pearce was on the quarterdeck. young as he was, the whizzing of shots and the whistling of bullets scarcely made his heart beat quicker than usual, and yet, as in gloom and silence he waited for the signal when the bloody strife must commence, he felt an awe creep over him he had never before experienced. nearer and nearer the combatants drew to each other. the "pique" commenced the fight. the "blanche" returned her distant fire; and, after various manoeuvres, the two frigates ranged up alongside each other and hotly engaged, broadside to broadside, in the fashion in which british tars have ever delighted. fiercely the two crews fought; the french, once having began, proved themselves no unworthy antagonists. the main and mizen-masts of the "blanche" fell, and the french, seizing the moment, ran alongside and attempted to board. the british crew sprang up to repel them. among the foremost was pearce, with dick rogers by his side. with their sharp cutlasses they drove the frenchmen back. again the guns roared as before. once more the french ship fell aboard the "blanche," her bowsprit touching the latter's capstan. captain faulkner hurried to secure it there, for the "pique," thus held, was exposed to the raking fire of his frigate. among those who flew to assist him were pearce ripley and dick rogers, the frenchman's musketry playing hotly on them. "this is something like what you did in the old `marlborough,' sir," said dick to pearce, so loud that all might hear him--so many did, and noted the words. death was busy around them. while he was passing the lashing the young and gallant captain faulkner fell to the deck--a musket ball had pierced his heart. that was no time for grieving, even for one well-beloved as the captain. a hawser was being got up from below to secure the enemy's ship; but before it could be used she broke adrift, to the disappointment of the british tars. a cheer, however, burst from their throats as, directly afterwards, the "blanche," paying off for want of after-sail, the "pique," while attempting to cross her stern, fell once more aboard her. this time they took good care to secure the bowsprit to the stump of their mainmast; and now, running before the wind, the "blanche" towing her opponent, the fight was continued with greater fury than ever. in vain the frenchmen strove to free themselves by cutting the lashings--each time they made the attempt the marines drove them back with their musketry. still it seemed doubtful with whom victory would side. the "blanche" had no stern ports through which guns could be fought; the carpenters were unable to aid them. a bold expedient was proposed. the guns must make ports for them selves through the transom. firemen with buckets were stationed ready to extinguish the fire which the discharge would create. with a thundering roar the guns sent their shot through the stern, and, the fire being extinguished, they began to play with terrific effect into the bows of the french frigate. her foremast was immediately shot away; her mizen-mast was seen to fall. still her crew, getting their quarterdeck guns trained aft, fought on; but what were they to the "blanche's" heavy guns, which mercilessly raked her, the shot entering her bow and tearing up her deck fore and aft, sweeping away numbers of her crew at each discharge. "if those mounseers are not made of iron, they'll not stand this battering much longer," cried dick rogers, who was working one of the after-guns. pearce was standing near him. the space between the decks was filled with smoke, though which the twinkling light of the lanterns could scarcely penetrate, the flashes at each discharge showing the men, begrimed with powder, with sponge and rammers ready to load, or with their tackles to run in their guns. a cheer from the deck told them that the frenchman's remaining mast had fallen, and now another and another that the foe had struck. the "pique" was totally dismasted; the "blanche" had but her foremast standing. every boat was knocked to pieces, and how to get on board the prize, still towed by the hawser, was the question. "the hawser must form our bridge," cried mr mime, the second lieutenant of the ship, springing on to it, followed by pearce, rogers, and several men. their weight brought the rope down into the water. for some distance they had to swim till they could climb up by it on board. what havoc and destruction a few short hours had wrought. of a crew not far short of thee hundred men, one-third lay dead or wounded, the deck covered with gore and the wrecks of the masts and spars; guns lay dismounted, bulwarks knocked away, all telling the tale of the bravery and hardihood of both the combatants. when the sun arose there lay the victor and the conquered almost equally helpless. such was one of the scenes through which young ripley fought his way upwards, and gained a name and fame. volume three, chapter three. the person who is constantly keeping his eye on the reward he aims at is very likely to stumble and fall, and never to reach it. he, on the contrary, who thinks only how he can best perform his duty will be upheld and encouraged, and very probably obtain a higher reward than any at which he might have aspired. pearce ripley found this to be true in his case. duty was his leading star. it never occurred to him to say, "will this please my captain?" "will this advance me in the service?" the "blanche" was soon refitted and at sea again. several prizes were made, and, greatly to his satisfaction, he was appointed to the command of one of them, with bonham as his mate, and dick rogers as boatswain. she was a richly-laden west indiaman, recaptured from the enemy. he was ordered to take her to england, where, on his arrival, he found his commission waiting for him. pearce received a right hearty welcome from his father, and intense was the satisfaction of the brave seaman when his son showed him his commission and appointment as second lieutenant to the "vestal," an eighteen gun sloop of war, commanded by captain gale, and destined for the north american station. "you have got your first step up the ratlins, pearce. go on as you have begun, and heaven preserving your life, there is no reason why you shouldn't reach the highest," said the proud father, as he once more parted from his son. those were days of pressgangs, and dick rogers took good care to hide away till he ascertained the craft pearce was to join, when he at once volunteered for her. bonham, who had still a year to serve, was appointed to the same ship. the "vestal" had a quick run across the atlantic till within about five days' sail of halifax, nova scotia, when a heavy gale sprang up, which tried to the utmost her seaworthy qualities. the sloop behaved beautifully, hove to, and rode buoyantly over the raging seas. well indeed was it for her that the was properly handled, for the gale went on in creasing till the oldest seamen on board declared that they had never met with such another. it continued for a week, each day the wind blowing harder and harder, or if there was a lull it seemed to come only that the gale might gain greater strength. for days not a glimpse of sun, or moon, or stars had been obtained. it was the morning watch; the grey cold dawn had just broke. pearce was on deck, when sweeping his eye round the horizon as the sloop rose to the summit of a sea he perceived on the lee beam the hull of a ship, rising and sinking amid the tumultuous waters. at first he thought she was keel up, but as the light increased he saw that she was a large ship with the stump of the foremast alone remaining. that she was in a bad plight was very clear. she was remarkably low in the water he fancied, and who could say how long even she might keep afloat. the captain, being summoned, soon came on deck. to bear away for the stranger would be a work of danger to the "vestal." still who could tell how many human beings might be on board that sinking ship! with hatches battened down and men lashed to the helm, the captain resolved to go to the rescue. the seas came roaring up with furious rage, as the sloop flew before them, some breaking aboard; and rounding to under the stern of the ship, she again hove to. many people appeared on the deck of the stranger who, stretching out their arms, implored assistance. how was it to be afforded? would a boat live in such a sea? such appeals to british seamen are never made in vain. pearce ripley offered to make the experiment if men were found ready to go with him. there was no want of volunteers. a boat was lowered. it seemed as if she must be engulfed before she left the sloop's side. ripley's progress was watched by eager eyes from both ships. now he is in the trough of the sea, a watery mountain about to overwhelm him; now he is on the summit surrounded by driving foam. a shout is raised as he neared the sinking ship, but to get alongside was even more dangerous than the passage from one to the other. as the ship rolled and her deck was exposed to view, he saw that there were women on board, and other people besides the crew. ropes were hove to him. he seized one, and sprang up the side. a few hurried words told him what had occurred. the ship was conveying troops and stores to halifax, the master and first mate had been washed overboard, the second lay wounded by the falling of a spar. many of the crew had been lost with the captain. there was no sea officer who could enforce orders; the men were mutinous. ripley instantly assumed the command. there were several ladies. "they must first be placed in safety before a man enters the boat," he cried out, presenting a pistol at some seamen who showed an intention of leaping into her. some entreated that their husbands might accompany them. "oh, father, father, come with me," exclaimed a fair girl, who was being conveyed to the side to be lowered into the boat; "i cannot, i will not leave you." she looked towards a fine, soldier-like man, who stood with several officers around him. "impossible! heaven protect you, dearest. even for your sake i cannot desert my post. it is here with my men," was the answer. the boat had already nearly as many persons in her as it would be safe to carry. this was no time for delay. pearce lifted the young lady in his arms, and lowered himself with her into the boat. the boat returned to the "vestal," and all those who had been rescued were put on board. the young lady again and again entreated him to save her father. pearce promised to make every effort to bring off the colonel. "but unless his men are rescued, i doubt that he will leave the ship," he added, as he returned to his boat. two other boats were now lowered, but it was too evident that they could only save a part of the people from the foundering ship. those on her deck were now seen forming a raft. it was their last hope of life should the boats not take them off. though several of the people made a rush to the side, they were driven back by the officers and soldiers who remained firm, and the men were told off in order to allow of them to embark as arranged by pearce. twice the boat returned without an accident to the "vestal." the young lady cast a reproachful look at ripley, when she saw that her father was not among the saved. "he would not come, lady, but i will make another effort," he exclaimed, as he prepared once more to leave the corvette's side. just then arose the fearful cry, "she is sinking! she is sinking!" "oh, save him! save him!" shrieked the poor girl in an agony of terror, stretching out her hands towards the spot where she fancied that she saw her beloved father struggling in the waves. pearce and his brave companions needed not such an appeal to make them use every effort to reach their drowning fellow-creatures. some had leaped on the half-finished raft as the ship sunk beneath them, but many of these were speedily washed off. others were clinging to spars, and oars, and gratings. pearce was soon in the midst of the hapless beings, many with despair on their countenances, unable to reach the boat, sinking as he neared them. he looked round for the colonel. he could not distinguish him among the rest. three people had been hauled in, when as the boat rose to the summit of a sea he saw below him a person clinging to a grating. a hand was waved towards him. "give way, lads," he shouted, and in another minute he had the satisfaction of hauling on board the brave officer for whom he was searching. the other boats took off the people from the raft. he picked up several more, and returned in safety on board. the meeting of the father and his daughter need not be described. they were, he found, a colonel and miss verner. he was struck by the name as that of his former unamiable messmate. when the weather moderated, and the colonel was sufficiently recovered to appear on deck, he warmly expressed his gratitude to pearce, and his admiration of the gallantry he had displayed. his daughter alice was not less grateful. a calm succeeded the gale, and pearce had frequent opportunities of seeing her. he did not mention harry verner to her, and indeed so great was the contrast he perceived between the two in manners and behaviour, that he could not suppose they were nearly related. still there was at times an expression in colonel verner's countenance when he was annoyed which reminded him strongly of harry. there was a frank heartiness and sincerity about the young lieutenant which at once gained miss verner's regard. it was very different to what she had been accustomed, still his manner towards her was gentle and deferential, as if he in no way presumed on the service he had rendered her. indeed, it never entered his head that he had rendered her any especial service, or that he had the slightest claim on her regard. he felt, as he wrote to his father, "that he had had the good fortune to command the boat which saved a colonel and miss verner; that they were very nice people; that the colonel was to be stationed at halifax, and had invited him to his house whenever he could get leave on shore." he added, "that will not be very often during these stirring times, but i shall thoroughly enjoy it when i do go, for miss alice verner is the most beautiful and amiable girl i have ever seen or expect to meet; without a bit of pride about her, and she talks to me as if i were an old friend." at length the "vestal" dropped her anchor in the fine harbour of halifax, and with a regret which surprised him, pearce saw the passengers depart for the shore. "remember, my dear mr ripley, miss verner and i shall at all times be glad to see you," said colonel verner as he was about to leave the ship. alice did not say as much as her father, but pearce believed from the expression of her countenance that she willingly seconded her father's invitation. still he knew that the familiar intercourse which had been so delightful to him on board must come to an end. "what can she ever be to me more than she is at present?" he exclaimed to himself. "she says that i saved her life and her father's life; but then i saved the lives of many other people. to be sure i have got one step up the ratlins, but it may be very long before i get another. no, no, i'll not think about it." the next day a special invitation to the governor's table, where he met colonel and miss verner, and where all the gentlemen from the governor downwards drank wine with him, considerably altered his feelings. this was the first of many attentions which he received from the military officers and the principal inhabitants of halifax. his time on shore was indeed fully occupied in making morning calls and in attending the parties to which he was invited. a portion of every morning he spent in the society of miss verner. it was very delightful, and he felt sure that he was welcome. at length the "vestal" was suddenly ordered to sea. pearce had the greatest difficulty in getting on shore to wish his friends good-bye. alice turned pale when he told her that the ship was to sail that evening. "you will come back here surely, mr ripley," she said, in a trembling voice; "you have been every thing to us since that awful day when you saved our lives from the sinking ship; we shall miss you, indeed we shall, very much." pearce could not frame a reply, at least, satisfactory to himself. he scarcely knew what he said, as he hurried away. the words might have made a vainer man than he was much happier than they did him. the "vestal" was bound for the west indies. she cruised for some time, making several rich prizes, which she sent into port royal, jamaica, and which filled the parses of her officers and men in a very satisfactory manner. still, no honour or promotion was to be obtained by the capture of honest merchantmen. at length, however, there appeared a chance of falling in with an antagonist worthy of her. one morning at dawn a stranger was discovered on the lee beam. the "vestal" was kept away, and all sail made in chase. as the "vestal" gained on the chase, she was discovered to be a large ship, and pronounced to be flush-decked. "then we'll tackle her; never mind how many guns she carries," exclaimed the captain--a sentiment to which his officers and men responded heartily. the chase was accordingly continued, and as the vessel came up with her on the weather quarter, it was seen that she was a large flush-decked ship, carrying twenty-two guns. the ensign of france flew out from the stranger's peak, and was saluted by a shot from one of the corvette's bow guns. the battle thus begun, the "vestal" keeping the weather gauge, was continued for half-an-hour with great fury, till the frenchman's foremast went by the board. the enemy's guns were well handled, and the corvette began to suffer accordingly. the first lieutenant and five men were killed, and the captain, a midshipman, and several men wounded. the captain was carried below, and the command devolved on pearce. the young lieutenant's heart beat high. "bonham," he said, addressing his friend who was standing near him, "we'll take that ship, or go down with our colours flying." the breeze which had fallen returned, and as the corvette was still under perfect command, he was able at length to obtain a position by which he could pour several raking broadsides into the bows of the enemy. her main-top mast was shot away; her mizen-mast followed. the ensign of france was again hoisted, but did not long remain flying. pearce poured in another broadside, and down it came, the cheers of the british crew giving notice of what had occurred to their wounded shipmates below. the prize, which proved to be the "desiree," had lost a considerable number of her crew, most of them killed during the latter part of the action. bonham was sent on board to take command, and in two days the "vestal" and her prize entered in triumph the harbour of port royal. here the admiral with part of the fleet were at anchor. pearce went on board the flag-ship to make his report. he was warmly received, and highly complimented on his conduct. the next day he found that he was to be first lieutenant of the corvette, and bonham received an acting order as second lieutenant. the "vestal" had received so much damage, that she was obliged to refit at port royal. this took several weeks, and captain gale considered himself sufficiently recovered, when she was ready, to go to sea in her. pearce had, however, virtually the command. several more prizes were taken. "that's young ripley's doing," exclaimed the admiral, "he deserves his promotion, and he shall have it." volume three, chapter four. once more the "vestal" was at anchor in port royal harbour. in vain her brave captain had striven against the effects of his wounds. he must return home if he would save his life, he was told, so he applied to be superseded. the admiral came on board the "vestal" to inspect her. the next day he sent for ripley, and put a paper into his hand. pearce's heart beat quick with proud satisfaction. the document was an order to take the acting command of the corvette. "i have written home by this post to ask for your commission, and to recommend that you should be confirmed in the command of the `vestal,'" added the admiral. "i am sure that you will take care she does as good service as she performed under captain gale." bonham, who had received his commission a few months before, became first lieutenant, and a young _protege_ of the admiral's received an acting order as second; so that the united ages of the three principal officers of the ship amounted to little more than fifty-five years. old heads were worn then on young shoulders. many prizes had been taken, and the time approached for their return to port royal. the corvette lay becalmed. a french store-ship was expected, which had been separated from her convoy. the "vestal" lay disguised, as was usual in those days, looking very unlike the smart sloop she was. a blue line was seen in the horizon, the sign of an approaching breeze, and in the midst of it a sail. the breeze brought up the stranger, a fine brig, to within about a mile, when it died away. she was an armed vessel, and showed by her colours that she was french. before long, two boats were seen to put off from her. three boats were instantly lowered from the opposite side of the "vestal," and manned. the frenchmen pulled rapidly on, expecting to make an easy prize of the "vestal." their look of consternation was very great when they first perceived the painted canvas which concealed the corvette's guns. pearce had carefully watched for the first sign of their wavering, and now ordered the three boats to make chase. the frenchmen, taken by surprise, made but a slight show of resistance, and in ten minutes the whole party found themselves prisoners on the deck of the corvette. the "vestal" was now towed up towards the brig, which opened her fire at the boats, but this did not deter them from placing the corvette on her quarter, when a few rapidly delivered and almost raking broadsides compelled her to haul down her colours, having had the chief officers left on board and ten of her crew killed or wounded. the privateer, which mounted fourteen guns, was on her way to france, having a large amount of specie and valuable goods on board, the result of a successful cruise. it was with no little pride that captain ripley returned to port royal from his first cruise, with the fine brig in company, the british ensign flying over that of france. the admiral congratulated him on his success, and at the same time put his commission and appointment into his hand. "you must be ready for sea again very soon though," said the admiral; "i have dispatches to send to halifax, and unless another cruiser comes in, i must send you." pearce, rather to the admiral's surprise, replied with animation, that he should be ready to sail that evening if required, provided he could get water, fuel, and fresh provisions on board. the admiral gave him permission to make everybody exert themselves. by noon the next day the young commander had got his ship ready for sea, and receiving his dispatches with a joyous heart, he shaped a course for halifax. a bright look-out was kept, but on this occasion it was to avoid strange sails. he was only to fight for the purpose of escaping capture. halifax was reached, and pearce having delivered his dispatches, hurried up to colonel verner's house. miss verner was at home. she started, and the colour rose to her cheeks when captain ripley was announced. she put out her hand, and did not with draw it, for pearce forgot to let it go. "are you really a captain already?" she asked. "yes; that is, a commander. i am captain of the `vestal,'" he answered, and he told her how captain gale had, been compelled to go home, and that he had been appointed in his stead. he mentioned also the number of prizes he had taken--a matter which interested colonel verner more than it did her. "that young ripley is a very fine fellow," observed the colonel to a brother officer. "why, in one cruise he must have made not far short of ten thousand pounds as his own share of prize-money. a capital haul for the admiral. those naval men have better chances than we have of filling their purses." if pearce had received attentions when only a young lieutenant, he was doubly courted now that he was a commander, with an established name for gallantry and energy. alice verner no longer hesitated acknowledging to herself that she had given him her entire heart. she felt honoured by his preference, and proud of it among so many others who seemed anxious to obtain it. halifax was always a lively place. there were a great number of resident families with young people, and dances were therefore much in vogue. consequently naval officers were always welcome, lieutenants and passed midshipmen were acceptable, but young commanders were treated with especial favour. a more experienced man than pearce might have had his head turned with the attentions he received. while, however, he was grateful for them, he enjoyed to the full the society in which he found himself, and became neither conceited nor vain. he had also the opportunity of comparing alice verner with other girls, and he became more than ever convinced of her superiority to them all. his stay at halifax was likely to be short. he naturally wished to spend as much of his time as possible in her society. she invariably received him so frankly and cordially that all restraint was thrown aside. he felt almost sure that she loved him; so he took her hand and told her how much he loved her, and that he believed he had made enough prize-money already to enable her to live as she had been accustomed to; that he hoped to make more, and that, he had good reason to believe he should before long be a post-captain, when he should be her father's equal in rank. alice was not very much surprised nor agitated, because she was before sure that he loved her. still it was very pleasant to hear him say so. pearce also felt supremely happy, and did not for a moment contemplate the clouds and storms which might be ahead. alice herself might possibly have seen difficulties which he did not. she loved her father, but she knew that he was a proud man and weak on certain points, and that few men thought more of family and connections. it had always surprised her that he had not inquired more particularly about pearce's parentage, but she concluded that he was acquainted with the circumstances of the case, and was satisfied. it was, at all events, her duty to tell her father that captain ripley had declared himself. pearce was to dine with them that day. in the meantime he had to go on board. he returned some time before the dinner hour. colonel verner had not come in, so that alice had not had an opportunity of speaking to her father. pearce told her that a frigate had arrived that morning direct from england. everybody was eager to hear the news she brought. probably that kept the colonel from home. while seated together, and interested more in themselves than in the world at large, the door was suddenly opened, and lieutenant harry verner was announced. "why, cousin harry, where have you dropped from?" said alice, rising to welcome him, "i did not even know that you were a lieutenant. you have grown up out of a little midshipman since i saw you last." "i've dropped from his britannic majesty's frigate `hecate,' of which i have the honour of being third lieutenant," announced the young man. "and as for changes, though you are lovely as ever, i shall not know soon whether i am standing on my head or my feet;" he looked fixedly at pearce as he spoke. "i beg your pardon, captain ripley," said alice, recovering herself from the slight confusion into which she had been thrown; "i should have introduced my cousin to you." "harry verner and i are old shipmates i suspect, unless there are two of the name very much like each other," said pearce, rising and putting out his hand. "yes, as midshipmen we were together, i believe," answered harry, superciliously; "but really it is difficult to remember all one's old shipmates." pearce under some circumstances would have been inclined to laugh at harry verner's impudence, but it was very evident that the lieutenant wished to pick a quarrel with him, which was by all means to be avoided. alice had thought her cousin a tiresome boy; he now appeared to have grown more disagreeable than before. colonel verner came in and welcomed his nephew, who was the only son of his elder brother; other guests arrived, and the conversation became general. harry at once assumed to be the person of most importance in the house, and though he was laughing and talking with every one, alice discovered that he was constantly watching her and captain ripley whenever they spoke. captain ripley had to return on board. he never slept out of his ship if he could avoid it. "i suppose, colonel, that you can give me a shake down," said harry; "i have got leave to remain on shore." her cousin's remaining prevented alice from speaking to her father that night. harry showed no intention of going to bed till pearce had taken his leave, and alice had retired. he then, jumping up from the sofa on which he had thrown himself exclaimed, "my dear uncle, where did you pick up that man?" "whom do you mean, harry?" asked the colonel, rather astonished at his nephew's somewhat impertinent manner. "why, captain ripley, who has just left this," answered the lieutenant. "he seems as much at home with alice as if he were engaged to her. indeed, i am half expecting you to tell me that he is." "really, harry, you are speaking too fast," said the colonel; "captain ripley is one of the finest officers in the navy, and having rendered the greatest possible service to my daughter and me, i feel bound to treat him with every consideration and kindness." "which he repays by aspiring to my cousin's hand," answered harry. "were he a man of family i should say nothing, of course; but he is, sir, a mere adventurer. his father is a common boatswain--a warrant officer--not a gentleman even by courtesy, and his mother, for what i know to the contrary, might have been a bum-boat woman, and his relations, if he has any, are probably all of the lowest order." the colonel walked up and down the room very much annoyed. "though what you say may be true, harry, that cannot detract from captain ripley's fine qualities nor relieve me of the obligations i owe him," he observed after a time. "of course, were he to dream of marrying alice, that would alter the case, and i should be compelled to put a stop to our present friendly intercourse; but i do not believe that such an idea enters his head. he is like you sailors generally, here to-day and gone to-morrow. probably when he leaves this we may not see him again for years to come." "not so sure of that," said harry; "ripley was always very determined when he made up his mind to do a thing, and you will pardon me, uncle, but the way in which he was speaking to her when i came into the room was anything but that of an ordinary acquaintance." "i'll see about it, i'll see about it," exclaimed the colonel, now more than ever annoyed. "it is impossible that a man of such low extraction should aspire to the hand of my daughter. the idea is too absurd!" harry verner retired to rest that night under the comfortable belief that he had revenged himself on the man whom he had always disliked, and now envied, for his rapid promotion and success. volume three, chapter five. the arrival of the "hecate" relieved the "vestal," which was ordered to proceed at once to sea. poor alice received captain ripley with marks of sorrow in her countenance which alarmed him. "my father will not hear of it," she exclaimed, giving way to a burst of grief; "but i told him, and i promise you, that i will marry no one else." "i know, i feel, and i am sure you will not, dearest," said pearce, tenderly gazing at her. "and be of good courage, i trust yet to do deeds and to gain a name to which those who now scorn me for my humble birth may be proud to ally themselves." pearce had never before uttered anything like a boast, but his swelling heart assured him of what he could do, and his indignation at the contempt in which his father was held made him speak in a vaunting tone so different to his nature. the moment of parting arrived; alice, unasked, renewed her promise, and pearce hurried on board unwilling to encounter any of his ordinary acquaintances in the town. it was well for harry verner that he did not fall in with him. before night the corvette was far away from halifax. pearce was not exactly unhappy, but he was in an excellent mood for undertaking any daring act which might present itself. once more he returned to jamaica, picking up a few prizes on the way. "always welcome, captain ripley," said the admiral, cordially greeting pearce when he appeared at the penn to report himself. "you've done so well in the sloop that we must get you into a smart frigate; you'll not have to wait long for a vacancy, i dare say." this commendation was sufficient to restore pearce's spirits. he hoped to do something before the corvette had to return home. there are two classes of people who hope to do something--one waits for the opportunity to occur, the other goes in search of it and seldom fails in the search. pearce ripley belonged to the latter class. several more prizes were taken, and a considerable amount of damage done to the commerce of the enemy; but still the "vestal" had not fallen in with an enemy the conquest of whom would bring glory as well as profit. week after week passed away. it had been blowing hard. the wind dropped at sunset; the night was very dark and thick, an object could scarcely have been discerned beyond the bowsprit end. the island of deserade, belonging to france, bore south-east by south, six or seven leagues, when, as day broke and the light increased, a ship was perceived close on the weather-beam, which in a short time was made out to be an enemy's frigate. the breeze had by this time sprung up again and was blowing fresh. "we may fight her or try to escape," said the captain to bonham, eyeing the frigate as if he would rather try fighting first. "i should say that the odds being so greatly against us we ought to try to escape," answered the first lieutenant; "but i speak my own sentiments, and i am sure that of all on board, if fight we must, we will all be ready to stand by you to the last. victory does not always side with the biggest." sail was accordingly made to the north-west, but no sooner had she shaped a course than the frigate under a cloud of canvas came tearing after her at a rate which proved that the "vestal" had not a chance of escaping. the crew showed by unmistakeable signs that they expected to be captured, by going below and putting on their best clothes. pearce called them aft, "lads, we have served together for three years, and done many a deed to be proud of. do not let the frenchmen boast that they took us without our having done our best to prevent them. i purpose to fight that frigate if you will stand by me, and that i am sure you will." "aye, aye, that we will, and would if she were twice as big, and sink at our guns before we strike," shouted dick rogers, and their loud cheers expressed the sentiments of the rest. the corvette at once prepared for action, and as soon as all was ready she shortened sail to allow the frigate to come up, greatly to the frenchmen's surprise probably. the latter began firing as soon as her guns could reach the corvette. "let not a shot be returned till i give the order, lads," cried ripley; "we must throw none away." he waited till his carronades would tell with effect. "now give it them, lads," he shouted. the heavy shot crashed against the side of the frigate in a way which astonished the frenchmen. with wonderful rapidity the guns were run in, loaded, and again sent forth their death-dealing shower of iron, this time tearing through the frigate's upper bulwarks, sweeping across quarterdeck and wounding her masts. "hurrah! we have knocked away her wheel," cried bonham, who had sprung into the mizen rigging to ascertain the effect of the last broadside; "she's ours, if we are smart with our guns." the frenchmen had just fired a broadside which had killed three of the "vestal's" crew, knocked one of her boats to pieces, and done other damage, but had not materially injured her running rigging. firing another broadside in return, pearce saw that by wearing sharp round he could pass under the stern of the frigate, and at the same time bring a fresh broadside to bear on her. the manoeuvre was rapidly executed, the effect was very great on board the enemy. the crew were seen to be hurrying to and fro as if in dread of some event about to occur. it was next seen that all sail was being made on the frigate. the men had deserted their guns. the british seamen plied the enemy with their carronades with still greater energy. the great masses of iron were hauled in and out as if they had been made of wood. their only fear was that their antagonist would escape them. more sail was made on the corvette to keep up with him. to prevent the corvette from following, the frenchmen again returned to their guns, and the frigate suddenly hauling up let fly her broadside. pearce saw the manoeuvre about to be executed, and was just in time to haul up also to save the "vestal" from being raked. the frigate's shot, accompanied by a shower of musketry, came tearing on board. hitherto one officer and four men had been killed on board the "vestal," and six wounded, including the master slightly--a heavy loss out of a sloop's complement, but pearce saw victory within his grasp, and resolved to persevere. the last broadside from the frigate told with fearful effect on the corvette. her spars and rigging were much cut about; three more men were struck, and the brave captain was seen to stagger back. had not rogers sprang forward and caught him in his arms he would have fallen to the deck. he was speechless, but he motioned to bonham, who ran up to continue the fight. when an attempt was made to carry him below, he signified that he would remain on deck till the battle was won. the surgeon came up and stanched the blood flowing from his shoulder. the nervous system had received a violent shock, but he could not tell whether the wound would prove mortal, the surgeon reported. still the battle raged. the french were again seen to quit their guns. the corvette followed up her success. it was observed that buckets were being hauled up through the ports, the frigate must be on fire; her foremast fell, the corvette ranged up alongside, the french ensign was still flying. bonham was ordering another broadside to be poured in, when down came the enemy's flag, and at that moment, pearce recovering, joined in the cheer which burst from the lips of the british crew. "go and help the poor fellows," were the first words the young captain spoke. the corvette's boats which could swim were lowered and armed with buckets, the english seamen hurried up the sides of their late opponent. her deck presented everywhere signs of their prowess, covered with the bodies of the slain, and the wreck of the foremast and rigging; the wheel had been shot away and three men killed at it. as a security bonham, who had gone on board and received the commanding officer's sword, the captain having been killed, sent him and three others on board the corvette, while he and his men set to work to extinguish the flames. the magazine was happily drowned, which was not itself a sufficient reason for the frigate to have struck, though the state of her masts and spars, and the number of her killed and wounded showed the skill and courage of her comparatively tiny opponent. the fire was at length got under, very much by the efforts of the englishmen, who had to hint to the french that if they did not exert themselves they would be left to perish, as it would be impossible to get them all on board the corvette before the frigate would become untenable. the corvette and her prize having been put somewhat to rights, made sail for jamaica. they had a long passage up, and the greatest vigilance was necessary to keep the prisoners in order. a plot was discovered for retaking the frigate, and bonham had to threaten the french officers with severe punishment should anything of the sort be again attempted. pearce ripley lay in his cabin unable to move. the hearts of the officers and men were deeply grieved, for the surgeon would not pronounce a favourable opinion. he was young, and had a good constitution. he might recover. the corvette succeeded in carrying her prize to jamaica. the admiral himself came on board to see ripley and to congratulate him on his achievement. "your promotion is certain, captain ripley," he said kindly; "and i should think his majesty, when he hears of your gallantry, won't forget to give a touch on your shoulder with the flat of his sword, eh. you will find handle to your name convenient, and you deserve it, that you do, my lad." the admiral's kindness contributed much to restore pearce to health. while he remained on shore bonham received an acting order to take command of the "vestal." before pearce had totally recovered he received his post rank with a complimentary letter on his gallantry. bonham, at the same time, found that he was made a commander; the "vestal," having been upwards of four years in commission, was ordered home, captain ripley taking a passage in her. she escaped all the enemy's cruisers, and arrived safely in portsmouth harbour. she was, however, considered fit to go to sea again after an ordinary repair, and was recommissioned by captain bonham. pearce was sent for by the first lord of the admiralty to attend the king's levee. he was presented to his majesty, that good old king who truly loved a sailor, and knew how to appreciate honour and valour. on kneeling to kiss his sovereign's hand he felt a touch on his shoulder, and with astonishment, gratitude, and delight, heard the king say, "rise, sir pearce ripley; you are well deserving of knighthood." pearce felt very much inclined to shake the king cordially by the hand, and to assure his majesty that no reward could be more satisfactory. he did not, however, nor did he say why he was so pleased with the rank bestowed on him, but made the usual bow, and moved off to allow others to present themselves. there was one, however, waiting for him outside the palace, as fine and officer-like looking man as any of those present in admirals' or post-captains' uniforms--his father, and the knowledge of the intense delight his promotion gave him, greatly added to the satisfaction pearce felt on the occasion. sir pearce ripley was gazetted the next day to the command of a fine frigate, the name of which he soon made well-known by the gallant exploits he performed in her. volume three, chapter six. two years had passed by. colonel verner, now a general, with his daughter, had returned to england, and they were spending some weeks during the summer at the house of a friend, admiral sir j. b---, in the isle of wight, in the neighbourhood of the then pretty little village of ryde. alice looked thinner and paler than formerly, but her beauty was in no way impaired, and the sweet smile which lit up her countenance-one of its chief charms when she spoke, was still there. she had accompanied her father and the admiral on a walk into ryde. when some little distance from the village, they met a fine dignified-looking man, his silvery hair showing that his age was greater than would have been supposed from his florid, clear complexion. an undress naval uniform set off his fine figure to advantage. the admiral looked at him for a moment, and then shaking him cordially by the hand, inquired what brought him to ryde. "i have taken a cottage in the neighbourhood for my son's sake when he comes home, for as i have quitted the service i shall always be ready to receive him," was the answer. "oh, then we are near neighbours. come over and dine with me to-day. i like to talk over by-gone days with an old shipmate," said the admiral. the stranger accepted the invitation, and after a little more conversation, he walked on. "a distinguished man," observed general verner, when the admiral rejoined him. "a right noble and brave man," said the admiral, but made no further remark. the stranger was in the drawing-room when miss verner entered, and was soon engaged in an animated conversation with her. she thought him somewhat old-fashioned in his phraseology, perhaps, and mode of pronunciation, but she had so frequently heard officers of high rank speak in the same way, that she was not surprised, and as he had seen a great deal of the world, and described well what he had seen, she was much interested. as she listened, she felt her interest increase, and became insensibly drawn towards the old gentleman. as there were many married ladies present, she was led out among the first, and so she did not see when he left the room, which might have given her an idea as to his rank, but she found herself sitting next to him at dinner. her father was opposite, and appeared to be much interested in his conversation. according to the good old custom, the admiral drank wine round with all his guests. "mr ripley, will you take wine?" he said, addressing her companion in his kind friendly tone. she started, and she felt the blood rush to her cheeks. she had not recovered from her confusion before the ceremony of wine-taking was over, and the old gentleman again addressed her. could he be the father of pearce? she had always understood that his father was a boatswain, and this old gentleman could not be that, or he would scarcely have been dining at the admiral's table. her father would make the inquiry probably of the admiral; if not, she must try to muster courage to do so. in the mean time she would ask her companion if he knew sir pearce ripley. in a low and somewhat trembling voice she put the question. "indeed i do, young lady, and am proud to own him as my son," answered the old seaman, fixing his clear grey eyes on her, as if he would read her heart. "i have a hope that you know him too, and that no two people love him better in the world," he added in a whisper. alice felt her cheeks glow, and yet she was not annoyed. "indeed you are right," she said, in a low tone, which she hoped no one else would hear, for several people were speaking loudly, and there was a clatter of knives and forks. "he will be in england again soon to refit, for he has allowed his frigate very little rest since he commanded her," observed the old gentleman. "he, i hope too, will then get a spell at home, for since he went to sea at ten years of age, he has never once been ten days on shore at a time, aye, i may say, not a month altogether." alice whispered her hope that he would remain on shore. after retiring to the drawing-room she looked anxiously for the arrival of the gentlemen. her father and mr ripley entered together. the general soon came and sat down by her. "a very agreeable old naval officer that is we've been talking to," he remarked; "i did not catch his name, but the admiral tells me that he is a master in the service." alice was pleased to hear this, but much puzzled. she managed to speak to the admiral when no one was near. he put on a quizzical look. "now, young lady, if you had been inquiring about sir pearce ripley, his son, i should not have been surprised," he answered. "the fact is, my friend ripley became a master late in life. he had served in the lower grades of the profession, and if the rules of the service had allowed it, he should have been made a post-captain. i cannot tell you all the brave things he has done. when in charge of a prize, he fought a most gallant action; he prevented his ship's company from joining the mutineers at the nore. on two several occasions, he saved the ship from being wrecked, not to mention his conduct on the first of june, and on numerous previous occasions. i placed his son on the quarterdeck, predicting that he would be an honour to the service, and so he is, and i am proud of him." while the admiral was speaking, alice was considering whether she should confide her case to him, and beg him to intercede with her father, or rather to speak to him of mr ripley in a way which might overcome his prejudices. she almost gasped for breath in her agitation, but her resolution was taken, and without loss of time she hurriedly told him of her engagement to sir pearce ripley. "i am heartily glad to hear of it, my dear young lady," exclaimed the admiral warmly; "he is worthy of you and you are of him, and that is saying a great deal for you. hoity toity! i wonder my friend general verner has not more sense; the idea of dismissing one of the finest officers in the service because he hasn't a rent-roll and cannot show a pedigree as many do a yard long, and without a word of truth from beginning to end. if a man is noble in himself what does it matter who his father was? the best pedigree, in my opinion, is that which a man's grandson will have to show. better to have one noble fellow like old ripley there for a father, than a line of twenty indifferent progenitors, such as nine-tenths of those who set such store by their ancestry can boast of." alice very naturally agreed with the admiral, who was himself a man of much older family than her father. he attacked the general the next morning. he hated circumlocution and went directly to the point. "you object to your daughter marrying sir pearce ripley because his father was a boatswain. i tell you i was for many years of inferior rank to a boatswain. i entered the navy as captain's servant. what do you say to that? it does not signify what a man has been, it is what he is should be considered. now, my dear general, just clap all such nonsense under hatches, and the next time young ripley asks your daughter to marry him, let her, and be thankful that you have secured so fine a son-in-law and so excellent a husband for the girl." general verner had not a word of reply to his friend's remonstrance. the admiral, when he met alice, exclaimed, "i've been pouring my broadsides into your father till i left him without a stick standing and every gun dismounted; if you give him a shot depend on't he'll strike his flag." volume three, chapter seven. the admiral's house commanded an extensive view of the solent, looking across to portsmouth, down the channel towards cowes and up over spithead. one bright morning after breakfast, the admiral, as usual, with his eye at the telescope, was watching the ever-varying scene on the waters before him, when he exclaimed, "two frigates standing in, and one is french, a prize to the other. to my eye the frenchman seems the biggest of the two; i must send over and learn all about it." he rang the bell, his old coxswain appeared. "judson, take the wherry and board that frigate, and give my compliments and learn the particulars of the action, and if her captain can spare time i shall be very glad to see him. here, give this note if--" the admiral spoke a few words in an undertone heard by no one else. judson hurried off. there was a fair breeze to spithead, and back--a soldier's wind. alice watched the progress of the boat with great interest. she reached the english frigate, remained a short time, and was speedily on her way back. before she had long left the frigate she was followed by another boat which overtook her as she reached the shore. a short time afterwards, judson appeared, and put a card into his master's hand. "say that i shall be delighted to see him when he can come up." "what about the action, judson?" asked the admiral. "just the finest, sir, that has been fought during the war," answered judson. "he'll be up here presently, and tell you more about it than i can." scarcely ten minutes had passed by, when judson announced, "captain sir pearce ripley!" the admiral received the young captain with every mark of regard. "and now let me introduce you to my guests, general and miss verner; but, by the by, you know them, i think." alice, lost to all sense of decorum, sprang forward to receive him. the general put out his hand in a cordial manner, and with many compliments congratulated him on his success. the admiral having listened to an account of the action, dragged off the general to see some improvements on the farm; the ladies of the family left the room, and pearce ripley heard from alice's own lips that her father fully sanctioned their union. he claimed a sailor's privilege, and before a month had passed their marriage took place. bonham obtained his post rank, and though he had not the talent of his friend, he ever proved himself an active efficient officer. harry verner quitted the service, finding that, notwithstanding his connections, his merits were not appreciated, and that he was not likely to obtain his promotion. he soon afterwards broke his neck out hunting. sir pearce ripley commanded several line of battle ships, and took an active part in three of england's greatest naval victories. he in due course became an admiral, and was created a baronet, and his sons entering the navy rose to the highest rank in their noble profession. note: project gutenberg also has an html version of this file which includes the original illustrations. see 15299-h.htm or 15299-h.zip: (http://www.gutenberg.net/dirs/1/5/2/9/15299/15299-h/15299-h.htm) or (http://www.gutenberg.net/dirs/1/5/2/9/15299/15299-h.zip) drake, nelson and napoleon studies by sir walter runciman, bart illustrated london t. fisher unwin ltd. adelphi terrace 1919 dedicatory letter to sir james knott my dear sir james, we have travelled far since those early days when you and i, who are of totally different tastes and temperament, first met and became friends. i was attracted by your wide knowledge, versatile vigour of mind, and engaging personality, which subsequent years have not diminished. you were strenuously engaged at that time in breaking down the weevilly traditions of a bygone age, and helping to create a new era in the art of steamship management, and, at the same time, studying for the bar; and were i writing a biography of you, i would have to include your interesting travels in distant lands in quest of business and organizing it. that must be left for another occasion, when the vast results to the commercial life of the country to which you contributed may be fittingly told. at the present time my vision recalls our joyous yachting cruises on the clyde, when poor leadbitter added to the charm that stays. perhaps best of all were the golden days when we habitually took our week-end strolls together by the edge of the inspiriting splendour of the blue north sea, strolls which are hallowed by many memories, and gave me an opportunity of listening to your vehement flashes of human sympathies, which are so widely known now. it is my high appreciation of those tender gifts and of your personal worth, together with the many acts of kindness and consideration shown to me when i have been your guest, that gives me the desire to inscribe this book to you and lady knott, and to the memory of your gallant sons, major leadbitter knott, d.s.o., who was killed while leading his battalion in a terrific engagement in flanders, and captain basil knott, who fell so tragically a few months previously at his brother's side. with every sentiment of esteem, i am, dear sir james, ever yours sincerely, walter runciman. march 1919. preface this book has evolved from another which i had for years been urged to write by personal friends. i had chatted occasionally about my own voyages, related incidents concerning them and the countries and places i had visited, the ships i had sailed in, the men i had sailed with, and the sailors of that period. it is one thing to tell sea-tales in a cosy room and to enjoy living again for a brief time in the days that are gone; but it is another matter when one is asked to put the stories into book form. needless to say for a long time i shrank from undertaking the task, but was ultimately prevailed upon to do so. the book was commenced and was well advanced, and, as i could not depict the sailors of my own period without dealing--as i thought at the time--briefly with the race of men called buccaneers who were really the creators of the british mercantile marine and navy, who lived centuries before my generation, i was obliged to deal with some of them, such as hawkins, drake, frobisher, daimper, alexander selkirk of robinson crusoe fame, and others who combined piracy with commerce and sailorism. after i had written all i thought necessary about the three former, i instinctively slipped on to nelson as the greatest sea personality of the beginning of the last century. i found the subject so engrossing that i could not centre my thoughts on any other, so determined to continue my narrative, which is not, and never was intended to be a life of nelson. perhaps it may be properly termed fragmentary thoughts and jottings concerning the life of an extraordinary human force, written at intervals when i had leisure from an otherwise busy life. even if i had thought it desirable, it was hardly possible to write about nelson without also dealing with britain's great adversary and nelson's distracted opinion of him. it would be futile to attempt to draw a comparison between the two men. the one was a colossal human genius, and the other, extraordinary in the art of his profession, was entirely without the faculty of understanding or appreciating the distinguished man he flippantly raged at from his quarterdeck. but be that as it may, nelson's terrific aversion to and explosions against the french and napoleon, in whose history i had been absorbed for many years, seem to me to be the deliberate outpouring of a mind governed by feeling rather than by knowledge as to the real cause of the wars and of how we came to be involved and continue in them. nor does he ever show that he had any clear conception of the history of napoleon's advent as the ruler of the people with whom we were at war. i have given this book the title of "drake, nelson and napoleon" because it seemed to me necessary to bring in drake, the prototype, and napoleon, the antagonist of nelson. drake's influence bore fruit in what is known as the fleet tradition, which culminated in the "nelson touch." no excuse is needed, therefore, for writing a chapter which shows how little the seaman's character has changed in essentials since that time. to-day, our sailors have the same simple direct force which characterized the elizabethan seamen and those of nelsonian times. of napoleon i have written fully in my book "the tragedy of st. helena," and have contented myself here with pointing out how the crass stupidity and blind prejudice of his opponents have helped largely to bring about the world-war of our own times. i have also endeavoured to contrast the statesmanlike attitude of napoleon with the short-sighted policy of england's politicians and their allies at that time. having planned the book on such lines, it inevitably follows that nelson must occupy a larger space in it than either drake or napoleon, but for that i offer no apology. walter runciman. march 1919. contents dedicatory letter preface 1. drake and the fleet tradition 2. nelson and his circle trafalgar, oct. 21st, 1805 (_a_) british order of battle (_b_) a list of the combined fleet of france and spain 3. napoleon and his connection with the world-war 4. sea songs appendix: some incidents of nelson's life (chronologically arranged) index illustrations line of battle ship (early eighteenth century) drake nelson lady hamilton as "a sibyl" captain hardy (of the "victory") "princess charlotte."--frigate (early nineteenth century) h.m.s. "victory" going into battle at trafalgar admiral collingwood the emperor napoleon after his accession drake and the fleet tradition i the great sailors of the elizabethan era--hawkins, drake, frobisher, howard, davis, and sir humphrey gilbert--were the prototypes of the sailors of the nineteenth century. they discovered new lands, opened up new avenues of commerce, and combined these legitimate forms of enterprise with others which at this date would be regarded as rank piracy. since, however, they believed themselves to be the ambassadors of god, they did everything in his name, whether it were the seizing of spanish treasure or the annexing of new worlds by fair means or foul, believing quite sincerely in the sanctity of what they did with a seriousness and faith which now appear almost comic. for many years the authorities of the inquisition had plundered goods and put to death english seamen and merchants, and spanish philip, when remonstrated with, shrugged his shoulders and repudiated the responsibility by saying that he had no power over the "holy house." drake retaliated by taking possession of and bringing to england a million and a half of spanish treasure while the two countries were not at war. it is said that when drake laid hands on the bullion at panama he sent a message to the viceroy that he must now learn not to interfere with the properties of english subjects, and that if four english sailors who were prisoners in mexico were ill-treated he would execute two thousand spaniards and send him their heads. drake never wasted thought about reprisals or made frothy apologetic speeches as to what would happen to those with whom he was at religious war if they molested his fellow-countrymen. he met atrocity with atrocity. he believed it to be his mission to avenge the burning of british seamen and the spanish and popish attempts on the life of his virgin sovereign. that he knew her to be an audacious flirt, an insufferable miser, and an incurable political intriguer whose tortuous moves had to be watched as vigilantly as philip's assassins and english traitors, is apparent from reliable records. his mind was saturated with the belief in his own high destiny, as the chosen instrument to break the spanish power in europe. he was insensible to fear, and knew how to make other people fear and obey him. he was not only an invincible crusader, but one of those rare personalities who have the power of infusing into his comrades his own courage and enthusiasm. the spanish said he was "a magician who had sold his soul to the devil." the spanish sailors, and philip himself, together with his nobles, were terror-stricken at the mention of his name. he was to them an invincible dragon. santa cruz warned his compatriots that the heretics "had teeth, and could use them." here is another instance, selected from many, of the fanatical superstitions concerning drake's irresistible power. medina sidonia had deserted the andalusian squadron. drake came across the flagship. her commander said he was don pedro de valdes, and could only surrender on honourable terms. the english commander replied, "i am drake, and have no time to parley. don pedro must surrender or fight." so don pedro surrendered to the gallant captain of the _revenge_, and lavished him with praise, evidently glad to have fallen into the hands of so famous and generous a foe. drake is said to have treated his captive with elaborate generosity, while his crew commandeered all the vast treasure. he then sent the galleon into dartmouth harbour, and set off with his prisoners to chase medina sidonia. in the whole range of drake's adventurous career there does not appear to be any evidence of his having been possessed with the idea of supernatural assistance, though if perchance he missed any of philip's treasure-ships he complacently reported "the reason" to those in authority as "being best known to god," and there the incident ended. on the other hand, the deity was no mystery to him. his belief in a supreme power was real, and that he worked in harmony with it he never doubted. when he came across anything on land or sea which he thought should be appropriated for the benefit of his queen and country, or for himself and those who were associated with him in his piratical enterprises, nothing was allowed to stand in his way, and, generally speaking, he paralysed all resistance to his arms into submission by an inexorable will and genius. the parsimonious elizabeth was always slyly willing to receive the proceeds of his dashing deeds, but never unduly generous in fixing his share of them. she allowed her ships to lie rotting when they should have been kept in sound and efficient condition, and her sailors to starve in the streets and seaports. never a care was bestowed on these poor fellows to whom she owed so much. drake and hawkins, on the other hand, saw the national danger, and founded a war fund called the "chatham chest"; and, after great pressure, the queen granted £20,000 and the loan of six battleships to the syndicate. happily the commercial people gave freely, as they always do. what trouble these matchless patriots had to overcome! intrigue, treason, religious fanaticism, begrudging of supplies, the constant shortage of stores and provisions at every critical stage of a crisis, the contradictory instructions from the exasperating tudor queen: the fleet kept in port until the chances of an easy victory over england's bitterest foes had passed away! but for the vacillation of the icy virgin, drake's portugal expedition would have put the triumph of the spanish armada to the blush, and the great admiral might have been saved the anguish of misfortune that seemed to follow his future daring adventures for spanish treasure on land and sea until the shadows of failure compassed him round. his spirit broken and his body smitten with incurable disease, the fleet under his command anchored at puerto bello after a heavy passage from escudo de veragua, a pestilential desert island. he was then in delirium, and on the 28th january, 1596, the big soul of our greatest seaman passed away beyond the veil. his body was put into a lead and oak coffin and taken a few miles out to sea, and amidst manifestations of great sorrow he was lowered down the side and the waters covered him over. two useless prize ships were sunk beside him, and there they may still lie together. the fleet, having lost their guiding spirit, weighed anchor and shaped their course homewards. drake was not merely a seaman and the creator of generations of sailors, but he was also a sea warrior of superb naval genius. it was he who invented the magnificent plan of searching for his country's enemies in every creek into which he could get a craft. he also imbued her gracious majesty and her gracious majesty's seamen with the idea that in warfare on sea or land it is a first principle to strike first if you wish to gain the field and hold it. having smashed his antagonist, he regarded it as a plain duty in the name of god to live on his beaten foes and seize their treasures of gold, silver, diamonds, works of art, etc., wherever these could be laid hold of. the first lady of the land was abashed at the gallant sailor's bold piratical efforts. she would not touch the dirty, ill-gotten stuff until the noble fellow had told her the fascinating story of his matchless adventures and slashing successes. doubtless the astute admiral had learned that his blameless queen was only averse to sharing with him the plunder of a risky voyage until he had assured her again and again that her cousin, philip of spain, had his voracious eye on her life, her throne, and all her british possessions, wherever they might be. the valiant seaman appears to have played daintily and to good effect with the diabolical acts of the spaniards, such as the burning of english seamen, until they roused in elizabeth the spirit of covetousness and retaliation. it was easy then for her incorruptible integrity (!) to surrender to temptation. a division of what had been taken from philip's subjects was forthwith piously made. elizabeth, being the chief of the contracting parties, took with her accustomed grace the queenly share. on one occasion she walked in the parks with drake, held a royal banquet on board the notorious _pelican_, and knighted him; while he, in return for these little attentions, lavished on his queen presents of diamonds, emeralds, etc. the accounts which have been handed down to us seem, in these days, amazing in their cold-blooded defiance of honourable dealing. but we must face the hard facts of the necessity of retaliation against the revolting deeds of the inquisition and the determined, intriguing policy of worming popery into the hearts of a protestant nation, and then we realize that drake's methods were the "invention" of an inevitable alternative either to fight this hideous despotism with more desperate weapons and greater vigour than the languid, luxury-loving spaniards had taken the trouble to create or succumb to their tremendous power of wealth and wickedness. drake was the chosen instrument of an inscrutable destiny, and we owe it to him that the divided england of that day was saved from annihilation. he broke the power of spain at sea, and established england as the first naval and mercantile power in the world. he was the real founder of generations of seamen, and his undying fame will inspire generations yet unborn to maintain the supremacy of the seas. the callous, brutal attitude of elizabeth towards a race of men who had given their lives and souls so freely in every form of danger and patriotic adventure because they believed it to be a holy duty is one of the blackest pages of human history. the cruelties of the spanish inquisition and the treatment of sailors in the galleys were only different in degree, and while there are sound reasons for condemning the queen and the ruling classes of that time for conduct that would not be tolerated in these days, it is unquestionably true that it was a difficult task to keep under control the spirit of rebellion of that period, as it is to-day. doubtless those in authority were, in their judgment, compelled to rule with a heavy hand in order to keep in check wilful breaches of discipline. attempts to mutiny and acts of treason were incidents in the wonderful career of francis drake which frequently caused him to act with severity. doughty, the spanish spy, who was at one time a personal friend of drake's, resolved to betray his commander. doughty was caught in the act, tried by a court composed of men serving under drake, found guilty, and after dining with the admiral, chatting cheerfully as in their friendly days, they drank each other's health and had some private conversation not recorded; then doughty was led to the place of execution and had his head chopped off, drake exclaiming as it fell, "lo, this is the end of traitors!" then drake relieved fletcher of his duties as chaplain by telling him softly that he would "preach this day." the ship's company was called together and he exhorted them to harmony, warning them of the danger of discord. then in his breezy phraseology he exclaims, "by the life of god, it doth even take my wits from me to think of it." the crew, it appears, was composed of gentlemen, who were obviously putting on airs, and sailors, who resented their swank as much as did the great captain. so drake proceeds to lay the law down vehemently. "let us show ourselves," said he, "all to be of one company, and let us not give occasion to the enemy to rejoice at our decay and overthrow. show me the man that would refuse to set his hand to a rope, but i know that there is not any such here." then he proceeds to drive home his plan of discipline with vigour. "and as gentlemen are necessary for government's sake in the voyage, so i have shipped them to that and to some further intent." he does not say quite what it is, but they doubtless understand that it is meant to be a warning lest he should be compelled to put them through some harsh form of punishment. he concludes his memorable address with a few candid words, in which he declares that he knows sailors to be the most envious people in the world and, in his own words, "unruly without government," yet, says he, "may i not be without them!" it is quite clear that drake would have no class distinction. his little sermon sank deep into the souls of his crew, so that when he offered the _marigold_ to those who had lost heart, to take them back to england, he had not only made them ashamed of their refractory conduct, but imbued them with a new spirit, which caused them to vie with each other in professions of loyalty and eagerness to go on with him and comply with all the conditions of the enterprise. the great commander had no room for antics of martyrdom. he gave human nature first place in his plan of dealing with human affairs. he did not allow his mind to be disturbed by trifles. he had big jobs to tackle, and he never doubted that he was the one and only man who could carry them to a successful issue. he took his instructions from elizabeth and her blustering ministers, whom he regarded as just as likely to serve philip as the tudor queen if it came to a matter of deciding between popery and protestantism. he received their instructions in a courtly way, but there are striking evidences that he was ever on the watch for their vacillating pranks, and he always dashed out of port as soon as he had received the usual hesitating permission. once out of reach, he brushed aside imperial instructions if they stood in the way of his own definite plan of serving the best interests of his country, and if the course he took did not completely succeed--which was seldom the case--he believed "the reason was best known to god." john hawkins and francis drake had a simple faith in the divine object they were serving. hawkins thought it an act of high godliness to pretend that he had turned papist, in order that he might revenge and rescue the remnant of his poor comrades of the san juan de ulloa catastrophe, who were now shut up in seville yards and made to work in chains. sir john hoodwinked philip by making use of mr. george fitzwilliam, who in turn made use of rudolfe and mary stuart. mary believed in the genuineness of the conspiracy to assassinate elizabeth and set up the queen of scots in her place, to hand over elizabeth's ships to spain, confiscate property, and to kill a number of anti-catholic people. the hawkins counterplot of revenge on philip and his guilty confederates was completely successful. the comic audacity of it is almost beyond belief. the pope had bestowed his blessing on the conspiracy, and the spanish council of state was enthusiastically certain of its success. so credulous were they of the great piratical seaman's conversion, that an agreement was signed pardoning hawkins for his acts of piracy in the west indies and other places; a spanish peerage was given him together with £40,000, which was to be used for equipping the privateer fleet. the money was duly paid in london, and possibly some of it was used for repairing the british squadron which hawkins had pronounced as being composed of the finest ships in the world for him to hand over to philip, even though they had been neglected owing to the queen's meanness. the plausible way in which the great seaman put this proposition caught the imagination of the negotiators. they were captivated by him. he had caused them to believe that he was a genuine seceder from heresy and from allegiance to the queen of england, and was anxious to avow his penitence for the great sins he had committed against god and the only true faith, and to make atonement for them in befitting humility. all he asked for was forgiveness, and in the fullness of magnanimity they were possibly moved to ask if, in addition to forgiveness, a spanish peerage, and £40,000, he would like to commemorate the occasion of his conversion by a further token of his spanish majesty's favour. it is easy to picture the apparent indifference with which he suggested that he did not ask for favours, but if he were to ask for anything, it would be the release from the inquisition galleys of a few poor sailor prisoners. the apparently modest request was granted. hawkins had risked his life to accomplish this, and now he writes a letter to cecil beginning "my very good lord." i do not give the whole of the letter. suffice it to say that he confirms the success of the plot so far as he is concerned, and in a last paragraph he says, "i have sent your lordship the copy of my pardon from the king of spain, in the order and manner i have it, with my great titles and honours from the king, from which god deliver me." the process by which hawkins succeeded in obtaining the object he had in view was the conception of no ordinary man. we talk and write of his wonderful accomplishments on sea and land, as a skilful, brave sailor, but he was more than that. he was, in many respects, a genius, and his courage and resolution were unfailingly magnificent. i dare say the prank he played on philip and his advisers would be regarded as unworthy cunning, and an outrage on the rules of high honour. good protestant christians disapproved then, as now, the wickedness of thus gambling with religion to attain any object whatsoever, and especially of swearing by the mother of god the renunciation of the protestant faith and the adoption of roman catholicism. the spaniards, who had a hand in this nefarious proceeding, were quite convinced that, though hawkins had been a pirate and a sea robber and murderer, now that he had come over to their faith the predisposition to his former evil habits would leave him. these were the high moral grounds on which was based the resolve to execute elizabeth and a large number of her subjects, and take possession of the throne and private property at their will. it was, of course, the spirit of retaliation for the iniquities of the british rovers which was condoned by their monarch. in justification of our part of the game during this period of warfare for religious and material ascendancy, we stand by the eternal platitude that in that age we were compelled to act differently from what we should be justified in doing now. civilization, for instance, so the argument goes, was at a low ebb then. i am not so sure that it did not stand higher than it does now. it is so easy for nations to become uncivilized, and we, in common with other nations, have a singular aptitude for it when we think we have a grievance. be that as it may, hawkins, drake, and the other fine sea rovers had no petty scruples about relieving spaniards of their treasure when they came across it on land or on their ships at sea. call them by what epithet you like, they believed in the sanctity of their methods of carrying on war, and the results for the most part confirmed the accuracy of their judgment. at any rate, by their bold and resolute deeds they established british freedom and her supremacy of the seas, and handed down to us an abiding spirit that has reared the finest seamen and established our incomparable merchant fleet, the largest and finest in the world. there is no shame in wishing the nation to become imbued with the spirit of these old-time heroes, for the heritage they have bequeathed to us is divine and lives on. we speak of the great deeds they were guided to perform, but we rarely stop to think from whence the inspiration came, until we are touched by a throbbing impulse that brings us into the presence of the great mystery, at which who would dare to mock? it is strange that hawkins' and drake's brilliant and tragic careers should have been brought to an end by the same disease within a short time of each other and not many miles apart, and that their mother, the sea, should have claimed them at last in the vicinity of the scene of their first victorious encounter with their lifelong enemies, the spaniards. the death of the two invincibles, who had long struck terror into the hearts of their foes, was the signal for prolonged rejoicings in the spanish main and the indies, while the british squadron, battered and disease-smitten, made its melancholy way homeward with the news of the tragedy. for a time the loss of these commanding figures dealt a blow at the national spirit. there are usually long intervals between cæsars and napoleons. nations have, in obedience to some law of nature, to pass through periods of mediocre rule, and when men of great genius and dominating qualities come to clear up the mess, they are only tolerated possibly by fear, and never for long by appreciation. a capricious public soon tires of these living heroes. it is after they are dead that they become abiding examples of human greatness, not so much to their contemporaries as to those generations that follow them. the historian has a great deal to do with the manner in which the fame of a great man is handed down to posterity, and it should never be forgotten that historians have to depend on evidence which may be faulty, while their own judgment may not always be sound. it is a most difficult task to discipline the mind into a perfectly unbiased condition. the great point is to state honestly what you believe, and not what you may know those you are speaking to wish you to say. the contemporaries of hawkins and drake unquestionably regarded them with high admiration, but i question whether they were deified then as they are now. the same thing applies to nelson and collingwood, of whom i shall speak later on, as the historian has put the stamp upon their great deeds also. drake and hawkins attracted attention because of their daring voyages and piratical enterprises on spanish property on sea and land. every obstacle was brushed aside. danger ever appealed to them. they dashed into fortified ports filled with warships fully equipped, silenced the forts, sank and set fire to philip's vessels, and made everything and everybody fly before them in the belief that hell had been let loose. to the superstitious spanish mind it seemed as though the english must be under satanic protection when they slashed their way undaunted into the midst of dangers which would inevitably spell death for the mere mortal. these corsairs of ours obviously knew and took advantage of this superstition, for cannon were never resorted to without good reason, and never without effect. the deliberate defiance of any written or unwritten law that forbade their laying hands on the treasure they sought so diligently, and went far and near to find, merely increased public admiration. elizabeth pretended that they were very trying to her christian virtues. but leave out of count the foregoing deeds--which no one can dispute were prodigious, and quite equal to the part these men played in the destruction of the armada--what could be more dashingly brilliant in naval warfare than drake's raids on san domingo, carthagena, cadiz, and other ports and cities of old and new spain, to which i have already briefly alluded? it was their great successes in their great undertakings, no matter whether it was "shocking piracy" or not, that immortalized these terrible creators of england's greatness all the world over! thomas cobham, a member of a lordly and protestant family, became a sailor, and soon became fascinated with the gay life of privateering. once when in command of a vessel, eagerly scouring the seas for spanish prizes, one was sighted, bound from antwerp to cadiz. cobham gave chase, easily captured her in the bay of biscay, and discovered there were forty inquisition prisoners aboard. after rescuing the prisoners, the captain and crew of the spanish vessel were then sewn up in their own mainsail and tossed into the sea, no doubt with such sententious expressions of godliness as was thought befitting to sacred occasions of that period. this ceremony having been performed, the vessel was scuttled, so that she might nevermore be used in trading with british sailors or any one else for inquisition purposes. when the story became known, the case was discreetly inquired into, and very properly the gallant cobham was never punished, and was soon running here and there at his old game. it may be taken for granted that there was no mincing matters when an opportunity for reprisals occurred. the spaniards had carried barbarism to such a pitch in seizing our ships and condemning their crews to the galleys, that queen elizabeth was never averse to meeting murder and plunder by more than the equivalent in retaliation, except when she imagined that philip was showing signs of overpowering strength; she then became timid and vacillating. she was never mentally disturbed by the moral side of the great deeds that brought her vast stores of plunder. moreover, she could always find an accommodating bishop to put her qualms (if she ever had any, except those of consequence to herself) at rest on points of conscience. one noted personage, who held high ecclesiastical office, told her that it was a virtue to seize treasure when she knew it would otherwise be used for the purpose of murdering her protestant subjects. sir arthur champernowne, a noted vice-admiral of elizabeth's reign, in writing to cecil of the vessel that had put into plymouth through stress of weather with the needy philip's half-million of ducats on board, borrowed, it is said, from a genoa firm of financiers, said it should be claimed as fair booty. sir arthur's view was that anything taken from so perfidious a nation was both necessary and profitable to the commonwealth. no doubt a great deal of pious discussion would centre round the vice-admiral's easy moral but very logical opinions. the main thing in his mind, and in that of everybody else who was free from poisoned cant, was that the most shocking crimes were being openly advocated by philip, king of spain, against all european protestants, rich or poor, who came within the clutches of the savages that administered the cruelties of the inquisition. the canting crowd shrieked against the monstrous impiety of such notions, but their efforts to prove purity of motive were unavailing. after considered thought by a committee of men of high rectitude, it was decided to act without fear or favour in a strictly impartial manner, so philip's half-million of bullion was divided between the prince of orange and the rigid moralist, elizabeth, who is credited with having spent her share on the navy, a very admirable way of disposing of it. this act was the cause of a deluge of reprisals on the part of spain. but, from all accounts, elizabeth's corsairs had always the best of it in matters of material importance. the spanish are naturally a proud, brave race. in the middle of the sixteenth century their power dominated two-thirds of the universe, and had they stuck to business, and not so feverishly to the spreading of their religious faith by violent means, they might have continued a predominant nation. their civil, naval, and military position was unequalled. the commerce and wealth of the whole world was pre-eminently in their hands, and in common with other nations who arrive at heights of power, prosperity, and grandeur (which last sits so easily on the spaniard), they gave way to pleasures and to the luxury of laziness which invariably carries with it sensuality. wherever they found themselves in the ascendancy, they intrigued to impose the roman faith on the population, and if that method did not succeed with felicity, whenever the agents of their governing classes, including their king, met with opposition from prominent men or women, their opponents were put to the rack, burnt, or their heads sent flying. in this country no leading protestant's life or property was safe. even elizabeth, during the reign of her half-sister, mary, was obliged to make believe that her religious faith was roman in harmony with that of the queen. it was either adoption, deception, or execution, and the future queen outwitted all their traps and inventions until mary passed on, and elizabeth took her place on the throne. meanwhile, spain, as i have indicated, was tampering with abiding laws. catastrophe always follows perilous habits of life, which were correctly attributed to the spanish. as with individuals, so it is with nations; pride can never successfully run in conjunction with the decadence of wealth. it is manifestly true that it is easier for a nation to go up than to realize that it has come down, and during long years spain has had to learn this bitter lesson. it was not only imperious pride of race and extravagant grandeur that brought the destruction of her supremacy of the seas, and the wealth and supremacy of many lands, but their intolerable religious despotism towards those who were not already, and refused to become, as i have said, adherents of the roman catholic creed. poor wretches who were not strong enough to defend themselves had the mark of heretics put on them; and for nearly thirty years spaniards carried on a system of burning british seamen whenever they could lay hands on them. they kept up a constant system of spying and plotting against the british protestant queen and her subjects of every position in life. the policy of the spanish king and government was to make the british and other races vassals of the pope. philip, like all powerful monarchs and individuals who are put into power without any of the qualities of fitness to fill a high post, always believed that his presence on earth was an act of supreme providence. philip, in proclaiming his glorious advent for the good of mankind, explained it with a decorum that had a fascinating flavour. unlike some imitators of great personalities, he was never vulgarly boastful in giving expression to the belief that his power came from above and would be sustained by the mystery that gave him it in such abundance, but, in fact, he never doubted what was known as the doctrine of the divine right of kings. the human support which kept him in authority did not enter into his calculations. the popular notions of the democracies then was that no physical force could sever the alliance which existed between god and monarchs; and there is no evidence that philip was ever disillusioned. he regarded his adversaries, especially hawkins and drake, in the light of magicians possessed of devilish spirits that were in conflict with the wishes of the deity. his highly placed and best naval officer, santa cruz, took a more realistic view than his master, though he might have had doubts as to whether the people who were at war with spain were not a species of devil. but he expressed the view which even at this distance of time shows him to have been a man of sane, practical thought. philip imagined he could agree with the acts of assassins (and also support the holy office) in their policy of burning english sailors as heretics. santa cruz reflected more deeply, and advised the king that such acts were positively courting disaster, because "the british corsairs had teeth, and could use them." spain looked upon her naval position as impregnable, but elizabeth's pirates contemptuously termed it "a colossus stuffed with clouts." priests, crucifixes, and reliance on supernatural assistance had no meaning for them. if any suggestion to impose on them by such means had been made, they would have cast the culprits over the side into the sea. they were peculiarly religious, but would tolerate no saintly humbugs who lived on superstition. when they had serious work in hand, they relied on their own mental and physical powers, and if they failed in their objective, they reverently remarked, "the reason is best known to god"--a simple, unadorned final phrase. some of the sayings and doings, reliable or unreliable, that have been handed down to us, are extremely comical, looking at them from our religious standpoint in these days; for instance, drake's method of dealing with insubordination, his idea of how treason was to be stamped out, and the trial of doughty, the traitor. people who sit in cosy houses, which these early sailors made it possible for them in other days and now to acquire, may regard many of the disciplinary methods of drake and his sea contemporaries as sheer savage murder, but these critics are not quite qualified to judge as to the justice or injustice of the actions of one man who is responsible for the safe and proper navigation of a vessel, no matter whether on an enterprising voyage of piracy, fair trade, or invasion. if a nautical project is to be carried out with complete success, the first element in the venture is discipline, and the early seafarers believed this, as their successors have always done, especially during the different periods of the sailing-ship era. a commander, if he wishes to be successful in keeping the spirit of rebellion under, must imbue those under him with a kind of awe. this only succeeds if the commander has a magnetic and powerful will, combined with quick action and sound, unhesitating judgment. all the greatest naval and military chiefs have had and must have now these essential gifts of nature if they are to be successful in their art. the man of dashing expediency without judgment or knowledge is a great peril in any responsible position. when either a ship or nation or anything else is in trouble, it is the cool, calculating, orderly administrator, who never makes chaos or destructive fuss, that succeeds. that is essential, and it is only this type of person that so often saves both ships, armies, and nations from inevitable destruction. the duke of wellington used to say that "in every case, the winning of a battle was always a damned near thing." one of the most important characteristics of drake's and hawkins' genius was their fearless accurate methods of putting the fear of god into the spaniards, both at sea and ashore. the mention of their names made philip's flesh creep. even admiral santa cruz, in common with his compatriots, thought drake was "the serpent"--"the devil." and the spanish opinion of him helped drake to win many a tough battle. amongst the thrilling examples are his dashes into corunna and cadiz. drake never took the risk before calculating the cost and making certain of where the vulnerable weak spot of the enemy lay, and when and where to strike it. the complete vanquishing of the armada is another instance of drake's great qualities of slashing yet sound judgment put accurately into effect. of course, the honours of the defeat of the armada must always be shared with other naval experts who had acquired their knowledge of sea warfare in what is called the piratical line. but the spirit that inflamed the whole british fleet was that of drake, hawkins, frobisher, seymour, and howard, and the inspiration came mainly from the two former. on the spanish side, as a naval battle, it was a fiasco, a mere colossal clerical burlesque. neither naval strategy nor ordinary seamanship was in evidence on the part of the chief commander or his admirals. the men fought with rough-and-tumble heroism. the sailors were only second in quality to our own, but there was no plan of battle, and the poor duke of medina sidonia had neither knowledge of naval affairs nor courage. philip's theory seems to have been that any lack of efficiency in the art of war by his commanders would be made up by the spiritual encouragement of the priests dangling their crucifixes about the decks amongst the sailors and soldiers, who had been put through a course of instruction on spiritual efficacy before sailing on their doomed expedition. they were made to believe that the spanish cause was so just that assistance would be given from god to defeat the "infernal devils" and to invade their country. this great battle transferred the sea supremacy from the spanish to the british, who have held it, with one interval, ever since, and will continue to hold it, provided that philip's theories of relying merely on the help that comes from above be supplemented by, first, the appointment of a proper head at the admiralty with some nautical instinct and knowledge of affairs; and secondly, the keeping up of an efficient fleet, manned with efficient officers and men. heaven helps those who help themselves. no department of government can be properly managed by novices. the reckless, experimental appointment of untried men to positions of grave responsibility on which the happiness, comfort, and life of the whole public may depend, and the very existence of the country be put in jeopardy, is a gamble, and may be a crime. it is always risky to assume that any person holding authority in the bigger affairs of life is in consequence an instrument of providence. had the conception of the armada and the organization of every detail been put into the hands of experienced and trained experts with sound judgment in naval matters, such as admiral santa cruz, and had it not been for philip and his landsman ideas of the efficacy of priests and crucifixes, and greenhorns such as the duke of medina sidonia and his landlubber colleagues, spain might never have been involved in the armada fight, and if she had, it is scarcely likely that so appalling a disaster could have come to her. apart from any fighting, the fact of having no better sea knowledge or judgment than to anchor the spanish ships in an open roadstead like calais was courting the loss of the whole spanish fleet. one of the fundamental precautions of seamanship is never to anchor on a lee shore or in an open roadstead, without a means of escape. the dunderheaded spanish commanders made their extermination much more easy for the highly trained british seamen of all grades, none of whom had any reason to hide their heads in shame for any part they individually took in the complete ruin of the spanish navy. one cannot read the sordid story without feeling a pang of pity for the proud men, such as recaldo, who died on landing at bilbao; or oquendo, whose home was at santander. he refused to see his wife and children, turned his face to the wall, and died of a broken heart begotten of shame. the soldiers and sailors were so weak they could not help themselves, and died in hundreds on the ships that crawled back to spain. the tragic fate of these vessels and their crews that were dashed to pieces on the rocks of the hebrides and ireland added greatly to the tale of horror. philip was crushed, but was a man of tender sympathies, and free from vindictive resentment against those who were placed in charge of his terrific and ill-fated navy. he worked and exhorted others to relieve the sufferers in every possible way. he obviously regarded the disaster as a divine rebuke, and submissively acquiesced with true spanish indolence, saying that he believed it to be the "great purpose of heaven." on the authority of the duke of parma, "the english regarded their victory with modesty, and were languidly indifferent to their valour." they looked upon the defeat of the spanish navy as a token of the ruler of all things being decidedly partial to the protestant faith. the spaniards, as a whole, would not allow that heaven was against them or that the verdict was that of providence. they declared that it was entirely the result of the superior management of the english ships and the fighting quality of their crews. with this chivalrous testimonial no one could then or will now disagree. it was very sporting of them to admit the superiority of the british ships and seamanship. drake and his compeers had reason to be proud of their efforts in the great naval contest. their reputations were enhanced by it all over the world, though never a sign or word came from themselves about their gallantry. they looked upon these matters as mere incidents of their enterprising lives. ii but it is really in the lesser sea encounters, though they probably had just as great results, that we become enthralled by drake's adventurous voyages. the armada affair was more like the battle of trafalgar, one of the differences being that in the latter engagement the spanish ships did not risk going far into the open sea, but wisely kept cadiz open for retreat, which they availed themselves of after receiving a dreadful pounding. drake's voyage in the _pelican_ excelled anything that had ever been accomplished by previous sea rovers, and his expedition to the west indies was a great feat. he always had trouble with queen elizabeth about money when organizing his voyages. her spanish brother-in-law's power was always in her thoughts. he never allowed her to forget that if he were provoked he would invade england, and notwithstanding her retort that england had a long arm which he would do well to fear, her courage alternated with some nervousness at times. elizabeth was not so much concerned about his threat of excommunication of her as the sly tricks in conjunction with the pope in spreading the spirit of rebellion in ireland, and in other ways conspiring against her. her mood was at one time to defy him, and at another conciliatory and fearful lest her pirate chiefs should do anything to provoke spanish susceptibilities. drake was much hampered by her moods when he wanted to get quickly to business, and never lost an opportunity of slipping out of her reach when his eloquence on the acquisition of untold wealth and the capture of some of philip's distant colonies had appealed to her boundless avarice and made her conscience easy. his expedition to the west indies might never have been undertaken had he not been a dare-devil fellow, to whom burleigh's wink was as good as a nod to be off. he slipped out of port unknown to her, and his first prize was a large spanish ship loaded with salt fish. he pounced upon her after passing ushant, and the excellent cargo was suitably distributed amongst the fleet. there were 25 privateers, and a company of 2,500 men on this expedition. all were volunteers, and represented every grade of society, high and low. there was never any difficulty in getting a supply of men. on this occasion the applications largely outnumbered the posts available. drake could always depend upon volunteers, and, like all men of superb action, he had no liking for conscription. he knew that in the performance and carrying out of great deeds (and nearly all of his were terrific) it is men aflame with courage and enthusiasm that carry the day, and take them as a whole, conscripts are never wholehearted. the two great characteristics of the british race--initiative and endurance--are due to this burning flame of voluntarism. the west india expedition was organized and all expenses guaranteed by private individuals. the capital was £60,000, and its allocation was £40,000 for expenses and £20,000 to be distributed amongst those who had volunteered to serve. both men and officers had signed on without any stipulation for wages. they knew they were out for a piratical cruise, and welcomed any danger, great or small, that would give them a chance of making it not only a monetary success, but one that would give spanish autocracy another shattering blow. these ancient mariners never trifled with life, and no sombre views or fatal shadows disturbed their spirited ambition or caused them to shrink from their strenuous and stupendous work. they went forth in their cockleshell fleet as full of hope and confidence as those who are accustomed to sail and man a transatlantic liner of the present day. some of their vessels were but little larger than a present-day battleship's tender. neither roaring forties nor cape horn hurricanes intimidated them. it is only when we stop to think, that we realize how great these adventurers were, and how much we owe to their sacred memories. in addition to being ridiculously small and shabby in point of efficiency in rigging, sails, and general outfit, it will always be a mystery how it was that so few were lost by stress of weather or even ordinary navigable risks. they were veritable boxes in design, and their rig alone made it impossible for them to make rapid passages, even if they had wished to do so. as i write these lines, and think of my own western ocean experiences in well-designed, perfectly equipped, large and small sailing vessels during the winter hurricane months, when the passages were made literally under water and every liquid mountain seemed to forebode immediate destruction, it taxes my nautical knowledge to understand how these inferior and smaller craft which drake commanded did not succumb to the same elements that have carried superior vessels in later years to their doom. one reason that occurs to me is that they were never deeply laden, and they were accustomed to ride hurricanes out when they had plenty of sea room at their sea anchors. but nothing can detract from what our generation may describe as their eccentric genius in combining navigation with piracy and naval and military art. talk about "human vision"! what is the good of it if it turns out nothing but unrestrained confusion? the men of the period i am writing about had real "vision," and applied it with accuracy without disorganizing the machinery of life and making the world a miserable place to live in. they were all for country and none for self. after the capture of the spanish ship and the appropriation of her cargo of fish, drake's fleet went lounging along towards vigo. in due course he brought his ships to anchor in the harbour, and lost no time in coming in contact with don pedro bendero, the spanish governor, who was annoyed at the british admiral's unceremonious appearance. don pedro said that he was not aware that his country was at war with britain. drake quickly disillusioned him, and demanded, "if we are not at war, why have english merchants been arrested?" don pedro said an order had come for their release. drake landed forthwith a portion of his force, and seeing that he meant business that foreboded trouble, the governor sent him wine, fruit, and other luxurious articles of food in abundance. the ships were anchored in a somewhat open roadstead, so drake resolved to take them farther up the waterway where they would lie comfortably, no matter from what direction the threatening storm might break. but he had another shrewd object in view, which was to make a beginning in acquiring any of the valuable and treasured possessions adorning the churches. a trusted officer who was in his confidence, and a great admirer of his wisdom and other personal qualities, was sent to survey the passage and to find a suitable anchorage. he was a man of enterprise, with a strong dislike to the roman catholic faith, and never doubted that he was perfectly justified in relieving the churches of plate and other valuables. these were, in his eyes, articles of idolatry that no man of puritanic and protestant principles could refrain from removing and placing under the safe keeping of his revered chief, who was no more averse to robbing a church than he was to robbing a ship carrying gold or fish. as the vessel in charge of this intrepid officer, whose name was carlile, approached the town where it was proposed to anchor the fleet the inhabitants fled, taking with them much of the church plate and other things which the british had covetously thought an appropriate prize of theirs. carlile, being a man of resource, soon laid hold of other church treasure, which amply compensated for the loss of that which was carried off by the fleeing inhabitants at the mouth of the harbour. the day following christopher carlile's satisfactory survey the fleet was anchored off the town. the sight of it threw the whole district into panic. a pompous governor of galicia hastened to vigo, and on his arrival there he took fright at the number of ships and the dreaded name of the pirate chief who was in command. it would be futile to show fight, so he determined to accommodate himself to the admiral's terms, which were that he should have a free hand to replenish the fleet with water and provisions, or any other odds and ends, without interference. this being accomplished, he agreed to sail, and no doubt the governor thought he had made a judicious bargain in getting rid of him so easily. but drake all the time had the spanish gold fleet in his mind. sacrifices must be made in order that it may be captured, so off he went for the cape de verde islands, and found when he got there that the treasure-ships had arrived and sailed only a few hours before. the disappointment was, according to custom, taken with christian composure. he had the aptitude of switching his mind from one form of warfare to another. as i have said, he would just as soon attack and plunder a city as a church or a ship. drake had missed the gold fleet, so he turned his attention to the treasures of santiago. when the governor and population were made aware that the distinguished visitor to their island was the terrible "el draque," they and their spiritual advisers as usual flew to the mountains, without neglecting to take their money and priceless possessions with them. drake looted as much as was left in the city of wine and other valuables, but he got neither gold nor silver, and would probably have left santiago unharmed but for the horrible murder of one of his sailor-boys, whose body was found hacked to pieces. this settled the doom of the finest built city in the old world. "el draque" at once set fire to it and burnt it to ashes, with that thoroughness which characterized all such dealings in an age when barbaric acts justified more than equivalent reprisals. it would have been a wiser course for the governor to have treated for the ransom of the town than to have murdered a poor sailor lad who was innocently having a stroll. it is balderdash to talk of the spaniards as being too proud to treat with a person whom they believed to be nothing better than a pirate. the spaniards, like other nationalities, were never too proud to do anything that would strengthen or maintain their supremacy. their apparent pride in not treating with drake at santiago and on other rare occasions was really the acme of terror at hearing his name; there was neither high honour nor grandee dignity connected with it. as to philip's kingly pride, it consisted in offering a special reward of £40,000 to have elizabeth's great sailor assassinated or kidnapped. there were many to whom the thought of the bribe was fascinating. numerous attempts were made, but whenever the assassins came within sound of his name or sight of him or his ships they became possessed of involuntary twitchy sensations, and fled in a delirium of fear, which was attributed to his being a magician. as soon as drake had avenged the sailor-boy's murder he sailed for the west indies. when he got into the hot latitudes the plague of yellow fever appeared, and nearly three hundred of his men died in a few days. arriving at dominica, they found the caribs had a deadly hatred of the spanish, and when they learned that the british were at war with spain they offered to prescribe a certain cure for yellow jack which was eminently effectual. after disinfecting the ships, and getting supplied with their requirements, the fleet left for san domingo, via st. kitts, which was uninhabited at that time. domingo was one of the most beautiful and most wealthy islands in the world. columbus and his brother, diego, are buried in the cathedral there. the population believed themselves to be immune from harm or invasion on this distant island home, but drake soon disillusioned them. his devoted lieutenant, christopher carlile, was selected as usual to find a suitable channel and landing, a hazardous and almost unattainable quest, but in his and drake's skilful hands their object was accomplished. the ships were brought into port, and in his usual direct way drake demanded that the garrison of the castle should surrender without parley, and it was done. drake was not finished with them yet; he wished to know from the governor what terms he was prepared to offer in order that the city should be saved from pillage. a negro boy was sent with this dispatch, and raging with the disgrace of surrendering to the british admiral, an officer ran a lance through the boy's body. the poor boy was just able to get back, and died immediately, close to where drake was. the spaniards had allowed their vicious pride to incite them to commit murder and to insult the british admiral, who promptly avenged both deeds by having two friars taken to the place where the boy had been stabbed, and there hanged. "el draque" sent a further note to the governor informing him that unless the officer who murdered his messenger was executed at once by the spanish authorities he would hang two friars for every day that it was put off. needless to say, no more friars were hung, as the officer paid the penalty of his crime without further delay. the lacerated dignity of the spaniards was still further tried by the demand for the ransom of the city, and their procrastination cost them dear. drake's theology was at variance with that of the founder of our faith. his method was rigid self-assertion, and the power of the strong. the affront he conceived to have been laid upon him and upon the country he represented could only be wiped out by martial law. theoretic babbling about equality had no place in his ethics of the universe. he proceeded to raid and burn both private dwellings, palaces, and magazines; and the government house, which was reputed to be the finest building in the world, was operated upon for a month, until it was reduced to dust. these are some of the penalties that would have gladdened the heart of the gallant beresford and his albert hall comrades of our time had they been carried out against the germans, who have excelled the spaniards of philip's reign in cultured murder and other brutalities in a war that has cost william ii his throne and brought the period of civilization perilously near its end. it may be that the instability of petty statesmanship is to disappear, and that providence may have in unseen reserve a group of men with mental and physical powers capable of subduing human virulence and re-creating out of the chaos the germans have made a new and enduring civilization; and when they shall appear their advent will be applauded by the stricken world. incidentally, it may be added that the german nation, which has endangered the existence of civilization, would never have been despised or thought ill of on account of its defeat by the allies. it is their unjustifiable method of beginning the war, and the dirty brutal tricks by which they sought to win it, which have created enduring mistrust and animosity against them. the law of human fairness is no more exacting to small communities or individuals than it is to nations. drake continued his relentless reprisals against san domingo. the burning of british sailors as heretics possessed his mind. the distracted governor would have given his soul to get rid of him, but drake demanded money, and this the governor pleaded was not available, but he was ultimately forced to provide 25,000 ducats, equalling £50,000. this was accepted after the town had been shattered to pieces and the shipping destroyed. the cathedral was the only important building left intact, the probable reason being that the remains of the great navigator, columbus, were entombed there. already the mortality amongst drake's crew had been alarmingly heavy, and he was too wise a man to gamble with their lives until the bad season came on, so he settled up and hurried away into the fresh sea breezes, determined to give many more spanish possessions a thorough shaking up. the news that the freebooters were near at hand, and that they were committing shocking deeds of theft and destruction on the way, had filtered to the carribean sea, and struck the somnolent population with terror. carthagena, a magnificent city and the capital of the spanish main, was drake's next objective. he had large hopes of doing well there. the health of most of his crew had improved and was now robust, and their fighting spirits had been kindled to a high pitch by their gallant chief, whose eye of genius was centred on a big haul of material things. on arrival off the port, carlile, whose resource and courage were always in demand, was put in charge of a strong force. he led the attack, mounted the parapets, drove the spanish garrison away in confusion, killed the commander, and subsequently destroyed a large number of ships which were lazily lying in the port. many english prisoners were released, which was a godsend in filling the places of those who had died. the combative pretensions of the governor had received a severe shock. he was beaten, and drake, like a true sportsman, asked him and his suite to dine with him, and with an air of spanish dignity he accepted. the occasion was memorable for the royal way the distinguished guests were treated. the governor was studiously cordial, and obviously wished to win the favour of his remorseless visitors, so asked drake and his officers to do him the honour of accepting his hospitality in return, which they did. what form the interchange of civilities took is not quite clear, but the governor's apparent amiableness did not in any way move drake to exercise generosity. his object was ransom, and if this was agreed to good-naturedly, all the better for the spaniards, but he was neither to be bought nor sold by wily tactics, nor won over by golden-tongued rhetoric. the price of the rugged devonshire sailor's alternative of wild wrath and ruin was the modest sum of 100,000 ducats in hard cash. mutual convivialities and flowing courtesies were at an end; these were one thing and reparation for the incarceration and burning of unoffending british sailors as heretics was another. "deeds of blood and torture can never be atoned for in money or destruction of property. i am drake, 'el draque' if you like, and if you don't comply with my terms, you shall be destroyed." it was his habit openly to express himself in this way to philip's subjects, whether hostile or not, and we can imagine that similar views were uttered in the carthagena negotiations. the spaniards regarded his terms as monstrous impiety; they were aghast, pleaded poverty, and protested and swore by the holy office that the total amount they could find in the whole city was only 30,000 ducats. drake, with commendable prudence, seeing that he wished to get away from the fever zone without delay, appears to have accepted this amount, though authorities are at variance on this point. some say that he held out for his first claim and got it. i have not been able to verify which is the correct amount, but in all probability he got the 100,000 ducats. in any case, he piously charged them with deception in their plea of poverty, but came to terms, declaring, no doubt, that his own magnanimity astonished him. but for the sudden outbreak of sickness amongst his crew, the carthagenians would not have fared nearly so well. the city might have been, not only pillaged, but laid in ruins. as it was, he had emptied a monastery and blown the harbour forts to pieces. drake's intention was to visit panama, but the fever had laid heavy hands on his men. only a third of those who commenced the voyage with him were well enough to do work at all, notwithstanding the replenishment by released prisoners, so he was forced to abandon further enterprises and shape his course homewards as quickly as skilful navigation and the vagaries of wind and weather would allow. great deeds, even on this trip, stood to the credit of himself and crew. the accomplishments were far below what was expected at the outset in point of money value, but the priceless feature of the voyage was the enhanced respect for drake's name which had taken possession of the spanish race in every part of the world and subsequently made the defeat of the armada an easier task. this eager soul, who was really the pioneer of a new civilization, had still to face hard fate after the reluctant abandonment of his intention to visit panama. the sufferings of the adventurers from bad weather and shortness of water was severely felt on the passage to florida. but the rough leader never lost heart or spared himself in any way. he was obliged to heave-to at cape antonio (cuba), and here with indomitable courage went to work, putting heart into his men by digging with pick and shovel in a way that would have put a navvy to the blush, and when their efforts were rewarded he took his ships through the bahama channel, and as he passed a fort which the spaniards had constructed and used as a base for a force which had murdered many french protestant colonists in the vicinity, drake landed, found out the murderous purpose of the fort, and blew it to pieces. but that was not all. he also had the satisfaction of saving the remainder of an unsuccessful english settlement founded by sir walter raleigh, and of taking possession of everything that he could lay hands on from the spanish settlement of st. augustine. this was the last episode of plunder connected with an expedition that was ripe with thrilling incidents, and added to the fame of the most enterprising figure of the elizabethan reign. in point of profit to those who had financed the voyage it was not a success; but its political and ultimate commercial advantages were enormous. these early seamen of the seventeenth century, many of them amateurs, laid the foundation of the greatest navy and mercantile marine of the world. it is to these fascinating adventurers, too, that the generations which followed are indebted for the initiative in human comforts and progress. the superficial self-righteous critic may find it an agreeable pursuit to search out their blemishes; but these men cannot be airily dismissed in that manner. they towered above their fellows, the supreme product of the spirit of their day in adventure and daring; they fulfilled their great destiny, and left their indelible mark upon the life of their nation and of the world. their great emancipating heroism and reckless self-abnegation more than counterbalanced the faults with which the modern mind, judging their day by ours, is too prone to credit them, and whatever their deeds of perfidy may have been, they were imbued more with the idea of patriotism than with that of avarice. they were remarkable men, nor did they come into the life of the nation by chance, but for a purpose, and their memories are enshrined in human history. drake sailed for home as soon as he had embarked what was left of raleigh's colonists at roanoke river, virginia, and after a protracted and monotonous passage, arrived at plymouth on the 28th july, 1586. the population received the news with acclamation. drake wrote to lord burleigh, bemoaning his fate in having missed the gold fleet by a few hours, and again placing his services at the disposal of his queen and country. the most momentous of all his commissions, especially to his own country, was in 1587, when he destroyed a hundred ships in cadiz harbour. it was a fine piece of work, this "singeing of the king of spain's beard" as he called it, and by far excelled anything he had previously done. he captured the _san philip_, the king of spain's ship, which was the largest afloat. her cargo was valued at over one million sterling, in addition to which papers were found on board revealing the wealth of the east india trade. the knowledge of this soon found a company of capitalists, who formed the east india company, out of which our great indian empire was established. when the _san philip_ was towed into dartmouth harbour, and when it became known generally, the whole country was ablaze with excitement, and people travelled from far and near to see the leviathan. drake bore himself on this occasion with that sober modesty that characterized him always under any circumstances. his reputation stood higher now than ever, and it was no detriment to him that philip should shudder, and when he became virtuously agitated speak of him as "that fearful man drake." everywhere he was a formidable reality, strong, forbidding and terrible; his penetrating spirit saw through the plans of the enemies of his country and his vigorous counter-measures were invariably successful. the exalted part he took in the defeat of the armada has been briefly referred to in another part of this book. he was then at the height of his imposing magnificence and fame, but owing to the caprice of his royal mistress, who had an insatiable habit of venting her tudor temper indiscriminately, he fell under her displeasure, and for a time was in disgrace; but she soon discovered that his services, whatever his lack of success on apparently rash enterprises may have been, were indispensable at so critical a moment. he was recalled, and soon after sent on his melancholy last voyage. he had worn himself out in the service of his country. born at tavistock in 1539, his eager spirit passed into the shadows off puerto bello on the 28th january, 1596, and, as previously stated, he was buried three miles out at sea, and two of his prizes were sunk and laid beside him. the following beautiful lines of sir henry newbolt not only describe his patriotic and heroic end, but breathe the very spirit of the man who was one of the most striking figures of the elizabethan age:-drake's drum. _3rd verse_: drake, he's in his hammock till the great armadas come, (capten, art tha sleepin' there below?) slung atween the round shot, listenin' for the drum, an' dreamin' arl the time o' plymouth hoe. call him on the deep sea, call him up the sound, call him when ye sail to meet the foe; where the old trade's plyin', and the old flag flyin', they shall find him ware an' wakin', as they found him long ago! nelson and his circle i the tradition created by drake and hawkins was carried on by nelson and collingwood in a different age and under different conditions, and the same heroic spirit animated them all. nelson must certainly have been familiar with the enthralling tales of these men and of their gallant colleagues, but without all the essential qualities born in him he could not have been the victor of trafalgar. men have to do something distinctive, that sets the human brain on fire, before they are really recognized as being great; then all others are put in the shade, no matter how necessary their great gifts may be to fill up the gaps in the man of initiative and of action. drake could not have done what he did had he not had the aid of frobisher, and jervis would not have become earl st. vincent had he not been supported by nelson at the battle of that name; and we should never have seen the imposing monument erected in trafalgar square had nelson been without his collingwood. victorious and valiant performances do not come by chance, and so it comes to pass in the natural course of human law that if our jervises, nelsons, and collingwoods, who are the prototypes of our present-day heroes, had not lived, we should not have had our fishers, jellicoes, and beattys. nelson was always an attractive personality and by no means the type of man to allow himself to be forgotten. he believed he was a personage with a mission on earth, and never an opportunity was given him that did not confirm this belief in himself. horatio nelson was the son of the rev. edmund nelson, and was born at burnham thorpe on the 29th september, 1758. his mother died in 1767, and left eight children. her brother, captain maurice suckling, was appointed to the _raisonable_ three years after her death, and agreed, at the request of horatio himself and the instigation of his father, after some doubtful comments as to the boy's physical suitableness for the rough life of a sailor, to take him; so on the 1st january, 1771, he became a midshipman on the _raisonable._ on the 22nd may he either shipped of his own accord or was put as cabin-boy on a merchant vessel which went to the west indies, and ended his career in the merchant service at the end of an eventful voyage. in july 1772 he became midshipman on board the _triumph_. this was the real starting-point of his naval career and of the development of those great gifts that made him the renowned admiral of the world. twenty-two years after joining his uncle's ship he was made captain of the _agamemnon_. at the siege of calvi in 1794 he was wounded in the right eye and lost the sight of it. three years afterwards he lost his right arm while commanding an attack on santa cruz, and although he had put so many sensational events into his life up to that time, it was not until the battle of st. vincent that he began to attract attention. he had been promoted rear-admiral before the news of the battle was known, and when the news reached england the public enthusiasm was irrepressible. jervis was made an earl, with £3,000 a year pension, and the king requested that he should take his title from the name of the battle. nelson refused a baronetcy, and was made, at his own request, a knight of the bath, receiving the thanks of the city of london and a sword. all those who were in prominent positions or came to the front in this conflict received something. it was not by a freak of chance that the authorities began to see in nelson the elements of an extraordinary man. nor was it mere chance that they so far neglected him that he was obliged to force himself upon the admiralty in order to get them to employ him. the nation was in need of a great spirit, and providence had been preparing one for many years before the ruling authorities discovered that nelson was their man of the future. for several months he was tearing about the seas in search of the french fleet. he popped into naples on the 17th june, 1798, ostensibly to know if anything had been heard of it, and no doubt he took the opportunity of having a word with sir william and lady hamilton, who were to come so romantically into his life. he found the french fleet at anchor in aboukir bay and sailed upon it with such amazing audacity that the heart was knocked out of them at the very outset. neither the french admiral nor anybody else would have expected the british fleet to run their ships between them and the shore at the risk of grounding. the _culloden_ _did_ ground. the french had 11 out of 13 ships put out of action, but the british fleet suffered severely also, and the loss of men was serious.[1] out of a total of 7,401 men, 218 were killed and 678 wounded. nelson himself was badly wounded on the forehead, and as the skin fell down on his good eye and the blood streamed into it, he was both dazed and blinded. he shouted to captain berry as he was staggering to a fall, "i am killed; remember me to my wife." but there was a lot more work for him to do before the fatal day. he was carried below, believing the injury would prove fatal, in spite of the assurances to the contrary of the surgeon who was in attendance. although nelson's courage can never be doubted, there is something very curious in his constant, eccentric foreboding of death and the way in which he scattered his messages about to one and another. this habit increased amazingly after his conflict with the french at the nile. he seems to have had intermittent attacks of hypochondria. the wound incident at aboukir must have given great amusement as well as anxiety to those about him. unquestionably the wound had the appearance at first of being mortal, but the surgeon soon gave a reassuring opinion, and after binding up the ugly cut he requested his patient to remain below. but nelson, as soon as he knew he was not going to die, became bored with the inactivity and insisted on writing a dispatch to the admiralty. his secretary was too excited to carry out his wishes, so he tackled it himself. but his suffering being great and his mind in a condition of whirling confusion, he did not get far beyond the beginning, which intimated that "almighty god had blessed his majesty's arms." the battle raged on. the _orient_ was set on fire and her destruction assured. when nelson was informed of the terrible catastrophe to the great french line-of-battle ship, he demanded to be assisted to the deck, whereupon he gave instructions that his only boat not destroyed was to be sent with the _vanguard's_ first lieutenant to render assistance to the crew. he remained on deck until the _orient_ blew up, and was then urged to go to bed. but sleep under the circumstances and in view of his own condition would not come. all night long he was sending messages directing the plan of battle the news of which was to enthral the civilized world. nelson himself was not satisfied. "not one of the french vessels would have escaped," he said, "if it had pleased god that he had not been wounded." this was rather a slur on those who had given their best blood and really won the battle. notwithstanding the apparent egotism of this outburst, there are sound reasons for believing that the admiral's inspiring influence was much discounted by his not being able to remain on deck. the sight of his guiding, magnetic figure had an amazing effect on his men, but i think it must be admitted that nelson's head was not in a condition at that time to be entirely relied upon, and those in charge of the different ships put the finishing touches to the victory that was won by the force of his courage and commanding genius in the initial stages of the struggle. ii nelson was a true descendant of a race of men who had never faltered in the traditional belief that the world should be governed and dominated by the british. his king, his country, and particularly the profession to which he belonged, were to him the supreme authorities whose destiny it was to direct the affairs of the universe. with unfailing comic seriousness, intermixed with occasional explosions of bitter violence, he placed the french low down in the scale of the human family. there was scarcely a sailor adjective that was not applied to them. carlyle, in later years, designated the voice of france as "a confused babblement from the gutters" and "scarcely human"; "a country indeed with its head cut off"; but this quotation does not reach some of the picturesque heights of nautical language that was invented by nelson to describe his view of them. both he and many of his fellow-countrymen regarded the chosen chief on whom the french nation had democratically placed an imperial crown as the embodiment of a wild beast. the great admiral was always wholehearted in his declamation against the french people and their leaders who are our present allies fighting against that country which now is, and which napoleon predicted to his dying day would become, one of the most imperious, inhuman foes to civilization. nelson and his government at that time thought it a merciful high policy of brotherhood to protect and re-create prussia out of the wreck to which napoleon had reduced it; the result being that the military spirit of prussia has been a growing, determined menace to the peace of the world and to the cause of human liberty in every form since the downfall of the man who warned us at the time from his exiled home on the rock of st. helena that our policy would ultimately reflect with a vengeance upon ourselves, and involve the whole world in a great effort to save itself from destruction. he foresaw that prussia would inveigle and bully the smaller german states into unification with herself, and, having cunningly accomplished this, that her perfidy would proceed to consolidate the united fabric into a formidable power which would crush all others by its military superiority; this dream of universal control of human life and affairs was at one time nearly realized. the german empire has bankrupted herself in men, necessaries of life, and money. but that in no degree minimizes the disaster she has wrought on those who have had to bleed at every pore to avoid annihilation. the allies, as well as the central powers, are no longer going concerns. it will take generations to get back to the point at which we started in 1914. but the tragic thought of all is the enormous sacrifice of life, and the mental and physical wrecks that have survived the savage, brutal struggle brought on a world that was, and wished to remain, at peace, when in 1914 the central powers arrogantly forced the pace which caused an alliance to be formed quickly by their enemies to save them from the doom which napoleon, with his clear vision, had predicted would come. it was fitting that nelson should by every conceivable means adopt methods of declamation against the french, if by doing so he thought it would inspire the men whom he commanded with the same conquering spirit he himself possessed. his country was at war with the french, and he was merely one of the instruments appointed to defeat them, and this may account for his ebullitions of hatred from time to time. i have found, however, no record that would in any way show that it was intended as surface policy, so it may be concluded that his dislike was as deep-seated as it appeared. nelson never seems to have shown evidences of being a humbug by saying things which he did not believe. he had a wholesome dislike of the french people and of bonaparte, who was their idol at that time. but neither he nor his government can be credited with the faculty of being students of human life. he and they believed that paris was the centre of all that was corrupt and brutal. napoleon, on the other hand, had no real hatred of the british people, but during his wars with their government his avowed opinion was that "all the ills, and all the scourges that afflict mankind, came from london." both were wrong in their conclusions. they simply did not understand each other's point of view in the great upheaval that was disturbing the world. the british were not only jealous and afraid of napoleon's genius and amazing rise to eminence--which they attributed to his inordinate ambition to establish himself as the dominating factor in the affairs of the universe--but they determined that his power should not only not be acknowledged, but destroyed, and their policy after twenty years of bitter war was completely accomplished. the merits or demerits of british policy must always remain a matter of controversy. it is too big a question to deal with here. napoleon said himself that "everything in the life of man is subject to calculation; the good and evil must be equally balanced." other true sayings of his indicate that he, at any rate, _was_ a student of human life, and knew how fickle fortune is under certain conditions. "reprisals," he declared, "are but a sad resource"; and again, no doubt dwelling on his own misfortunes, but with vivid truth all the same, he declares that "the allies gained by victory will turn against you upon the bare whisper of our defeat." iii after his victory on the nile, nelson fully expected to be created a viscount, and his claim was well supported by hood, his old admiral. he was made baron nelson of the nile, and given a pension of £2,000 per annum--a poor recompense for the great service he had rendered to his country. but that was by no means the measure of the public gratitude. he was acclaimed from every corner of great britain as the national hero. the city of london presented him with a two hundred guinea sword, and a vote of thanks to himself, officers and men. there was much prayer and thanksgiving, and several women went as daft as brushes over him. one said her heart was absolutely bursting with all sorts of sensations. "i am half mad," says she, and any one who reads the letter will conclude that she understated her mental condition. but of all the many letters received by nelson none surpasses in extravagance of adulation that written by amy lyon, the daughter of a village blacksmith, born at great neston in cheshire, in 1761, who had come to london in the early part of 1780, fallen into evil ways and given birth to a little girl. she was then left destitute and sank as low as it is possible for a woman to do. she rose out of the depths into which she had fallen by appearing as the goddess of health in the exhibition of a james graham. sir henry featherstonehaugh took her under his protection for close on twelve months, but owing to her extravagance and faithlessness he turned her out when within a few months of a second child, which was stillborn. the first was handed over to her grandmother to take care of. charles greville, the second son of the earl of warwick, then took her to live with him. she had intimate relations with him while she was still featherstonehaugh's mistress, and he believed the child about to be born was his. at this time amy lyon changed her name to emily hart. greville went to work on business lines. he struck a bargain that all her previous lovers were to be dropped, and under this compact she lived with him in a respectable manner for nearly four years. he gave her some education, but she seems to have had natural genius, and her beauty was undisputed. emily hart sat to romney,[2] the artist, and it is said that twenty-three portraits were painted, though some writers have placed the number at over forty. "marinda," "sibyl," and the "spinstress" were amongst them. the pictures bring high prices; one, i think called "sensibility," brought, in 1890, over £3,000. notwithstanding her lowly birth (which has no right to stop any one's path to greatness) and lack of chastity, she had something uncommon about her that was irresistibly attractive. sir william hamilton, greville's uncle, returned to england some time in 1784 from naples, where he was the british minister. it was said that he was in quest of a second wife, the first having died some two years before. greville did not take kindly to the idea of sir william marrying again, because he was his heir. he thought instead that, being in financial trouble himself, he would try to plant emma on his uncle, not with the object of marriage, but of her becoming his mistress. sir william was captivated with the girl, which made it easy for the shameless nephew to persuade his uncle to take her off his hands. emma, however, was in love with greville, and there were indications of revolt when the astute lady discovered that serious negotiations were proceeding for her transference from nephew to uncle. it took twelve months to arrive at a settlement. there does not appear to have been a signed agreement, but there certainly was a tacit understanding that sir william was to assist greville out of his difficulties, in return for which emma was to join him at naples, ostensibly as a visitor. she writes imploringly to greville to answer her letters, but never an answer came, and in utter despair she tells him at last that she will not become his uncle's concubine, and threatens to make hamilton marry her. this poor wretched woman was human, after all, and indeed she gave convincing proofs of many high qualities in after-years, but in the passion of her love for the dissolute scamp who bartered her away she pleaded for that touch of human compassion that never came. she knew that her reprobate lover was fearful lest she should induce his uncle to marry her, and she may have had an instinctive feeling that it was part of the contract that she was to be warded off if any attempt of the kind were made likely to endanger his prospects of becoming hamilton's heir. his indifference made her venomously malignant, and she sent him a last stab that would at least give him a troubled mind, even though it should not cause him to recall her; she would then pursue her revenge by ignoring him. it is a sordid story which smears the pages of british history. emma lived with the british ambassador at naples as his mistress. he was popular in this city of questionable morals at that time. she was beautiful and developed remarkable talents as a singer, and was a bright, witty, fascinating conversationalist. she worked hard at her studies, and became a fluent speaker of the italian language. hamilton had great consideration for her, and never risked having her affronted because of the liaison. her singing was a triumph. it is said she was offered £6,000 to go to madrid for three years and £2,000 for a season in london. she invented classic attitudes. goethe said that "sir william hamilton, after long love and study of art, has at last discovered the most perfect of the wonders of nature and art in a beautiful young woman. she lives with him, and is about twenty years old. she is very handsome, and of a beautiful figure. what the greatest artists have aimed at is shown in perfection, in movement, in ravishing variety. standing, kneeling, sitting, lying down, grave or sad, playful, exulting, repentant, wanton, menacing, anxious, all mental states follow rapidly one after another. with wonderful taste she suits the folding of her veil to each expression, and with the same handkerchief makes every kind of head-dress. the old knight holds the light for her, and enters into the exhibition with his whole soul." sir william had twelve of the "representations" done by a german artist named frederick rehberg, entitled "drawings faithfully copied from nature at naples." hamilton married emma in 1791 in england, and when they returned to naples she was presented to the queen, and ultimately became on intimate terms with her majesty of naples, whose questionable morals were freely spoken of. emma quickly attained a high social standing, but it is doubtful whether she exercised that influence over the queen of which she liked to boast. in september, 1793, nelson was at naples by orders, and was the guest of the hamiltons for a few days. he had not been there for five years, yet the precious emma, without decorum or ceremony, sent him a written whirlwind of congratulations on the occasion of his victory at the nile. every line of the letter sends forth crackling sparks of fiery passion. she begins, "my dear, dear sir," tells him she is delirious, that she fainted and fell on her side, "and am hurt," when she heard the joyful news. she "would feel it a glory to die in such a cause," but she cannot die until she has embraced "the victor of the nile." then she proceeds to describe the transports of maria carolina. "she fainted too, cried, kissed her husband, her children, walked, frantic with pleasure, about the room, cried, kissed and embraced everybody near her." then she continues, "oh! brave nelson! oh! god bless and protect our brave deliverer! oh! nelson, nelson! oh! victor! oh! that my swollen heart could now tell him personally what we owe to him. my dress from head to foot is allah nelson. my earrings are nelson's anchors." she sends him some sonnets, and avers that she must have taken a ship to "send all what is written on you." and so she goes on, throwing herself into his arms, metaphorically speaking, at every sentence. when the _vanguard_ arrived at naples, nelson invited lady hamilton on board and she was no sooner on the deck than she made one dramatic plunge at him, and proceeded to faint on the poor shattered man's breast. nelson, whose besetting weakness was love of approbation, became intoxicated with the lady's method of making love. poor gallant fellow! he was, like many another, the victim of human weakness. he immediately believed that he and emma had "found each other," and allowed himself to be flattered with refined delicacy into a liaison which became a fierce passion, and tested the loyalty of his closest friends to breaking-point. how infinitely pathetic is this piteous story from beginning to end! like most sailors, nelson had a fervent, religious belief in the eternal, and never went to battle without casting himself on the mercy of the infinite pity which alone can give solace. he was fearless and strong in the affairs of his profession, and it may be safely assumed that, even if it went no deeper, he had a mystic fear of god, and was lost to all other fear. i think it was carlyle who said, "god save us from the madness of popularity. it invariably injures those who get it." there never was a truer thing said, and it is sadly true of our great national hero. not many months had passed before the dispenser of his praises had become his proprietor. it is doubtful whether emma ever loved him, but that does not concern any one. what does concern us is the imperious domination she exercised over him. no flighty absurdities of fiction can equal the extravagance of his devotion to her, and his unchecked desire to let every one know it. he even informs lady nelson that lady hamilton is the very best woman in the world and an honour to her sex, and that he had a pride in having her as a friend. he writes to lord st. vincent that she is "an angel," and has honoured him in being his ambassadress to the queen and is worthy of his confidence. again he writes, "our dear lady hamilton, whom to see is to admire, but to know are to be added honour and respect; her head and heart surpass her beauty, which cannot be equalled by anything i have seen." it is impossible to suppose that a man could fall so violently in love with this extraordinary creature and permit her to come so intimately into his life without injury to his judgment and to those keen mental qualities which were needed at that time in the service of his country. such loss of control must surely have been followed by mental and intellectual deterioration. this lady of varied antecedents was the intermediary between the court of naples and himself, and it is now an authentic fact that it was on the advice of the queen and emma that naples entered into a war, the result of which was the complete defeat of the neapolitans; the court and the hamiltons had to fly to palermo and nelson again lived with the minister and his wife. he again pours out the virtues and charms of lady hamilton, to whom he gives the credit of engineering the embarkation of the royal family and two and a half million sterling aboard the _vanguard_. after giving st. vincent another dose of emma, he goes on to say, "it is my duty to tell your lordship the obligations which the whole royal family, as well as myself, are under on this trying occasion to her ladyship." her ladyship, still hankering after her old friend greville, writes him, "my dear adorable queen and i weep together, and now that is our only comfort." it is no concern of ours, but it looks uncommonly as though greville still held the field, and the opinion of many that nelson would not have had much chance against her former lover is borne out by many facts. amongst the saddest stories that raged about the hamiltons, their friends, and nelson was the scandal of gambling for large stakes. some are persistent in the assertion that the report was well founded, and others that it was not so bad as it was made out to be. lady hamilton asserted that the stories were all falsehoods invented by the jacobinical party, but her ladyship's veracity was never to be relied upon. perhaps a foundation of truth and a large amount of exaggeration sums up the reports, so we must let it go at that. troubridge seems to have been convinced that his admiral was in the midst of a fast set, for he sends a most imploring remonstrance to him to get out of it and have no more incense puffed in his face. this was fine advice, but the victor of the nile made no response. iv nelson was little known to his countrymen before the st. vincent battle. but after the victory of the nile his name became immortal, and he could take any liberty he liked with our national conventionalisms. even his love affairs were regarded as heroics. he refused occasionally to carry out instructions when he thought his own plans were better, and it was winked at; but had any of them miscarried, the memory of st. vincent and the nile would not have lived long. when he arrived with the hamiltons in london after his long absence and victorious record, the mob, as usual, took the horses from the carriage and dragged him along cheapside amid tumultuous cheers. whenever he appeared in public the same thing happened. at court, things were different. his reception was offensively cold, and george iii ran some risk when he affronted his most popular subject by turning his back on him. whatever private indiscretions nelson may have been guilty of, nothing could justify so ungrateful an act of ill-mannered snobbery. the king should have known how to distinguish between private weakness, however unconventional, and matchless public service. but for the fine genius and patriotism of this noble fellow, he might have lost his crown. the temper of a capricious public in an era of revolution should not be tested by freaks of royal self-righteousness, while its imagination is being stirred by the deeds of a national hero. his action might have brought the dignity of george's kingliness into the gutter of ridicule, which would have been a public misfortune. the king's treatment of nelson was worse than tactless; it was an impertinence. king edward vii, whose wisdom and tact could always be trusted, might have disapproved, as strongly as did george iii, nelson's disregard of social conventions, but he would have received him on grounds of high public service, and have let his private faults, if he knew of them, pass unnoticed, instead of giving him an inarticulate snub. still, a genius of naval distinction, or any other, has no right to claim exemption from a law that governs a large section of society, or to suppose that he may not be criticized or even ostracized if he defiantly offends the susceptibilities of our moral national life. and it is rather a big tax on one's patience for a man, because of his exalted position and distinguished deeds of valour and high services rendered to the state, to expect that he may be granted licence to parade his gallantries with women in boastful indifference to the moral law that governs the lives of a large section of the community. there are undoubtedly cases of ill-assorted unions, but it does not lie within our province to judge such cases. they may be victims of a hard fate far beyond the knowledge of the serene critics, whose habit of life is to sneak into the sacred affairs of others, while their own may be in need of vigilant enquiry and adjustment. it would hardly be possible, with the facts before us, to say a word in mitigation of nelson's ostentatious infatuation for lady hamilton, were it not that he can never be judged from the same standpoint as ordinary mortals. that is not to say that a man, mentally constituted as he was, should not be amenable to established social laws. nelson was a compound of peculiarities, like most men who are put into the world to do something great. he was amusingly vain, while his dainty vanity so obscured his judgment that he could not see through the most fulsome flattery, especially that of women. at the same time he was professionally keen, with a clear-seeing intellect, dashing, flawless courage, and a mind that quickly grasped the weak points of the enemy's position or formation. he fought the old form of sea warfare by methods that were exclusively his, and sent his opponents staggering into confusion. once a plan of battle had been arranged, he never faltered in his judgment, and only manoeuvred as circumstances arose, but always with that unexpected rush and resource which carried with it certain victory. nelson's great talents and his victories caused society outwardly to overlook his connection with the notorious lady hamilton. but the gossips were always at work. on this point he does not seem to have realized that he was playing pranks with society, though there were abundant evidences of it. he was offended because at dresden, on their way to england, the electress refused to receive his mistress on account of her antecedents, and no court was held during their stay. of course emma was given the cold shoulder in england by the court and by society. nelson told his friend collingwood of his own treatment, and added that, either as a public or private man, he wished nothing undone which he had done. he told collingwood of his cold reception by the king, but it seems quite obvious that he maintained his belief that his connection with emma had no right to be questioned by his majesty or any of his subjects, and he held this view to the last. he would have none of the moralists' cant lavished on him, and by his consistent attitude seemed to say, "hands off my private life! if i _did_ introduce lady hamilton to my wife at her apartments on my arrival in england after two and a half years' absence, when she was on the point of becoming the mother of horatia, what business is that of yours? i will have none of your abstract morality. get away, and clean up your own morals before you talk to me of mine." the above is what i think a man of nelson's temperament might say to the people who wished to warn him against the dangerous course he was pursuing. lady nelson does not seem to have been a woman who could appeal to a man like nelson. the fact is she may have been one of those unamiable, sexless females who was either coldly ignoring her husband or storing up in her heart any excuse for hurling at him the most bitter invective with which she might humiliate him. she does not appear to have been a vulgar shrieker, but she may have been a silent stabber, which is worse. in any case, nelson seems to have made a bad choice, as by his actions he openly avowed that he preferred to live with the former mistress of featherstonehaugh, greville, and hamilton, rather than with his lawful wife; and he, without a doubt, was the best judge as to which of them suited him best. the truth remains that emma was attractive and talented, and although lowly born, she became the bosom companion of kings, queens, princesses, princes, and of many men and women of distinction. nelson must have been extraordinarily simple to imagine that his wife, knowing, as all the world knew, that lady hamilton was his mistress and a bold, unscrupulous rival, would receive her with rapturous friendliness. the amazing puzzle to most people, then and now, is why she received her at all, unless she wished to worm out of her the precise nature of the intimacy. that may have been her definite purpose in allowing the visits for two or three months; then one day she flew into a rage, which conjures up a vision of hooks and eyes bursting like crackers from her person, and after a theatrical display of temper she disappears like a whirling tempest from the presence of her faithless husband, never again to meet him. this manner of showing resentment to the gallant sailor's fondness for the wife of sir william hamilton was the last straw. there was nothing dignified in lady nelson's tornado farewell to her husband; rather, if the records may be relied on, it was accompanied by a flow of abuse which could only emanate from an enraged termagant. nelson now had a free hand. his wife was to have a generous allowance on condition that she left him alone freely to bestow his affections on the seductive emma, whose story, retold by mr. harrison, shows lady nelson to have been an impossible woman to live with. she made home hell to him, so he said. and making liberal allowance for emma's fibbing propensities, there are positive evidences that her story of nelson's home life was crammed with pathetic truths of domestic misery. nelson corroborates this by a letter to emma almost immediately after his wife's ludicrous exit. the letter is the outpouring of an embittered soul that had been freed from purgatory and was entering into a new joy. it is a sickening effusion of unrestrained love-making that would put any personage of penny-novel fame to the blush. i may as well give the full dose. here it is:- now, my own dear wife: for such you are in the sight of heaven, i can give full scope to my feelings, for i dare say oliver will faithfully deliver this letter. you know, my dearest emma, that there is nothing in this world that i would not do for us to live together, and to have our dear little child with us. i firmly believe that this campaign will give us peace, and then we will set off for bronte. in twelve hours we shall be across the water, and freed from all the nonsense of his friends, or rather pretended ones. nothing but an event happening to him could prevent my going; and i am sure you will think so, for, unless all matters accord, it would bring a hundred of tongues and slanderous reports if i separated from her, which i would do with pleasure the moment we can be united. i want to see her no more; therefore we must manage till we can quit this country, or your uncle dies. i love you: i never did love any one else. i never had a dear pledge of love till you gave me one; and you, thank my god, never gave one to anybody else. i think before march is out, you will either see us back, or so victorious that we shall ensure a glorious issue to our toils. think what my emma will feel at seeing return safe, perhaps with a little more fame, her own dear nelson. never, if i can help it, will i dine out of my ship or go on shore, except duty calls me. let sir hyde have any glory he can catch, i envy him not. you, my beloved emma, and my country, are the two dearest objects of my fond heart. _a heart susceptible and true._ only place confidence in me, and you shall never be disappointed. i burn all your dear letters, because it is right for your sake; and i wish you would burn all mine--they can do no good, and will do us both harm if any seizure of them; or the dropping even one of them would fill the mouths of the world sooner than we intend. my longing for you, both person and conversation, you may readily imagine (especially the person). no, my heart, person, and mind are in perfect union of love towards my own dear, beloved emma, the real bosom friend of her, all hers, all emma's. nelson and bronte. the prince of wales had dined with and paid suspicious attentions to emma, and her fond lover, knowing this, advised her to warn him off. he probably had an instinct that his "beloved emma," who is "the dearest object of his fond heart," was not quite strong enough to resist temptation. especially would she be likely to fall under the fascinating influence of this little princely scamp. nelson's mind turned to his wife, and he emphasized the desire that he might never see his aversion again. nor did he. some of his contemporaries doubted the paternity of horatia; nelson never did, and it would be hard to find a more beautiful outpouring of love than that which he unfailingly gave to his little daughter. every thought of his soul was divided between her and the audacious flirt of a mother whom nelson, always lavish, calls "his love"; "his darling angel"; "his heaven-given wife"; "the dearest, only true wife of his own till death." the "till death" finish is quite sailorly! no one will doubt his amazing faculty for love-making and love-writing, and it must always be a puzzle how he managed to mix it so successfully with war. his guilty love-making was an occasional embarrassment to him, and though he was the greatest naval tactician of his time, his domestic methods were hopelessly clumsy and transparent. for instance, in pouring out his grievances to his mistress he refers to himself by the name of thompson, and to lady nelson as aunt. here are a few examples:--"thompson desires me to say he has never wrote his aunt since he sailed." "in twelve hours we shall be across the water, and freed from all the nonsense of his friends, or rather, pretended ones." "his" means hamilton, and "friends" means the prince of wales, whom he looked upon as a rival for emma's accommodating affections. again, he says, "if i separated from her, which i would do with pleasure the moment we can be united." "her" is lady nelson, but in discussing delicate matters of domestic policy he thinks it desirable to conceal that he would not weep were he to hear of sir william's death, or be broken with grief to separate entirely from lady nelson, so that he might become "united to his heaven-given wife," "our darling angel, emma." v the admiralty did a great injustice to the victor of the nile by appointing sir hyde parker commander-in-chief, instead of one who was known to be the most brilliant officer in the navy. it must have cut deeply into nelson's proud soul to have to serve under a man who had not a particle of initiative; and, but for the splendid bravery and matchless talents of his second, the wooden walls of old england would have been sent to davy jones by the forts of copenhagen and the danish fleet. sir hyde did not relish having nelson with him at all. he sulked, and treated him in a way that was observed and resented by those who served under him. the commander-in-chief acted like a jealous maiden, his intention being to freeze and humiliate the man who was destined to win the victory and save the british fleet from entire destruction. there always has been tremendous jealousy in the navy. but sir hyde parker should have known that he was dealing with an officer (who was the genius of the navy) who would stand no nonsense from any lord high admiral or other fussy dignitary whom he could put in his pocket whenever he liked to exercise his personality. nelson never shirked responsibility when his country's interests were being endangered by a dignified snob. discipline, so far as he was concerned until his object was gained, was pushed aside, and the great spirit swept into the vortex of the danger and extinguished all opposition. he said on one occasion, "i hate your pen-and-ink men. a fleet of british warships are the best negotiators in europe." i have said that parker was in the "sulks," so nelson adopted a humorous plan of thawing the ice by catching a turbot on the dogger bank on the passage out to the baltic. a sly seaman had told him that this kind of fish was easily caught, so when they arrived on the bank the fishing commenced, and the turbot was caught. nelson knew his commander-in-chief was never averse to eating, so he gave orders to have it sent to sir hyde, and although the sea was dangerous for a small boat, the fish was in due course presented to parker, who sent back a cordial note of thanks. this ingenious stratagem eased the strained relations between the two men, but there still remained a feeling on the part of the commander-in-chief that the electric and resourceful spirit of nelson would, in any engagement, be the dominating factor, with or without official sanction. he knew how irresistibly nelson's influence permeated the fleet, for no man knew better than this much-envied vice-admiral how to enthuse his comrades (high and low) in battle, and also what confidence the nation as a whole had in what he called the "nelson touch." sir hyde parker, knowing nelson's superb qualities, should have paused and considered the consequences before he slyly sought to put such a man in the shade. there was not a man in the whole squadron who would not have gone to his doom under nelson's lead rather than live under any other's. nelson inspired men with the same love of glory which he craved for himself. no real sailor ever did like to sail under a hesitating, nervous commander. parker, at the battle of copenhagen, gives one (from all accounts) the impression of unsureness, afraid to take any risk lest it be the wrong one. nelson was always sure, and never hesitated to put into practice his considered views. parker, at a critical moment in the battle of copenhagen, hoisted no. 39, which meant "leave off action." nelson shrugged his shoulders, and said, "no, i'm damned if i do," and kept his own "engage the enemy more closely" flying. he then added to captain foley, "i have only one eye, and have a right to be blind sometimes." he then put the telescope to his blind eye, and said, "i really do not see the signal." unfortunately, some of the ships retired, and one able fellow, captain riou, who knew it was a wrong move, was so distressed that he called out in despair to one of his officers beside him, "what will nelson think of us?" the poor captain was subsequently killed. there can be no doubt now that the signal 39 was not permissive or optional, nor that nelson, having the enemy by the throat, refused to let go until he had strangled him, nor that he did dramatically act the blind-eye trick. he deliberately disobeyed orders, and saved england's honour and fleet by doing so. it was one of his splendid performances, and the story of it will live on into distant ages. who can calculate the loss of national prestige or the lives that have been thrown away by putting severely decorous senior officers over the heads of men who knew their business better and had the courage and capacity to carry through big naval or military tasks? and how tempting it must be to many a gallant fellow to take the business into his own hands! nelson knew well enough that he had laid himself open to the full penalty of naval law, but he knew also that if any of the moth-eaten crew at whitehall even hinted it there would be "wigs on the green." no man knew the pulse of the nation better, and no commander played up to it less. one can imagine hearing him say to some of his officers (perhaps captain hardy of trafalgar fame), after he had wrecked the danish fleet and battered the forts into a dilapidated condition, "well, i have fought contrary to orders, and they will perhaps hang me; never mind, let them." a significant "let them" this, which means more than he cares to express. the danes frankly admitted that they had been beaten, and that even their defence was destroyed, as the crown batteries could not be held. instead of any talk of "hanging" him because of his "disobedience," he was made a viscount and his rear-admiral (graves) a knight of the bath. these were the only two significant honours conferred. when he landed at copenhagen, it is said that the people viewed him with a mixture of admiration and hostility. he thought they were extremely amiable. they cheered and shouted "god bless lord nelson!" there can be no reason for their doing this, except gratitude to him for not blowing the city down about their ears. whatever the cause, it is quite certain that the crown prince and some of the danish statesmen treated him with studied cordiality. sir hyde parker was a drag, and indeed, an intolerable nuisance to him. when the armistice was sealed and settled for fourteen weeks, he wished to get of to reval and hammer the russian squadron there, but the commander-in-chief shirked all responsibility, and his victim was made to say in a letter to lord st. vincent "that he would have been in reval fourteen days before, and that no one could tell what he had suffered," and asks my dear lord "if he has deserved well, to let him retire, and if ill, for heaven's sake to supersede him, for he cannot exist in this state." lord nelson conducted the british case with the danes with consummate statesmanship, but notwithstanding this, the fine sensitive nature of the noble fellow could not fail to be hurt when his majesty (the same who lost us america) stated that, "under _all_ the circumstances, he had thought well to approve." nelson replied that he was sorry the armistice was only approved under _all_ the circumstances, and then gives his majesty a slap in the eye by informing him that every part of the _all_ was to the advantage of the king and country. st. vincent, the first lord of the admiralty, subsequently made amends for his majesty's error by writing to say that his "whole conduct was approved and admired, and that he does not care to draw comparisons, but that everybody agrees there is only one nelson." this strong and valiant sailor was never at any time unconscious of his power. what troubled him was other people's lack of appreciation of it, though he accepted with a whimsical humour the grudging spirit in which credit was given to his unerring judgment and unequalled bravery. nor can we examine the great deeds of his career without feeling a thrill of pride in the knowledge that he belonged to us. the spirit which animated nelson was the same as that which lived in those heroes of old who were used by providence as instruments in their country's destiny, and we may believe that this same spirit will live in those god-sent men of the future who will be necessary for the carrying out of some special task or for the destruction of evil. apparently, long intervals elapse between the appearance of men such as napoleon or nelson. napoleon's name still stirs the blood, and now, more than a century after his death, any one of the powers who had a share in his tragic end would give worlds to get back some of his force and genius. nelson in a much less degree and in a different way was another of those sent by providence to take part in his country's struggles and, like many another great man, was subjected to cruel indignities at the hands of his inferiors. he often complained about his treatment, but this never prevented him from doing his work. but as his instructions were not always in accordance with his view of success, he occasionally disobeyed them for the country's good. it might be a gain to borrow _his_ spirit for a while at the present time to electrify the british admiralty. nelson was more successful in his conflicts with the enemy than with the chiefs of his calling afloat and ashore. he was not really strong and audacious enough in his dealings with them. "jacky fisher" (as he is fondly called) who lives in our disturbed time, would have had similar sandbags jettisoned in quick time. the modern nelson has had his troubles with inferior superiors too, but he flattened out some of them. the modern man is all business, and does not show vanity if he has any. the "only nelson" was strong, weak, and vain. if no one else gratuitously sounded his praises, he would do so himself in the most comical way, not altogether in public, but to "santa emma," whose function it was to spread them abroad. after the battle of copenhagen, sir hyde parker sailed for carlscrona, and left nelson to hoist his flag as commander-in-chief on the _st. george_, which was not ready, and was possibly being refitted after rough handling. he tells emma of parker's departure, and adds, "if there is any work to do," i.e. any fighting, "he is pretty certain they will wait for him" before commencing it. and then he adds, "_nelson will be first_. who can stop him?" on the eve of the battle of copenhagen he wrote to her, "before you receive this, all will be over with denmark. either your nelson will be safe, and sir hyde parker victor, or your own nelson will be laid low." what deep and genuine love-lunacy to be found in a terrific warrior, whose very name terrified those who had the honour to fight against him! the incongruity of it baffles one's belief, and seems to reverse the very order of human construction. in matters concerning his profession and highly technical state affairs there was no more astute man, but as soon as his thoughts centre on this female nightmare, he loses control of his wonderful gifts, and his mind becomes deranged with the idea of her being an object on which he should bestow reverence and infinite adulation. if ever there was a creature of lamentable contradictions, surely it was this genius, who immortalized our national glory at the nile, copenhagen, and trafalgar! that a man of his calibre, surrounded with eternal fame, should be inflamed with a passion for a woman of negative morals who was refused admittance to the same circle that, but for this attachment would receive him as their triumphant hero, is an example of human eccentricity that never has and never can be accounted for. it may be taken for granted that at the very time he was writing to her about "her own nelson" she would be carrying on a love intrigue with some old or new acquaintance, possibly the prince of wales, whom as i have said, her gallant lover wished her to avoid. he was known to be a cheat, a liar, and a faithless friend to men and to women, while in accordance with the splendid ethic of this type of person, he believed himself to be possessed of every saintly virtue. but any one who is curious to have a fascinating description of the "little dapper" should consult thackeray. well, there was no fighting to be done when the fleet under nelson arrived at reval, and the emperor paul's death and the dilatoriness of parker saved the russian fleet from extermination. they had sailed into safer anchorage and the british admiral had to content himself by paying an official visit to the authorities at reval, and receiving another ovation from the populace, which appealed to his whimsical love of approbation. as is his custom, he sends emma an account of his reval experiences. he says he would not mention so personal an incident to any one else, as it would appear so uncommonly like vanity, but between her and himself, hundreds had come to have a look at nelson, and he heard them say, "_that is him!_ that is _him_!" it touches his vanity so keenly that he follows on by intimating that he "feels a good name is better than riches, and that it has a fine feeling to an honest heart." "all the russians," says he, "are of opinion that i am like suwaroff, le jeune suwaroff." as may be imagined, nelson was bitterly disappointed at so sudden a collapse of his hopes, but, always master of the situation, he wrote a most courteous letter to count pahlen, the russian minister, who had complained that his presence was calculated to make a breach of the good feeling between the two countries. the admiral's reply was tactful and unconsciously humorous. the tone was that of a person who had never been so unjustly hurt in his life. "he had come to pay his respects to his imperial majesty, and as his motives had been so entirely misunderstood, he would put to sea at once." vi his health was beginning to feel the enormous strain that had been imposed upon him for many months. this, together with his longing to be in the congenial society of lady hamilton, caused him to ask to be relieved of his command, and he was delighted to receive a letter from his old chief, lord st. vincent, stating that it was almost an impossible task to find a suitable successor, as in all his experience he never knew any one, except troubridge, who had the art of enthusing others with his own unequalled spirit as he had. the command was handed over to sir charles pole, and nelson, almost wild with joy, sailed from the baltic in the brig _kite_ on the 19th june, and arrived at yarmouth on the 1st july, 1801. nelson always claimed that if the command had been given to him in february many lives would have been saved, and our prestige would not have suffered. we cannot describe all the fascinating pleasure we get when we read and think of the wonders this strange mortal performed in the ordinary course of his profession; when, however, he departs from that and begins to make stagey love to lady hamilton, it tries one's christian patience. what business had he, as the first sailor in the world, to enter into such a compact with another man's wife? however, he must not be judged by this liaison alone, but by the circumstances that led to it. we know that his domestic life had been made irritating and unbearable to his sensitive and highly strung nature, but he found in emma hamilton one who played upon his vanity, and made him feel that he was regarded as an idol as well as an idolatrous lover. he thirsted for reverence and the love of soul for soul, and she, in her own way, gave both with lavish profusion, whereas his wife's austere indifference to his amazing accomplishments fell upon his large heart like ice, and who can estimate his sufferings before he decided to defy society? he believed and hoped that he would be exonerated, and became in the sight of heaven (as he avowed) the husband of a woman who, there can be little doubt, did not keep her honour unstained, but who, to him, was the guiding spirit of his remaining days: and whatever impressions we may have forced upon us of the liaisons of this noxious creature, there is nothing on record that suggests that he was ever unfaithful to her after the bond of union was made. nor does he appear to have been openly charged with illicit intimacy with other women after his marriage to mrs. nisbet, other than with lady hamilton. we may talk of his wonderful career being morally blunted, but his own belief in the sanctity of the verbal arrangement was sound to the core, and he hazarded the opprobrium of our stern conventional system. to him, lady hamilton had an enduring charm which influenced his wild, weak, generous soul, and was in fact an inspiration to him. it is a truism that the life-story of all men has its tragedy and romance, and in this, nelson's was only similar to others; and who can help loving his memory? the hamiltons lived with him at merton when he was on leave. they shared the cost of the home, which lady hamilton had, with elaborate, artistic taste, prepared for him. a document written by sir william makes it clear that the relations of man and wife were strained at times to breaking-point, for, as he states, "i am old and she in the beauty and vigour of youth"; and then he proceeds: "i have no complaint to make, but i feel that the whole attention of my wife is given to lord nelson and his interest at merton." obviously, this is the old gentleman's dull way of expressing his idea that there was a gamble going on with the marriage vow, and then, with delightful simplicity, he nullifies his suspicious thoughts by stating that he well knows the purity of lord nelson's friendship for emma and himself and that he knows how uncomfortable it would make his lordship, our best friend, if a separation should take place; therefore he was determined to do all in his power to prevent such an extremity, which would be essentially detrimental to all parties, but would be more sensibly felt by "_our dear friend than by us_."[3] he is willing to go on provided the expenses do not go on increasing, but as he cannot expect to live many years, every moment is precious to him, and hopes that he may be allowed to be his own master _and pass his time in his own way_.[4] he continues: "i am fully determined not to have any more silly altercations that too often arise between us, and embitter his present moments exceedingly. if we cannot live comfortably together," he continues, "a wise and well-concerted separation would be preferable." he says he knows and admires her talents and many excellent qualities, but _he is not blind to her defects_,[5] and confesses to having many himself, and pleads "for god's sake to bear and forbear." throughout this pathetic document we find evidences that his heart was torn with the consciousness of the mean advantage being taken of his friendship. there is a droll, vacillating belief in the virtue of his wife and the purity of nelson's motives, but every sentence indicates that his instinct led him to believe that another had taken his place. it may have been that he saw it dimly, and that he shrank from making any direct accusation, not wishing to break with the man with whom he had long been on close terms of friendship. it is highly improbable that either his own or emma's past histories escaped his memory when he was penning his grievances. indeed, there are evidences gleaming through his memorandum that his reflections were harassed by the remembrance of his own conduct, which had plunged to epic depths of wrongdoing in other days. these and other considerations would doubtless have a restraining effect on the action that might have been taken under different circumstances. sir william hamilton must have pondered over the parentage of horatia, who was born on the 29th january, 1801. is it possible that he knew that nelson was her father, and believed in the purity of his friendship for emma and himself? i think everything goes to prove that he knew of his friend's relations with his wife and condoned it. nelson, in his clumsy, transparent way, tried to conceal the origin of the child, so he proceeds to write a letter to lady hamilton, which i shall quote later on. to say that sir william hamilton, a man of the world with vast experience of human deceptions and intrigues, could have been put off the scent, in view of all the circumstances, is too great a tax on credulity, but it is wholly characteristic of nelson's ideas of mystification. but even if there were any further proof needed, lady hamilton has settled the matter by preserving the correspondence nelson urged her to destroy. this will be referred to later on. meanwhile, it is hardly thinkable that nelson, who had such a high sense of honour in other affairs of life, and who had accepted the hospitality and been the honoured guest of sir william hamilton at naples, should have made the occasion an opportunity of establishing illicit relations with his wife. the whole matter must ever remain a blot on the great admiral's fame, even though his host appeared to, or really did, connive at it. the price was too high to pay for both of them. the following extract from a letter from lord minto to his wife indicates the mode of life of the family party. he says: i went to lord nelson's (merton) on saturday. the whole establishment and way of life makes me angry as well as melancholy. i do not think myself obliged to quarrel with him for his weakness, though nothing shall ever induce me to give the smallest countenance to lady hamilton. she looks ultimately to the chance of marriage, as sir william will not be long in her way, and she probably indulges a hope that she may survive lady nelson. she is in high looks, but more immense than ever. she goes on cramming nelson with trowels of flattery, which he takes as quietly as a child does pap. the love she makes to him is ridiculous and disgusting. the whole house, staircase and all, are covered with pictures of her and him of all sorts and sizes. he is represented in naval actions, coats of arms, pieces of plate in his honour, the flagstaff of _l'orient_. if it were lady hamilton's house, there might be pretence for it; but to make his own a mere looking-glass to view himself all day is bad taste. this letter was written on the 22nd march, 1802, and nelson writes that sir william hamilton died in his arms and in lady hamilton's on the 6th april, 1803, passing on "without a struggle, and that the world had never lost a more upright and accomplished gentleman";[5] which, be it said, is rather a stagey performance of his wife's lover. but the mistress excels her lover in the record of the death-bed drama. "unhappy day," says she in profusion of tears, "for the forlorn emma. ten minutes past ten dear beloved sir william left me." emma was poorly provided for; only £700 a year jointure and £100 a year for her mother for life. she and nelson appealed to lord minto to urge on mr. addington her claim for a pension, and she vowed to minto that her connection with nelson was pure, and he says he can believe it, which is hardly consistent with the description he gives his wife as to "their open and disgusting proceedings," or with his comments on a visit paid to the duke of marlborough at blenheim, where the duke had treated the gallant naval chief and his party as though they were mere ordinary trippers who had come to see the wonders of his possessions. he condescendingly ordered refreshments to be given to them, which sent nelson into a fury of indignation, and minto excuses the duke by stating that nelson persuaded himself that all the world should be blind because he chose to extol emma's "virtues." obviously, minto was not firmly convinced of her chastity. nelson, with his heart full of blind adoration, had quite a simple, sailorly conviction that no one ought to question the innocence of his attachment to emma, since he called hamilton her "uncle"; and, because he wished the public to believe in his innocence, he took it for granted that they would believe it. the duke of marlborough evidently had heard and believed in the impure tale, but that did not justify him in treating his noble guest and his friends in the snobbish and ill-mannered way he did. it is hardly likely that nelson would have paid the visit without being asked, and in ordinary decency he should have been received or not asked at all. he was a greater figure and public servant than the duke, and his grace would not have suffered in dignity had he met nelson on terms of equality. he could not have done less, at all events. on the other hand, the great admiral showed a peevishness at the treatment which was unworthy of his fame and position; he could well afford to ignore the affront, more especially as he prided himself that the lady the duke took exception to was "in the sight of heaven his wife," and no one had any right to question his choice. the views held by hamilton and recorded in various conflicting versions give the impression that he was puzzled, and could not determine whether to believe in the fidelity of nelson or not. some writers think that he winked at the liaison because of the difference between his own age and that of his wife; others, that he thought the relations were innocent, and a token of high-spirited friendship for himself; but all delicately indicate their conviction that he knew what was going on. meanwhile, nelson steadfastly avows his unyielding fidelity to his friends, and, with this exception, i think we may conclude that his devotion to them could always be relied upon; indeed, his attachment to hamilton was of an affectionate character, even when many people believed he was betraying him. whether sir william knew and believed that the association between his wife and nelson was pure or not,[6] he evidently desired that no one else should believe it, for in a codicil to his will he bequeaths "the copy of madam le brun's picture of his wife in enamel, and gives to his dearest friend, nelson, a very small token of the great regard he has for his lordship, the most virtuous, loyal, and truly brave character i ever met with." then he finishes up with god's blessing to him and shame to those who do not say "amen." this is a wonderful testimony of friendship from a man who had been wronged, and might well have shaken the belief of those who founded their opinions on the startling improprieties they had beheld between the man whom he designated "the most virtuous, loyal, and truly brave character he had ever met with" and his wife. that sir william connived at what looked uncommonly like infidelity may or may not be doubtful, but that he saw more than would have impressed an ordinary man or woman with suspicion is unquestionable, and the best that can be said for his attitude is that he was so mentally constituted that he could only see or preferred to see in nelson's extravagant attentions to his wife a guileless symbol of high friendship for her, which he took as a compliment to himself. on the other hand, if he not only suspected but knew that he was being betrayed, and bitterly resented the passion which no remonstrances from him could have controlled, he at any rate determined to let the world see "how a christian could die," and refrained from uttering the unutterable. napoleon on the rock at st. helena acted in the same magnanimous way towards the adulterous marie louise, of whose faithlessness he also unguardedly let slip his opinion. it is an odious habit, but we are apt to believe, without any reserve, disparaging stories, that may or may not be true, concerning men of distinction, and the more prominent the man or woman, the more viciously the scandal-mongers pursue their contemptible occupation. these vermin invariably belong to a class of industrious mediocrities who have been born with a mental kink, and their treachery, falsehood, and cowardice are incurable. they are merely hurtful creatures who spoil the earth, and are to be found dolefully chattering about what they conceive to be other men's and women's lapses from the paths of stern virtue. their plan of life is to defame other people, and by this means proclaim their own superiority over other weak mortals. give the unsexed woman a chance, and she will let fly with unrestrained industry. how many innocent people have had their names dragged into the public gaze by this vice! the report may arise from professional or political jealousy, and may grow into incredible accusations of immorality. who can estimate the suffering caused to lord melbourne, the then prime minister, and to his relatives and friends, and even to some of his political opponents, and to the hon. mrs. norton, one of sheridan's beautiful daughters (who was the wife of as unscrupulous a scamp as was ever permitted to live), by the engineering of an accusation of infidelity that forced the prime minister and mrs. norton into the courts to defend themselves against what was proved to be a malicious and unfounded story? the plaintiff's case, resting as it did upon a tissue of fabricated evidence, takes a fine place in history because of the judge's impartiality and sagacious charge, and the verdict of the jury for the defendants which was received with tumultuous cheers, characterized by the judge as "disgraceful in a court of justice." his lordship's remonstrance was futile, and again and again the cheers were given, both in the court and outside, where the wildest enthusiasm prevailed. no one who took part in this disgraceful action came out of it with a higher reputation than sir john campbell, who acted for melbourne. his entrance to the house of commons that night was the occasion of an outburst of delirious cheering, the like of which had never been witnessed in the house. "the tories" are said to have "affected to cheer." i give this as a notable case whereby two innocent people were threatened with ruin and disgrace by the poisonous slander circulated for both private and political ends and fostered by the worthless husband of a virtuous and amiable woman. it is common knowledge that nelson and sir william hamilton were assailed by the same stinging wasps as melbourne and mrs. norton (if it be proper to make a comparison), but they were different types of men living in a different atmosphere and under different circumstances. it is true that nelson had scruples about the unwisdom of his unconventional connection with lady hamilton, and, big-hearted fellow that he was, he would have struggled hard to avoid giving pain to his relations and friends; and who knows that he did not? for though his actions may belie that impression, his whole attitude was reckless, silly, and whimsical. to whatever extent he may have had scruples, he certainly did not possess the faculty of holding his inclinations in check. indeed, he made no secret of the idea that "every man became a bachelor after passing the rock of gibraltar," and in this notion he carried out the orthodoxy of the old-time sailor. he disliked marriage and loved glory, and being a popular hero, he was forgiven all his amorous sins, which were by many looked upon as being part of his heroism. his laughable efforts to obscure the facts might have satisfied those who wished to rely on hamilton's benedictory absolution, had not nelson and emma, as i have already said, left behind them incriminating letters and documents which leave no doubt as to what they were to each other. the great admiral industriously destroyed much of the massive correspondence, but had overlooked some of the hidden treasures. lady hamilton promised to destroy all hers, but failed to do so. hence the documentary proof written by his own hand and that of emma's cancels nelson's childish device to throw a too critical public off the scent. nelson was alternately weak, nervous, careless, and defiant in his attitude in regard to public opinion concerning his private life. he at one time asserted the right of living in any way he might choose, and resented the criticism of a few cackling busybodies, even though it was not in accordance with the views of the late mr. edward cocker. it was his affair, and if his ideas differed from those of his critics, it was no business of theirs. his independence in this, as well as in the practical concerns of his profession, coincided with the opinions held by sandy mackay in "alton locke," who declared that he would "never bow down to a bit of brains." but these independent views alternated with weaker ones. he was as indiscreetly lavish with his love as he was with his money; at one time he would contemptuously defy the poisoned arrows that were darted at him, and when beset by the sullen storm-cloud of scandal, he let fly with red-hot courage and audaciously upheld his honour: at another time he was timid, vacillating, and ridiculous in his attempts to avert the public eye from his love affair and its consequence. people who knew him intimately were aware that horatia was his daughter, and in order to throw them off their guard he proceeded to invent a cock-and-bull story of how he came by the child. here is his letter to lady hamilton written in the middle of 1804: "i am now going to state a thing to you and to request your kind assistance which, from my dear emma's goodness of heart, i am sure of her acquiescence in. before we left italy, i told you of the extraordinary circumstances of a child being left to my care and protection. on your first coming to england, i presented you the child, dear horatia. you became, to my comfort, attached to it, so did sir william, thinking her the finest child he had ever seen. she is become of that age when it is necessary to remove her from a mere nurse, and to think of educating her. i am now anxious for the child's being placed under your protecting wing"; a clumsy, transparent piece of foolery, which at once confirms its intention to mislead! but we are saved the trouble of interpretation, for the father goes on to write on another piece of note-paper, "my beloved, how i feel for your situation and that of our dear horatia, our dear child." it is almost incredible that nelson could have written such a silly fabrication. in the early part of 1804, emma gave birth to another child, of which he believed himself to be the father. he asked the mother to call _him_ what she pleased (evidently he hoped and expected a boy), but if a girl, it was to be named emma. it was a girl, so it was called after the mother, but it did not live long, and the father never saw it. as though he thought the letter written about little miss thompson (horatia, be it understood) were not sufficiently delusive, he sends an equally absurd production to his niece, charlotte nelson, who lived a good deal at merton, in which he says that he is "truly sensible of her attachment to that dear little orphan, horatia," and although her parents are lost, yet she is not "without a fortune; and that he will cherish her to the last moment of his life, and _curse_ them who _curse_ her, and heaven bless them who bless her." this solemn enthusiasm for the poor orphan puts nelson out of court as a cute letter-writer. the quality of ingenious diplomacy had been left entirely out of him, and like any one else who dallies with an art for which they have no gift, he excites suspicions, and more often than not discloses the very secret he is so anxious to keep. every line of these letters indicates a tussle between a natural tendency to frank honesty and an unnatural and unworthy method of deception. obviously, the recipient of this precious document would have her curiosity excited over the disingenuous tale of romance. she would ask herself first of all, "why should my kinsman be so desirous to tell me that the orphan in whom he has so fond an interest is not without a fortune? and why should the responsibility of rearing and educating the child have been entrusted to him, the most active and important admiral in the british navy? and if it be true that she is an orphan, surely there could be no object in supposing that any one would '_curse_ her,' especially as he declared that she was 'not without fortune,' and that she was to be known as his adopted child." the niece, being a quick-witted girl, would naturally think the problem out for herself, and decide that there was something fishy involved in the mystery of these unnecessary phrases. in dealing with his domestic complications, nelson's mind seems to have been in a constant whirlwind, dodging from one difficulty into another, never direct, and for ever in conflict with his true self. he was brave and resourceful in everything that appertained to the service he adorned, and yet a shivering fear came over him now and again lest the truth concerning his attachment to his friend's wife should be revealed. when he was seized with these remorseful thoughts, he could not be silent; he was not possessed of the constitutional gift of reticence, and could only find relief by constant reference to the matter he wished kept secret in such a way as to cause people to put two and two together and arrive at the very truth he wished to hide. vii but whatever his ruling passion may have been, his belief in the power that rules us all never forsook him. he believed in religious forms as of a spiritual force. he often committed himself to it, and claimed the privilege of asking for heaven's guidance. call it eccentricity or superstition, or what you like, but to him it was a reality. one of the many amusing instances of his devotion to religious rites was the occasion when he and lady hamilton stood as godfather and godmother at the christening of their daughter, horatia nelson thompson,[7] by which name she was baptized. to the puritanic, orthodox mind (keeping in view all the circumstances of parentage) this will be looked upon as an act of abominable hypocrisy and sacrilege, but to him it was a pious duty. like all highly strung and overwrought mortals, he was often moody, depressed, and, worst of all, a victim to premonitions of his early demise. his superstitious temperament was constantly worrying him, as did his faith in the predictions of a gipsy fortune-teller who had correctly described his career up to the year 1805, and then stopping had said, "i can see no further." this creepy ending of the gipsy's tale was afflicting him with a dumb pain and depression when he unexpectedly came across his sister catherine in london. she referred to his worn, haggard look with a tenderness that was peculiarly her own. he replied, "ah! katty! katty! that gipsy!" and then relapsed into morbid silence. the foreboding bore heavily on his mind, and the story may well make one's heart throb with pity for the noble fellow who was so soon to fulfil his tragic destiny. well may we exclaim that fame seems to be the most wretched of mockeries! the duke of wellington, of whom it is said no dose of flattery was too strong for him to swallow, has left on record an interesting account of his meeting nelson at the colonial office. he gives the account of it, thirty years after nelson's death, to john wilson croker at walmer, and here is what he says of collingwood's great comrade:- walmer, _1st october, 1834_. we were [that is, croker and he] talking of lord nelson, and some instances were mentioned of the egotism and vanity that derogated from his character. "why," said the duke, "i am not surprised at such instances, for lord nelson was, in different circumstances, two quite different men, as i myself can vouch, though i only saw him once in my life, and for, perhaps, an hour. it was soon after i returned from india. i went to the colonial office in downing street, and there i was shown into the little waiting-room on the right hand, where i found, also waiting to see the secretary of state, a gentleman, whom, from his likeness to his pictures and the loss of an arm, i immediately recognized as lord nelson. he could not know who i was, but he entered at once into conversation with me, if i can call it conversation, for it was almost all on his side and all about himself, and in, really, a style so vain and so silly as to surprise and almost disgust me. i suppose something that i happened to say made him guess that i was _somebody_, and he went out of the room for a moment, i have no doubt to ask the office keeper who i was, for when he came back he was altogether a different man, both in manner and matter. all that i had thought a charlatan style had vanished, and he talked of the state of this country and the probabilities of affairs on the continent with a good sense, and a knowledge of subjects both at home and abroad, that surprised me equally and more agreeably than the first part of our interview had done; in fact, he talked like an officer and a statesman. the secretary of state kept us long waiting, and certainly, for the last half or three-quarters of an hour, i don't know that i ever had a conversation that interested me more. now, if the secretary of state had been punctual, and admitted lord nelson in the first quarter of an hour, i should have had the same impression of a light and trivial character that other people have had; but luckily i saw enough to be satisfied that he was really a very superior man; but certainly a more sudden and complete metamorphosis i never saw."[8] we must not be too critical of the duke's opinions of the vanity of the admiral, but it calls for some notice, inasmuch as the duke himself is reputed to have had an uncommonly good amount of it himself, though it took a different form and created a different impression. wellington showed it in a cold, haughty, unimaginative, repelling self-importance; fearful of unbending to his inferiors lest his dignity should be offended. nelson's peculiarities were the very antithesis; it was his delightful egotism and vanity that added to his charm and made him such a fascinating personality. his direct slap-dash, unconventional phrases and flashes of naval brilliancy, whether in search of, or engaged in battle with the enemy, together with a natural kindness to his officers and men of all ranks, filled them with confidence and pride in having him as their chief. the "nelson touch," the "drubbing" he swore in his own engaging way that mr. villeneuve--as he called him to blackwood--was to have when he caught him, the putting of the telescope to his blind eye at copenhagen when the signal was flying to leave off action, and then "no, damn me if i do," had an inspiring effect on his men and strengthened the belief in his dauntlessness and sagacity. "what will nelson think of us?" remarked one of the men aboard one of the frigates that obeyed the signal. but nelson went on fighting with complete success. "luckily," says wellington, "i saw enough to be satisfied that he was really a very superior man." why "luckily"? what difference would his lack of knowledge have made? the duke was hardly the type of man to understand the powerful personality whose style, "so vain and silly, surprised and almost disgusted" him. that view does not stand to _his_ credit, and no one else held it. but let us see what a greater man than either wellington or nelson says of both. napoleon, at st. helena, spoke in very high terms of lord nelson,[9] and indeed attempted to palliate that one stigma on his memory, the execution of carraciolli, which he attributed entirely to his having been deceived by that wicked woman queen caroline, through lady hamilton, and to the influence which the latter had over him. he says of the duke: "judging from wellington's actions, from his dispatches, and, above all, from his conduct towards ney, i should pronounce him to be a poor-spirited man, without generosity, and without greatness of soul ('un homme de peu d'esprit, sans générosité, et sans grandeur d'âme'). such i know to be the opinion of benjamin constant and of madame de staël, who said that, except as a general, he had not two ideas. as a general, however, to find his equal amongst your own nation, you must go back to the time of marlborough, but as anything else, i think that history will pronounce him to be a man of limited capacity ('un homme borné')."[10] "nelson is a brave man. if villeneuve at aboukir and dumanoir at trafalgar had had a little of his blood, the french would have been conquerors. i ought to have had dumanoir's head cut off. do you not think more highly of nelson than of the best engineers who construct fortifications? nelson had what a mere engineer officer can never acquire. it is a gift of nature." the emperor, in his eulogy of nelson, is not unmindful of the terrible crime he was led to commit at the instigation of that human viper, queen caroline, and the licentious emma hamilton. he, to some extent, whittles down nelson's share of the responsibility by putting the whole blame on them. but who can read the gruesome story of the trial and hanging of the aged prince carraciolli without feeling ashamed that a fellow-countryman in nelson's position should have stamped his career with so dark a crime? at the capitulation of st. elmo, carraciolli made his escape. he commanded a neapolitan warship called the _tancredi_, and had fought in admiral hotham's action on the 14th march, 1795, and gained distinction, accompanying the royal family to palermo. he was given permission by the king to return for the purpose of protecting his large property. the french had entered neapolitan territory and seized his estates, on the ground that he was a royalist, and the only way he could recover them was by agreeing to take command of the neapolitan fleet. the french were obliged to evacuate the country, and left their friends to settle matters for themselves as best they could. carraciolli concealed himself, but was discovered in disguise and put on board the _foudroyant_ with his hands tied behind his back. captain hardy, who was a man with a heart, was indignant when he saw the old man subjected to such gross indignity, and immediately ordered his hands to be liberated. nelson committed him for trial, which commenced at ten o'clock, and at twelve he was declared guilty. at five o'clock he was hanged at the yardarm of the neapolitan frigate _minerva_. this poor old man was tried solely by his enemies without being allowed to have counsel or call witnesses. a miscreant called count thurn, a worse enemy than all, presided over the court. carraciolli asked lieutenant parkinson to obtain for him a new trial. nelson, who had ordered the first, could not or would not grant a second. carraciolli asked to be shot, and this also was refused. on the grounds of former association, he sought the aid of lady hamilton, but she, being an approving party to the execution, only came from her concealment to enjoy the sight of the old prince's dead body dangling at the yardarm. "come, bronte, come," said she, "let us take the barge and have another look at carraciolli"; and there they feasted their eyes on the lifeless remains of their former associate, who had assuredly cursed them both with his last dying breath. it is the custom when sailors are buried at sea to weight their feet so that the body may sink in an upright position. the same course was adopted with carraciolli; shot was put at his feet, but not sufficient, and he was cast into the sea. in a few days the putrified body rose to the surface head upwards, as though the murdered man had come again to haunt his executioners and give them a further opportunity of gazing at the ghastly features of their victim.[11] the sight of his old friend emerging again terrified ferdinand, and he became afflicted with a feeling of abiding horror which he sought to appease by having the body interred in a christian burial-ground. but the spirit of his executed friend worried him all his remaining days, and the act of burial did not save naples from becoming a shambles of conflict, robbery, and revolution. neither did emma hamilton escape her just deserts for the vile part she played in one of the most abominable crimes ever committed. her latter hours were made terrible by the thought of the mockery of a trial, and the constant vision of the prince's ghost glowering at her from the _minerva's_ yardarm and from the surface of his watery tomb from which he had risen again to reproach her with the inhuman pleasure she had taken in watching the dreadful act. nor did her shrieking avowal of repentance give the wretched jezebel of a woman the assurance of forgiveness. she sought for distractions, and found most of them in wickedness, and passed into the presence of the great mystery with all her deeds of faithlessness, deceit, and uncontrollable revenge before her eyes. it is sad to read of and hear the insensate rubbish that is talked of new earths that are to evolve from war, as though it could be divorced from wounds and death, unspeakable crime, suffering in all its varied forms, and the destruction of property which must always be a direct result. the spectacle of it can never be other, except to the martially-minded, than a shuddering horror. i would ask any one who is imbued with the idea that out of wars spring new worlds to name a single instance where a nation that has engaged in it has not been left bleeding at its extremities, no matter whether it emerges as victor or vanquished. i would further ask the writer or orator who talks in this strain if he imagines that the sending of myriads of men to death can contribute to the making of new earths. the consequences are much too tragically serious to the nation, and indeed to the world, to be played with by smug diplomatists who seek to excite the populace into support of their calamitous efforts at statesmanship by shallow bursts of eloquence about the new conditions of life which are to accrue from their imitation of germanism. no doubt nelson thought, when he had poor old prince carraciolli hung, that he would create a new earth by striking terror into the hearts of the neapolitan race, but natural laws are not worked out by methods of this kind, and nelson had the mortification of seeing his plan of regulating human affairs create a new and more ferocious little hell on earth. his judgment at this time was very much warped through the evil influence of the court of naples and more especially by his infatuation for lady hamilton. greville, and subsequently sir william hamilton, had taken great pains to educate emma hart. hamilton writes to his nephew: "i can assure you her behaviour is such as has acquired her many sensible admirers, and we have good man society, and all the female nobility, with the queen at their head, show her every mark of civility." hamilton writes further: "hitherto, her behaviour is irreproachable, but her temper, as you must know, unequal." lady malmesbury (with a decidedly sly scratch) says of her: "she really behaves as well as possible, and quite wonderfully, considering her origin and education." sir george elliot says: "her manners are perfectly, unpolished, very easy, but not with the ease of good breeding, but of a barmaid; excessively good-humoured, wishing to please and be admired by everybody that came in her way. she has acquired since her marriage some knowledge of history and of the arts, and one wonders at the application and pains she has taken to make herself what she is. with men her language and conversation are exaggerations of anything i ever heard anywhere; and i was wonderfully struck with these inveterate remains of her origin, though the impression was very much weakened by seeing the other ladies of naples." a naval lieutenant at naples stated he "thought her a very handsome, vulgar woman." there is no stabbing with a sneer about this opinion. it expresses in a few words the candid opinion of the sailor. mrs. st. george thinks her "bold, daring, vain even to folly, and stamped with the manners of her first situation much more strongly than one would suppose, after having represented majesty and lived in good company fifteen years. her dress is frightful. her waist is absolutely between her shoulders. her figure is colossal, but, excepting her feet, which are hideous, well shaped. the shape of all her features is fine, as is the form of her head, and particularly her ears; her teeth are a little irregular, but tolerably white; her eyes light blue, with a brown spot in one, which, though a defect, takes nothing away from her beauty or expression. her eyebrows and hair, which, by the bye, is never clean, are dark and her complexion coarse. her expression is strongly marked, variable, and interesting; her movements in common life ungraceful, her voice loud, yet not disagreeable." this female critic seems to have been overburdened with the weight of emma's defects, mental and physical! elliot says: "her person is nothing short of monstrous for its enormity, and is growing every day. her face is beautiful." the latter view tones down the apparent desire not to say too much in her favour. we are persuaded, in fact, that the foregoing views of lady hamilton's personal appearance are not correct. they give the impression that the opinions of her critics are based on the woman's lowly origin, and that they assume that because she was the offspring of poor parents she ought to be described as a fat hoyden with the manners of the kitchen. the people who knew her intimately do not make her out to be a stout, unwholesome, east-end palestiner. the sister of marie antoinette, be it remembered, was her close companion, and many english ladies living in naples and visiting there were scarcely likely to associate with a person who could not display better looks and manners than those set forth. nelson, the prince of wales, and her many other men admirers, were hardly likely to tumble over each other in competition for her smiles and favours if "her dress was frightful," "her waist between her shoulders," "her hair dirty," "her feet hideous," "her bones large," "her complexion coarse," and "her person monstrous for its enormity, growing every day." we are inclined to place little dependence on the accuracy of people who seem to have described her according to their moods or perhaps according to the manner of her admirers towards themselves. that she was clever and attractive there can be no doubt, and it is equally certain that she won for herself the mortal enmity of many ladies who saw her powerful influence over prominent men and women whom they themselves bored. some importance must be given to her husband's position as british representative; his influence must have been great, especially in neapolitan circles. this would help her natural gifts of fascination, even though her breeding and education did not reach the standard of her blue-blooded critics. she had something that stood her in greater stead than breeding and education: she had the power of enslaving gallant hearts and holding them in thrall with many artful devices. they liked her bohemianism, her wit, her geniality, her audacious slang, and her collection of droll epithets that fittingly described her venomous critics of a self-appointed nobility. when she could not reach the heights of such superior persons she proceeded to ridicule them with a tongue that rattled out vivid invective which outmatched anything they could say of _her_. it probably made her more enemies, but it satisfied her temper and pleased her admirers. she never appears to have been conscious of any inferiority in herself. we are inclined to agree with the opinion expressed by the naval lieutenant at naples, who said "she was a very handsome, vulgar woman." all her portraits confirm what the sailor says about her beauty, and the most reliable records are confirmatory so far as his view of her vulgarity is concerned. but in any case, whatever may have been her physical dimensions, they were not understated by the crowd who gave vent to their aversion in this and in many other deplorable ways. there are only a few evidences of nelson being aware of and resenting some of the disparaging remarks made about his "wife in the sight of heaven," and these do not seem to have diminished his infatuation for her. he was accustomed to say in connection with his professional duties that whenever he followed his own head he was in general much more correct in his judgment than by following other people's opinions. he carried this plan into his private life so far as emma was concerned, but men and women who were his intimate friends would not support the view that by following his head in _this_ particular case his judgment was sound. we may term the infatuation a deteriorated state of mind, but _he_ was sustained by the belief that she was a spirit unto him while he lived, and with his last gasp, as he was passing into the shadows, he bestowed her as a legacy to his country. we shall have something to say hereafter as to how the british government dealt with their great admiral's dying injunction. the neapolitan atmosphere was vile enough, and might well have made even men and women who knew the loose side of life shrink from it, but it can never be claimed that it had a demoralizing influence on emma, who at an early age became familiar with unspeakable vices which left her little to learn at the time greville sold her to his uncle, who took her to a centre of sordid uncleanness, there to become his wife after a brief association as his mistress. we may have no misgiving as to her aptitude in acquiring anything she chose that was left for her to learn from a community of debauchees and parasites. the wonder is that her brain did not succumb to the poisonous influences by which she was surrounded, and that the poor girl did not sink into the depths of that luxurious sensuality which characterized neapolitan society at that time. it was a more distinguished and fascinating type of debauchery than that which she had known in other days in england, and from which greville had rescued her. the temptation to plunge into the boisterous merriment of a higher order of depravity than that to which she had been accustomed must have been very great to such a temperament as hers. but she worthily kept her wild, wayward spirit under restraint, and, according to sir william hamilton, she conducted herself in a way that caused him to be satisfied with his reforming guidance. she adapted herself to the ways of the more select social community of her new existence, and at the time nelson made her acquaintance she had really become a creditable member of the society in which she moved. in every respect she was congenial to him. he never lost a chance of applauding her gifts and brazenly exempting himself from all moral restrictions, except, as i have said before, when he was seized with a spontaneous fit of goodness. he would then clumsily try to conceal the passion that obsessed him. he did not brood long over trifles of this kind, merely because he had lost, if ever he possessed, the power of consecutive reasoning in matters of moral convention. his neapolitan associates were a cunning, lying, luxury-loving, depraved lot, and however strongly his principles were fixed, there can be but one opinion--that such an atmosphere was harmful to him. he speaks of naples himself as being a country of poets, whores, and scoundrels; and southey does not attempt to mince words, for in vigorous terms he describes england's "alliances to superannuated and abominable governments of the continent." these are the states that we shed british blood and squandered british money over, and in truth southey describes them as they were! the king of naples was a great hero to stand up against the bravest, best-trained troops the world! he shivered at the thought of nelson going out of his sight, and whimpered him into staying to guard him and his rotten kingdom. it was at this period of his gallant activity that nelson became the victim of fulsome flattery and the associate of the most cunning, knavish charlatans in the world. these creatures never ceased to inveigh against the wrongs they were suffering for the uplifting of human rights, and because their great british ally was in need of their disinterested and distinguished co-ordination. nelson was well aware of all this, but could not shake himself free. he loathed the slavering way in which flattery was extended to him, because it had a sickly resemblance to weeping. he declares of the neapolitan officers, "they are boasters of the highest order, and when they are confronted with the duty of defending hearth and home, their courage ends in vapour." he avers that they "cannot lose honour, as they have none to lose," and yet he makes no serious effort to unshackle himself from a detestable position. emma, the queen, and king of naples, and others, have a deep-rooted hold on him, and he cannot give up the cheap popularity of the neapolitans. he persuades himself that the whole thought of his soul is "down, down, with the french," and that it shall be his "constant prayer." throughout the whole course of his brilliant career it was never doubted that the french were his great aversion, because they were his country's enemies. but the hysterical tears of lady hamilton and those of the neapolitan queen proved too strong for him. the king's beseeching fears were also added to an already difficult situation, which, he persuaded himself, could not be ignored without damaging the interests he was sent to protect; so his stay in the reeking cesspool of neapolitanism was prolonged, but there is no reason for supposing that his "constant prayer" for the extinction of the french was any the less ardent. the fatal day of their catastrophe was only postponed. the praying went on all the same, with more or less belief in the almighty's preference for englishmen. viii this is a form of cant to which those whom we regard as great men are a prey. but this pride of race is not confined to the mighty men of valour. the humble soldier and sailor, and poorest and richest of civilians, have the same inherent belief in british superiority. they talk to the great giver of all power in the most patronizing way, and while they profess to believe in his ordinances they treat them as though he were their vassal and not their lawgiver. they call upon him to break his own laws and help them to smite those whom they regard as enemies, never doubting the righteousness of their cause. the enemy, on the other hand, believe that _they_ have a monopoly of god, and avow that _their_ cause is his, and _being_ his, they grimly ask him to settle the dispute by coming down on their side; but should they win the fight, the glory of it is seldom given to the power whose assistance is implored, but ascribed to their own genius. cromwell is a singular and distinguished exception. he always gave all the glory to god. take as an example the battle of dunbar (though there are many instances of a similar character that could be quoted during the civil war). the battle-cry of the parliament forces was "the lord of hosts," and at the opportune moment the commander of the parliament army shouted, "now let god arise, and his enemies shall be scattered." the ironsides made a fearless and irresistible rush at their foes, and almost immediately cromwell saw the covenanters in confusion; again he shouted, "they run! i profess they run!" the quotation from the 68th psalm was always an inspiration to these religious warriors. old leslie, the scotch covenanting general, with the patience of stupidity, had been mumbling petitions for hours to the god of the anointed to form an alliance with him to crush the unholy rebellion against king and covenant. "thou knowest, o god, how just our cause is, and how unjust is that of those who are not thy people." this moth-eaten crowd of canting hypocrites were no match for the forces who believed that they were backed by the lord of hosts, and they were completely routed. sir jacob astley, another royalist, on one occasion during the civil war breathed a simple prayer with uplifted eyes. "o lord," said he, "thou knowest how busy i must be this day. if i forget thee, do not thou forget me." then he gave the word of command to "march." he was nevertheless defeated at stow, and seems to have been offended at the deity for his forgetfulness, as he bitterly reproached his conquerors by telling them that they might go to play unless they fell out amongst themselves. napoleon carried on warfare under a sterner and more self-reliant code. he had confidence in and depended on his own genius and on nature's laws. there are shoals of instances in his short and terrific career that indicate this belief in himself. he said to a regiment of horse chasseurs at lobenstein two days before the battle of jena, "my lads! you must not fear death; when soldiers brave death, they drive him into the enemy's ranks." on another occasion he said: "you must not fight too often with one enemy, or you teach him all your art of war." this is a thrilling truth which always tells in war, and yet behind all the apparent indifference to the great mysterious force that holds sway over human affairs there was a hidden belief in the power of the deity to guide aright and give aid in the hour of need, even to men of unequalled talents like napoleon himself. his spontaneous exclamations indicate that he did not doubt who created and ruled the universe, but how much he relied on this power he never really disclosed, and it can only be a supposition gathered from utterances recorded by some of his contemporaries that he had a devout belief in the great power of christianity. "ah!" said he one day, "there is but one means of getting good manners, and that is by establishing religion." at that time the spiritual life of france was at a low ebb, and the subject of religion was one of the most unpopular and risky topics to raise, but napoleon knew that it would have to be tackled in the open sooner or later, and it is a matter of authentic history that he struggled to bring and ultimately succeeded in bringing back religious ordinances to france. he declared that no good government could exist for long without it. his traducers proclaimed him an atheist, and we hear the same claptrap from people now who have not made themselves acquainted with the real history of the man and his times. we do not say he was a saint, but he was a better christian, both in profession and action, than most of the kings that ruled prior to and during his period. in every way he excels the louis of france, the georges of great britain and hanover, the fredericks of prussia, and the alexanders of russia. the latter two he puts far in the shade, both as a statesman, a warrior, and a wise, humane ruler who saw far into futurity, and fought against the reactionary forces of europe, which combined to put an end to what was called his ambition to dominate the whole of creation. he foretold with amazing accuracy that from his ashes there would spring up sectional wars for a time, and ultimately the selfsame elements of vicious mediocrity that destroyed him would bring about a world-conflict which would destroy itself. the laws of life are simple, but at the same time very terrible in their consequences if ignored or disobeyed. what folly to imagine that any great figure or great tragedy comes into existence by chance! napoleon was just as necessary to the world as was cromwell. both had the righting of wrongs and the clearing away of the accumulation of centuries of chaos and misgovernment, and it was not to be expected that they could carry out the necessary reforms without making the authors of such an intolerable state of things angry and resentful at their iron methods of discipline. napoleon and cromwell possessed the combined arts of war and statesmanship to a higher degree than any of their contemporaries. cromwell excelled napoleon in professional christianity. the latter never paraded his ideas of religion, though he acted on them silently and gave occasional expression to the thoughts of his soul. indeed, he was too much given to publicly disavowing the very principles he believed in privately. this plan or habit was said to be for the purpose of creating controversy. be that as it may, when the natural spirit moved him he would declare his views in the most robust way. on one of many occasions he startled the council of state by reminding them that a man did not risk being killed for a few pence a day or for a paltry distinction. "you must speak to the soul," he declared, "to electrify the man." another very notable expression is here worth referring to, as it instances how practical and human were his views. "the heart," said he, "warms the genius, but in pitt the genius withers the heart, which is a very different thing"; and so it is that cromwell and he were not dissimilar in many of their attributes. indeed, it is said that napoleon never tired of quoting or having quoted to him some striking characteristic of cromwell. we could hardly, with any degree of good judgment, put leslie the covenanter or sir jacob astley the royalist, or nelson the matchless naval strategist and national hero, on a par with either cromwell or napoleon. they are only here referred to in connection with the two unequalled constructive statesmen and military generals as representing a type of peculiarly religious men who have occupied high military and naval positions in the service of the state. hawkins, drake, frobisher, blake in cromwell's time, nelson in napoleon's, were all fire-eating religious men, always asking favours and guidance in their perilous undertakings from the great mystic power in whom they believed. collingwood was a great admiral and a christian gentleman, who never mixed religion with hysterical or dramatic flashes of quarterdeck language. he was ostentatious in nothing, and seemed to observe a strictly decorous attitude. nelson, on the other hand, resembled a restless squirrel, always swift in his instincts, with an enthusiasm which was contagious. in many ways he did not adhere to what is called cricket in sporting phrase. he was accustomed to say, "never mind the justice or the impudence of this or that, only let me succeed." then he would proceed to ask the almighty in feverish zeal to aid him in the object he had in view. he would scatter a profusion of curses about in relation to the treatment of the admiralty towards himself, or at his disappointment in not getting to grips with the french fleet, and then proceed to ask lady hamilton if they had a nice church at merton, so that they may set an example of goodness to the under-parishioners, and "admire the pigs and poultry," etc. he finds on several occasions that a picture of emma is much admired by the french consul at barcelona, and feels sure it would be admired by bonaparte, and then he continues, "i love you most dearly, and hate the french most damnably." sometimes he said he hated the french as the devil hated holy water, which at that time was considered to be the orthodoxy of a true briton. it was quite a pro-british attitude to patronize the maker of kings who had kept the world in awe for nearly a quarter of a century, by expecting him to admire a portrait of a loose woman to whom he referred in the most scathing manner while at st. helena. her reputation and nelson's connection with her seems to have been known to him, as was also her connection with the neapolitan court. his indictment was terrible. nelson had a weary, anxious time on the toulon station. he called it his home, and said they were in fine fighting trim and wished to god the ships were the same, but they were in a very dilapidated condition, not fit to stand the bad weather they were sure to encounter. the british minister at naples wished to send a frenchman who could be relied on with information as to the whereabouts of the french fleet. nelson replied that he would not on any account have a frenchman in the british fleet except as a prisoner. he would be grateful to him for any information he could give, but not a frenchman would be allowed to come to him, and adds that "his mother hated the french." he was enraged at the report spread by a fussy french admiral named m. la touche-treville, who was in command at toulon. it was said that he was sent to beat nelson as he had done at boulogne. but he was shy about coming out and trying a tussle. nelson said he was a miscreant, a poltroon, and a liar. the frenchman had boasted in a publication that he had put the british fleet to flight. the british admiral took the charge so seriously to heart that he sent a copy of the _victory's_ log to the admiralty to disprove the statement of the lying admiral la touche, and in a letter to his brother nelson says, "you will have seen la touche's letter of how he chased me, and how i ran. i keep it; and by god if i take him, he shall eat it." la touche cheated nelson of a sweet revenge by dying like a good christian before the outraged british admiral could get hold of him. the newspapers of france said he died of fatigue caused by walking so often to the signal post at sepet, to watch the british fleet; and nelson stated "that he was always sure that would be the death of him, and that if he had come out to fight him it would have added ten years on to his life." poor nelson was very sensitive when his professional qualities were assailed. he thought, and thought rightly, that the blockade at toulon was an unparalleled feat of human patience and physical endurance. he had only been out of his ship three times from may 1803 to august 1805. we may write and speak about this wonderful devotion to duty, but it is only if we take time to think of the terrific things which the central figure who commanded, and the crews of the fleet of rickety, worn-out, leaky baskets--proudly spoken of as the "wooden walls of old england"--had to contend with and actually did, that we comprehend the vast strain and task of it all. it was because nelson was ever being reminded by some clumsy act of the admiralty or thoughtless, ignorant criticism on the part of the politicians and civilian public generally that the work he and the men under him were doing was not appreciated as it should be, that he gave way to outbursts of violent resentment. but so far as the present writer has been able to discover, his love of approbation was so strong that an encouraging word of praise soon put him in love for the time being with those whom he had lately cursed. he never shrank from disobeying the instructions of whatever authority was over him if his judgment led him to the conclusion that he would serve his country better by disobedience and by following his own judgment; whenever he was driven to do this he was right and those above him were wrong, and in each case he was so conclusively right that no authoritative power dare court-martial him, or even censure his conduct, since the public believed more in him than in them. when the spirit of well-balanced defiance was upon him, he seemed to say to the public, to himself, and to those who were responsible for his instructions, "do you imagine yourselves more capable of judging the circumstances, and the immeasurable difficulties surrounding them, than i am, whose business it has been to watch minutely every changing phase? or do you think my love of country or glory so incomparably inferior to yours that i would risk any harm coming to it, or to myself and the men under me, if i was not sure of my ground? for what other reason do you think i disobeyed orders? do you suppose i did it in order that some disaster should be the result? or do you still think that your plan, right or wrong, should have been carried out, even though it would be accompanied with appalling consequences to life and property? if these are your views, i wish to remind you that i am the indomitable nelson, who will stand no damned nonsense from you or from the enemy when i see that my country, or the interests that i represent, are going to be jeopardized by your self-assertive instructions, and i wish to intimate to you that there is only one way of dealing with a frenchman, and that is to knock him down when he is an enemy. you have obviously got to learn that to be civil to a frenchman is to be laughed at, and this i shall never submit to." the admiralty censured nelson for disobeying lord keith's orders and, as they claimed, endangering minorca, and also for landing seamen for the siege of capua, and told him "not to employ the seamen in any such way in future." the admiralty were too hasty in chastising him. he claimed that his success in freeing the whole kingdom of naples from the french was almost wholly due to the employment of british sailors, whose valour carried the day. nelson sent the first lord a slap between the eyes in his best sarcastic form. he said briefly, "i cannot enter into all the detail in explanation of my motives which led me to take the action i did, as i have only a left hand, but i may inform you that my object is to drive the french to the devil, and restore peace and happiness to mankind"; and he continues, "i feel i am fitter to do the action than to describe it." and then he curtly and in so many words says to his chief, "don't you be troubled about minorca. i have secured the main thing against your wish and that of lord keith, and you may be assured that i shall see that no harm comes to the islands, which seems to be a cause of unnecessary anxiety to you." incidentally, the expulsion of the french from naples and seating ferdinand on the throne was, as i have previously stated, not an unqualified success, nor was he accurate in his statement that he had restored happiness to millions. the success was a mere shadow. he had emancipated a set of villains. troubridge says they were all thieves and vagabonds, robbing their unfortunate countrymen, selling confiscated property for nothing, cheating the king and treasury by pocketing everything that their sticky fingers touched, and that their villainies were so deeply rooted that if some steps were not taken to dig them out, the government could not hold together. out of twenty millions of ducats collected as revenue, only thirteen millions reached the treasury, and the king had to pay four ducats instead of one. troubridge again intimates to his superior that ferdinand is surrounded with a nest of the most unscrupulous thieves that could be found in all europe. "such damned cowards and villains," he declared, "he had never seen or heard of before." ix the french did not mince matters when their opportunity came. they, too, regarded them as vermin, and treated them according to the unrestrained edicts of the reign of terror, organized and administered by their late compatriots sardanapalus, danton, maximilian robespierre, and their literary colleague, the execrable marat, who, by the way, was expeditiously dispatched by the gallant charlotte corday.[12] this method of bestowing the blessings of liberty, equality, and fraternity was received by the neapolitans with a frenzy from which there sprang a demoniac retaliation. societies were formed to carry out the most atrocious crimes against the neapolitan revolutionists, whom the royalists hated more than they did the french. the fishermen and other miscreants came to a solemn conclusion that it was clearly their duty as a christian people to combine, and each choose one whom they should privately guillotine when the opportunity offered. with the idea of paying a high compliment to troubridge, who had so splendidly protected the royalists, fought the french, and subdued the revolutionists, they made him the recipient of a decapitated head which had proudly sat on the shoulders of a revolutionist. this trophy was actually sent to him with his basket of breakfast grapes. in making the present the gallant fisherman conveyed his compliments to the admiral, and reminded him that it was a token of his high appreciation of the admiral's brilliant services to the royalist cause. the court was infested with traitors who would first carry out their vengeance against their rebellious compatriots and then cunningly lay the blame on those under whose protection they were. one of their judges informed troubridge that he must have a bishop to excommunicate some of the traitor priests before he could have them executed, and the fine sailor, who was sick of the crafty devils and the task he had been allocated to carry out, replied, "for the love of god hang the damned rascals first, and then let the bishop deal with them if he did not think hanging was a sufficient degradation." nothing in the annals of history can surpass the effrontery of these intriguers, which throws a lurid light on the class of administrators who associated with the british nation and spilt the blood of the flower of our land in bolstering up a government that was a disgrace and put all human perfidy in the shade. these allies of ours, who were joyously butchering and robbing each other, demanded a british warship to take the priests to palermo, so that they might be degraded in a proper, christian fashion and then brought to naples for execution. troubridge was audaciously requested to appoint a hangman (it may be he was asked to combine this with his other naval duties), and knowing the fine sense of noble dignity in the average sailor, we can easily imagine the flow of adjectives that accompanied the refusal, and how he would relate the outrage to which he had been subjected in quarterdeck language, that need not be here repeated, to his superior officer, admiral nelson, who must have felt the degradation of being selected to carry out as dirty a piece of work as ever devolved upon a public servant. to fight for his king and country was the joy of his soul, but to be selected as wet-nurse to the kingdom of naples and the dignitaries that were at the head of it would have been an unbearable insult to his sense of proportion had it not been for the fulsome flattery, to which he was so susceptible, which was adroitly administered by the ladies of the court, headed by the queen and supplemented by the wife of sir william hamilton. there is always some fatal weakness about a great man that lures him into littleness, and this was an overwhelming tragedy in nelson's career. the approbation of men was gratefully received and even asked for, but the adoration of women reduced him to helplessness. he was drugged by it, and the stronger the doses, the more efficacious they were. they nullified the vision of the unwholesome task he was set to carry out until his whole being revolted against the indignity of it, when he would pour out his wrath to lady hamilton as he did at the time when troubridge would report to him his own trials. no doubt this caused him to realize the chaotic condition of public affairs, for he writes to the lady that "politics are hateful to him, and that ministers of kings are the greatest scoundrels that ever lived." the king of naples is, he suspects, to be superseded by a prince who has married a russian archduchess. this, presumably, had been arranged by the "great political scoundrels." he stands loyally by ferdinand, but soon all the work of that part of his life that gave him socially so much pleasure and professionally so much misery is to be left for evermore, and his great talents used in other and higher spheres. he had retaken naples from the french, who had set up the parthenopean republic in 1799, and placed the tyrant king on his throne again; after a few more chequered years a treaty of neutrality was signed between france and naples, which was treacherously broken by naples. ferdinand had to fly to sicily, the french troops entered the capital, and bonaparte, who had been marching from one victory to another, cleared out deep-rooted abuses and introduced reforms wherever he could. he had become the terror and the enemy of the misgoverning monarchs of that period, and the french nation had proclaimed him emperor in 1804. he placed his brother joseph on the throne of naples in february 1806; joseph ruled with marked moderation and distinction, sweeping away much of the foul canker of corruption and introducing many beneficent reforms during his two years of kingship. he then, much against his own wishes, became king of spain, and was succeeded by his brother-in-law, prince joachim murat, the dashing cavalry officer, whose decorative exterior awed friend and foe, and helped to win many a battle. his reign lasted from 1808 until 1815, and was no less distinguished than that of joseph's. the fall of the napoleonic régime was followed by the fall of murat, and the despicable and treacherous ferdinand became again the king, and brought back with him the same tyrannical habits that had made his previous rule so disastrous to the kingdom and to himself. no whitewasher, however brilliant and ingenious, can ever wipe out the fatal action of the british government in embarking on so ill-conceived a policy as that of supporting the existence of a bloodsucking government, composed of a miscreant ruling class headed by an ignoble king, all living on the misery and blood of a semi-civilized population. it is a nauseous piece of history, with which, under sagacious administration, we should never have been connected. the main idea was to humble the pride of france, that thenceforth there might be peace in europe. the neapolitan revolutionists believed that the french intention was to set up a free government and deliver them from an unbearable despotism. quite naturally, the court took an opposite view in believing that it foreshadowed deportation, so they lost no time in proclaiming it to be conquest and merciless plunder. nelson urged the vacillating king to advance against the french, to trust in god's blessing being bestowed upon him, his army, and his cause, and to die like a hero, sword in hand, or lose his throne. the king, always dauntless in the absence of danger, replied that he would do this, trusting in god and nelson. his majesty, in tickling the admiral's susceptible spot by associating his name with that of the deity, doubtless made a good shot, and had nelson's sense of humour been equal to his vanity, he might not have received the oily compliment with such delightful complacency. we can imagine the scorn with which troubridge would have received the potentate's reply had he given the same advice as nelson. it is highly probable that had it been given on the quarterdeck of his ship, the king would have been treated to a vocabulary that would have impressed him with the necessity of scrambling quickly over the side. nelson, it is stated, turned the french out of naples, and they were subsequently overpowered by a plan put in force by nelson and troubridge, and carried into effect by men from the fleet. captain hallowell was ordered to proceed to civita vecchia and castle st. angelo to offer terms of capitulation. he reported the position to troubridge, who ordered a squadron in command of captain louis to proceed and enforce the terms. the french, on the other hand, offered terms, but troubridge, like drake on another occasion, said that he had no time to parley, that they must agree to his terms or fight. the french ambassador at rome argued that the roman territory belonged to the french by conquest, and the british commander adroitly replied "that it was his by reconquest." the inevitable alternative was impressive--capitulation. this was arranged, and the roman states came under the control of the victors. captain louis proceeded in his cutter up the tiber and planted the british colours at rome, becoming its governor for a brief time. the naval men had carried out, by clever strategy and pluck, an enterprise which sir james erskine declined to undertake because of the insurmountable difficulties he persisted in seeing. general mack was at the head of about 30,000 neapolitan troops, said to be the finest in europe. this, however, did not prevent them from being annihilated by 15,000 french, when general championnet evacuated rome. the king entered with all the swagger of an oriental potentate. the neapolitans followed the french to castellana, and when the latter faced up to them they stampeded in disordered panic. some were wounded, but few were killed, and the king, forgetting in his fright his pledged undertaking to go forth trusting in "god and nelson," fled in advance of his valiant soldiers to the capital, where they all arrived in breathless confusion. general mack had been introduced to nelson by the king and queen, the latter exhorting him to be on land what the admiral had been on sea. nelson seems to have formed an adverse opinion of mack, who was extolled by the court as the military genius who was to deliver europe from the thraldom of the french. he had expressed the view that the king and queen's incomparable general "could not move without five carriages," and that _he_ "had formed his opinion" of him, which was tantamount to saying that mack was both a coward and a traitor. perhaps it was undue consideration for the feelings of caroline, sister to the late marie antoinette, that caused him to restrain his boiling rage against this crew of reptiles, who had sold every cause that was entrusted to their protection. nelson was infatuated with the charms of caroline, and as this astute lady knew how to handle him in the interests of the neapolitan court, he reciprocated her patronage by overlooking misdeeds that would, under different circumstances, have justified him in blowing swarms of her noble subjects out of existence. "i declare to god," he writes, "my whole study is how to best meet the approbation of the queen." an open door and hearty reception was always awaiting their majesties of sicily on board nelson's flagship when they found it necessary to fly from the wrath of their downtrodden subjects or the aggressive invasions of the french troops. the anxiety of nelson in conveying them to their sicilian retreat was doubly increased by the vast treasure they never neglected to take with them, and neither the sources from which it came nor the means of spending it gave trouble to their consciences. the british government, always generous with other person's money, fed these insufferable royal personages by bleeding the life's blood out of the british public, though it is fair to say that the government did not carry out to the full the benevolent suggestions nelson consistently urged in their behalf. "his heart was always breaking" at some act of parsimony on the part of the government in so tardily giving that which he pleaded was an urgent necessity for them to have. he frankly avowed that he would prefer to resign if any distinction were to be drawn between loyalty to his rightful sovereign and that of his sicilian majesty, who was the faithful ally of his king. the solemn audacity of this statement reveals a mind so far fallen to pieces by infatuation that it has lost the power of discrimination. it will be remembered that this gracious ally promised nelson that he would go forth at the head of his troops and conquer or die, and then scampered off in front of his army through rome to naples, and, after a few days' concealment from the mob, secretly bundled into boats with his retinue on a stormy night of great peril, embarked on the admiral's ship, and sailed for palermo. lady hamilton is credited with planning (with heroic skill) means by which the royal family could be taken to the shore, where nelson was to receive and convoy them in barges to the _vanguard_. lady hamilton had explored a subterranean passage which led from the palace to the beach, and pronounced it a fairly safe and possible means of exit. the plan apparently succeeded, and the royal party, after a few days' precautionary stay in the bay of naples, were conveyed in safety to palermo, notwithstanding the hurricane that was encountered and only weathered by a perfection of seamanship that was unequalled in our naval and merchant services at that period of our trying history. the voyage was not made without tragedy, for the youngest of the princes became ill, and as it is always inevitable to attach a heroine to circumstances that are sensational (when there is one at hand), their majesties in their grief fixed on her who had braved the perils of investigating the possibilities of the subterranean tunnel which had proved a safe though hazardous passage for the conveyance of themselves and their vast treasure. nor do they appear to have been unmindful of her devotion to themselves during the storm, which was the severest that nelson said he had ever experienced--though this is a platitude, as sailors are always prone to regard the last storm as the most terrific of all! but that it was severe there can be no doubt. we may be assured that the royal parents were not in a condition to give succour to their stricken son, so he was vouchsafed to pass beyond the veil in the arms of lady hamilton, who had bravely defied the tempest and behaved with a compassion that must always stand to her credit. they arrived at palermo the day after the young prince's death, and soon settled down to their gambling and other pleasures in which nelson, as already stated, was involved. troubridge, with touching fidelity, pleads with him to shun the temptations by which he is beset. "i dread, my lord," he says, "all the feasting, etc., at palermo. i am sure your health will be hurt. if so, all their saints will be damned by the navy"; and then he goes on to say, "the king would be better employed digesting a good government; everything gives way to their pleasures. the money spent at palermo gives discontent here; fifty thousand people are unemployed, trade discouraged, manufactures at a stand. it is the interest of many here to keep the king away; they all dread reform."[13] troubridge was wellnigh driven to distraction by the terrible straits he was put to at naples. the people were faced with the ravages of famine. already there were scenes of unspeakable misery. his appeals to the sicilian court to send immediate relief was ignored. nelson, to whom he had appealed, was absorbed in his attentions to lady hamilton, and refused to see the vicious indifference of the court, who were hemmed round with a set of knaves and vagabonds, if that be not too moderate a term to use of them. troubridge beseeches him to come to the rescue in the following terms:- my lord, we are dying off fast for want. i learn that sir william hamilton says prince luzzi refused corn, some time ago, and sir william does not think it worth while making another application. if that be the case, i wish he commanded this distressing scene, instead of me. puglia had an immense harvest: near thirty sail left messina, before i did, to load corn. will they let us have any? if not, a short time will decide the business. the german interest prevails. i wish i was at your lordship's elbow for an hour. all, all, will be thrown on you: i will parry the blow as much as in my power; i foresee much mischief brewing. god bless your lordship! i am miserable, i cannot assist your operations more. many happy returns of the day to you (it was the first of the new year). i never spent so miserable a one. i am not very tender-hearted, but really the distress here would even move a neapolitan. shortly after he writes, again pouring out fresh woes:- i have this day saved thirty thousand people from starvation; but with this day my ability ceases. as the government are bent on starving us, i see no alternative but to leave these poor people to perish, without our being witness of their distress. i curse the day i ever served the neapolitan government. we have characters, my lord, to lose; these people have none. do not suffer their infamous conduct to fall on us. our country is just, but severe. such is the fever of my brain this minute, that i assure you, on my honour, if the palermo traitors were here, i would shoot them first, and then myself. girgenti is full of corn; the money is ready to pay for it; we do not ask it as a gift. oh! could you see the horrid distress i daily experience, something would be done. some engine is at work against us at naples, and i believe i hit on the proper person. if you complain, he will be immediately promoted, agreeably to the neapolitan custom. all i write to is known at the queen's. for my own part, i look upon the neapolitans as the worst of intriguing enemies; every hour shows me their infamy and duplicity. i pray your lordship be cautious; your honest open manner of acting will be made a handle of. when i see you and tell you of their infamous tricks, you will be as much surprised as i am. the whole will fall on you. nelson must have known the position set forth in this feverish communication from a man whose judgment and affection he had no reason to suspect. it is a deplorable example of infatuation that every one who knew the court and the rascals that surrounded it was aware of its shameless tricks except nelson himself. they protested that they had withdrawn the restrictions on the exportation of corn so far as they could, and he swallowed their lies with the simplicity of a child. he must have been the victim of mesmeric influence not to see through their vile knavery in pleading poverty when they were asked to carry out an act of common humanity. all very well for him to groan over what he had to endure, and to complain that the burden of it had broken his spirit! troubridge diagnosed the malady when he implored nelson to relinquish the infatuation which was leading him into trouble. why, instead of spending his time with lady hamilton and fawning over the king and queen, did he leave the right thing to be done by captain ball (who took the bull by the horns)? all very well for him to pour out his wrath to the duke of clarence, that his "constant thought was down, down with the damned french villains"! and that his "blood boiled at the name of a frenchman"! but except that we were at war with the french, were they in any degree such "damned villains" as the neapolitans and the whole crew of court knaves, with whom he was so blindly enamoured, who were, in reality, ready to sell their own country and his to the french whenever they saw it was to their material advantage to do so? captain ball did not waste time in the use of adjectives about the french and the daily "anxieties" that bore so heavily on himself and others, "breaking his heart." he gave peremptory orders to his first lieutenant to proceed off messina and seize the ships that were lying there loaded with corn, and bring them to malta. he defied the abominable court of sicily and their edicts prohibiting exportation, and his instructions were carried out. he awaited the consequences to himself with a manly consciousness that humanity must take precedence of orders dictated by a sentimental fear lest the feelings of a set of cowardly despots should be hurt. this single act of real courage and decision saved the lives of thousands of starving people, and prevented the siege from being removed. the court of naples dared not utter a word of condemnation against captain ball, but the governor of malta became the object of their nervous enmity, which they dare not put into practice. lord minto, many years after the events of which i am writing, said of nelson, for whom he had an affectionate regard, that "he was in many points a really great man, but in others he was a baby." no one who has studied his career will ever doubt his greatness, but his peevish childishness, even when he was responsible for the carrying out of great deeds that did not come so quickly as his eager spirit craved, ofttimes tried the patience of those who set high value on his matchless talents and his otherwise lovable disposition. he was never known to take credit to himself that was due to others, but, like most great men, he took for granted that all those above or below him in rank and station should be subordinate to his whims and actions. he could only accommodate himself to being subordinate to his king, the king and queen of naples, and to the exhilarating influence of lady hamilton. almost immediately after the seizure of the grain-laden ships, nelson sailed for malta, and had the good fortune to sight a french squadron, the _généreux_, three frigates, and a corvette; after an exciting and hard chase, he came up to them, knocked their masts over the side, and captured the _généreux_ and a frigate. x nelson hit on a simple though ingenious plan that was frequently adopted in subsequent years by captains in the merchant service when racing, which always created excitement amongst the crew; the order was given to knock the wedges out of the deck coamings, ease the strain off the fore and aft stays, and when it was judicious to do it the pinch on the main rigging was also eased to give the masts more play. the windjammer seamen knew when this order was given that they were in for a time of "cracking on," and really enjoyed both the sport and the risk that it involved, even in the hands of skilful commanders. by this means the speed was always increased, and it was quite a common practice on tea-clippers, australian passenger vessels, and american packets. the commander rarely left the quarterdeck on those occasions, unless his officers were really first-class men. the writer has often attained successful results when racing by putting invigorating life into his ship by these old-time methods which were handed down to each generation of sailors. no class of seamen knew more dainty tricks in manipulating sails and rigging than those who manned the slave-runner, the smuggler, and the pirate schooner. their vessels were designed for speed, but ofttimes when they were in a tight place they were saved from being destroyed by the superb nautical dodges which they alone knew so well how and when to put in use so that their pursuers might be outwitted and outdistanced. it is more than probable that the _généreux_ would have got away had nelson not been a past-master in all kinds of dodges to make his ship sail faster. he knew that some of the french ships were notoriously equal to the british in sailing qualities, but he left nothing to chance. every drop of water was ordered to be pumped out of the hold; the wedges were removed from the masts' coaming; the stays slackened; butts of water were hung on them; hammocks were piped down; every available sail was crowded on to her; the most reliable quartermasters were stationed at the wheel. the _foudroyant_ is gaining--she draws ahead. the stump of the "heaven-born" admiral's right arm is working with agitation as his ship takes the lead. it is now all up with the _généreux_. she surrenders after a terrific, devastating duel, and nelson avows that had he acted according to lord keith's instead of his own strategy, she would never have been taken. the _guillaume tell_ had been locked up in malta harbour for some time, and the commander decided to run the gauntlet, his reason being, it is stated, to relieve the starving garrison from having to feed his ship's company, which consisted of from 1,000 to 1,200 men. she was intercepted, engaged, and ultimately taken by the _foudroyant_, _lion_, and _penelope_ after all her masts had been shot away. the thrilling story of this sea battle takes high rank in naval warfare. the french ship was fought with the fury of courage and genius that nelson himself could not have failed to admire. the _penelope_ and _lion_ had been mauled off when the _foudroyant_ came on the scene and shot away her main and mizzen masts, when a french sailor, like jack crawford of sunderland at the battle of camperdown, nailed the ensign to the stump of the mizzen mast. the foremast was the only mast now remaining, and it was soon sent flying over the side by the terrific firing from the british ship. she then took her colours down, ceased firing, and became the prize of the heroes who had fought and conquered. nelson might and ought to have had the glory of taking the last of the nile fleet, had he not allowed a perverse spirit to rule his will. he nursed and inflamed his imagination against lord keith being put over him, until that fine zeal that was so natural to him slackened. he writes to hamilton that his "situation is irksome." "lord keith is commander-in-chief, and he (nelson) has not been kindly treated." he tells spencer that he has written to lord keith, asking for permission to come to england, when he (the first lord) will "see a broken-hearted man," and that his "spirit cannot submit to it." the admiralty may have been inspired to place lord keith in supreme command owing to nelson's association with the court party at palermo and the growing scandal attached to it. but in that case they should have frankly told him that they feared the effect his dallying at palermo might have on the service in many different ways. troubridge and captain ball urged him with all the sincerity of devotion not to return to sicily, but to remain at malta, and sign the capitulation which was near at hand; but they could not alter his resolve to leave the station, which troubridge said was due to the passion of infatuation and not to illness, which he had ascribed as the reason. nelson tried the patience of the first lord (who was his friend) so sorely that he wrote him a private letter which was couched in gentle though, in parts, cutting reproaches. he obviously believed that the plea of ill-health was groundless, or at all events not sufficiently serious to justify him giving up. he very fairly states that he is quite convinced that he will be more likely to recover his health in england than by an inactive stay at the court of sicily, however pleasing the gratitude shown him for the services he has rendered may be, and that no gratitude from that court can be too great in view of the service he had bestowed upon it. lord minto, who was ambassador at vienna, says he has letters from nelson and lady hamilton which do not make it clear whether he will go home or not. he hopes he will not for his own sake, for he wants him to take malta first; and continues, "he does not seem conscious of the sort of discredit he has fallen into, or the cause of it, for he still writes, not wisely, about lady hamilton and all that," and then generously states, "but it is hard to condemn and use ill a hero, as he is in his own element, for being foolish about a woman who has art enough to make fools of many wiser than an admiral." it is hardly possible to doubt that nelson felt keenly mortified at losing the opportunity of personally taking the _guillaume tell_; but whether he did or not, he managed to subdue all appearance of envy and paid a high, sportsmanlike tribute to those who had earned the honour he could not help flavouring it, however, with some words of nelsonian self-approbation. he said, "he gloried in them, for they were his children, they served in his school, and all of them, including himself, caught their professional zeal and fire from the great and good earl st. vincent." then he goes on to say that it is a great happiness to have the nile fleet all taken under his orders and regulations. he slyly claimed the glory of training and inspiring, though he had deprived himself of added fame by nourishing a morose feeling of jealousy against lord keith, who had been sent out after a few months' leave to take up his position as commander-in-chief. owing to his absence, nelson had acted in that capacity, and he could not bear the thought of being superseded by his old chief. in fact, nelson could not tolerate being placed in a secondary position by any one. as i have already stated, he put keith's authority at defiance and took responsibilities upon himself, boasting that had they failed he would have been "shot or broke." after the capture of the _généreux_ he struck, and wrote to keith that his health would not permit of his remaining at his post, that without "rest he was done for," and that he could "no more stay fourteen days longer on the station than fourteen years." at the same time, captain ball wrote to lady hamilton that "he had dined with him, and that he was in good health," that he did not think a short stay would do his health harm, and that "he would not urge it, were it not that he and troubridge wished him to have the honour of the french ships and the french garrison surrender to him." nelson's vision and good judgment at this time must have been totally at fault, and his general attitude emphasizes the splendid forbearance of his amiable commander-in-chief and distinguished subordinates who were the very cream of the navy. i wonder what would have happened to any of the other brilliant commanders in the royal navy if any of them had, like nelson, refused to obey the orders of the commander-in-chief and left his post off malta, which was being closely besieged and the garrison daily expected to capitulate! supposing nelson had been the commander-in-chief and his second in command had acted as he did towards lord keith, there _would_ have been wigs on the green! the insubordinate officer would have been promptly court-martialled and hung at the yardarm like the neapolitan admiral, francesco caracciolo, or treated like the hon. admiral john byng, who was tried for neglect of duty in an engagement off minorca in 1756, and condemned for committing an error of judgment and shot aboard the _monarch_ at spithead in 1757. nelson was a stern disciplinarian, who could never brook being under discipline himself. nor was he ever a day without a grievance of one kind or another. it must have been a happy deliverance to keith when he heard the last of him in the mediterranean, for his mental capacity at this particular stage of his history was quite defective. no doubt lady hamilton and the queen jabbered into his ears the injustice of the wrongs imposed upon him. after the battle of marengo the whole of northern italy was given up to the french by convention signed by general milas. the british commander-in-chief proceeded to leghorn with the fugitives, to be bored, as he fretfully declared, "by nelson craving permission to take the queen to palermo, and the prince and princesses to all parts of the world." the queen was panic-stricken at the french successes, and besought him to allow her to sail in the _foudroyant_; but keith could not be prevailed upon to release any of his ships for such a purpose, notwithstanding nelson's supplications and her flow of tears. he told nelson that the royal lady should get off to vienna as quickly as she could and abandon the idea of palermo, supplementing his refusal to employ the _foudroyant_ in any such way. he would only allow a frigate to escort her own frigates to trieste. lady minto wrote to her sister from florence that keith told the queen that "lady hamilton had had command of the fleet long enough," and then she adds, "the queen is very ill with a sort of convulsive fit, and nelson is staying to nurse her, and does not intend going home until he has escorted her back to palermo. his zeal for the public service," she continues, "seems entirely lost in his love and vanity, and they all sit and flatter each other all day long." nelson, steady in his attachment to the queen declared that he would see her through and then continue his journey home with the hamiltons. they all left leghorn together, arrived at florence safely, were taken from ancona to trieste on two russian frigates, and landed at trieste. the queen of sicily accompanied them to vienna, and nelson and the hamiltons continued their triumphant journey through germany to hamburg. his association with the court of naples was now at an end, and his real friends, believing that it had corrupted and sapped his better nature, were glad of it. his mind at this time was filled with delusions about his future. he repeatedly declared that he would never serve again, and from a mixture of motives he acquired happiness in the belief that he would avenge his keenly-felt wrongs by achieving oblivion. the idea that fate held in store for him a higher and a sterner destiny never occurred to him, and he little realized that he would soon be removed from a sphere where his presence would be no longer needed. he was, in fact, combating the very destiny he had so often sought in which he would achieve immortal glory. xi the benighted policy of keeping in power a mawkish sicilian court, saturated with the incurable vices of cowardice, falsehood, dishonesty, and treachery, failed; and the government of the day was saddled with the crime of squandering human life, wealth, and energy without receiving any commensurate return. if it was in the national interest to involve the country in war with france, it could have been carried on with greater credit and effect by not undertaking the hopeless task of bolstering up a court and a people that were openly described by our own people who were sent to fight for them as "odious damned cowards and villains." we had no _real_ grounds of quarrel with france nor with her rulers. the revolution was their affair, and was no concern of ours, except in so far as it might harmfully reflect on us, and of this there was no likelihood if we left them alone. the plea of taking the balance of power under our benevolent care was a sickly exhibition of statesmanship, and the assumption of electing ourselves guardians of the rights of small nations mere cant. it was, in fact, the canker of jealousy and hatred on the part of the reactionary forces against a man, a principle, and a people. had those who governed this country then held aloof from the imbroglio created by the french revolution, observed a watchful, conciliatory spirit of neutrality towards the french government, and allowed the continental powers to adjust their own differences, the conditions of human existence and the hurtful administration of autocratic governments would have been reconstituted, and the world would have been the better for it; instead of which we helped to impose on europe twenty years of slaughter and devastation. our dismal, plutocratic rulers, with solemn enthusiasm, plunged england with all her power and influence on the side of prussia and her continental allies, and, in conjunction with the holy alliance, pledged themselves never to lay down arms until france was mutilated and the master-mind which ruled her beaten and dethroned. their task was long, costly, and gruesome. what a ghastly legacy those aggressively righteous champions of international rights have bequeathed to the world! but for their folly and frenzy we should not be engaged in a european war to-day. poor napoleon! he foreshadowed and used his gigantic genius to prevent it; now the recoil has come. there are always more flies caught by treacle than by vinegar, a policy quite as efficacious in preventing international quarrels as it is in the smaller affairs of our existence, provided the law which governs the fitness of things is well defined. had we approached napoleon in a friendly spirit and on equal terms, without haughty condescension, he would have reciprocated our cordiality and put proper value on our friendship. by wisdom and tact the duration of napoleon's wars would have been vastly shortened, and both nations would have been saved from the errors that were committed. we did not do this, and we are now reaping the consequence. it is hardly to be expected that if hostility be shown towards an individual or a nation either will mildly submit to it. who can estimate the passionate resentment of an emotional people at nelson's constant declamatory outbursts against the french national character, and the effect it had throughout france? an affront to a nation, even though it is made by a person in a subordinate position, may bring about far-reaching trouble. reverse the position of the traducer of a prominent man or his nation, and it will be easy to arrive at a correct conclusion as to the temper that would be aroused, say, in this country. we know that during a war passions are let loose and charges made by the combatants against each other which are usually exaggerated, but one thing is certain, that our soldiers and sailors have always had the well-deserved reputation of being the cleanest fighters in the world. there have never been finer examples of this than during the present war. but in justice to ourselves and to the french during the napoleonic wars, i think it was grossly impolitic to engender vindictiveness by unjustifiable acrimony. up to the time that nelson left the mediterranean for england, except for the brilliant successes of the nile and the equally brilliant capture of the balance of the french mediterranean fleet, and subsequently the capitulation of malta on the 5th september, 1800, our share in the war was an exhausting and fruitless failure. the responsibility for this clearly lies at the door of the government who planned it, and in no way attaches to nelson and his coadjutors, whose naval and also shore exploits could not be excelled. first, it was a blink-eyed policy that plunged us into the war at all; and secondly, it was the height of human folly to waste our resources in the erroneous belief that the highly trained military men of france could be permanently subjugated in the mediterranean by the cowardly, treacherous villains of which the roman states armies and governments were composed. history is not altogether faithful to the truth in its honeyed records of the ministerial pashas who tranquilly increased the national debt, inflicted unspeakable horrors on the population, and smirched our dignity by entering into a costly bond of brotherhood with an inveterate swarm of hired bloodsucking weasels. such, forsooth! was the mental condition of the wooden souls who managed the nation's affairs, that they allowed nelson to add another blot to our national history escutcheon by taking ferdinand bourbon's throne under his protection. it is true that ferdinand "did not wish that his benefactor's name should alone descend with honour to posterity," or that he should "appear ungrateful." so the admiral was handsomely rewarded by being presented with the dukedom of bronte and a diamond-hilted sword which had been given to the king by his father when he became sicilian king. it would be nonsense even to suspect nelson of accepting either gifts or titles as a bribe to sacrifice any interest that was british. nelson's devotion to the court did not express itself by seeking material recompense for the services bestowed on their sicilian majesties. there were various reasons for his elaborate and silly attentions. first, his range of instructions were wide in a naval sense; second, his personal attachment to the king and his consort (especially his consort), for reasons unnecessary to refer to again, became a growing fascination and a ridiculous craze. his fanatical expressions of dislike to the french are merely a nelsonian way of conveying to the world that the existence of so dangerous a race should be permissive under strictly regulated conditions. he had a solemn belief in his own superiority and that of his fellow-countrymen. all the rest were to him mere human scrap, and his collection of epithets for them was large and varied. his mogul air in the presence of aliens was traditionally seamanlike. if they failed to shudder under his stern look and gleaming eyes, it affected him with displeasure and contempt. the neapolitans were fulsomely accommodating, though nelson, except from the court party and a few nobles, does not appear to have attached much value to their servile tokens of appreciation. it cannot be said that either nelson, his government, or his country were in any way rewarded by the sacrifices made ostensibly in the interests of human rights. under ferdinand bourbon, the neapolitan states and sicily had no settled government. he was a contemptible poltroon, whose throne was supported for years by british money, men, and ships, and even with our strong support; he was alternately fleeing to sicily and returning again under the formidable protection of british frigates, and, like all perfidious cowards, his short intervals of government were distinguished by a despotism that soon made it necessary for him to fly from the feelings of vengeance he had called out. not even the power of great britain could prevent the kingdom of naples from passing from one vicissitude into another. the french took possession of it in january 1799, and established what they called the parthenopean republic. nelson helped to retake it in june of the same year, and put the itinerant king on the throne. the neapolitans occupied rome on the 30th september, 1799. in october 1805 a treaty of neutrality between france and naples was carried into effect. ferdinand fled to sicily again on the 23rd january of the next year, when the master-mind came to close quarters and put an end, as i have previously stated, to ferdinand's kingship and tyrannical rule by placing his brother joseph on the throne; two years later joseph became king of spain, and his brother-in-law, joachim murat, succeeded him as ruler of naples. the neapolitans were never better governed than during the reign of these two kings. many wise laws were made and enforced by a just and rigid discipline. incompetent, weak despotism had disappeared, and any attempt at licence was promptly subdued. the people were put through a course of transforming education, and gradually became law-abiding citizens. even then, methods of carrying on commerce took a marked change for the better, and predatory habits were relaxed into comparative honesty, not, it may be supposed, from virtue, but from fear of the inevitable, harsh consequences. the public, in a general way, quickly distinguish between a strong, capable ruler and a weak, incompetent one; and no matter how indulgent the latter may be, they prefer the strong wholesome-minded man to the mediocrity. ferdinand had none of the qualities that are essential to a man occupying a position of authority. when the french came to take over the government of naples, he flew, as usual, to sicily, and under the continuous protection of british men-of-war was with great difficulty kept reigning there until the end of war, when he was again put on the throne of naples in 1815, and forthwith commenced again his rule of incompetency and despotism, reversing the beneficent rule of his two able predecessors. the old reprobate died on the 4th january, 1825, having reigned off and on for sixty-five years, largely owing to the indulgent and costly support of the british government. caroline died on the 7th september, 1814, and to her abiding credit she condemned the action of the court of vienna for severing the bond of union between the emperor napoleon and her granddaughter, marie louise. she declared vehemently that it was the duty of the latter to break the prohibition by assuming disguise and tie her bed-sheets together and lower herself out of the window, and make her way quickly, in face of all obstacles, to where her husband was. marie louise was not a lady of unyielding morals, and at that particular time her hapsburg, licentious mind was not centred on the misfortunes of her husband, but on neipperg, who was employed to seduce her. caroline told baron claude françois de meneval, napoleon's private secretary, that she had reason at one time to dislike the emperor, but now that adversity had come to him, she forgot the past. had this same spirit of rightness and wisdom been adopted by marie louise's father and his allies, as was so nobly advocated by the sister of marie antoinette, there would have been a clean sheet in history about them, though it is obvious in many quarters that the historians have extended all the arts of ambiguity and delusion to make them appear flawless benefactors. therefore one has to take all the circumstances handed down from many varied sources, reliable and unreliable, and after mature thought form conclusions as one's judgment may direct as to the merits and demerits of every phase that is recorded. hence exhaustive research and long-reasoned views lead me definitely to the conclusion that there is not much that we can put to the credit of either their wisdom or humanity. my plain opinion is that they acted ferociously, and although always in the name of the son of god, that can never absolve them from the dark deeds that stand to their names. nor is it altogether improbable that all the nations that were concerned in the dreadful assassination are now paying the natural penalty of their guilt. natural laws have a curious roundabout way of paying back old scores, though the tragic retribution has to be borne more often than not by the innocent descendants of those who have, in the name of the deity, violated them. the duke of thunder was proud of the sicilian meaning of his title, and so were his sailors, who loved the thrilling effect of anything that conveyed the idea of being associated with a formidable power that devastated every other force that stood in its way. for the most part, nelson's sailors had great faith in his naval genius. he had led them many times to victory, and they did not forget the glory that attached to themselves. he planned the strategy, but it was they that fought and won the battles. the duke of thunder was a fine title to fight under. a name has frequently done more damage to a foe than glittering bayonets. but nelson in no degree had the thunder element in him, so far as we are able to judge by the descriptions given to us of him. he was a dashing, courageous, scientific genius, gifted with natural instincts, disciplinary wisdom, deplorable sentimentality, and an artificial, revengeful spirit of hatred that probably became real under the arbitrary circumstances of war, but, i should say, was rarely prominent. his roaming attacks on the french were probably used more for effect, and had, we hope, only a superficial meaning. but be that as it may, it detracts from the dignity of an officer occupying, as he did, a distinguished position to use language and phrases such as are common in the forecastle or on the quarterdeck of a sailing merchantman in the early days before the introduction of steamers. here are a few quite amusing outbursts which do not produce the impression of coming from a person known to fame as the duke of thunder:--on the 1st october, 1801, the preliminaries of peace with france were signed. when nelson heard of it he thanked god, and went on to say, "we lay down our arms, and are ready to take them up again if the french are insolent." he declares there is no one in the world more desirous of peace than he is, but that he would "burst sooner than let any damned frenchman know it." but it was too much for his anti-french sentiments when he heard that their ambassador's carriage had been dragged by the london mob. he wrote to his medical man, and asked if he could cure madness, for he had gone mad to learn "that our damned scoundrels dragged a frenchman's carriage." and he hoped nevermore to be dragged by such a degenerate crowd; which was exhibiting in a characteristic way his high opinion of himself. "would our ancestors have done it?" he asks, and then continues: "the villains would have drawn buonaparte if he had been able to get to london to cut the king's head off." the writer has a definite opinion that bonaparte would have had a boisterous reception, and that it might have cemented a friendship that would have been a blessing to the tired world, and especially to the two warring nations. the ruler of the french nation, in spite of nelson's views, would have made a better ally than enemy. but it often happens that nations, as well as individuals, lose their psychological opportunity. and we will risk a belief that if nelson and bonaparte met they would have found an affinity between them that would have made the two men friends. southey says that the title "duke of thunder" is essentially applicable to nelson, but the writer has failed to find anything to warrant such an opinion. nelson's professional pride was for ever being needlessly hurt by admiralty tactlessness. he had good reason on many occasions to take offence at their clumsiness. one of numerous grievances was sir sydney smith being, to all appearances, put over him. he wrote to lord st. vincent, and reminded him that he was a man, and that it was impossible for him to serve in the mediterranean under a junior officer. st. vincent prevailed on him not to resign, but sir sydney smith wished to carry out a policy towards the french in egypt which nelson hotly disapproved, and he commands him on no account to permit a single frenchman to leave the country. he considered it would be madness to permit a band of thieves to return to europe. "to egypt," he says, "they went of their own accord, and they shall remain there while he commanded the squadron. never will he consent to the return of one ship or frenchman. i wish them to perish in egypt, and give an awful lesson to the world of the justice of the almighty." it will be observed how characteristically sailorly he is in his leanings on divine monopoly in punishing the "bloody corsican" for his wickedness in waging war against britain. his profound belief was that the almighty presided over our destinies then, just as the german kaiser claims that he is presiding over his national affairs now; and, as i have pointed out before, each of the belligerents calls upon him in beseeching reverence as a divine compatriot, to give this almighty power to aid in demolishing their common foe, who has broken every law of god and man. this form of blasphemy is as rampant now as it ever was. it is not a hungry belief in god that gives the initial impulse for human slaughter. it is a craving lust for the invention of all that is devilish in expeditiously disposing of human life. the international democracies who are devoting so much attention to political ascendancy should distribute their power in a way that would make it impossible for weak governments, composed of mediocrities and bellicose rulers of nations, to make war whenever their impertinent ambitions are impressed with the sanguinary rage of conflict. all wars mutilate civilization, and put back by many generations any advance that may have been made in the interval between one butchery and another. the working people of all nations could and should combine to stop the manufacture of every implement of warfare, and make it a treasonable offence for any ruler or government again to advocate war as a means of settling disputes. this law must of necessity be binding upon all the powers, big and little. what a mockery this gospel of brotherhood has been in all ages! is it an ideal ambition to bring it about? of course it is, but we cannot catch the spirit of christ and preach the gospel of pity, and commit hideous murder at one and the same time! hence the impudence of expecting a divine benediction on warfare. all sorts of public and private honours and testimonials were conferred upon nelson during his stay at hamburg on his way home after the mortifications caused by the elusive french fleet, calabrian brigands, and the alluring attractions of the court of naples and sicily. one hundred grenadiers, each six feet high, waited at table when he was being banqueted. the owner of a magdeburg hotel where he stayed made money by setting up a ladder outside nelson's sitting-room and charging a fee for mounting it and peeping at the hero inside the room. an aged wine merchant at hamburg offered him through lady hamilton six dozen bottles of rhenish wine of the vintage of 1625. it had been in his own possession for fifty years, and he hoped that some of it would be allowed to flow with the blood of the immortal hero, as it would then make the giver happy. nelson shook hands with the old man, and consented to receive six bottles, provided he would dine with him next day. a dozen were sent, and nelson put aside six, saying that it was his hope to win half a dozen more victories, and that one bottle would be drunk after each. another aged man, whose ideals were of a different and higher order, came along. he was a german pastor who, at eighty years of age or thereabouts, had travelled forty miles with the object of getting nelson to write his immortal, name in his bible. the venerable lutheran prelate, with a grateful heart, asked to be allowed to record his blessing and admiration for the gallant british admiral by stating to him, amongst other modestly selected phrases, that "he was the saviour of the christian world." the pastor's fervent testimony of his work and his mission touched nelson on a tender spot. in his rough-and-ready way, he believed in the efficacy of prayer, and he knew when the old man, bowed down by age, parted from him that he would be steadfast in his petitions to the giver of all mercies that he should be held in his holy keeping, body and soul. the story is an example of fine healthy devotion, free from sickly cant, though the logic of successfully squandering rich lives or even bravely sacrificing your own (as every commander risks doing) is a mysterious reason for the person who is successful in casting away human lives--even though they be those of an enemy--having the title of "the saviour of the world" conferred upon him! the writer's idea of how to establish and advance the christian faith is to keep out of war, and the best method of doing this is for the electorate to choose men to govern who are highly gifted with diplomatic genius. nearly all wars are brought about through incompetent negotiators, and the wastage of life and property in carrying on a war is certainly to be attributed to men who are at the head of affairs being mere politicians, without any faculty whatever for carrying out great undertakings. they are simply mischievous shadows, and merely excel as intriguers in putting good men out of office and themselves in. it is the selection of men for the posts they are eminently suited to fill that counts in any department of life, but it is more manifestly important in affairs of government. for instance, nothing but disaster can follow if a man is made chancellor of the exchequer who has no instinct for national finance, and the same thing applies to a foreign secretary who has no knowledge of or natural instinct for international diplomacy. at the same time, an adroit commercial expert may be utterly useless in dealing with matters of state that are affected by trade. the two positions are wide apart, and are a business in themselves. the writer's view is that to fill any department of state satisfactorily the head should have both political and commercial training, combined with wholesome instinct. i don't say that trade is altogether affected by the kind of government that is in power, but bad trade and bad government combined make a terrific burden for any nation to carry. service men, in the main, measure and think always from a military or naval point of view. some of them have quite a genius for organizing in matters concerning their different professions. take the late lord kitchener. in army matters he was unequalled as an organizer but abominably traduced. then there is lord fisher, who easily heads everybody connected with the navy, as a great admiral who can never be deprived of the merit of being the creator of our modern fleet. he combines with a matchless genius for control a fine organizing brain. the politician, with his amateurish antics, deprived the british empire of the services of an outstanding figure that would have saved us many lives and many ships, without taking into account the vast quantity of merchandise and foodstuffs that have perished. it is not by creating confusion that the best interest of the nation is served, either in peace-time or during war. those robust rhetoricians who massacre level-headed government and substitute a system of make-shift experiments during a great national crisis do a wicked public disservice. i have no time to deal with these superior persons in detail, but i cannot keep my thoughts from the terrible bitterness and anguish their haphazard experiments may have caused. the destroying force will eat into the very entrails of our national life if some powerful resolute personality does not arise to put an end to the hopeless extemporizing and contempt for sober, solid, orderly administration. the truth is that, if a government or anything else is wrongly conceived, natural laws will never help it to right itself, and it ends in catastrophe. such governments are inflicted on us from time to time as a chastisement, it is said, for our national sins, and the process of disintegration is deadly in its effects. the only consoling feature of it is that history is repeating itself with strange accuracy, as may be verified by a glance into the manuscripts of mr. fortescue at dropmore. herein you will find many striking resemblances between the constitution of the government then and the tribulation we are passing through at the present time. one important event of that period has been avoided up to the present; none has demanded a settlement of his differences by means of a duelling contest, as did castlereagh and canning.[14] they had a coalition of all the talents then as they presume to have now, though there has been no real evidence of it, either in or out of parliament. xii poor nelson had a terrible time with one and another of them, as they had with him, if history may be relied on. his periodical defiances and his contempt for his superiors is quite edifying. he laid down the law like a bishop when his moods were in full play. the great naval, commercial, and military figure to which nelson comes nearest is drake, and the nearest to nelson in versatility is lord fisher, who must have had an engaging time with those who wished to assume control of the navy over his level head. i question whether any man holding a high position in the british navy, at any time, could combine naval, military, and administrative genius, together with sound common sense, as nelson did. we have devoted so much attention to the study of his naval accomplishments that many of his other practical gifts have been overlooked. it is common belief, in civilian circles at any rate, and there is good ground for it, that both the naval and military men do not realize how much their existence depends on a well-handled and judiciously treated mercantile marine. i have too much regard for every phase of seafaring life to criticize it unfairly, but, except on very rare occasions, i have found naval and military men so profoundly absorbed in their own professions that they do not trouble to regard anything else as being essential. the present war will have revealed many things that were not thought of in other days. one of nelson's outstanding anxieties was lest any harm should befall our commerce, and he protected it and our shipping with fine vigilance and with scant support from the then government, which would not supply him with ships; this at times drove him to expressions of despair. privateering was more rampant then than it is now, and the belligerents had great difficulty in enforcing neutrals to observe neutrality. indeed, the circumstances were such that it became impossible to prevent leakage. the british admiral was continually protesting to the neutrals against the system of smuggling and privateering, but it was hardly consistent, seeing that we were obliged to make breaches of neutrality in order to get our supplies. small privateers, consisting sometimes of mere longboats, infested every swatch and corner they could get into on the spanish shores, the ionian islands, the barbary coast, the balearic islands, and sicily. we indicted france for enforcing subsidies from spain, compelling the neapolitans to provide for her soldiers occupying neapolitan territory. we, on the other hand, were obliged to make use of neutral ports for supplies required for the gulf of lyons fleet. it was a curious position, and both france and england were parties to the anomaly, and each accused the other of the impiety of it. the british admiral and his officers never lost an opportunity of destroying the marauders when caught within neutral limits, and nelson never flinched from supporting his officers in the matter. "the protection," he writes, "given to the enemies' privateers and rowboats is extremely destructive of our commerce," and then he goes on to give reasons why these vermin should be shot or captured. he was driven frantic by the demands made for convoys by captains and merchants, and his appeals to the admiralty for more cruisers were unheeded. he expresses himself strongly averse from allowing even fast sailing vessels to make a passage unprotected. perhaps no human mind that has been given grave responsibilities to safeguard was ever lacerated as was nelson's in seeing that our commercial interest did not suffer, and that on the seas he guarded a free and safe passage should be assured to our shipping carrying food and other merchandise to the mother-country. the responsibility of carrying out even this special work in a satisfactory way was an amazing task, and no evidence is on record that he left anything to chance. results are an eloquent answer to any doubts on that subject. in addition to policing the seas, he had the anxiety of watching the tricky manoeuvres of the french fleet, and planning for their interception and defeat should they weaken in their elusive methods. of course, they were playing their own game, and had a right to, and it was for their opponents, whom nelson so well represented, to outwit and trap them into fighting; but as for having any grounds for complaint, it was not only silly, but inopportune, to give expression to having a grievance against the french admirals because they cutely slipped out of his deadly grasp from time to time and made him weary of life! his grievances were easier to establish against the board of admiralty, who were alternately paying him compliments or insulting him. instructions were given that could not be obeyed without involving the country in certain loss and complication. officers, his junior in rank, were given appointments that had the appearance of placing them independent of his authority. seniors of inferior capacity were given control over him which, but for his whimsical magnanimity, might have cost us the loss of the fleet, their crews, and our high honour and superb fighting reputation. take for example sir hyde parker's command of the baltic fleet, or sir john orde's clumsy appointment to a squadron in the mediterranean. nothing could be so harassing to the nerves of a man sure of his own superiority as to be burdened, not only with orde's arrogance, but his mediocrity. he was obliged to resort to subterfuge in order to get his dispatches sent home, and here again the action of the admiralty compelled him to break naval discipline by ordering a nephew of lord st. vincent, a clever young captain of a frigate, to whom he was devoted, to take the dispatches to lisbon. he told the young captain that sir john orde took his frigates from him, and sent them away in a direction contrary to his wishes. "i cannot get my dispatches even sent home," he said; adding, "you must try to avoid his ships." nelson had not signed his orders, because sir john orde was his superior officer, but should it come to a court-martial, hardy could swear to his handwriting, and he gave him the assurance that he would not be broken. "take your orders, and goodbye," said he, "and remember, parker, if you cannot weather that fellow, i shall think you have not a drop of your uncle's blood in your veins." other nelsonian instructions were given, and the gallant captain carried them out with a skill worthy of his ingenious, defiant chief and of his distinguished uncle. it was not only a slap in the face to sir john orde, but to those whose patronage had placed in a senior position a man who was not qualified to stand on the same quarterdeck with nelson. he smarted under the treatment, but unhappily could not keep his chagrin under cover. he was always pouring his soul out to some one or other. his health is always falling to pieces after each affront, and for this reason he asks to be relieved. here is an example of his moods. "i am much obliged to your lordships' compliance with my requests," he says, "which is absolutely necessary from the present state of my health," and almost immediately after he tells a friend he "will never quit his post when the french fleet are at sea as a commander-in-chief once did." "i would sooner die at my post than have such a stigma upon my memory." this is a nasty dig at lord st. vincent, presumably for having a hand in the appointment of sir john orde. then he writes to elliot that nothing has kept him at his post but the fear of the french fleet escaping and getting to naples or sicily. "nothing but gratitude for the good sovereigns would have induced him to stay a moment after sir john orde's extraordinary command, for his general conduct towards them is not such as he had a right to expect." i have heard that snobbishness prevails in the service now only in a less triumphant degree to what it did in nelson's time. if that be the case, it ought to be wrestled with until every vestige of the ugly thing is strangled. the letters of nelson to personal friends, to the admiralty, and in his reported conversations, are all full of resentment at the viciousness of it, though he obviously struggles to curb the vehemence of his feelings. no one felt the dagger of the reticent stabber more quickly and sensitively than he. invisible though the libeller might be, nelson knew he was there. he could not hear the voice, but he felt the sinister action. making full allowance for what might be put down to imagination, there is still an abundance of material to justify the belief that the first naval authority of his time was the target of snobs, and that, but for his strong personality and the fact that he was always ready to fight them in the open, he would have been superseded, and a gallant duffer might have taken his place, to the detriment of our imperial interests. it is a dangerous experiment to put a man into high office if he has not the instinct of judging the calibre of other men. this applies to every department of life nowadays. take the army, the navy, departments of state, commercial or banking offices, manufacturing firms, and the making of political appointments. the latter is more carelessly dealt with than any other department of life. the public are not sufficiently vigilant in distinguishing between a mere entertaining rhetorician and a wholesome-minded, natural-born statesman. what terrible calamities have come to the state through putting men into responsible positions they have neither training, wit, nor wisdom to fill efficiently! providence has been most indulgent and forbearing when we have got ourselves into a mess by wrong-headedness. she generally comes to our aid with an undiscovered man or a few men with the necessary gifts required for getting us out of the difficulty in which the yellow press gang and their accomplices may have involved the country. we know something of how the knowledge of these anomalies in public life chafed the eager spirit of nelson, but we can never know the extent of the suffering it caused except during the neapolitan and sicilian days. this lonely soul lived the life of a recluse for months at a time. the monotony of the weird song of the sea winds, the nerve-tearing, lazy creak of the wooden timbers, the sinuous crawling, rolling, or plunging over the most wondrous of god's works, invariably produces a sepulchral impression even on the most phlegmatic mind, but to the mystically constituted brain of nelson, under all the varied thoughts that came into his brain during the days and nights of watching and searching for those people he termed "the pests of the human race," it must have been one long heartache. no wonder that he lets fly at the admiralty in some of his most passionate love-messages to the seductive emma. his dreary life, without any exciting incident except the carrying away of sails or spars, and the irritation of not being able to get what he regarded as life or death requests carried into effect owing to the slothfulness or incompetent indifference of the admiralty was continual agony to him. he writes in one of his dispatches to the admiralty: "were i to die this moment, _want of frigates_ would be found stamped on my heart. no words of mine," he continues, "can express what i have suffered and am suffering for want of them." no person could write such an unconsciously comic lament to a department supposed to be administered with proficiency unless he were borne down by a deep sense of its appalling incompetency. it is quite likely that the recipients of the burning phrases regarded them in the light of a joke, but they were very real to the wearied soul of the man who wrote them. i do not find any instances of conscious humour in any of nelson's letters or utterances. it is really their lack of humour that is humorous. he always appears to be in sombre earnest about affairs that matter, and whimsically affected by those that don't. the following lines, which are not my own, may be regarded as something akin to nelson's conception of himself. if he had come across them, i think he would have said to himself, "ah! yes, these verses describe my mission and me." "like a warrior angel sped on a mighty mission, light and life about him shed- a transcendent vision. "mailed in gold and fire he stands, and, with splendours shaken, bids the slumbering seas and lands quicken and awaken." nelson never attempted to carry out a mere reckless and palpably useless feat for the purpose of show. his well-balanced genius of caution and accurate judgment was the guiding instinct in his terrific thrusts which mauled the enemy out of action at the nile, st. vincent, copenhagen, and trafalgar, and enthralled the world with new conceptions of naval warfare. he met with bitter disappointments in his search for the illusive french fleet, which wore him, as he says, to a skeleton, but never once was he shaken in his vigorous belief that he would catch and annihilate them in the end. they cleverly crept out of toulon, with the intention, it is said, of going to egypt. villeneuve was no fool at evasive tactics. his plan was practically unerring, and threw nelson completely off the scent and kept him scouring the seas in search of the bird that had flown weeks before. once the scent is lost, it takes a long time to pick it up. villeneuve no doubt argued that it was not his purpose to give the british admiral an opportunity of fighting just then. he had other fish to fry, and if he wished to get away clear from toulon and evade nelson's ships, he must first of all delude him by sending a few ships out to mislead the enemy's watchdogs or drive them off; if that succeeded (which it did not), he would then wait for a strong fair wind that would assure him of a speed that would outdistance and take him out of sight of the british squadron, and make sure that no clue to his destination was left. the wind was strong nnw.; the french fleet were carrying a heavy press of canvas and steering ssw. the british ships that were following concluded that they were out for important mischief, and returned to convey the news to nelson, who quickly got under weigh and followed them. meanwhile, villeneuve's squadron, after getting from under the shelter of the land into the open sea, lost some of their spars and sails, and one vessel, it is recorded, was dismasted, which means, in seafaring interpretation, that all her masts were carried away; as she succeeded, however, in getting into ajaccio, she can only have lost her royal topgallant, and possibly a topmast or two. if her lower masts had been carried away, she could not have got into refuge without assistance, and the rest of the fleet apparently had enough to do in looking after themselves, as they lost spars and sails too, and became somewhat scattered, but all appear to have got safely into toulon again to refit and repair the damage done by the heavy gale they encountered. meanwhile, nelson, in dismay at losing touch with them, searched every nook and cranny in the tyrrhenian sea, and making sure that none of them were in hiding and that the sea was clear, he proceeded to act on his fixed opinion that their objective must be egypt. so to egypt he went, and the bitter disappointment at not finding them stunned his imagination, so sure had he been that his well-considered judgment was a thing to which he might pin his faith, and that his lust for conflict with the "pests of the human race" could not escape being realized in the vicinity of his great victory at the battle of the nile. his grievance against villeneuve for cheating him out of what he believed would result in the annihilation of the french power for mischief on the seas brought forth expressions of deadly contempt for such astute, sneaking habits! but the emperor was as much dissatisfied with the performances of his admirals as nelson was, though in a different way. napoleon, on the authority of the french historian, m. thiers, was imperially displeased. he asks "what is to be done with admirals who allow their spirits to sink _into their boots_ (italics are the author's) and fly for refuge as soon as they receive damage. all the captains ought to have had sealed orders to meet at the canary islands. the damages should have been repaired _en route_. a few topmasts carried away and other casualties in a gale of wind are everyday occurrences. the great evil of our navy is that the men who command it are unused to all the risks of command." this indictment is to a large extent deserved, and had his fleet been out in the atlantic or outside the limits of the vigilance of nelson's ships, the putting back to toulon or anywhere to refit the topmasts, sails, or rigging would have been highly reprehensible. but in any case, i question whether the british would have shown the white feather or lack of resource under any circumstances. on a man-of-war they were supposed to have refits of everything, and men, properly qualified, in large numbers to carry out any prodigious feat. on the other hand, the british have always excelled in their nautical ability to guard against deficiency in outfit, which was not overtested unless there were sufficient cause to demand such a risk. this applies especially to the sailing war vessels in nelson's time. i think there can be no question that the french vessels were both badly officered and manned with incapable sailors and that the damage which led them back to toulon was caused by bad judgment in seamanship. what they called a severe gale would have been regarded by an australian clipper or western ocean packet-ship in the writer's early days as a hard whole-sail breeze, perhaps with the kites taken in. it was rare that these dashing commanders ever carried away a spar, and it was not because they did not carry on, but because they knew every trick of the vessel, the wind, and the sea. it was a common saying in those days when vessels were being overpowered with canvas, "the old lady was talking to us now," i.e. the vessel was asking to have some of the burden of sail taken off her. i have known topmasts to be carried away, but it generally occurred through some flaw in a bolt or unseen defect in the rigging. so much depends on the security of little things. but when a catastrophe of this kind occurred on board a british merchantman or war vessel the men had both the courage, skill, training, and, above all, the matchless instinct to clear away the wreck and carry out the refitting in amazingly short time. that was because we were then, and are now under new conditions, an essentially seafaring race. and it was this superiority that gave nelson such great advantages over the french commanders and their officers and seamen, though it must be admitted they were fast drilled by the force of circumstances into foes that were not to be looked upon too lightly. the elusive tactics of the french admirals then were in a lesser degree similar to those practised by the germans now, if it be proper to speak or think of the two services at the same time without libelling them. the french were always clean fighters, however much they may have been despised by nelson. they were never guilty of cowardly revenge. they would not then, or now, send hospital ships to the bottom with their crews and their human cargoes of wounded soldiers and nurses. nor would they indiscriminately sink merchant vessels loaded with civilian passengers composed of men, women, and children, and leave them to drown, as is the inhuman practice of the german submarine crews of to-day. the french in other days were our bitterest enemies, and we were theirs. we charged each other with abominations only different from what we and our allies the french are saying about germany to-day, who was then our ally. we regarded germany in the light of a downtrodden nation who was being crushed and mutilated under the relentless heel of the "corsican usurper." "such is the rancorous hatred of the french towards us," says collingwood in january 1798, "that i do not think they would make peace on any terms, until they have tried this experiment (i.e. the invasion of england) on our country; and never was a country assailed by so formidable a force"; and he goes on to say, "men of property must come forward both with purse and sword, for the contest must decide whether they shall have anything, even a country which they can call their own." this is precisely what we are saying about germany with greater reason every day at the present time (1918). it has been the common practice for german submarine commanders to sink at sight british, neutral cargo, and passenger vessels, and hospital ships loaded with wounded troops and nurses. they have put themselves outside the pale of civilization since they forced the whole world into conflict against them. nothing has been too hideous for them to do. they have blown poor defenceless fishermen to pieces, and bombarded defenceless villages and towns, killing and maiming the inhabitants. nelson's ardent soul must have been wearied with the perversity of the "dead foul winds" (as he described his bitter fate to ball) that prevented him from piercing the straits of gibraltar against the continuous easterly current that runs from the atlantic and spreads far into the mediterranean with malicious fluctuations of velocity. many a gallant sailing-ship commander has been driven to despair in other days by the friendly levanter failing them just as they were wellnigh through the gut or had reached the foot of the majestic rock, when the west wind would assert its power over its feebler adversary, and unless he was in a position to fetch an anchorage behind the rock or in the bay, their fate was sealed for days, and sometimes weeks, in hard beating to prevent as little ground being lost as possible. but ofttimes they were drifted as far back as cape de gata in spite of daring feats of seamanship in pressing their vessels with canvas until every spar, sail, and rope was overstrained. a traditional story of sailors of that period was that only a fast clipper schooner engaged in the fruit trade and a line-of-battle ship which fired her lee guns on every tack was ever known to beat through this channel, which mystified the sailors' ideas of god. they could not understand how he could have committed such an error in planning the universe which so tried the spirits of his loyal believers! we know how catholic nelson was in his religious views; and his feats of expressive vocabulary, which was the envy of his class at the time, became their heritage after he had accomplished his splendid results and passed into the shadows. such things as the strength of the adverse sea winds, his experience of the capriciousness of the official mind--a capriciousness which might be reflected in the public imagination were he not to be wholly successful in getting hold of the french fleet, and the indignity of having a man like sir john orde put over him, all filled his sensitive nature with resentment against the ordinances of god and man. his complaints were always accompanied with a devotional air and an avowal of supreme indifference to what he regarded as the indecent treatment he received at the hands of the amateurish bureaucrats at the admiralty. at times they were out of humour with the great chieftain, and perhaps at no time did they make him feel their dissatisfaction more than when adverse winds, a crazy fleet, and deadly current were eating deep into his eager soul at a time when the genius of seamanship was unavailing in the effort to get through into the atlantic in pursuit of the french fleet, which his instinct told him was speeding towards the west indies. sir john orde, who was an aversion to him (as well he might be), had seen the french fleet off cadiz, and failed to procure him the information as to their course. nelson believed, and properly believed, that an alert mind would have found a way of spying out the enemy's intentions, but sir john's resource did not extend to anything beyond the fear of being attacked and overpowered. he obviously was devoid of any of the arts of the wily pirate or smuggler. a month after the french had passed through the gut, nelson got his chance. a change of wind came within five hours after a southerly slant brought his ships to anchor in gibraltar bay for water and provisions. he immediately gave the signal to heave the anchors up, and proceeded with a fair wind which lasted only forty-eight hours. he anchored his fleet to the east of cape st. vincent, and took on board supplies from the transports. he received from different sources conflicting accounts as to the objective of the french, but the predominating opinion was that they had gone to the west indies. nelson was in a state of bewilderment, but decided to follow his own head, and pinned his faith on the instinct that told him to follow westward "to be burnt in effigy if he failed, or westminster abbey if he succeeded." the adventure was daring, both in point of destination and the unequal strength of the relative fleets. nelson had ten ships of the line and three frigates, against villeneuve's eighteen and two new line-of-battle ships. but the british admiral's genius and the superiority of his commanders, officers, and men, should they come to battle, would more than match villeneuve's superiority in ships. nelson, always sure of his own powers, could also depend upon the loyalty of men of every rank under him. he knew that the terrible spirit which shattered and scattered spanish philip's armada was an inheritance that had grown deep into every fibre of the generations of seamen that followed hawkins and drake's invincibles. when nelson delivered himself of death-or-glory heroics, he did so with the consciousness that _he_ was the spirit that enthused masses of other spirits to carry out his dominating will. on the 14th may, 1805, anchors were picked up and the fleet left lagos bay under full sail for the west indies. the trade-winds were soon picked up, and every stitch of canvas that would catch a breath of wind was spread. the speed ranged from six to nine knots, according to the strength of the wind, the admiral taking any available opportunity of conveying to the commanders the plan of attack and action should they fall in with the frenchmen. the task of keeping his own ships together was not easy, as some were faster than others, and many had foul bottoms. there was much manipulation of yards and sails in order to keep the line in order, and nelson even went out of his way to have a note of encouragement and kindness sent aboard the _superb_ (seventy-four guns) for commander keats, whose ship had been continuously in commission since 1801, and was in bad condition. her sailing qualities were vexatious. keats implored that he should not be disconnected from the main fleet now that the hoped-for battle was so near at hand, and being a great favourite of nelson's, he was given permission constantly to carry a press of canvas; so the gallant captain carried his studding sails while running before the trade-winds, but notwithstanding this effort, the lazy, dilapidated _superb_ could not keep pace with the others, even though he was granted the privilege of not stopping when the others did. his urgency not to be dropped out on this occasion caused him the hard luck of not being at the battle of trafalgar. the british fleet arrived at barbadoes after a twenty-four days' passage from lagos bay. the french took thirty-four from cadiz to martinique, so that nelson had a gain of ten days on them, and although his zeal yearned for better results, he had performed a feat that was not to be despised, and of which he and his comrades in quest of battle were deservedly proud. the french had been three weeks in the west indies, but had done no further mischief than to take the diamond rock, a small british possession situated off the south end of martinique. the whereabouts of the elusive enemy was uncertain. general brereton, who commanded the troops at santa lucia gave information that they had passed on the 28th may, steering south. the admirals decided that they had proceeded to tobago and trinidad. nelson was doubtful, but was obliged to pay some regard to intelligence coming from such a quarter. accurate information received on the 9th june, 1805, confirmed the admiral's doubts as to their objective, for they had passed dominica on the 6th. brereton had unintentionally misled him. nelson was almost inarticulate with rage, and avowed that by this slovenly act the general had prevented him from giving battle north of dominica on the 6th. "what a race i have run after these fellows!" he exclaimed, and then, as was his custom, leaning on the power that governs all things, he declares, "but god is just, and i may be repaid for all my moments of anxiety." his belief in the advent of divine vengeance on those who doubted or threatened the awful supremacy of british dominion on land or sea was stimulating to him. like the domremy maiden, who saved her king and country, he had "visions and heard voices." whatever the mission of the french fleet may have been, there was certainly no apparent lust for aggrandizement. we may be certain that napoleon's orders were to carry out vigorous bombardments on british possessions, and instead of doing so, villeneuve seems to have been distractedly and aimlessly sailing about, not knowing what to do or whither to go. apparently without any definite object, he arrived off antigua on the 9th june, and had the good fortune, whether he sought for it or not, of capturing fourteen british merchant vessels; but he would appear to have been quite phlegmatic about making the haul. he was more concerned about the news the crews were able to give him of nelson's arrival at barbadoes; not that he was constrained to give him the opportunity of measuring strength with his now twenty-six of the line, but as a guide to the best means of making his escape; this may have been a strategical move of wearing down; or he may have been carrying out a concerted plan for leaving nelson in bewilderment and proceeding with all speed to some british european point where resistance would be less and success assured, since there was no outstanding naval figure, bar collingwood, who could stand up against so powerful a combination of ships of the line. it is questionable whether villeneuve ever took this man of great hidden power and foresight into account. it was nelson, his chief, who put terror into the fleet. in any case, whatever his plans may have been, the intelligence he gleaned from the seized merchant seamen caused him to make arrangements to sail from antigua the next day for europe. the present writer's opinion is that he may have had secret orders from napoleon to make an attack on ireland, as the emperor never faltered in his view that this was the most pregnable spot in which to hazard an invasion and strike a crushing blow at the main artery. he little knew the real loyalty of the great mass of irishmen to their own and to the motherland, and only realized later that his way to england was not through ireland. the exit of the french was hard fate for nelson, who had fired his enthusiasm with the hope of a great conflict and a sure victory. it was a creeping nightmare to him which was only relieved by his resolute opinion that his fame and the terror of his name had caused villeneuve to fly from inevitable destruction. the idea of strategy did not enter into his calculations. a further consolation to him was that his arrival had saved the islands and two hundred ships loaded with sugar from being captured, so that the gain was all on his side. so far as the west indies were concerned, the french expedition ended not only in a dead loss, but was a humiliating fiasco, unless, as i have stated before, it was a preconceived decoy for some other purpose. but whether it were strategy or decoy, it taxes one's intelligence to conceive why the french fleet did not proceed to bombard the british possessions on arrival, then steal into safe obscurity and make their way back to european waters. the evasion of nelson's scouts in any case was a matter of adroit cunning. had a man of nelson's nimble wits and audacious courage commanded the enemy's fleet, the islands would have been attacked and left in a dilapidated condition. nelson's opinion was that the spanish portion of the expedition had gone to havana, and that the french would make for cadiz or toulon, the latter he thought most likely, with the ultimate object of egypt. and with this vision floating in his mind, he determined to make for the straits. on the 13th june, 1805, he sailed from antigua, and was almost merry at the thought of getting close at their heels, and toppling them into ruin before they had got into the mediterranean. he regarded them in the light of miserable naval amateurs that could be whacked, even with the odds against him. five days after sailing, one of his scout ships brought the news given by a vessel they spoke that she had sighted them steering north on the 15th, and as the colours of each dying day faded away and brought no french fleet in view or intelligence of them, he grew restive and filled with apprehension. he had no delusions about the accuracy of his perceptions, or the soundness of his judgment, nor the virtue of his prudence. without a disturbing thought he pursued his course towards the mediterranean, and unless intelligence came to him that would justify a diversion, no wild fancies would be permitted to take possession of him. on the 18th july he sighted cape spartel, and any sailor will say that no grass had been allowed to grow under the bottoms of the ships that made so quick a passage. but nelson was "sorrowful" that no results had accrued. like a strong man who has opinions and carries them through to the bitter end, he did not "blame himself." he blew off some of the pent-up bitterness of an aching heart by writing to a friend, "but for general brereton's damned information, i would have been living or dead, and the greatest man england ever saw, and now i am nothing and perhaps would incur censure for misfortunes which may happen and have. oh! general brereton! general brereton!" this explosion was indicative of bitter disappointment. it is these outbursts of devotion to a great burning ideal that give an impulse to the world. his anxiety when he made his landfall and was informed by scouts sent to meet him that the allied squadrons had not been heard of was intense. it was not until then that his vigorous mind was smitten with the possibility of the french having cheated him by going to jamaica. orde had been superseded by collingwood, and was stationed off cadiz, the purpose of which was to watch the entrance to the mediterranean. nelson wrote and sent him the following letter:- my dear collingwood,--i am, as you may suppose, miserable at not falling in with the enemy's fleet; and i am almost increased in sorrow in not finding them here. the name of general brereton will not soon be forgot. i must now hope that the enemy have not tricked me, and gone to jamaica; but if the account, of which i send you a copy, is correct, it is more than probable that they are either gone to the northward, or, if bound to the mediterranean, not yet arrived. the vivid symptoms of disquietude in this communication to his old friend are distinctly pathetic. in parts he is comically peevish and decidedly restrained. he mixes his fierce wrath against the hapless general brereton with the generalizing of essentials, and transparently holds back the crushing thoughts of misadventure for which he may be held responsible by the misanthropic, scurrilous, self-assertive experts. his impassive periods were always associated with whimsical sensitiveness of being censured if his adventures should miscarry. no one knew better than he that a man in his position could only be popular if he continued to succeed. he had many critics, but always regarded them as inferior to himself, and his record justified him. what he secretly quaked at and openly defied was a general outburst of human capriciousness. there are veiled indications of this in his letter to collingwood, who replied in well-reasoned terms, interwoven with that charm of tender sympathy that was so natural to him. he says: "i have always had the idea that ireland was the object the french had in view," and that he still believes that to be their destination; and then he proceeds to develop his reasons, which are a combination of practical, human, and technical inferences. his strongest point is one that nelson did not or could not know, though it may be argued that he ought to have foreseen; even then it is one expert's judgment against another's. collingwood affirms that the rochefort squadron, which sailed when villeneuve did in january, returned to europe on the 26th may. collingwood maintains that the west indian trip was to weaken the british force on the european side, and states that the return of rochefort's squadron confirmed him in this. he is too generous to his mortified comrade to detract in any degree from the view that, having escaped from the west indies, they would naturally make for cadiz or the mediterranean. here is one of the many wise sayings of napoleon: "in business the worst thing of all is an undecided mind"; and this may be applied to any phase of human affairs. nelson can never be accused of indecision. his chase to the west indies was a masterpiece of prescience which saved the british possessions, and, but for the clumsy intelligence he received, the french would have been a hammered wreck and the projected ruse to combine it with the rochefort squadron off ireland blown sky-high. the present generation of critics can only judge by the records handed down to them, and after exhaustive study we are forced to the opinion that nelson was right in following villeneuve to the west indies, nor was he wrong in calculating that they were impulsively making their way back to the mediterranean. consistent with his habit of never claiming the privilege of changing his mind, he followed his settled opinion and defended his convictions with vehement confidence. he had not overlooked ireland, but his decision came down on the side of cadiz or toulon, and there it had to rest, and in rather ridiculous support of his contention he imputes faulty navigation as the cause of taking them out of their course, and finding themselves united to the rochefort squadron off cape finisterre. the bad-reckoning idea cannot be sustained. the french were no match for the british under nelson's piercing genius as a naval strategist, or in the flashes of dazzling enthusiasm with which he led those under his command to fight, but it must also be admitted, and has been over and over again, that villeneuve was a skilled seaman who was not likely to allow any amateur navigators in his service, and we shall see that in the plan of defence this great french admiral showed that he was fertile in naval skill when the time came for him to fight for existence against the greatest naval prodigy in the world. whatever the reason was that caused villeneuve not to make for the mediterranean, it certainly cannot be ascribed to lubberly navigation, and nelson should never have tried to sustain his perfectly sound belief by seeking refuge in that untenable direction. god bless him all the same. on his arrival at gibraltar on the 20th july, 1805, he set foot on shore for the first time for two years less ten days. this in itself was a great feat of hard endurance for a man who had to carry so heavy a burden of continuous physical suffering and terrible anxiety. maddened and depressed often, stumbling often, falling often, but despairing never, sorrow and sadness briefly encompassed him when fate ordained disappointments. but his heart was big with hope that he would accomplish complete victory before the sentence of death came, which he never ceased to forebode. he was a human force, not a phenomenon. on the 22nd july, sir robert calder and villeneuve fought a drawn or indecisive battle. only two spanish ships of the line were taken. the french admiral put into vigo on the 28th, and managed to slip out, and arrived at ferrol without being intercepted. nelson provisioned his ships for four months, and sailed from tetuan on the 23rd. on the 25th he passed through the straits with the intention of going to ferrol, ireland, or ushant, whichever his information and judgment told him was the best course to pursue. he experienced strong northerly winds along the portuguese coast, which prevented him from joining the channel fleet off ushant until august 16th, and as no news had been received of the french being in the bay of biscay or off the irish coast, he was ordered by cornwallis to portsmouth, and anchored at spithead on the 18th august. his reception from every quarter was most cordial, as well it might be! but the thought of how much greater it would have been if he had not been misguided and thereby deprived of coming to grips with the foe that was still at large and outwitting every device of bringing them to close quarters, had eaten like a canker into his troubled mind. in his letters to friends (davison and others) his postscripts were for ever being embellished with reference to it and the darting of an incidental "damn" to general brereton, who, it is contended, was himself deceived. but nelson, generous as, he always was to people who were encompassed by misfortune, never would allow that brereton had any right to allow himself to be misled. one wonders how the immortal general brereton worked it out. in any case, the great admiral has given him a place in history by his side. nelson first heard of sir robert calder's scrap from the ushant squadron, and was strong in sympathy and defence against the unworthy public attacks made on the admiral for not succeeding as he would. in writing to fremantle about calder, he says, amongst other things: "i should have fought the enemy, so did my friend calder; i only wish to stand upon my own merits, and not by comparison, one way or the other upon the conduct of a brother officer," etc. this rebuke to a public who were treating his brother officer ungenerously may be summarized thus: "i want none of your praises at the expense of this gallant officer, who is serving his country surrounded with complex dangers that you are ignorant of, and therefore it is indecent of you to judge by comparing him with me or any one else. i want none of your praises at his expense." this is only one of the noble traits in nelson's character, and is the secret why he unconsciously endeared himself to everybody. his comical vanity and apparent egotism is overshadowed by human touches such as this worthy intervention on behalf of sir robert calder, who he had reason to know was not professionally well disposed to him. but his defence of calder did not close with fremantle, for in a letter to his brother soon after he got home he says, "we must now talk of sir robert calder. i might not have done so much with my small force. if i had fallen in with them, you might probably have been a lord before i wished; for i know they meant to make a dead set at the _victory_." these lines alone show how reverently the writer adhered to the brotherly tie of the profession. he seems to say, "let us have no more talk of puerilities. i am the stronger. i have recently been frustrated myself. i know this business better than calder's traducers do, and therefore conceive it my duty to defend him. he also has rendered great services to his country." when it was known that he had arrived in england, he was overwhelmed with generous tokens of affection and gratitude from all classes. thousands crowded into portsmouth to see him land, and the cheering was long and lusty. in london the mob, drunk with excitement, struggled to get sight of him, many crushing their way so that they might shake him by the hand or even touch him. lord minto said he met him in piccadilly, took him by the arm, and was mobbed also. he goes on to say: "it is really quite affecting to see the wonder, admiration, and love for him from gentle and simple the moment he is seen," and concludes by stating that it is beyond anything represented in a play or in a poem of fame. commercial men everywhere passed resolutions of gratitude for the protection he had secured in their different interests. the west india merchants sent a deputation to express their never-to-be-forgotten thanks, and would have loaded him with material tokens of their goodwill had it been proper to do so. he lost no time in getting to merton, which was the thought and happiness of his soul. he was invited here, there, and everywhere, and always replied that he could not accept, as all his family were with him. lord minto, who was a devoted friend, visited him on the 15th august, and says that he "found him in the act of sitting down to dinner with his brother the dean, his wife, and their children, and the children of a sister. lady hamilton was at the head of the table, and her mother, mrs. cadogan, at the bottom. his welcome was hearty. nelson looked well and was full of spirits. lady hamilton," he continues, "had improved, and had added to the house and place extremely well, without his knowing she was doing it. she is a clever being, after all the passion is as hot as ever." these glad moments of keen rapture, which filled nelson with a sort of mystic joy, were soon to be cut short. swiftly the sweet days were passing away, and the sombre parting from "dear merton and loving hearts for evermore" was drawing near. in his day-dreams he saw more fame, more professional gladness, more triumph. he saw, too, as he pensively walked in his garden, the grave nearly ready to receive him and the day of his glory and brightness coming. these were his abiding premonitions, which were jerked out to his close friends, and even during his last sojourn at merton, to those he loved so well. even at this distance of time we cannot think with composure of this many-sided man declaring sadly that death had no terrors for him, and that he was ready to face the last great problem in the conflict which was to break the power at sea of the great conqueror on land. he had not been long in the plenitude of domestic bliss before captain blackwood called one morning at five o'clock with dispatches sent by collingwood for the admiralty. nelson was already dressed, and in his quick penetrating way told him that "he was certain he brought news of the combined enemy's fleet," and, without waiting for an answer, exclaimed, "i think i shall have to beat them," and subsequently added, "depend upon it, blackwood, i shall yet give m. villeneuve a drubbing." the latter had slipped out of ferrol and elusively made his way to cadiz without having been seen by the british. nelson's services were again requested by the government, and eagerly given, though he declared that he was in need of more rest and that he had done enough. but these were mere transient observations, probably to impress those with whom he talked or to whom he wrote with the importance of his position with the cabinet, who now regarded him as indispensable, which was in reality quite true, though he was none the less proud of the high confidence they had in him and the popular approval their selection had with the public. the phrase "let the man trudge who has lost his budget" was mere bluff. he wanted to go all the time, and would have felt himself grievously insulted had the government regarded even his health unequal to so gigantic a task or suggested that a better man could be found. nelson, always hungering for approbation, slyly hinted that it would be a risky thing for the government's existence had they not placed full control of the fleet in his hands, so popular a hold had he on all classes of naval men and the entire public imagination. nelson was often exasperated by the dull ignorance of the government as to how naval policy should be conducted, and by their combined irresolution and impatience at critical periods, when success depended upon his having a free hand to act as circumstances arose. of course, he took a free hand and never failed to succeed. but he frequently complained that he laid himself open to be shot or degraded by doing so, and it is only one man in a century that is possessed of sufficient audacity to ignore the authority over him and with supreme skill to carry out his own plans. in support of the views that were bound to be held by a man of nelson's calibre as to the qualities of some of his superiors in the government who wished to impose upon him a definite line of action, we quote a letter written to captain keats, which has appeared in almost every life of nelson that has been published. it is pregnant with subtle contemptuous remarks which may be applied to the naval administration of the present time (march 1918). it is not only a danger, but a crime, in the process of any war, but especially during the present, to gamble with the safety of the nation by neglecting to have at the head of a great department a man who has not only a genius for administrative initiative in this particular sphere but an unerring instinct to guide and grapple with its everyday perplexities. it is colossal aptitude, not mechanicalness, that is needed. but here is the matchless sailor's opinion of the situation in this respect in his day: "the secretary of state (lord castlereagh), which is a man who has only sat one day in his office, and, of course, knows but little of what is passed, and indeed the prime minister, pitt, were all full of the enemy's fleet, and as i am now set up for a conjurer, and god knows they will very soon find out i am far from being one, i was asked my opinion, against my inclination, for if i make one wrong guess the charm will be broken; but this i ventured without any fear, that if calder got close alongside their twenty-seven or twenty-eight sail, that by the time the enemy had beaten our fleet soundly, they would do us no harm this year." though nelson did not and could not say all that was in his mind, we can read between the lines that he had no use for the theories of ministers, and would obviously have liked to have said in brutal english, "here i am, gentlemen, do not encumber me with your departmental jargon of palpable nothings. you continue to trust in providence; give me your untrammelled instructions as to what you wish me to do, and leave the rest to me." here is another letter from lord radstock: "no official news have been received from lord nelson since july 27th. he then hinted that he might go to ireland; nevertheless, we have no tidings of him on that coast. i confess i begin to be fearful that he has worried his mind up to that pitch, that he cannot bear the idea of showing himself again to the world until he shall have struck some blow, and that it is this hope that is now making him run about, half frantic, in quest of adventure. that such unparalleled perseverance and true valour should thus evaporate in air is truly melancholy." what balderdash to write about a man ablaze with reasoning energy and genius of the highest order! the noble lord is disillusioned on his arrival in portsmouth, and writes again in another a strain: "he (nelson) was received in town almost as a conqueror, and was followed round by the people with huzzas. so much for a great and good name most nobly and deservedly acquired"! the previous letter indicates the mind of a fireside colossus, and shows how dangerously a big man's reputation may be at the mercy of a little one or a coterie of them. one can only describe them as portentous human snipes, whose aggressive mediocrity spreads like an attack of infectious fever, until the awful will of heaven, for the safety of humanity, lays hands on their power for mischief. the popularity of a public servant is always in danger of a tragical end if he lives long enough. one slip of inevitable misfortune seals his doom when the pendulum swings against him. and it is generally brought by a rhetorical smiling judas who can sway a capricious public. the more distinguished a popular man may be, the greater is the danger that the fame and reputation for which he strove may be swiftly laid low. "who has lived as long as he chose? who so confident as to defy time, the fellest of mortals' foes joints in his armour who can spy? where's the foot will not flinch or fly? where's the heart that aspires the fray? his battle wager 'tis vain to try- everything passes, passes away." the gallant and strenuous patriot whose fame will pass on to distant ages is now summoned to fulfil his destiny. he owns that he needs one more rest, but his "duty was to go forth." he "expected to lay his weary bones quiet for the winter," but he is "proud of the call," and all gallant hearts were proud to own him as their chieftain. he bargains for one of the _victory's_ anchors to be at the bows before he arrives at portsmouth. all his belongings are sent off on the 5th october. lord barham, an aged man of eighty-two years, asks him with pride to select his own officers. "choose yourself, my lord. the same spirit actuates the whole profession; you cannot choose wrong." he told the cabinet what was wanted in the "annihilation of the enemy," and that "only numbers could annihilate"--presumably ships and men. the conversations he had with the authorities and the spoken words and letters sent to his friends are ablaze with inspiring, sharp-cut sentences. but those who had intimate knowledge of his tender side felt he was ill at ease, and not free from heartache at the prospect of parting. i think, in connection with _this_, lady hamilton's version of what passed between them when he was walking the "quarterdeck" in his garden may be true in substance, as he was still madly in love with her, and she knew how to wheedle him into a conversation and to use words that might serve a useful purpose if need be. nor were her scruples so delicate as to prevent suitable additions being made to suit any emergency that might occur. her account is that she saw he was looking downcast, and she told him so. he smiled, and then said, "no, i am as happy as possible"; he was surrounded by his family, his health was better since he had "been on shore, and he would not give sixpence to call the king his uncle." she replied that she did not believe him, that she knew he was longing to get at the combined fleets, that he considered them as his property, that he would be miserable if any man but himself did the business, and that he ought to have them as the price and reward of his two years' long watching and his hard chase. "nelson," said she, "however we may lament your absence, offer your services; they will be accepted, and you will gain a quiet heart by it; you will have a glorious victory, and then you may return here and be happy." he looked at her with tears in his eyes, and said, "brave emma! good emma! if there were more emmas, there would be more nelsons." it puts a heavy strain upon our credulity to believe that such words were ever used by nelson, even though we know that he was so hopelessly enamoured of this untamed creature. that he needed to be coaxed into offering his services or that he ever demurred at accepting the distinguished honours the government had conferred upon him may be regarded as one of emma's efforts at triumphant self-glorification and easy dramatic fibbing. she was ever striving to thrust her patriotic ardour forward in some vulgar form or other, and this occasion gave her a chance that could not be resisted. the day before nelson's departure for portsmouth the scalding tears flowed from her eyes continuously, she could neither eat nor drink, and her lapses into swooning at the table were terrible. these performances do not bear out the tale of nelson's spontaneous and gushing outburst in the garden at merton of her bravery and goodness in urging him to "go forth." it is possible that her resolution and fortitude could not stand the responsibility of pressing him to undertake a task that might be fatal to himself and foredoomed to failure. in that case she does not bear herself like a heroine, and strengthens the suspicion, as we have said, that the story of pleading with nelson to offer his services is an impudent fabrication. minto says that the tears and swooning is a strange picture, and assures him as before that nothing can be more pure and ardent than this flame; and _she_ might have added that they had in reality exchanged souls. napoleon, in conversing on one occasion with his brother lucien about one of his love affairs, said "that madame walewska's soul was as beautiful as her face." in nearly all his letters to lady hamilton, nelson plunged into expressions of love abandonment only different from those sent by napoleon to josephine when he was commander-in-chief of the army of italy. neither of these extraordinary men could do anything by halves, and we are not left in doubt as to the seventh heaven of happiness it would have been to the less flowery-worded sailor had he been given the least encouragement to pour out his adoration of emma's goodness and beauty. he would have excelled napoleon's picture of madame walewska. amidst the many cares that surrounded these last active days, when the dockyards were humming with the work of getting his ships refitted so that they might be put quickly into commission, he grudged every moment of forced separation from her while he was in consultation with the government and attending to his own private preparations, which were sedulously attended to. nothing of moment seems to have been left to chance. not even the coffin that captain hallowell had given him was overlooked, for he called to give instructions to the people who had it in safe keeping, and gave them instructions to have the history of it engraved on the lid, as he might want it on his return, which is further evidence that he was permanently impressed with the fate that awaited him. the story of this strange incident of the coffin is this: after the battle of the nile a portion of the _orient's_ mainmast was drifting about, and was picked up by order of captain hallowell of the _swiftsure_, who had it made into a coffin. it was handsomely finished, and sent to admiral nelson with the following letter:- sir,--i have taken the liberty of presenting you a coffin made from the mainmast of _orient_, that when you have finished your military career in this world, you may be buried in one of your trophies. but that that period may be far distant is the earnest wish of your sincere friend, benjamin hallowell. nelson received the weird gift in good spirits, and had it placed in his cabin. it was hardly a pleasant piece of furniture for his visitors to be confronted with, so he was prevailed upon to have it put below until it was required. a few more raging battles, and a few more years of momentous anxieties, and the prodigious hero was to become its occupant. it seems to have been landed and put in charge of a firm of upholsterers. before leaving his home he went to the bedside where his child horatia lay sleeping, and offered up a heart-stirring prayer that those who loved him should be a guardian spirit to her, and that the god he believed in should have her in his holy keeping. on the 13th september, 1805, he writes in his private diary:- at half-past ten, drove from dear, dear merton, where i left all which i hold dear in this world, to go to serve my king and country. may the great god whom i adore enable me to fulfil the expectations of my country; and if it is his good pleasure that i should return, my thanks will never cease being offered up to the throne of his mercy. if it is good providence to cut short my days upon earth, i bow with the greatest submission, relying that he will protect those so dear to me that i may leave behind. his will be done. amen, amen. no more simple, fervent, and touching appeal and resignation to the will of him who governs all things has been seen in the english language. it is quite unorthodox in its construction, and impresses us with the idea that he is already realizing the bitterness of death, and that he is in the presence of a great mystery, speaking to his own parting soul. the desire to live is there, but he does not ignore the almost unutterable submission of "thy will be done." xiii nelson joined the _victory_ at portsmouth on the morning of the 14th september, and met with a great public ovation. he tells captain hardy, as he was being rowed to the _victory_, that he had "their huzzas when he landed" (after his prolonged period in commission), "but now," he proudly remarked, "i have their hearts." his send-off was magnificent. the contagious flow of tears, the shouting of blessings, and the fervent petitions that the god of battles should give him the victory over the enemies of human suffering and liberty were symptoms of admiration and gratitude which went hot into his blood as he sat in his barge, the object of reverence. and with a calm air of conscious power he acknowledged the honour that was showered upon him by baring his head and bowing gracefully his thanks. it was manifestly his day of paradise, and with the plaudits still ringing in his ears the _victory's_ anchor was weighed on the following day, and he sailed from st. helen's roads to the great conflict and victory for which he panted, and to the doom that awaited him. he experienced foul winds until he passed cape finisterre, and on the 28th september he joined the fleet of twenty-nine of the line. the 29th september was the anniversary of his forty-seventh year. he says: "the reception i met with on joining the fleet caused the sweetest sensation of my life. the officers who came on board to welcome my return forgot my rank as commander-in-chief in the enthusiasm with which they greeted me. as soon as these emotions were past, i laid before them the plan i had previously arranged for attacking the enemy; and it was not only my pleasure to find it generally approved, but clearly perceived and understood." in a further communication he explains to them the "nelson touch," and all agree that it must succeed, and that he is surrounded with friends. then he adds: "some may be judas's, but the majority are certainly pleased at the prospect of my commanding them." these are joyous days for him, which are marked by the absence of any recorded misgivings. his mind is full of making preparations in every detail to cope with the advent of villeneuve from cadiz and for the plan of attack, of which a long memorandum was circulated to the fleet. he had planned the form of attack at trafalgar during his stay at home, and some time before leaving merton he confided it to lord sidmouth. he told him "that rodney broke the enemy's line in one place, and that _he_ would break it in two." one of the nelson "touches" was to "close with a frenchman, and to out-manoeuvre a russian," and this method of terrific onslaught was to be one of the devices that he had in store for the french at trafalgar, and which ended fatally for himself. but it gave the enemy a staggering blow, from which they never recovered so long as the action lasted. in the general orders he says: "captains are to look to their particular line as a rallying point, but in case signals cannot be seen or clearly understood, _no captain can do wrong if he places his ship alongside that of an enemy_." the feeling against sir robert calder for not having beaten or forced another battle on the allied fleets in july did not abate. the public were out for impeachment, and the government did nothing to discourage it; and when nelson was on the point of leaving england the first lord instructed him to convey to calder the government's condemnation of his evident negligence or incapacity. they gave him permission to ask for the inquiry, but should he not do so, it would be ordered. nelson wrote to barham that he had delivered the message to sir robert, and that it would doubtless give his lordship pleasure to learn that an inquiry was just what the vice-admiral was anxious to have, and that he had already sent a letter by the _nautilus_ to say so, but that he (nelson) had detained it. nelson, in his goodness of heart, urged sir robert to remain until after the action, the result of which would inevitably change the feeling of the government and the public in his favour, and he could then, without any fear, demand an inquiry. sir robert was so crushed with the charge hanging over him, that he insisted on being allowed to proceed to england at once, and nelson, to ease the humiliation and suffering he was passing through, sent him off in his ninety-gun ship, instead of a frigate. the inquiry was held in due course, and judgment given against him. the finding is, in our opinion, based more on prejudice than on any fault he committed, and as to "committing an error of judgment," it is always difficult to know what is an error of judgment in circumstances such as he was confronted with. in any case, it is evident that the government were terrified of the effect that public opinion would have on themselves if they failed to take steps to appease it. we think the government would have been serving their country better by keeping this unfortunate officer in active service when its fleet was on the verge of a life-or-death struggle for naval supremacy than by dispensing with his services, which they had thought fit to retain from july to october. nelson's attitude was the more patriotic and noble, and under such circumstances the verdict, however mild, was bound to be given against the man whose heart they had broken because they were afraid of public opinion. nelson was a better judge than they. discreet reprimand, combined with a few kindly words of encouragement, was the proper course at such a time, when every man and ship was so essential. on a previous occasion, when a "seventy-four" had stranded, the officer whose skill and efforts had refloated her was told by nelson that he had spoken favourably of him to the admiralty. the officer showed in suitable terms his gratitude, but added that he did not regard what he had done as meriting any notice or praise. the admiral pointed out that a battle might easily be lost by the absence of a line-of-battle ship. when nelson conveyed the ill-considered and stupid instructions of the government to sir robert calder to return home to be court-martialled, and the latter replied that his letter "to do so cut him to the soul and that his heart was broken," nelson was so overcome with sympathy for calder that he sacrificed his own opinions already expressed, and also took the risk of bringing upon himself the displeasure of the comptroller of the navy by giving the unfortunate man permission to proceed home in a vessel that would have been so valuable an asset to his fleet. this worthy act, had he lived and the battle of trafalgar been drawn or lost, might have laid him open to impeachment. nelson's fine courage and sense of proportion when he thought an injustice or undue severity was being imposed was never allowed to be trifled with by any official, no matter how high or subordinate his position might be, and his contempt for men whom he knew were miserable cocksparrow amateurs was openly avowed. whatever the consequences, he would have sooner lost a victory than have gained one by lending himself to an act that was to injure or break his brother in arms. calder left the fleet a few days before the action, and when it began nelson remarked to hardy, "what would poor sir robert calder give to be with us now!" even on the eve of a great encounter the stress of preparation did not dim his sympathy for the afflicted man, who, on more than one occasion, had allowed envy to rule his conduct towards him. after the battle of st. vincent, for instance, calder, in conversation with jervis, criticized nelson's action in departing from the plan of attack laid down by the admiral. jervis admitted it to be a breach, and added "if ever calder did the same thing under similar circumstances, he would forgive him." nelson knew calder was envious of his growing fame, but this did not prevent him from acting as though he had always been a loyal friend. on the morning of the 19th october, 1805, the signal was passed from ship to ship acting as lookouts to the main fleet that the combined fleet were putting to sea, and it was soon discovered that their force consisted of eighteen french line-of-battle ships, seven large frigates, and two brigs. the spanish numbered fifteen sail of the line. the british had twenty-seven sail of the line and four frigates, so that nelson was outnumbered by five of the line, three frigates, and two brigs. the whole of the allied fleet did not get clear of the port until the 20th. the commander-in-chief was villeneuve, and his obvious intention was to get the straits open and, by a cunning evasion of the british fleet, make a dash through. his elusive tactics had hitherto been skilfully performed, but the british admiral, always on the alert, anticipated that an effort would again be made to cheat him of the yearning hope of his heart, and had mentally arranged how every contingency should be coped with to prevent escape and to get to grips with the enemy. "i will give them such a shaking as they never before experienced," and at least he was prepared to lay down his life in the attempt. it is pretty certain that, after all his ships had got into the open sea, villeneuve's intention was to see how the land lay as to the british strength, and his manoeuvring indicated that instructions had been given to hoodwink the british and slip through the straits of gibraltar; but seeing that the entrance was cut off for the moment, he headed westward, possibly to mislead, but always with the intention of getting into the mediterranean. when this information was signalled by blackwood, instructions were sent back to him that the admiral relied on the enemy being kept in sight. here is a letter to lady hamilton, dated the 19th october, 1805:- cadiz, bearing e.se. 50 miles. my dearest beloved emma: the dear friend of my bosom,--the signal has been made that the enemy's combined fleet are coming out of port. we have very little wind, so that i have no hopes of seeing them before to-morrow. may the god of battles crown my endeavours with success; at all events, i will take care that my name shall ever be most dear to you and horatia, both of whom i love as much as my own life. and as my last writing before the battle will be to you, so i hope in god that i shall live to finish my letter after the battle. may heaven bless you, prays your this was found unsigned on his desk. these are the last lines he wrote to the woman he called his "wife in the sight of god." there is none of the robust assurance of blazing deeds that he has in store for the enemy which characterize some of his earlier letters to emma, nor is there any craving for continued existence or for extinction. but who can read this melancholy farewell without being impressed with the feeling that there is a subdued restraint to avoid uttering his thoughts on inevitable fate and eternal sleep, lest it gives anxiety and disheartens the woman he loved so well? on the same day he wrote an affectionate letter to his daughter, which is clearly intended as a supplementary outpouring of a full heart to the mother whom he knew would have to read it. the tone and wording is what a father might have written to a girl of fifteen instead of five. there is a complete absence of those dainty, playful touches that would delight a child of her age. in reality, it rather points to the idea that it was intended not only as a further farewell to mother and child, but as an historical epistle and a legacy to horatia which she would read in other days in connection with the great battle in which he was to be engaged only a few hours after he had written it. my dearest angel,--i was made happy by the pleasure of receiving your letter of september the 19th, and i rejoice to hear you are so very good a girl, and love my dear lady hamilton, who most dearly loves you. give her a kiss for me. the combined fleets of the enemy are now reported to be coming out of cadiz; and therefore i answer your letter, my dearest horatia, to mark to you that you are ever uppermost in my thoughts. i shall be sure of your prayers for my safety, conquest, and speedy return to dear merton and our dearest good lady hamilton. receive, my dearest horatia, the affectionate blessing of your father, nelson and bronte. the importunities of horatia's mother were continuously being forced upon nelson in one way or another, but he seems to have stood firm, in an apologetic way, to the instructions laid down by himself, that no women were to go to sea aboard his ship; for, having been a party to the embargo, it would have been impossible for him to make her an exception. he anticipates, as her other lovers had done, that she can be very angry, like horatia, when she cannot have her own way, but he soothingly says that he knows his own dear emma, if she applies her reason, will see that he is right. he playfully adds an addendum that "horatia is like her mother, she will have her own way, or kick up the devil of a dust." he reminds emma that she is a "sharer of his glory," which settles the question of her being allowed to sail with him, and from encountering the heavy gales and liquid hills that are experienced off toulon week after week. he warns the lady that it would kill her and himself to witness it. emma was too devoted to all the pleasures ashore to risk losing her life in any such uncomfortable fashion at sea, so the project was abandoned, if it was ever seriously contemplated. this astute actress knew where to touch nelson's weak spot, and that it would send him into a frenzy of love to think of her yearning to be beside him. she would know that the rules of the service prohibited, except under special circumstances, even the highest in rank from having their wives sail with them, and that the rule would apply more rigidly to herself, who was not nelson's wife. she knew, in fact, that her request would flatter him, and that she would be compensated by receiving a whirlwind of devotion in reply. after the gulf of lyons days, no further request appears to have been made of that kind. the combined fleets had been dodging each other on the 20th, light westerly winds and calms prevailing. at daylight on the 21st the belligerent fleets were within twelve miles of each other. nelson was on deck early, and at 7.40 a.m. made the signal "to form the order of sailing," and "to prepare for battle." then the signal was made to "bear up," the _victory_ and _royal sovereign_ leading the way in two lines; nelson took the weather line with his ships, and the other division followed, but the wind being light, many had barely steerage way. fourteen vessels followed collingwood, who was to attack the enemy's rear, while nelson slashed into the van and centre. villeneuve, seeing by the british formation that his number was up and that he would have to give battle, manoeuvred to keep cadiz open, which was about twenty miles ne. of him, but the wind, being light, made it as difficult for the french commander-in-chief to carry out the disposition as it was for the quick-witted british commander to prevent it. hence the development was a lazy process, and prevented, as varying circumstances always do, any rigid plan being adhered to. had there been a fresh breeze before the battle commenced, the chances are that the french would have secured a position that would have enabled more of the crippled ships to get into cadiz, but even this is doubtful, as only a fluke of wind could have saved them from the strategy of the british commander-in-chief before the fighting began. between eleven and twelve o'clock on the 21st october every humanly possible, detailed arrangement had been completed. each captain knew that, so far as it was possible, he was to follow where his admiral and vice-admiral led. the spirits of all those who manned the fleet were high of hope, and the inspiring spirit said he could do no more. nelson then went to his cabin and on his knees wrote a prayer that throbbed and will continue to throb through the universe. it exhales the spirit of bravery, and triumphant assurance of the eternal justice of the cause for which he is about to sacrifice himself, for a sombre document it is; but the soul that is in it is imperishable, and who can peruse it without vividly picturing the writer kneeling before the omnipotent, pleading for his country's cause, and offering himself piously as a willing sacrifice! may the great god, whom i worship, grant to my country, and for the benefit of europe in general, a great and glorious victory, and may no misconduct in any one tarnish it; and may humanity, after victory, be the predominant feature in the british fleet. for myself individually, i commit my life to him that made me; and may his blessing alight on my endeavours for serving my country faithfully. to him i resign myself and the just cause which is entrusted to me to defend. amen, amen, amen. then, as though apprehension of the inevitable passing was growing, the thought of the woman who is the mother of his child, and for whom he had an unquenchable love, blinds him to all sense of propriety. it puts a severe strain on our imagination to realize how a man could composedly write such a request on the verge of the greatest naval conflict in history. it is dated "21st of october, 1805, in sight of the combined fleets of france and spain, distant ten miles":- whereas the eminent services of emma hamilton, widow of the right honourable sir william hamilton, have been of the very greatest service to my king and country to my knowledge, without ever receiving any reward from either our king and country; first, that she obtained the king of spain's letter, in 1796, to his brother, the king of naples, acquainting him of his intention to declare war against england, from which letter the ministry sent our orders to the then sir john jervis, to strike a stroke, if opportunity offered, against either the arsenals of spain or her fleets. that neither of these was done is not the fault of lady hamilton; the opportunity might have been offered. secondly: the british fleet under my command could never have returned the second time to egypt, had not lady hamilton's influence with the queen of naples caused letters to be wrote to the governor of syracuse, that he was to encourage the fleets being supplied with everything, should they put into any port in sicily. we put into syracuse, received every supply; went to egypt, and destroyed the french fleet. could i have rewarded these services, i would not now call upon my country; but as that has not been in my power, i leave emma, lady hamilton, therefore a legacy to my king and country, that they will give her an ample provision to maintain her rank in life. i also leave to the beneficence of my country my adopted daughter, horatia nelson thompson; and i desire she will use in future the name of nelson only. these are the only favours i ask of my king and country at this moment when i am going to fight their battle. may god bless my king and country, and all those i hold dear! my relations, it is needless to mention, they will, of course, be amply provided for. nelson and bronte. _witness_, henry blackwood. t.m. hardy. it is of little importance whether this codicil was written at the same time as the prayer or a couple of hours before; that neither adds to nor detracts from the object of it. no definite opinion of the time is given. blackwood and hardy, as witnesses, would know. in any case it is an extraordinary document, and indicates unusual mental control of which few human beings are possessed. his mind must have been saturated with thoughts of the woman when the great battle was within a few minutes of commencing. early in the morning, when he was walking the poop and cabin fixings and odds and ends were being removed, he gave stern instructions to "take care of his guardian angel," meaning her portrait, which he regarded in the light of a mascot to him. he also wore a miniature of her next his heart. unless captain hardy and captain blackwood and others to whom he confided his love potions were different from the hearty, unconventional seamen of the writer's early sea-life, a banquet of interesting epithets could have been left to us which might have shocked the severely decorous portion of a public who assume a monopoly of inherent grace but do not understand the delightful simple dialect of the old-time sailor-men. there can be small doubt that nelson's comrades had many a joke in private about his weird and to them unnecessarily troublesome love wailings, which would be all the more irksome when they and he had serious business in hand. poor sir thomas troubridge appears to have been the only one to have dealt frankly with him about carrying his infatuation to such lengths--especially at a time when the public service was in need of his undivided attention--and nelson never had a kindly feeling towards him afterwards. this gallant officer and loyal friend was in command of the _blenheim_ (seventy-four guns) when she and the _java_ (twenty-three guns) foundered with all hands near the island of rodriguez, in the east indies, on the 1st february, 1807. nelson harboured a childish bitterness against admiral troubridge because of his plain speaking, and especially after the latter was appointed a lord of the admiralty. he always believed the "hidden hand" to be that of his former friend, to whom he delighted at one time to give the term "nonpareil." in a letter to a friend he says: "i have a sharp eye, and almost think i can see it. no, poor fellow," he continues, "i hope i do him injustice; he surely cannot forget my kindness to him," he boasts of how he spoke to st. vincent, the former "nonpareil." in another eloquent passage he complains that troubridge refuses to endorse his recommendations of officers for promotion, that he has been so rebuffed that his spirits are broken and the great troubridge has cowed him (this, of course, in derision), and if he asked for anything more he would not get it. he would never forget it. no wonder he was not well. the admiralty are "beasts" for not allowing him to come to london, which would only deprive him of a few days' comfort and happiness, and they have his hearty prayers. he continues in the same ludicrous strain, "i have a letter from troubridge urging me to wear flannel shirts, as though he cared for me. he hopes that i shall go and have walks ashore, as the weather is now fine." "i suppose he is laughing at me, but never mind." he suffers from sea-sickness and toothache, and "none of them care a damn about my sufferings," and so on. these misdirected outbursts of feverish antipathy to poor troubridge were frequent, and always inconceivably comical as well as distressingly peevish. but behind it all there was a consciousness of unequalled power which every one who knew him recognized, and they therefore patiently bore with his weaknesses, trying as they sometimes were. lord st. vincent believed, and stated to nelson, that the only other man who possessed the same power of infusing into others the same spirit as his own was troubridge, and no doubt this innocent praise of a noble and gallant sailor rankled in nelson's mind, and was the beginning of the jealousy that grew into hate. he could not brook any one being put on an equality with himself, and he clung tenaciously, though generously, to this idea of authority and superiority when he requested in his last dying gasp that he should not be superseded. after signing what is called the codicil to his will, captains hardy and blackwood joined him on the poop to receive his instructions. he was calmly absorbed with the enemy's plan of defence and his own of attack. he asked blackwood what he would consider a victory, and the latter replied, "considering the disposition of both fleets, he thought fourteen captures would be a fine result." nelson said he would not be satisfied with less than twenty, and that nothing short of annihilation was his object. soon afterwards he gave orders to mr. pasco to make the memorable signal that england expects every man to do his duty, which sent a thrill of fiery enthusiasm throughout the whole fleet. then the signal for "close action" went up, and the cheering was renewed, which created a remarkable effect. collingwood, whose attention was wholly on a spanish three-decker that he had selected to engage, is reported to have been irritated, and spontaneously expressed the wish that "nelson would cease signalling, as they all knew what to do." at noon the french ship, the _fougeux_, fired the first shot of the battle. the belligerent admirals saluted in the good old pious style, like professional boxers shaking hands before the attempt to knock each other out, and in a few more minutes were engaged in deadly conflict, hurling death at each other. nelson, in his courageous melancholy way, confident of his own powers and trusting reverently in the continuance of the lavish bounty of god, resigned his fate to him who had given him the opportunity of doing his duty. the conspicuous splendour of the decorations which he wore on the breast of his admiral's frocker was apprehensively looked upon by his comrades, who loved him with touching loyalty. they muttered their disappointment to each other, but shrank from hurting his feelings by warning him of the danger of the sharpshooters, to whom he would be a target, remembering how he had sharply replied to some anxious soul who on a previous occasion had cautioned him with regard to his prominent appearance, "that in honour he had gained his orders, and in honour he would die with them." the battle quickly developed into a carnage. the _bucentaure_ had found her range soon after twelve o'clock, when some of the shots went over the _victory_. blackwood was at this time ordered to rejoin his ship. he shook hands with his chief, and in some brief parting words expressed the "hope that he would soon return to the _victory_ to find him well and in possession of twenty prizes"; and nelson is reported to have calmly answered, "god bless you, blackwood, i shall never speak to you again." his habit was to refer to death with eager frankness, and as though he were in love with it, without in the least showing any lack of alertness or detraction from the hazardous objects he had set himself to fulfil. his faith in the powerful aid of the omnipotent was as unvarying in his sphere of warfare as was cromwell's when he had the stern realities of human unruliness to steady and chastise. nelson, like the latter, had in his peculiar way a deep-rooted awe and fear of god, which must have made him oblivious to all other fear. the magnificent fellow never showed greater mastery of the science of strategy, nor did he ever scan with greater vigilance the manner of carrying out the creation of his genius. collingwood, who was first in the thick of the fight, set his heart throbbing with pride and admiration when he observed the _royal sovereign_ dash through the lines of the enemy, spreading devastation and death with unerring judgment. "see," said nelson to captain blackwood, "how that noble fellow, collingwood, takes his ship into action!" then he paused for a moment, and continued, "how i envy him!" and as though the spirits of the two men were in communion with each other, collingwood, knowing that the commander-in-chief's eager eye was fixed upon him in fond admiration, called out to the flag-captain near him, "rotherham, what would nelson give to be here?" one of those fine human touches of brotherhood which nelson knew so well how to handle with his faultless tact had occurred the day before. collingwood and some officers paid a visit to the _victory_ for the purpose of receiving any instructions he might have to give. nelson asked collingwood where his captain was, and when he replied that they were not on friendly terms, nelson sharply answered, "not on good terms," and forthwith gave orders for a boat to be sent for rotherham; and when he came aboard he took him to collingwood and said, "look! there is the enemy, shake hands," and they renewed their friendship by gratefully carrying out his wishes. but for this, perhaps we should have been cheated of knowing the charming anecdote, which denotes the veneration the two old friends had for each other. there is no need to make any apology for this digression, for it is to record one more of the many acts of wisdom and tenderness that were so natural to this man of massive understanding. the incalculable results that he was destined to accomplish may well be allowed to obscure any human weakness that sadly beset him. nelson, with blithe courage, sailed right into the centre of the french fleet, which in disorder surrounded their commander-in-chief's ship, his intention being to capture her and take villeneuve prisoner. never a gun was fired from the _victory,_ although many of her spars, sails, and her rigging had suffered severely, until she had rounded as close as it was possible under the stern of the _bucentaure_ and got into position. then a terrific broadside was let fly from her double-shotted guns, which raked the _bucentaure_ fore and aft, and the booming of cannon continued until her masts and hull were a complete wreck. many guns were dismounted and four hundred men killed. the _victory_ then swung off and left the doomed _bucentaure_ to be captured by the _conqueror_, and villeneuve was taken prisoner. after clearing the _bucentaure_, the _victory_ fouled the _redoubtable_, and proceeded to demolish her hull with the starboard guns, and with her port guns she battered the _santissima trinidad_, until she was a mass of wreckage, and the _africa_ and _neptune_ forced her to surrender. meanwhile, the _victory_ kept hammering with her starboard guns at the _redoubtable_ until her lower deck cannon were put out of action. then she used her upper deck small guns and muskets from aloft. nelson was too humane a man to use this method of warfare from the lower tops, and too practical, lest the ropes and sails should be damaged. the writer is of opinion that he was wrong in this view, as was clearly shown by the deadly execution the french musketeers did from aloft before their masts were shot away by the british big artillery. it can never be wrong to outmatch an enemy in the methods they employ, no matter what form they take. although the victory was all on the british side at trafalgar, it would have been greater and with less loss of life on our side had musketeers been employed in the same way as the french and spanish employed them. the men on the upper deck of the _victory_ were shot down by these snipers without having an equal chance of retaliating. the _redoubtable's_ mizzen-top was full of sharpshooters when the two ships fell alongside of each other, but only two were left there when nelson was shot and dropped on his left side on the deck a foot or two from captain hardy. the frenchman who shot him was killed himself by a shot fired from the _victory's_ deck, which knocked his head to pieces. his comrade was also shot dead while trying to escape down the rigging, and fell on the _redoubtable's_ poop. the other sharpshooters had been previously killed by the musketry from the _victory's_ deck. nelson told hardy, when he expressed the hope that he was not seriously hurt, that "they had done for him at last, and that he felt his backbone was broken." he was hit on the left shoulder; the ball had pierced his left lung. the snipers from the tops of the other enemy ships killed a large number of the _victory's_ officers and men who were on deck. the french made an attempt to board, but were thrown back in confusion and with tremendous loss. the instinct of domination and the unconquerable combativeness of our race is always more fiercely courageous when pressed to a point which causes others to take to their heels or surrender. it was not an exaggeration on the part of the french and spanish to declare that the british sailors and soldiers were not ordinary men but devils, when the real tussle for mastery began, and when they were even believed to be beaten. the french and spanish conclusions were right then, and the ruthless germans, stained with unspeakable crimes, should know they are right now, for they have had many chances in recent days of realizing the power of the recuperating spirit they are up against, just at a time when they have become imbued with the idea that they have beaten our forces on land and destroyed our ships and murdered their crews at sea. the kaiser and his advisers, military and naval, have made the german people pay dearly for the experiment of stopping our supplies by sea, for the loss of life by the sinking of their own submarines must have been enormous. but only those to whom they belong will ever know that they have not returned, and that they must have been sent to the bottom of the sea. we can only judge by written records and authoritative paintings or prints of the period what the naval battles of the beginning of the last century were like. but it is only those who have studied minutely the naval battles of st. vincent, the nile, copenhagen, and trafalgar who can depict the awful character and thrilling nature of these ocean conflicts. while the author was serving as an apprentice aboard a sailing vessel during the prussian-danish war in 1864 a dense fog came on, and continued the whole of one night. when it cleared up the next forenoon we found that the vessel had been sailed right into the centre of the danish fleet, which had defeated the prussians and austrians off heligoland. there were other merchantmen there, and the cheering as we passed each of the danish warships was hearty and long, while they gracefully acknowledged by saluting with their flags. i am quite sure there were few british seamen who would not have gladly volunteered to serve in the danish navy against the prussians, so universal was their bitter dislike to the hun bullies who had set themselves to steal by force the possessions to which they had not an atom of right. the sight of these fine frigates and line-of-battle ships manoeuvring to come to grips with their cowardly antagonists who were assailing their national rights has been revivified during a long course of study of nelson's naval warfare, and makes the awful vision of trafalgar appear as it really was, and makes me wish that i were gifted with the art of words so that i might describe it in all its gruesome wreckage and magnitude, as the recollection of the majestic sight of the danish ships before they even went into action makes it appear to me. my mind's eye pictures one after another of the french and spanish ships surrendering, the hurricane of cheers that followed their defeat, and the pathetic anxiety of the dying chieftain for the safety of captain hardy, who was now in charge of the flagship acting as commander-in-chief. hardy is long in coming; he fears that he may be killed, and calls out, "will no one bring hardy to me?" at last the gallant captain sees an opportunity of leaving the deck, for the _victory_ is shielded by two ships from the enemy's gunfire. "well, hardy," says nelson to him, "how goes the battle?" "very well, my lord," says hardy; "fourteen or fifteen of the enemy's ships are in our possession." "that is well," said nelson, "but i bargained for twenty"; and then followed the memorable order, "anchor, hardy, anchor." "if i live," he says, "we will anchor"; and in answer to hardy's supposition that collingwood should take charge, he impulsively resents the suggestion and expresses the hope that this will not happen while he lives, and urges again on hardy that the fleet may be anchored, and asks him to make the signal. he hopes that none of our ships have struck, and his devoted friend reassures him that none have and never will. he commissions hardy to give "dear lady hamilton his hair and other belongings," and asks that his "body shall not be thrown overboard." hardy is then asked in childlike simplicity to kiss him, and the rough, fearless captain with deep emotion kneels and reverently kisses nelson on the cheek. he then thanks god that he has done his duty, and makes the solemn thoughts that are troubling his last moments manifest in words by informing doctor scott, with a vital sailorly turn of speech, that "he had _not_ been a _great_ sinner," and then bids him remember that he leaves lady hamilton and his daughter horatia as a legacy to his country, and that horatia is never to be forgotten. even at this distance of time one cannot help regretting that nature's power did not sustain him to see the total debacle of the enemy fleets. he knew that he had triumphed, and that his task had ended fatally to himself, but his sufferings did not prevent his spirit sallying to and fro, making him feel the joy of living and wish that he might linger but a little longer. he was struck down at a critical stage of the battle, though there was never any doubt as to how it would end, thanks to the adroit skill and bravery of collingwood and those who served under him. it is a happy thought to know that our hero, even when the shadows were closing round him, had the pleasure of hearing from the lips of the faithful hardy that fifteen of the enemy ships had struck and not one of ours had lowered a flag. but how much more gladsome would the passing have been had he lived to know that the battle had ended with the capture of nine french vessels and ten spanish, nineteen in all. he died at 4.30 p.m. on the 21st october, 1805, just when the battle was flickering to an end. villeneuve had given himself up, and was a prisoner on board the _mars_. dumanoir had bolted with four of the line, after committing a decidedly cowardly act by firing into the captured spanish ships, the object being to put them out of the possession of the british. they could not succeed in this without killing large numbers of their allies, and this was all they were successful in doing. it was a cruel, clumsy crime, which the spanish rightly resented but never succeeded in avenging. meanwhile the spanish admiral gravina, who had lost an arm, took command of the dilapidated combined fleets, and fled into cadiz with five french and five spanish ships, and by 5 p.m. the thundering of the guns had ceased, and the sea all round was a scene of death, dismasted ships, and awful wreckage. the rear-admiral dumanoir was sailing gaily towards the refuge of rochefort or ferrol when he came into view of, and ultimately had to fight on the 4th november, a squadron under sir richard strachan. dumanoir and his men are said to have fought with great fierceness, but his ships were beaten, captured, and taken in a battered condition, and subsequently sent to england, so that now twenty-three out of the thirty-three that came out of cadiz with all the swagger of confidence and superiority to match themselves against nelson and his fiery coadjutors were tragically accounted for. collingwood was now the commander-in-chief of the british fleet, and to him fell the task of notifying the victory. i insert the documents in full. london gazette extraordinary. admiralty office, _6th november, 1805._ despatches, of which the following are copies, were received at the admiralty this day, at one o'clock a.m. from vice-admiral collingwood, commander-in-chief of his majesty's ships and vessels off cadiz. "euryalus", off cape trafalgar, _october 22, 1805._ sir,--the ever-to-be-lamented death of vice-admiral lord viscount nelson, who, in the late conflict with the enemy, fell in the hour of victory, leaves me the duty of informing my lords commissioners of the admiralty, that on the 19th instant, it was communicated to the commander-in-chief, from the ships watching the motions of the enemy in cadiz, that the combined fleet had put to sea. as they sailed with light winds westerly, his lordship concluded their destination was the mediterranean, and immediately made all sail for the straits' entrance, with the british squadron, consisting of twenty-seven ships, three of them sixty-fours, where his lordship was informed, by captain blackwood (whose vigilance in watching and giving notice of the enemy's movements has been highly meritorious), that they had not yet passed the straits. on monday, the 21st instant, at daylight, when cape trafalgar bore e. by s. about seven leagues, the enemy was discovered six or seven miles to the eastward, the wind about west, and very light; the commander-in-chief immediately made the signal for the fleet to bear up in two columns, as they are formed in the order of sailing; a mode of attack his lordship had previously directed, to avoid the delay and inconvenience in forming a line of battle in the usual manner. the enemy's line consisted of thirty-three ships (of which eighteen were french and fifteen spanish, commanded in chief by admiral villeneuve, the spaniards under the direction of gravina), bore with their heads to the northwards and formed their line of battle with great closeness and correctness. but as the mode of attack was unusual, so the structure of their line was new; it formed a crescent convexing to leeward; so that in leading down to their centre i had both their van and rear abaft the beam before the fire opened; every alternate ship was about a cable's length to windward of her second ahead and astern, forming a kind of double line, and appeared, when on their beam, to leave a very little interval between them, and this without crowding their ships. admiral villeneuve was in the _bucentaure_ in the centre, and the _prince of asturias_ bore gravina's flag in the rear, but the french and spanish ships were mixed without any apparent regard to order of national squadron. as the mode of our attack had been previously determined upon, and communicated to the flag officers and captains, few signals were necessary, and none were made except to direct close order as the lines bore down. the commander-in-chief in the _victory_ led the weather column, and the _royal sovereign_, which bore my flag, the lee. the action began at twelve o'clock by the leading ships of the column breaking through the enemy's line; the commander-in-chief about the tenth ship from the van; the second-in-command about the twelfth from the rear, leaving the van of the enemy unoccupied; the succeeding ships breaking through in all parts, astern of their leaders, and engaging the enemy at the muzzles of their guns. the conflict was severe; the enemy's ships were fought with a gallantry highly honourable to their officers; but the attack on them was irresistible, and it pleased the almighty disposer of all events to grant his majesty's arms a complete and glorious victory. about three p.m., many of the enemy's ships having struck their colours, their line gave way; admiral gravina, with ten ships joining their frigates to leewards, stood towards cadiz. the five headmost ships of their van tacked, and standing to the southward, to windward of the british line, were engaged, and the sternmost of them taken; the others went off, leaving to his majesty's squadron nineteen ships of the line (of which two are first-rates, the _santissima trinidad_, and the _santa anna_), with three flag officers, viz. admiral villeneuve, the commander-in-chief; don ignacio maria d'alava, vice-admiral; and the spanish rear-admiral don baltazar hidalgo cisneros. after such a victory it may appear unnecessary to enter into encomiums on the particular parts taken by the several commanders; the conclusion says more than i have language to express; the spirit which animated all was the same; when all exert themselves zealously in their country's service, all deserve that their high merits should stand recorded; and never was high merit more conspicuous than in the battle i have described. the _achille_, a french seventy-four, after having surrendered, by some mismanagement of the frenchmen, took fire and blew up; two hundred of her men were saved by the tenders. a circumstance occurred during the action, which so strongly marks the invincible spirit of british seamen, when engaging the enemies of their country, that i cannot resist the pleasure i have in making known to their lordships: the _téméraire_ was boarded, by accident or design, by a french ship on one side, and a spaniard on the other; the contest was vigorous; but in the end the combined ensigns were torn from the poop, and the british hoisted in their places.[15] such a battle could not be fought without sustaining a great loss of men. i have not only to lament in common with the british navy and the british nation in the fall of the commander-in-chief, the loss of a hero whose name will be immortal, and his memory ever dear to his country; but my heart is rent with the most poignant grief for the death of a friend, to whom, by many years of intimacy, and a perfect knowledge of the virtues of his mind, which inspired ideas superior to the common race of men, i was bound by the strongest ties of affection; a grief to which even the glorious occasion in which he fell does not bring the consolation which perhaps it ought. his lordship received a musket ball in his left breast, about the middle of the action, and sent an officer to me immediately, with his last farewell, and soon after expired. i have also to lament the loss of those excellent officers, captain duff of the _mars_, and cooke of the _bellerophon_; i have yet heard of none others. i fear the numbers that have fallen will be found very great when the returns come to me; but it having blown a gale of wind ever since the action, i have not yet had it in my power to collect any reports from the ships. the _royal sovereign_ having lost her masts, except the tottering foremast, i called the _euryalus_ to me, while the action continued, which ship, lying within hail, made my signals, a service which captain blackwood performed with very great attention. after the action i shifted my flag to her, so that i might the more easily communicate my orders to, and collect the ships, and towed the _royal sovereign_ out to seaward. the whole fleet were now in a very perilous situation; many dismasted; all shattered; in thirteen fathom water off the shoals of trafalgar; and when i made the signal to anchor, few of the ships had an anchor to let go, their cables being shot. but the same good providence which aided us through such a day preserved us in the night, by the wind shifting a few points, and drifting the ships off the land, except four of the captured dismasted ships, which are now at anchor off trafalgar, and i hope will ride safe until these gales are over. having thus detailed the proceedings of the fleet on this occasion, i beg to congratulate their lordships on a victory, which i hope will add a ray to the glory of his majesty's crown, and be attended with public benefit to our country. i am, etc., (_signed_) c. collingwood. william marsden, esq. general order. "euryalus", _october 22, 1805._ the ever-to-be-lamented death of lord viscount nelson, duke of bronte, the commander-in-chief, who fell in the action of the 21st, in the arms of victory, covered with glory, whose memory will ever be dear to the british navy and the british nation, whose zeal for the honour of his king, and for the interest of his country will be ever held up as a shining example for a british seaman, leave to me a duty to return my thanks to the right honourable rear-admiral, the captains, officers, seamen, and detachments of royal marines, serving on his majesty's squadron now under my command, for their conduct on that day. but where can i find language to express my sentiments of the valour and skill which were displayed by the officers, the seamen, and marines, in the battle with the enemy, where every individual appeared a hero, on whom the glory of his country depended! the attack was irresistible, and the issue of it adds to the page of naval annals a brilliant instance of what britons can do, when their king and country need their service. to the right honourable rear-admiral the earl of northesk, to the captains, officers, and seamen, and to the officers, non-commissioned officers, and privates of the royal marines, i beg to give my sincere and hearty thanks for their highly meritorious conduct, both in the action and in their zeal and activity in bringing the captured ships out from the perilous situation in which they were, after their surrender, among the shoals of trafalgar in boisterous weather. and i desire that the respective captains will be pleased to communicate to the officers, seamen, and royal marines, this public testimony of my high approbation of their conduct, and my thanks for it. (_signed_) c. collingwood. to the right honourable rear-admiral the earl of northesk, and the respective captains and commanders. general order. the almighty god, whose arm is strength, having of his great mercy been pleased to crown the exertions of his majesty's fleet with success, in giving them a complete victory over their enemies, on the 21st of this month; and that all praise and thanksgiving may be offered up to the throne of grace, for the great benefit to our country and to mankind, i have thought it proper that a day should be appointed of general humiliation before god, and thanksgiving for his merciful goodness, imploring forgiveness of sins, a continuation of his divine mercy, and his constant aid to us, in defence of our country's liberties and laws, and without which the utmost efforts of man are nought; and therefore that [blank] be appointed for this holy purpose. given on board the "euryalus," off cape trafalgar, october 22, 1805. (_signed_) c. collingwood to the respective captains and commanders. n.b.--the fleet having been dispersed by a gale of wind, no day has yet been able to be appointed for the above purpose. against the desire of his dead comrade, collingwood carried into practice his own sound and masterful judgment not to anchor either his conquests or any of his own vessels on a lee ironbound shore. even had his ground tackle been sound and intact, which it was not, and the holding ground good instead of bad, he acted in a seamanlike manner by holding steadfastly to the sound sailor tradition always to keep the gate open for drift, to avoid being caught, and never to anchor on a lee shore; and if perchance you get trapped, as hundreds have been, get out of it quickly, if you can, before a gale comes on. but in no case is it good seamanship to anchor. there is always a better chance of saving both the ship and lives by driving ashore in the square effort to beat off rather than by anchoring. the cables, more often than not, part, and if they do, the ship is doomed, and so may lives be. hundreds of sailing vessels were saved in other days by the skill of their commanders in carrying out a plan, long since forgotten, called clubhauling off a lee shore. few sailors living to-day will know the phrase, or how to apply it to advantage. it was a simple method, requiring ability, of helping the vessel to tack when the wind and sea made it impossible in the ordinary way. a large kedge with a warp bent on was let go on either the port or starboard quarter at an opportune moment to make sure the vessel would cant the right way, and then the warp was cut with an axe. in the writer's opinion, it would have been just as unwise to anchor at trafalgar after the battle, in view of the weather and all circumstances, as it would be to anchor on the yorkshire or any part of the north-east coast when an easterly gale is blowing. but apart from the folly of it, there were none of the ships that had ground tackle left that was fit to hold a cat. without a doubt, nelson's mind was distracted and suffering when he gave hardy the order to anchor. the shadows were hovering too thickly round him at the time for him to concentrate any sound judgment. some writers have condemned collingwood for not carrying out the dying request of his commander-in-chief. it was a good thing that the command of the fleet fell into the hands of a man who had knowledge and a mind unimpaired to carry out his fixed opinions. when hardy conveyed nelson's message, he replied, "that is the very last thing that i would have thought of doing," and he was right. had nelson come out of the battle unscathed, he would assuredly have acted as collingwood did, and as any well-trained and soundly-balanced sailor would have done. besides, he always made a point of consulting "coll," as he called him, on great essential matters. if it had been summer-time and calm, or the wind off the land, and the glass indicating a continuance of fine weather, and provided the vessels' cables had been sound, it might have paid to risk a change of wind and weather in order to refit with greater expedition and save the prizes, but certainly not in the month of october in that locality, where the changes are sudden and severe. collingwood acted like a sound hardheaded man of affairs in salving all he could and destroying those he could not without risk of greater disaster. collingwood's account of his difficulties after the battle was won is contained in the following letter to his father-in-law:- "queen," _2nd november, 1805._ my dear sir,--i wrote to my dear sarah a few lines when i sent my first dispatches to the admiralty, which account i hope will satisfy the good people of england, for there never was, since england had a fleet, such a combat. in three hours the combined fleet were annihilated, upon their own shores, at the entrance of their port, amongst their own rocks. it has been a very difficult thing to collect an account of our success, but by the best i have twenty-three sail of the line surrendered to us, out of which three, in the furious gale we had afterward, being driven to the entrance of the harbour of cadiz, received assistance and got in; these were the _santa anna_, the _algeziras_, and _neptune_ (the last since sunk and lost); the _santa anna's_ side was battered in. the three we have sent to gibraltar are the _san ildefonso_, _san juan nepomuceno_, and _swiftsure_; seventeen others we have burnt, sunk, and run on shore, but the _bahama_ i have yet hope of saving; she is gone to gibraltar. those ships which effected their escape into cadiz are quite wrecks; some have lost their masts since they got in, and they have not a spar or a store to refit them. we took four admirals--villeneuve the commander-in-chief, vice-admiral d'alava, rear-admiral cisneros, spanish, and magon, the french admiral, who was killed--besides a great number of brigadiers (commanders). d'alava, wounded, was driven into cadiz in the _santa anna_; gravina, who was not taken, has lost his arm (amputated i have heard, but not from him); of men, their loss is many thousands, for i reckon in the captured ships we took twenty thousand prisoners (including the troops). this was a victory to be proud of; but in the loss of my excellent friend, lord nelson, and a number of brave men, we paid dear for it; when my dear friend received his wound, he immediately sent an officer to me to tell me of it, and give his love to me. though the officer was directed to say the wound was not dangerous, i read in his countenance what i had to fear; and before the action was over captain hardy came to inform me of his death. i cannot tell you how deeply i was affected, for my friendship for him was unlike anything that i have left in the navy, a brotherhood of more than thirty years; in this affair he did nothing without my counsel; we made our line of battle together, and concerted the mode of attack, which was put into execution in the most admirable style. i shall grow very tired of the sea soon; my health has suffered so much from the anxious state i have been in, and the fatigue i have undergone, that i shall be unfit for service. the severe gales which immediately followed the day of victory ruined our prospect of prizes; our own infirm ships could scarce keep off the shore; the prizes were left to their fate, and as they were driven very near the port, i ordered them to be destroyed by burning and sinking, that there might be no risk of their falling again into the hands of the enemy. there has been a great destruction of them, indeed i hardly know what, but not less than seventeen or eighteen, the total ruin of the combined fleet. to alleviate the miseries of the wounded, as much as in my power, i sent a flag to the marquis solano, to offer him his wounded. nothing can exceed the gratitude expressed by him, for this act of humanity; all this part of spain is in an uproar of praise and thankfulness to the english. solano sent me a present of a cask of wine, and we have a free intercourse with the shore. judge of the footing we are on, when i tell you he offered me his hospitals, and pledged the spanish honour for the care and cure of our wounded men. our officers and men, who were wrecked in some of the prize ships, were received like divinities; all the country was on the beach to receive them; the priests and women distributing wine, and bread and fruit among them; the soldiers turned out of their barracks to make lodging for them, whilst their allies, the french, were left to shift for themselves, with a guard over them to prevent their doing mischief. after the battle i shifted my flag to the _euryalus_ frigate, that i might the better distribute my orders; and when the ships were destroyed and the squadron in safety, i came here, my own ship being totally disabled; she lost her last mast in the gale. all the northern boys, and graydon, are alive; kennicott has a dangerous wound in his shoulder; thompson is wounded in the arm, and just at the conclusion of the action his leg was broken by a splinter; little charles is unhurt, but we have lost a good many youngsters. for myself, i am in so forlorn a state, my servants killed, my luggage, what is left, is on board the _sovereign_, and clavell[16] wounded. i have appointed sir peter parker's[17] grandson, and captain thomas, my old lieutenant, post captains; clavell, and the first lieutenant of the _victory_, made commanders; but i hope the admiralty will do more for them, for in the history of our navy there is no instance of a victory so complete and so great. the ships that escaped into cadiz are wrecks; and they have neither stores nor inclination to refit them. i shall now go, as soon as i get a sufficient squadron equipped, and see what i can do with the carthagenians; if i can get at them, the naval war will be finished in this country. prize-money i shall get little or none for this business, for though the loss of the enemy may be estimated at near four millions, it is most of it gone to the bottom. don argemoso, who was formerly captain of the _isedro_, commanded the _monarca_, one of our captures; he sent to inform me he was in the _leviathan_, and i immediately ordered, for our old acquaintance sake, his liberty on parole. all the spaniards speak of us in terms of adoration; and villeneuve, whom i had in the frigate, acknowledges that they cannot contend with us at sea. i do not know what will be thought of it in england, but the effect here is highly advantageous to the british name. kind remembrances to all my friends; i dare say your neighbour, mr.---will be delighted with the history of the battle; if he had been in it, it would have animated him more than all his daughter's chemistry; it would have new strung his nerves, and made him young again. god bless you, my dear sir, may you be ever happy; it is very long since i heard from home. i am, ever, your most truly affectionate, cuthbert collingwood. i have ordered all the boys to be discharged into this ship; another such fight will season them pretty well. brown is in perfect health. we had forty-seven killed, ninety-four wounded. great efforts were made to get all the people out of the disabled vessels before they drifted ashore. it is really splendid to read the official account of the deeds of bravery of our fine fellows risking their own lives to save the lives of those they had defeated. seven days after the battle, the _victory_ arrived at gibraltar, and although her masts had been shot away and her hull badly damaged, she was refitted and sailed for england on the 4th november, the same day that the straggling dumanoir and his ships fell into the hands of sir richard strachan in the bay of biscay. xiv on the _victory's_ arrival at spithead with nelson's remains aboard, preserved in spirits, the body was taken out and put in a leaden coffin filled with brandy and other strong preservatives. on the arrival of the _victory_ at the entrance of the thames, the body was removed, dressed in the admiral's uniform, and put into the coffin made out of the mainmast of _l'orient_ and presented to nelson some years before by captain hallowell. it was then put into a third case, and on the 9th january, 1806, after lying in state for three days, the remains were buried in st. paul's. the imposing demonstrations of sorrow could not be excelled. parliament voted a monument in st. paul's cathedral, and others were erected in all the principal towns in england and scotland. there were neither material honours nor eulogies great enough to express the gratitude that was felt throughout the united kingdom for the late admiral's achievements. his widow, whom he had not seen for years, and from whom he was definitely parted, was granted £2,000 per annum for life. his brother was made an earl, with a perpetual income of £6,000 a year, and £15,000 of national money was voted to each of the sisters, while £100,000 was given for an estate to be attached to the title. the human legacy left by nelson of emma hamilton and their daughter horatia were not mentioned, though he seems to have implored heaven and earth in their behalf. obviously, the government felt that they dare not be generous to everybody, even though it were nelson's dying injunction. collingwood, who had as much to do with the triumph of trafalgar as nelson himself, without making any ado about it, was treated pretty much like a provincial mayor. the mayor, of course, may and often does adopt a luxurious roman style of living in order that his local deeds may not escape observation, but such self-advertisement was entirely foreign to collingwood's character. it was fitting that every reasonable honour should have been paid to the memory of a great englishman, whose deeds, in co-operation with others, have never been surpassed. but to make grants and give honours of so generous a character to nelson's relatives, and especially to his wife, who had been a torment to him, and to measure out collingwood's equally great accomplishments with so mean a hand, is an astonishing example of parsimony which, for the sake of our national honour, it is to be hoped rarely occurs. even the haughty, plethoric nobles of a fourth-rate town council (if it be not a libel to mention them in connection with so discreditable an affair) would have judged the manifest fitness of things better than to make any distinction between admiral collingwood and his lifelong friend nelson. surely this famous and eminently worthy public servant was as deserving of an earldom as was nelson's brother, and his wife and daughters of a more generous allowance than that of his dead chief's widow and sisters!--this distinguished man, who helped to plan the order of battle at trafalgar and was the first to take his ship into action in a way that inflamed the pride and admiration of the commander-in-chief, and made him spontaneously exclaim, "see, blackwood, how that noble fellow collingwood takes his ship into battle! how i envy him!" no one knew as well as nelson that his comrade, next to himself, was to play the leading part in not only assuring a victory, but in completely annihilating the french and spanish fleets. yet the british government of that day only counted the services he had rendered to the nation worthy of a peerage, plus the same pension as nelson's widow; i.e. he was to have a pension of £2,000 a year, and after his death lady collingwood was to have the munificent sum of £1,000 per annum and each of his two daughters £500 a year. he never drew his pension, as they kept him in the service he had made so great until he was a physical wreck. he died on his way home aboard the _ville de paris_ on the 7th march, 1810, and was laid to rest in st. paul's cathedral alongside of his distinguished friend lord nelson. i have already drawn attention to nelson's blind prejudice to and hatred of the french. collingwood was tainted with the same one-sided views, but tempered them with more conventional language. in his letters to lady collingwood he expresses delight at receiving a letter written to him in french by his daughter, and exhorts the mother to see that she converses when she can in that language, and to remember that she is never to admire anything french but the language. on another occasion he enjoins his daughter sarah to write every day a translation of english into french, so that the language may soon become familiar to her; and then, as though he regarded these instructions as unpatriotic, he qualifies them by reminding her "that it is the only thing french that she needs to acquire, because there is little else in connection with that country which he would wish her to love or imitate." a kinsman of his, after the battle of trafalgar, wrote to inform him that his family were descended from, and allied to, many great families, talebois amongst the rest. he brushed the intended compliment aside, and in his quaint manner remarked that "he had never troubled to search out his genealogy but all he could say was, that if he got hold of the french fleet, he would either be a viscount or nothing." this is one of the very rare symptoms of vaunting that he ever gave way to; and though his dislike of the french was as inherent as nelson's, he never allowed his chivalrous nature to be overruled by passion. in a letter to lord radstock in 1806 he closes it by paying a high tribute to the unfortunate french admiral villeneuve by stating "that he was a well-bred man, and a good officer, who had nothing of the offensive vapourings and boastings in his manner which were, perhaps, too commonly attributed to the frenchmen." collingwood was a man of high ideals with a deeply religious fervour, never sinning and then repenting as nelson was habitually doing. physical punishment of his men was abhorrent to him, and although he enforced stern discipline on his crew, they worshipped him. "i cannot understand," he said, "the religion of an officer who can pray all one day and flog his men all the next." his method was to create a feeling of honour amongst his men, and he did this with unfailing success, without adopting the harsh law of the land made by english aristocrats. in a letter to his wife, dated september, 1806, collingwood informs her that the queen of naples expected to be put on the throne of naples again and had intimated the desire of showing her gratitude to himself by creating him a sicilian duke and giving him an estate. "if a dukedom is offered to me," he tells her, "i shall return my thanks for the honour they wish to confer upon me, and show my estimate of it by telling them that i am the servant of my sovereign alone, and can receive no rewards from a foreign prince." napoleon denounced marie caroline, queen of naples, as "a wicked shameless woman, who had violated all that men held most sacred." she had ceased to reign, and by her crimes she had fulfilled her destiny. collingwood, who knew her public and private character to be notoriously untrustworthy and loose, looked upon the proposed honour from such a person as an affront, and refused to accept it if offered. nelson, on the other hand, who had a passion for window-dressing and flattery, accepted with a flowing heart both a dukedom and an estate from their sicilian majesties. his close intimacy with the royal family, and especially with the queen, was a perpetual anxiety to his loyal and devoted friends. there were no two men in the service who had such an affectionate regard for each other as nelson and the amiable northumbrian admiral, and certainly none equalled them in their profession or in their devotion to their king and country. each was different from the other in temperament and character, but both were alike in superb heroism--the one, egotistically untamed, revelling at intervals in lightning flashes of eternal vengeance on the french fleet when the good fortune of meeting them should come; and the other, with calm reticence elaborating his plans and waiting patiently for his chance to take part in the challenge that was to decide the dominion of the sea. each, in fact, rivalled in being a spirit to the other. nelson believed, and frequently said, that he "wished to appear as a godsend"; while collingwood, in more humble and piercing phrase, remarked that "while it is england, let me keep my place in the forefront of the battle." the sound of the names of these two remarkable men is like an echo from other far-off days. both believed that god was on their side. neither of them knew the character or purpose of the exalted man on whom their government was making war. like simple-minded, brave sailors as they were, knowing nothing of the mysteries of political jealousies and intrigue, and believing that the men constituting the government must be of high mental and administrative ability, they assumed that they were carrying out a flawless patriotic duty, never doubting the wisdom of it; and it was well for england that they did not. men always fight better when they know and believe their cause is just. collingwood, like most of his class, gave little thought to money matters. he had "no ambition," he says, "to possess riches," but he had to being recognized in a proper way. he wished the succession of his title to be conferred on his daughters, as he had no son. this was a modest and very natural desire, considering what the nation owed to him, but it was not granted, and the shame of it can never be redeemed. in one of his letters to mr. blackett he says to him, "i was exceedingly displeased at some of the language held in the house of commons on the settlement of the pension upon my daughters; it was not of my asking, and if i had a favour to ask, money would be the last thing i would beg from an impoverished country. i am not a jew, whose god is gold; nor a swiss, whose services are to be counted against so much money. i have motives for my conduct which i would not give in exchange for a hundred pensions." these lines speak eloquently of the high order of this illustrious man. he despises money, but claims it as his right to have proper recognition of his services, which the government should have given him generously and with both hands. in so many words he says, "keep your money, i am not to be bought, but confer on me if you will some suitable token that will convince me that you do really, in the name of the nation, appreciate what i have done for it." services such as he had rendered could never have been adequately rewarded by either money or honours, no matter how high in degree. in the affairs of money these two great admirals were pretty similar, except that collingwood knew better how to spend it than nelson. both were generous, though the former had method and money sense, while the latter does not appear to have had either. he was accustomed to say "that the want of fortune was a crime which he could never get over." both in temperament and education collingwood was superior to nelson. the former knew that he had done and was capable of doing great deeds, but he would never condescend to seek for an honour reward; while nelson, who also knew when he had distinguished himself in the national interest, expected to be rewarded, and on occasions when it was too tardily withheld, he became peevish, whimpered a good deal about his illtreatment, and on more than one occasion showed unbecoming rage at being neglected. after copenhagen, the wigs were fairly on the green because he was created a viscount instead of an earl. he talked a good deal about the tower, a dukedom, or westminster abbey, and had ways of demanding attention for which collingwood had neither the aptitude nor the inclination, though his naval qualities were quite equal to nelson's. but with all their faults and virtues, there was never any petty jealousy between the two heroes, who lie at rest side by side in the tombs at st. paul's. faithful to their naval orthodoxy that it was incumbent for every christian sailor-man to wash clean his conscience when he was passing from time into eternity, nelson on the 21st october, 1805, and collingwood five years later, avowed to those who had the honour of closing their eyes for evermore that they "had not been great sinners," and then slipped into eternal sleep; each of them leaving behind a name that will live and descend into distant ages. we left villeneuve, the unfortunate but distinctly brave french commander-in-chief of the allied fleet at trafalgar, aboard the _mars_. he was subsequently sent a prisoner to england, and after a short stay, he was allowed to go to france, and broke his journey at rennes on his way to paris. the poor broken-hearted fellow was found dead in his room, having committed suicide. there is not the remotest foundation for the unworthy report that was spread that he was put to death by napoleon's orders. the emperor was much too big a man, occupied with human projects too vast, to waste a moment's thought or to stain his name over an unfortunate admiral who had brought his fleet to grief by acting against his instructions. it is only little men who write, not that which is founded on fact but that which they imagine will appeal to the popular taste of the moment; and so it was with the french emperor; a lot of scandal-mongers were always at work hawking hither and thither their poisonous fabrications. a great many people get their living by appealing to the lowest passions. napoleon, when in captivity, referred incidentally to the misfortunes of villeneuve, and made the following statement to dr. o'meara:- "villeneuve," said he, "when taken prisoner and brought to england, was so much grieved at his defeat, that he studied anatomy on purpose to destroy himself. for this purpose he bought some anatomical plates of the heart, and compared them with his own body, in order to ascertain the exact situation of that organ. on his arrival in france i ordered that he should remain at rennes, and not proceed to paris. villeneuve, afraid of being tried by a court-martial for disobedience of orders, and consequently losing the fleet, for i had ordered him _not to sail or to engage the english_, determined to destroy himself, and accordingly took his plates of the heart, and compared them with his breast. exactly in the centre of the plate he made a mark with a large pin, then fixed the pin as near as he could judge in the same spot in his own breast, shoved it in to the head, penetrated his heart and expired. when the room was opened he was found dead; the pin in his breast, and a mark in the plate corresponding with the wound in his breast. he need not have done it," continued he, "as he was a brave man, though possessed of no talent."[18] i have given this communication in full as it appears in o'meara's book, because the scribes would have it that villeneuve was destroyed by the emperor's orders. there was not at the time, nor has there ever appeared since, anything to justify such a calumny on a man who challenged the world to make the charge and prove that he had ever committed a crime during the whole of his public career. no one has taken up the challenge except in sweeping generalities of slander, which are easily made but less easy to substantiate. if the emperor had really wished to take villeneuve's life, it would have been more satisfactory to have him condemned to death by a court-martial composed of his countrymen than to have the already ruined man secretly destroyed for mere private revenge. the common sense of the affair compels one to repudiate the idea of the emperor's complicity in so stupid a crime. it is more likely that napoleon wished to save him from the consequences of a court-martial, so ordered him to remain at rennes. he rarely punished offenders according to their offences. after the first flush of anger was over, they were generally let down easily, and for the most part became traitors afterwards. we need not waste time or space in dilating on what would have happened to nelson had he put at defiance the authority that controlled him and the irreparable disaster that would have followed. villeneuve has been belauded for his gallantry in the fight at trafalgar; indeed, we learn, from sources that may be relied upon, that his bravery, dispositions in battle, and art of enthusing his followers could not be surpassed. his signals to the fleet were almost identical with nelson's. here is one: "celui qui ne serait pas dans le feu ne serait pas à son poste"; the literal translation of which is: "he who would not be in the fire would not be at his post"; or, "the man who would hold his post must stand fire," which is quite an inspiring signal. but i wonder what the eulogists of villeneuve would have written of him had he been the victor instead of the defeated. it is generous to give praise to the unfortunate admiral for whom nelson had such an aversion and who was constantly threatened by him with vigorous chastisement when he caught him; but generosity was not the motive--it was only part of the loose-lipped, unclean policy of decrying napoleon. it is horrible, ungrateful, and foul brutishness of the corsican tyrant to court-martial so amiable and brave a man as villeneuve because he proceeded out of cadiz against orders and suffered a crushing defeat! it is quite permissible for a french admiral to put authority at defiance if doing so complies with the sentiments of anti-napoleon writers, who were either ill-informed, purblind critics or eaten up with insincerity or moral malaria! but it is the maintenance of discipline to have men like sir john byng court-martialled and shot after being tried, it is said, by a not entirely impartial court, on the supposition that he had neglected his duty in an engagement with the french off minorca on the 20th may, 1756, and committed an error of judgment. a rather remarkable method of enforcing discipline, to shoot an admiral for an error of judgment! take another case of high-ordered, solemn devotion to discipline: sir robert calder, who had gained an important victory over the french at finisterre, was court-martialled, condemned and ruined, ostensibly because he did not achieve a greater victory. the decisions of both cases were crimes, not desire for the maintenance of discipline. it was, and ever will be, a stain on the name of justice. i need not carry this further, except to say that according to the solemn logic of some writers, it was murder for napoleon or some of his ministers to have the duc d'enghien shot for having conspired with others for the overthrow of the established french government, but it is the saintly enforcement of discipline to have a british admiral shot and another ruined for no other reason than an error of judgment on the one hand and an insufficient victory on the other. sir robert calder's heart was broken by cruelty. villeneuve lost his fleet and killed himself, not that he had anything to fear from the decision of the court-martial--so it is said on the authority of an english writer of note. certainly he had nothing to fear from the emperor, who has indicated that he had no intention of dealing severely with him. it was fitting that he should be reprimanded, and no doubt he would have been, after which, as was his custom, the emperor would have conferred some kindly favour upon him. serene authors have entangled themselves a good deal over this matter in their efforts to take up the impossible position of making the emperor and not villeneuve responsible for the disaster at trafalgar to the spanish and french fleet. of course, napoleon was badly chagrined, and so would the king of england have been, if it were thinkable that such a calamity could possibly have befallen any british fleet. the head of the french nation would have been less than human had he not felt the full force of the terrific blow to his country, and especially to himself. disposition of fleets at trafalgar trafalgar, 21st october, 1805. detailed list of ships engaged. (_a_) british order of battle, with the names of the flag officers and captains. van, or weather column. ships. guns. commanders. killed. wounded. _victory_ 100 vice-ad. visc. nelson 51 75 captain t.m. hardy _téméraire_ 98 eliab harvey 47 76 _neptune_ 98 t.f. freemantle 10 34 _conqueror_ 74 israel pellew 3 9 _leviathan_ 74 h.w. bayntun 4 22 _ajax_ 74 lieut. j. pilfold - 9 _orion_ 74 edward codrington 1 23 _agamemnon_ 64 sir edward berry 2 7 _minotaur_ 74 c.j.m. mansfield 3 22 _spartiate_ 74 sir f. laforey, bart. 3 20 _britannia_ 100 rear-ad. earl northesk 10 42 captain charles bullen _africa_ 64 henry digby 18 44 -- -- 154 383 -- --frigates. ships. guns. commanders. _euryalus_ 36 hon. h. blackwood _sirius_ 36 william prowse _phoebe_ 36 hon. t.b. capel _naiad_ 38 t. dundas _pickle_ 12 lieut. j.r. lapenotiere _intreprenante_ 12 lieut. r.b. young (cutter) rear, or lee column. ships. guns. commanders. killed. wounded _royal sovereign_ 100 vice-ad. collingwood 47 94 captain e. rotherham _mars_ 74 george duff 29 69 _belleisle_ 74 william hargood 33 93 _tonnant_ 80 charles tyler 26 50 _bellerophon_ 74 john cooke 27 133 _colossus_ 74 j.n. morris 40 160 _achille_ 74 richard king 13 59 _polyphemus_ 64 robert redmill 2 4 _revenge_ 74 r. moorsom 28 51 _swiftsure_ 74 w.g. rutherford 9 7 _defence_ 74 george hope 7 29 _thunderer_ 74 lieut. j. stockham 4 16 _prince_ 98 richard grindall - -_defiance_ 74 p.c. durham 17 53 _dreadnought_ 98 john conn 7 26 -- -- 263 794 -- --note.--lieutenants pilfold and stockham were acting for captains w. brown and lechmere, absent on sir r. calder's trial; the lieutenants, w.p. camby, of the _bellerophon_, and w. hannah, of the _mars_, having their captains killed, the whole of these officers, with lieutenant quillam, first of the _victory_, were made post immediately. (_b_) a list of the combined fleet of france and spain, showing how they were disposed of. 1. spanish ship, _san ildefonso_, 74 guns, brigadier don joseph de varga, sent to gibraltar. 2. spanish ship, _san juan nepomuceno_, 74 guns, brigadier don cosme cherruca, sent to gibraltar. 3. spanish ship, _bahama_, 74 guns. brigadier don a.d. galiano, sent to gibraltar. 4. french ship, _swiftsure_, 74 guns, monsieur villemadrin, sent to gibraltar. 5. spanish ship, _monarca_, 74 guns, don teodoro argumosa, wrecked off san lucar. 6. french ship, _fougeux_, 74 guns, monsieur beaudouin, wrecked off trafalgar, all perished, and 30 of the _téméraire's_ men. 7. french ship, _indomitable_, 84 guns, monsieur hubart, wrecked off rota, all perished, said to have had 1,500 men on board. 8. french ship, _bucentaure_, 80 guns, admiral villeneuve, commander-in-chief, captains prigny and magendie, wrecked on the porques, some of the crew saved. 9. spanish ship, _san francisco de asis_, 74 guns, don luis de flores, wrecked near rota. 10. spanish ship, _el rayo_, 100 guns, brigadier don henrique macdonel, taken by _donegal_, and wrecked near san lucar. 11. spanish ship, _neptuno_, 84 guns, brigadier don cayetano valdes, wrecked between rota and catalina. 12. french ship, _argonaute_, 74 guns, monsieur epron, on shore in the port of cadiz. (by subsequent account not lost.) 13. french ship, _berwick_, 74 guns, monsieur camas, wrecked to the northward of san lucar. 14. french ship, _aigle_, 74 guns, monsieur courage, wrecked near rota. 15. french ship, _achille_, 74 guns, monsieur de nieuport, burnt during the action. 16. french ship, _intrepide_, 74 guns, monsieur infernet, burnt by the _britannia_. 17. spanish ship, _san augustin_, 74 guns, brigadier don felipe x. cagigal, burnt by the _leviathan_. 18. spanish ship, _santissima trinidad_, 140 guns, rear-admiral don baltazar h. cisneros, brigadier don f. uriate, sunk by the _prince_ and _neptune_. 19. french ship, _redoubtable_, 74 guns, monsieur lucas, sunk astern of the _swiftsure_; _téméraire_ lost 13, and _swiftsure_ 5 men, in her. 20. spanish ship, _argonauta_, 80 guns, don antonio parejo, sunk by the _ajax_. 21. spanish ship, _santa anna_, 112 guns, vice-admiral don ignacio d'alava, captain don joseph de guardequi, taken, but got into cadiz in the gale, dismasted. 22. french ship, _algeziras_, 74 guns, rear-admiral magon (killed), captain monsieur bruaro, taken, but got into cadiz in the gale, dismasted. 23. french ship, _pluton_, 74 guns. monsieur cosmao, returned to cadiz in a sinking state. 24. spanish ship, _san juste_, 74 guns, don miguel caston, returned to cadiz, has a foremast only. 25. spanish ship, _san leandro_, 64 guns, don joseph de quevedo, returned to cadiz, dismasted. 26. french ship, _le neptune_, 84 guns, monsieur maistral, returned to cadiz, perfect. 27. french ship, _le heros_, 74 guns, monsieur poulain, returned to cadiz, lower masts standing, hoisted admiral rossily's flag. 28. spanish ship, _principe de asturias_, 112 guns, admiral gravina, captain don antonio escano, returned to cadiz, dismasted. 29. spanish ship, _montanez_, don francisco alcedo, returned to cadiz. 30. french ship. _formidable_, 80 guns, rear-admiral dumanoir, escaped to the southward, with the three following. 31. french ship, _montblanc_, 74 guns, monsieur villegries. 32. french ship, _scipion_, 74 guns. monsieur berouger. 33. french ship, _du guay trouin_, 74 guns. monsieur toufflet. abstract at gibraltar 4 destroyed 15 in cadiz 10 escaped 4 - 33 -footnotes: [1] battle of aboukir. at the battle of aboukir bay the british losses were reported to be 896 killed and wounded. only one captain fell. 5,225 of the french perished, and 3,105, including wounded, were sent on shore. when the battle was over, nelson gave instructions that thanksgiving aboard every ship should be offered to almighty god for giving his majesty's forces the victory. it is the author's opinion that but for a good deal of slashing genius and not a little of the devil on the part of nelson and his men the french would not have fared so badly. [2] portraits painted by poor romney for £40, or less, sell for many thousands at christie's in these days. [3] italics are the author's. [4] italics are the author's. [5] some authorities speak of sir william hamilton as being an amiable, accomplished man, who left on record a letter which reads as follows:--"my study of antiquities has kept me in constant thought of the perpetual fluctuation of everything. the whole art is really to live all the _days_ of our life. admire the creator and all his works, to us incomprehensible, and do all the good you can on earth; and take the chance of eternity without dismay." [6] sir harris nicolas is inclined to believe in the purity of nelson's attachment and southey says there is no reason to believe that it was more than platonic. but these views are certainly not borne out by those who knew nelson and his connection with the hamiltons intimately. [7] the name by which nelson speaks of her occasionally in his correspondence with lady hamilton. his daughter bore this name before his death, but he desired that afterwards she should drop the name of thompson. [8] "correspondence and diaries of john wilson croker," vol. ii. p. 233. [9] o'meara, vol. i. p. 308. [10] o'meara, "voice from st. helena," vol. ii. p. 229. "talks of napoleon at st. helena," gourgand, p. 118. [11] the body was first seen floating by a neapolitan fisherman, who reported the matter, but his story was ridiculed. finally, in order to verify the statement, the principal actors in the shameful tragedy went for a sail in naples bay and soon met the body borne along by the swift current as though to meet them. the incident created a profound impression at the time. [12] this girl of twenty-two, who is known to fame and immortality, purchased a dagger, and called on marat, who was the most infamous arch-butcher of the reign of terror. he was in his bath at the time, but this did not prevent her from making her way to him. he wrote down the names of the conspirators she told him of having seen in normandy, and he told her he would swiftly have them guillotined. the assurance had scarcely left his lips when in an instant she thrust the instrument of death through his heart. she repudiated the stigma of being thought a murderess, and believed that her act would be the means of saving thousands of lives. she was dragged through the streets, taken to the executioner, and asked for the loan of his shears and cut off a lock of her hair. when asked if she found the journey long, she replied with perfect composure, "oh no, i am not afraid of being too late." subsequently one of the girondin deputies said of her, "she has killed us, but she has taught all how to die." [13] troubridge's bluff letter to lord nelson. "pardon me, my lord, it is my sincere esteem for you that makes me mention it. i know you have no pleasure in sitting up all night at cards; why then sacrifice your health, comfort, purse, ease, everything, to the customs of a country where your stay cannot be long? i would not, my lord, reside in this country for all sicily. i trust the war will soon be over, and deliver us from a nest of everything that is infamous, and that we may enjoy the smiles of our countrywomen. "your lordship is a stranger to half that happens, or the talk it occasions; if you knew what your friends feel for you, i am sure you would cut all the nocturnal parties. gambling of the people at palermo is publicly talked of everywhere. i beseech your lordship leave off. i wish my pen could tell you my feelings, i am sure you would oblige me. "i trust your lordship will pardon me; it is the sincere esteem i have for you that makes me risk your displeasure." no reply, so far as is known, was ever sent to this outspoken letter. [14] castlereagh and canning fought a duel. canning was wounded by a bullet in the leg, and it prevented castlereagh from being an unpopular figure. indeed, he became for a time, in limited circles, popular. percival was assassinated. lord liverpool was prime minister for fifteen years, and departed this life insane. canning was brilliant, witty, and eloquent, and his outlook was large. it was said that he was spoiled by pitt, and was consumed by vanity, and was broken by tory calumniation. political, commercial, or social intrigue success is always followed by the most deadly reaction on those who practise or encourage it, and i trust that a merciful providence will shield from the tragedies and maladies that came to some members of this former coalition those of the present, which apparently excels every other in its colossal efforts at doing harm. the best brains are needed now, not romancers. [15] subsequent information has proved this statement wanted confirmation. [16] captain john clavell, then first lieutenant of the _royal sovereign._ [17] the lamented sir peter parker, bart., who fell in the _chesapeake_ in 1814, when captain of the _menelaus_, leading his men against the americans. [18] "napoleon in exile," vol. i. p. 56. napoleon and his connection with the world-war (1914-1918) napoleon's farewell from the french farewell to the land, where the gloom of my glory arose and o'ershadowed the earth with her name- she abandons me now--but the page of her story, the brightest or blackest, is fill'd with my fame. i have warred with a world which vanquished me only when the meteor of conquest allured me too far; i have coped with the nations which dread me thus lonely, the last single captive to millions in war. farewell to thee, france! when thy diadem crown'd me, i made thee the gem and the wonder of earth, but thy weakness decrees i should leave as i found thee, decay'd in thy glory, and sunk in thy worth. oh! for the veteran hearts that were wasted in strife with the storm, when their battles were won- then the eagle, whose gaze in that moment was blasted, had still soar'd with eyes fixed on victory's sun! farewell to thee, france!--but when liberty rallies once more in thy regions, remember me then,- the violet still grows in the depths of thy valleys; though wither'd, thy tears will unfold it again- yet, yet, i may baffle the hosts that surround us, and yet may thy heart leap awake to my voice- there are links which must break in the chain that has bound us, then turn thee and call on the chief of thy choice! i napoleon, when at the height of his fame, was looked upon by the european powers as a man whose lust of conquest was a terrible menace to all constituted authority. the oligarchies thought themselves bound to combine against him in order to reseat the bourbons on the throne of france and restore law and order to that distracted country. what a travesty of the actual facts! the people of france had risen against the tyranny and oppression of the french kings and nobles, and out of the welter of the revolution napoleon rose to power and, by his magnetic personality, welded the chaotic elements into unity, framed laws which are still in operation, and led his country to wonderful heights of glory. well may the crowned heads of europe have feared this man, whose genius put all their mediocre and unenlightened achievements in the shade. had they been blessed with the same vision as he, they would not have opposed but co-operated with him, by introducing into their own constitutions saner laws such as some of those in the code napoleon. but instead of this, they began a campaign of press vilification, and napoleon's every act was held up as the deed of a monster of iniquity. plots, open and secret, to dethrone him were continually in progress, only to be frustrated by the genius of the man of the people. as an instance of this, and of the one-sided view taken by all ranks and classes of napoleon's opponents, let us contrast two cases which are in some respects parallel. the many plots to assassinate the first consul--especially the one that very nearly succeeded when he was on his way to the opera--and the knowledge that an organized band of conspirators were in red-hot activity and, headed by the duc d'enghien, cadoudal, moreau, and pichegru, were determined to kill the head of the state, overthrow the government, and re-establish the bourbon dynasty, caused the duc to be arrested, tried by his fellow-countrymen, and found guilty of the charges brought against him, and, by the blundering of savary, afterwards duke of rovigo, and the persistence of murat, the death penalty was carried out and he was shot. had he been permitted to live another twenty-four hours, napoleon would unquestionably have pardoned him, though he never doubted the justice of the sentence. much political capital has been made in this country against napoleon for even sanctioning his arrest and in not preventing the capital sentence of the court from being carried out.[19] unquestionably napoleon regretted the execution, and would have granted a free pardon had some one not blundered or been too zealous in what they conceived to be his and the country's best interests. almost every writer on this subject is strong in his condemnation of the execution and of napoleon for not taking surer steps to prevent it. but in judging him in regard to this matter, it is only fair to take into account that he was the ruler of a great empire. whether he became so by force or not, does not matter; he saved the revolution, and had already brought some form of order out of bloody chaos. he had already become the popular head of the french nation, and it devolved upon him to take the most minute precautions against the disturbing effects of the secret and avowed conspirators who directed their operations against his life and the overthrow of his government from london. the precautions taken were drastic, skilfully organized, and far-reaching, and his agents kept him advised of the danger that continually beset him. even though he had no thought of reprieving the duc, and deliberately allowed him to be shot, the act of self-preservation, extreme though it may appear, can hardly be termed, under the circumstances, unwarranted. it was a period of wild, uncontrollable passion, and the survivors of the old aristocracy hated the man of genius who had risen to power from the ranks of the people to take the place of the bourbons. this was the canker that stimulated their enmity. had the duc d'enghien kept himself aloof from conspirators, and been willing to recognize the facts he would never have been molested. he took the risk of co-operating with desperate men, and paid the penalty by being shot on the 24th march, 1804, at 6.0 a.m., at vincennes. had the ruler of any state in europe carried out a death-sentence for the same reason and under the same circumstances, it would have been regarded as well-merited punishment, and the press would have preached the gospel of warning to evil doers. but with napoleon it was different. he was an interloper who had nothing in common with the galaxy of monarchs who ruled europe at that time. subsequently they licked his boots, not for love, but through fear. the shooting of the duc was a fine opportunity for his enemies. they sedulously nursed the press, published books and pamphlets in every language, and employed the most poisoned pen that could be bought to portray the future ruler of kings in terms of obloquy. the performance of the scribes who direct the pen, which is said to be mightier than the sword, is enough to kill any one with a real sense of humour. some of the literary productions which were to send the greatest of living men off the face of the earth are quite grotesque in their feminine, shrill advocacy of force towards the "eater of pigs"; the "anti-christ"; and the murderer of a kindly-disposed gentleman who was on an innocent visit to the frontier of france for the purpose of negotiating a few private matters that had no political significance; what if he were one of the leaders of a band of fine, desperate fellows who had combined, and sworn to rid france of the usurper, even at the risk of death! this being their aim and heroic determination, they had no ground of complaint if the iron hand which ruled the country took measures to prevent them from carrying out their beneficent intentions. of course, i give the sense and not the actual words of the gallant writers of that time who, with a glare in their lion eye (judging from the style of their vapourings), thought that napoleon could never survive so vigorous a stream of invective! what loose fabrications have been scattered over the earth about this regrettable incident, and what abominable cant has been sent forth extolling the virtues of men like the unfortunate duc, who put the law at defiance by secretly carrying out a purpose that he knew was pregnant with danger to himself! let us contrast, if we can, the duc d'enghien's reckless gamble, the consequences of which have been used so consistently to blacken the fame of the emperor napoleon, with nelson's connection with the hanging of the rebel prince carraciolli; of the latter little has been said, though the shooting of the duc seems to have been more justifiable than the hanging of the prince, who was an old man. both were tried and condemned to death by men who, it is said, were prejudiced against them. nelson could have saved the aged admiral had his heart been free from revenge and his mind free from the influence of emma hamilton. the guilt of the admiral's death must eternally lie at his door. the outrage can never be effaced, and must for all time be associated with the mean executioners who, to begin with, had naught but vengeance in their minds. nelson was an englishman entrusted with england's high sense of honour and love of compassion, and in its name he stained its reputation for fair dealing. on entering the bay of naples, a flag of truce was flying at the mast-head of the _seahorse_ and at the castles of nuovo and uovo. the treaty had been ratified by captain foote, a high-minded officer.[20] nelson did not approve of the truce, nor did lady hamilton, who was aboard the _foudroyant_. one can almost see this brazen figure standing on the quarterdeck of this british ship of war calling out to nelson, "haul down the flag of truce, bronte. there must be no truce with rebels." it almost takes one's breath away to think that a man in nelson's position should have allowed private feelings to enter into and influence his professional duty. every now and again we get glimpses of this blatant paramour of his being allowed to assert herself in matters which involved the honour of great britain. we are anxious to believe that nelson put some limit to this lady's interference in matters of high naval policy, but he seems to have been such a fool with women that almost anything ridiculous can be believed of him where they were concerned. both of them figure badly in the uovo and nuovo and carraciolli affair. the garrison there was so vigorously bombarded that it was driven to capitulate, but only on condition that the safety of the garrison would be guaranteed. captain foote at once agreed to this, and to see that it was duly carried out. one of the reasons that led captain foote so readily to agree to the conditions submitted to him was the extreme strength of the forts, which could have pounded the city to pieces. the other was the desire to spare human life. what need was there for nelson to take umbrage at and violate the treaty made by foote in the british name? foote had made a good bargain by getting possession of the forts, and a better and nobler one in making it part of his policy to save human life. we wonder whether nelson's anger did not arise from his being deprived of some of the glory himself. he was desperately fond of it! in any case, he let down england's name badly over the whole transaction. fox made a speech on it in the house of commons which was, and will ever continue to be, an awful indictment. there is nothing in the french revolution, or in the whole of napoleon's career, that can be compared with it for ferocity. great efforts were made to fix the responsibility for breach of faith on captain foote, but they failed, since there was not a vestige of foundation on which a case could be made against him, as the documents conclusively proved. he demanded a court-martial, but his friends prevailed upon him to let his case rest on the conclusive facts which were produced and made public and which have never been questioned. there cannot be found a more astonishing revelation of perfidy or inhuman violence in the archives of europe than that related by mr. fox. here is an extract from his amazing speech:- when the right honourable gentleman speaks of the last campaign, he does not mention the horrors by which some of these successes were accompanied; naples, for instance, has been, among others (what is called) delivered; and yet, if i am rightly informed, it has been stained and polluted by murders so ferocious, and cruelties so abhorrent, that the heart shudders at the recital. it has been said, that not only were the miserable victims of the rage and brutality of the fanatics savagely murdered, but that in many instances their _flesh_ was _devoured_ by the cannibals, who are the advocates, if the rumours which are circulated be true. i will mention a fact to give ministers the opportunity, if it be false, to wipe away the stain that must otherwise affix on the british name. it is said that a party of the republican inhabitants at naples took shelter in the fortress of castle del uovo. they were besieged by a detachment from the royal army, to whom they refused to surrender, but demanded that a british officer should be brought forward, and to him they capitulated. they made terms with him under the sanction of the british name. _it was agreed that their persons and property should be safe, and that they should be conveyed to toulon._ they were accordingly put on board a vessel, but before they sailed, their property was confiscated, numbers of them taken out, _thrown into dungeons_, and some of them, i understand, notwithstanding the british guarantee, _absolutely executed_.[21] this appalling narrative, which was never refuted, is really too horrible to ponder over. it puts in the shade any responsibility napoleon had for the death of the duc d'enghien. it is needless to enlarge on the silly and altogether baseless attacks that were not only allowed to be made, but, we have good grounds for stating, were manufactured by members of the government and their agents, and circulated for the purpose of distracting the public mind from their own iniquities, and inflaming bitter passions and prejudices by accusing napoleon of deeds of blood for which he was in no greater degree responsible than were they. the nations were all out for blood at that period (just as they are now), and each claimed a monopoly of all the virtues. "down, down, with the french is my constant prayer," shouts our greatest hero, and by way of addendum, he announces in christ-like accents that he hates a frenchman as he hates the devil. "down, down, with the british is our constant prayer" shout back the french, who are at present our allies against another nation who were our allies against them at that time, showing that fraternity is decidedly a possible consummation, though it fluctuates from one to another with amazing eccentricity. in the name of this fraternal spirit, we see the great napoleon surrounded by a hotbed of assassins demanding his life in the name of the founder of our faith. he was the ruler, as i have said, of a vast empire, sworn to protect its laws, its dignity, and its citizen rights by defending himself and his country against either treachery, plotters against his life, or open enemies, no matter from what quarter they came. the duc d'enghien violated the law, and was therefore as liable to suffer the consequences as any peasant or middle-class person would have been. but this did not meet with the approval of the international oligarchy, so they set up a screaming factory and blared this murderous deed into the minds of all the western world. these fervent professors of the christian faith were in no way particular as to the form or authenticity of their declamatory ebullitions. but what of nelson? he was a subject of his king, employed by the king's government under certain plenary powers to fight the country's battles, defend its right, uphold its dignity, guard its honour, and commit no violence. that is, in plain english, he was to play the game. but he assumed an authority that no government of england would have dared to have given him by revoking the word of honour of a distinguished officer who had pledged england's word that the lives of the beleaguered men would be spared. i think the writer of the gospel of "let brotherly love continue," and the rhetoricians who claim that britons have no competitors in the science of moral rectitude, will have a hard task to square the unworthy declamations against napoleon's responsibility in the duc d'enghien affair with their silence on nelson's in breaking the truce already referred to, and the awful consequences set forth in mr. fox's speech, which is reminiscent of the powerful disciplinary methods of that manly martinet ivan the terrible, who was responsible for the massacre of men by the thousand, flaying of prisoners alive, collecting pyramids of skulls, slaughtering of innocent men, and the free use of other ingenious forms of refined scientific torture which tires the spirit to relate. it is hard to forgive nelson for having smirched his own and england's name with atrocities so terrible. but more humiliating still to british honour is the fact that his part in the breaking of the treaty was dictated to him from the quarter deck of the _foudroyant_ by a woman whom my vocabulary is unable to describe in fitting terms. i shall emphasize this masculine female's orders to nelson by quoting them again. were it not for the comic impertinence of the order, i think it would almost make me feel the bitterness of death. nelson seems to have been the victim of her dominating spirit, though the evidence in support of him swallowing the whole dose of medicine is quite feeble. that he swallowed too much of it will always detract from his fame. "haul down the flag of truce, bronte. no truce with rebels." nelson lost a great opportunity of adding romance to his naval glory by neglecting his imperative duty in not putting sir william hamilton's wife in irons or having her thrown into the sea. a story of this kind would have sounded better, and its effect would have electrified the world in subsequent days, and have given scope to the talents of actors and authors who are eager for dramatic copy. i think cardinal ruffo would have been a supporter of imposing some form of disciplinary restraint on emma hamilton. he did strongly insist on the treaty being honourably adhered to, but his view was overruled, and he retired in consequence in bitter indignation. so much for the vaunted fairness and impartiality of our treatment of napoleon! it is only when we come to study the life of this man that we realize how he towered above all his contemporaries in thought, word, and deed. napoleon's authentic doings and sayings are wonderful in their vast comprehensiveness and sparkling vision, combined with flawless wisdom. when we speak or think of him, it is generally of his military genius and achievements and of what we term his "gigantic ambition"; and in this latter conclusion the platitudinarians, with an air of originality, languidly affirm that this was the cause of his ruin, the grandeur of which we do not understand. but never a word is said or thought of our own terrible tragedies, nor of the victories we were compelled to buy in order to secure his downfall. his great gifts as a lawgiver and statesman are little known or spoken of. nelson's views of him were of a rigid, stereotyped character. he only varied in his wild manner of describing him as a loathsome despot, whose sole aim was to make war everywhere and to invade england and annihilate her people. ii in the light of what is happening now in the world-war 1914-1917, and the world-wide views expressed about the german kaiser, it may be interesting to write pitt's opinion of napoleon, though they are scarcely to be mentioned in the same breath. the former, who is the creator of the world-tragedy, is a mere shadow in comparison to the great genius of whom müller, the swiss historian, says: "quite impartially and truly, as before god, i must say that the variety of his knowledge, the acuteness of his observations, the solidity of his understanding (not dazzling wit), his grand and comprehensive views, filled me with astonishment, and his manner of speaking to me with love for him. by his genius and his disinterested goodness, he has also conquered me." but i give another authority, wieland, the german author, who was disillusioned when he had the honour of a conversation with napoleon on the field of jena. amongst the many topics they spoke of was the restoration of public worship in france by napoleon. in his reply to the german writer as to why religion was not more philosophical and in harmony with the spirit of the times, napoleon replied, "my dear wieland, religion is not meant for philosophers! they have no faith either in me or my priests. as to those who do believe, it would be difficult to give them, or leave them too much of the marvellous. if i had to frame a religion for philosophers, it would be just the reverse of that of the credulous part of mankind." wieland's testimony of napoleon is quite as appreciative as that of müller, and coming from him to the great conqueror of his native land makes it an invaluable piece of impartial history which reverses the loose and vindictive libels that were insidiously circulated by a gang of paid scoundrels in order to prejudice public opinion against him. wieland, among other eulogies of him, says: "i have never beheld any one more calm, more simple, more mild or less ostentatious in appearance; nothing about him indicated the feeling of power in a great monarch." he conversed with him for an hour and a half, "to the great surprise of the whole assembly." here we have a brief but very high testimony from two men of literary distinction, who had formed their impressions by personal contact. the present writer's belief is that had members of the british government been guided by reason and sound judgment instead of blind, wicked prejudice; had they accepted overtures made to them from time to time by the head of the french nation during his rule, we should not have been engaged during the last five years in a world-war watering the earth with the blood of our race with reckless extravagance. the great soldier-statesman foretold what would happen. what irony that we should be in deadly conflict with the power which, as an ally, helped to destroy him and is now engaged in frantic efforts to destroy us! had pitt and those who acted with him been endowed with human wisdom, he would not have written the following lines, but would have held out the olive-branch of peace and goodwill to men on earth:- i see (says pitt in a scrap of ms. found amongst his papers) various and opposite qualities--all the great and all the little passions unfavourable to public tranquillity united in the breast of one man, and of that man, unhappily, whose personal caprice can scarce fluctuate for an hour without affecting the destiny of europe. i see the inward workings of fear struggling with pride in an ardent, enterprising, and tumultuous mind. i see all the captious jealousy of conscious usurpation, dreaded, detested, and obeyed, the giddiness and intoxication of splendid but unmerited success, the arrogance, the presumption, the selfwill of unlimited and idolized power, and more dreadful than all in the plenitude of authority, the restless and incessant activity of guilt, but unsated ambition. this scrap of mere phrases indicates a mind that was far beneath the calibre of that of a real statesman. it was a terrible fate for great britain to have at the head of the government a man whose public life was a perpetual danger to the state. had pitt been the genius his eloquence led his contemporaries to believe he was, he would have availed himself of the opportunities the great figure, who was making the world rock with his genius, afforded the british government from time to time of making peace on equitable terms. but pitt's vision of the large things that constituted human existence was feeble and narrowed down to the nightmare of the "tumultuous mind" whose sole aim was the conquest of the continent of europe and the invasion of these islands. the "usurper" must be subdued by the force of arms, the squandering of british wealth, and the sanguinary sacrifice of human lives. that was the only diplomacy his mental organism could evolve. he used his power of expression, which was great, to such good purpose that his theories reflected on his supporters. had pitt been talented in matters of international diplomacy, as he was in the other affairs of government, he would have seized the opportunity of making the peace of amiens universal and durable. it is futile to contend that napoleon was irreconcilable. his great ambition was to form a concrete friendship with our government, which he foresaw could be fashioned into a continental arrangement, intricate and entangled as all the elements were at the time. napoleon never ceased to deplore the impossibility of coming to any reciprocal terms with england so long as pitt's influence was in the ascendant, and he and a large public in france and in this country profoundly believed that fox had not only the desire but the following, and all the diplomatic qualities to bring it about. any close, impartial student of history, free from the popular prejudices which assailed napoleon's origin and advent to power, cannot but concede the great possibilities of this view. it was only statesmen like fox who had unconfused perception, and inveighed against the stupidity of ministers acclaimed by an ignorant public as demigods. napoleon's starting-points were to "surmount great obstacles and attain great ends. there must be prudence, wisdom, and dexterity." "we should," he said, "do everything by reason and calculation, estimating the trouble, the sacrifice, and the pleasure entailed in gaining a certain end, in the same way as we work out any sum in arithmetic by addition and subtraction. but reason and logic should be the guiding principle in all we do. that which is bad in politics, even though in strict accordance with law, is inexcusable unless absolutely necessary, and whatever goes beyond that is criminal." these were briefly the general principles on which he shaped his ends, and they are pretty safe guides. his mentality, as i have said, was so complete that it covered every subtle and charming form of thought and knowledge, even to the smallest affairs of life. no theologians knew more than he or could converse so clearly on the many different religions; and he was as well versed in the intricacies of finance and civil law as he was in the knowledge of art, literature, and statecraft. his memory was prodigious, and a common saying of his was that "a head without a memory was like a fort without a garrison." he never used a word that was not full of meaning. the unparalleled amount of literature that surrounds his name teems with concise, vivid sentences on every conceivable subject, and the more they are read and studied, the more wonderful appears their wisdom. on the eve of a great battle, his exhortations to his soldiers were like magic, burning hot into their souls, making them irresistible. the popular idea in the country in his time, when passion ran rampant, and indeed, in a hazy way, affects some people's minds now, was that he and his family were mere perfidious corsicans without mental endowments or character, and unworthy of the stations in life in which his genius had placed them. his sisters have been caricatured as having the manners of the kitchen, and loose morals, and his brothers as mediocrities. a great deal of the same stuff is now written about other people who have occupied and do occupy high stations in life. here is napoleon's own version of each of his brothers and sisters and of his mother. it was given in course of conversation to las cases at st. helena. "the emperor," he says, "speaks of his people; of the slight assistance he has received at their hands, and of the trouble they had been to him; he goes on to say that for the rest, we should always, as a last resort, endeavour to form a judgment by analogy. what family, in similar circumstances, would have done better? and, after all, does not mine furnish, on the whole, a record which does me honour? joseph would be an ornament to society wherever he might happen to reside; lucien, an ornament to any political assembly; jerome, had he come to years of discretion, would have made an excellent ruler; i had great hopes of him. louis would have been popular, and a remarkable man anywhere. my sister elisa had a man's intellect, a brave heart, and she would have met adversity philosophically. caroline is a very clever and capable woman. pauline, perhaps the most beautiful woman of her day, has been, and will be until the end, the most charming creature living. as for my mother, she is worthy of every respect. what family as numerous could make a finer impression?" if unprejudiced history counts for anything, this testimony is true, and it is doubtful whether any of the ruling families of france who preceded them, or even those of other countries, who took part in bringing about their downfall (taking them as a whole), could tabulate a better record of worthiness. certainly no previous ruler of france ever made the efforts that the head of the bonaparte family did to fashion his brothers and sisters into filling the positions he had made for them in a way that became princes and princesses. the fact is, the political mind was whirling and permeated with the idea of his ambition only, and the human aversion to the introduction of new and improved conditions of life. the ruling classes were seized with alarm lest the spirit of the french revolution would become popular in this country, and that not only their possessions might be confiscated, but that their lives would be in peril if the doctrines he stood for were to take hold of the public imagination. they were afraid, as they are now, of the despotism of democracy, and so they kept the conflict raging for over twenty years. then came the fall of the greatest genius and most generous warrior-statesman who has ever figured in the world's history; he had staggered creation with his formidable power, and the instruments of his downfall flattered themselves that the day of divine vengeance had arrived. iii only a few short months had elapsed when the indomitable hero, well informed of the allies' squabbling deliberations, at the seat of conference over the division of their conquest, and their vindictive intentions towards himself, startled them by the news of his landing and uninterrupted march on paris, and was everywhere acclaimed by the cheers of the army and the civilian population. louis xviii, whom the conquerors had set on the throne, flew in panic when he heard that the man of destiny was swiftly nearing his palace to take his place again as the idol and chief of a great people. meanwhile, the allies had somewhat recovered from their apoplectic dismay, and one and all solemnly resolved to "make war against napoleon bonaparte," the disturber of the peace, though he was the welcomed emperor of the french. it was they who were the disturbers of the peace, and especially great britain, who headed the coalition which was to drench again the continent with human blood. napoleon offered to negotiate, and never was there a more humane opportunity given to the nations to settle their affairs in a way that would have assured a lasting peace, but here again the ruling classes, with their usual impudent assumption of power to use the populations for the purpose of killing each other and creating unspeakable suffering in all the hideous phases of warfare, refused to negotiate, and at their bidding soldiers were plunged into the last napoleonic conflict though many other conflicts have followed in consequence. nothing so deadly has ever happened. the french were defeated and their emperor sent to st. helena with the beneficent sir hudson lowe as his jailer. what a cynical mockery of a man this creature of wellington, castlereagh, and lord bathurst was! he carried out their behests, and after the ugly deed of vindictiveness, rage and frenzy had wrought the tragic end, they shielded their wicked act by throwing the guilt on him, and he was hustled off to a distant colony to govern again lest his uneasy spirit should put them in the dock of public opinion. he pleaded with them to employ the law officers of the crown to bring an action against doctor barry o'meara, whose "voice from st. helena" teemed with as dark a story as was ever put in print, in which he and his coadjutors figured as the base contracting parties. and the more he urged that the book was a libel against himself, the more o'meara demanded that the action against him should be brought, and for very substantial reasons it never was. the duke of wellington said of sir hudson, "he was a stupid man. a bad choice and totally unfit to take charge of bonaparte." and the great french chieftain has left on record his contemptuous opinion of the duke, as i have already said. "un homme de peu d'esprit sans générosité, et sans grandeur d'âme." (he was a poor-spirited man without generosity, and without greatness of soul.) "un homme borné." (a man of limited capacity.) his opinion of nelson was different, although our admiral had hammered the french sea power out of existence and helped largely to shatter any hope napoleon may have had of bringing the struggle on land to a successful conclusion. but these tragic happenings did not bring repose to the nations. pitt died in 1806, so he missed seeing the fulfilment of his great though mistaken ambition. who can doubt, as i have said, that the lack of diplomatic genius in preventing the spreading of the napoleonic wars has been the means of creating other wars, and especially the greatest of all, in which the whole world is now engaged! that napoleon himself was averse to a conflict which would involve all europe and bring desolation in its train is shown by the following letter, written by his own hand, to george iii. how different might the world have been to-day had the letter been received in the same spirit in which it was conceived. sir and brother,--called to the throne of france by providence, and the suffrages of the senate, the people, and the army, my first sentiment is a wish for peace. france and england abuse their prosperity. they may contend for ages, but do their governments well fulfil the most sacred of their duties, and will not so much bloodshed uselessly, and without a view to any end, condemn them in their own consciences? i consider it no disgrace to adopt the first step. i have, i hope, sufficiently proved to the world that i fear none of the chances of war, which presents nothing i have need to fear; peace is the wish of my heart, but war has never been inconsistent with my glory. i conjure your majesty not to deny yourself the happiness of giving peace to the world, or leave that sweet satisfaction to your children; for certainly there never was a more fortunate opportunity nor a moment more favourable than the present, to silence all the passions and listen only to the sentiments of humanity and reason. this moment once lost, what bounds can be ascribed to a war which all my efforts will not be able to terminate. your majesty has gained more in ten years, both in territory and riches, than the whole extent of europe. your nation is at the highest point of prosperity, what can it hope from war? to form a coalition with some powers on the continent? the continent will remain tranquil; a coalition can only increase the preponderance and continental greatness of france. to renew intestine troubles? the times are no longer the same. to destroy our finances? finances founded on a flourishing agriculture can never be destroyed. to wrest from france her colonies? the colonies are to france only a secondary object; and does not your majesty already possess more than you know how to preserve? if your majesty would but reflect, you must perceive that the war is without an object; or any presumable result to yourself. alas! what a melancholy prospect; to fight merely for the sake of fighting. the world is sufficiently wide for our two nations to live in, and reason sufficiently powerful to discover the means of reconciling everything, when a wish for reconciliation exists on both sides. i have, however, fulfilled a sacred duty, and one which is precious to my heart. i trust your majesty will believe the sincerity of my sentiments, and my wish to give you every proof of the same, etc. (_signed_) napoleon. this letter indicates the mind and heart of a great statesman. the thinking people, and therefore the most reliable patriots, would receive a similar appeal to-day from the kaiser in a different spirit than did the king and the government of george iii. we believe that the war with germany was forced upon us, and that mr. asquith's government, and especially sir edward grey (his foreign secretary) used every honourable means to avoid it, but the cause and origin of it sprang out of the defects of managing and settling the wars that raged at the beginning of the last century, and pitt, aided by those colleagues of his who were swayed by his magnetic influence, are responsible to a large degree in laying the foundation of the present menace to european concord. napoleon's plan of unification would have kept prussian militarism in check. he looked, and saw into the future, while pitt and his supporters had no vision at all. they played the prussian game by combining to bring about the fall of the monarch who should have been regarded as this country's natural ally, and by undoing the many admirable safeguards which were designed to prevent prussia from forcing other german states under her dominion. napoleon predicted that which would happen, and has happened. he always kept in mind the cunning and unscrupulous tricks of frederick and knew that if _his_ power were destroyed, that would be prussia's opportunity to renew the methods of the hohenzollern scoundrel, the hero of thomas carlyle, and the intermittent friend of voltaire, who made unprovoked war on marie theresa with that splendid prussian disregard for treaty obligations, and who then, with amazing insolence, after the seven years' butchery was over, sat down at sans souci in the companionship of his numerous dogs to write his memoirs in which he states that "ambition, interest, the desire of making people talk about him carried the day, and he decided for war;" he might have added to the majestic hohenzollern creed, incurable treachery, falsehood, hypocrisy, and cowardice! but the law of retribution comes to nations as well as to individuals, and after the disappearance of frederick, prussian ascendancy came to an end and sank to the lowest depths of hopelessness before the terrible power of napoleon; after his fall, the old majestic arrogance natural to their race began to revive. it took many years for the military caste to carry their objectives to maturity, and had we stood sensibly and loyally by our french neighbours, the tragedy that gapes at us now could never have come to pass. possibly the franco-german war would never have occurred had our foreign policy been skilfully handled and our attitude wisely apprehensive of germany's ultimate unification and her aggressive aims. the generations that are to come will assuredly be made to see the calamities wrought by the administrators of that period, whose faculties consisted in hoarding up prejudices, creating enmities, and making wars that drained the blood and treasure of our land. we do not find a single instance of pitt or castlereagh expressing an idea worthy of statesmanship. what did either of these men ever do to uplift the higher phases of humanity by grappling with the problem that had been brought into being by the french revolution? when we think of responsible ministers having no other vision or plan of coming to an understanding with the french nation except by their screams, groans, and odour of blood, it makes one shudder, and we wish to forget that the people allowed them to carry out their hideous methods of settling disputes. a galaxy of brilliant writers has sung their praises in profusion, but while the present writer admires the literary charm of the penmen's efforts, he does not find their conclusions so agreeable or so easy to understand. there was never a time, in our opinion, even during the most embarrassing and darkest phases of the napoleonic struggle, in which our differences with france were insoluble. napoleon, as i have said, never ceased to avow his willingness to make vital sacrifices in order that peace between the two peoples should be consummated. the stereotyped cant of maintaining the "balance of power" is no excuse for plunging a nation into gruesome, cruel, and horrible wars. it is when our liberties are threatened that circumstances may arise when it would be a crime not to defend them. but where and when were any of our interests threatened by napoleon until we became the aggressors by interfering with the policy of what he called his "continental system"? even before napoleon became consul, first consul, and subsequently emperor of the french, it was deemed high policy on the part of our statesmen to take sides against the french directorate in disputes that were caused and had arisen on the continent out of the revolution, and once involved in the entanglement which it is hard to believe concerned us in any degree, the nation was committed to a long and devastating debauch of crime which men who understood the real art of statesmanship would have avoided. many of the famous statesmen who have lived since their time would have acted differently. fox, with a free hand, would have saved us, and but for the senseless attitude of the pitt-castlereagh party, the grey, romilly, horner, burdett and tierny combination would have prevented the last of napoleon's campaigns between his return from elba and his defeat at waterloo, which proved to be the bloodiest of all the emperor's wars. amongst a certain section of the community the belief is that they who can steer the state along peaceful lines are mediocrities, and they who involve us in war are geniuses and earn the distinction of fame and westminster abbey, though it may be that they are totally void of all the essentials that are required to keep on good terms, not only with other powers, but with our own masses. take, first of all, the unostentatious old scotsman, sir henry campbell-bannerman, who was regarded in the light of a mediocrity by the bellicose-minded people. had he lived and been in power at the time of pitt and castlereagh, his finely constituted, shrewd brain and quiet determined personality would have guided the state in a way that would have brought it credit and kept it out of the shambles. another personality who is possessed of attributes that have been scantily recognized is that of lord rosebery who, during his foreign secretaryship under mr. gladstone, and when he became premier himself, saved this country more than once from war with germany, leaving out of account the many other services rendered to his country. it is a tragedy to allow such merits to be wasted because of some slight difference of opinion in matters that do not count compared with the advantage of having at the head of affairs a man with an unerring tactful brain who can deal with international complexities with complete ease and assurance. although mr. gladstone must always be associated with those who were responsible for the guilt of dragging this country, and perhaps france, into the crimean war in defence of a state and a people whom he declared in other days should be turned out of europe "bag and baggage" because of her unwholesome government and hideous crimes to her subject races, _he_ had the courage and the honesty to declare in later life that the part he took in allowing himself to acquiesce in a policy he did not approve, would always be a bitter thought to him. had he been at the head of the government then, and had he lived at the time of the continental upheaval that followed the french revolution, all the evidences of his humane spirit and prodigious capacity lead us to the belief that there were no circumstances affecting our vital national interests that would have led him to take up arms against france. nor do we think that a statesman of lord salisbury's stamp would have failed to find a way out. disraeli was a different type. he lived in a picturesque world, and thirsted for sensation. the enormity of war was meaningless to him. he was not a constitutional statesman, but merely a politician who liked to arouse emotions. mr. asquith, whose head is free from the wafting of feathers, would, with strong and loyal backers, have applied his inimitable powers of persuasion and tact in accomplishing his ends without a rupture; and lord morley would as soon have thought of dancing a hornpipe on his mother's tomb as have yielded to the clamour for war by any number of the people or any number of his colleagues, no matter how numerous or how powerful they might be; even though his opinion of the french emperor were strongly adverse, he would have angled for peace or resigned. i would rather place the guidance of the country through intricate courses in this man's hands than in that of a man mentally constituted as was pitt. the present viscount grey would have taken the line his namesake took in 1815 by strongly advocating a peaceful solution. take another man of our own time, the right hon. arthur balfour. he would have parleyed and schemed until the time had passed for any useful object to be gained by our joining in the war, always provided that the jingo spirit were not too irrepressible for him to overpower and bewilder with his engaging philosophy. if george iii had been blessed with these types of statesmen to advise him instead of the castlereaghs, he might not have lost his reason. napoleon would never have gone to egypt, and our shores would never have been threatened with invasion. nor would british and neutral trade have been paralysed in such a way as to bring in its wake ruin, riots, bankruptcies, and every form of devastation in 1811. and as a natural corollary, we were plunged into a war with america which lasted from 1812 to 1814, and which left, as it well might, long years of bitter and vindictive memories in the minds of a people who were of our race and kindred. our people as a whole (but especially the poorer classes) were treated in a manner akin to barbarism, while their rulers invoked them to bear like patriots the suffering they had bestowed upon them. but the canker had eaten so deeply into their souls that it culminated in fierce riots breaking out in lancashire and london which spread to other parts and were only suppressed by measures that are familiar to the arrogant despots who, by their clumsy acts, are the immediate cause of revolt. pitt and castlereagh were the high commissioners of the military spirit which the whigs detested, and when the former died in 1806 the latter became the natural leader. pitt was buried peaceably enough in the abbey, but when his successor's tragic end came in 1822, the populace avenged themselves of the wrongs for which they believed he was responsible by throwing stones at the coffin as it was being solemnly borne to its last resting place beside william pitt. both men made war on napoleon because they believed him to be the implacable disturber of peace and a danger to their country. pitt, as we have seen, left among his ms. his opinion of the great soldier, and here is the latter's opinion of pitt, expressed to his ministers on the eve of his leaving paris for his last campaign against his relentless foes. "i do not know," he said (to his ministers in speaking to them of the new constitution he had granted), "how in my absence you will manage to lead the chambers. monsieur fouché thinks that popular assemblies are to be controlled by gaining over some old jobbers, or flattering some young enthusiasts. that is only intrigue, and intrigue does not carry one far. in england, such means are not altogether neglected; but there are greater and nobler ones. remember mr. pitt, and look at lord castlereagh! with a sign from his eyebrows, mr. pitt could control the house of commons, and so can lord castlereagh now! ah! if i had such instruments, i should not be afraid of the chambers. but have i anything to resemble these?"[22] this piece of pathetic history is given to us by the french historian, m. thiers, the lifelong enemy of his imperial master, napoleon iii. we are faced now with the power that we helped to build up against ourselves at the expense of the wreck of the first french empire. the political situation then and now bears no comparison. we made war on the french without any real justification, and stained our high sense of justice by driving them to frenzy. we bought soldiers and sailors to fight them from impecunious german and hanoverian princes. we subsidized russia, prussia, austria, portugal, spain, and that foul cesspool, naples, at the expense of the starvation of the poorest classes in our own country. the bellicose portion of the population, composed mainly of the upper and middle classes, shrieked their deluded terrors of extinction into the minds of the people and believed that if we did not make common cause with the downtrodden sanctified allies who were fighting a man-eating ogre who was overrunning their respective countries, putting every one to the sword, we should become the objects of his fierce attention, be invaded and ground down to slavery for ever and ever. our statesmen, hypocritically full of the gospel of pity, could not speak of our ally of other days without weeping, while at the same time pouring further subsidies into their greedy traitorous laps, in order that they might secure their co-ordination. it is futile for historian apologists to attempt to vindicate men who obviously were afflicted with moral cupidity, begotten of intellectual paralysis. it is merely an unwholesome subterfuge to state that they were free from enmity against the french nation, and that their quarrel was with the head of it. there would be just as much common sense in contending that the french government had no hostile feeling against the british people, and that their quarrel was only against george iii. devices such as these, under any circumstances, are not only unworthy, but childish, and their sole object is to throw dust in the eyes of those they flippantly call the common people. as a matter of fact, it was not only the emperor napoleon whom they made it their policy to charge with being a public danger to the world, but the principles of the revolution which he sprang from obscurity to save, which was slyly kept at the back of their heads. but the republic, which was the outcome of the revolution, was an approved ordinance of the people, and in addition to napoleon being their duly elected representative, he was regarded by them as the incarnation of the republic. the difference between him and the other monarchs of europe was, that while they inherited their position, his election was democratically ratified by millions of votes. these votes were given by the people with whom a foreign government declared it was at peace while at the same time it was at war with their chief, whom they had from time to time duly elected. this is a method of warfare which represents no high form of thought or action, and to the everlasting credit of the french people be it said, they not only resented it, but stood loyally by their emperor and their country until they were overpowered by the insidious poison of treason and intrigue from within and without. what a howl there would have been if the german kaiser had sent out a proclamation that he was not at war with the british nation, but with their king and government! suppose he had committed the same act of arrogance towards the president of the united states, the revulsion of feeling would be irrepressible in every part of the world. we recognize at the same time that napoleon's position was made insecure by an important element of his own countrymen, composed of the bourbons and their supporters, who never ceased to intrigue for their return. besides, there was a strong republican element who never forgave him for allowing himself to become emperor. but the most serious defection was that of some of his most important generals, amongst whom were marmont and bertheur. the former subsequently became the military tutor of his son, the king of rome, who died at schonbrunn on the 22nd july, 1832, eleven years after his father's death at st. helena. a notable fact is that there were very few of his common soldiers and common people who did not stand by him to the last, and who would not have continued the struggle under his trusted and revered generalship, had he elected to fight on. he implored the provisional government to give their sanction to this, and had they done so, he has stated that he could have kept the allies at bay and would have ultimately made them sue for peace. most authorities declare that this would have been impossible, but his genius as a tactician was so prodigious and unrivalled, his art of enthusing his soldiers so vastly superior to that of any general that could be brought against him, his knowledge of the country on which he might select to give battle so matchless that one has substantial grounds for believing that his assertion was more than a mere flash of imagination, and that even with the shattered, loyal portion of his army, he might have succeeded in changing defeat into a victory which would have changed the whole political position of europe. he frequently reverted to his last campaign and his last battle at waterloo, when he was in captivity at st. helena, and declared he should never have lost it, as his plan of battle at every point was never better devised, and that by all the arts of war he ought to have defeated the allies; then he would lapse into sadness and soliloquize, "it must have been fate." in the effort to crush a cause and a nation which had been brought out of the depths of anarchy and raised to the zenith of power by the advent of a great spirit, the british government of that period made their country parties to the slaughter of thousands of our fellow-creatures, which, in the light of subsequent events, has left a stain upon our diplomacy that can never be effaced, no matter what form of excuse may be set forth to justify it. never, in the whole history of blurred diplomatic vision, has there evolved so great a calamity to the higher development of civilization. by taking so prominent a part in preventing napoleon from fulfilling the eternal purpose for which all nature foreshadowed he was intended, we made it possible for germany to develop systematically a diabolical policy of treason which has involved the world in war, drenching it with human blood. the allies pursued napoleon to his downfall. their attitude during the whole course of his rule was senselessly vindictive. they gloated over his misfortune when he became their victim, and they consummated their vengeance by making him a martyr. the exile of st. helena acted differently. when he conquered, instead of viciously overrunning the enemy's country and spreading misery and devastation, he made what he wished to be lasting peace, and allowed the sovereigns to retain their thrones. how often did he carry out this act of generosity towards prussia and austria, and who can deny that he did not act benevolently towards alexander of russia, when at austerlitz and tilsit, he formed what he regarded as lasting personal friendship with the czar! it is all moonshine to say that he broke the friendship. the power of russia, prussia, and austria were hopelessly wrecked more than once, and on each occasion they intrigued him into war again, and then threw themselves at his feet, grovelling supplicants for mercy, which he never withheld. well might he exclaim to caulaincourt, his ambassador in 1814, when the congress was sitting at chatillon: "these people will not treat; the position is reversed; they have forgotten my conduct to them at tilsit. then i could have crushed them; my clemency was simple folly." the nations who treated him with such unreasonable severity would do well to reflect over the unfathomable folly of the past, and try to realize, at the present stage of their critical existence, that it may be possible that human life is reaping the agonies of a terrible retribution for a crime an important public in every civilized country believed, and still continues to believe, to have been committed. it is a natural law of life that no mysterious physical force ever dies, but only changes its form and direction. individuals and vast communities may dare to mock at the great mystery that we do not understand. but it is a perilous experiment to defy its visitations. what incalculable results may arise through taking the wrong attitude towards the great laws that govern our being! the autocratic rulers at the beginning of the last century were never right in their views as to how the vastly greater image than their own should be treated. they measured napoleon and his loftier qualities by their own tumultuous limitations, which prevented them from seeing how wide the gulf was between him and the ordinary man. he was a magical personality, and they failed to comprehend it. heinrich heine, the great german writer, who was pro-napoleon, has told a vivid story of how he visited the east india docks, while he was in london, and there saw a large sailing vessel with a great number of coloured people on board, mohammedans for the most part. he wished to speak to them but did not know their language. he was particularly anxious to show them some courtesy if even, as he says, in a single word, so he reverently called out the name "mohammed." in an instant the countenance of these strange people beamed with pleasure, and with characteristic eastern devotion bowed themselves and shouted back to him "bonaparte." i have no thought, in writing of napoleon, to draw a comparison between him and the ex-kaiser and his guilty coadjutors in crime, who forced a peaceful world into unspeakable war. they have been guilty of the foulest of murders, which will outmatch in ferocity every phase of human barbarity. there can be no pardon or pity for them. they must pay the penalty of their crimes, as other criminals have to do. the following letter, addressed by william ii to his late colleague in guilt, the emperor joseph of austria, is enough in itself to set the whole world into a blaze of vengeance:- "my soul is torn," says this canting outcast, "but everything must be put to fire and sword, men, women, children, and old men must be slaughtered, and not a tree or house be left standing. with these methods of terrorism, which are alone capable of affecting a people so degenerate as the french, the war will be over in two months, whereas if i admit humanitarian considerations, it will last years. in spite of my repugnance, i have, therefore, been obliged to choose the former system." it is hard to believe that a document of this kind could be written by any one that was not far gone in lunacy, but in any case, i repeat it is to be hoped that st. helena will not be desecrated by sending him to that hallowed abode. it is never a difficult performance to become involved in war, and it is always a tax on human genius to find a decent way out of it; whether it be honourable or dishonourable does not matter to those who believe in conflict as a solution of international disputes. history can safely be challenged to prove that anything but wild wrath and ruin is the unfailing outcome of war to all the belligerents, whether few or many. more often than not, it is brought about by the exulting chatter of a few irrepressible and also irresponsible individuals who have military or political ambitions to look after, and no other faculty of reason or vocabulary than the gibberish "that war will clear the air." they ostentatiously claim a monopoly of patriotism; and convey their views on war matters with a blustering levity which is a marvel to the astonished soul. their attitude towards human existence is that you cannot be a patriot or create a great nation unless you are bellicose and warlike. this was the deplorable condition of mind that involved us in the wars subsequent to the french revolution. but the diplomatists (if it be proper to call them such) and the oligarchy were responsible for the ruptures at that period, and certainly not the general public. in fact, it is doubtful whether the _general public_ are ever in favour of breaking the peace. a minority may be, but they are the noisy and unreflecting section. there is a wide difference between the napoleonic wars and that which was waged against the civilized world by the german kaiser and his military myrmidons, who have acted throughout like wild beasts. there never has been perpetrated so atrocious a crime as the deliberately planned military outrage on the peace of the world. the brief comparison between kaiser william and napoleon bonaparte is that the one, like frederick, the hero of thomas carlyle, is a shameless traitor to every act of human decency, and the other, in spite of what biassed writers have thought it their duty to say of him, was an unparalleled warrior-statesman, and his motives and actions were all on the side of god's humanity and good government. from the time he was found and made the head of the french nation, he was always obliged to be on the defensive, and, as he stated, never once declared war. the continental great powers always made war on _him_, but not without his thrashing them soundly until they pleaded in their humility to be allowed to lick his boots. you may search english state papers in any musty hole you like, and you will find no authoritative record that comes within miles of justifying the opinions or the charges that have been stated or written against him. let us not commit the sacrilege, if he is ever made prisoner and is not shot for the murders and cruelties he and his subjects have committed on british men and women at sea and on land, of deporting the kaiser to st. helena to desecrate the ground made sacred for all time because of the great emperor who was an exile there. force of circumstances made louis philippe declare the truth to the world's new generations (doubtless to save his own precious skin) that "he was not only an emperor, but a king from the very day that the french nation called upon him to be their ruler." the kingly louis would have given worlds not to have been compelled to say this truth of him, but his crown was at stake. the senate voted with enthusiasm that he should be first consul for ten years, and he replied to the vote of confidence that "fortune had smiled upon the republic; but fortune was inconstant; how many men," said he, "upon whom she has heaped her favours have lived too long by some years, and that the interest of his glory and happiness seemed to have marked the period of his public life, at the moment when the peace of the world is proclaimed." then with one of those spasmodic impulses that compel attention, he darts an arrow right on the spot; "if," he says, "you think i owe the nation a new sacrifice, i will make it; that is, if the _wishes of the people_ correspond with the command authorized by their suffrages." always the suffrages, you observe, and never the miserable, slandering, backbiting dodges of the treasonists. the mind of this remarkable man was a palatial storehouse of wise, impressive inspirations. here is one of countless instances where a prejudiced adversary bears testimony to his power and wisdom. a few republican officers sought and were granted an audience, and the following is a frank admission of their own impotence and napoleon's greatness: "i do not know," their spokesman says, "from whence or from whom he derives it, but there is a charm about that man indescribable and irresistible. i am no admirer of his." such persons always preface any statement they are about to make by asserting their own superiority in this way, and the officers, who, with others, had many imaginary grievances against napoleon, determined to empty their overburdened souls to him. this gallant person emphasizes the fact that he dislikes "the power to which he (napoleon) had risen," yet he cannot help confessing (evidently with reluctance) that there is something in him which seems to speak that he is born to command. "we went into his apartment to expostulate warmly with him, and not to depart until our complaints were removed. but by his manner of receiving us we were disarmed in a moment, and could not utter one word of what we were going to say. he talked to us with an eloquence peculiarly his own, and explained with clearness and precision the importance of pursuing the line of conduct he had adopted, never contradicting us in direct terms, but controverted our opinions so astutely that we had not a single word to offer in reply, and retired convinced that he was in the right and that we were manifestly in the wrong." it is a common delusion with little men to believe that they are big with wisdom and knowledge, even after they have been ravelled to shreds by a man of real ability. the french republican officers were condescendingly candid in giving the first consul a high character, and he, in turn, made these self-assertive gentlemen feel abashed in his presence, and sent them about their business without having made any unnatural effort to prove that they had had an interview with a majestic personality, who had made articulation impossible to them. i might give thousands of testimonies, showing the great power this superman had over other minds, from the highest monarchical potentate to the humblest of his subjects. the former were big with a combination of fear and envy. they would deign to grovel at his feet, slaver compliments, and deluge him with adulation (if he would have allowed them), and then proceed to stab him from behind in the most cowardly fashion. there are always swarms of human insects whose habits of life range between the humble supplicant and the stinging, poisonous wasps. it would have been better for the whole civilized world had there been more wisely clever men, such as charles james fox, in public life in this and other countries during napoleon's time. he was the one great englishman who towered above any of the ministers who were contemporary with him in this country, and certainly no public man had a finer instinct than he as to the policy great britain should observe towards a nation that was being dragged out of the cesspool of corruption and violence into a democratic grandeur of government that was the envy of continental as well as british antiquarians. fox saw clearly the manifest benefit to both countries if they could be made to understand and not to envy each other. in 1802, fox was received in paris like a highly popular monarch. the whole city went wild with the joy of having him as the guest of france. he was the great attraction at the theatres next to the first consul, whom fox declared "was a most decided character, that would hold to his purpose with more constancy and through a longer interval than is imagined; his views are not directed to this, i.e. the united kingdom, but to the continent only." "i never saw," he says, "so little indirectness in any statesman as in the first consul." had fox been supported by sufficient strong men to counteract the baneful influence of the weeds who were a constant peril to the country over whose destinies george iii and they ruled, we should have been saved the ghastly errors that were committed in the name of the british people. the king's dislike to fox was openly avowed. he used to talk incessantly of going back to hanover whenever he was thwarted in his disastrous policy of giving the country a stab, or when the inevitable brought fox into office. everything that emanated from the great statesman was viewed with aversion and as being unjust and indecent by the royal lilliputian, while fox's estimate of the king could not be uttered on a lower plane. he says, in speaking of his majesty, "it is intolerable to think that it should be in the power of _one_ blockhead to do so much mischief"--meaning, i presume, amongst many other blunders, the mess he was persisting in making over american affairs. had there been capable statesmen during that crisis, the continent of europe and the vast dominions of great britain would not have been at war this day with the pernicious power that we, more than any other nation, as has been previously stated, helped to create and foster. v fox was the only genius in our political life at that time, while pitt was a mere shadow in comparison, though it is fair to state that the former always believed that he and pitt would have made a workable combination. as to the rest, they were pretty much on the level of the lilliputians with whom the late traveller, mr. lemuel gulliver, had such intimate and troublesome relations. the book by the dean of st. patrick's, "gulliver's travels," is a perfect caricature of the political dwarfs of his time, and vividly represents the men who misruled this country in george iii's reign. but the dean's laughable history of the pompous antics of the lilliputians is a picture which describes the constitution of our present administration who are managing the critical affairs of the nation so ill that disaster is inevitable in many forms, seen and unseen. the administrative machine is clogged with experimental human odds and ends who have neither wit, knowledge, nor wisdom to fill the post allotted to them, and the appalling thought is that the nation as a whole is being blustered by the intriguers who are forcing every national interest into certain destruction. truly the lilliputians are a plague on all human interests, _real_ patriotism, and capacity: always mischievous, always incapable, just the same now as when, in the eighteenth century, their type forced a peaceful and neutral power into war because they refused to yield their fleet to them; always seeing things that do not exist, and foreboding perils that would never have come but for their dwarfish interference. they discovered in their flights of frenzy and fancy that napoleon intended to take possession by force of the danish fleet, when, as a matter of fact, he had never shown any indication, by word or thought, of committing an act so unjust and hostile to his own interests. a strong point in his policy was to keep denmark on terms of friendly neutrality. moreover, he was not, as many writers have said (in loyalty to fashion), an unscrupulous breaker of treaties. it was an unworthy act of the british government to send mr. jackson as their representative to bully the danes into giving up their fleet to the british, on the plea that they had learned by reports through various channels what napoleon's intentions were. count bernsdorf, to whom jackson insolently conveyed the nightmare of his government, very properly raged back at him that "the danish government had no such information, and that he was adducing false reports and mere surmises quite unworthy of credit to fill the measure of british injustice in forcing denmark into a ruinous war. it was folly to suppose that napoleon could gain anything by throwing norway and denmark into an alliance with england and sweden." then he adds, with a dignified sense of wrong, "that the regent knew how to defend his neutrality." "it might be possible," retorts mr. jackson, "though appearances are against that supposition, that the danish government _did not wish_ to lend itself to hostile views; still, it could not resist france." then bernsdorf, who has right on his side, said in accents of crushing anger, "so! because you think napoleon has the intention of wounding us in the tenderest part, you would struggle with him for priority and be the first to do the deed?" "yes," responds the distinguished representative of the upholders of the rights of nations, "great britain would insist upon a pledge of amity." "what pledge," demands the count. "the pledge of uniting the danish forces to those of great britain," is the reply. it will be seen that nothing short of vassalism will satisfy the policy laid down by the stupid emancipationists of downtrodden nations, as represented by the impressive effrontery of the noble jackson. what a terrible piece of wooden-headed history was the effort to force denmark to break her neutrality or make war on her! they seized zealand, and because the prince regent refused to agree to their perfidy, they kept possession of it. the prince sent written instructions to burn all the ships and stores, but the messenger was captured and the faithful person to whom the delivery of the document was entrusted swallowed it (i.e. swallowed the instructions). copenhagen had been bombarded and practically reduced to destruction by nelson, who had settled with the danes on favourable british terms, one of the conditions being that they were to leave with their booty in six weeks. the regent subsequently declared war and outwitted the british designs (so it is said) on zealand. castlereagh sought the aid of lord cathcart to find a dodge by which his government could inveigle the danes to commit a breach of the convention, but the latter stood firm by the conditions, and the commanders, being disgusted with the whole affair, declined to aid their chiefs in the government in any act of double dealing. but they had the emperor alexander of russia to deal with. he offered to act as intermediary between great britain and france in order to bring about an honourable peace. the british government refused, and it is stated on incontrovertible authority that alexander was furious, and upbraided the british with having used troops, which should have been sent to russia's aid, to crush denmark. the outrage of attacking a small state which was at peace and with which she had no quarrel was powerfully denounced by alexander. he accused the british government "of a monstrous violation of straight dealing, by ruining denmark in the baltic, which it knew was closed to foreign hostilities under a russian guarantee." this caused alexander to break off relations with great britain and annul all treaties he had with her. canning feebly replied to the russian emperor's taunts, and, amongst other things, accused him of throwing over the king of the huns. no wonder that russia and some of the other powers resented the perfidious conduct of british statesmen, employing british military and naval forces to overthrow and destroy not only a friendly power, but one of the smallest and most strictly neutral states in europe! alexander jibed at them for using their resources for this unjust purpose, instead of sending them to help him when he was being so desperately driven to defeat by napoleon. what a loutish trick it was to imagine that any real political or practical benefit could be derived from it! the seizure of the danish fleet was a low-down act, for which those who were responsible should have been pilloried. the reasons given could not be sustained at the time, and still remain entirely unsupported by fact. there is no more disgraceful proceeding to be found in the pages of history than our raid on this small and highly honourable, inoffensive, and brave people. this bad statesmanship was deplorable. it set the spirit of butchery raging. it made a new enemy for ourselves, and in an economic sense added hundreds of thousands to our national debt, without deriving a vestige of benefit from either a military or political point of view. it undoubtedly prolonged the war, as all those squint-eyed enterprises are certain to do. it made us unpopular and mistrusted, and had no effect in damaging napoleon's activities, nor of taking a single ally from him. there are occasions when nations have forced upon them cruel stratagems and alternatives, revolting in their abominable unworthiness, but in the case i am discussing i have found no substantial justification, nor has the deed been backed up to now or supported by a single _real_ authority. nothing but condemnation still hangs round the memory of those hapless ministers who made the world so full of misery. i repeat, the greatest of all perils is to have a government composed of men whose brains are full of kinks, and who do not reach beyond the bounds of basing their policy on the idea that some foreigner or other has designs on our national wealth, our trade, or our vast protectorates. in recent years that view has been dissipated, and the plan of broadening the national goodwill to men has been adopted and encouraged by a body of sound, unpretentious thinkers who have taken pains to train important gifts in the art of good government in all its varied aspects and international complexities. the whole public have had to pay appalling penalties in the past because an impulsive handful of the population is of opinion that self-advertising, harum-scarum politicians, in and out of office, are the geniuses who make and keep prosperity. this uncontrolled, emotional trend of thought comes in cycles and is unerringly followed by bitter disillusionment. it was so during the wars at the beginning of the last century, and it is so now. we always reflect after the tragedy has been consummated. safe and astute administrators are always termed the "old gang" by the political amateurs, and the calamity is that a large public is so often carried away by the flighty delusions of the real cranks who style themselves the saviours of their country. at the present time we have as sure an example as ever the known world has witnessed of the awful disaster the resignation of the "old gang" has been to the whole of the powers interested in this world-war, especially to our own country. we shall realize this more fully by and by when the naked truth presents itself. the very people who are conspicuously responsible for the destruction of unity always bellow the loudest to maintain it after they have been the high conspirators in breaking it, aided by their guilty followers. what bitter lessons this land of ours has been subjected to in other days! for twenty years the country was kept in the vortex of a raging war, with no more justification than giving mr. jackson instructions that the one imperative idea to keep in his mind was to take possession of the danish fleet. nothing was to stand in the way of this great adventure, shameless though it might be. lord malmesbury writes in his diary: "capture of danish fleet by surprise on account of most undoubted information received from the prince regent of portugal of bonaparte's intention to use the portuguese and danish fleets for invasion of england. first hint of the plan given by the prince of wales to the duke of portland. the portuguese refused the demand, and told the british government of it; the danes accepted, kept silence, and afterwards denied it." the entry in malmesbury's diary has been proved to be a string of pure inventions, for which he or some other informants are responsible. i have said no record has been left to show that napoleon ever had any intention of occupying the ports of holstein or of using the danish fleet for the invasion of great britain and ireland. members of parliament in the house of commons and members of the house of lords proved beyond question that ministers' statements, taking the dates into account, were entirely erroneous. canning defended the sending of the expedition, which was natural, as he was one of the principal advocates of it. but the house would stand none of his tricks of evasion or repudiation. he, like some more modern ministers, ventured on the hazardous plan of deceiving parliament, and, as was said at the time, setting fair dealing at defiance. canning, like all tricksters, read extracts from documents, authentic and otherwise, to prove that denmark was hostile to britain, but when a demand was made for their inspection, he impudently refused to allow the very documents he had based his case of justification on to be scrutinized, and in consequence no other conclusion could be arrived at than that he was unscrupulously misleading the country. in fact, the government's case was so bad it would not bear the light of god's day! i venture to say that mr. fox knew more of the character, political intricacies, and ambitions of the french race than any public man or writer of history of his own or in subsequent years. he always based his conclusions on a sound logical point. he was an accurate thinker, who refused to form his judgments on light, faulty and inaccurate newspaper paragraphs about what was going on around him. he was opposed to pitt and his supporters' policy of carrying on war with france. he wanted peace, but they wanted the bourbons, because the bourbon section in france and the old autocracy in his own and other kingly countries were opposed to the new ruler the masses in france had chosen. he ridiculed the folly of our mental nonentities for "making such a fuss about acknowledging the new emperor. may not the people give their own magistrate the name they choose?" he asks. "on what logical grounds did we claim the right to revoke by the force of arms the selection by the french people of a ruler on whom they wished to bestow the title of emperor?" fox poured lavishly his withering contempt on those miscreants who arrogantly claimed the right to be consulted (for that is practically what their war policy amounted to) as to who the french should put on the throne and what his title should be. they had acknowledged napoleon in the capacity of first consul, but they shuddered at the consequences to the human race of having an emperor sprung upon them whose glory was putting kingship into obscurity. besides, an emperor who combined humble origin with democratic genius and ambition created by the revolution was a challenge to the legitimacy of the divine right of kings and a reversal of the order of ages. george iii raged at pitt for including fox in his ministry when he was asked to form a government. "does mr. pitt," said he, "not know that mr. fox was of all persons most offensive to him?" "had not fox always cheered the popular government of france, and had he not always advocated peace with bloodstained rebels? and be it remembered the indecorous language he had frequently used against his sovereign, and consider his influence over the prince of wales. bring whom you like, mr. pitt, but fox never." george iii, king by the grace of god, relented somewhat in his dislike of fox before the latter died, and his wayward son, the prince of wales, said "that his father was well pleased with mr. fox in all their dealings after he came into office." it is an amazing form of intelligence that commits a nation to join in a war against another for having brought about a revolution and for creating their first soldier-statesman an "emperor," and ranks him and his compatriots as "bloodstained rebels." to class napoleon as a bloodstained rebel and to put him on a level with the robespierres and the dantons is an historic outrage of the truth. he had nothing whatever to do with bringing about the revolution, though his services saved it, and out of the terrible tumult and wreck superhumanly re-created france and made her the envy of the modern world. the great defender of the rights of kings and of the colossal european fabric was appealed to by the man whom george iii associated with the "bloodstained rebels" to come to some common understanding so that the shedding of blood might cease, but that robust advocate of peace (!) contemptuously ignored his appeals to negotiate. in 1805 he was raised to the imperial dignity, and one of his first acts was to write with his own hand that famous letter which i have previously quoted, pleading, with majestic dignity, for the king of england, in the name of humanity, to co-operate with him in a way that will bring about friendly relations between the two governments and the spilling of blood to an end. the king "by the grace of god" and his horde of bloodsucking, incompetent ministers insulted the french nation and the great captain who ruled over its destinies by sending through lord mulgrave an insolent, hypocritical reply to the french ministers. the rage of war continued for another decade. if george iii yearned for peace as he and his ministers pretended, why did the king not write a courteous autograph letter back to napoleon, even though he regarded him as an inferior and a mere military adventurer? the nation had to pay a heavy toll in blood and money in order that the assumptions and dignity of this insensate monarch might be maintained, whose abhorrence of "bloodstained rebels" did not prevent him and his equally insensate advisers from plunging the american colonists into a bloody rebellion, which ended so gloriously for them and so disastrously for the motherland. they had asked for reforms that were palpably reasonable and necessary, and received insulting replies to their courteous demands, which compelled them to take up arms against the king of england, with a vow that they would not sheathe the sword until they had won complete independence from the arrogant autocracy that had driven them to war. they were led by the noble genius of george washington and dr. franklin, who were in turn strongly supported by and united to colleagues of high constructive and administrative talents. their task was long and fierce, but the gallant, elusive washington led them through the tremendous struggle to victory, which culminated in founding the greatest and best constituted of all republics, whose sons are fighting side by side with the descendants of those who were forced into fighting their own race, through the maladministration of the king and his guilty government, at the head of which was the genial but ultra-reactionary lord north, who was a special favourite of george because he was accommodating; and indeed, all the king's friends were reactionary and dangerous to the real interests of the state when in power. the king's terrific responsibility for the great calamities that befell the country during his reign can only be absolved by the knowledge that he was subject to fits of prolonged lunacy; in fact, it may be said that even in his saner periods his acts were frequently those of an idiot. though he cannot be accused of lacking in integrity, he disliked men who were possessed of that virtue, coupled with enlightened views, having anything to do with the government of the state. in short, he was totally unsuited to govern at any time, but especially when the atmosphere was charged with violent human convulsions. he loved lick-spittles, because they did his will for value received in various sordid forms, and, as i have said, he loathed the incorruptible and brilliant charles james fox, because he refused to support his fatal policies and that of the cocksparrow members of his government, who from time to time threatened the very foundations of our national existence. the more george persisted, the louder became fox's protests. posterity can never accurately estimate how much it owes to statesmen who acted with fox, but the influences the king had behind him were too formidable for fox to grapple with. he would have saved us from the fratricidal war with america, and from the unpardonable wickedness of involving the country in the wars with france, who was fighting out her own prodigious destiny on the continent, which was no concern of ours, except that the sane policy of the king and his government should have been to encourage the democratizing of the continental states. it was no love of liberty, or for the people, or for reforms of any kind, that led george iii and his satellites to wage war against the man of the french revolution. it was the fear of placing more power in the hands of the people and allowing less to remain in his own. but the main fear of the king and his autocratic subjects was lest napoleon would become so powerful that he would destroy the whole monarchy of europe! it was the view of small-minded men. even napoleon had his limitations, even if this had been his object. but there was no symptom, except that of panic, to justify the assertion that he ever intended to include war on the united kingdom in his policy. there never was a truer statement made by the emperor than "c'est avec des hochets qu'on mène les hommes"; which is, "men are led by trifles." hence we went to war with him, and the result of it is that the race that he mistrusted most and saw the necessity of keeping severely within limits has risen up against civilization and created a world-war into which we and our allies have been obliged to enter in self-defence. that is the inevitable penalty we are having to pay for the action we took in helping the germans to destroy france. i know it is asserted it was not france but napoleon whose power they aimed at breaking, but the one could not be broken without the other. footnotes: [19] there are many conflicting accounts of napoleon's part in the arrest, trial, and his intention of pardoning the duc d'enghien. it has been stated that he gave murat his word that the duc would be pardoned, and when murat heard that the prince had been shot, he exclaimed, "there has been treachery!" on the other hand, bertrand was steadfast in his belief that murat urged his immediate execution on the grounds that if it was not done at once, napoleon would grant clemency. [20] the terms of capitulation were agreed to and signed by ruffo, the russian and turkish commanders, and by captain foote, representing the british government. thirty-six hours afterwards nelson arrived in the bay of naples, and cancelled the treaty. captain foote was sent away, and the shocking indefensible campaign of nelson's carried out. nothing during the whole of napoleon's career can match this terrible act of nelson's. [21] italics are the author's. [22] "history du consulat et de l'empire," vol. xix. p. 619, published august, 1861. sea songs explanatory note these quaint old doggerel songs are taken from an admirable selection of sailor songs published by john ashton. the names of the writers are not given, but their strong nautical flavour and queer composition indicate their origin. no landsman can ever imitate the sailor when the power of song or composition is on him. he puts his own funny sentiment and descriptive faculty into his work, which is exclusively his own. many of the songs in mr. ashton's book i have heard sung with great fervour in my early days, by a generation of men ahead of my own, who must have long since passed away. sometimes the audiences in the forecastle or on deck were appreciative of the efforts of the singer, but if they were not, they always had a boot or some other handy implement ready to throw at him. the reception given to some of my own singing efforts in boyhood on these merry occasions was mixed. sometimes i forgot both words and tune, and had, therefore, to pass good-humouredly through the orthodox process of disapproval that was regarded as part of the entertainment. any song or recital concerning nelson, collingwood, or the later sea hero, charley napier, was eminently popular, and to break down in the rendering of any one of these was an offence to their exalted memories. "the sailor's grave," which i regret is not included in mr. ashton's collection, was in great demand when the sailors were in a solemn mood. both the words and the tune were ridiculously weird, and when it came to the details of the hero's illness, his looks after death, the sewing up in his hammock, and the tying of two round shots at his feet for sinking purposes, the artist always sang with his hands linked in front of him and his eyes cast heavenward gazing fixedly at a spot on the ceiling. then came the burial verse:- a splash and a plunge, and his task was o'er, and the billows rolled as they rolled before, and many a wild prayer followed the brave, as he sunk beneath a sailor's grave. this verse always drew tears from the sentimentalists in the audience, and if the singer had pleased by his efforts the song ended in a roar of tumultuous applause. i have thought it appropriate to add to these doggerel rhymes "the battle of copenhagen," "the death of nelson," and "the _arethusa_." these are sea songs, not sailor's songs, and are of distinctly greater merit, but as two of them deal with nelson, and as all three have always been most popular, they may not be out of place here. i the battle of the nile 'twas on the forenoon, the first day of august, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-eight, we had a long pursuit after the toulon fleet; and soon we let them know that we came for to fight. we tried their skill, it was sore against their will, they knew not what to think of our fleet for a while, but, before the fray began, we resolved to a man, for to conquer or to die at the mouth of the nile. when our guns began to play, with many a loud huzza, resolving to conquer, or die, to a man, and when our sails were bending, old england was depending, waiting our return from the mediterranean. our bull dogs they did roar, and into them did pour, with rattling broadsides made brave nelson to smile, gallant nelson gave command, altho' he'd but one hand, british sailors jumped for joy at the mouth of the nile. night drawing on, we formed a plan to set fire to one hundred and twenty guns, we selected them with skill, and into them did drill, we secured all our shipping, and laughed at the fun. about ten o'clock at night, it was a broiling fight, which caused us to muzzle our bull dogs for a while, the _l'orient_ blew up, and round went the cup, to the glorious memorandum at the mouth of the nile. kind providence protected each minute of the night, it's more than tongue can tell, or yet a pen can write, for 'mongst the jolly tars, brave nelson got a scar, but providence protected him thro' that cruel fight. the french may repine, we took nine sail of the line, burnt and sunk all but two, which escaped for a while, brave nelson gave command, altho' he'd but one hand, british sailors fought like lions at the mouth of the nile. but now the battle's o'er, and toulon's fleet's no more, great news we shall send unto george our king, all the kingdoms in europe shall join us in chorus, the bells they shall ring, and bonfires they shall blaze, rule britannia shall be sung, through country and town, while sailors, hand in hand, round the can do sing, bonaparte got the pledge of europe for his wage, and he'll ne'er forget bold nelson at the mouth of the nile. ii a new song on lord nelson's victory at copenhagen draw near, ye gallant seamen, while i the truth unfold, of as gallant a naval victory as ever yet was told, the second day of april last, upon the baltic main, parker, nelson, and their brave tars, fresh laurels there did gain. with their thundering and roaring, rattling and roaring, thundering and roaring bombs. gallant nelson volunteered himself, with twelve sail form'd a line, and in the road of copenhagen he began his grand design; his tars with usual courage, their valour did display, and destroyed the danish navy upon that glorious day. with their, etc. with strong floating batteries in van and rear we find, the enemy in centre had six ships of the line; at ten that glorious morning, the fight begun, 'tis true, we copenhagen set on fire, my boys, before the clock struck two. with their, etc. when this armament we had destroyed, we anchor'd near the town, and with our bombs were fully bent to burn their city down; revenge for poor matilda's wrongs, our seamen swore they'd have, but they sent a flag of truce aboard, their city for to save. with their, etc. for the loss of his eye and arm, bold nelson does declare, the foes of his country, not an inch of them he'll spare; the danes he's made to rue the day that they ever paul did join, eight ships he burnt, four he sunk, and took six of the line. with their, etc. now drink a health to gallant nelson, the wonder of the world, who, in defence of his country his thunder loud has hurled; and to his bold and valiant tars, who plough the raging sea, and who never were afraid to face the daring enemy. with their thundering and roaring, rattling and roaring, thundering and roaring bombs. iii the battle of boulogne on the second day of august, eighteen hundred and one, we sailed with lord nelson to the port of boulogne, for to cut out their shipping, which was all in vain, for to our misfortune, they were all moored and chained. our boats being well mann'd, at eleven at night, for to cut out their shipping, except they would fight, but the grape from their batteries so smartly did play, nine hundred brave seamen killed and wounded there lay. we hoisted our colours, and so boldly them did spread, with a british flag flying at our royal mast head, for the honour of england, we will always maintain, while bold british seamen plough the watery main. exposed to the fire of the enemy she lay, while ninety bright pieces of cannon did play, where many a brave seaman then lay in his gore, and the shot from their batteries so smartly did pour. our noble commander, with heart full of grief, used every endeavour to afford us relief, no ship could assist us, as well you may know, in this wounded condition, we were tossed to and fro. and you who relieve us, the lord will you bless, for relieving poor sailors in time of distress, may the lord put an end to all cruel wars, and send peace and contentment to all british tars. iv the battle of trafalgar arise, ye sons of britain, in chorus join and sing, great and joyful news is come unto our royal king, an engagement we have had by sea, with france and spain, our enemy, and we've gain'd a glorious victory, again, my brave boys. on the 21st of october, at the rising of the sun, we form'd the line for action, every man to his gun, brave nelson to his men did say, the lord will prosper us this day, give them a broadside, fire away, my true british boys. broadside after broadside our cannon balls did fly, the small shot, like hailstones, upon the deck did lie, their masts and rigging we shot away, besides some thousands on that day, were killed and wounded in the fray, on both sides, brave boys. the lord reward brave nelson, and protect his soul, nineteen sail the combin'd fleets lost in the whole; which made the french for mercy call; nelson was slain by a musket ball. mourn, britons, mourn. each brave commander, in tears did shake his head, their grief was no relief, when nelson he was dead; it was by a fatal musket ball, which caus'd our hero for to fall. he cried, fight on, god bless you all, my brave british tars. huzza my valiant seamen, huzza, we've gain'd the day, but lost a brave commander, bleeding on that day, with joy we've gain'd the victory, before his death he did plainly see i die in peace, bless god, said he, the victory is won. i hope this glorious victory will bring a speedy peace, that all trade in england may flourish and increase, and our ships from port to port go free, as before, let us with them agree, may this turn the heart of our enemy. huzza, my brave boys. v nelson and collingwood come all you gallant heroes, and listen unto me, while i relate a battle was lately fought at sea. so fierce and hot on every side, as plainly it appears, there has not been such a battle fought, no not for many years. brave nelson and brave collingwood, off cadiz harbour lay, watching the french and spaniards, to show them english play, the nineteenth of october from the bay they set sail, brave nelson got intelligence, and soon was at their tail. it was on the twenty-first my boys, we had them clear in sight, and on that very day, at noon, began the bloody fight. our fleet forming two columns, then he broke the enemy's line, to spare the use of signals, was nelson's pure design. for now the voice of thunder is heard on every side, the briny waves like crimson, with human gore were dy'd; the french and spanish heroes their courage well did show, but our brave british sailors soon brought their colours low. four hours and ten minutes, this battle it did hold, and on the briny ocean, men never fought more bold, but, on the point of victory brave nelson, he was slain, and, on the minds of britons, his death will long remain. nineteen sail of the enemy are taken and destroyed, you see the rage of britons, our foes cannot avoid: and ages yet unborn will have this story for to tell, the twenty-first of october, our gallant nelson fell. i hope the wives and children will quickly find relief, for the loss of those brave heroes, their hearts are filled with grief, and may our warlike officers aspire to such a fame, and revenge the death of nelson, with his undying name. vi give it to him, charley arouse, you british sons, arouse! and all who stand to freedom's cause, while sing of the impending wars, and england's bluff old charley. i'll tell how british seamen brave, of russian foes will clear the wave, old england's credit for to save, led on by gallant charley. our gallant tars led by napier, may bid defiance to the bear, while hearty shouts will rend the air, with, mind, and give it to him, charley. our jolly tars will have to tell, how they the russian bears did quell, and each honest heart with pride will dwell, for our jackets blue, and charley. for they'll never leave a blot or stain, while our british flag flies at the main, but their foes they'll thrash again and again, while led on by gallant charley. our gallant tars, etc. tyrant nicky, you may fume and boast, and with threats disturb each peaceful coast, but you reckoned have without your host, for you're no good to our tars and charley. from our wooden walls warm pills will fly, your boasted power for to try, while our seamen with loud shouts will cry, let us give it to him, charley. our gallant tars, etc. for your cowardly tricks at sinope bay, most dearly we will make you pay, for our tars will show you bonny play, while commanded by brave charley. for tho' brave nelson, he is dead, our tars will be to victory led. by one brave heart we have instead, and that brave heart is charley's. our gallant tars, etc. england and france they will pull down the eagle and imperial crown, and his bear-like growls we soon will drown, with, let us give it him, charley. for while england and france go hand in hand they conquer must by sea and land, for no russian foe can e'er withstand, so brave a man as charley. our gallant tars, etc. despotic nick, you've been too fast, to get turkey within your grasp, but a tartar you have caught at last, in the shape of our tars and charley. then here's success with three times three, to all true hearts by land or sea, and this the watchword it shall be, mind, and give it to them, charley. our gallant tars led by napier, may bid defiance to the bear. while hearty shouts will rend the air, with, mind, and give it to him, charley. vii the _arethusa_ come all ye jolly sailors bold, whose hearts are cast in honour's mould, while england's glory i unfold, huzza to the _arethusa_. she is a frigate tight and brave, as ever stemmed the dashing wave; her men are staunch to their fav'rite launch, and when the foe shall meet our fire, sooner than strike we'll all expire, on board of the _arethusa_. 'twas with the spring-fleet she went out, the english channel to cruise about, when four french sail, in show so stout, bore down on the _arethusa_. the fam'd _belle poule_ straight ahead did lie, the _arethusa_ seem'd to fly, not a sheet, or a tack, or a brace did she slack, tho' the frenchman laugh'd, and thought it stuff, but they knew not the handful of men, so tough, on board of the _arethusa_. on deck five hundred men did dance, the stoutest they could find in france, we, with two hundred, did advance on board of the _arethusa_. our captain hail'd the frenchman, ho! the frenchman then cried out, hallo! "bear down, d'ye see to our admiral's lee." "no, no," said the frenchman, "that can't be"; "then i must lug you along with me," says the saucy _arethusa_. the fight was off the frenchman's land, we forc'd them back upon their strand; for we fought till not a stick would stand of the gallant _arethusa_. and now we've driven the foe ashore, never to fight with britons more, let each fill a glass to his favourite lass! a health to our captain, and officers true, and all that belong to the jovial crew, on board of the _arethusa_. viii copenhagen of nelson and the north, sing the day, when, their haughty powers to vex, he engaged the danish decks; and with twenty floating wrecks crowned the fray. all bright, in april's sun, shone the day, when a british fleet came down through the island of the crown, and by copenhagen town took their stay. in arms the danish shore proudly shone; by each gun the lighted brand in a bold determined hand, and the prince of all the land led them on. for denmark here had drawn all her might; from her battleships so vast she had hewn away the mast, and at anchor, to the last bade them fight. another noble fleet of their line rode out; but these were nought to the batteries which they brought, like leviathans afloat in the brine. it was ten of thursday morn by the chime; as they drifted on their path there was silence deep as death, and the noblest held his breath for a time- ere a first and fatal round shook the flood. every dane looked out that day. like the red wolf on his prey, and he swore his flag to sway o'er our blood. not such a mind possessed england's tar; 'twas the love of noble game set his oaken heart on flame, for to him 'twas all the same, sport and war. all hands and eyes on watch as they keep; by their motion light as wings, by each step that haughty springs, you might know them for the kings of the deep. 'twas the _edgar_ first that smote denmark's line as her flag the foremost soared, murray stamped his foot on board, and an hundred cannons roared at the sign. three cheers of all the fleet sung huzza! then from centre, rear, and van, every captain, every man, with a lion's heart began to the fray. oh, dark grew soon the heavens- for each gun, from its adamantine lips, spread a death-shade round the ships, like a hurricane eclipse of the sun. three hours the raging fire did not slack; but the fourth, their signals drear of distress and wreck appear, and the dane a feeble cheer sent us back. the voice decayed; their shots slowly boom. they ceased--and all is wail, as they strike the shattered sail, or in conflagration pale light the gloom. oh, death--it was a sight filled our eyes! but we rescued many a crew from the waves of scarlet hue, ere the cross of england flew o'er her prize. why ceased not here the strife, oh, ye brave? why bleeds old england's band by the fire of danish land, that smites the very hand stretched to save? but the britons sent to warn denmark's town: proud foes, let vengeance sleep! if another chain-shot sweep- all your navy in the deep shall go down. then, peace instead of death let us bring! if you'll yield your conquered fleet, with the crews, at england's feet, and make submission meet to our king. the dane returned, a truce glad to bring: he would yield his conquered fleet, with the crews, at england's feet, and make submission meet to our king. then death withdrew his pall from the day; and the sun looked smiling bright on a wide and woeful sight where the fires of funeral light died away. yet, all amidst her wrecks and her gore, proud denmark blest our chief that he gave her wounds relief, and the sounds of joy and grief filled her shore. all round, outlandish cries loudly broke; but a nobler note was rung when the british, old and young, to their bands of music sung "hearts of oak." cheer! cheer! from park and tower, london town! when the king shall ride in state from st. james's royal gate, and to all his peers relate our renown. the bells shall ring! the day shall not close, but a glaze of cities bright shall illuminate the night, and the wine-cup shine in light as it flows. yes--yet amid the joy and uproar, let us think of them that sleep full many a fathom deep all beside thy rocky steep, elsinore! brave hearts, to britain's weal once so true! though death has quenched your flame, yet immortal be your name! for ye died the death of fame with riou. soft sigh the winds of heaven o'er your grave! while the billow mournful rolls and the mermaid's song condoles, singing--glory to the souls of the brave. ix the death of nelson o'er nelson's tomb, with silent grief oppressed, britannia mourns her hero now at rest; but those bright laurels will not fade with years, whose leaves are watered by a nation's tears. 'twas in trafalgar's bay we saw the frenchmen lay, each heart was bounding then, we scorn'd the foreign yoke, for our ships were british oak, and hearts of oak our men! our nelson mark'd them on the wave, three cheers our gallant seamen gave, nor thought of home and beauty. along the line this signal ran, england expects that ev'ry man this day will do his duty. and now the cannons roar along th' affrighted shore, our nelson led the way, his ship the _victory_ nam'd! long be that _victory_ fam'd, for vict'ry crown'd the day! but dearly was that conquest bought, too well the gallant hero fought, for england, home, and beauty. he cried as 'midst the fire he ran, "england shall find that ev'ry man, this day will do his duty!" at last the fatal wound, which spread dismay around, the hero's breast received; "heaven fights upon our side! the day's our own!" he cried; "now long enough i've lived! in honour's cause my life was passed, in honour's cause i fall at last, for england, home, and beauty." thus ending life as he began, england confessed that every man that day had done his duty. appendix some incidents of nelson's life (_chronologically arranged_) 1758. on 29th september he was born. 1767. on 26th december his mother died. 1771. on 1st january a midshipman aboard the _raisonable_. 1771. on 22nd may sent a voyage in merchant ship to west indies, possibly as cabin-boy. 1772. on 19th july was midshipman on _triumph_. 1773. on 7th may was midshipman on _carcass_. 1773. on 15th october was midshipman on _triumph_. 1773. on 27th october was midshipman on _seahorse_. 1774. on 5th april becomes able seaman on _seahorse_. 1775. on 31st october is again midshipman on _seahorse_. 1776. on 15th march becomes midshipman on _dolphin_. 1776. on 24th september is paid off from _dolphin_. 1776. on 26th september becomes acting-lieutenant on _worcester_. 1777. on 9th april passed examination. 1777. on 10th april is lieutenant of _lowestoft_. 1778. on 2nd july changes to lieutenant of _bristol_. 1778. on 8th december is appointed commander of _badger_. 1779. on 10th june is made captain of _hinchinbroke_. 1780. in january joins expedition to san juan and grenada, nicaragua. 1780. on 2nd may he is made captain of the _janus_. 1780. on 1st september is invalided from _janus_. 1780. on 4th september sailed in the _lion_ for home 1780. on 24th november arrived at spithead and went to bath. 1781. on 23rd august he became captain of _albemarle_. 1782. on 17th april sailed in _albemarle_ to north america. 1783. on 3rd july paid off from _albemarle_. 1783. on 23rd october visited france. 1784. on 17th january back in england. 1784. on 18th march captain of _boreas_. 1784. on 15th may at leeward islands in _boreas_. 1787. on 12th march married widow nesbit. 1787. on 4th july arrived spithead in _boreas_. 1787. on 30th november paid off, put on half pay, and resided mainly at burnham thorpe while on shore. 1793. on 26th january joined _agamemnon_ as captain. 1793. on 6th june sailed for the mediterranean. 1793. on 13th july blockaded toulon. 1793. on 24th august toulon is occupied and _agamemnon_ is ordered to naples. a very full year's work. 1794. on 4th april, siege of bastia begun. 1794. on 22nd may, bastia surrendered: 1794. on 19th june, siege of calvi. 1794. on 10th july wounded in the right eye. 1794. on 10th august, calvi surrendered. 1795. on 13th march hotham's first action. 1795. on 13th july hotham's second action. 1795. on 15th july sent with a squadron to co-operate with the austrians on the coast of genoa. 1795. on 29th november sir john jervis took command of fleet. 1796. on 4th april he is ordered to hoist a distinguishing pennant. 1796. on 4th june shifted his broad pennant to the _captain_. 1796. on 11th august appointed commodore of the first class. 1796. on 10th december joined the _minerva_. 1796. on 20th december captured the spanish frigate _la sabina_. 1797. on 13th february rejoined the _captain_. 1797. on 14th december joined the _irresistible_ at the battle of st. vincent. 1797. on 20th december is rear-admiral of the blue. 1797. on 17th march was created knight of the bath. 1797. on 24th march joined the _captain_ again. 1797. on 1st april news of his promotion. 1797. on 24th may hoisted his flag on _theseus_. 1797. on 24th july his right arm badly wounded while leading attack on santa cruz, which was repulsed. arm amputated. 1797. on 20th august joins _seahorse_, bound for england. 1797. on 1st september arrived at spithead, lowers his flag, and proceeds to bath to recoup his health. 1797. on 27th september has the order of the bath conferred on him. 1798. on 29th march joined the _vanguard_. 1798. on 30th april arrived off cadiz. 1798. on 7th june troubridge reinforces nelson's squadron of observation by adding ten sail of the line. 1798. on 17th june is off naples in search of the french fleet. 1798. on 18th june, arrives off alexandria. 1798. august 1st and 2nd, battle of the nile. 1798. on 22nd september arrives at naples and is received with great rejoicing. on the 29th sir william and lady hamilton give a grand fête in honour of him. the great battle establishes his fame as the greatest admiral in the world. 1798. on 6th november he is created baron nelson of the nile and burnham thorpe. 1798. on 23rd december he sailed for palermo with the king of naples and his family aboard. 1798. on 26th december arrives at palermo and is much gratified by his reception as a popular hero. 1799. on 5th april he changed his flag from blue to red. 1799. on 8th june joins the _foudroyant_. 1799. on 24th june arrives off naples and cancels the agreement of capitulation of the forts. 1799. on 29th june has the aged admiral prince carraciolo hung at the _minerva's_ fore yardarm at the instigation of lady hamilton and the royal profligates of naples. this act remains a blot on his name. 1799. july 13th to 19th disobeyed admiral keith's orders to proceed to minorca. 1799. on 29th july becomes commander-in-chief in the mediterranean. 1799. on 8th august returns again to palermo. 1799. on 13th august he is created duke of bronte. 1799. on 5th october sails for port mahon, minorca. 1799. on 22nd october again returns to palermo. 1800. on 6th january is officially notified that lord keith is reappointed to command in mediterranean, which gives him offence. 1800. on 18th february he captures _le généreux_. 1800. on 30th march also captures _le guillaume tell_. 1800. on 13th july hauls his flag down at leghorn and proceeds home, visiting trieste, vienna, dresden, and hamburg. is received everywhere as a monarch. 1800. on 6th november he arrives at yarmouth. 1801. on 1st january becomes vice-admiral of the blue. 1801. on 13th january he is separated from his wife. 1801. on 17th january hoists his flag on the _san josef_. 1801. on 29th january lady hamilton gives birth to his daughter horatia. 1801. on 12th february joins the _st. george_. 1801. on 12th march sails from yarmouth roads for the sound. 1801. on 29th march joins the _elephant_. 1801. on 2nd april the battle of copenhagen. he again rejoins the _st. george_. 1801. on 5th may appointed commander-in-chief in the baltic. 1801. on 22nd may is created viscount nelson of the nile and burnham thorpe. 1801. on 19th june resigns command and sails in the brig _kite_ for yarmouth, where he arrives on july 1st. 1801. on 2nd july is appointed commander-in-chief of the squadron defending the south-east coast. 1801. on 16th august attacked boulogne flotilla unsuccessfully. 1802. on 10th april hauled his flag down and took up his residence at merton. 1802. on 26th april his father died. 1803. on 6th april his friend, sir william hamilton, died in emma's arms. 1803. 16th may, commander-in-chief again in the mediterranean. 1803. on 20th may sailed from spithead in _victory_. 1803. on 21st may his flag shifted to the _amphion_. 1803. on 8th july arrives off toulon. 1803. on 30th july rejoins the _victory_ and keeps up a steady blockade of toulon until april 1805, and is troubled in body and soul. 1804. on 23rd april vice-admiral of white squadron. 1804. on 18th august death of his aversion, the immortal admiral la touche-treville. 1805. on 17th january the french fleet sailed from toulon, and falling in with stormy weather, their ships were disabled and put back for repairs. 1805. on 8th february nelson arrives off alexandria in search of french. 1805. on 9th march is off toulon again, and 1805. on 1st april is in pula roads. 1805. on 4th april gets news that the frenchmen have sailed again from toulon, on the 30th april. 1805. on 4th may came to anchor at tetuan. 1805. on 9th may came to anchor in lagos bay. 1805. on 11th may sailed for the west indies. 1805. on 4th june arrived at barbadoes. 1805. on 7th june arrived at trinidad. 1805. on 12th june arrived off antigua. 1805. on 13th june sails for europe in search of the elusive french fleet. 1805. on 18th july joins collingwood off cadiz. 1805. on 15th august joins cornwallis off brest. 1805. on 18th august arrived at spithead; joins lady hamilton and his little girl horatia at merton. 1805. on 13th september having heard from captain blackwood, who visited him at merton, that the french fleet were at cadiz, he prepares to leave merton. 1805. on 15th september joins the _victory_ and sails from spithead. 1805. on 25th september joins british fleet off cadiz. 1805. on 21st october, battle of trafalgar and death of nelson. 1806. on 9th january buried in st. paul's cathedral. index aboukir bay, battle of (_see_ nile, battle of the) addington, charles, 104 alexander of russia, 310, 321, 322 _arethusa_, the (poem), 352 armada, spanish, 39 _et seq._, 43, 59 asquith, h.h., 297, 303 astley, sir jacob, 131, 134 balfour, a.j., 303 ball, captain, 153, 154, 158, 160 barham, lord, 215 bathurst, lord, 295 beatty, admiral, 64 bendero, don pedro, 47 beresford, lord charles, 52 bernsdorf, count, 320 berry, captain. 66 bertheur, general, 308 blackett, mr., 262 blackwood, captain, 210, 232, 235, 236, 237 blake, admiral, 134 bonaparte, caroline, 292 bonaparte, elisa, 292 bonaparte, jerome, 292 bonaparte, joseph, 144, 169, 292 bonaparte, louis, 292 bonaparte, napoleon (_see_ napoleon) bonaparte, pauline, 293 boulogne, battle of (sea song), 343 brereton, general, 198, 199, 203, 207 burleigh, cecil, lord (_see_ cecil) byng, admiral sir john, 161, 267 cadiz, drake's attacks on, 32, 39, 58 cadogan, mrs., 210 calais, armada at, 41 calder, sir robert, 206, 208, 222 _et seq._, 267, 268 calvi, siege of, 64 campbell, sir john, 108 campbell-bannerman, sir henry, 301 canning, 180 capua, siege of, 139 carlile, christopher, 48, 51, 54 carlscrona, hyde parker's departure to, 95 carlyle, thomas, 69, 78 caroline (_see_ naples, queen of) carraciolli, prince, 118 _et seq._, 161, 279 carribean sea, drake visits, 54 carthagena, drake's attacks on, 32, 54 castlereagh, lord, 180, 211, 295, 301, 303, 321 caulaincourt, 310 cecil, lord, of burleigh, 27, 32, 44, 58 champernowne, sir arthur, 32 championnet, general, 147 cobham, thomas, 32 collingwood, admiral lord, 31, 63, 64, 83, 84, 134, 193, 200, 203, 204, 210, 229, 235, 237, 238, 243, 245 _et seq._, 257 _et seq._ columbus, christopher, 51, 53 columbus, diego, 51 copenhagen, battle of, 89, 91 copenhagen, battle of (sea-song), 340 copenhagen (poem), 354 corday, charlotte, 141 corunna, drake's attack on, 39 croker, j.w., 115 cromwell, oliver, 130, 133, 134, 237 danton, 141 davis, sir john, 17 death of nelson (poem), 360 denmark, prince regent of, 320, 321 disraeli, 302 domingo, san (_see_ san domingo) dominica, drake's arrival at, 50 doughty, thomas, 24, 38 drake, sir francis- as prototype, 17 and panama, 18, 56 and elizabeth, 20, 21, 22, 23, 43 and war fund, 20 portuguese expedition, 20 death at puerto bello, 21, 60 on _pelican_, 22, 43 and doughty, 24, 38 and discipline, 24, 38 at cadiz, 32, 39, 58 at carthagena, 32, 54 at corunna, 39 west indian expedition, 44 at vigo, 47, 48 and spanish gold fleet, 49 at santiago, 49, 50 at dominica, 50 at san domingo, 51, 53 at bahamas, 57 rescues roanoke settlers, 57, 58 connection with east india company, 59 newbolt's poem on, 60 and fleet tradition, 63 a religious man, 134 nelson compared with, 180 "drake's drum" (poem), quotation from, 60 dresden, electress of, 83 dropmore manuscript, 179 dumanoir, 244, 245, 255 east india company, 59 edward vii of england, 82 electress of dresden, 83 elizabeth of england, 20, 21, 22, 23, 32, 34, 35, 43, 44 elliot, sir george, 122, 123 emma, lady hamilton, 65, 73 _et seq._, 95, 97, 98 _et seq._, 118, 119, 120 _et seq._, 143, 149, 159, 160, 161, 215, 216, 226, 243 d'enghien, duc, 268, 276 _et seq._ erskine, sir james, 147 featherstonehaugh, sir henry, 73 fisher, admiral lord, 64, 95, 178, 180 fitzwilliam, george, 26 foote, captain, 280, 281, 282 fortescue's dropmore ms., 179 fox, charles james, 282, 290, 301, 317, 318, 326, 327, 330 francis joseph of austria, 312 franklin, benjamin, 329 fremantle, admiral, 208 frobisher, martin, 17, 40, 63, 134 george iii of england, 81, 93, 296, 303, 327, 328, 329, 330, 331 george, prince regent (afterwards george iv), 87, 88, 96 gilbert, sir humphrey, 17 "give it to him, charley!" (sea-song), 349 gladstone, w.e., 301, 302 goethe (on beauty of lady hamilton), 76 graham, james, 73 graves, rear-admiral, 92 gravina, admiral, 244 greville, charles, 73, 74, 80, 122 grey, earl, 301 grey, sir edward, 297 "gulliver's travels," 318 hallowell, captain, 146, 218 hamilton, sir william, 65, 74, 76, 88, 100 _et seq._, 122 hamilton, lady (_see_ emma, lady hamilton) hardy, captain (of the _victory_), 92, 119, 225, 232, 235, 240, 242, 243, 251 hart, emily (afterwards lady hamilton), 73 hawkins, sir john, 17, 20, 26, 27, 28, 30, 31, 40, 63, 134 heine, heinrich, anecdote of, 311 hood, admiral, 72 horatia (nelson's daughter), 84, 87, 110 _et seq._, 219, 227, 243 hotham, admiral, 118 howard, admiral lord, 17, 40 inquisition, spanish, 17, 22, 23, 34, 37 jackson, mr. (british representative to denmark), 320, 324 jellicoe, admiral, 64 jervis, admiral (_see_ st. vincent, admiral lord) joseph of austria (_see_ francis joseph of austria) joseph bonaparte (_see_ bonaparte, joseph) keats, captain, 210 keith, lord, 139, 158, 160, 162 kitchener, lord, 178 leslie, general, 130, 134 louis xviii of france, 294 louis philippe of france, 314 louis, captain, 146, 147 lowe, sir hudson, 295 lyon, amy (afterwards emma, lady hamilton), 73 mack, general, 147 malmesbury, lady, 122 malmesbury, lord, 325 marat, 141 marengo, battle of, 162 maria carolina (_see_ naples, queen of) marie louise of austria, 107, 170 marlborough, duke of, 104, 105 marmont, general, 308 mary stuart, queen of scots, 26 mary tudor, queen of england, 35 medina-sidonia, duke of, 19, 40, 41 melbourne, lord, 107 meneval, baron de, 171 milas, general, 162 minto, lord, 103, 104, 155, 159, 209, 210, 217 moreau, 276 mulgrave, lord, 328 müller (swiss historian), 287 murat, 145, 169 naples, ferdinand, king of, 120, 128, 129, 140, 144, 145, 146, 147, 163 _et seq._ naples, maria carolina, queen of, 77, 79, 118, 129, 148, 162, 163 _et seq._, 260 napoleon bonaparte- and prussianism, 69, 298 aphorisms, 71, 131, 134, 205, 291, 314 comparison with nelson, 94 and marie louise, 107, 170 his opinion of nelson, 118 his opinion of wellington, 117 cromwell compared with, 133 and the french fleet, 191 and villeneuve, 199, 264, 265, 266, 267, 268 and madame walewska, 217 comparison of his love letters with nelson's, 218 his "farewell to france" (poem), 274 as a statesman, 132, 133, 275 and plots against his life, 276 and pitt, 287 _et seq._, 304 müller's opinion of, 287 wieland's opinion of, 288 and his family, 292 his return from elba, 294 his letter to george iii, 296 his son's death, 308 and alexander of russia, 310 and treaty of tilsit, 310 compared with william ii of germany, 313 contemporaneous testimony, 315 _et seq._ neipperg, count, 170 nelson, rev. edmund, 64 nelson, horatia (_see_ horatia) nelson, horatio, admiral lord- and contemporary admiration, 31 and fleet tradition, 63 joins _raisonable_, 64 joins _triumph_, 64 joins _agamemnon_, 64 loses right eye at siege of calvi, 64 loses right arm at santa cruz, 65 created k.c.b., 65 at the court of naples, 65, 76 _et seq._, 141 _et seq._, 163 _et seq._ at the nile, 66 created baron, 72 and gambling scandal, 80, 150 returns home after nile, 81 and lady hamilton, 65, 73, 76 _et seq._, 95, 97, 98 _et seq._, 159, 210 _et seq._, 215, 216, 228, 231 at battle of copenhagen, 91, compared with napoleon, 94, 218 joins _st. george_, 95 returns home in _kite_, 98 at merton, 100, 210 _et seq._ letter to his niece, 111 incident of gipsy's prediction, 114 and carraciolli, _118 et seq._, 279 hatred of the french, 135, 173 at toulon, 136 at palermo, 149 and starvation of neapolitans, 151 and "cracking on," 155 as "duke of thunder," 167, 172 homecoming _via_ magdeburg and hamburg, 176 and ministers of state, 139, 174, 180 _et seq._, 210 _et seq._ and privateering, 181 sails to west indies, 197 returns to england, 207 gift of coffin to, 218 joins _victory_, 220 and calder, 221 _et seq._ at trafalgar, 225 _el seq._ last letters, 226, 228, 231 last prayer before battle, 231 death in action, 240, 242 _et seq._ the nation's sorrow, 256 _et seq._ collingwood, compared with, 261 chronological data, 363 nelson and collingwood (sea-song), 347 nelson, lady, 78, 84, 85, 86, 88 newbolt, sir h., 60 nile, battle of the, 66 _et seq._ nile, battle of the (sea-song), 337 north, lord, 329 norton, hon. mrs., 108 o'meara, dr., 265, 295 oquendo, 42 orange, _william the silent_, prince of, 34 orde, sir john, 184, 185, 195, 196, 203 pahlen, count, 97 parker, sir hyde, 89, 90, 91, 92, 184 parma, duke of, 42 pasco, _yeoman of signals_, 235 paul of russia, 97 philip of spain, 17, 18, 26, 28, 32, 34, 36, 37, 40, 41, 42 pichegru, 276 pitt, william, 134, 213, 287, 289, 290, 296, 298, 299, 301, 303, 344, 318, 326, 327 poems, 60, 274, 337 pole, sir charles, 98 radstock, lord, 213, 214, 259 raleigh, sir walter, 57 recaldo, 42 riou, captain, 91 roanoke, settlers of, rescue by drake, 57, 58 robespierre, 141 rome, king of, 308 romney, george, 73 rosebery, lord, 301 rotherham, captain, 237, 238 ruffo, cardinal, 286 salisbury, lord, 302 san domingo, drake's attack on, 32, 51, 53 san philip, 58 santa cruz, action at, 65 santa cruz, admiral, 18, 37, 39, 41 santiago, drake's attack on, 49, 50 sardanapalus, 141 scott, dr., 243 sea songs, 333 seymour, admiral lord, 40 sidmouth, lord, 221 smith, sir sydney, 174 southey, robert, 128, 174 strachan, sir richard, 245, 255 st. george, mrs., 123 st. vincent, battle of cape, 65 st. vincent, earl, 63, 64, 65, 78, 92, 98, 174, 184, 185, 234 suckling, captain maurice, 64 thiers, m., 191, 305 thurn, count, 119 tierny, 301 touche-treville, admiral la, 136, 137 trafalgar, battle of, 43, 225 _et seq._ trafalgar, battle of (sea-song), 345 troubridge, admiral, 80, 98, 140, 141, 142, 143, 146, 151, 158, 159, 233, 234 ulloa, san juan d', catastrophe of, 26 valdes, don pedro de, 19 verde, cape de, pursuit of spanish to, 48 vigo, drake's attack on, 47, 48 villeneuve, admiral, 116, 189, 190, 199, 200, 206, 210, 225, 229, 244, 259, 264, 265, 266, 267, 268 walewska, madame, 217 washington, george, 329 wellington, duke of, 39, 114, 295 wieland (german historian), 287, 288 william ii of germany, 52, 311, 313 works by the same author windjammers and sea tramps sea yarns (formerly entitled "the shellback's progress in the nineteenth century") looking seaward again the tragedy of st. helena character sketches the life of horatio lord nelson by robert southey (1774-1843) to john wilson croker esq., ll.d., f.r.s., secretary of the admiralty; who, by the official situation which he so ably fills, is qualified to appreciate its historical accuracy; and who, as a member of the republic of letters, is equally qualified to decide upon its literary merits, this work is respectfully inscribed by his friend, the author many lives of nelson have been written; one is yet wanting, clear and concise enough to become a manual for the young sailor, which he may carry about with him till he has treasured it up for example in his memory and in his heart. in attempting such a work i shall write the eulogy of our great national hero, for the best eulogy of nelson is the faithful history of his actions, and the best history must be that which shall relate them most perspicuously. chapter i 1758 1783 nelson's birth and boyhood--he is entered on board the raisonable--goes to the west indies in a merchant-ship; then serves in the triumph--he sails in captain phipps' voyage of discovery--goes to the east indies in the seahorse, and returns in ill health--serves as acting lieutenant in the worcester, and is made lieutenant into the lowestoffe, commander into the badger brig, and post into the hinchinbroke--expedition against the spanish main--sent to the north seas in the albermarle--services during the american war. horatio, son of edmund and catherine nelson, was born september 29, 1758, in the parsonage-house of burnham thorpe, a village in the county of norfolk, of which his father was rector. his mother was a daughter of dr. suckling, prebendary of westminster, whose grandmother was sister of sir robert walpole, and this child was named after his godfather, the first lord walpole. mrs. nelson died in 1767, leaving eight out of eleven children. her brother, captain maurice suckling, of the navy visited the widower upon this event, and promised to take care of one of the boys. three years afterwards, when horatio was only twelve years of age, being at home during the christmas holidays, he read in the county newspaper that his uncle was appointed to the raisonnable, of sixty-four guns. "do, william," said he to a brother who was a year and a half older than himself, "write to my father, and tell him that i should like to go to sea with uncle maurice." mr. nelson was then at bath, whither he had gone for the recovery of his health: his circumstances were straitened, and he had no prospect of ever seeing them bettered: he knew that it was the wish of providing for himself by which horatio was chiefly actuated, and did not oppose his resolution; he understood also the boy's character, and had always said, that in whatever station he might be placed, he would climb if possible to the very top of the tree. captain suckling was written to. "what," said he in his answer, "has poor horatio done, who is so weak, that he, above all the rest, should be sent to rough it out at sea?--but let him come; and the first time we go into action, a cannon-ball may knock off his head, and provide for him at once." it is manifest from these words that horatio was not the boy whom his uncle would have chosen to bring up in his own profession. he was never of a strong body; and the ague, which at that time was one of the most common diseases in england, had greatly reduced his strength; yet he had already given proofs of that resolute heart and nobleness of mind which, during his whole career of labour and of glory, so eminently distinguished him. when a mere child, he strayed a-birds'-nesting from his grandmother's house in company with a cowboy: the dinner-hour elapsed; he was absent, and could not be found; and the alarm of the family became very great, for they apprehended that he might have been carried off by gipsies. at length, after search had been made for him in various directions, he was discovered alone, sitting composedly by the side of a brook which he could not get over. "i wonder, child," said the old lady when she saw him, "that hunger and fear did not drive you home." "fear! grandmama:" replied the future hero, "i never saw fear:--what is it?" once, after the winter holidays, when he and his brother william had set off on horseback to return to school, they came back, because there had been a fall of snow; and william, who did not much like the journey, said it was too deep for them to venture on. "if that be the case," said the father, "you certainly shall not go; but make another attempt, and i will leave it to your honour. if the road is dangerous you may return: but remember, boys, i leave it to your honour!" the snow was deep enough to have afforded them a reasonable excuse; but horatio was not to be prevailed upon to turn back. "we must go on," said he: "remember, brother, it was left to our honour!"--there were some fine pears growing in the schoolmaster's garden, which the boys regarded as lawful booty, and in the highest degree tempting; but the boldest among them were afraid to venture for the prize. horatio volunteered upon this service: he was lowered down at night from the bedroom window by some sheets, plundered the tree, was drawn up with the pears, and then distributed them among his school-fellows without reserving any for himself. "he only took them," he said, "because every other boy was afraid." early on a cold and dark spring morning mr. nelson's servant arrived at this school, at north walsham, with the expected summons for horatio to join his ship. the parting from his brother william, who had been for so many years his playmate and bed-fellow, was a painful effort, and was the beginning of those privations which are the sailor's lot through life. he accompanied his father to london. the raisonnable was lying in the medway. he was put into the chatham stage, and on its arrival was set down with the rest of the passengers, and left to find his way on board as he could. after wandering about in the cold, without being able to reach the ship, an officer observed the forlorn appearance of the boy, questioned him; and happening to be acquainted with his uncle, took him home and gave him some refreshments. when he got on board, captain suckling was not in the ship, nor had any person been apprised of the boy's coming. he paced the deck the whole remainder of the day without being noticed by any one; and it was not till the second day that somebody, as he expressed it, "took compassion on him." the pain which is felt when we are first transplanted from our native soil--when the living branch is cut from the parent tree is one of the most poignant which we have to endure through life. there are after-griefs which wound more deeply, which leave behind them scars never to be effaced, which bruise the spirit, and sometimes break the heart; but never do we feel so keenly the want of love, the necessity of being loved, and the sense of utter desertion, as when we first leave the haven of home, and are, as it were, pushed off upon the stream of life. added to these feelings, the sea-boy has to endure physical hardships, and the privation of every comfort, even of sleep. nelson had a feeble body and an affectionate heart, and he remembered through life his first days of wretchedness in the service. the raisonnable having been commissioned on account of the dispute respecting the falkland islands, was paid off as soon as the difference with the court of spain was accommodated, and captain suckling was removed to the triumph, seventy-four, then stationed as a guard-ship in the thames. this was considered as too inactive a life for a boy, and nelson was therefore sent a voyage to the west indies in a merchant-ship, commanded by mr. john rathbone, an excellent seaman, who had served as master's mate under captain suckling in the dreadnought. he returned a practical seaman, but with a hatred of the king's service, and a saying then common among the sailors--"aft the most honour; forward the better man." rathbone had probably been disappointed and disgusted in the navy; and, with no unfriendly intentions, warned nelson against a profession which he himself had found hopeless. his uncle received him on board the triumph on his return, and discovering his dislike to the navy, took the best means of reconciling him to it. he held it out as a reward that, if he attended well to his navigation, he should go in the cutter and decked long-boat, which was attached to the commanding-officer's ship at chatham. thus he became a good pilot for vessels of that description from chatham to the tower, and down the swin channel to the north foreland, and acquired a confidence among rocks and sands of which he often felt the value. nelson had not been many months on board the triumph, when his love of enterprise was excited by hearing that two ships were fitting out for a voyage of discovery towards the north pole. in consequence of the difficulties which were expected on such a service, these vessels were to take out effective men instead of the usual number of boys. this, however, did not deter him from soliciting to be received, and, by his uncle's interest, he was admitted as coxswain under captain lutwidge, second in command. the voyage was undertaken in compliance with an application from the royal society. the hon. captain constantine john phipps, eldest son of lord mulgrave, volunteered his services. the racehorse and carcass bombs were selected as the strongest ships, and, therefore, best adapted for such a voyage; and they were taken into dock and strengthened, to render them as secure as possible against the ice. two masters of greenlandmen were employed as pilots for each ship. no expedition was ever more carefully fitted out; and the first lord of the admiralty, lord sandwich, with a laudable solicitude, went on board himself, before their departure, to see that everything had been completed to the wish of the officers. the ships were provided with a simple and excellent apparatus for distilling fresh from salt water, the invention of dr. irving, who accompanied the expedition. it consisted merely in fitting a tube to the ship's kettle, and applying a wet mop to the surface as the vapour was passing. by these means, from thirty-four to forty gallons were produced every day. they sailed from the nore on the 4th of june. on the 6th of july they were in latitude 79d 56m 39s; longitude 9d 43m 30s e. the next day, about the place where most of the old discoverers had been stopped, the racehorse was beset with ice; but they hove her through with ice-anchors. captain phipps continued ranging along the ice, northward and westward, till the 24th; he then tried to the eastward. on the 30th he was in latitude 80d 13m; longitude 18d 48m e. among the islands and in the ice, with no appearance of an opening for the ships. the weather was exceedingly fine, mild, and unusually clear. here they were becalmed in a large bay, with three apparent openings between the islands which formed it; but everywhere, as far as they could see, surrounded with ice. there was not a breath of air, the water was perfectly smooth, the ice covered with snow, low and even, except a few broken pieces near the edge; and the pools of water in the middle of the ice-fields just crusted over with young ice. on the next day the ice closed upon them, and no opening was to be seen anywhere, except a hole, or lake as it might be called, of about a mile and a half in circumference, where the ships lay fast to the ice with their ice-anchors. from these ice-fields they filled their casks with water, which was very pure and soft. the men were playing on the ice all day; but the greenland pilots, who were further than they had ever been before, and considered that the season was far advancing, were alarmed at being thus beset. the next day there was not the smallest opening; the ships were within less than two lengths of each other, separated by ice, and neither having room to turn. the ice, which the day before had been flat and almost level with the water's edge, was now in many places forced higher than the mainyard by the pieces squeezing together. a day of thick fog followed: it was succeeded by clear weather; but the passage by which the ships had entered from the westward was closed, and no open water was in sight, either in that or any other quarter. by the pilots' advice the men were set to cut a passage, and warp through the small openings to the westward. they sawed through pieces of ice twelve feet thick; and this labour continued the whole day, during which their utmost efforts did not move the ships above three hundred yards; while they were driven, together with the ice, far to the n.e. and e. by the current. sometimes a field of several acres square would be lifted up between two larger islands, and incorporated with them; and thus these larger pieces continued to grow by aggregation. another day passed, and there seemed no probability of getting the ships out without a strong e. or n.e. wind. the season was far advanced, and every hour lessened the chance of extricating themselves. young as he was, nelson was appointed to command one of the boats which were sent out to explore a passage into the open water. it was the means of saving a boat belonging to the racehorse from a singular but imminent danger. some of the officers had fired at and wounded a walrus. as no other animal has so human-like an expression in its countenance, so also is there none that seems to possess more of the passions of humanity. the wounded animal dived immediately, and brought up a number of its companions; and they all joined in an attack upon the boat. they wrested an oar from one of the men; and it was with the utmost difficulty that the crew could prevent them from staving or upsetting her, till the carcass's boat came up; and the walruses, finding their enemies thus reinforced, dispersed. young nelson exposed himself in a more daring manner. one night, during the mid-watch, he stole from the ship with one of his comrades, taking advantage of a rising fog, and set off over the ice in pursuit of a bear. it was not long before they were missed. the fog thickened, and captain lutwidge and his officers became exceedingly alarmed for their safety. between three and four in the morning the weather cleared, and the two adventurers were seen, at a considerable distance from the ship, attacking a huge bear. the signal for them to return was immediately made; nelson's comrade called upon him to obey it, but in vain; his musket had flashed in the pan; their ammunition was expended; and a chasm in the ice, which divided him from the bear, probably preserved his life. "never mind," he cried; "do but let me get a blow at this devil with the butt-end of my musket, and we shall have him." captain lutwidge, however, seeing his danger, fired a gun, which had the desired effect of frightening the beast; and the boy then returned, somewhat afraid of the consequences of his trespass. the captain reprimanded him sternly for conduct so unworthy of the office which he filled, and desired to know what motive he could have for hunting a bear. "sir," said he, pouting his lip, as he was wont to do when agitated, "i wished to kill the bear, that i might carry the skin to my father." a party were now sent to an island, about twelve miles off (named walden's island in the charts, from the midshipman who was intrusted with this service), to see where the open water lay. they came back with information that the ice, though close all about them, was open to the westward, round the point by which they came in. they said also, that upon the island they had had a fresh east wind. this intelligence considerably abated the hopes of the crew; for where they lay it had been almost calm, and their main dependence had been upon the effect of an easterly wind in clearing the bay. there was but one alternative: either to wait the event of the weather upon the ships, or to betake themselves to the boats. the likelihood that it might be necessary to sacrifice the ships had been foreseen. the boats accordingly were adapted, both in number and size, to transport, in case of emergency, the whole crew; and there were dutch whalers upon the coast, in which they could all be conveyed to europe. as for wintering where they were, that dreadful experiment had been already tried too often. no time was to be lost; the ships had driven into shoal water, having but fourteen fathoms. should they, or the ice to which they were fast, take the ground, they must inevitably be lost; and at this time they were driving fast toward some rocks on the n.e. captain phipps sent for the officers of both ships, and told them his intention of preparing the boats for going away. they were immediately hoisted out, and the fitting begun. canvas bread-bags were made, in case it should be necessary suddenly to desert the vessels; and men were sent with the lead and line to n. and e., to sound wherever they found cracks in the ice, that they might have notice before the ice took the ground; for in that case the ships must instantly have been crushed or overset. on the 7th of august they began to haul the boats over the ice, nelson having command of a four-oared cutter. the men behaved excellently well, like true british seamen: they seemed reconciled to the thought of leaving the ships, and had full confidence in their officers. about noon, the ice appeared rather more open near the vessels; and as the wind was easterly, though there was but little of it, the sails were set, and they got about a mile to the westward. they moved very slowly, and were not now nearly so far to the westward as when they were first beset. however, all sail was kept upon them, to force them through whenever the ice slacked the least. whatever exertions were made, it could not be possible to get the boats to the water's edge before the 14th; and if the situation of the ships should not alter by that time, it would not be justifiable to stay longer by them. the commander therefore resolved to carry on both attempts together, moving the boats constantly, and taking every opportunity of getting the ships through. a party was sent out next day to the westward to examine the state of the ice: they returned with tidings that it was very heavy and close, consisting chiefly of large fields. the ships, however, moved something, and the ice itself was drifting westward. there was a thick fog, so that it was impossible to ascertain what advantage had been gained. it continued on the 9th; but the ships were moved a little through some very small openings: the mist cleared off in the afternoon, and it was then perceived that they had driven much more than could have been expected to the westward, and that the ice itself had driven still further. in the course of the day they got past the boats, and took them on board again. on the morrow the wind sprang up to the n.n.e. all sail was set, and the ships forced their way through a great deal of very heavy ice. they frequently struck, and with such force that one stroke broke the shank of the racehorse's best bower-anchor, but the vessels made way; and by noon they had cleared the ice, and were out at sea. the next day they anchored in smeerenberg harbour, close to that island of which the westernmost point is called hakluyt's headland, in honour of the great promoter and compiler of our english voyages of discovery. here they remained a few days, that the men might rest after their fatigue. no insect was to be seen in this dreary country, nor any species of reptile--not even the common earth-worm. large bodies of ice, called icebergs, filled up the valleys between high mountains, so dark as, when contrasted with the snow, to appear black. the colour of the ice was a lively light green. opposite to the place where they fixed their observatory was one of these icebergs, above three hundred feet high; its side toward the sea was nearly perpendicular, and a stream of water issued from it. large pieces frequently broke off and rolled down into the sea. there was no thunder nor lightning during the whole time they were in these latitudes. the sky was generally loaded with hard white clouds, from which it was never entirely free even in the clearest weather. they always knew when they were approaching the ice long before they saw it, by a bright appearance near the horizon, which the greenlandmen called the blink of the ice. the season was now so far advanced that nothing more could have been attempted, if indeed anything had been left untried; but the summer had been unusually favourable, and they had carefully surveyed the wall of ice, extending for more than twenty degrees between the latitudes of 80d and 81d, without the smallest appearance of any opening. the ships were paid off shortly after their return to england; and nelson was then placed by his uncle with captain farmer, in the seahorse, of twenty guns, then going out to the east indies in the squadron under sir edward hughes. he was stationed in the foretop at watch and watch. his good conduct attracted the attention of the master (afterwards captain surridge), in whose watch he was; and upon his recommendation the captain rated him as midshipman. at this time his countenance was florid, and his appearance rather stout and athletic; but when he had been about eighteen months in india, he felt the effects of that climate, so perilous to european constitutions. the disease baffled all power of medicine; he was reduced almost to a skeleton; the use of his limbs was for some time entirely lost; and the only hope that remained was from a voyage home. accordingly he was brought home by captain pigot, in the dolphin; and had it not been for the attentive and careful kindness of that officer on the way, nelson would never have lived to reach his native shores. he had formed an acquaintance with sir charles pole, sir thomas troubridge, and other distinguished officers, then, like himself, beginning their career: he had left them pursuing that career in full enjoyment of health and hope, and was returning, from a country in which all things were to him new and interesting, with a body broken down by sickness, and spirits which had sunk with his strength. long afterwards, when the name of nelson was known as widely as that of england itself, he spoke of the feelings which he at this time endured. "i felt impressed," said he, "with a feeling that i should never rise in my profession. my mind was staggered with a view of the difficulties i had to surmount and the little interest i possessed. i could discover no means of reaching the object of my ambition. after a long and gloomy reverie, in which i almost wished myself overboard, a sudden glow of patriotism was kindled within me, and presented my king and country as my patron. 'well then,' i exclaimed, 'i will be a hero! and, confiding in providence, i will brave every danger!'" long afterwards nelson loved to speak of the feelings of that moment; and from that time, he often said, a radiant orb was suspended in his mind's eye, which urged him onward to renown. the state of mind in which these feelings began, is what the mystics mean by their season of darkness and desertion. if the animal spirits fail, they represent it as an actual temptation. the enthusiasm of nelson's nature had taken a different direction, but its essence was the same. he knew to what the previous state of dejection was to be attributed; that an enfeebled body, and a mind depressed, had cast this shade over his soul; but he always seemed willing to believe that the sunshine which succeeded bore with it a prophetic glory, and that the light which led him on was "light from heaven." his interest, however, was far better than he imagined, during his absence, captain suckling had been made comptroller of the navy; his health had materially improved upon the voyage; and as soon as the dolphin was paid off, he was appointed acting lieutenant in the worcester, sixty-four, captain mark robinson, then going out with convoy to gibraltar. soon after his return, on the 8th of april 1777, he passed his examination for a lieutenancy. captain suckling sat at the head of the board; and when the examination had ended, in a manner highly honourable to nelson, rose from his seat, and introduced him to the examining captains as his nephew. they expressed their wonder that he had not informed them of this relationship before; he replied that he did not wish the younker to be favoured; he knew his nephew would pass a good examination, and he had not been deceived. the next day nelson received his commission as second lieutenant of the lowestoffe frigate, captain william locker, then fitting out for jamaica. american and french privateers, under american colours, were at that time harassing our trade in the west indies: even a frigate was not sufficiently active for nelson, and he repeatedly got appointed to the command of one of the lowestoffe's tenders. during one of their cruises the lowestoffe captured an american letter-of-marque: it was blowing a gale, and a heavy sea running. the first lieutenant being ordered to board the prize, went below to put on his hanger. it happened to be mislaid; and while he was seeking it, captain locker came on deck. perceiving the boat still alongside, and in danger every moment of being swamped, and being extremely anxious that the privateer should be instantly taken in charge, because he feared that it would otherwise founder, he exclaimed, "have i no officer in the ship who can board the prize?" nelson did not offer himself immediately, waiting, with his usual sense of propriety, for the first lieutenant's return; but hearing the master volunteer, he jumped into the boat, saying, "it is my turn now; and if i come back, it is yours." the american, who had carried a heavy press of sail in hope of escaping, was so completely water-logged that the lowestoffe's boat went in on deck and out again with the sea. about this time he lost his uncle. captain locker, however, who had perceived the excellent qualities of nelson, and formed a friendship for him which continued during his life, recommended him warmly to sir peter parker, then commander-in-chief upon that station. in consequence of this recommendation he was removed into the bristol flag-ship, and lieutenant cuthbert collingwood succeeded him in the lowestoffe. sir peter parker was the friend of both, and thus it happened that whenever nelson got a step in rank, collingwood succeeded him. the former soon became first lieutenant, and on the 8th of december 1778 was appointed commander of the badger brig; collingwood taking his place in the bristol. while the badger was lying in montego bay, jamaica, the glasgow of twenty guns came in and anchored there, and in two hours was in flames, the steward having set fire to her while stealing rum out of the after-hold. her crew were leaping into the water, when nelson came up in his boats, made them throw their powder overboard and point their guns upward; and by his presence of mind and personal exertions prevented the loss of life which would otherwise have ensued. on the 11th of june 1779 he was made post into the hinchinbrook, of twenty-eight guns, an enemy's merchantman, sheathed with wood, which had been taken into the service. collingwood was then made commander into the badger. a short time after he left the lowestoffe, that ship, with a small squadron, stormed the fort of st. fernando de omoa, on the south side of the bay of honduras, and captured some register ships which were lying under its guns. two hundred and fifty quintals of quicksilver and three millions of piastres were the reward of this enterprise; and it is characteristic of nelson that the chance by which he missed a share in such a prize is never mentioned in any of his letters; nor is it likely that it ever excited even a momentary feeling of vexation. nelson was fortunate in possessing good interest at the time when it could be most serviceable to him: his promotion had been almost as rapid as it could be; and before he had attained the age of twenty-one he had gained that rank which brought all the honours of the service within his reach. no opportunity, indeed, had yet been given him of distinguishing himself; but he was thoroughly master of his profession, and his zeal and ability were acknowledged wherever he was known. count d'estaing, with a fleet of one hundred and twenty-five sail, men of war and transports, and a reputed force of five-and twenty thousand men, threatened jamaica from st. domingo. nelson offered his services to the admiral and to governor-general dalling, and was appointed to command the batteries of fort charles, at port royal. not more than seven thousand men could be mustered for the defence of the island,--a number wholly inadequate to resist the force which threatened them. of this nelson was so well aware, that when he wrote to his friends in england, he told them they must not be surprised to hear of his learning to speak french. d'estaing, however, was either not aware of his own superiority, or not equal to the command with which he was intrusted: he attempted nothing with his formidable armament; and general dalling was thus left to execute a project which he had formed against the spanish colonies. this project was, to take fort san juan on the river of that name, which flows from lake nicaragua into the atlantic; make himself master of the lake itself, and of the cities of granada and leon; and thus cut off the communication of the spaniards between their northern and southern possessions in america. here it is that a canal between the two seas may most easily be formed--a work more important in its consequences than any which has ever yet been effected by human power. lord george germaine, at that time secretary of state for the american department, approved the plan; and as discontents at that time were known to prevail in the nuevo reyno, in popayan, and in peru, the more sanguine part of the english began to dream of acquiring an empire in one part of america, more extensive than that which they were on the point of losing in another. general dalling's plans were well formed; but the history and the nature of the country had not been studied as accurately as its geography: the difficulties which occurred in fitting out the expedition delayed it till the season was too far advanced; and the men were thus sent to adventure themselves, not so much against an enemy, whom they would have beaten, as against a climate which would do the enemy's work. early in the year 1780, five hundred men destined for this service were convoyed by nelson from port royal to cape gracias a dios, in honduras. not a native was to be seen when they landed: they had been taught that the english came with no other intent than that of enslaving them, and sending them to jamaica. after a while, however, one of them ventured down, confiding in his knowledge of one of the party; and by his means the neighbouring tribes were conciliated with presents, and brought in. the troops were encamped on a swampy and unwholesome plain, where they were joined by a party of the 79th regiment from black river, who were already in a deplorable state of sickness. having remained here a month, they proceeded, anchoring frequently, along the mosquito shore, to collect their indian allies, who were to furnish proper boats for the river, and to accompany them. they reached the river san juan, march 24th; and here, according to his orders, nelson's services were to terminate; but not a man in the expedition had ever been up the river, or knew the distance of any fortification from its mouth; and he not being one who would turn back when so much was to be done, resolved to carry the soldiers up. about two hundred, therefore, were embarked in the mosquito shore craft and in two of the hinchinbrook's boats, and they began their voyage. it was the latter end of the dry season, the worst time for such an expedition; the river was consequently low. indians were sent forward through narrow channels between shoals and sandbanks, and the men were frequently obliged to quit the boats and exert their utmost strength to drag or thrust them along. this labour continued for several days; when they came into deeper water, they had then currents and rapids to contend with, which would have been insurmountable but for the skill of the indians in such difficulties. the brunt of the labour was borne by them and by the sailors--men never accustomed to stand aloof when any exertion of strength or hardihood is required. the soldiers, less accustomed to rely upon themselves, were of little use. but all equally endured the violent heat of the sun, rendered more intense by being reflected from the white shoals; while the high woods, on both sides of the river, were frequently so close as to prevent any refreshing circulation of air; and during the night all were equally exposed to the heavy and unwholesome dews. on the 9th of april they reached an island in the river, called san bartolomeo, which the spaniards had fortified, as an outpost, with a small semicircular battery, mounting nine or ten swivels, and manned with sixteen or eighteen men. it commanded the river in a rapid and difficult part of the navigation. nelson, at the head of a few of his seamen, leaped upon the beach. the ground upon which he sprung was so muddy that he had some difficulty in extricating himself, and lost his shoes: bare-footed, however, he advanced, and, in his own phrase, boarded the battery. in this resolute attempt he was bravely supported by despard, at that time a captain in the army, afterward unhappily executed for his schemes of revolutionary treason. the castle of san tuan is situated about 16 miles higher up; the stores and ammunition, however, were landed a few miles below the castle, and the men had to march through woods almost impassable. one of the men was bitten under the eye by a snake which darted upon him from the bough of a tree. he was unable to proceed from the violence of the pain; and when, after a short while, some of his comrades were sent back to assist him, he was dead, and the body already putrid. nelson himself narrowly escaped a similar fate. he had ordered his hammock to be slung under some trees, being excessively fatigued, and was sleeping, when a monitory lizard passed across his face. the indians happily observed the reptile; and knowing what it indicated, awoke him. he started up, and found one of the deadliest serpents of the country coiled up at his feet. he suffered from poison of another kind; for drinking at a spring in which some boughs of the manchineel had been thrown, the effects were so severe as, in the opinion of some of his friends, to inflict a lasting injury upon his constitution. the castle of san juan is 32 miles below the point where the river issues from the lake of nicaragua, and 69 from its mouth. boats reach the sea from thence in a day and a-half; but their navigation back, even when unladen, is the labour of nine days. the english appeared before it on the 11th, two days after they had taken san bartolomeo. nelson's advice was, that it should instantly be carried by assault; but nelson was not the commander; and it was thought proper to observe all the formalities of a siege. ten days were wasted before this could be commenced. it was a work more of fatigue than of danger; but fatigue was more to be dreaded than the enemy; the rains set in; and could the garrison have held out a little longer, diseases would have rid them of their invaders. even the indians sunk under it, the victims of unusual exertion, and of their own excesses. the place surrendered on the 24th. but victory procured to the conquerors none of that relief which had been expected; the castle was worse than a prison; and it contained nothing which could contribute to the recovery of the sick, or the preservation of those who were yet unaffected. the huts which served for hospitals were surrounded with filth, and with the putrefying hides of slaughtered cattle--almost sufficient of themselves to have engendered pestilence; and when at last orders were given to erect a convenient hospital, the contagion had become so general that there were none who could work at it; for besides the few who were able to perform garrison duty, there were not orderly men enough to assist the sick. added to these evils, there was the want of all needful remedies; for though the expedition had been amply provided with hospital stores, river craft enough had not been procured for transporting the requisite baggage; and when much was to be left behind, provision for sickness was that which of all things men in health would be most ready to leave. now, when these medicines were required, the river was swollen, and so turbulent that its upward navigation was almost impracticable. at length even the task of burying the dead was more than the living could perform, and the bodies were tossed into the stream, or left for beasts of prey, and for the gallinazos--those dreadful carrion birds, which do not always wait for death before they begin their work. five months the english persisted in what may be called this war against nature; they then left a few men, who seemed proof against the climate, to retain the castle till the spaniards should choose to retake it and make them prisoners. the rest abandoned their baleful conquest. eighteen hundred men were sent to different posts upon this wretched expedition: not more than three hundred and eighty ever returned. the hinchinbrook's complement consisted of two hundred men; eighty-seven took to their beds in one night, and of the whole crew not more than ten survived. the transports' men all died, and some of the ships, having none left to take care of them, sunk in the harbour: but transport ships were not wanted, for the troops which they had brought were no more: they had fallen, not by the hand of an enemy, but by the deadly influence of the climate. nelson himself was saved by a timely removal. in a few days after the commencement of the siege he was seized with the prevailing dysentery; meantime captain glover (son of the author of leonidas) died, and nelson was appointed to succeed him in the janus, of forty-four guns; collingwood being then made post into the hinchinbrook. he returned to the harbour the day before san juan surrendered, and immediately sailed for jamaica in the sloop which brought the news of his appointment. he was, however, so greatly reduced by the disorder, that when they reached port royal he was carried ashore in his cot; and finding himself, after a partial amendment, unable to retain the command of his new ship, he was compelled to ask leave to return to england, as the only means of recovery. captain (afterwards admiral) cornwallis took him home in the lion; and to his fare and kindness nelson believed himself indebted for his life. he went immediately to bath, in a miserable state; so helpless that he was carried to and from his bed; and the act of moving him produced the most violent pain. in three months he recovered, and immediately hastened to london, and applied for employment. after an interval of about four months he was appointed to the albemarle, of twenty-eight guns, a french merchantman which had been purchased from the captors for the king's service. his health was not yet thoroughly re-established; and while he was employed in getting his ship ready, he again became so ill as hardly to be able to keep out of bed. yet in this state, still suffering from the fatal effect of a west indian climate, as if it might almost be supposed, he said, to try his constitution, he was sent to the north seas, and kept there the whole winter. the asperity with which he mentioned this so many years afterwards evinces how deeply he resented a mode of conduct equally cruel to the individual and detrimental to the service. it was during the armed neutrality; and when they anchored off elsinore, the danish admiral sent on board, desiring to be informed what ships had arrived, and to have their force written down. "the albemarle," said nelson to the messenger, "is one of his britannic majesty's ships: you are at liberty, sir, to count the guns as you go down the side; and you may assure the danish admiral that, if necessary, they shall all be well served." during this voyage he gained a considerable knowledge of the danish coast and its soundings, greatly to the advantage of his country in after-times. the albemarle was not a good ship, and was several times nearly overset in consequence of the masts having been made much too long for her. on her return to england they were shortened, and some other improvements made at nelson's suggestion. still he always insisted that her first owners, the french, had taught her to run away, as she was never a good sailer except when going directly before the wind. on their return to the downs, while he was ashore visiting the senior officer, there came on so heavy a gale that almost all the vessels drove, and a store-ship came athwart-hawse of the albemarle. nelson feared she would drive on the goodwin sands; he ran to the beach; but even the deal boatmen thought it impossible to get on board, such was the violence of the storm. at length some of the most intrepid offered to make the attempt for fifteen guineas; and to the astonishment and fear of all the beholders, he embarked during the height of the tempest. with great difficulty and imminent danger he succeeded in reaching her. she lost her bowsprit and foremast, but escaped further injury. he was now ordered to quebec, where his surgeon told him he would certainly be laid up by the climate. many of his friends urged him to represent this to admiral keppel; but having received his orders from lord sandwich, there appeared to him an indelicacy in applying to his successor to have them altered. accordingly he sailed for canada. during her first cruise on that station the albemarle captured a fishing schooner which contained in her cargo nearly all the property that her master possessed, and the poor fellow had a large family at home, anxiously expecting him. nelson employed him as a pilot in boston bay, then restored him the schooner and cargo, and gave him a certificate to secure him against being captured by any other vessel. the man came off afterwards to the albemarle, at the hazard of his life, with a present of sheep, poultry, and fresh provisions. a most valuable supply it proved, for the scurvy was raging on board: this was in the middle of august, and the ship's company had not had a fresh meal since the beginning of april. the certificate was preserved at boston in memory of an act of unusual generosity; and now that the fame of nelson has given interest to everything connected with his name, it is regarded as a relic. the albemarle had a narrow escape upon this cruise. four french sail of the line and a frigate, which had come out of boston harbour, gave chase to her; and nelson, perceiving that they beat him in sailing, boldly ran among the numerous shoals of st. george's bank, confiding in his own skill in pilotage. captain salter, in the sta. margaretta, had escaped the french fleet by a similar manoeuvre not long before. the frigate alone continued warily to pursue him; but as soon as he perceived that this enemy was unsupported, he shortened sail and hove to; upon which the frenchman thought it advisable to give over the pursuit, and sail in quest of his consorts. at quebec nelson became acquainted with alexander davison, by whose interference he was prevented from making what would have been called an imprudent marriage. the albemarle was about to leave the station, her captain had taken leave of his friends, and was gone down the river to the place of anchorage; when the next morning, as davison was walking on the beach, to his surprise he saw nelson coming back in his boat. upon inquiring the cause of this reappearance, nelson took his arm to walk towards the town, and told him that he found it utterly impossible to leave quebec without again seeing the woman whose society had contributed so much to his happiness there, and offering her his hand. "if you do," said his friend, "your ruin must inevitably follow." "then let it follow," cried nelson, "for i am resolved to do it" "and i," replied davison, "am resolved you shall not." nelson, however, upon this occasion, was less resolute than his friend, and suffered himself to be led back to the boat. the albemarle was under orders to convoy a fleet of transports to new york. "a very pretty job" said her captain, "at this late season of the year" (october was far advanced), "for our sails are at this moment frozen to the yards." on his arrival at sandy hook, he waited on the commander-in-chief, admiral digby, who told him he was come on a fine station for making prize-money. "yes, sir," nelson made answer, "but the west indies is the station for honour." lord hood, with a detachment of rodney's victorious fleet, was at that time at sandy hook: he had been intimate with captain suckling; and nelson, who was desirous of nothing but honour, requested him to ask for the albemarle, that he might go to that station where it was most likely to be obtained. admiral digby reluctantly parted with him. his professional merit was already well known; and lord hood, on introducing him to prince william henry, as the duke of clarence was then called, told the prince, if he wished to ask any questions respecting naval tactics, captain nelson could give him as much information as any officer in the fleet. the duke--who, to his own honour, became from that time the firm friend of nelson--describes him as appearing the merest boy of a captain he had ever seen, dressed in a full laced uniform, an old-fashioned waistcoat with long flaps, and his lank unpowdered hair tied in a stiff hessian tail of extraordinary length; making altogether so remarkable a figure, that, says the duke, "i had never seen anything like it before, nor could i imagine who he was, nor what he came about. but his address and conversation were irresistibly pleasing; and when he spoke on professional subjects, it was with an enthusiasm that showed he was no common being." it was expected that the french would attempt some of the passages between the bahamas; and lord hood, thinking of this, said to nelson, "i suppose, sir, from the length of time you were cruising among the bahama keys, you must be a good pilot there." he replied, with that constant readiness to render justice to every man which was so conspicuous in all his conduct through life, that he was well acquainted with them himself, but that in that respect his second lieutenant was far his superior. the french got into puerto cabello, on the coast of venezuela. nelson was cruising between that port and la guapra, under french colours, for the purpose of obtaining information; when a king's launch, belonging to the spaniards, passed near, and being hailed in french, came alongside without suspicion, and answered all questions that were asked concerning the number and force of the enemy's ships. the crew, however, were not a little surprised when they were taken on board and found themselves prisoners. one of the party went by the name of the count de deux-ponts. he was, however, a prince of the german empire, and brother to the heir of the electorate of bavaria: his companions were french officers of distinction, and men of science, who had been collecting specimens in the various branches of natural history. nelson, having entertained them with the best his table could afford, told them they were at liberty to depart with their boat, and all that it contained: he only required them to promise that they would consider themselves as prisoners if the commander-in-chief should refuse to acquiesce in their being thus liberated: a circumstance which was not likely to happen. tidings soon arrived that the preliminaries of peace had been signed; and the albemarle returned to england and was paid off. nelson's first business, after he got to london, even before he went to see his relations, was to attempt to get the wages due to his men for the various ships in which they had served during the war. "the disgust of seamen to the navy," he said, "was all owing to the infernal plan of turning them over from ship to ship; so that men could not be attached to their officers, nor the officers care the least about the men." yet he himself was so beloved by his men that his whole ship's company offered, if he could get a ship, to enter for her immediately. he was now, for the first time, presented at court. after going through this ceremony, he dined with his friend davison at lincoln's inn. as soon as he entered the chambers, he threw off what he called his iron-bound coat; and, putting himself at ease in a dressing gown, passed the remainder of the day in talking over all that had befallen them since they parted on the shore of the river st. lawrence. chapter ii 1784 1793 nelson goes to france--reappointed to the boreas at the leeward islands in the boreas--his firm conduct concerning the american interlopers and the contractors--marries and returns to england--is on the point of quitting the service in disgust--manner of life while unemployed--appointed to the agamemnon on the breaking out of the war of the french revolution. "i have closed the war," said nelson in one of his letters, "without a fortune; but there is not a speck in my character. true honour, i hope, predominates in my mind far above riches." he did not apply for a ship, because he was not wealthy enough to live on board in the manner which was then become customary. finding it, therefore, prudent to economise on his half-pay during the peace, he went to france, in company with captain macnamara of the navy, and took lodgings at st. omer's. the death of his favourite sister, anne, who died in consequence of going out of the ball-room at bath when heated with dancing, affected his father so much that it had nearly occasioned him to return in a few weeks. time, however, and reason and religion, overcame this grief in the old man; and nelson continued at st. omer's long enough to fall in love with the daughter of an english clergyman. this second attachment appears to have been less ardent than the first, for upon weighing the evils of a straitened income to a married man, he thought it better to leave france, assigning to his friends something in his accounts as the cause. this prevented him from accepting an invitation from the count of deux-ponts to visit him at paris, couched in the handsomest terms of acknowledgment for the treatment which he had received on board the albemarle. the self-constraint which nelson exerted in subduing this attachment made him naturally desire to be at sea; and when, upon visiting lord howe at the admiralty, he was asked if he wished to be employed, he made answer that he did. accordingly in march, he was appointed to the boreas, twenty-eight guns, going to the leeward islands as a cruiser on the peace establishment. lady hughes and her family went out with him to admiral sir richard hughes, who commanded on that station. his ship was full of young midshipmen, of whom there were not less than thirty on board; and happy were they whose lot it was to be placed with such a captain. if he perceived that a boy was afraid at first going aloft, he would say to him in a friendly manner, "well, sir, i am going a race to the mast-head, and beg that i may meet you there." the poor little fellow instantly began to climb, and got up how he could,--nelson never noticed in what manner, but when they met in the top, spoke cheerfully to him, and would say how much any person was to be pitied who fancied that getting up was either dangerous or difficult. every day he went into the school-room to see that they were pursuing their nautical studies; and at noon he was always the first on deck with his quadrant. whenever he paid a visit of ceremony, some of these youths accompanied him; and when he went to dine with the governor at barbadoes, he took one of them in his hand, and presented him, saying, "your excellency must excuse me for bringing one of my midshipmen. i make it a rule to introduce them to all the good company i can, as they have few to look up to, besides myself, during the time they are at sea." when nelson arrived in the west indies, he found himself senior captain, and consequently second in command on that station. satisfactory as this was, it soon involved him in a dispute with the admiral, which a man less zealous for the service might have avoided. he found the latona in english harbour, antigua, with a broad pendant hoisted; and upon inquiring the reason, was presented with a written order from sir r. hughes, requiring and directing him to obey the orders of resident commissioner moutray during the time he might have occasion to remain there; the said resident commissioner being in consequence, authorised to hoist a broad pendant on board any of his majesty's ships in that port that he might think proper. nelson was never at a loss how to act in any emergency. "i know of no superior officers," said he, "besides the lords commissioners of the admiralty, and my seniors on the post list." concluding, therefore, that it was not consistent with the service for a resident commissioner, who held only a civil situation, to hoist a broad pendant, the moment that he had anchored he sent an order to the captain of the latona to strike it, and return it to the dock-yard. he went on shore the same day, dined with the commissioner, to show him that he was actuated by no other motive than a sense of duty, and gave him the first intelligence that his pendant had been struck. sir richard sent an account of this to the admiralty; but the case could admit of no doubt, and captain nelson's conduct was approved. he displayed the same promptitude on another occasion. while the boreas, after the hurricane months were over, was riding at anchor in nevis roads, a french frigate passed to leeward, close along shore. nelson had obtained information that this ship was sent from martinico, with two general officers and some engineers on board, to make a survey of our sugar islands. this purpose he was determined to prevent them from executing, and therefore he gave orders to follow them. the next day he came up with them at anchor in the roads of st. eustatia, and anchored at about two cables' length on the frigate's quarter. being afterwards invited by the dutch governor to meet the french officers at dinner, he seized that occasion of assuring the french captain that, understanding it was his intention to honour the british possessions with a visit, he had taken the earliest opportunity in his power to accompany him, in his majesty's ship the boreas, in order that such attention might be paid to the officers of his most christian majesty as every englishman in the islands would be proud to show. the french, with equal courtesy, protested against giving him this trouble; especially, they said, as they intended merely to cruise round the islands without landing on any. but nelson, with the utmost politeness, insisted upon paying them this compliment, followed them close in spite of all their attempts to elude his vigilance, and never lost sight of them; till, finding it impossible either to deceive or escape him, they gave up their treacherous purpose in despair, and beat up for martinico. a business of more serious import soon engaged his attention. the americans were at this time trading with our islands, taking advantage of the register of their ships, which had been issued while they were british subjects. nelson knew that, by the navigation act, no foreigners, directly or indirectly, are permitted to carry on any trade with these possessions. he knew, also, that the americans had made themselves foreigners with regard to england; they had disregarded the ties of blood and language when they acquired the independence which they had been led on to claim, unhappily for themselves before they were fit for it; and he was resolved that they should derive no profit from those ties now. foreigners they had made themselves, and as foreigners they were to be treated. "if once," said he, "they are admitted to any kind of intercourse with our islands, the views of the loyalists, in settling at nova scotia, are entirely done away; and when we are again embroiled in a french war, the americans will first become the carriers of these colonies, and then have possession of them. here they come, sell their cargoes for ready money, go to martinico, buy molasses, and so round and round. the loyalist cannot do this, and consequently must sell a little dearer. the residents here are americans by connection and by interest, and are inimical to great britain. they are as great rebels as ever were in america, had they the power to show it." in november, when the squadron, having arrived at barbadoes, was to separate, with no other orders than those for examining anchorages, and the usual inquiries concerning wood and water, nelson asked his friend collingwood, then captain of the mediator, whose opinions he knew upon the subject, to accompany him to the commander-in-chief, whom he then respectfully asked, whether they were not to attend to the commerce of the country, and see that the navigation act was respected--that appearing to him to be the intent of keeping men-of-war upon this station in time of peace? sir richard hughes replied, he had no particular orders, neither had the admiralty sent him any acts of parliament. but nelson made answer, that the navigation act was included in the statutes of the admiralty, with which every captain was furnished, and that act was directed to admirals, captains, &c., to see it carried into execution. sir richard said he had never seen the book. upon this nelson produced the statutes, read the words of the act, and apparently convinced the commander-in-chief, that men-of-war, as he said, "were sent abroad for some other purpose than to be made a show of." accordingly orders were given to enforce the navigation act. major-general sir thomas shirley was at this time governor of the leeward islands; and when nelson waited on him, to inform him how he intended to act, and upon what grounds, he replied, that "old generals were not in the habit of taking advice from young gentlemen." "sir," said the young officer, with that confidence in himself which never carried him too far, and always was equal to the occasion, "i am as old as the prime minister of england, and i think myself as capable of commanding one of his majesty's ships as that minister is of governing the state." he was resolved to do his duty, whatever might be the opinion or conduct of others; and when he arrived upon his station at st. kitt's, he sent away all the americans, not choosing to seize them before they had been well apprised that the act would be carried into effect, lest it might seem as if a trap had been laid for them. the americans, though they prudently decamped from st. kitt's, were emboldened by the support they met with, and resolved to resist his orders, alleging that king's ships had no legal power to seize them without having deputations from the customs. the planters were to a man against him; the governors and the presidents of the different islands, with only a single exception, gave him no support; and the admiral, afraid to act on either side, yet wishing to oblige the planters, sent him a note, advising him to be guided by the wishes of the president of the council. there was no danger in disregarding this, as it came unofficially, and in the form of advice. but scarcely a month after he had shown sir richard hughes the law, and, as he supposed, satisfied him concerning it, he received an order from him, stating that he had now obtained good advice upon the point, and the americans were not to be hindered from coming, and having free egress and regress, if the governor chose to permit them. an order to the same purport had been sent round to the different governors and presidents; and general shirley and others informed him, in an authoritative manner, that they chose to admit american ships, as the commander-in-chief had left the decision to them. these persons, in his own words, he soon "trimmed up, and silenced;" but it was a more delicate business to deal with the admiral: "i must either," said he, "disobey my orders, or disobey acts of parliament. i determined upon the former, trusting to the uprightness of my intentions, and believing that my country would not let me be ruined for protecting her commerce." with this determination he wrote to sir richard; appealed again to the plain, literal, unequivocal sense of the navigation act; and in respectful language told him, he felt it his duty to decline obeying these orders till he had an opportunity of seeing and conversing with him. sir richard's first feeling was that of anger, and he was about to supersede nelson; but having mentioned the affair to his captain, that officer told him he believed all the squadron thought the orders illegal, and therefore did not know how far they were bound to obey them. it was impossible, therefore, to bring nelson to a court-martial, composed of men who agreed with him in opinion upon the point in dispute; and luckily, though the admiral wanted vigour of mind to decide upon what was right, he was not obstinate in wrong, and had even generosity enough in his nature to thank nelson afterwards for having shown him his error. collingwood in the mediator, and his brother, wilfred collingwood, in the rattler, actively co-operated with nelson. the custom-houses were informed that after a certain day all foreign vessels found in the ports would be seized; and many were, in consequence, seized, and condemned in the admiralty court. when the boreas arrived at nevis, she found four american vessels deeply laden, and what are called the island colours flying--white, with a red cross. they were ordered to hoist their proper flag, and depart within 48 hours; but they refused to obey, denying that they were americans. some of their crews were then examined in nelson's cabin, where the judge of admiralty happened to be present. the case was plain; they confessed that they were americans, and that the ships, hull and cargo, were wholly american property; upon which he seized them. this raised a storm: the planters, the custom-house, and the governor, were all against him. subscriptions were opened, and presently filled, for the purpose of carrying on the cause in behalf of the american captains; and the admiral, whose flag was at that time in the roads, stood neutral. but the americans and their abettors were not content with defensive law. the marines, whom he had sent to secure the ships, had prevented some of the masters from going ashore; and those persons, by whose depositions it appeared that the vessels and cargoes were american property, declared that they had given their testimony under bodily fear, for that a man with a drawn sword in his hand had stood over them the whole time. a rascally lawyer, whom the party employed, suggested this story; and as the sentry at the cabin door was a man with a drawn sword, the americans made no scruple of swearing to this ridiculous falsehood, and commencing prosecutions against him accordingly. they laid their damages at the enormous amount of l40,000; and nelson was obliged to keep close on board his own ship, lest he should be arrested for a sum for which it would have been impossible to find bail. the marshal frequently came on board to arrest him, but was always prevented by the address of the first lieutenant, mr. wallis. had he been taken, such was the temper of the people that it was certain he would have been cast for the whole sum. one of his officers, one day, in speaking of the restraint which he was thus compelled to suffer, happened to use the word pity! "pity!" exclaimed nelson: "pity! did you say? i shall live, sir, to be envied! and to that point i shall always direct my course." eight weeks remained in this state of duresse. during that time the trial respecting the detained ships came on in the court of admiralty. he went on shore under a protection for the day from the judge; but, notwithstanding this, the marshal was called upon to take that opportunity of arresting him, and the merchants promised to indemnify him for so doing. the judge, however, did his duty, and threatened to send the marshal to prison if he attempted to violate the protection of the court. mr. herbert, the president of nevis, behaved with singular generosity upon this occasion. though no man was a greater sufferer by the measures which nelson had pursued, he offered in court to become his bail for l10,000 if he chose to suffer the arrest. the lawyer whom he had chosen proved to be an able as well as an honest man; and notwithstanding the opinions and pleadings of most of the counsel of the different islands, who maintained that ships of war were not justified in seizing american vessels without a deputation from the customs, the law was so explicit, the case so clear, and nelson pleaded his own cause so well, that the four ships were condemned. during the progress of this business he sent a memorial home to the king, in consequence of which orders were issued that he should be defended at the expense of the crown. and upon the representation which he made at the same time to the secretary of state, and the suggestions with which he accompanied it, the register act was framed. the sanction of government, and the approbation of his conduct which it implied, were highly gratifying to him; but he was offended, and not without just cause, that the treasury should have transmitted thanks to the commander-in-chief for his activity and zeal in protecting the commerce of great britain. "had they known all," said he, "i do not think they would have bestowed thanks in that quarter, and neglected me. i feel much hurt that, after the loss of health and risk of fortune, another should be thanked for what i did against his orders. i either deserved to be sent out of the service, or at least to have had some little notice taken of what i had done. they have thought it worthy of notice, and yet have neglected me. if this is the reward for a faithful discharge of my duty, i shall be careful, and never stand forward again. but i have done my duty, and have nothing to accuse myself of." the anxiety which he had suffered from the harassing uncertainties of law is apparent from these expressions. he had, however, something to console him, for he was at this time wooing the niece of his friend the president, then in her eighteenth year, the widow of dr. nisbet, a physician. she had one child, a son, by name josiah, who was three years old. one day mr. herbert, who had hastened half-dressed to receive nelson, exclaimed, on returning to his dressing-room, "good god! if i did not find that great little man, of whom everybody is so afraid, playing in the next room, under the dining-table, with mrs. nisbet's child!" a few days afterwards mrs. nisbet herself was first introduced to him, and thanked him for the partiality which he had shown to her little boy. her manners were mild and winning; and the captain, whose heart was easily susceptible of attachment, found no such imperious necessity for subduing his inclinations as had twice before withheld him from marrying. they were married on march 11, 1787: prince william henry, who had come out to the west indies the preceding winter, being present, by his own desire, to give away the bride. mr. herbert, her uncle, was at this time so much displeased with his only daughter, that he had resolved to disinherit her, and leave his whole fortune, which was very great, to his niece. but nelson, whose nature was too noble to let him profit by an act of injustice, interfered, and succeeded in reconciling the president to his child. "yesterday," said one of his naval friends the day after the wedding, "the navy lost one of its greatest ornaments by nelson's marriage. it is a national loss that such an officer should marry: had it not been for this, nelson would have become the greatest man in the service." the man was rightly estimated; but he who delivered this opinion did not understand the effect of domestic love and duty upon a mind of the true heroic stamp. "we are often separate," said nelson, in a letter to mrs. nisbet a few months before their marriage; "but our affections are not by any means on that account diminished. our country has the first demand for our services; and private convenience or happiness must ever give way to the public good. duty is the great business of a sea officer: all private considerations must give way to it, however painful." "have you not often heard," says he in another letter, "that salt water and absence always wash away love? now i am such a heretic as not to believe that article, for, behold, every morning i have had six pails of salt water poured upon my head, and instead of finding what seamen say to be true, it goes on so contrary to the prescription, that you may, perhaps, see me before the fixed time." more frequently his correspondence breathed a deeper strain. "to write letters to you," says he, "is the next greatest pleasure i feel to receiving them from you. what i experience when i read such as i am sure are the pure sentiments of your heart, my poor pen cannot express; nor, indeed, would i give much for any pen or head which could express feelings of that kind. absent from you, i feel no pleasure: it is you who are everything to me. without you, i care not for this world; for i have found, lately, nothing in it but vexation and trouble. these are my present sentiments. god almighty grant they may never change! nor do i think they will. indeed there is, as far as human knowledge can judge, a moral certainty that they cannot; for it must be real affection that brings us together, not interest or compulsion." such were the feelings, and such the sense of duty, with which nelson became a husband. during his stay upon this station he had ample opportunity of observing the scandalous practices of the contractors, prize-agents, and other persons in the west indies connected with the naval service. when he was first left with the command, and bills were brought him to sign for money which was owing for goods purchased for the navy, he required the original voucher, that he might examine whether those goods had been really purchased at the market price; but to produce vouchers would not have been convenient, and therefore was not the custom. upon this nelson wrote to sir charles middleton, then comptroller of the navy, representing the abuses which were likely to be practised in this manner. the answer which he received seemed to imply that the old forms were thought sufficient; and thus, having no alternative, he was compelled, with his eyes open, to submit to a practice originating in fraudulent intentions. soon afterwards two antigua merchants informed him that they were privy to great frauds which had been committed upon government in various departments; at antigua, to the amount of nearly l500,000; at lucie, l300,000; at barbadoes, l250,000; at jamaica, upwards of a million. the informers were both shrewd sensible men of business; they did not affect to be actuated by a sense of justice, but required a percentage upon so much as government should actually recover through their means. nelson examined the books and papers which they produced, and was convinced that government had been most infamously plundered. vouchers, he found, in that country, were no check whatever: the principle was, that "a thing was always worth what it would bring;" and the merchants were in the habit of signing vouchers for each other, without even the appearance of looking at the articles. these accounts he sent home to the different departments which had been defrauded; but the peculators were too powerful, and they succeeded not merely in impeding inquiry, but even in raising prejudices against nelson at the board of admiralty, which it was many years before he could subdue. owing probably, to these prejudices, and the influence of the peculators, he was treated, on his return to england, in a manner which had nearly driven him from the service. during the three years that the boreas had remained upon a station which is usually so fatal, not a single officer or man of her whole complement had died. this almost unexampled instance of good health, though mostly, no doubt, imputable to a healthy season, must in some measure, also, be ascribed to the wise conduct of the captain. he never suffered the ships to remain more than three or four weeks at a time at any of the islands; and when the hurricane months confined him to english harbour, he encouraged all kinds of useful amusements--music, dancing, and cudgelling among the men; theatricals among the officers; anything which could employ their attention, and keep their spirits cheerful. the boreas arrived in england in june. nelson, who had many times been supposed to be consumptive when in the west indies, and perhaps was saved from consumption by that climate, was still in a precarious state of health; and the raw wet weather of one of our ungenial summers brought on cold, and sore throat, and fever; yet his vessel was kept at the nore from the end of june till the end of november, serving as a slop and receiving ship. this unworthy treatment, which more probably proceeded from inattention than from neglect, excited in nelson the strongest indignation. during the whole five months he seldom or never quitted the ship, but carried on the duty with strict and sullen attention. on the morning when orders were received to prepare the boreas for being paid off, he expressed his joy to the senior officer in the medway, saying, "it will release me for ever from an ungrateful service; for it is my firm and unalterable determination never again to set my foot on board a king's ship. immediately after my arrival in town i shall wait on the first lord of the admiralty, and resign my commission." the officer to whom he thus communicated his intentions behaved in the wisest and most friendly manner; for finding it in vain to dissuade him in his present state of feeling, he secretly interfered with the first lord to save him from a step so injurious to himself, little foreseeing how deeply the welfare and honour of england were at that moment at stake. this interference produced a letter from lord howe the day before the ship was paid off, intimating a wish to see captain nelson as soon as he arrived in town; when, being pleased with his conversation, and perfectly convinced, by what was then explained to him, of the propriety of his conduct, he desired that he might present him to the king on the first levee-day; and the gracious manner in which nelson was then received effectually removed his resentment. prejudices had been, in like manner, excited against his friend, prince william henry. "nothing is wanting, sir," said nelson, in one of his letters, "to make you the darling of the english nation but truth. sorry am i to say, much to the contrary has been dispersed." this was not flattery, for nelson was no flatterer. the letter in which this passage occurs shows in how wise and noble a manner he dealt with the prince. one of his royal highness's officers had applied for a court-martial upon a point in which he was unquestionably wrong. his royal highness, however, while he supported his own character and authority, prevented the trial, which must have been injurious to a brave and deserving man. "now that you are parted," said nelson, "pardon me, my prince, when i presume to recommend that he may stand in your royal favour as if he had never sailed with you, and that at some future day you will serve him. there only wants this to place your conduct in the highest point of view. none of us are without failings--his was being rather too hasty; but that, put in competition with his being a good officer, will not, i am bold to say, be taken in the scale against him. more able friends than myself your royal highness may easily find, and of more consequence in the state; but one more attached and affectionate is not so easily met with: princes seldom, very seldom, find a disinterested person to communicate their thoughts to: i do not pretend to be that person; but of this be assured, by a man who, i trust, never did a dishonourable act, that i am interested only that your royal highness should be the greatest and best man this country ever produced." encouraged by the conduct of lord howe, and by his reception at court, nelson renewed his attack upon the peculators with fresh spirit. he had interviews with mr. rose, mr. pitt, and sir charles middleton, to all of whom he satisfactorily proved his charges. in consequence, if is said, these very extensive public frauds were at length put in a proper train to be provided against in future; his representations were attended to; and every step which he recommended was adopted; the investigation was put into a proper course, which ended in the detection and punishment of some of the culprits; an immense saving was made to government, and thus its attention was directed to similar peculations in other arts of the colonies. but it is said also that no mark of commendation seems to have been bestowed upon nelson for his exertion. it has been justly remarked that the spirit of the navy cannot be preserved so effectually by the liberal honours bestowed on officers when they are worn out in the service, as by an attention to those who, like nelson at this part of his life, have only their integrity and zeal to bring them into notice. a junior officer, who had been left with the command at jamaica, received an additional allowance, for which nelson had applied in vain. double pay was allowed to every artificer and seaman employed in the naval yard: nelson had superintended the whole business of that yard with the most rigid exactness, and he complained that he was neglected. "it was most true," he said, "that the trouble which he took to detect the fraudulent practices then carried on was no more than his duty; but he little thought that the expenses attending his frequent journeys to st. john's upon that duty (a distance of twelve miles) would have fallen upon his pay as captain of the boreas." nevertheless, the sense of what he thought unworthy usage did not diminish his zeal. "i," said he, "must buffet the waves in search of--what? alas! that they called honour is thought of no more. my fortune, god knows, has grown worse for the service; so much for serving my country! but the devil, ever willing to tempt the virtuous, has made me offer, if any ships should be sent to destroy his majesty of morocco's ports, to be there; and i have some reason to think that, should any more come of it, my humble services will be accepted. i have invariably laid down, and followed close, a plan of what ought to be uppermost in the breast of an officer,--that it is much better to serve an ungrateful country than to give up his own fame. posterity will do him justice. a uniform course of honour and integrity seldom fails of bringing a man to the goal of fame at last." the design against the barbary pirates, like all other designs against them, was laid aside; and nelson took his wife to his father's parsonage, meaning only to pay him a visit before they went to france; a project which he had formed for the sake of acquiring a competent knowledge of the french language. but his father could not bear to lose him thus unnecessarily. mr. nelson had long been an invalid, suffering under paralytic and asthmatic affections, which, for several hours after he rose in the morning, scarcely permitted him to speak. he had been given over by his physicians for this complaint nearly forty years before his death; and was, for many of his latter years, obliged to spend all his winters at bath. the sight of his son, he declared, had given him new life. "but, horatio," said he, "it would have been better that i had not been thus cheered, if i am so soon to be bereaved of you again. let me, my good son, see you whilst i can. my age and infirmities increase, and i shall not last long." to such an appeal there could be no reply. nelson took up his abode at the parsonage, and amused himself with the sports and occupations of the country. sometimes he busied himself with farming the glebe; sometimes spent the greater part of the day in the garden, where he would dig as if for the mere pleasure of wearying himself. sometimes he went a birds'-nesting, like a boy; and in these expeditions mrs. nelson always, by his expressed desire, accompanied him. coursing was his favourite amusement. shooting, as he practised it, was far too dangerous for his companions; for he carried his gun upon the full cock, as if he were going to board an enemy; and the moment a bird rose, he let fly without ever putting the fowling-piece to his shoulder. it is not, therefore, extraordinary that his having once shot a partridge should be remembered by his family among the remarkable events of his life. but his time did not pass away thus without some vexatious cares to ruffle it. the affair of the american ships was not yet over, and he was again pestered with threats of prosecution. "i have written them word," said he, "that i will have nothing to do with them, and they must act as they think proper. government, i suppose, will do what is right, and not leave me in the lurch. we have heard enough lately of the consequences of the navigation act to this country. they may take my person; but if sixpence would save me from a prosecution, i would not give it." it was his great ambition at this time to possess a pony; and having resolved to purchase one, he went to a fair for that purpose. during his absence two men abruptly entered the parsonage and inquired for him: they then asked for mrs. nelson; and after they had made her repeatedly declare that she was really and truly the captain's wife, presented her with a writ, or notification, on the part of the american captains, who now laid their damages at l20,000, and they charged her to give it to her husband on his return. nelson, having bought his pony, came home with it in high spirits. he called out his wife to admire the purchase and listen to all its excellences: nor was it till his glee had in some measure subsided that the paper could be presented to him. his indignation was excessive; and in the apprehension that he should be exposed to the anxieties of the suit and the ruinous consequences which might ensue, he exclaimed, "this affront i did not deserve! but i'll be trifled with no longer. i will write immediately to the treasury, and if government will not support me, i am resolved to leave the country." accordingly, he informed the treasury that, if a satisfactory answer were not sent him by return of post, he should take refuge in france. to this he expected he should be driven, and for this he arranged everything with his characteristic rapidity of decision. it was settled that he should depart immediately, and mrs. nelson follow, under the care of his elder brother maurice, ten days after him. but the answer which he received from government quieted his fears: it stated that captain nelson was a very good officer, and needed to be under no apprehension, for he would assuredly be supported. here his disquietude upon this subject seems to have ended. still he was not at ease; he wanted employment, and was mortified that his applications for it produced no effect. "not being a man of fortune," he said, "was a crime which he was unable to get over, and therefore none of the great cared about him." repeatedly he requested the admiralty that they would not leave him to rust in indolence. during the armament which was made upon occasion of the dispute concerning nootka sound, he renewed his application; and his steady friend, prince william, who had then been created duke of clarence, recommended him to lord chatham. the failure of this recommendation wounded him so keenly that he again thought of retiring from the service in disgust; a resolution from which nothing but the urgent remonstrances of lord hood induced him to desist. hearing that the raisonnable, in which he had commenced his career, was to be commissioned, he asked for her. this also was in vain; and a coolness ensued, on his part, toward lord hood, because that excellent officer did not use his influence with lord chatham upon this occasion. lord hood, however, had certainly sufficient reasons for not interfering; for he ever continued his steady friend. in the winter of 1792, when we were on the eve of the revolutionary war, nelson once more offered his services, earnestly requested a ship, and added, that if their lordships should be pleased to appoint him to a cockle-boat he should feel satisfied. he was answered in the usual official form: "sir, i have received your letter of the 5th instant, expressing your readiness to serve, and have read the same to my lords commissioners of the admiralty." on the 12th of december he received this dry acknowledgment. the fresh mortification did not, however, affect him long; for, by the joint interest of the duke and lord hood, he was appointed, on the 30th of january following, to the agamemnon, of sixty-four guns. chapter iii 1793 1795 the agamemnon sent to the mediterranean --commencement of nelson's aquaintance with sir w. hamilton--he is sent to corsica, to cooperate with paoli--state of affairs in that island--nelson undertakes the siege of bastia, and reduces it--takes a distinguished part in the siege of calvi, where he loses an eye--admiral hotham's action--the agamemnon ordered to genoa, to co-operate with the austrian and sardinian forces--gross misconduct of the austrian general. "there are three things, young gentleman," said nelson to one of his midshipmen, "which you are constantly to bear in mind. first, you must always implicitly obey orders, without attempting to form any opinion of your own respecting their propriety; secondly, you must consider every man your enemy who speaks ill of your king; and, thirdly, you must hate a frenchman as you do the devil." with these feelings he engaged in the war. josiah, his son-in-law, went with him as a midshipman. the agamemnon was ordered to the mediterranean under lord hood. the fleet arrived in those seas at a time when the south of france would willingly have formed itself into a separate republic, under the protection of england. but good principles had been at that time perilously abused by ignorant and profligate men; and, in its fear and hatred of democracy, the english government abhorred whatever was republican. lord hood could not take advantage of the fair occasion which presented itself; and which, if it had been seized with vigour, might have ended in dividing france:--but he negotiated with the people of toulon, to take possession provisionally of their port and city; which, fatally for themselves, was done. before the british fleet entered, nelson was sent with despatches to sir william hamilton, our envoy at the court of naples. sir william, after his first interview with him, told lady hamilton he was about to introduce a little man to her, who could not boast of being very handsome; but such a man as, he believed, would one day astonish the world. "i have never before," he continued, "entertained an officer at my house; but i am determined to bring him here. let him be put in the room prepared for prince augustus." thus that acquaintance began which ended in the destruction of nelson's domestic happiness. it seemed to threaten no such consequences at its commencement. he spoke of lady hamilton, in a letter to his wife, as a young woman of amiable manners, who did honour to the station to which she had been raised; and he remarked, that she had been exceedingly kind to josiah. the activity with which the envoy exerted himself in procuring troops from naples, to assist in garrisoning toulon, so delighted him, that he is said to have exclaimed, "sir william, you are a man after my own heart!--you do business in my own way:" and then to have added, "i am now only a captain; but i will, if i live, be at the top of the tree." here, also, that acquaintance with the neapolitan court commenced, which led to the only blot upon nelson's public character. the king, who was sincere at that time in his enmity to the french, called the english the saviours of italy, and of his dominions in particular. he paid the most flattering attentions to nelson, made him dine with him, and seated him at his right hand. having accomplished this mission, nelson received orders to join commodore linzee at tunis. on the way, five sail of the enemy were discovered off the coast of sardinia, and he chased them. they proved to be three forty-four gun frigates, with a corvette of twenty-four and a brig of twelve. the agamemnon had only 345 men at quarters, having landed part of her crew at toulon, and others being absent in prizes. he came near enough one of the frigates to engage her, but at great disadvantage, the frenchman manoeuvring well and sailing greatly better. a running fight of three hours ensued, during which the other ships, which were at some distance, made all speed to come up. by this time the enemy was almost silenced, when a favourable change of wind enabled her to get out of reach of the agamemnon's guns; and that ship had received so much damage in the rigging that she could not follow her. nelson, conceiving that this was but the forerunner of a far more serious engagement, called his officers together, and asked them if the ship was fit to go into action against such a superior force without some small refit and refreshment for the men. their answer was, that she certainly was not. he then gave these orders,--"veer the ship, and lay her head to the westward: let some of the best men be employed in refitting the rigging, and the carpenter in getting crows and capstan-bars to prevent our wounded spars from coming down: and get the wine up for the people, with some bread, for it may be half an hour good before we are again in action." but when the french came up, their comrade made signals of distress, and they all hoisted out their boats to go to her assistance, leaving the agamemnon unmolested. nelson found commodore linzee at tunis, where he had been sent to expostulate with the dey upon the impolicy of his supporting the revolutionary government of france. nelson represented to him the atrocity of that government. such arguments were of little avail in barbary; and when the dey was told that the french had put their sovereign to death, he drily replied, that "nothing could be more heinous; and yet, if historians told the truth, the english had once done the same." this answer had doubtless been suggested by the french about him: they had completely gained the ascendancy, and all negotiation on our part proved fruitless. shortly afterward, nelson was detached with a small squadron, to co-operate with general paoli and the anti-gallican party in corsica. some thirty years before this time the heroic patriotism of the corsicans, and of their leader paoli, had been the admiration of england. the history of these brave people is but a melancholy tale. the island which they inhabit has been abundantly blessed by nature; it has many excellent harbours; and though the malaria, or pestilential atmosphere, which is so deadly in many parts of italy and of the italian islands, prevails on the eastern coast, the greater part of the country is mountainous and healthy. it is about 150 miles long, and from 40 to 50 broad; in circumference, some 320; a country large enough, and sufficiently distant from the nearest shores, to have subsisted as an independent state, if the welfare and happiness of the human race had ever been considered as the end and aim of policy. the moors, the pisans, the kings of aragon, and the genoese, successively attempted, and each for a time effected its conquest. the yoke of the genoese continued longest, and was the heaviest. these petty tyrants ruled with an iron rod; and when at any time a patriot rose to resist their oppressions, if they failed to subdue him by force they resorted to assassination. at the commencement of the last century they quelled one revolt by the aid of german auxiliaries, whom the emperor charles vi. sent against a people who had never offended him, and who were fighting for whatever is most dear to man. in 1734 the war was renewed; and theodore, a westphalian baron, then appeared upon the stage. in that age men were not accustomed to see adventurers play for kingdoms, and theodore became the common talk of europe. he had served in the french armies; and having afterwards been noticed both by ripperda and alberoni, their example, perhaps, inflamed a spirit as ambitious and as unprincipled as their own. he employed the whole of his means in raising money and procuring arms; then wrote to the leaders of the corsican patriots, to offer them considerable assistance, if they would erect corsica into an independent kingdom, and elect him king. when he landed among them, they were struck with his stately person, his dignified manners, and imposing talents. they believed the magnificent promises of foreign assistance which he held out, and elected him king accordingly. had his means been as he represented them, they could not have acted more wisely than in thus at once fixing the government of their country, and putting an end to those rivalries among the leading families, which had so often proved pernicious to the public weal. he struck money, conferred titles, blocked up the fortified towns which were held by the genoese, and amused the people with promises of assistance for about eight months: then, perceiving that they cooled in their affections towards him in proportion as their expectations were disappointed, he left the island, under the plea of expediting himself the succours which he had so long awaited. such was his address, that he prevailed upon several rich merchants in holland, particularly the jews, to trust him with cannon and warlike stores to a great amount. they shipped these under the charge of a supercargo. theodore returned with this supercargo to corsica, and put him to death on his arrival, as the shortest way of settling the account. the remainder of his life was a series of deserved afflictions. he threw in the stores which he had thus fraudulently obtained; but he did not dare to land, for genoa had now called in the french to their assistance, and a price had been set upon his head. his dreams of royalty were now at an end; he took refuge in london, contracted debts, and was thrown into the king's bench. after lingering there many years, he was released under an act of insolvency, in consequence of which he made over the kingdom of corsica for the use of his creditors, and died shortly after his deliverance. the french, who have never acted a generous part in the history of the world, readily entered into the views of the genoese, which accorded with their own policy: for such was their ascendancy at genoa, that in subduing corsica for these allies, they were in fact subduing it for themselves. they entered into the contest, therefore, with their usual vigour, and their usual cruelty. it was in vain that the corsicans addressed a most affecting memorial to the court of versailles; that remorseless government persisted in its flagitious project. they poured in troops; dressed a part of them like the people of the country, by which means they deceived and destroyed many of the patriots; cut down the standing corn, the vines, and the olives; set fire to the villages, and hung all the most able and active men who fell into their hands. a war of this kind may be carried on with success against a country so small and so thinly peopled as corsica. having reduced the island to perfect servitude, which they called peace, the french withdrew their forces. as soon as they were gone, men, women, and boys rose at once against their oppressors. the circumstances of the times were now favourable to them; and some british ships, acting as allies of sardinia, bombarded bastia and san fiorenzo, and delivered them into the hands of the patriots. this service was long remembered with gratitude: the impression made upon our own countrymen was less favourable. they had witnessed the heartburnings of rival chiefs, and the dissensions among the patriots; and perceiving the state of barbarism to which continual oppression, and habits of lawless turbulence, had reduced the nation, did not recollect that the vices of the people were owing to their unhappy circumstances, but that the virtues which they displayed arose from their own nature. this feeling, perhaps, influenced the british court, when, in 1746, corsica offered to put herself under the protection of great britain: an answer was returned, expressing satisfaction at such a communication, hoping that the corsicans would preserve the same sentiments, but signifying also that the present was not the time for such a measure. these brave islanders then formed a government for themselves, under two leaders, gaffori and matra, who had the title of protectors. the latter is represented as a partisan of genoa, favouring the views of the oppressors of his country by the most treasonable means. gaffori was a hero worthy of old times. his eloquence was long remembered with admiration. a band of assassins was once advancing against him; he heard of their approach, went out to meet them; and, with a serene dignity which overawed them, requested them to hear him. he then spake to them so forcibly of the distresses of their country, her intolerable wrongs, and the hopes and views of their brethren in arms, that the very men who had been hired to murder him, fell at his feet, implored his forgiveness, and joined his banner. while he was besieging the genoese in corte, a part of the garrison perceiving the nurse with his eldest son, then an infant in arms, straying at a little distance from the camp, suddenly sallied out and seized them. the use they made of their persons was in conformity to their usual execrable conduct. when gaffori advanced to batter the walls, they held up the child directly over that part of the wall at which the guns were pointed. the corsicans stopped: but gaffori stood at their head, and ordered them to continue the fire. providentially the child escaped, and lived to relate, with becoming feeling, a fact so honourable to his father. that father conducted the affairs of the island till 1753, when he was assassinated by some wretches, set on, it is believed, by genoa, but certainly pensioned by that abominable government after the deed. he left the country in such a state that it was enabled to continue the war two years after his death without a leader: the corsicans then found one worthy of their cause in pasquale de paoli. paoli's father was one of the patriots who effected their escape from corsica when the french reduced it to obedience. he retired to naples, and brought up his youngest son in the neapolitan service. the corsicans heard of young paoli's abilities, and solicited him to come over to his native country, and take the command. he did not hesitate long: his father, who was too far advanced in years to take an active part himself, encouraged him to go; and when they separated, the old man fell on his neck, and kissed him, and gave him his blessing. "my son," said he, "perhaps i may never see you more; but in my mind i shall ever be present with you. your design is great and noble; and i doubt not but god will bless you in it. i shall devote to your cause the little remainder of my life in offering up my prayers for your success." when paoli assumed the command, he found all things in confusion: he formed a democratical government, of which he was chosen chief: restored the authority of the laws; established a university; and took such measures, both for repressing abuses and moulding the rising generation, that, if france had not interfered, upon its wicked and detestable principle of usurpation, corsica might at this day have been as free, and flourishing and happy a commonwealth as any of the grecian states in the days of their prosperity. the genoese were at this time driven out of their fortified towns, and must in a short time have been expelled. france was indebted some millions of livres to genoa: it was not convenient to pay this money; so the french minister proposed to the genoese, that she should discharge the debt by sending six battalions to serve in corsica for four years. the indignation which this conduct excited in all generous hearts was forcibly expressed by rousseau, who, with all his errors, was seldom deficient in feeling for the wrongs of humanity. "you frenchmen," said he, writing to one of that people, "are a thoroughly servile nation, thoroughly sold to tyranny, thoroughly cruel and relentless in persecuting the unhappy. if you knew of a freeman at the other end of the world, i believe you would go thither for the mere pleasure of extirpating him." the immediate object of the french happened to be purely mercenary: they wanted to clear off their debt to genoa; and as the presence of their troops in the island effected this, they aimed at doing the people no farther mischief. would that the conduct of england had been at this time free from reproach! but a proclamation was issued by the english government, after the peace of paris, prohibiting any intercourse with the rebels of corsica. paoli said, he did not expect this from great britain. this great man was deservedly proud of his country. "i defy rome, sparta, or thebes," he would say, "to show me thirty years of such patriotism as corsica can boast!" availing himself of the respite which the inactivity of the french and the weakness of the genoese allowed, he prosecuted his plans of civilising the people. he used to say, that though he had an unspeakable pride in the prospect of the fame to which he aspired; yet if he could but render his countrymen happy, he could be content to be forgotten. his own importance he never affected to undervalue. "we are now to our country," said he, "like the prophet elisha stretched over the dead child of the shunamite,--eye to eye, nose to nose, mouth to mouth. it begins to recover warmth, and to revive: i hope it will yet regain full health and vigour." but when the four years were expired, france purchased the sovereignty of corsica from the genoese for forty millions of livres; as if the genoese had been entitled to sell it; as if any bargain and sale could justify one country in taking possession of another against the will of the inhabitants, and butchering all who oppose the usurpation! among the enormities which france has committed, this action seems but as a speck; yet the foulest murderer that ever suffered by the hand of the executioner has infinitely less guilt upon his soul than the statesman who concluded this treaty, and the monarch who sanctioned and confirmed it. a desperate and glorious resistance was made, but it was in vain; no power interposed in behalf of these injured islanders, and the french poured in as many troops as were required. they offered to confirm paoli in the supreme authority, only on condition that he would hold it under their government. his answer was, that "the rocks which surrounded him should melt away before he would betray a cause which he held in common with the poorest corsican." this people then set a price upon his head. during two campaigns he kept them at bay: they overpowered him at length; he was driven to the shore, and having escaped on shipboard, took refuge in england. it is said that lord shelburne resigned his seat in the cabinet because the ministry looked on without attempting to prevent france from succeeding in this abominable and important act of aggrandizement. in one respect, however, our country acted as became her. paoli was welcomed with the honours which he deserved, a pension of l1200 was immediately granted him, and provision was liberally made for his elder brother and his nephew. about twenty years paoli remained in england, enjoying the friendship of the wise and the admiration of the good. but when the french revolution began, it seemed as if the restoration of corsica was at hand. the whole country, as if animated by one spirit, rose and demanded liberty; and the national assembly passed a decree recognising the island as a department of france, and therefore entitled to all the privileges of the new french constitution. this satisfied the corsicans, which it ought not to have done; and paoli, in whom the ardour of youth was passed, seeing that his countrymen were contented, and believing that they were about to enjoy a state of freedom, naturally wished to return to his native country. he resigned his pension in the year 1790, and appeared at the bar of the assembly with the corsican deputies, when they took the oath of fidelity to france. but the course of events in france soon dispelled those hopes of a new and better order of things, which paoli, in common with so many of the friends of human-kind, had indulged; and perceiving, after the execution of the king, that a civil war was about to ensue, of which no man could foresee the issue, he prepared to break the connection between corsica and the french republic. the convention suspecting such a design, and perhaps occasioning it by their suspicions, ordered him to their bar. that way he well knew led to the guillotine; and returning a respectful answer, he declared that he would never be found wanting in his duty, but pleaded age and infirmity as a reason for disobeying the summons. their second order was more summary; and the french troops, who were in corsica, aided by those of the natives, who were either influenced by hereditary party feelings, or who were sincere in jacobinism, took the field against him. but the people were with him. he repaired to corte, the capital of the island, and was again invested with the authority which he had held in the noonday of his fame. the convention upon this denounced him as a rebel, and set a price upon his head. it was not the first time that france had proscribed paoli. paoli now opened a correspondence with lord hood, promising, if the english would make an attack upon st. fiorenzo from the sea, he would at the same time attack it by land. this promise he was unable to perform; and commodore linzee, who, in reliance upon it, was sent upon this service, was repulsed with some loss. lord hood, who had now been compelled to evacuate toulon, suspected paoli of intentionally deceiving him. this was an injurious suspicion. shortly afterwards he dispatched lieutenant-colonel (afterward sir john) moore and major koehler to confer with him upon a plan of operations. sir gilbert elliot accompanied them; and it was agreed that, in consideration of the succours, both military and naval, which his britannic majesty should afford for the purpose of expelling the french, the island of corsica should be delivered into the immediate possession of his majesty, and bind itself to acquiesce in any settlement he might approve of concerning its government, and its future relation with great britain. while this negotiation was going on, nelson cruised off the island with a small squadron, to prevent the enemy from throwing in supplies. close to st. fiorenzo the french had a storehouse of flour near their only mill: he watched an opportunity, and landed 120 men, who threw the flour into the sea, burnt the mill, and re-embarked before 1000 men, who were sent against him, could occasion them the loss of a single man. while he exerted himself thus, keeping out all supplies, intercepting despatches, attacking their outposts and forts, and cutting out vessels from the bay,--a species of warfare which depresses the spirit of an enemy even more than it injures them, because of the sense of individual superiority which it indicates in the assailants--troops were landed, and st. fiorenzo was besieged. the french finding themselves unable to maintain their post sunk one of their frigates, burnt another, and retreated to bastia. lord hood submitted to general dundas, who commanded the land forces, a plan for the reduction of this place: the general declined co-operating, thinking the attempt impracticable without a reinforcement of 2000 men, which he expected from gibraltar. upon this lord hood determined to reduce it with the naval force under his command; and leaving part of his fleet off toulon, he came with the rest to bastia. he showed a proper sense of respect for nelson's services, and of confidence in his talents, by taking care not to bring with him any older captain. a few days before their arrival, nelson had had what he called a brush with the enemy. "if i had had with me 500 troops," he said, "to a certainty i should have stormed the town; and i believe it might have been carried. armies go so slow that seamen think they never mean to get forward; but i daresay they act on a surer principle, although we seldom fail." during this partial action our army appeared upon the heights; and having reconnoitered the place, returned to st. fiorenzo. "what the general could have seen to make a retreat necessary," said nelson, "i cannot comprehend. a thousand men would certainly take bastia: with five hundred and the agamemnon i would attempt it. my seamen are now what british seamen ought to be--almost invincible. they really mind shot no more than peas." general dundas had not the same confidence. "after mature consideration," he said in a letter to lord hood, "and a personal inspection for several days of all circumstances, local as well as others, i consider the siege of bastia, with our present means and force, to be a most visionary and rash attempt; such as no officer would be justified in undertaking." lord hood replied that nothing would be more gratifying to his feelings than to have the whole responsibility upon himself; and that he was ready and willing to undertake the reduction of the place at his own risk with the force and means at present there. general d'aubant, who succeeded at this time to the command of the army, coincided in opinion with his predecessor, and did not think it right to furnish his lordship with a single soldier, cannon, or any stores. lord hood could only obtain a few artillerymen; and ordering on board that part of the troops who, having been embarked as marines, "were borne on the ships" books as part of their respective complements, he began the siege with 1183 soldiers, artillerymen, and marines, and 250 sailors. "we are but few," said nelson, "but of the right sort; our general at st. fiorenzo not giving us one of the five regiments he has there lying idle." these men were landed on the 4th of april, under lieutenant-colonel villettes and nelson, who had now acquired from the army the title of brigadier. guns were dragged by the sailors up heights where it appeared almost impossible to convey them--a work of the greatest difficulty, and which nelson said could never, in his opinion, have been accomplished by any but british seamen. the soldiers, though less dexterous in such service, because not accustomed, like sailors, to habitual dexterity. behaved with equal spirit. "their zeal," said the brigadier, "is almost unexampled. there is not a man but considers himself as personally interested in the event, and deserted by the general. it has, i am persuaded, made them equal to double their numbers." this is one proof, of many, that for our soldiers to equal our seamen, it is only necessary for them to be equally well commanded. they have the same heart and soul, as well as the same flesh and blood. too much may, indeed, be exacted from them in a retreat; but set their face toward a foe, and there is nothing within the reach of human achievement which they cannot perform. the french had improved the leisure which our military commander had allowed them; and before lord hood commenced his operations, he had the mortification of seeing that the enemy were every day erecting new works, strengthening old ones, and rendering the attempt more difficult. la combe st. michel, the commissioner from the national convention, who was in the city, replied in these terms to the summons of the british admiral--"i have hot shot for your ships, and bayonets for your troops. when two-thirds of our men are killed, i will then trust to the generosity of the english." the siege, however, was not sustained with the firmness which such a reply seemed to augur. on the 19th of may a treaty of capitulation was begun; that same evening the troops from st. fiorenzo made their appearance on the hills; and, on the following morning, general d'aubant arrived with the whole army to take possession of bastia. the event of the siege had justified the confidence of the sailors; but they themselves excused the opinion of the generals when they saw what they had done. "i am all astonishment," said nelson, "when i reflect on what we have achieved; 1000 regulars, 1500 national guards, and a large party of corsican troops, 4000 in all, laying down their arms to 1200 soldiers, marines, and seamen! i always was of opinion, have ever acted up to it, and never had any reason to repent it, that one englishman was equal to three frenchmen. had this been an english town, i am sure it would not have been taken by them." when it had been resolved to attack the place, the enemy were supposed to be far inferior in number; and it was not till the whole had been arranged, and the siege publicly undertaken, that nelson received certain information of the great superiority of the garrison. this intelligence he kept secret, fearing lest, if so fair a pretext were afforded, the attempt would be abandoned. "my own honour," said he to his wife, "lord hood's honour, and the honour of our country, must have been sacrificed had i mentioned what i knew; therefore you will believe what must have been my feelings during the whole siege, when i had often proposals made to me to write to lord hood to raise it." those very persons who thus advised him, were rewarded for their conduct at the siege of bastia: nelson, by whom it may truly be affirmed that bastia was taken, received no reward. lord hood's thanks to him, both public and private, were, as he himself said, the handsomest which man could give; but his signal merits were not so mentioned in the despatches as to make them sufficiently known to the nation, nor to obtain for him from government those honours to which they so amply entitled him. this could only have arisen from the haste in which the despatches were written; certainly not from any deliberate purpose, for lord hood was uniformly his steady and sincere friend. one of the cartel's ships, which carried the garrison of bastia to toulon, brought back intelligence that the french were about to sail from that port;-such exertions had they made to repair the damage done at the evacuation, and to fit out a fleet. the intelligence was speedily verified. lord hood sailed in quest of them toward the islands of hieres. the agamemnon was with him. "i pray god," said nelson, writing to his wife, "that we may meet their fleet. if any accident should happen to me, i am sure my conduct will be such as will entitle you to the royal favour; not that i have the least idea but i shall return to you, and full of honour: if not, the lord's will be done. my name shall never be a disgrace to those who may belong to me. the little i have, i have given to you, except a small annuity--i wish it was more; but i have never got a farthing dishonestly: it descends from clean hands. whatever fate awaits me, i pray god to bless you, and preserve you, for your son's sake." with a mind thus prepared, and thus confident, his hopes and wishes seemed on the point of being gratified, when the enemy were discovered close under the land, near st. tropez. the wind fell, and prevented lord hood from getting between them and the shore, as he designed: boats came out from antibes and other places to their assistance, and towed them within the shoals in gourjean roads, where they were protected by the batteries on isles st. honore and st. marguerite, and on cape garousse. here the english admiral planned a new mode of attack, meaning to double on five of the nearest ships; but the wind again died away, and it was found that they had anchored in compact order, guarding the only passage for large ships. there was no way of effecting this passage, except by towing or warping the vessels; and this rendered the attempt impracticable. for this time the enemy escaped; but nelson bore in mind the admirable plan of attack which lord hood had devised, and there came a day when they felt its tremendous effects. the agamemnon was now despatched to co-operate at the siege of calvi with general sir charles stuart; an officer who, unfortunately for his country, never had an adequate field allotted him far the display of those eminent talents which were, to all who knew him, so conspicuous. nelson had less responsibility here than at bastia; and was acting with a man after his own heart, who was never sparing of himself, and slept every night in the advanced battery. but the service was not less hard than that of the former siege. "we will fag ourselves to death," said he to lord hood, "before any blame shall lie at our doors. i trust it will not be forgotten, that twenty-five pieces of heavy ordnance have been dragged to the different batteries, mounted, and, all but three, fought by seamen, except one artilleryman to point the guns." the climate proved more destructive than the service; for this was during the lion sun, as they call our season of the dog-days. of 2000 men, above half were sick, and the rest like so many phantoms. nelson described himself as the reed among the oaks, bowing before the storm when they were laid low by it. "all the prevailing disorders have attacked me," said he, "but i have not strength enough for them to fasten on." the loss from the enemy was not great; but nelson received a serious injury: a shot struck the ground near him, and drove the sand and small gravel into one of his eyes. he spoke of it slightly at the time: writing the same day to lord hood, he only said that he had got a little hurt that morning, not much; and the next day, he said, he should be able to attend his duty in the evening. in fact, he suffered it to confine him only one day; but the sight was lost. after the fall of calvi, his services were, by a strange omission, altogether overlooked; and his name was not even mentioned in the list of wounded. this was no ways imputable to the admiral, for he sent home to government nelson's journal of the siege, that they might fully understand the nature of his indefatigable and unequalled exertions. if those exertions were not rewarded in the conspicuous manner which they deserved, the fault was in the administration of the day, not in lord hood. nelson felt himself neglected. "one hundred and ten days," said he, "i have been actually engaged at sea and on shore against the enemy; three actions against ships, two against bastia in my ship, four boat actions, and two villages taken, and twelve sail of vessels burnt. i do not know that any one has done more. i have had the comfort to be always applauded by my commander-in-chief, but never to be rewarded; and, what is more mortifying, for services in which i have been wounded, others have been praised, who, at the same time, were actually in bed, far from the scene of action. they have not done me justice. but never mind, i'll have a gazette of my own." how amply was this second-sight of glory realised! the health of his ship's company had now, in his own words, been miserably torn to pieces by as hard service as a ship's crew ever performed: 150 were in their beds when he left calvi; of them he lost 54 and believed that the constitutions of the rest were entirely destroyed. he was now sent with despatches to mr. drake, at genoa, and had his first interview with the doge. the french had, at this time, taken possession of vado bay, in the genoese territory; and nelson foresaw that, if their thoughts were bent on the invasion of italy, they would accomplish it the ensuing spring. "the allied powers," he said, "were jealous of each other; and none but england was hearty in the cause." his wish was for peace on fair terms, because england he thought was draining herself to maintain allies who would not fight for themselves. lord hood had now returned to england, and the command devolved on admiral hotham. the affairs of the mediterranean wore at this time a gloomy aspect. the arts, as well as the arms of the enemy, were gaining the ascendancy there. tuscany concluded peace relying upon the faith of france, which was, in fact, placing itself at her mercy. corsica was in danger. we had taken that island for ourselves, annexed it formally to the crown of great britain, and given it a constitution as free as our own. this was done with the consent of the majority of the inhabitants; and no transaction between two countries was ever more fairly or legitimately conducted: yet our conduct was unwise;--the island is large enough to form an independent state, and such we should have made it, under our protection, as long as protection might be needed; the corsicans would then have felt as a nation; but when one party had given up the country to england, the natural consequence was that the other looked to france. the question proposed to the people was, to which would they belong? our language and our religion were against us; our unaccommodating manners, it is to be feared, still more so. the french were better politicians. in intrigue they have ever been unrivalled; and it now became apparent that, in spite of old wrongs, which ought never to have been forgotten nor forgiven, their partisans were daily acquiring strength. it is part of the policy of france, and a wise policy it is, to impress upon other powers the opinion of its strength, by lofty language: and by threatening before it strikes; a system which, while it keeps up the spirit of its allies, and perpetually stimulates their hopes, tends also to dismay its enemies. corsica was now loudly threatened. "the french, who had not yet been taught to feel their own inferiority upon the seas, braved us in contempt upon that element." they had a superior fleet in the mediterranean, and they sent it out with express orders to seek the english and engage them. accordingly, the toulon fleet, consisting of seventeen ships of the line and five smaller vessels, put to sea. admiral hotham received this information at leghorn, and sailed immediately in search of them. he had with him fourteen sail of the line, and one neapolitan seventy-four; but his ships were only half-manned, containing but 7650 men, whereas the enemy had 16,900. he soon came in sight of them: a general action was expected; and nelson, as was his custom on such occasions, wrote a hasty letter to his wife, as that which might possibly contain his last farewell. "the lives of all," said he, "are in the hand of him who knows best whether to preserve mine or not; my character and good name are in my own keeping." but however confident the french government might be of their naval superiority, the officers had no such feeling; and after manoeuvring for a day in sight of the english fleet, they suffered themselves to be chased. one of their ships, the ca ira, of eighty-four guns, carried away her main and fore top-masts. the inconstant frigate fired at the disabled ship, but received so many shot that she was obliged to leave her. soon afterwards a french frigate took the ca ira in tow; and the sans-culottes, one hundred and twenty, and the jean barras, seventy-four, kept about gunshot distance on her weather bow. the agamemnon stood towards her, having no ship of the line to support her within several miles. as she drew near, the ca ira fired her stern guns so truly, that not a shot missed some part of the ship; and latterly, the masts were struck by every shot. it had been nelson's intention not to fire before he touched her stern; but seeing how impossible it was that he should be supported, and how certainly the agamemnon must be severely cut up if her masts were disabled, he altered his plan according to the occasion. as soon, therefore, as he was within a hundred yards of her stern, he ordered the helm to be put a-starboard, and the driver and after-sails to be brailed up and shivered; and, as the ship fell off, gave the enemy her whole broadside. they instantly braced up the after-yards, put the helm a-port, and stood after her again. this manoeuvre he practised for two hours and a quarter, never allowing the ca ira to get a single gun from either side to bear on him; and when the french fired their after-guns now, it was no longer with coolness and precision, for every shot went far ahead. by this time her sails were hanging in tatters, her mizen-top-mast, mizen-top-sail, and cross-jack-yards shot away. but the frigate which had her in tow hove in stays, and got her round. both these french ships now brought their guns to bear, and opened their fire. the agamemnon passed them within half-pistol shot; almost every shot passed over her, for the french had elevated their guns for the rigging, and for distant firing, and did not think of altering the elevation. as soon as the agamemnon's after-guns ceased to bear, she hove in stays, keeping a constant fire as she came round; and being worked, said nelson, with as much exactness as if she had been turning into spithead. on getting round, he saw that the sans-culottes, which had wore, with many of the enemy's ships, was under his lee bow, and standing to leeward. the admiral, at the same time, made the signal for the van ships to join him. upon this nelson bore away, and prepared to set all sail; and the enemy, having saved their ship, hauled close to the wind, and opened upon him a distant and ineffectual fire. only seven of the agamemnon's men were hurt--a thing which nelson himself remarked as wonderful: her sails and rigging were very much cut, and she had many shots in her hull, and some between wind and water. the ca ira lost 110 men that day, and was so cut up that she could not get a top-mast aloft during the night. at daylight on the following morning, the english ships were taken aback with a fine breeze at n.w., while the enemy's fleet kept the southerly wind. the body of their fleet was about five miles distant; the ca ira and the censeur, seventy-four, which had her in tow, about three and a half. all sail was made to cut these ships off; and as the french attempted to save them, a partial action was brought on. the agamemnon was again engaged with her yesterday's antagonist; but she had to fight on both sides the ship at the same time. the ca ira and the censeur fought most gallantly: the first lost nearly 300 men, in addition to her former loss; the last, 350. both at length struck; and lieutenant andrews, of the agamemnon, brother to the lady to whom nelson had become attached in france, and, in nelson's own words, "as gallant an officer as ever stepped a quarter-deck," hoisted english colours on board them both. the rest of the enemy's ships' behaved very ill. as soon as these vessels had struck, nelson went to admiral hotham and proposed that the two prizes should be left with the illustrious and courageux, which had been crippled in the action, and with four frigates, and that the rest of the fleet should pursue the enemy, and follow up the advantage to the utmost. but his reply was--"we must be contented: we have done very well."--"now," said nelson, "had we taken ten sail, and allowed the eleventh to escape, when it had been possible to have got at her, i could never have called it well done. goodall backed me; i got him to write to the admiral; but it would not do. we should have had such a day as, i believe, the annals of england never produced." in this letter the character of nelson fully manifests itself. "i wish," said he, "to be an admiral, and in the command of the english fleet: i should very soon either do much, or be ruined: my disposition cannot bear tame and slow measures. sure i am, had i commanded on the 14th, that either the whole french fleet would have graced my triumph, or i should have been in a confounded scrape." what the event would have been, he knew from his prophetic feelings and his own consciousness of power; and we also know it now, for aboukir and trafalgar have told it. the ca ira and censeur probably defended themselves with more obstinacy in this action, from a persuasion that, if they struck, no quarter would be given; because they had fired red-hot shot, and had also a preparation sent, as they said, by the convention from paris, which seems to have been of the nature of the greek fire; for it became liquid when it was discharged, and water would not extinguish its flames. this combustible was concealed with great care in the captured ships; like the red-hot shot, it had been found useless in battle. admiral hotham's action saved corsica for the time; but the victory had been incomplete, and the arrival at toulon of six sail of the line, two frigates, and two cutters from brest, gave the french a superiority which, had they known how to use it, would materially have endangered the british mediterranean fleet. that fleet had been greatly neglected at the admiralty during lord chatham's administration: and it did not, for some time, feel the beneficial effect of his removal. lord hood had gone home to represent the real state of affairs, and solicit reinforcements adequate to the exigencies of the time, and the importance of the scene of action. but that fatal error of under-proportioning the force to the service; that ruinous economy, which, by sparing a little, renders all that is spent useless, infected the british councils; and lord hood, not being able to obtain such reinforcements as he knew were necessary, resigned the command. "surely," said nelson, "the people at home have forgotten us." another neapolitan seventy-four joined admiral hotham, and nelson observed with sorrow that this was matter of exultation to an english fleet. when the store-ships and victuallers from gibraltar arrived, their escape from the enemy was thought wonderful; and yet, had they not escaped, "the game," said nelson, "was up here. at this moment our operations are at a stand for want of ships to support the austrians in getting possession of the sea-coast of the king of sardinia; and behold our admiral does not feel himself equal to show himself, much less to give assistance in their operations." it was reported that the french were again out with 18 or 20 sail. the combined british and neapolitan were but sixteen; should the enemy be only eighteen, nelson made no doubt of a complete victory; but if they were twenty, he said, it was not to be expected; and a battle, without complete victory, would have been destruction, because another mast was not to be got on that side gibraltar. at length admiral man arrived with a squadron from england. "what they can mean by sending him with only five sail of the line," said nelson, "is truly astonishing; but all men are alike, and we in this country do not find any amendment or alteration from the old board of admiralty. they should know that half the ships in the fleet require to go to england; and that long ago they ought to have reinforced us." about this time nelson was made colonel of marines; a mark of approbation which he had long wished for rather than expected. it came in good season, for his spirits were oppressed by the thought that his services had not been acknowledged as they deserved; and it abated the resentful feeling which would else have been excited by the answer to an application to the war-office. during his four months' land service in corsica, he had lost all his ship furniture, owing to the movements of a camp. upon this he wrote to the secretary at war, briefly stating what his services on shore had been, and saying, he trusted it was not asking an improper thing to request that the same allowance might be made to him which would be made to a land officer of his rank, which, situated as he was, would be that of a brigadier-general: if this could not be accorded, he hoped that his additional expenses would be paid him. the answer which he received was, that "no pay had ever been issued under the direction of the war-office to officers of the navy serving with the army on shore." he now entered upon a new line of service. the austrian and sardinian armies, under general de vins, required a british squadron to co-operate with them in driving the french from the riviera di genoa; and as nelson had been so much in the habit of soldiering, it was immediately fixed that the brigadier should go. he sailed from st. fiorenzo on this destination; but fell in, off cape del mele, with the enemy's fleet, who immediately gave his squadron chase. the chase lasted four-and-twenty hours; and, owing to the fickleness of the wind, the british ships were sometimes hard pressed; but the want of skill on the part of the french gave nelson many advantages. nelson bent his way back to st. fiorenzo, where the fleet, which was in the midst of watering and refitting, had, for seven hours, the mortification of seeing him almost in possession of the enemy, before the wind would allow them to put out to his assistance. the french, however, at evening, went off, not choosing to approach nearer the shore. during the night, admiral hotham, by great exertions, got under weigh; and, having sought the enemy four days, came in sight of them on the fifth. baffling winds and vexatious calms, so common in the mediterranean, rendered it impossible to close with them; only a partial action could be brought on; and then the firing made a perfect calm. the french being to windward, drew inshore; and the english fleet was becalmed six or seven miles to the westward. l'alcide, of seventy-four guns, struck; but before she could be taken possession of, a box of combustibles in her fore-top took fire, and the unhappy crew experienced how far more perilous their inventions were to themselves than to their enemies. so rapid was the conflagration, that the french in their official account say, the hull, the masts, and sails, all seemed to take fire at the same moment; and though the english boats were put out to the assistance of the poor wretches on board, not more than 200 could be saved. the agamemnon, and captain rowley in the cumberland, were just getting into close action a second time, when the admiral called them off, the wind now blowing directly into the gulf of frejus, where the enemy anchored after the evening closed. nelson now proceeded to his station with eight sail of frigates under his command. arriving at genoa, he had a conference with mr. drake, the british envoy to that state; the result of which was, that the object of the british must be to put an entire stop to all trade between genoa, france, and the places occupied by the french troops; for unless this trade were stopped, it would be scarcely possible for the allied armies to hold their situation, and impossible for them to make any progress in driving the enemy out of the riviera di genoa. mr. drake was of opinion that even nice might fall for want of supplies, if the trade with genoa were cut off. this sort of blockade nelson could not carry on without great risk to himself. a captain in the navy, as he represented to the envoy, is liable to prosecution for detention and damages. this danger was increased by an order which had then lately been issued; by which, when a neutral ship was detained, a complete specification of her cargo was directed to be sent to the secretary of the admiralty, and no legal process instituted against her till the pleasure of that board should be communicated. this was requiring an impossibility. the cargoes of ships detained upon this station, consisting chiefly of corn, would be spoiled long before the orders of the admiralty could be known; and then, if they should happen to release the vessel, the owners would look to the captain for damages. even the only precaution which could be taken against this danger, involved another danger not less to be apprehended: for if the captain should direct the cargo to be taken out, the freight paid for, and the vessel released, the agent employed might prove fraudulent, and become bankrupt; and in that case the captain became responsible. such things had happened: nelson therefore required, as the only means for carrying on that service, which was judged essential to the common cause, without exposing the officers to ruin, that the british envoy should appoint agents to pay the freight, release the vessels, sell the cargo, and hold the amount till process was had upon it: government thus securing its officers. "i am acting," said nelson. "not only without the orders of my commander-in-chief, but, in some measure, contrary to him. however, i have not only the support of his majesty's ministers, both at turin and genoa, but a consciousness that i am doing what is right and proper for the service of our king and country. political courage, in an officer abroad, is as highly necessary as military courage." this quality, which is as much rarer than military courage as it is more valuable, and without which the soldier's bravery is often of little avail, nelson possessed in an eminent degree. his representations were attended to as they deserved. admiral hotham commended him for what he had done; and the attention of government was awakened to the injury which the cause of the allies continually suffered from the frauds of neutral vessels. "what changes in my life of activity!" said the indefatigable man. "here i am, having commenced a co-operation with an old austrian general, almost fancying myself charging at the head of a troop of horse! i do not write less than from ten to twenty letters every day; which, with the austrian general and aides-de-camp, and my own little squadron, fully employ my time. this i like; active service or none." it was nelson's mind which supported his feeble body through these exertions. he was at this time almost blind, and wrote with very great pain. "poor agamemnon," he sometimes said, "was as nearly worn out as her captain; and both must soon be laid up to repair." when nelson first saw general de vins, he thought him an able man, who was willing to act with vigour. the general charged his inactivity upon the piedmontese and neapolitans, whom, he said, nothing could induce to act; and he concerted a plan with nelson for embarking a part of the austrian army, and landing it in the rear of the french. but the english commodore soon began to suspect that the austrian general was little disposed to any active operations. in the hope of spurring him on, he wrote to him, telling him that he had surveyed the coast to the w. as far as nice, and would undertake to embark 4000 or 5000 men, with their arms and a few days' provisions, on board the squadron, and land them within two miles of st. remo, with their field-pieces. respecting further provisions for the austrian army, he would provide convoys, that they should arrive in safety; and if a re-embarkation should be found necessary, he would cover it with the squadron. the possession of st. remo, as headquarters for magazines of every kind, would enable the austrian general to turn his army to the eastward or westward. the enemy at oneglia would be cut off from provisions, and men could be landed to attack that place whenever it was judged necessary. st. remo was the only place between vado and ville franche where the squadron could lie in safety, and anchor in almost all winds. the bay was not so good as vado for large ships; but it had a mole, which vado had not, where all small vessels could lie, and load and unload their cargoes. this bay being in possession of the allies, nice could be completely blockaded by sea. general de vins affecting, in his reply, to consider that nelson's proposal had no other end than that of obtaining the bay of st. remo as a station for the ships, told him, what he well knew, and had expressed before, that vado bay was a better anchorage; nevertheless, if monsieur le commandant nelson was well assured that part of the fleet could winter there, there was no risk to which he would not expose himself with pleasure, for the sake of procuring a safe station for the vessels of his britannic majesty. nelson soon assured the austrian commander that this was not the object of his memorial. he now began to suspect that both the austrian court and their general had other ends in view than the cause of the allies. "this army," said he, "is slow beyond all description; and i begin to think that the emperor is anxious to touch another l4,000,000 of english money. as for the german generals, war is their trade, and peace is ruin to them; therefore we cannot expect that they should have any wish to finish the war. the politics of courts are so mean, that private people would be ashamed to act in the same way; all is trick and finesse, to which the common cause is sacrificed. the general wants a loop-hole; it has for some time appeared to me that he means to go no further than his present position, and to lay the miscarriage of the enterprise against nice, which has always been held out as the great object of his army, to the non-cooperation of the british fleet and of the sardinians." to prevent this plea, nelson again addressed de vins, requesting only to know the time, and the number of troops ready to embark; then he would, he said, dispatch a ship to admiral hotham, requesting transports, having no doubt of obtaining them, and trusting that the plan would be successful to its fullest extent. nelson thought at the time that, if the whole fleet were offered him for transports, he would find some other excuse; and mr. drake, who was now appointed to reside at the austrian headquarters, entertained the same idea of the general's sincerity. it was not, however, put so clearly to the proof as it ought to have been. he replied that, as soon as nelson could declare himself ready with the vessels necessary for conveying 10,000 men, with their artillery and baggage, he would put the army in motion. but nelson was not enabled to do this: admiral hotham, who was highly meritorious in leaving such a man so much at his own discretion, pursued a cautious system, ill according with the bold and comprehensive views of nelson, who continually regretted lord hood, saying that the nation had suffered much by his resignation of the mediterranean command. the plan which had been concerted, he said, would astonish the french, and perhaps the english. there was no unity in the views of the allied powers, no cordiality in their co-operation, no energy in their councils. the neutral powers assisted france more effectually than the allies assisted each other. the genoese ports were at this time filled with french privateers, which swarmed out every night, and covered the gulf; and french vessels were allowed to tow out of the port of genoa itself, board vessels which were coming in, and then return into the mole. this was allowed without a remonstrance; while, though nelson abstained most carefully from offering any offence to the genoese territory or flag, complaints were so repeatedly made against his squadron, that, he says, it seemed a trial who should be tired first; they of complaining, or he of answering their complaints. but the question of neutrality was soon at an end. an austrian commissary was travelling from genoa towards vado; it was known that he was to sleep at voltri, and that he had l10,000 with him--a booty which the french minister in that city, and the captain of a french frigate in that port, considered as far more important than the word of honour of the one, the duties of the other, and the laws of neutrality. the boats of the frigate went out with some privateers, landed, robbed the commissary, and brought back the money to genoa. the next day men were publicly enlisted in that city for the french army: 700 men were embarked, with 7000 stand of arms, on board the frigates and other vessels, who were to land between voltri and savona. there a detachment from the french army was to join them, and the genoese peasantry were to be invited to insurrection--a measure for which everything had been prepared. the night of the 13th was fixed for the sailing of this expedition; the austrians called loudly for nelson to prevent it; and he, on the evening of the 13th, arrived at genoa. his presence checked the plan: the frigate, knowing her deserts, got within the merchant-ships, in the inner mole; and the genoese government did not now even demand of nelson respect to the neutral port, knowing that they had allowed, if not connived at, a flagrant breach of neutrality, and expecting the answer which he was prepared to return, that it was useless and impossible for him to respect it longer. but though this movement produced the immediate effect which was designed, it led to ill consequences, which nelson foresaw, but for want of sufficient force was unable to prevent. his squadron was too small for the service which it had to perform. he required two seventy-fours and eight or ten frigates and sloops; but when he demanded this reinforcement, admiral hotham had left the command. sir hyde parker had succeeded till the new commander should arrive; and he immediately reduced it to almost nothing, leaving him only one frigate and a brig. this was a fatal error. while the austrian and sardinian troops, whether from the imbecility or the treachery of their leaders, remained inactive, the french were preparing for the invasion of italy. not many days before nelson was thus summoned to genoa, he chased a large convoy into alassio. twelve vessels he had formerly destroyed in that port, though 2000 french troops occupied the town. this former attack had made them take new measures of defence; and there were now above 100 sail of victuallers, gun-boats, and ships of war. nelson represented to the admiral how important it was to destroy these vessels; and offered, with his squadron of frigates, and the culloden and courageux, to lead himself in the agamemnon, and take or destroy the whole. the attempt was not permitted; but it was nelson's belief that, if it had been made, it would have prevented the attack upon the austrian army, which took place almost immediately afterwards. general de vins demanded satisfaction of the genoese government for the seizure of his commissary; and then, without waiting for their reply, took possession of some empty magazines of the french, and pushed his sentinels to the very gates of genoa. had he done so at first, he would have found the magazines full; but, timed as the measure was, and useless as it was to the cause of the allies, it was in character with the whole of the austrian general's conduct; and it is no small proof of the dexterity with which he served the enemy, that in such circumstances he could so act with genoa as to contrive to put himself in the wrong. nelson was at this time, according to his own expression, placed in a cleft stick. mr. drake, the austrian minister, and the austrian general, all joined in requiring him not to leave genoa; if he left that port unguarded, they said, not only the imperial troops at st. pier d'arena and voltri would be lost, but the french plan for taking post between voltri and savona would certainly succeed; if the austrians should be worsted in the advanced posts, the retreat of the bocchetta would be cut off; and if this happened, the loss of the army would be imputed to him, for having left genoa. on the other hand, he knew that if he were not at pietra, the enemy's gun-boats would harass the left flank of the austrians, who, if they were defeated, as was to be expected, from the spirit of all their operations, would, very probably, lay their defeat to the want of assistance from the agamemnon. had the force for which nelson applied been given him, he could have attended to both objects; and had he been permitted to attack the convoy in alassio, he would have disconcerted the plans of the french, in spite of the austrian general. he had foreseen the danger, and pointed out how it might be prevented; but the means of preventing it were withheld. the attack was made as he foresaw; and the gun-boats brought their fire to bear upon the austrians. it so happened, however, that the left flank, which was exposed to them, was the only part of the army that behaved well: this division stood its ground till the centre and the right wing fled, and then retreated in a soldier-like manner. general de vins gave up the command in the middle of the battle, pleading ill health. "from that moment," says nelson, "not a soldier stayed at his post: it was the devil take the hindmost. many thousands ran away who had never seen the enemy; some of them thirty miles from the advanced posts. had i not, though i own, against my inclination, been kept at genoa, from 8000 to 10,000 men would have been taken prisoners, and, amongst the number, general de vins himself; but by this means the pass of the bocchetta was kept open. the purser of the ship, who was at vado, ran with the austrians eighteen miles without stopping; the men without arms, officers without soldiers, women without assistance. the oldest officers say they never heard of so complete a defeat, and certainly without any reason. thus has ended my campaign. we have established the french republic: which but for us, i verily believe, would never have been settled by such a volatile, changeable people. i hate a frenchman: they are equally objects of my detestation whether royalists or republicans: in some points, i believe, the latter are the best." nelson had a lieutenant and two midshipmen taken at vado: they told him, in their letter, that few of the french soldiers were more than three or four and twenty years old, a great many not more than fourteen, and all were nearly naked; they were sure, they said, his barge's crew could have beat a hundred of them; and that, had he himself seen them, he would not have thought, if the world had been covered with such people, that they could have beaten the austrian army. the defeat of general de vins gave the enemy possession of the genoese coast from savona to voltri, and it deprived the austrians of their direct communication with the english fleet. the agamemnon, therefore, could no longer be useful on this station, and nelson sailed for leghorn to refit. when his ship went into dock, there was not a mast, yard, sail, or any part of the rigging, but what stood in need of repair, having been cut to pieces with shot. the hull was so damaged that it had for some time been secured by cables, which were served or thrapped round it. chapter iv 1796 1797 sir j. jervis takes the command--genoa joins the french--bounaparte begins his career--evacuation of corsica--nelson hoists his broad pennant in the minerve--action with the sabina--battle off cape st. vincent--nelson commands the inner squadron at the blockade of cadiz boat action in the bay of cadiz--expedition against teneriffe--nelson loses an arm--his sufferings in england, and recovery. sir john jervis had now arrived to take the command of the mediterranean fleet. the agamemnon having, as her captain said, been made as fit for sea as a rotten ship could be, nelson sailed from leghorn, and joined the admiral in fiorenzo bay. "i found him," said he, "anxious to know many things which i was a good deal surprised to find had not been communicated to him by others in the fleet; and it would appear that he was so well satisfied with my opinion of what is likely to happen, and the means of prevention to be taken, that he had no reserve with me respecting his information and ideas of what is likely to be done." the manner in which nelson was received is said to have excited some envy. one captain observed to him: "you did just as you pleased in lord hood's time, the same in admiral hotham's, and now again with sir john jervis: it makes no difference to you who is commander-in-chief." a higher compliment could not have been paid to any commander-in-chief than to say of him that he understood the merits of nelson, and left him, as far as possible, to act upon his own judgment. sir john jervis offered him the st. george, ninety, or the zealous, seventy-four, and asked if he should have any objection to serve under him with his flag. he replied, that if the agamemnon were ordered home, and his flag were not arrived, he should, on many accounts, wish to return to england; still, if the war continued, he should be very proud of hoisting his flag under sir john's command, "we cannot spare you," said sir john, "either as captain or admiral." accordingly, he resumed his station in the gulf of genoa. the french had not followed up their successes in that quarter with their usual celerity. scherer, who commanded there, owed his advancement to any other cause than his merit: he was a favourite of the directory; but for the present, through the influence of barras, he was removed from a command for which his incapacity was afterwards clearly proved, and buonaparte was appointed to succeed him. buonaparte had given indications of his military talents at toulon, and of his remorseless nature at paris; but the extent either of his ability or his wickedness was at this time known to none, and perhaps not even suspected by himself. nelson supposed, from the information which he had obtained, that one column of the french army would take possession of port especia; either penetrating through the genoese territory, or proceeding coast-ways in light vessels; our ships of war not being able to approach the coast, because of the shallowness of the water. to prevent this, he said; two things were necessary: the possession of vado bay, and the taking of port especia; if either of these points were secured, italy would be safe from any attack of the french by sea. general beaulieu, who had now superseded de vins in the command of the allied austrian and sardinian army, sent his nephew and aide-de-camp to communicate with nelson, and inquire whether he could anchor in any other place than vado bay. nelson replied, that vado was the only place where the british fleet could lie in safety, but all places would suit his squadron; and wherever the general came to the sea-coast, there he should find it. the austrian repeatedly asked, if there was not a risk of losing the squadron? and was constantly answered, that if these ships should be lost, the admiral would find others. but all plans of co-operation with the austrians were soon frustrated by the battle of montenotte. beaulieu ordered an attack to be made upon the post of voltri. it was made twelve hours before the time which he had fixed, and before he arrived to direct it. in consequence, the french were enabled to effect their retreat, and fall back to montenotte, thus giving the troops there a decisive superiority in number over the division which attacked them. this drew on the defeat of the austrians. buonaparte, with a celerity which had never before been witnessed in modern war, pursued his advantages; and, in the course of a fortnight, dictated to the court of turin terms of peace, or rather of submission; by which all the strongest places of piedmont were put into his bands. on one occasion, and only on one, nelson was able to impede the progress of this new conqueror. six vessels, laden with cannon and ordnance-stores for the siege of mantua, sailed from toulon for st. pier d'arena. assisted by captain cockburn, in the meleager, he drove them under a battery; pursued them, silenced the batteries, and captured the whole. military books, plans and maps of italy, with the different points marked upon them where former battles had been fought, sent by the directory for buonaparte's use, were found in the convoy. the loss of this artillery was one of the chief causes which compelled the french to raise the siege of mantua; but there was too much treachery, and too much imbecility, both in the councils and armies of the allied powers, for austria to improve this momentary success. buonaparte perceived that the conquest of italy was within his reach; treaties, and the rights of neutral or of friendly powers, were as little regarded by him as by the government for which he acted. in open contempt of both he entered tuscany, and took possession of leghorn. in consequence of this movement, nelson blockaded that port, and landed a british force in the isle of elba, to secure porto ferrajo. soon afterwards he took the island of capraja, which had formerly belonged to corsica, being less than forty miles distant from it; a distance, however, short as it was, which enabled the genoese to retain it, after their infamous sale of corsica to france. genoa had now taken part with france: its government had long covertly assisted the french, and now willingly yielded to the first compulsory menace which required them to exclude the english from their ports. capraja was seized in consequence; but this act of vigour was not followed up as it ought to have been. england at that time depended too much upon the feeble governments of the continent, and too little upon itself. it was determined by the british cabinet to evacuate corsica, as soon as spain should form an offensive alliance with france. this event, which, from the moment that spain had been compelled to make peace, was clearly foreseen, had now taken place; and orders for the evacuation of the island were immediately sent out. it was impolitic to annex this island to the british dominions; but having done so, it was disgraceful thus to abandon it. the disgrace would have been spared, and every advantage which could have been derived from the possession of the island secured, if the people had at first been left to form a government for themselves, and protected by us in the enjoyment of their independence. the viceroy, sir gilbert elliott, deeply felt the impolicy and ignominy of this evacuation. the fleet also was ordered to leave the mediterranean. this resolution was so contrary to the last instructions which had been received, that nelson exclaimed, "do his majesty's ministers know their own minds? they at home," said he, "do not know what this fleet is capable of performing--anything and everything. much as i shall rejoice to see england, i lament our present orders in sackcloth and ashes, so dishonourable to the dignity of england, whose fleets are equal to meet the world in arms; and of all the fleets i ever saw, i never beheld one, in point of officers and men, equal to sir john jervis's, who is a commander-in-chief able to lead them to glory." sir gilbert elliott believed that the great body of the corsicans were perfectly satisfied, as they had good reason to be, with the british government, sensible of its advantages, and attached to it. however this may have been, when they found that the english intended to evacuate the island, they naturally and necessarily sent to make their peace with the french. the partisans of france found none to oppose them. a committee of thirty took upon them the government of bastia, and sequestrated all the british property; armed corsicans mounted guard at every place, and a plan was laid for seizing the viceroy. nelson, who was appointed to superintend the evacuation, frustrated these projects. at a time when every one else despaired of saving stores, cannon, provisions, or property of any kind, and a privateer was moored across the mole-head to prevent all boats from passing, he sent word to the committee, that if the slightest opposition were made to the embarkment and removal of british property, he would batter the town down. the privateer pointed her guns at the officer who carried this message, and muskets were levelled against his boats from the mole-head. upon this captain sutton, of the egmont, pulling out his watch, gave them a quarter of an hour to deliberate upon their answer. in five minutes after the expiration of that time, the ships, he said, would open their fire. upon this the very sentinels scampered off, and every vessel came out of the mole. a shipowner complained to the commodore that the municipality refused to let him take his goods out of the custom-house. nelson directed him to say, that unless they were instantly delivered, he would open his fire. the committee turned pale, and, without answering a word, gave him the keys. their last attempt was to levy a duty upon the things that were re-embarked. he sent them word, that he would pay them a disagreeable visit, if there were any more complaints. the committee then finding that they had to deal with a man who knew his own power, and was determined to make the british name respected, desisted from the insolent conduct which they had assumed; and it was acknowledged that bastia never had been so quiet and orderly since the english were in possession of it. this was on the 14th of october; during the five following days the work of embarkation was carried on, the private property was saved, and public stores to the amount of l200,000. the french, favoured by the spanish fleet, which was at that time within twelve leagues of bastia, pushed over troops from leghorn, who landed near cape corse on the 18th; and on the 20th, at one in the morning, entered the citadel, an hour only after the british had spiked the guns and evacuated it. nelson embarked at daybreak, being the last person who left the shore; having thus, as he said, seen the first and the last of corsica. provoked at the conduct of the municipality, and the disposition which the populace had shown to profit by the confusion, he turned towards the shore, as he stepped into his boat, and exclaimed: "now, john corse, follow the natural bent of your detestable character --plunder and revenge." this, however, was not nelson's deliberate opinion of the people of corsica; he knew that their vices were the natural consequences of internal anarchy and foreign oppression, such as the same causes would produce in any people; and when he saw, that of all those who took leave of the viceroy there was not one who parted from him without tears, he acknowledged that they manifestly acted not from dislike of the english, but from fear of the french. england then might, with more reason, reproach her own rulers for pusillanimity than the corsicans for ingratitude. having thus ably effected this humiliating service, nelson was ordered to hoist his broad pendant on board the minerve frigate, captain george cockburn, and with the blanche under his command, proceed to porto ferrajo, and superintend the evacuation of that place also. on his way, he fell in with two spanish frigates, the sabina and the ceres. the minerve engaged the former, which was commanded by d. jacobo stuart, a descendent of the duke of berwick. after an action of three hours, during which the spaniards lost 164 men, the sabina struck. the spanish captain, who was the only surviving officer, had hardly been conveyed on board the minerve, when another enemy's frigate came up, compelled her to cast off the prize, and brought her a second time into action. after half an hour's trial of strength, this new antagonist wore and hauled off; but a spanish squadron of two ships of the line and two frigates came in sight. the blanche, from which the ceres had got off, was far to windward, and the minerve escaped only by the anxiety of the enemy to recover their own ship. as soon as nelson reached porto ferrajo he sent his prisoner in a flag of truce to carthagena, having returned him his sword; this he did in honour of the gallantry which d. jacobo had displayed, and not without some feeling of respect for his ancestry. "i felt it," said he, "consonant to the dignity of my country and i always act as i feel right, without regard to custom; he was reputed the best officer in spain, and his men were worthy of such a commander." by the same flag of truce he sent back all the spanish prisoners at porto ferrajo; in exchange for whom he received his own men who had been taken in the prize. general de burgh, who commanded at the isle of elba, did not think himself authorised to abandon the place till he had received specific instructions from england to that effect; professing that he was unable to decide between the contradictory orders of government, or to guess at what their present intentions might be; but he said, his only motive for urging delay in this measure arose from a desire that his own conduct might be properly sanctioned, not from any opinion that porto ferrajo ought to be retained. but naples having made peace, sir john jervis considered his business with italy as concluded; and the protection of portugal was the point to which he was now instructed to attend. nelson, therefore, whose orders were perfectly clear and explicit, withdrew the whole naval establishment from that station, leaving the transports victualled, and so arranged that all the troops and stores could be embarked in three days. he was now about to leave the mediterranean. mr. drake, who had been our minister at genoa, expressed to him, on this occasion, the very high opinion which the allies entertained of his conspicuous merit; adding, that it was impossible for any one, who had the honour of co-operating with him, not to admire the activity, talents, and zeal which he had so eminently and constantly displayed. in fact, during this long course of services in the mediterranean, the whole of his conduct had exhibited the same zeal, the same indefatigable energy, the same intuitive judgment, the same prompt and unerring decision which characterised his after-career of glory. his name was as yet hardly known to the english public; but it was feared and respected throughout italy. a letter came to him, directed "horatio nelson, genoa;" and the writer, when he was asked how he could direct it so vaguely, replied, "sir, there is but one horatio nelson in the world." at genoa, in particular, where he had so long been stationed, and where the nature of his duty first led him to continual disputes with the government, and afterwards compelled him to stop the trade of the port, he was equally respected by the doge and by the people; for, while he maintained the rights and interests of great britain with becoming firmness, he tempered the exercise of power with courtesy and humanity wherever duty would permit. "had all my actions," said he, writing at this time to his wife, "been gazetted, not one fortnight would have passed, during the whole war, without a letter from me. one day or other i will have a long gazette to myself. i feel that such an opportunity will be given me. i cannot, if i am in the field of glory, be kept out of sight; wherever there is anything to be done, there providence is sure to direct my steps." these hopes and anticipations were soon to be fulfilled. nelson's mind had long been irritated and depressed by the fear that a general action would take place before he could join the fleet. at length he sailed from porto ferrajo with a convoy for gibraltar; and having reached that place, proceeded to the westward in search of the admiral. off the mouth of the straits he fell in with the spanish fleet; and on the 13th of february reaching the station off cape st. vincent, communicated this intelligence to sir john jervis. he was now directed to shift his broad pendant on board the captain, seventy-four, captain r.w. miller; and before sunset the signal was made to prepare for action, and to keep, during the night, in close order. at daybreak the enemy were in sight. the british force consisted of two ships of one hundred guns, two of ninety-eight, two of ninety, eight of seventy-four, and one sixty-four;-fifteen of the line in all; with four frigates, a sloop, and a cutter. the spaniards had one four-decker, of one hundred and thirty-six guns; six three-deckers, of one hundred and twelve; two eighty-four, eighteen seventy-four--in all, twenty-seven ships of the line, with ten frigates and a brig. their admiral, d. joseph de cordova, had learnt from an american on the 5th, that the english had only nine ships, which was indeed the case when his informer had seen them; for a reinforcement of five ships from england, under admiral parker, had not then joined, and the culloden had parted company. upon this information the spanish commander, instead of going into cadiz, as was his intention when he sailed from carthagena, determined to seek an enemy so inferior in force; and relying, with fatal confidence, upon the american account, he suffered his ships to remain too far dispersed, and in some disorder. when the morning of the 14th broke, and discovered the english fleet, a fog for some time concealed their number. that fleet had heard their signal-guns during the night, the weather being fine though thick and hazy; soon after daylight they were seen very much scattered, while the british ships were in a compact little body. the look-out ship of the spaniards, fancying that her signal was disregarded because so little notice seemed to be taken of it, made another signal, that the english force consisted of forty sail of the line. the captain afterwards said he did this to rouse the admiral; it had the effect of perplexing him and alarming the whole fleet. the absurdity of such an act shows what was the state of the spanish navy under that miserable government by which spain was so long oppressed and degraded, and finally betrayed. in reality, the general incapacity of the naval officers was so well known, that in a pasquinade, which about this time appeared at madrid, wherein the different orders of the state were advertised for sale, the greater part of the sea-officers, with all their equipments, were offered as a gift; and it was added, that any person who would please to take them, should receive a handsome gratuity. when the probability that spain would take part in the war, as an ally of france, was first contemplated, nelson said that their fleet, if it were no better than when it acted in alliance with us, would "soon be done for." before the enemy could form a regular order of battle, sir j. jervis, by carrying a press of sail, came up with them, passed through their fleet, then tacked, and thus cut off nine of their ships from the main body. these ships attempted to form on the larboard tack, either with a design of passing through the british line, or to leeward of it, and thus rejoining their friends. only one of them succeeded in this attempt; and that only because she was so covered with smoke that her intention was not discovered till she had reached the rear: the others were so warmly received, that they put about, took to flight, and did not appear again in the action to its close. the admiral was now able to direct his attention to the enemy's main body, which was still superior in number to his whole fleet, and greatly so in weight of metal. he made signal to tack in succession. nelson, whose station was in the rear of the british line, perceived that the spaniards were bearing up before the wind, with an intention of forming their line, going large, and joining their separated ships, or else of getting off without an engagement. to prevent either of these schemes, he disobeyed the signal without a moment's hesitation: and ordered his ship to be wore. this at once brought him into action with the santissima trinidad, one hundred and thirty-six; the san joseph, one hundred and twelve; the salvador del mundo, one hundred and twelve; the san nicolas, eighty; the san isidro, seventy-four, another seventy-four, and another first-rate. troubridge, in the culloden, immediately joined, and most nobly supported him; and for nearly an hour did the culloden and captain maintain what nelson called "this apparently, but not really unequal contest;"--such was the advantage of skill and discipline, and the confidence which brave men derive from them. the blenheim then passing between them and the enemy, gave them a respite, and poured in her fire upon the spaniards. the salvador del mundo and san isidro dropped astern, and were fired into in a masterly style by the excellent, captain collingwood. the san isidro struck; and nelson thought that the salvador struck also. "but collingwood," says he, "disdaining the parade of taking possession of beaten enemies, most gallantly pushed up, with every sail set, to save his old friend and messmate, who was to appearance in a critical situation;" for the captain was at this time actually fired upon by three first-rates--by the san nicolas, and by a seventy-four, within about pistol-shot of that vessel. the blenheim was ahead, the culloden crippled and astern. collingwood ranged up, and hauling up his mainsail just astern, passed within ten feet of the san nicolas, giving her a most tremendous fire, then passed on for the santissima trinidad. the san nicolas luffing up, the san joseph fell on board her, and nelson resumed his station abreast of them, and close alongside. the captain was now incapable of further service, either in the line or in chase: she had lost her foretop-mast; not a sail, shroud, or rope was left, and her wheel was shot away. nelson therefore directed captain miller to put the helm a-starboard, and calling for the boarders, ordered them to board. captain berry, who had lately been nelson's first lieutenant, was the first man who leaped into the enemy's mizen chains. miller, when in the very act of going, was ordered by nelson to remain. berry was supported from the spritsail-yard, which locked in the san nicolas's main rigging. a soldier of the 69th broke the upper quarter-gallery window, and jumped in, followed by the commodore himself and by the others as fast as possible. the cabin doors were fastened, and the spanish officers fired their pistols at them through the window; the doors were soon forced, and the spanish brigadier fell while retreating to the quarter-deck. nelson pushed on, and found berry in possession of the poop, and the spanish ensign hauling down. he passed on to the forecastle, where he met two or three spanish officers, and received their swords. the english were now in full possession of every part of the ship, when a fire of pistols and musketry opened upon them from the admiral's stern-gallery of the san joseph. nelson having placed sentinels at the different ladders, and ordered captain miller to send more men into the prize, gave orders for boarding that ship from the san nicolas. it was done in an instant, he himself leading the way, and exclaiming, "westminster abbey or victory!" berry assisted him into the main chains; and at that moment a spanish officer looked over the quarter-deck rail, and said they surrendered. it was not long before he was on the quarter-deck, where the spanish captain presented to him his sword, and told him the admiral was below dying of his wounds. there, on the quarter-deck of an enemy's first-rate, he received the swords of the officers, giving them, as they were delivered, one by one to william fearney, one of his old agamemnons, who, with the utmost coolness, put them under his arm, "bundling them up," in the lively expression of collingwood, "with as much composure as he would have made a faggot, though twenty-two sail of their line were still within gunshot." one of his sailors came up, and with an englishman's feeling took him by the hand, saying he might not soon have such another place to do it in, and he was heartily glad to see him there. twenty-four of the captain's men were killed, and fifty-six wounded; a fourth part of the loss sustained by the whole squadron falling upon this ship. nelson received only a few bruises. the spaniards had still eighteen or nineteen ships which had suffered little or no injury: that part of the fleet which had been separated from the main body in the morning was now coming up, and sir john jervis made signal to bring to. his ships could not have formed without abandoning those which they had captured, and running to leeward: the captain was lying a perfect wreck on board her two prizes; and many of the other vessels were so shattered in their masts and rigging as to be wholly unmanageable. the spanish admiral meantime, according to his official account, being altogether undecided in his own opinion respecting the state of the fleet, inquired of his captains whether it was proper to renew the action; nine of them answered explicitly that it was not; others replied that it was expedient to delay the business. the pelayo and the prince conquistador were the only ships that were for fighting. as soon as the action was discontinued, nelson went on board the admiral's ship. sir john jervis received him on the quarter-deck, took him in his arms, and said he could not sufficiently thank him. for this victory the commander-in-chief was rewarded with the title of earl st. vincent. nelson, who before the action was known in england had been advanced to the rank of rear-admiral, had the order of the bath given him. the sword of the spanish rear-admiral, which sir john jervis insisted upon his keeping, he presented to the mayor and corporation of norwich, saying that he knew no place where it could give him or his family more pleasure to have it kept than in the capital city of the county where he was born. the freedom of that city was voted him on this occasion. but of all the numerous congratulations which he received, none could have affected him with deeper delight than that which came from his venerable father. "i thank my god," said this excellent man, "with all the power of a grateful soul, for the mercies he has most graciously bestowed on me in preserving you. not only my few acquaintance here, but the people in general, met me at every corner with such handsome words, that i was obliged to retire from the public eye. the height of glory to which your professional judgment, united with a proper degree of bravery, guarded by providence, has raised you, few sons, my dear child, attain to, and fewer fathers live to see. tears of joy have involuntarily trickled down my furrowed cheeks: who could stand the force of such general congratulation? the name and services of nelson have sounded through this city of bath--from the common ballad-singer to the public theatre." the good old man concluded by telling him that the field of glory, in which he had so long been conspicuous, was still open, and by giving him his blessing. sir horatio, who had now hoisted his flag as rear-admiral of the blue, was sent to bring away the troops from porto ferrajo; having performed this, he shifted his flag to the theseus. that ship, had taken part in the mutiny in england, and being just arrived from home, some danger was apprehended from the temper of the men. this was one reason why nelson was removed to her. he had not been on board many weeks before a paper, signed in the name of all the ship's company, was dropped on the quarter-deck, containing these words: "success attend admiral nelson! god bless captain miller! we thank them for the officers they have placed over us. we are happy and comfortable, and will shed every drop of blood in our veins to support them; and the name of the theseus shall be immortalised as high as her captain's." wherever nelson commanded, the men soon became attached to him; in ten days' time he would have restored the most mutinous ship in the navy to order. whenever an officer fails to win the affections of those who are under his command, he may be assured that the fault is chiefly in himself. while sir horatio was in the theseus, he was employed in the command of the inner squadron at the blockade of cadiz. during this service, the most perilous action occurred in which he was ever engaged. making a night attack upon the spanish gun-boats, his barge was attacked by an armed launch, under their commander, d. miguel tregoyen, carrying 26 men. nelson had with him only his ten bargemen, captain freemantle, and his coxswain, john sykes, an old and faithful follower, who twice saved the life of his admiral by parrying the blows that were aimed at him, and at last actually interposed his own head to receive the blow of a spanish sabre, which he could not by any other means avert; thus dearly was nelson beloved. this was a desperate service--hand to hand with swords; and nelson always considered that his personal courage was more conspicuous on this occasion than on any other during his whole life. notwithstanding the great disproportion of numbers, 18 of the enemy were killed, all the rest wounded, and their launch taken. nelson would have asked for a lieutenancy for sykes, if he had served long enough; his manner and conduct, he observed, were so entirely above his situation, that nature certainly intended him for a gentleman; but though he recovered from the dangerous wound which he received in this act of heroic attachment, he did not live to profit by the gratitude and friendship of his commander. twelve days after this rencontre, nelson sailed at the head of an expedition against teneriffe. a report had prevailed a few months before, that the viceroy of mexico, with the treasure ships, had put into that island. this had led nelson to meditate the plan of an attack upon it, which he communicated to earl st. vincent. he was perfectly aware of the difficulties of the attempt. "i do not," said he, "reckon myself equal to blake; but, if i recollect right, he was more obliged to the wind coming off the land than to any exertions of his own. the approach by sea to the anchoring-place is under very high land, passing three valleys; therefore the wind is either in from the sea, or squally with calms from the mountains:" and he perceived that if the spanish ships were won, the object would still be frustrated if the wind did not come off shore. the land force, he thought, would render success certain; and there were the troops from elba, with all necessary stores and artillery, already embarked. "but here," said he, "soldiers must be consulted; and i know, from experience, they have not the same boldness in undertaking a political measure that we have: we look to the benefit of our country, and risk our own fame every day to serve her; a soldier obeys his orders, and no more." nelson's experience at corsica justified him in this harsh opinion: he did not live to see the glorious days of the british army under wellington. the army from elba, consisting of 3700 men, would do the business, he said, in three days, probably in much less time; and he would undertake, with a very small squadron, to perform the naval part; for though the shore was not easy of access, the transports might run in and land the troops in one day. the report concerning the viceroy was unfounded: but a homeward-bound manilla ship put into santa cruz at this time, and the expedition was determined upon. it was not fitted out upon the scale which nelson had proposed. four ships of the line, three frigates, and the fox cutter, formed the squadron; and he was allowed to choose such ships and officers as he thought proper. no troops were embarked; the seamen and marines of the squadron being thought sufficient. his orders were, to make a vigorous attack; but on no account to land in person, unless his presence should be absolutely necessary. the plan was, that the boats should land in the night, between the fort on the n.e. side of santa cruz bay and the town, make themselves masters of that fort, and then send a summons to the governor. by midnight, the three frigates, having the force on board which was intended for this debarkation, approached within three miles of the place; but owing to a strong gale of wind in the offing, and a strong current against them in-shore, they were not able to get within a mile of the landing-place before daybreak; and then they were seen, and their intention discovered. troubridge and bowen, with captain oldfield, of the marines, went upon this to consult with the admiral what was to be done; and it was resolved that they should attempt to get possession of the heights above the fort. the frigates accordingly landed their men; and nelson stood in with the line-of-battle ships, meaning to batter the fort for the purpose of distracting the attention of the garrison. a calm and contrary current hindered him from getting within a league of the shore; and the heights were by this time so secured, and manned with such a force, as to be judged impracticable. thus foiled in his plans by circumstances of wind and tide, he still considered it a point of honour that some attempt should be made. this was on the 22nd of july: he re-embarked his men that night, got the ships on the 24th to anchor about two miles north of the town, and made show as if he intended to attack the heights. at six in the evening signal was made for the boats to prepare to proceed on the service as previously ordered. when this was done, nelson addressed a letter to the commander-in-chief--the last which was ever written with his right hand. "i shall not," said he, "enter on the subject, why we are not in possession of santa cruz. your partiality will give credit, that all has hitherto been done which was possible, but without effect. this night i, humble as i am, command the whole destined to land under the batteries of the town; and to-morrow my head will probably be crowned either with laurel or cypress. i have only to recommend josiah nisbet to you and my country. the duke of clarence, should i fall, will, i am confident, take a lively interest for my son-in-law, on his name being mentioned." perfectly aware how desperate a service this was likely to prove, before he left the theseus he called lieutenant nisbet, who had the watch on deck, into the cabin, that he might assist in arranging and burning his mother's letters. perceiving that the young man was armed, he earnestly begged him to remain behind. "should we both fall, josiah," said he, "what will become of your poor mother! the care of the theseus falls to you: stay, therefore, and take charge of her." nisbet replied: "sir, the ship must take care of herself: i will go with you to-night, if i never go again." he met his captains at supper on board the seahorse, captain freemantle, whose wife, whom he had lately married in the mediterranean, presided at table. at eleven o'clock the boats, containing between 600 and 700 men, with 180 on board the fox cutter, and from 70 to 80 in a boat which had been taken the day before, proceeded in six divisions toward the town, conducted by all the captains of the squadron, except freemantle and bowen, who attended with nelson to regulate and lead the way to the attack. they were to land on the mole, and thence hasten as fast as possible into the great square; then form and proceed as should be found expedient. they were not discovered till about half-past one o'clock, when, being within half gun-shot of the landing-place, nelson directed the boats to cast off from each other, give a huzza, and push for the shore. but the spaniards were exceedingly well prepared; the alarm-bells answered the huzza, and a fire of thirty or forty pieces of cannon, with musketry from one end of the town to the other, opened upon the invaders. nothing, however, could check the intrepidity with which they advanced. the night was exceedingly dark: most of the boats missed the mole and went on shore through a raging surf, which stove all to the left of it. the admiral, freemantle, thompson, bowen, and four or five other boats, found the mole: they stormed it instantly, and carried it, though it was defended, as they imagined, by 400 or 500 men. its guns, which were six-and-twenty pounders, were spiked; but such a heavy fire of musketry and grape was kept up from the citadel and the houses at the head of the mole, that the assailants could not advance, and nearly all of them were killed or wounded. in the act of stepping out of the boat, nelson received a shot through the right elbow, and fell; but as he fell he caught the sword, which he had just drawn, in his left hand, determined never to part with it while he lived, for it had belonged to his uncle, captain suckling, and he valued it like a relic. nisbet, who was close to him, placed him at the bottom of the boat, and laid his hat over the shattered arm, lest the sight of the blood, which gushed out in great abundance, should increase his faintness. he then examined the wound, and taking some silk handkerchiefs from his neck, bound them round tight above the lacerated vessels. had it not been for this presence of mind in his son-in-law, nelson must have perished. one of his bargemen, by name level, tore his shirt into shreds, and made a sling with them for the broken limb. they then collected five other seamen, by whose assistance they succeeded at length in getting the boat afloat; for it had grounded with the falling tide. nisbet took one of the oars and ordered the steersman to go close under the guns of the battery, that they might be safe from its tremendous fire. hearing his voice, nelson roused himself, and desired to be lifted up in the boat that he might look about him. nisbet raised him up; but nothing could be seen except the firing of the guns on shore, and what could be discerned by their flashes upon a stormy sea. in a few minutes a general shriek was heard from the crew of the fox, which had received a shot under water, and went down. ninety-seven men were lost in her: 83 were saved, many by nelson himself, whose exertions on this occasion greatly increased the pain and danger of his wound. the first ship which the boat could reach happened to be the seahorse; but nothing could induce him to go on board, though he was assured that if they attempted to row to another ship it might be at the risk of his life. "i had rather suffer death," he replied, "than alarm mrs. freemantle, by letting her see me in this state, when i can give her no tidings whatever of her husband." they pushed on for the theseus. when they came alongside he peremptorily refused all assistance in getting on board, so impatient was he that the boat should return, in hopes that it might save a few more from the fox. he desired to have only a single rope thrown over the side, which he twisted round his left hand, saying "let me alone; i have yet my legs left and one arm. tell the surgeon to make haste and get his instruments. i know i must lose my right arm, so the sooner it is off the better." the spirit which he displayed in jumping up the ship's side astonished everybody. freemantle had been severely wounded in the right arm soon after the admiral. he was fortunate enough to find a boat on the beach, and got instantly to his ship. thompson was wounded: bowen killed, to the great regret of nelson: as was also one of his own officers, lieutenant weatherhead, who had followed him from the agamemnon, and whom he greatly and deservedly esteemed. troubridge, meantime, fortunately for his party, missed the mole in the darkness, but pushed on shore under the batteries, close to the south end of the citadel. captain waller, of the emerald, and two or three other boats, landed at the same time. the surf was so high that many others put back. the boats were instantly filled with water and stove against the rocks; and most of the ammunition in the men's pouches was wetted. having collected a few men they pushed on to the great square, hoping there to find the admiral and the rest of the force. the ladders were all lost, so that they could make no immediate attempt on the citadel; but they sent a sergeant with two of the town's-people to summon it: this messenger never returned; and troubridge having waited about an hour in painful expectation of his friends, marched to join captains hood and miller, who had effected their landing to the south-west. they then endeavoured to procure some intelligence of the admiral and the rest of the officers, but without success. by daybreak they had gathered together about eighty marines, eighty pikemen, and one hundred and eighty small-arm seamen; all the survivors of those who had made good their landing. they obtained some ammunition from the prisoners whom they had taken, and marched on to try what could be done at the citadel without ladders. they found all the streets commanded by field-pieces, and several thousand spaniards, with about a hundred french, under arms, approaching by every avenue. finding himself without provisions, the powder wet, and no possibility of obtaining either stores or reinforcements from the ships, the boats being lost, troubridge with great presence of mind, sent captain samuel hood with a flag of truce to the governor to say he was prepared to burn the town, and would instantly set fire to it if the spaniards approached one inch nearer. this, however, if he were compelled to do it, he should do with regret, for he had no wish to injure the inhabitants; and he was ready to treat upon these terms--that the british troops should reembark, with all their arms of every kind, and take their own boats, if they were saved, or be provided with such others as might be wanting; they, on their part, engaging that the squadron should not molest the town, or any of the canary islands: all prisoners on both sides to be given up. when these terms were proposed the governor made answer, that the english ought to surrender as prisoners of war; but captain hood replied, he was instructed to say, that if the terms were not accepted in five minutes, captain troubridge would set the town on fire and attack the spaniards at the point of the bayonet. satisfied with his success, which was indeed sufficiently complete, and respecting, like a brave and honourable man, the gallantry of his enemy, the spaniard acceded to the proposal, found boats to re-embark them, their own having all been dashed to pieces in landing, and before they parted gave every man a loaf and a pint of wine. "and here," says nelson in his journal, "it is right we should notice the noble and generous conduct of don juan antonio gutierrez, the spanish governor. the moment the terms were agreed to, he directed our wounded men to be received into the hospitals, and all our people to be supplied with the best provisions that could be procured; and made it known that the ships were at liberty to send on shore and purchase whatever refreshments they were in want of during the time they might be off the island." a youth, by name don bernardo collagon, stripped himself of his shirt to make bandages for one of those englishmen against whom, not an hour before, he had been engaged in battle. nelson wrote to thank the governor for the humanity which he had displayed. presents were interchanged between them. sir horatio offered to take charge of his despatches for the spanish government, and thus actually became the first messenger to spain of his own defeat. the total loss of the english in killed, wounded, and drowned, amounted to 250. nelson made no mention of his own wound in his official despatches; but in a private letter to lord st. vincent--the first which he wrote with his left hand--he shows himself to have been deeply affected by the failure of this enterprise. "i am become," he said, "a burthen to my friends, and useless to my country; but by my last letter you will perceive my anxiety for the promotion of my son-in-law, josiah nisbet. when i leave your command i become dead to the world--'i go hence, and am no more seen.' if from poor bowen's loss, you think it proper to oblige me, i rest confident you will do it. the boy is under obligations to me, but he repaid me by bringing me from the mole of santa cruz. i hope you will be able to give me a frigate to convey the remains of my carcass to england." "a left-handed admiral," he said in a subsequent letter, "will never again be considered as useful; therefore the sooner i get to a very humble cottage the better, and make room for a sounder man to serve the state." his first letter to lady nelson was written under the same opinion, but in a more cheerful strain. "it was the chance of war," said he, "and i have great reason to be thankful: and i know it will add much to your pleasure to find that josiah, under god's providence, was principally instrumental in saving my life. i shall not be surprised if i am neglected and forgotten: probably i shall no longer be considered as useful; however, i shall feel rich if i continue to enjoy your affection. i beg neither you nor my father will think much of this mishap; my mind has long been made up to such an event." his son-in-law, according to his wish, was immediately promoted; and honours enough to heal his wounded spirit awaited him in england. letters were addressed to him by the first lord of the admiralty, and by his steady friend the duke of clarence, to congratulate him on his return, covered as he was with glory. he assured the duke, in his reply, that not a scrap of that ardour with which he had hitherto served his king had been shot away. the freedom of the cities of bristol and london were transmitted to him; he was invested with the order of the bath, and received a pension of l1000 a-year. the memorial which, as a matter of form, he was called upon to present on this occasion, exhibited an extraordinary catalogue of services performed during the war. it stated that he had been in four actions with the fleets of the enemy, and in three actions with boats employed in cutting out of harbour, in destroying vessels, and in taking three towns. he had served on shore with the army four months, and commanded the batteries at the sieges of basti and calvi: he had assisted at the capture of seven sail of the line, six frigates, four corvettes, and eleven privateers: taken and destroyed near fifty sail of merchant vessels, and actually been engaged against the enemy upwards of a hundred and twenty times, in which service he had lost his right eye and right arm, and been severely wounded and bruised in his body. his sufferings from the lost limb were long and painful. a nerve had been taken up in one of the ligatures at the time of the operation; and the ligature, according to the practice of the french surgeons, was of silk instead of waxed thread; this produced a constant irritation and discharge; and the ends of the ligature being pulled every day, in hopes of bringing it away, occasioned fresh agony. he had scarcely any intermission of pain, day or night, for three months after his return to england. lady nelson, at his earnest request, attended the dressing of his arm, till she had acquired sufficient resolution and skill to dress it herself. one night, during this state of suffering, after a day of constant pain, nelson retired early to bed, in hope of enloying some respite by means of laudanum. he was at that time lodging in bond street, and the family were soon disturbed by a mob knocking loudly and violently at the door. the news of duncan's victory had been made public, and the house was not illuminated. but when the mob were told that admiral nelson lay there in bed, badly wounded, the foremost of them made answer: "you shall hear no more from us to-night:" and in fact, the feeling of respect and sympathy was communicated from one to another with such effect that, under the confusion of such a night, the house was not molested again. about the end of november, after a night of sound sleep, he found the arm nearly free from pain. the surgeon was immediately sent for to examine it; and the ligature came away with the slightest touch. from that time it began to heal. as soon as he thought his health established, he sent the following form of thanksgiving to the minister of st. george's, hanover square:--"an officer desires to return thanks to almighty god for his perfect recovery from a severe wound, and also for the many mercies bestowed on him." not having been in england till now, since he lost his eye, he went to receive a year's pay as smart money; but could not obtain payment, because he had neglected to bring a certificate from a surgeon that the sight was actually destroyed. a little irritated that this form should be insisted upon, because, though the fact was not apparent, he thought it was sufficiently notorious, he procured a certificate at the same time for the loss of his arm; saying, they might just as well doubt one as the other. this put him in good humour with himself, and with the clerk who had offended him. on his return to the office, the clerk, finding it was only the annual pay of a captain, observed, he thought it had been more. "oh!" replied nelson, "this is only for an eye. in a few days i shall come for an arm; and in a little time longer, god knows, most probably for a leg." accordingly he soon afterwards went, and with perfect good humour exhibited the certificate of the loss of his arm. chapter v 1798 nelson rejoins earl st. vincent in the vanguard--sails in pursuit of the french in egypt--returns to sicily, and sails again to egypt--battle of the nile. early in the year 1798, sir horatio nelson hoisted his flag in the vanguard, and was ordered to rejoin earl st. vincent. upon his departure, his father addressed him with that affectionate solemnity by which all his letters were distinguished. "i trust in the lord," said he, "that he will prosper your going out and your coming in. i earnestly desired once more to see you, and that wish has been heard. if i should presume to say, i hope to see you again, the question would be readily asked, how old art thou? vale! vale! domine, vale!" it is said that a gloomy foreboding hung on the spirits of lady nelson at their parting. this could have arisen only from the dread of losing him by the chance of war. any apprehension of losing his affections could hardly have existed, for all his correspondence to this time shows that he thought himself happy in his marriage; and his private character had hitherto been as spotless as his public conduct. one of the last things he said to her was, that his own ambition was satisfied, but that he went to raise her to that rank in which he had long wished to see her. immediately on his rejoining the fleet, he was despatched to the mediterranean with a small squadron, in order to ascertain, if possible, the object of the great expedition which at that time was fitting out under buonaparte at toulon. the defeat of this armament, whatever might be its destination, was deemed by the british government an object paramount to every other; and earl st. vincent was directed, if he thought it necessary, to take his whole force into the mediterranean, to relinquish, for that purpose, the blockade of the spanish fleet, as a thing of inferior moment; but if he should deem a detachment sufficient, "i think it almost necessary," said the first lord of the admiralty in his secret instructions, "to suggest to you the propriety of putting it under sir horatio nelson." it is to the honour of earl st. vincent that he had already made the same choice. this appointment to a service in which so much honour might be acquired, gave great offence to the senior admirals of the fleet. sir william parker, who was a very excellent naval officer, and as gallant a man as any in the navy, and sir john orde, who on all occasions of service had acquitted himself with great honour, each wrote to lord spencer, complaining that so marked a preference should have been given to a junior of the same fleet. this resentment is what most men in a like case would feel; and if the preference thus given to nelson had not originated in a clear perception that (as his friend collingwood said of him a little while before) his spirit was equal to all undertakings, and his resources fitted to all occasions, an injustice would have been done to them by his appointment. but if the service were conducted with undeviating respect to seniority, the naval and military character would soon be brought down to the dead level of mediocrity. the armament at toulon consisted of thirteen ships of the line, seven forty-gun frigates, with twenty-four smaller vessels of war, and nearly 200 transports. mr. udney, our consul at leghorn, was the first person who procured certain intelligence of the enemy's design against malta; and, from his own sagacity, foresaw that egypt must be their after object. nelson sailed from gibraltar on the 9th of may, with the vanguard, orion, and alexander, seventy-fours; the caroline, flora, emerald, and terpsichore, frigates; and the bonne citoyenne, sloop of war, to watch this formidable armament. on the 19th, when they were in the gulf of lyons, a gale came on from the n.w. it moderated so much on the 20th as to enable them to get their top-gallant masts and yards aloft. after dark it again began to blow strong, but the ships had been prepared for a gale, and therefore nelson's mind was easy. shortly after midnight, however, his main-topmast went over the side, and the mizentopmast soon afterward. the night was so tempestuous that it was impossible for any signal either to be seen or heard; and nelson determined, as soon as it should be daybreak, to wear, and scud before the gale; but at half-past three the fore-mast went in three pieces, and the bowsprit was found to be sprung in three places. when day broke they succeeded in wearing the ship with a remnant of the spritsail. this was hardly to have been expected. the vanguard was at that time twenty-five leagues south of the island of hieres; with her head lying to the n.e., and if she had not wore, the ship must have drifted to corsica. captain ball, in the alexander, took her in tow, to carry her into the sardinian harbour of st. pietro. nelson, apprehensive that this attempt might endanger both vessels, ordered him to cast off; but that excellent officer, with a spirit like his commanders, replied, he was confident he could save the vanguard, and, by god's help, he would do it. there had been a previous coolness between these great men; but from this time nelson became fully sensible of the extraordinary talents of captain ball, and a sincere friendship subsisted between them during the remainder of their lives. "i ought not," said the admiral, writing to his wife--"i ought not to call what has happened to the vanguard by the cold name of accident: i believe firmly it was the almighty's goodness, to check my consummate vanity. i hope it has made me a better officer, as i feel confident it has made me a better man. figure to yourself, on sunday evening at sunset, a vain man walking in his cabin, with a squadron around him, who looked up to their chief to lead them to glory, and in whom their chief placed the firmest reliance that the proudest ships of equal numbers belonging to france would have lowered their flags; figure to yourself, on monday morning, when the sun rose, this proud man, his ship dismasted, his fleet dispersed, and himself in such distress that the meanest frigate out of france would have been an unwelcome guest." nelson had, indeed, more reason to refuse the cold name of accident to this tempest than he was then aware of, for on that very day the french fleet sailed from toulon, and must have passed within a few leagues of his little squadron, which was thus preserved by the thick weather that came on. the british government at this time, with a becoming spirit, gave orders that any port in the mediterranean should be considered as hostile where the governor or chief magistrate should refuse to let our ships of war procure supplies of provisions, or of any article which they might require. in these orders the ports of sardinia were excepted. the continental possessions of the king of sardinia were at this time completely at the mercy of the french, and that prince was now discovering, when too late, that the terms to which he had consented, for the purpose of escaping immediate danger, necessarily involved the loss of the dominions which they were intended to preserve. the citadel of turin was now occupied by french troops; and his wretched court feared to afford the common rights of humanity to british ships, lest it should give the french occasion to seize on the remainder of his dominions--a measure for which it was certain they would soon make a pretext, if they did not find one. nelson was informed that he could not be permitted to enter the port of st pietro. regardless of this interdict, which, under his circumstances, it would have been an act of suicidal folly to have regarded, he anchored in the harbour; and, by the exertions of sir james saumarez, captain ball, and captain berry, the vanguard was refitted in four days; months would have been employed in refitting her in england. nelson, with that proper sense of merit, wherever it was found, which proved at once the goodness and the greatness of his character, especially recommended to earl st. vincent the carpenter of the alexander, under whose directions the ship had been repaired; stating, that he was an old and faithful servant of the crown, who had been nearly thirty years a warrant carpenter, and begging most earnestly that the commander-in-chief would recommend him to the particular notice of the board of admiralty. he did not leave the harbour without expressing his sense of the treatment which he had received there, in a letter to the viceroy of sardinia. "sir," it said, "having, by a gale of wind, sustained some trifling damages, i anchored a small part of his majesty's fleet under my orders off this island, and was surprised to hear, by an officer sent by the governor, that admittance was to be refused to the flag of his britannic majesty into this port. when i reflect, that my most gracious sovereign is the oldest, i believe, and certainly the most faithful ally which the king of sardinia ever had, i could feel the sorrow which it must have been to his majesty to have given such an order; and also for your excellency, who had to direct its execution. i cannot but look at the african shore, where the followers of mahomet are performing the part of the good samaritan, which i look for in vain at st. peter's, where it is said the christian religion is professed." the delay which was thus occasioned was useful to him in many respects; it enabled him to complete his supply of water, and to receive a reinforcement which earl st. vincent, being himself reinforced from england, was enabled to send him. it consisted of the best ships of his fleet; the culloden, seventy-four, captain t. troubridge; goliath, seventy-four, captain t. foley; minotaur, seventy-four, captain t. louis; defence, seventy-four, captain john peyton; bellerophon, seventy-four, captain h.d.e. darby; majestic, seventy-four, captain g. b. westcott; zealous, seventy-four, captain s. hood; swiftsure, seventy-four, captain b. hallowell; theseus, seventy-four, captain r. w. miller; audacious, seventy-four, captain davidge gould. the leander, fifty, captain t. e. thompson, was afterwards added. these ships were made ready for the service as soon as earl st. vincent received advice from england that he was to be reinforced. as soon as the reinforcement was seen from the mast-head of the admiral's ship, off cadiz bay, signal was immediately made to captain troubridge to put to sea; and he was out of sight before the ships from home cast anchor in the british station. troubridge took with him no instructions to nelson as to the course he was to steer, nor any certain account of the enemy's destination; everything was left to his own judgment. unfortunately, the frigates had been separated from him in the tempest and had not been able to rejoin: they sought him unsuccessfully in the bay of naples, where they obtained no tidings of his course: and he sailed without them. the first news of the enemy's armament was that it had surprised malta, nelson formed a plan for attacking it while at anchor at gozo; but on the 22nd of june intelligence reached him that the french had left that island on the 16th, the day after their arrival. it was clear that their destination was eastward--he thought for egypt--and for egypt, therefore, he made all sail. had the frigates been with him, he could scarcely have failed to gain information of the enemy; for want of them, he only spoke three vessels on the way: two came from alexandria, one from the archipelago, and neither of them had seen anything of the french. he arrived off alexandria on the 28th, and the enemy were not there, neither was there any account of them; but the governor was endeavouring to put the city in a state of defence, having received advice from leghorn that the french expedition was intended against egypt, after it had taken malta. nelson then shaped his course to the northward for caramania, and steered from thence along the southern side of candia, carrying a press of sail both night and day, with a contrary wind. it would have been his delight, he said, to have tried bonaparte on a wind. it would have been the delight of europe, too, and the blessing of the world, if that fleet had been overtaken with its general on board. but of the myriads and millions of human beings who would have been preserved by that day's victory, there is not one to whom such essential benefit would have resulted as to bonaparte himself. it would have spared him his defeat at acre--his only disgrace; for to have been defeated by nelson upon the seas would not have been disgraceful; it would have spared him all his after enormities. hitherto his career had been glorious; the baneful principles of his heart had never yet passed his lips; history would have represented him as a soldier of fortune, who had faithfully served the cause in which he engaged; and whose career had been distinguished by a series of successes unexampled in modern times. a romantic obscurity would have hung over the expedition to egypt, and he would have escaped the perpetration of those crimes which have incarnadined his soul with a deeper dye than that of the purple for which he committed them--those acts of perfidy, midnight murder, usurpation, and remorseless tyranny, which have consigned his name to universal execration, now and for ever. conceiving that when an officer is not successful in his plans it is absolutely necessary that he should explain the motives upon which they were founded, nelson wrote at this time an account and vindication of his conduct for having carried the fleet to egypt. the objection which he anticipated was that he ought not to have made so long a voyage without more certain information. "my answer," said he, "is ready. who was i to get it from? the governments of naples and sicily either knew not, or chose to keep me in ignorance. was i to wait patiently until i heard certain accounts? if egypt were their object, before i could hear of them they would have been in india. to do nothing was disgraceful; therefore i made use of my understanding. i am before your lordships' judgment; and if, under all circumstances, it is decided that i am wrong, i ought, for the sake of our country, to be superseded; for at this moment, when i know the french are not in alexandria, i hold the same opinion as off cape passaro--that, under all circumstances, i was right in steering for alexandria; and by that opinion i must stand or fall." captain ball, to whom he showed this paper, told him he should recommend a friend never to begin a defence of his conduct before he was accused of error: he might give the fullest reasons for what he had done, expressed in such terms as would evince that he had acted from the strongest conviction of being right; and of course he must expect that the public would view it in the same light. captain ball judged rightly of the public, whose first impulses, though, from want of sufficient information, they must frequently be erroneous, are generally founded upon just feelings. but the public are easily misled, and there are always persons ready to mislead them. nelson had not yet attained that fame which compels envy to be silent; and when it was known in england that he had returned after an unsuccessful pursuit, it was said that he deserved impeachment; and earl st. vincent was severely censured for having sent so young an officer upon so important a service. baffled in his pursuit, he returned to sicily. the neapolitan ministry had determined to give his squadron no assistance, being resolved to do nothing which could possibly endanger their peace with the french directory; by means, however, of lady hamilton's influence at court, he procured secret orders to the sicilian governors; and under those orders obtained everything which he wanted at syracuse--a timely supply; without which, he always said, he could not have recommenced his pursuit with any hope of success. "it is an old saying," said he in his letter, "that the devil's children have the devil's luck. i cannot to this moment learn, beyond vague conjecture, where the french fleet have gone to; and having gone a round of 600 leagues, at this season of the year, with an expedition incredible, here i am, as ignorant of the situation of the enemy as i was twenty-seven days ago. every moment i have to regret the frigates having left me; had one-half of them been with me, i could not have wanted information. should the french be so strongly secured in port that i cannot get at them, i shall immediately shift my flag into some other ship, and send the vanguard to naples to be refitted; for hardly any person but myself would have continued on service so long in such a wretched state." vexed, however, and disappointed as he was, nelson, with the true spirit of a hero, was still full of hope. "thanks to your exertions," said he, writing to sir. william and lady hamilton, "we have victualled and watered; and surely watering at the fountain of arethusa, we must have victory. we shall sail with the first breeze; and be assured i will return either crowned with laurel or covered with cypress." earl st. vincent he assured, that if the french were above water he would find them out: he still held his opinion that they were bound for egypt: "but," said he to the first lord of the admiralty, "be they bound to the antipodes, your lordship may rely that i will not lose a moment in bringing them to action." on the 25th of july he sailed from syracuse for the morea. anxious beyond measure, and irritated that the enemy should so long have eluded him, the tediousness of the nights made him impatient; and the officer of the watch was repeatedly called on to let him know the hour, and convince him, who measured time by his own eagerness, that it was not yet daybreak. the squadron made the gulf of coron on the 28th. troubridge entered the port, and returned with intelligence that the french fleet had been seen about four weeks before steering to the s.e. from candia. nelson then determined immediately to return to alexandria; and the british fleet accordingly, with every sail set, stood once more for the coast of egypt. on the 1st of august, about 10 in the morning, they came in sight of alexandria: the port had been vacant and solitary when they saw it last; it was now crowded with ships; and they perceived with exultation that the tri-coloured flag was flying upon the walls. at four in the afternoon, captain hood, in the zealous, made the signal for the enemy's fleet. for many preceding days nelson had hardly taken either sleep or food: he now ordered his dinner to be served, while preparations were making for battle; and when his officers rose from table, and went to their separate stations, he said to them, "before this time to-morrow i shall have gained a peerage or westminster abbey." the french, steering direct for candia, had made an angular passage for alexandria; whereas nelson, in pursuit of them, made straight for that place, and thus materially shortened the distance. the comparative smallness of his force made it necessary to sail in close order, and it covered a less space than it would have done if the frigates had been with him: the weather also was constantly hazy. these circumstances prevented the english from discovering the enemy on the way to egypt, though it appeared, upon examining the journals of the french officers taken in the action, that the two fleets must actually have crossed on the night of the 22nd of june. during the return to syracuse, the chances of falling in with them were become fewer. why buonaparte, having effected his landing, should not have suffered the fleet to return, has never yet been explained. this much is certain, that it was detained by his command, though, with his accustomed falsehood, he accused admiral brueys, after that officer's death, of having lingered on the coast contrary to orders. the french fleet arrived at alexandria on the 1st of july, and brueys, not being able to enter the port, which time and neglect had ruined, moored his ships in aboukir bay, in a strong and compact line of battle; the headmost vessel, according to his own account, being as close as possible to a shoal on the n.w., and the rest of the fleet forming a kind of curve along the line of deep water, so as not to be turned by any means in the s.w. by buonaparte's desire he had offered a reward of 10,000 livres to any pilot of the country who would carry the squadron in, but none could be found who would venture to take charge of a single vessel drawing more than twenty feet. he had therefore made the best of his situation, and chosen the strongest position which he could possibly take in an open road. the commissary of the fleet said they were moored in such a manner as to bid defiance to a force more than double their own. this presumption could not then be thought unreasonable. admiral barrington, when moored in a similar manner off st. lucia, in the year 1778, beat off the comte d'estaign in three several attacks, though his force was inferior by almost one-third to that which assailed it. here, the advantage in numbers, both in ships, guns, and men, was in favour of the french. they had thirteen ships of the line and four frigates, carrying 1196 guns and 11,230 men. the english had the same number of ships of the line and one fifty-gun ship, carrying 1012 guns and 8068 men. the english ships were all seventy-fours; the french had three eighty-gun ships, and one three-decker of one hundred and twenty. during the whole pursuit it had been nelson's practice, whenever circumstances would permit, to have his captains on board the vanguard, and explain to them his own ideas of the different and best modes of attack, and such plans as he proposed to execute on falling in with the enemy, whatever their situation might be. there is no possible position, it is said, which he did not take into calculation. his officers were thus fully acquainted with his principles of tactics; and such was his confidence in their abilities that the only thing determined upon, in case they should find the french at anchor, was for the ships to form as most convenient for their mutual support, and to anchor by the stern. "first gain the victory," he said, "and then make the best use of it you can." the moment he perceived the position of the french, that intuitive genius with which nelson was endowed displayed itself; and it instantly struck him that where there was room for an enemy's ship to swing, there was room for one of ours to anchor. the plan which he intended to pursue, therefore, was to keep entirely on the outer side of the french line, and station his ships, as far as he was able, one on the outer bow, and another on the outer quarter, of each of the enemy's. this plan of doubling on the enemy's ships was projected by lord hood, when he designed to attack the french fleet at their anchorage in gourjean road. lord hood found it impossible to make the attempt; but the thought was not lost upon nelson, who acknowledged himself, on this occasion, indebted for it to his old and excellent commander. captain berry, when he comprehended the scope of the design, exclaimed with transport, "if we succeed, what will the world say?" "there is no if in the case," replied the admiral: "that we shall succeed is certain; who may live to tell the story is a very different question." as the squadron advanced, they were assailed by a shower of shot and shells from the batteries on the island, and the enemy opened a steady fire from the starboard side of their whole line, within half gunshot distance, full into the bows of our van ships. it was received in silence: the men on board every ship were employed aloft in furling sails, and below in tending the braces and making ready for anchoring. a miserable sight for the french; who, with all their skill, and all their courage, and all their advantages of numbers and situation, were upon that element on which, when the hour of trial comes, a frenchman has no hope. admiral brueys was a brave and able man; yet the indelible character of his country broke out in one of his letters, wherein he delivered it as his private opinion, that the english had missed him, because, not being superior in force, they did not think it prudent to try their strength with him. the moment was now come in which he was to be undeceived. a french brig was instructed to decoy the english by manoeuvring so as to tempt them toward a shoal lying off the island of bekier; but nelson either knew the danger or suspected some deceit; and the lure was unsuccessful. captain foley led the way in the goliath, outsailing the zealous, which for some minutes disputed this post of honour with him. he had long conceived that if the enemy were moored in line of battle in with the land, the best plan of attack would be to lead between them and the shore, because the french guns on that side were not likely to be manned, nor even ready for action. intending, therefore, to fix himself on the inner bow of the guerrier, he kept as near the edge of the bank as the depth of water would admit; but his anchor hung, and having opened his fire he drifted to the second ship, the conquerant, before it was clear; then anchored by the stern inside of her, and in ten minutes shot away her mast. hood, in the zealous, perceiving this, took the station which the goliath intended to have occupied, and totally disabled the guerrier in twelve minutes. the third ship which doubled the enemy's van was the orion, sir j. saumarez; she passed to windward of the zealous, and opened her larboard guns as long as they bore on guerrier; then, passing inside the goliath, sunk a frigate which annoyed her, hauled round toward the french line, and anchoring inside, between the fifth and sixth ships from the guerrier, took her station on the larboard bow of the franklin and the quarter of the peuple souverain, receiving and returning the fire of both. the sun was now nearly down. the audacious, captain could, pouring a heavy fire into the guerrier and the conquerant, fixed herself on the larboard bow of the latter, and when that ship struck, passed on to the peuple souverain. the theseus, capt miller, followed, brought down the guerrier's remaining main and mizzen masts, then anchored inside of the spartiate, the third in the french line. while these advanced ships doubled the french line, the vanguard was the first that anchored on the outer side of the enemy, within half pistol-shot of their third ship, the spartiate. nelson had six colours flying in different parts of his rigging, lest they should be shot away; that they should be struck, no british admiral considers as a possibility. he veered half a cable, and instantly opened a tremendous fire; under cover of which the other four ships of his division, the minotaur, bellerophon, defence, and majestic, sailed on ahead of the admiral. in a few minutes, every man stationed at the first six guns in the fore part of the vanguard's deck was killed or wounded. these guns were three times cleared. captain louis, in the minotaur, anchored just ahead, and took off the fire of the aquilon, the fourth in the enemy's line. the bellerophon, captain darby, passed ahead, and dropped her stern anchor on the starboard bow of the orient, seventh in the line, brueys' own ship, of one hundred and twenty guns, whose difference of force was in proportion of more than seven to three, and whose weight of ball, from the lower deck alone, exceeded that from the whole broadside of the bellerophon. captain peyton, in the defence, took his station ahead of the minotaur, and engaged the franklin, the sixth in the line, by which judicious movement the british line remained unbroken. the majestic, captain westcott, got entangled with the main rigging of one of the french ships astern of the orient, and suffered dreadfully from that three-decker's fire; but she swung clear, and closely engaging the heureux, the ninth ship on the starboard bow, received also the fire of the tonnant, which was the eighth in the line. the other four ships of the british squadron, having been detached previous to the discovery of the french, were at a considerable distance when the action began. it commenced at half after six; about seven night closed, and there was no other light than that from the fire of the contending fleets. troubridge, in the culloden, then foremost of the remaining ships, was two leagues astern. he came on sounding, as the others had done: as he advanced, the increasing darkness increased the difficulty of the navigation; and suddenly, after having found eleven fathoms water, before the lead could be hove again he was fast aground; nor could all his own exertions, joined with those of the leander and the mutine brig, which came to his assistance, get him off in time to bear a part in the action. his ship, however, served as a beacon to the alexander and swiftsure, which would else, from the course which they were holding, have gone considerably further on the reef, and must inevitably have been lost. these ships entered the bay, and took their stations in the darkness, in a manner still spoken of with admiration by all who remember it. captain hallowell, in the swiftsure, as he was bearing down, fell in with what seemed to be a strange sail. nelson had directed his ships to hoist four lights horizontally at the mizzen peak as soon as it became dark; and this vessel had no such distinction. hallowell, however, with great judgment, ordered his men not to fire: if she was an enemy, he said, she was in too disabled a state to escape; but from her sails being loose, and the way in which her head was, it was probable she might be an english ship. it was the bellerophon, overpowered by the huge orient: her lights had gone overboard, nearly 200 of her crew were killed or wounded, all her masts and cables had been shot away; and she was drifting out of the line toward the leeside of the bay. her station, at this important time, was occupied by the swiftsure, which opened a steady fire on the quarter of the franklin and the bows of the french admiral. at the same instant, captain ball, with the alexander, passed under his stern, and anchored within-side on his larboard quarter, raking; him, and keeping up a severe fire of musketry upon his decks. the last ship which arrived to complete the destruction of the enemy was the leander. captain thompson, finding that nothing could be done that night to get off the culloden, advanced with the intention of anchoring athwart-hawse of the orient. the franklin was so near her ahead that there was not room for him to pass clear of the two; he therefore took his station athwart-hawse of the latter in such a position as to rake both. the two first ships of the french line had been dismasted within a quarter of an hour after the commencement of the action; and the others had in that time suffered so severely that victory was already certain. the third, fourth, and fifth were taken possession of at half-past eight. meantime nelson received a severe wound on the head from a piece of langridge shot. captain berry caught him in his arms as he was falling. the great effusion of blood occasioned an apprehension that the wound was mortal: nelson himself thought so; a large flap of the skin of the forehead, cut from the bone, had fallen over one eye; and the other being blind, he was in total darkness. when he was carried down, the surgeon--in the midst of a scene scarcely to be conceived by those who have never seen a cockpit in time of action, and the heroism which is displayed amid its horrors,--with a natural and pardonable eagerness, quitted the poor fellow then under his hands, that he might instantly attend the admiral. "no!" said nelson, "i will take my turn with my brave fellows." nor would he suffer his own wound to be examined till every man who had been previously wounded was properly attended to. fully believing that the wound was mortal, and that he was about to die, as he had ever desired, in battle, and in victory, he called the chaplain, and desired him to deliver what he supposed to be his dying remembrance to lady nelson; he then sent for captain louis on board from the minotaur, that he might thank him personally for the great assistance which he had rendered to the vanguard; and ever mindful of those who deserved to be his friends, appointed captain hardy from the brig to the command of his own ship, captain berry having to go home with the news of the victory. when the surgeon came in due time to examine his wound (for it was in vain to entreat him to let it be examined sooner), the most anxious silence prevailed; and the joy of the wounded men, and of the whole crew, when they heard that the hurt was merely superficial, gave nelson deeper pleasure than the unexpected assurance that his life was in no danger. the surgeon requested, and as far as he could, ordered him to remain quiet; but nelson could not rest. he called for his secretary, mr. campbell, to write the despatches. campbell had himself been wounded, and was so affected at the blind and suffering state of the admiral that he was unable to write. the chaplain was then sent for; but before he came, nelson with his characteristic eagerness took the pen, and contrived to trace a few words, marking his devout sense of the success which had already been obtained. he was now left alone; when suddenly a cry was heard on the deck that the orient was on fire. in the confusion he found his way up, unassisted and unnoticed; and, to the astonishment of every one, appeared on the quarter-decks where he immediately gave order that the boats should be sent to the relief of the enemy. it was soon after nine that the fire on, board the orient broke out. brueys was dead; he had received three wounds, yet would not leave his post: a fourth cut him almost in two. he desired not to be carried below, but to be left to die upon deck. the flames soon mastered his ship. her sides had just been painted; and the oil-jars and paint buckets were lying on the poop. by the prodigious light of this conflagration, the situation of the two fleets could now be perceived, the colours of both being clearly distinguishable. about ten o'clock the ship blew up, with a shock which was felt to the very bottom of every vessel. many of her officers and men jumped overboard, some clinging to the spars and pieces of wreck with which the sea was strewn, others swimming to escape from the destruction which they momently dreaded. some were picked up by our boats; and some even in the heat and fury of the action were dragged into the lower ports of the nearest british ships by the british sailors. the greater part of her crew, however, stood the danger till the last, and continued to fire from the lower deck. this tremendous explosion was followed by a silence not less awful: the firing immediately ceased on both sides; and the first sound which broke the silence, was the dash of her shattered masts and yards, falling into the water from the vast height to which they had been exploded. it is upon record that a battle between two armies was once broken off by an earthquake. such an event would be felt like a miracle; but no incident in war, produced by human means, has ever equalled the sublimity of this co-instantaneous pause, and all its circumstances. about seventy of the orient's crew were saved by the english boats. among the many hundreds who perished were the commodore, casa-bianca, and his son, a brave boy, only ten years old. they were seen floating on a shattered mast when the ship blew up. she had money on board (the plunder of malta) to the amount of l600,000 sterling. the masses of burning wreck, which were scattered by the explosion, excited for some moments apprehensions in the english which they had never felt from any other danger. two large pieces fell into the main and fore tops of the swiftsure without injuring any person. a port-fire also fell into the main-royal of the alexander; the fire which it occasioned was speedily extinguished. captain ball had provided, as far as human foresight could provide, against any such danger. all the shrouds and sails of his ship, not absolutely necessary for its immediate management, were thoroughly wetted, and so rolled up that they were as hard and as little inflammable as so many solid cylinders. the firing recommenced with the ships to leeward of the centre, and continued till about three. at daybreak, the guillaume tell and the genereux, the two rear ships of the enemy, were the only french ships of the line which had their colours flying; they cut their cables in the forenoon, not having been engaged, and stood out to sea, and two frigates with them. the zealous pursued; but as there was no other ship in a condition to support captain hood, he was recalled. it was generally believed by the officers that if nelson had not been wounded, not one of these ships could have escaped. the four certainly could not if the culloden had got into action; and if the frigates belonging to the squadron had been present, not one of the enemy's fleet would have left aboukir bay. these four vessels, however, were all that escaped; and the victory was the most complete and glorious in the annals of naval history. "victory," said nelson, "is not a name strong enough for such a scene:" he called it a conquest. of thirteen sail of the line, nine were taken and two burned. of the four frigates, one was sunk, another, the artemise, was burned in a villanous manner by her captain, m. estandlet, who, having fired a broadside at the theseus, struck his colours, then set fire to the ship and escaped with most of his crew to shore. the british loss, in killed and wounded, amounted to 895 westcott was the only captain who fell; 3105 of the french, including the wounded, were sent on shore by cartel, and 5225 perished. as soon as the conquest was completed, nelson sent orders through the fleet to return thanksgiving in every ship for the victory with which almighty god had blessed his majesty's arms. the french at rosetta, who with miserable fear beheld the engagement, were at a loss to understand the stillness of the fleet during the performance of this solemn duty; but it seemed to affect many of the prisoners, officers as well as men; and graceless and godless as the officers were, some of them remarked that it was no wonder such order was preserved in the british navy, when the minds of our men could be impressed with such sentiments after so great a victory, and at a moment of such confusion. the french at rosetta, seeing their four ships sail out of the bay unmolested, endeavoured to persuade themselves that they were in possession of the place of battle. but it was in vain thus to attempt, against their own secret and certain conviction, to deceive themselves; and even if they could have succeeded in this, the bonfires which the arabs kindled along the whole coast, and over the country, for the three following nights, would soon have undeceived them. thousands of arabs and egyptians lined the shore, and covered the house tops during the action, rejoicing in the destruction which had overtaken their invaders. long after the battle, innumerable bodies were seen floating about the bay, in spite of all the exertions which were made to sink them, as well from fear of pestilence as from the loathing and horror which the sight occasioned. great numbers were cast up upon the isle of bekier (nelson's island, as it has since been called), and our sailors raised mounds of sand over them. even after an interval of nearly three years dr. clarke saw them, and assisted in interring heaps of human bodies, which, having been thrown up by the sea where there were no jackals to devour them, presented a sight loathsome to humanity. the shore, for an extent of four leagues, was covered with wreck; and the arabs found employment for many days in burning on the beach the fragments which were cast up, for the sake of the iron. part of the orient's main-mast was picked up by the swiftsure. captain hallowell ordered his carpenter to make a coffin of it; the iron, as well as the wood, was taken from the wreck of the same ship; it was finished as well and handsomely as the workman's skill and materials would permit; and hallowell then sent it to the admiral with the following letter:--"sir, i have taken the liberty of presenting you a coffin made from the main mast of l'orient, that when you have finished your military career in this world you may be buried in one of your trophies. but that that period may be far distant is the earnest wish of your sincere friend, benjamin hallowell."--an offering so strange, and yet so suited to the occasion, was received by nelson in the spirit with which it was sent. as if he felt it good for him, now that he was at the summit of his wishes, to have death before his eyes, he ordered the coffin to be placed upright in his cabin. such a piece of furniture, however, was more suitable to his own feelings than to those of his guests and attendants; and an old favourite servant entreated him so earnestly to let it be removed, that at length he consented to have the coffin carried below; but he gave strict orders that it should be safely stowed, and reserved for the purpose for which its brave and worthy donor had designed it. the victory was complete; but nelson could not pursue it as he would have done for want of means. had he been provided with small craft, nothing could have prevented the destruction of the store-ships and transports in the port of alexandria: four bomb-vessels would at that time have burned the whole in a few hours. "were i to die this moment." said he in his despatches to the admiralty, "want of frigates would be found stamped on my heart! no words of mine can express what i have suffered, and am suffering, for want of them." he had also to bear up against great bodily suffering: the blow had so shaken his head, that from its constant and violent aching, and the perpetual sickness which accompanied the pain, he could scarcely persuade himself that the skull was not fractured. had it not been for troubridge, ball, hood, and hallowell, he declared that he should have sunk under the fatigue of refitting the squadron. "all," he said, "had done well; but these officers were his supporters." but, amidst his sufferings and exertions, nelson could yet think of all the consequences of his victory; and that no advantage from it might be lost, he despatched an officer overland to india, with letters to the governor of bombay, informing him of the arrival of the french in egypt, the total destruction of their fleet, and the consequent preservation of india from any attempt against it on the part of this formidable armament. "he knew that bombay," he said, "was their first object, if they could get there; but he trusted that almighty god would overthrow in egypt these pests of the human race. buonaparte had never yet had to contend with an english officer, and he would endeavour to make him respect us." this despatch he sent upon his own responsibility, with letters of credit upon the east india company, addressed to the british consuls, vice-consuls, and merchants on his route; nelson saying, "that if he had done wrong, he hoped the bills would be paid, and he would repay the company; for, as an englishman, he should be proud that it had been in his power to put our settlements on their guard." the information which by this means reached india was of great importance. orders had just been received for defensive preparations, upon a scale proportionate to the apprehended danger; and the extraordinary expenses which would otherwise have been incurred were thus prevented. nelson was now at the summit of glory; congratulations, rewards, and honours were showered upon him by all the states, and princes, and powers to whom his victory gave a respite. the first communication of this nature which he received was from the turkish sultan, who, as soon as the invasion of egypt was known, had called upon "all true believers to take arms against those swinish infidels the french, that they might deliver these blessed habitations from their accursed hands;" and who had ordered his "pashas to turn night into day in their efforts to take vengeance." the present of "his imperial majesty, the powerful, formidable, and most magnificent grand seignior," was a pelisse of sables, with broad sleeves, valued at 5000 dols.; and a diamond aigrette, valued at 18,000 dols., the most honourable badge among the turks; and in this instance more especially honourable, because it was taken from one of the royal turbans. "if it were worth a million," said nelson to his wife, "my pleasure would be to see it in your possession." the sultan also sent, in a spirit worthy of imitation, a purse of 2000 sequins, to be distributed among the wounded. the mother of the sultan sent him a box, set with diamonds, valued at l1000. the czar paul, in whom the better part of his strangely compounded nature at this time predominated, presented him with his portrait, set in diamonds, in a gold box, accompanied with a letter of congratulation, written by his own hand. the king of sardinia also wrote to him, and sent a gold box set with diamonds. honours in profusion were awaiting him at naples. in his own country the king granted these honourable augmentations to his armorial ensign: a chief undulated, argent: thereon waves of the sea; from which a palm tree issuant, between a disabled ship on the dexter, and a ruinous battery on the sinister all proper; and for his crest, on a naval crown, or, the chelengk, or plume, presented to him by the turk, with the motto, palmam qui meruit ferat. and to his supporters, being a sailor on the dexter, and a lion on the sinister, were given these honourable augmentations: a palm branch in the sailor's hand, and another in the paw of the lion, both proper; with a tri-coloured flag and staff in the lion's mouth. he was created baron nelson of the nile, and of burnham thorpe, with a pension of l2000 for his own life, and those of his two immediate successors. when the grant was moved in the house of commons, general walpole expressed an opinion that a higher degree of rank ought to be conferred. mr. pitt made answer, that he thought it needless to enter into that question. "admiral nelson's fame," he said, "would be co-equal with the british name; and it would be remembered that he had obtained the greatest naval victory on record, when no man would think of asking whether he had been created a baron, a viscount, or an earl." it was strange that, in the very act of conferring a title, the minister should have excused himself for not having conferred a higher one, by representing all titles, on such an occasion, as nugatory and superfluous. true, indeed, whatever title had been bestowed, whether viscount, earl, marquis, duke, or prince, if our laws had so permitted, he who received it would have been nelson still. that name he had ennobled beyond all addition of nobility; it was the name by which england loved him, france feared him, italy, egypt, and turkey celebrated him, and by which he will continue to be known while the present kingdoms and languages of the world endure, and as long as their history after them shall be held in remembrance. it depended upon the degree of rank what should be the fashion of his coronet, in what page of the red book his name was to be inserted, and what precedency should be allowed his lady in the drawing-room and at the ball. that nelson's honours were affected thus far, and no further, might be conceded to mr. pitt and his colleagues in administration; but the degree of rank which they thought proper to allot was the measure of their gratitude, though not of his service. this nelson felt, and this he expressed, with indignation, among his friends. whatever may have been the motives of the ministry, and whatever the formalities with which they excused their conduct to themselves, the importance and magnitude of the victory were universally acknowledged. a grant of l10,000 was voted to nelson by the east india company; the turkish company presented him with a piece of plate; the city of london presented a sword to him, and to each of his captains; gold medals were distributed to the captains; and the first lieutenants of all the ships were promoted, as had been done after lord howe's victory. nelson was exceedingly anxious that the captain and first lieutenant of the culloden should not be passed over because of their misfortune. to troubridge himself he said, "let us rejoice that the ship which got on shore was commanded by an officer whose character is so thoroughly established." to the admiralty he stated that captain troubridge's conduct was as fully entitled to praise as that of any one officer in the squadron, and as highly deserving of reward. "it was troubridge," said he, "who equipped the squadron so soon at syracuse; it was troubridge who exerted himself for me after the action; it was troubridge who saved the culloden, when none that i know in the service would have attempted it." the gold medal, therefore, by the king's express desire, was given to captain troubridge, "for his services both before and since, and for the great and wonderful exertion which he made at the time of the action in saving and getting off his ship." the private letter from the admiralty to nelson informed him that the first lieutenants of all the ships engaged were to be promoted. nelson instantly wrote to the commander-in-chief: "i sincerely hope," said he, "this is not intended to exclude the first lieutenant of the culloden. for heaven's sake--for my sake, if it be so--get it altered. our dear friend troubridge has endured enough. his sufferings were, in every respect, more than any of us." to the admiralty he wrote in terms equally warm. "i hope, and believe, the word engaged is not intended to exclude the culloden. the merits of that ship, and her gallant captain, are too well known to benefit by anything i could say. her misfortune was great in getting aground, while her more fortunate companions were in the full tide of happiness. no: i am confident that my good lord spencer will never add misery to misfortune. captain troubridge on shore is superior to captains afloat: in the midst of his great misfortunes he made those signals which prevented certainly the alexander and swiftsure from running on the shoals. i beg your pardon for writing on a subject which, i verily believe, has never entered your lordship's head; but my heart, as it ought to be, is warm to my gallant friends." thus feelingly alive was nelson to the claims, and interests, and feelings of others. the admiralty replied, that the exception was necessary, as the ship had not been in action; but they desired the commander-in-chief to promote the lieutenant upon the first vacancy which should occur. nelson, in remembrance of an old and uninterrupted friendship, appointed alexander davison sole prize agent for the captured ships: upon which davison ordered medals to be struck in gold, for the captains; in silver, for the lieutenants and warrant officers; in gilt metal for the petty officers; and in copper for the seamen and marines. the cost of this act of liberality amounted nearly to l2000. it is worthy of record on another account;--for some of the gallant men, who received no other honorary badge of their conduct on that memorable day than this copper medal from a private individual, years afterwards, when they died upon a foreign station, made it their last request, that the medals might carefully be sent home to their respective friends. so sensible are brave men of honour, in whatever rank they may be placed. three of the frigates, whose presence would have been so essential a few weeks sooner, joined the squadron on the twelfth day after the action. the fourth joined a few days after them. nelson thus received despatches, which rendered it necessary for him to return to naples. before he left egypt he burned three of the prizes; they could not have been fitted for a passage to gibraltar in less than a month, and that at a great expense, and with the loss of the services of at least two sail of the line. "i rest assured," he said to the admiralty, "that they will be paid for, and have held out that assurance to the squadron. for if an admiral, after a victory, is to look after the captured ships, and not to the distressing of the enemy, very dearly, indeed, must the nation pay for the prizes. i trust that l60,000 will be deemed a very moderate sum for them: and when the services, time, and men, with the expense of fitting the three ships for a voyage to england, are considered, government will save nearly as much as they are valued at. paying for prizes," he continued, "is no new idea of mine, and would often prove an amazing saving to the state, even without taking into calculation what the nation loses by the attention of admirals to the property of the captors; an attention absolutely necessary, as a recompence for the exertions of the officers and men. an admiral may be amply rewarded by his own feelings, and by the approbation of his superiors; but what reward have the inferior officers and men but the value of the prizes? if an admiral takes that from them, on any consideration, he cannot expect to be well supported." to earl st. vincent he said, "if he could have been sure that government would have paid a reasonable value for them, he would have ordered two of the other prizes to be burnt, for they would cost more in refitting, and by the loss of ships attending them, than they were worth." having sent the six remaining prizes forward, under sir james saumarez, nelson left captain hood, in the zealous off alexandria, with the swiftsure, goliath, alcmene, zealous, and emerald, and stood out to sea himself on the seventeenth day after the battle. chapter vi 1798 1800 nelson returns to naples--state of that court and kingdom--general mack--the french approach naples--flight of the royal family--successes of the allies in italy--transactions in the bay of naples--expulsion of the french from the neapolitan and roman states--nelson is made duke of bronte--he leaves the mediterranean and returns to england. nelson's health had suffered greatly while he was in the agamemnon. "my complaint," he said, "is as if a girth were buckled taut over my breast, and my endeavour in the night is to get it loose." after the battle of cape st. vincent he felt a little rest to be so essential to his recovery, that he declared he would not continue to serve longer than the ensuing summer, unless it should be absolutely necessary; for in his own strong language, he had then been four years and nine months without one moment's repose for body or mind. a few months' intermission of labour he had obtained--not of rest, for it was purchased with the loss of a limb; and the greater part of the time had been a season of constant pain. as soon as his shattered frame had sufficiently recovered for him to resume his duties, he was called to services of greater importance than any on which he had hitherto been employed, which brought with them commensurate fatigue and care. the anxiety which he endured during his long pursuit of the enemy, was rather changed in its direction than abated by their defeat; and this constant wakefulness of thought, added to the effect of his wound, and the exertions from which it was not possible for one of so ardent and wide-reaching a mind to spare himself, nearly proved fatal. on his way back to italy he was seized with fever. for eighteen hours his life was despaired of; and even when the disorder took a favourable turn, and he was so far recovered as again to appear on deck, he himself thought that his end was approaching--such was the weakness to which the fever and cough had reduced him. writing to earl st. vincent on the passage, he said to him, "i never expect, my dear lord, to see your face again. it may please god that this will be the finish to that fever of anxiety which i have endured from the middle of june; but be that as it pleases his goodness. i am resigned to his will." the kindest attentions of the warmest friendship were awaiting him at naples. "come here," said sir william hamilton, "for god's sake, my dear friend, as soon as the service will permit you. a pleasant apartment is ready for you in my house, and emma is looking out for the softest pillows to repose the few wearied limbs you have left." happy would it have been for nelson if warm and careful friendship had been all that waited him there. he himself saw at that time the character of the neapolitan court, as it first struck an englishman, in its true light; and when he was on the way, he declared that he detested the voyage to naples, and that nothing but necessity could have forced him to it. but never was any hero, on his return from victory, welcomed with more heartfelt joy. before the battle of aboukir the court at naples had been trembling for its existence. the language which the directory held towards it was well described by sir william hamilton as being exactly the language of a highwayman. the neapolitans were told that benevento might be added to their dominions, provided they would pay a large sum, sufficient to satisfy the directory; and they were warned, that if the proposal were refused, or even if there were any delay in accepting it, the french would revolutionise all italy. the joy, therefore, of the court at nelson's success was in proportion to the dismay from which that success relieved them. the queen was a daughter of maria theresa, and sister of maria antoinette. had she been the wisest and gentlest of her sex, it would not have been possible for her to have regarded the french without hatred and horror; and the progress of revolutionary opinions, while it perpetually reminded her of her sister's fate, excited no unreasonable apprehensions for her own. her feelings, naturally ardent, and little accustomed to restraint, were excited to the highest pitch when the news of the victory arrived. lady hamilton, her constant friend and favourite, who was present, says, "it is not possible to describe her transports; she wept, she kissed her husband, her children, walked frantically about the room, burst into tears again, and again kissed and embraced every person near her; exclaiming, 'o brave nelson! o god! bless and protect our brave deliverer! o nelson! nelson! what do we not owe you! o conqueror--saviour of italy! o that my swollen heart could now tell him personally what we owe to him!'" she herself wrote to the neapolitan ambassador at london upon the occasion, in terms which show the fulness of her joy, and the height of the hopes which it had excited. "i wish i could give wings," said she, "to the bearer of the news, and at the same time to our most sincere gratitude. the whole of the sea-coast of italy saved; and this is owing alone to the generous english. this battle, or, to speak more correctly, this total defeat of the regicide squadron, was obtained by the valour of this brave admiral, seconded by a navy which is the terror of its enemies. the victory is so complete that i can still scarcely believe it; and if it were not the brave english nation, which is accustomed to perform prodigies by sea, i could not persuade myself that it had happened. it would have moved you to have seen all my children, boys and girls, hanging on my neck, and crying for joy at the happy news. recommend the hero to his master: he has filled the whole of italy with admiration of the english. great hopes were entertained of some advantages being gained by his bravery, but no one could look for so total a destruction. all here are drunk with joy." such being the feelings of the royal family, it may well be supposed with what delight, and with what honours nelson would be welcomed. early on the 22nd of september the poor wretched vanguard, as he called his shattered vessel, appeared in sight of naples. the culloden and alexander had preceded her by some days, and given notice of her approach. many hundred boats and barges were ready to go forth and meet him, with music and streamers and every demonstration of joy and triumph. sir william and lady hamilton led the way in their state barge. they had seen nelson only for a few days, four years ago, but they then perceived in him that heroic spirit which was now so fully and gloriously manifested to the world. emma lady hamilton, who from this time so greatly influenced his future life, was a woman whose personal accomplishments have seldom been equalled, and whose powers of mind were not less fascinating than her person. she was passionately attached to the queen; and by her influence the british fleet had obtained those supplies at syracuse, without which, nelson always asserted, the battle of aboukir could not have been fought. during the long interval which passed before any tidings were received, her anxiety had been hardly less than that of nelson himself, while pursuing an enemy of whom he could obtain no information; and when the tidings were brought her by a joyful bearer, open-mouthed, its effect was such that she fell like one who had been shot. she and sir william had literally been made ill by their hopes and fears, and joy at a catastrophe so far exceeding all that they had dared to hope for. their admiration for the hero necessarily produced a degree of proportionate gratitude and affection; and when their barge came alongside the vanguard, at the sight of nelson, lady hamilton sprang up the ship's side, and exclaiming, "o god! is it possible!" fell into his arms more, he says, like one dead than alive. he described the meeting as "terribly affecting." these friends had scarcely recovered from their tears, when the king, who went out to meet him three leagues in the royal barge, came on board and took him by the hand, calling him his deliverer and preserver. from all the boats around he was saluted with the same appellations: the multitude who surrounded him when he landed repeated the same enthusiastic cries; and the lazzaroni displayed their joy by holding up birds in cages, and giving them their liberty as he passed. his birth-day, which occurred a week after his arrival, was celebrated with one of the most splendid fetes ever beheld at naples. but, notwithstanding the splendour with which he was encircled, and the flattering honours with which all ranks welcomed him, nelson was fully sensible of the depravity, as well as weakness, of those by whom he was surrounded. "what precious moments," said he, "the courts of naples and vienna are losing! three months would liberate italy! but this court is so enervated that the happy moment will be lost. i am very unwell; and their miserable conduct is not likely to cool my irritable temper. it is a country of fiddlers and poets, whores and scoundrels." this sense of their ruinous weakness he always retained; nor was he ever blind to the mingled folly and treachery of the neapolitan ministers, and the complication in iniquities under which the country groaned; but he insensibly, under the influence of lady hamilton, formed an affection for the court, to whose misgovernment the miserable condition of the country was so greatly to be imputed. by the kindness of her nature, as well as by her attractions, she had won his heart. earl st. vincent, writing to her at this time, says, "pray do not let your fascinating neapolitan dames approach too near our invaluable friend nelson, for he is made of flesh and blood, and cannot resist their temptations." but this was addressed to the very person from whom he was in danger. the state of naples may be described in few words. the king was one of the spanish bourbons. as the caesars have shown us to what wickedness the moral nature of princes may be perverted, so in this family, the degradation to which their intellectual nature can be reduced has been not less conspicuously evinced. ferdinand, like the rest of his race, was passionately fond of field sports, and cared for nothing else. his queen had all the vices of the house of austria, with little to mitigate, and nothing to ennoble them--provided she could have her pleasures, and the king his sports, they cared not in what manner the revenue was raised or administered. of course a system of favouritism existed at court, and the vilest and most impudent corruption prevailed in every department of state, and in every branch of administration, from the highest to the lowest. it is only the institutions of christianity, and the vicinity of better-regulated states, which prevent kingdoms, under such circumstances of misrule, from sinking into a barbarism like that of turkey. a sense of better things was kept alive in some of the neapolitans by literature, and by their intercourse with happier countries. these persons naturally looked to france, at the commencement of the revolution, and during all the horrors of that revolution still cherished a hope that, by the aid of france, they might be enabled to establish a new order of things in naples. they were grievously mistaken in supposing that the principles of liberty would ever be supported by france, but they were not mistaken in believing that no government could be worse than their own; and therefore they considered any change as desirable. in this opinion men of the most different characters agreed. many of the nobles, who were not in favour, wished for a revolution, that they might obtain the ascendancy to which they thought themselves entitled; men of desperate fortunes desired it, in the hope of enriching themselves; knaves and intriguers sold themselves to the french to promote it; and a few enlightened men, and true lovers of their country, joined in the same cause, from the purest and noblest motives. all these were confounded under the common name of jacobins; and the jacobins of the continental kingdoms were regarded by the english with more hatred than they deserved. they were classed with phillippe egalite, marat, and hebert; whereas they deserved rather to be ranked, if not with locke, and sydney, and russell, at least with argyle and monmouth, and those who, having the same object as the prime movers of our own revolution, failed in their premature but not unworthy attempt. no circumstances could be more unfavourable to the best interests of europe, than those which placed england in strict alliance with the superannuated and abominable governments of the continent. the subjects of those governments who wished for freedom thus became enemies to england, and dupes and agents of france. they looked to their own grinding grievances, and did not see the danger with which the liberties of the world were threatened. england, on the other hand, saw the danger in its true magnitude, but was blind to these grievances, and found herself compelled to support systems which had formerly been equally the object of her abhorrence and her contempt. this was the state of nelson's mind; he knew that there could be no peace for europe till the pride of france was humbled, and her strength broken; and he regarded all those who were the friends of france as traitors to the common cause, as well as to their own individual sovereigns. there are situations in which the most opposite and hostile parties may mean equally well, and yet act equally wrong. the court of naples, unconscious of committing any crime by continuing the system of misrule to which they had succeeded, conceived that, in maintaining things as they were, they were maintaining their own rights, and preserving the people from such horrors as had been perpetrated in france. the neapolitan revolutionists thought that without a total change of system, any relief from the present evils was impossible, and they believed themselves justified in bringing about that change by any means. both parties knew that it was the fixed intention of the french to revolutionise naples. the revolutionists supposed that it was for the purpose of establishing a free government; the court, and all disinterested persons, were perfectly aware that the enemy had no other object than conquest and plunder. the battle of the nile shook the power of france. her most successful general, and her finest army, were blocked up in egypt--hopeless, as it appeared, of return; and the government was in the hands of men without talents, without character, and divided among themselves. austria, whom buonaparte had terrified into a peace, at a time when constancy on her part would probably have led to his destruction, took advantage of the crisis to renew the war. russia also was preparing to enter the field with unbroken forces, led by a general, whose extraordinary military genius would have entitled him to a high and honourable rank in history, if it had not been sullied by all the ferocity of a barbarian. naples, seeing its destruction at hand, and thinking that the only means of averting it was by meeting the danger, after long vacillations, which were produced by the fears and treachery of its council, agreed at last to join this new coalition with a numerical force of 80,000 men. nelson told the king, in plain terms, that he had his choice, either to advance, trusting to god for his blessing on a just cause, and prepared to die sword in hand, or to remain quiet, and be kicked out of his kingdom; one of these things must happen. the king made answer he would go on, and trust in god and nelson; and nelson, who would else have returned to egypt, for the purpose of destroying the french shipping in alexandria, gave up his intention at the desire of the neapolitan court, and resolved to remain on that station, in the hope that he might be useful to the movements of the army. he suspected also, with reason, that the continuance of his fleet was so earnestly requested, because the royal family thought their persons would be safer, in case of any mishap, under the british flag, than under their own. his first object was the recovery of malta--an island which the king of naples pretended to claim. the maltese, whom the villanous knights of their order had betrayed to france, had taken up arms against their rapacious invaders, with a spirit and unanimity worthy of the highest praise. they blockaded the french garrison by land, and a small squadron, under captain ball, began to blockade them by sea, on the 12th of october. twelve days afterwards nelson arrived. "it is as i suspected," he says: "the ministers at naples know nothing of the situation of the island. not a house or bastion of the town is in possession of the islanders: and the marquis de niza tells us they want arms, victuals, and support. he does not know that any neapolitan officers are on the island; perhaps, although i have their names, none are arrived; and it is very certain, by the marquis's account, that no supplies have been sent by the governors of syracuse and messina." the little island of gozo, dependent upon malta, which had also been seized and garrisoned by the french, capitulated soon after his arrival, and was taken possession of by the british, in the name of his sicilian majesty--a power who had no better claim to it than france. having seen this effected, and reinforced captain ball, he left that able officer to perform a most arduous and important part, and returned himself to cooperate with the intended movements of the neapolitans. general mack was at the head of the neapolitan troops. all that is now doubtful concerning this man is, whether he was a coward or a traitor. at that time he was assiduously extolled as a most consummate commander, to whom europe might look for deliverance. and when he was introduced by the king and queen to the british admiral, the queen said to him, "be to us by land, general, what my hero nelson has been by sea." mack, on his part, did not fail to praise the force which he was appointed to command. "it was," he said, "the finest army in europe." nelson agreed with him that there could not be finer men; but when the general, at a review, so directed the operations of a mock fight, that by an unhappy blunder his own troops were surrounded, instead of those of the enemy, he turned to his friends and exclaimed with bitterness, that the fellow did not understand his business. another circumstance, not less characteristic, confirmed nelson in his judgment. "general mack:" said he, in one of his letters, "cannot move without five carriages! i have formed my opinion. i heartily pray i may be mistaken." while mack, at the head of 32,000 men, marched into the roman state, 5000 neapolitans were embarked on board the british and portuguese squadron, to take possession of leghorn. this was effected without opposition; and the grand duke of tuscany, whose neutrality had been so outrageously violated by the french, was better satisfied with the measure than some of the neapolitans themselves. nasseli, their general, refused to seize the french vessels at leghorn, because he and the duke di sangro, who was ambassador at the tuscan court, maintained that the king of naples was not at war with france. "what!" said nelson, "has not the king received, as a conquest made by him, the republican flag taken at gozo? is not his own flag flying there, and at malta, not only by his permission, but by his order? is not his flag shot at every day by the french, and their shot returned from batteries which bear that flag? are not two frigates and a corvette placed under my orders ready to fight the french, meet them where they may? has not the king sent publicly from naples guns, mortars, &c., with officers and artillery, against the french in malta? if these acts are not tantamount to any written paper, i give up all knowledge of what is war." this reasoning was of less avail than argument addressed to the general's fears. nelson told him that, if he permitted the many hundred french who were then in the mole to remain neutral, till they had a fair opportunity of being active, they had one sure resource, if all other schemes failed, which was to set one vessel on fire; the mole would be destroyed, probably the town also, and the port ruined for twenty years. this representation made naselli agree to the half measure of laying an embargo on the vessels; among them were a great number of french privateers, some of which were of such force as to threaten the greatest mischief to our commerce, and about seventy sail of vessels belonging to the ligurian republic, as genoa was now called, laden with corn, and ready to sail for genoa and france; where their arrival would have expedited the entrance of more french troops into italy. "the general," said nelson, "saw, i believe, the consequence of permitting these vessels to depart, in the same light as myself; but there is this difference between us: he prudently, and certainly safely, waits the orders of his court, taking no responsibility upon himself; i act from the circumstances of the moment, as i feel may be most advantageous for the cause which i serve, taking all responsibility on myself." it was in vain to hope for anything vigorous or manly from such men as nelson was compelled to act with. the crews of the french ships and their allies were ordered to depart in two days. four days elapsed and nobody obeyed the order; nor, in spite of the representations of the british minister, mr. wyndham, were any means taken to enforce it: the true neapolitan shuffle, as nelson called it, took place on all occasions. after an absence of ten days he returned to naples; and receiving intelligence there from mr. wyndham that the privateers were at last to be disarmed, the corn landed, and the crews sent away, he expressed his satisfaction at the news in characteristic language, saying, "so far i am content. the enemy will be distressed; and, thank god, i shall get no money. the world, i know, think that money is our god; and now they will be undeceived as far as relates to us. down, down with the french! is my constant prayer." odes, sonnets, and congratulatory poems of every description were poured in upon nelson on his arrival at naples. an irish franciscan, who was one of the poets, not being content with panegyric upon this occasion, ventured on a flight of prophecy, and predicted that lord nelson would take rome with his ships. his lordship reminded father m'cormick that ships could not ascend the tiber; but the father, who had probably forgotten this circumstance, met the objection with a bold front, and declared he saw that it would come to pass notwithstanding. rejoicings of this kind were of short duration. the king of naples was with the army which had entered rome; but the castle of st. angelo was held by the french, and 13,000 french were strongly posted in the roman states at castallana. mack had marched against them with 20,000 men. nelson saw that the event was doubtful, or rather that there could be very little hope of the result. but the immediate fate of naples, as he well knew, hung upon the issue. "if mack is defeated," said he, "in fourteen days this country is lost; for the emperor has not yet moved his army, and naples has not the power of resisting the enemy. it was not a case for choice, but of necessity, which induced the king to march out of his kingdom, and not wait till the french had collected a force sufficient to drive him out of it in a week." he had no reliance upon the neapolitan officers, who, as he described them, seemed frightened at a drawn sword or a loaded gun; and he was perfectly aware of the consequences which the sluggish movements and deceitful policy of the austrians were likely to bring down upon themselves and all their continental allies. "a delayed war on the part of the emperor," said he, writing to the british minister at vienna, "will be destructive to this monarchy of naples; and, of course, to the newly-acquired dominions of the emperor in italy. had the war commenced in september or october, all italy would, at this moment, have been liberated. this month is worse than the last; the next will render the contest doubtful; and, in six months, when the neapolitan republic will be organised, armed, and with its numerous resources called forth, the emperor will not only be defeated in italy, but will totter on his throne at vienna. down, down with the french! ought to be written in the council-room of every country in the world; and may almighty god give right thoughts to every sovereign, is my constant prayer!" his perfect foresight of the immediate event was clearly shown in this letter, when he desired the ambassador to assure the empress (who was a daughter of the house of naples) that, notwithstanding the councils which had shaken the throne of her father and mother, he would remain there, ready to save their persons, and her brothers and sisters; and that he had also left ships at leghorn to save the lives of the grand duke and her sister: "for all," said he, "must be a republic, if the emperor does not act with expedition and vigour." his fears were soon verified. "the neapolitan officers," said nelson, "did not lose much honour, for, god knows, they had not much to lose; but they lost all they had." general st. philip commanded the right wing, of 19,000 men. he fell in with 3000 of the enemy; and, as soon as he came near enough, deserted to them. one of his men had virtue enough to level a musket at him, and shot him through the arm; but the wound was not sufficient to prevent him from joining with the french in pursuit of his own countrymen. cannon, tents, baggage, and military chest, were all forsaken by the runaways, though they lost only forty men; for the french having put them to flight and got possession of everything, did not pursue an army of more than three times their own number. the main body of the neapolitans, under mack, did not behave better. the king returned to naples, where every day brought with it tidings of some new disgrace from the army and the discovery of some new treachery at home; till, four days after his return, the general sent him advice that there was no prospect of stopping the progress of the enemy, and that the royal family must look to their own personal safety. the state of the public mind at naples was such, at this time, that neither the british minister nor the british admiral thought it prudent to appear at court. their motions were watched; and the revolutionists had even formed a plan for seizing and detaining them as hostages, to prevent an attack on the city after the french should have taken possession of it. a letter which nelson addressed at this time to the first lord of the admiralty, shows in what manner he contemplated the possible issue of the storm, it was in these words:--"my dear lord, there is an old saying, that when things are at the worst they must mend: now the mind of man cannot fancy things worse than they are here. but, thank god! my health is better, my mind never firmer, and my heart in the right trim to comfort, relieve, and protect those whom it is my duty to afford assistance to. pray, my lord, assure our gracious sovereign that while i live, i will support his glory; and that if i fall, it shall be in a manner worthy of your lordship's faithful and obliged nelson. i must not write more. every word may be a text for a long letter." meantime lady hamilton arranged every thing for the removal of the royal family. this was conducted on her part with the greatest address, and without suspicion, because she had been in habits of constant correspondence with the queen. it was known that the removal could not be effected without danger; for the mob, and especially the lazzaroni, were attached to the king; and as at this time they felt a natural presumption in their own numbers and strength, they insisted that he should not leave naples. several persons fell victims to their fury; among others was a messenger from vienna, whose body was dragged under the windows of the palace in the king's sight. the king and queen spoke to the mob, and pacified them; but it would not have been safe, while they were in this agitated state, to have embarked the effects of the royal family openly. lady hamilton, like a heroine of modern romance, explored with no little danger a subterraneous passage leading from the palace to the sea-side: through this passage the royal treasures, the choicest pieces of painting and sculpture, and other property to the amount of two millions and a half, were conveyed to the shore, and stowed safely on board the english ships. on the night of the 21st, at half-past eight, nelson landed, brought out the whole royal family, embarked them in three barges, and carried them safely, through a tremendous sea, to the vanguard. notice was then immediately given to the british merchants, that they would be received on board any ships in the squadron. their property had previously been embarked in transports. two days were passed in the bay, for the purpose of taking such persons on board as required an asylum; and, on the night of the 23rd, the fleet sailed. the next day a more violent storm arose than nelson had ever before encountered. on the 25th, the youngest of the princes was taken ill, and died in lady hamilton's arms. during this whole trying season, lady hamilton waited upon the royal family with the zeal of the most devoted servant, at a time when, except one man, no person belonging to the court assisted them. on the morning of the 26th the royal family were landed at palermo. it was soon seen that their flight had not been premature. prince pignatelli, who had been left as vicar-general and viceroy, with orders to defend the kingdom to the last rock in calabria, sent plenipotentiaries to the french camp before capua; and they, for the sake of saving the capital, signed an armistice, by which the greater part of the kingdom was given up to the enemy: a cession that necessarily led to the loss of the whole. this was on the 10th of january. the french advanced towards naples. mack, under pretext of taking shelter from the fury of the lazzaroni, fled to the french general championet, who sent him under an escort to milan; but as france hoped for further services from this wretched traitor, it was thought prudent to treat him apparently as a prisoner of war. the neapolitan army disappeared in a few days: of the men, some, following their officers, deserted to the enemy; the greater part took the opportunity of disbanding themselves. the lazzaroni proved true to their country; they attacked the enemy's advanced posts, drove them in, and were not dispirited by the murderous defeat which they suffered from the main body. flying into the city, they continued to defend it, even after the french had planted their artillery in the principal streets. had there been a man of genius to have directed their enthusiasm, or had there been any correspondent feelings in the higher ranks, naples might have set a glorious example to europe, and have proved the grave of every frenchman who entered it. but the vices of the government had extinguished all other patriotism than that of the rabble, who had no other than that sort of loyalty which was like the fidelity of a dog to its master. this fidelity the french and their adherents counteracted by another kind of devotion: the priests affirmed that st. januarius had declared in favour of the revolution. the miracle of his blood was performed with the usual success, and more than usual effect, on the very evening when, after two days of desperate fighting, the french obtained possession of naples. a french guard of honour was stationed at his church. championet gave, "respect for st. januarius!" as the word for the army; and the next day te deum was sung by the archbishop in the cathedral; and the inhabitants were invited to attend the ceremony, and join in thanksgiving for the glorious entry of the french; who, it was said, being under the peculiar protection of providence, had regenerated the neapolitans, and were come to establish and consolidate their happiness. it seems to have been nelson's opinion that the austrian cabinet regarded the conquest of naples with complacency, and that its measures were directed so as designedly not to prevent the french from overrunning it. that cabinet was assuredly capable of any folly, and of any baseness; and it is not improbable that at this time, calculating upon the success of the new coalition, it indulged a dream of adding extensively to its former italian possessions; and, therefore, left the few remaining powers of italy to be overthrown, as a means which would facilitate its own ambitious views. the king of sardinia, finding it impossible longer to endure the exactions of france and the insults of the french commissary, went to leghorn, embarked on board a danish frigate, and sailed, under british protection, to sardinia--that part of his dominions which the maritime supremacy of england rendered a secure asylum. on his arrival he published a protest against the conduct of france, declaring, upon the faith and word of a king, that he had never infringed, even in the slightest degree, the treaties which he had made with the french republic. tuscany was soon occupied by french troops--a fate which bolder policy might, perhaps, have failed to avert, but which its weak and timid neutrality rendered inevitable. nelson began to fear even for sicily. "oh, my dear sir," said he, writing to commodore duckworth, "one thousand english troops would save messina; and i fear general stuart cannot give me men to save this most important island!" but his representations were not lost upon sir charles stuart. this officer hastened immediately from minorca with 1000 men, assisted in the measures of defence which were taken, and did not return before he had satisfied himself that, if the neapolitans were excluded from the management of affairs, and the spirit of the peasantry properly directed, sicily was safe. before his coming, nelson had offered the king, if no resources should arrive, to defend messina with the ship's company of an english man-of-war. russia had now entered into the war. corfu, surrendered to a russian and turkish fleet, acting now, for the first time, in strange confederacy yet against a power which was certainly the common and worst enemy of both. troubridge having given up the blockade of alexandria to sir sidney smith, joined nelson, bringing with him a considerable addition of strength; and in himself what nelson valued more, a man, upon whose sagacity, indefatigable zeal, and inexhaustible resources, he could place full reliance. troubridge was intrusted to commence the operations against the french in the bay of naples. meantime cardinal ruffo, a man of questionable character, but of a temper fitted for such times, having landed in calabria, raised what he called a christian army, composed of the best and the vilest materials--loyal peasants, enthusiastic priests and friars, galley slaves, the emptying of the jails, and banditti. the islands in the bay of naples were joyfully delivered up by the inhabitants, who were in a state of famine already, from the effect of this baleful revolution. troubridge distributed among them all his flour, and nelson pressed the sicilian court incessantly for supplies; telling them that l10,000 given away in provisions would, at this time, purchase a kingdom. money, he was told, they had not to give; and the wisdom and integrity which might have supplied its wants were not to be found. "there is nothing," said he, "which i propose, that is not, so far as orders go, implicitly complied with; but the execution is dreadful, and almost makes me mad. my desire to serve their majesties faithfully, as is my duty, has been such that i am almost blind and worn out; and cannot in my present state hold out much longer." before any government can be overthrown by the consent of the people, the government must be intolerably oppressive, or the people thoroughly corrupted. bad as the misrule at naples had been, its consequences had been felt far less there than in sicily; and the peasantry had that attachment to the soil which gives birth to so many of the noblest as well as of the happiest feelings. in all the islands the people were perfectly frantic with joy when they saw the neapolitan colours hoisted. at procida, troubridge could not procure even a rag of the tri-coloured flag to lay at the king's feet: it was rent into ten thousand pieces by the inhabitants, and entirely destroyed. "the horrid treatment of the french," he said, "had made them mad." it exasperated the ferocity of a character which neither the laws nor the religion under which they lived tended to mitigate. their hatred was especially directed against the neapolitan revolutionists; and the fishermen, in concert among themselves, chose each his own victim, whom he would stiletto when the day of vengeance should arrive. the head of one was sent off one morning to troubridge, with his basket of grapes for breakfast; and a note from the italian who had, what he called, the glory of presenting it, saying, he had killed the man as he was running away, and begging his excellency to accept the head, and consider it as a proof of the writer's attachment to the crown. with the first successes of the court the work of punishment began. the judge at ischia said it was necessary to have a bishop to degrade the traitorous priests before he could execute them; upon which troubridge advised him to hang them first, and send them to him afterwards, if he did not think that degradation sufficient. this was said with the straightforward feeling of a sailor, who cared as little for canon-law as he knew about it; but when he discovered that the judge's orders were to go through the business in a summary manner, under his sanction, he told him at once that could not be, for the prisoners were not british subjects; and he declined having anything to do with it. there were manifestly persons about the court, who, while they thirsted for the pleasure of vengeance, were devising how to throw the odium of it upon the english. they wanted to employ an english man-of-war to carry the priests to palermo for degradation, and then bring them back for execution; and they applied to troubridge for a hangman, which he indignantly refused. he, meantime, was almost heartbroken by the situation in which he found himself. he had promised relief to the islanders, relying upon the queen's promise to him. he had distributed the whole of his private stock,--there was plenty of grain at palermo, and in its neighbourhood, and yet none was sent him: the enemy, he complained, had more interest there than the king; and the distress for bread which he witnessed was such, he said, that it would move even a frenchman to pity. nelson's heart, too, was at this time a-shore. "to tell you," he says, writing to lady hamilton, "how dreary and uncomfortable the vanguard appears, is only telling you what it is to go from the pleasantest society to a solitary cell, or from the dearest friends to no friends. i am now perfectly the great man--not a creature near me. from my heart i wish myself the little man again. you and good sir william have spoiled me for any place but with you." his mind was not in a happier state respecting public affairs. "as to politics," said he, "at this time they are my abomination: the ministers of kings and princes are as great scoundrels as ever lived. the brother of the emperor is just going to marry the great something of russia, and it is more than expected that a kingdom is to be found for him in italy, and that the king of naples will be sacrificed." had there been a wise and manly spirit in the italian states, or had the conduct of austria been directed by anything like a principle of honour, a more favourable opportunity could not have been desired for restoring order and prosperity in europe, than the misconduct of the french directory at this time afforded. but nelson perceived selfishness and knavery wherever he looked; and even the pleasure of seeing a cause prosper, in which he was so zealously engaged, was poisoned by his sense of the rascality of those with whom he was compelled to act. at this juncture intelligence arrived that the french fleet had escaped from brest, under cover of a fog, passed cadiz unseen by lord keith's squadron, in hazy weather, and entered the mediterranean. it was said to consist of twenty-four sail of the line, six frigates, and three sloops. the object of the french was to liberate the spanish fleet, form a junction with them, act against minorca and sicily, and overpower our naval force in the mediterranean, by falling in with detached squadrons, and thus destroying it in detail. when they arrived off carthagena, they requested the spanish ships to make sail and join; but the spaniards replied they had not men to man them. to this it was answered that the french had men enough on board for that purpose. but the spaniards seem to have been apprehensive of delivering up their ships thus entirely into the power of such allies, and refused to come out. the fleet from cadiz, however, consisting of from seventeen to twenty sail of the line, got out, under masaredo, a man who then bore an honourable name, which he has since rendered infamous by betraying his country. they met with a violent storm off the coast of oran, which dismasted many of their ships, and so effectually disabled them as to prevent the junction, and frustrate a well-planned expedition. before this occurred, and while the junction was as probable as it would have been formidable, nelson was in a state of the greatest anxiety. "what a state am i in!" said he to earl st. vincent. "if i go, i risk, and more than risk, sicily; for we know, from experience, that more depends upon opinion than upon acts themselves; and, as i stay, my heart is breaking." his first business was to summon troubridge to join him, with all the ships of the line under his command, and a frigate, if possible. then hearing that the french had entered the mediterranean, and expecting them at palermo, where he had only his own ship--with that single ship he prepared to make all the resistance possible. troubridge having joined him, he left captain e. j. foote, of the seahorse, to command the smaller vessels in the bay of naples, and sailed with six ships--one a portuguese, and a portuguese corvette--telling earl st. vincent that the squadron should never fall into the hands of the enemy. "and before we are destroyed," said he, "i have little doubt but they will have their wings so completely clipped that they may be easily overtaken." it was just at this time that he received from captain hallowell the present of the coffin. such a present was regarded by the men with natural astonishment. one of his old shipmates in the agamemnon said, "we shall have hot work of it indeed! you see the admiral intends to fight till he is killed; and there he is to be buried." nelson placed it upright against the bulkhead of his cabin, behind his chair, where he sat at dinner. the gift suited him at this time. it is said that he was disappointed in the step-son whom he had loved so dearly from his childhood, and who had saved his life at teneriffe; and it is certain that he had now formed an infatuated attachment for lady hamilton, which totally weaned his affections from his wife. farther than this, there is no reason to believe that this most unfortunate attachment was criminal; but this was criminality enough, and it brought with it its punishment. nelson was dissatisfied with himself, and therefore weary of the world. this feeling he now frequently expressed. "there is no true happiness in this life," said he, "and in my present state i could quit it with a smile." and in a letter to his old friend davison he said, "believe me, my only wish is to sink with honour into the grave; and when that shall please god, i shall meet death with a smile. not that i am insensible to the honours and riches my king and country have heaped upon me--so much more than any officer could deserve; yet am i ready to quit this world of trouble, and envy none but those of the estate six feet by two." well had it been for nelson if he had made no other sacrifices to this unhappy attachment than his peace of mind; but it led to the only blot upon his public character. while he sailed from palermo, with the intention of collecting his whole force, and keeping off maretimo, either to receive reinforcements there if the french were bound upwards, or to hasten to minorca if that should be their destination, captain foote, in the sea-horse, with the neapolitan frigates, and some small vessels, under his command, was left to act with a land force consisting of a few regular troops, of four different nations, and with the armed rabble which cardinal ruffo called the christian army. his directions were to co-operate to the utmost of his power with the royalists, at whose head ruffo had been placed, and he had no other instructions whatever. ruffo advancing without any plan, but relying upon the enemy's want of numbers, which prevented them from attempting to act upon the offensive, and ready to take advantage of any accident which might occur, approached naples. fort st. elmo, which commands the town, was wholly garrisoned by the french troops; the castles of uovo and nuovo, which commanded the anchorage, were chiefly defended by neapolitan revolutionists, the powerful men among them having taken shelter there. if these castles were taken, the reduction of fort st. elmo would be greatly expedited. they were strong places, and there was reason to apprehend that the french fleet might arrive to relieve them. ruffo proposed to the garrison to capitulate, on condition that their persons and property should be guaranteed, and that they should, at their own option, either be sent to toulon or remain at naples, without being molested either in their persons or families. this capitulation was accepted: it was signed by the cardinal, and the russian and turkish commanders; and lastly, by captain foote, as commander of the british force. about six-and-thirty hours afterwards nelson arrived in the bay with a force which had joined him during his cruise, consisting of seventeen sail of the line, with 1700 troops on board, and the prince royal of naples in the admiral's ship. a flag of truce was flying on the castles, and on board the seahorse. nelson made a signal to annul the treaty; declaring that he would grant rebels no other terms than those of unconditional submission. the cardinal objected to this: nor could all the arguments of nelson, sir w. hamilton, and lady hamilton, who took an active part in the conference, convince him that a treaty of such a nature, solemnly concluded, could honourably be set aside. he retired at last, silenced by nelson's authority, but not convinced. captain foote was sent out of the bay; and the garrisons, taken out of the castles under pretence of carrying the treaty into effect, were delivered over as rebels to the vengeance of the sicilian court. a deplorable transaction! a stain upon the memory of nelson and the honour of england! to palliate it would be in vain; to justify it would be wicked: there is no alternative, for one who will not make himself a participator in guilt, but to record the disgraceful story with sorrow and with shame. prince francesco caraccioli, a younger branch of one of the noblest neapolitan families, escaped from one of these castles before it capitulated. he was at the head of the marine, and was nearly seventy years of age, bearing a high character, both for professional and personal merit. he had accompanied the court to sicily; but when the revolutionary government, or parthenopean republic, as it was called, issued an edict, ordering all absent neapolitans to return on pain of confiscation of their property, he solicited and obtained permission of the king to return, his estates being very great. it is said that the king, when he granted him this permission, warned him not to take any part in politics; expressing at the same time his own persuasion that he should recover his kingdom. but neither the king, nor he himself, ought to have imagined that, in such times, a man of such reputation would be permitted to remain inactive; and it soon appeared that caraccioli was again in command of the navy, and serving under the republic against his late sovereign. the sailors reported that he was forced to act thus; and this was believed, till it was seen that he directed ably the offensive operations of the revolutionists, and did not avail himself of opportunities for escaping when they offered. when the recovery of naples was evidently near, he applied to cardinal ruffo, and to the duke of calvirrano, for protection; expressing his hope that the few days during which he had been forced to obey the french would not outweigh forty years of faithful services; but perhaps not receiving such assurances as he wished, and knowing too well the temper of the sicilian court, he endeavoured to secrete himself, and a price was set upon his head. more unfortunately for others than for himself, he was brought in alive, having been discovered in the disguise of a peasant, and carried one morning on board lord nelson's ship, with his hands tied behind him. caraccioli was well known to the british officers, and had been ever highly esteemed by all who knew him. captain hardy ordered him immediately to be unbound, and to be treated with all those attentions which he felt due to a man who, when last on board the foudroyant, had been received as an admiral and a prince. sir william and lady hamilton were in the ship; but nelson, it is affirmed, saw no one except his own officers during the tragedy which ensued. his own determination was made; and he issued an order to the neapolitan commodore, count thurn, to assemble a court-martial of neapolitan officers, on board the british flag-ship, proceed immediately to try the prisoner, and report to him, if the charges were proved, what punishment he ought to suffer. these proceedings were as rapid as possible; caraccioli was brought on board at nine in the forenoon, and the trial began at ten. it lasted two hours: he averred in his defence that he had acted under compulsion, having been compelled to serve as a common soldier, till he consented to take command of the fleet. this, the apologists of lord nelson say, he failed in proving. they forget that the possibility of proving it was not allowed him, for he was brought to trial within an hour after he was legally in arrest; and how, in that time, was he to collect his witnesses? he was found guilty, and sentenced to death; and nelson gave orders that the sentence should be carried into effect that evening, at five o'clock, on board the sicilian frigate, la minerva, by hanging him at the fore-yard-arm till sunset; when the body was to be cut down and thrown into the sea. caraccioli requested lieut. parkinson, under whose custody he was placed, to intercede with lord nelson for a second trial--for this, among other reasons, that count thurn, who presided at the court-martial, was notoriously his personal enemy. nelson made answer, that the prisoner had been fairly tried by the officers of his own country, and he could not interfere; forgetting that, if he felt himself justified in ordering the trial and the execution, no human being could ever have questioned the propriety of his interfering on the side of mercy. caraccioli then entreated that he might be shot. "i am an old man, sir," said he: "i leave no family to lament me, and therefore cannot be supposed to be very anxious about prolonging my life; but the disgrace of being hanged is dreadful to me." when this was repeated to nelson, he only told the lieutenant, with much agitation, to go and attend his duty. as a last hope, caraccioli asked the lieutenant if he thought an application to lady hamilton would be beneficial? parkinson went to seek her; she was not to be seen on this occasion; but she was present at the execution. she had the most devoted attachment to the neapolitan court; and the hatred which she felt against those whom she regarded as its enemies, made her at this time forget what was due to the character of her sex as well as of her country. here, also, a faithful historian is called upon to pronounce a severe and unqualified condemnation of nelson's conduct. had he the authority of his sicilian majesty for proceeding as he did? if so, why was not that authority produced? if not, why were the proceedings hurried on without it? why was the trial precipitated, so that it was impossible for the prisoner, if he had been innocent, to provide the witnesses, who might have proved him so? why was a second trial refused, when the known animosity of the president of the court against the prisoner was considered? why was the execution hastened, so as to preclude any appeal for mercy, and render the prerogative of mercy useless? doubtless, the british admiral seemed to himself to be acting under a rigid sense of justice; but to all other persons it was obvious that he was influenced by an infatuated attachment--a baneful passion, which destroyed his domestic happiness, and now, in a second instance, stained ineffaceably his public character. the body was carried out to a considerable distance, and sunk in the bay, with three double-headed shot, weighing 250 lbs., tied to its legs. between two or three weeks afterward, when the king was on board the foudroyant, a neapolitan fisherman came to the ship, and solemnly declared that caraccioli had risen from the bottom of the sea, and was coming as fast as he could to naples, swimming half out of the water. such an account was listened to like a tale of idle credulity. the day being fair, nelson, to please the king, stood out to sea; but the ship had not proceeded far before a body was distinctly seen, upright in the water, and approaching them. it was soon recognised to be indeed the corpse of caraccioli, which had risen and floated, while the great weights attached to the legs kept the body in a position like that of a living man. a fact so extraordinary astonished the king, and perhaps excited some feeling of superstitious fear, akin to regret. he gave permission for the body to be taken on shore and receive christian burial. it produced no better effect. naples exhibited more dreadful scenes than it had witnessed in the days of massaniello. after the mob had had their fill of blood and plunder, the reins were given to justice--if that can be called justice which annuls its own stipulations, looks to the naked facts alone, disregarding all motives and all circumstances; and without considering character, or science, or sex, or youth, sacrifices its victims, not for the public weal, but for the gratification of greedy vengeance. the castles of st. elmo, gaieta, and capua remained to be subdued. on the land side there was no danger that the french in these garrisons should be relieved, for suvarof was now beginning to drive the enemy before him; but nelson thought his presence necessary in the bay of naples: and when lord keith, having received intelligence that the french and spanish fleets had formed a junction, and sailed for carthagena, ordered him to repair to minorca with the whole or the greater part of his force, he sent admiral duckworth with a small part only. this was a dilemma which he had foreseen. "should such an order come at this moment," he said, in a letter previously written to the admiralty, "it would be a case for some consideration, whether minorca is to be risked, or the two kingdoms of naples and sicily; i rather think my decision would be to risk the former." and after he had acted upon this opinion, he wrote in these terms to the duke of clarence, with whose high notions of obedience he was well acquainted: "i am well aware of the consequences of disobeying my orders; but as i have often before risked my life for the good cause, so i with cheerfulness did my commission; for although a military tribunal may think me criminal, the world will approve of my conduct; and i regard not my own safety when the honour of my king is at stake." nelson was right in his judgment: no attempt was made on minorca: and the expulsion of the french from naples may rather be said to have been effected than accelerated by the english and portuguese of the allied fleet, acting upon shore, under troubridge. the french commandant at st. elmo, relying upon the strength of the place, and the nature of the force which attacked it, had insulted captain foote in the grossest terms; but citoyen mejan was soon taught better manners, when troubridge, in spite of every obstacle, opened five batteries upon the fort. he was informed that none of his letters, with the insolent printed words at the top, liberte eqalite, guerre aux tyrans, &c. would be received; but that if he wrote like a soldier and a gentleman he would be answered in the same style. the frenchman then began to flatter his antagonist upon the bienfaisance and humanite which, he said, were the least of the many virtues which distinguished monsieur troubridge. monsieur troubridge's bienfaisance was at this time thinking of mining the fort. "if we can accomplish that," said he, "i am a strong advocate to send them, hostages and all, to old nick, and surprise him with a group of nobility and republicans. meantime," he added, "it was some satisfaction to perceive that the shells fell well, and broke some of their shins." finally, to complete his character, mejan offered to surrender for 150,000 ducats. great britain, perhaps, has made but too little use of this kind of artillery, which france has found so effectual towards subjugating the continent: but troubridge had the prey within his reach; and in the course of a few days, his last battery, "after much trouble and palaver," as he said, "brought the vagabonds to their senses." troubridge had more difficulties to overcome this siege, from the character of the neapolitans who pretended to assist him, and whom he made useful, than even from the strength of the place and the skill of the french. "such damned cowards and villains," he declared, "he had never seen before." the men at the advanced posts carried on, what he called, "a diabolical good understanding" with the enemy, and the workmen would sometimes take fright and run away. "i make the best i can," said he, "of the degenerate race i have to deal with; the whole means of guns, ammunition, pioneers, &c., with all materials, rest with them. with fair promises to the men, and threats of instant death if i find any one erring, a little spur has been given." nelson said of him with truth, upon this occasion, that he was a first-rate general. "i find, sir," said he afterwards in a letter to the duke of clarence, "that general koehler does not approve of such irregular proceedings as naval officers attacking and defending fortifications. we have but one idea--to get close alongside. none but a sailor would have placed a battery only 180 yards from the castle of st. elmo; a soldier must have gone according to art, and the /\/\/\/\ way. my brave troubridge went straight on, for we had no time to spare." troubridge then proceeded to capua, and took the command of the motley besieging force. one thousand of the best men in the fleet were sent to assist in the siege. just at this time nelson received a peremptory order from lord keith to sail with the whole of his force for the protection of minorca; or, at least, to retain no more than was absolutely necessary at sicily. "you will easily conceive my feelings," said he in communicating this to earl st. vincent; "but my mind, as your lordship knows, was perfectly prepared for this order; and it is now, more than ever, made up. at this moment i will not part with a single ship; as i cannot do that without drawing a hundred and twenty men from each ship, now at the siege of capua. i am fully aware of the act i have committed; but i am prepared for any fate which may await my disobedience. capua and gaieta will soon fall; and the moment the scoundrels of french are out of this kingdom i shall send eight or nine ships of the line to minorca. i have done what i thought right--others may think differently; but it will be my consolation that i have gained a kingdom, seated a faithful ally of his majesty firmly on his throne, and restored happiness to millions." at capua, troubridge had the same difficulties as at st. elmo; and being farther from naples, and from the fleet, was less able to overcome them. the powder was so bad that he suspected treachery; and when he asked nelson to spare him forty casks from the ships, he told him it would be necessary that some englishmen should accompany it, or they would steal one-half, and change the other. "all the men you see," said he, "gentle and simple, are such notorious villains, that it is misery to be with them." capua, however, soon fell; gaieta immediately afterwards surrendered to captain louis of the minotaur. here the commanding officer acted more unlike a frenchman, captain louis said, than any one he had ever met; meaning that he acted like a man of honour. he required, however, that the garrison should carry away their horses, and other pillaged property: to which nelson replied, "that no property which they did not bring with them into the country could be theirs: and that the greatest care should be taken to prevent them from carrying it away." "i am sorry," said he to captain louis, "that you have entered into any altercation. there is no way of dealing with a frenchman but to knock him down; to be civil to them is only to be laughed at, when they are enemies." the whole kingdom of naples was thus delivered by nelson from the french. the admiralty, however, thought it expedient to censure him for disobeying lord keith's orders, and thus hazarding minorca, without, as it appeared to them, any sufficient reason; and also for having landed seamen for the siege of capua, to form part of an army employed in operations at a distance from the coast; where, in case of defeat, they might have been prevented from returning to their ships; and they enjoined him, "not to employ the seamen in like manner in future." this reprimand was issued before the event was known; though, indeed, the event would not affect the principle upon which it proceeded. when nelson communicated the tidings of his complete success, he said, in his public letter, "that it would not be the less acceptable for having been principally brought about by british sailors." his judgment in thus employing them had been justified by the result; and his joy was evidently heightened by the gratification of a professional and becoming pride. to the first lord he said, at the same time, "i certainly, from having only a left hand, cannot enter into details which may explain the motives that actuated my conduct. my principle is, to assist in driving the french to the devil, and in restoring peace and happiness to mankind. i feel that i am fitter to do the action than to describe it." he then added that he would take care of minorca. in expelling the french from naples, nelson had, with characteristic zeal and ability, discharged his duty; but he deceived himself when he imagined that he had seated ferdinand firmly on his throne, and that he had restored happiness to millions. these objects might have been accomplished if it had been possible to inspire virtue and wisdom into a vicious and infatuated court; and if nelson's eyes had not been, as it were, spell-bound by that unhappy attachment, which had now completely mastered him, he would have seen things as they were; and might, perhaps, have awakened the sicilian court to a sense of their interest, if not of their duty. that court employed itself in a miserable round of folly and festivity, while the prisons of naples were filled with groans, and the scaffolds streamed with blood. st. januarius was solemnly removed from his rank as patron saint of the kingdom, having been convicted of jacobinism; and st. antonio as solemnly installed in his place. the king, instead of re-establishing order at naples by his presence, speedily returned to palermo, to indulge in his favourite amusements. nelson, and the ambassador's family, accompanied the court; and troubridge remained, groaning over the villany and frivolity of those with whom he was compelled to deal. a party of officers applied to him for a passage to palermo, to see the procession of st. rosalia: he recommended them to exercise their troops, and not behave like children. it was grief enough for him that the court should be busied in these follies, and nelson involved in them. "i dread, my lord," said he, "all the feasting, &c. at palermo. i am sure your health will be hurt. if so, all their saints will be damned by the navy. the king would be better employed digesting a good government; everything gives way to their pleasures. the money spent at palermo gives discontent here; fifty thousand people are unemployed, trade discouraged, manufactures at a stand. it is the interest of many here to keep the king away: they all dread reform. their villanies are so deeply rooted, that if some method is not taken to dig them out, this government cannot hold together. out of twenty millions of ducats, collected as the revenue, only thirteen millions reach the treasury; and the king pays four ducats where he should pay one. he is surrounded by thieves; and none of them have honour or honesty enough to tell him the real and true state of things." in another letter he expressed his sense of the miserable state of naples. "there are upwards of forty thousand families," said he, "who have relations confined. if some act of oblivion is not passed, there will be no end of persecution; for the people of this country have no idea of anything but revenge, and to gain a point would swear ten thousand false oaths. constant efforts are made to get a man taken up, in order to rob him. the confiscated property does not reach the king's treasury. all thieves! it is selling for nothing. his own people, whom he employs, are buying it up, and the vagabonds pocket the whole. i should not be surprised to hear that they brought a bill of expenses against him for the sale." the sicilian court, however, were at this time duly sensible of the services which had been rendered them by the british fleet, and their gratitude to nelson was shown with proper and princely munificence. they gave him the dukedom and domain of bronte, worth about l3000 a year. it was some days before he could be persuaded to accept it; the argument which finally prevailed is said to have been suggested by the queen, and urged, at her request, by lady hamilton upon her knees. "he considered his own honour too much," she said, "if he persisted in refusing what the king and queen felt to be absolutely necessary for the preservation of theirs." the king himself, also, is said to have addressed him in words, which show that the sense of rank will sometimes confer a virtue upon those who seem to be most unworthy of the lot to which they have been born: "lord nelson, do you wish that your name alone should pass with honour to posterity; and that i, ferdinand bourbon, should appear ungrateful?" he gave him also, when the dukedom was accepted, a diamond-hilted sword, which his father, char. iii. of spain, had given him on his accession to the throne of the two sicilies. nelson said, "the reward was magnificent, and worthy of a king, and he was determined that the inhabitants on the domain should be the happiest in all his sicilian majesty's dominions. yet," said he, speaking of these and the other remunerations which were made him for his services, "these presents, rich as they are, do not elevate me. my pride is, that at constantinople, from the grand seignior to the lowest turk, the name of nelson is familiar in their mouths; and in this country i am everything which a grateful monarch and people can call me." nelson, however, had a pardonable pride in the outward and visible signs of honour which he had so fairly won. he was fond of his sicilian title; the signification, perhaps, pleased him; duke of thunder was what in dahomy would be called a strong name; it was to a sailor's taste; and certainly, to no man could it ever be more applicable. but a simple offering, which he received not long afterwards, from the island of zante, affected him with a deeper and finer feeling. the greeks of that little community sent him a golden-headed sword and a truncheon, set round with all the diamonds that the island could furnish, in a single row. they thanked him "for having, by his victory, preserved that part of greece from the horrors of anarchy; and prayed that his exploits might accelerate the day, in which, amidst the glory and peace of thrones, the miseries of the human race would cease." this unexpected tribute touched nelson to the heart. "no officer," he said, "had ever received from any country a higher acknowledgment of his services." the french still occupied the roman states; from which, according to their own admission, they had extorted in jewels, plate, specie, and requisitions of every kind, to the enormous amount of eight millions sterling; yet they affected to appear as deliverers among the people whom they were thus cruelly plundering; and they distributed portraits of buonaparte, with the blasphemous inscription, "this is the true likeness of the holy saviour of the world!" the people, detesting the impiety, and groaning beneath the exactions of these perfidious robbers, were ready to join any regular force that should come to their assistance; but they dreaded cardinal ruffo's rabble, and declared they would resist him as a banditti, who came only for the purpose of pillage. nelson perceived that no object was now so essential for the tranquillity of naples as the recovery of rome; which in the present state of things, when suvarof was driving the french before him, would complete the deliverance of italy. he applied, therefore, to sir james st. clair erskine, who in the absence of general fox commanded at minorca, to assist in this great object with 1200 men. "the field of glory," said he, "is a large one, and was never more open to any one than at this moment to you. rome would throw open her gates and receive you as her deliverer; and the pope would owe his restoration to a heretic." but sir james erskine looked only at the difficulties of the undertaking. "twelve hundred men, he thought, would be too small a force to be committed in such an enterprise; for civita vecchia was a regular fortress; the local situation and climate also were such, that even if this force were adequate, it would be proper to delay the expedition till october. general fox, too, was soon expected; and during his absence, and under existing circumstances, he did not feel justified in sending away such a detachment." what this general thought it imprudent to attempt, nelson and troubridge effected without his assistance, by a small detachment from the fleet. troubridge first sent captain hallowell to civita vecchia to offer the garrison there and at castle st. angelo the same terms which had been granted to gaieta. hallowell perceived, by the overstrained civility of the officers who came off to him, and the compliments which they paid to the english nation, that they were sensible of their own weakness and their inability to offer any effectual resistance; but the french know, that while they are in a condition to serve their government, they can rely upon it for every possible exertion in their support; and this reliance gives them hope and confidence to the last. upon hallowell's report, troubridge, who had now been made sir thomas for his services, sent captain louis with a squadron to enforce the terms which he had offered; and, as soon as he could leave naples, he himself followed. the french, who had no longer any hope from the fate of arms, relied upon their skill in negotiation, and proposed terms to troubridge with that effrontery which characterises their public proceedings; but which is as often successful as it is impudent. they had a man of the right stamp to deal with. their ambassador at rome began by saying, that the roman territory was the property of the french by right of conquest. the british commodore settled that point, by replying, "it is mine by reconquest." a capitulation was soon concluded for all the roman states, and captain louis rowed up the tiber in his barge, hoisted english colours on the capitol, and acted for the time as governor of rome. the prophecy of the irish poet was thus accomplished, and the friar reaped the fruits; for nelson, who was struck with the oddity of the circumstance, and not a little pleased with it, obtained preferment for him from the king of sicily, and recommended him to the pope. having thus completed his work upon the continent of italy, nelson's whole attention was directed towards malta; where captain ball, with most inadequate means, was besieging the french garrison. never was any officer engaged in more anxious and painful service: the smallest reinforcement from france would, at any moment, have turned the scale against him; and had it not been for his consummate ability, and the love and veneration with which the maltese regarded him, malta must have remained in the hands of the enemy. men, money, food--all things were wanting. the garrison consisted of 5000 troops; the besieging force of 500 english and portuguese marines, and about 1500 armed peasants. long and repeatedly did nelson solicit troops to effect the reduction of this important place. "it has been no fault of the navy," said he, "that malta has not been attacked by land; but we have neither the means ourselves nor influence with those who have." the same causes of demurral existed which prevented british troops from assisting in the expulsion of the french from rome. sir james erskine was expecting general fox; he could not act without orders; and not having, like nelson, that lively spring of hope within him, which partakes enough of the nature of faith to work miracles in war, he thought it "evident that unless a respectable land force, in numbers sufficient to undertake the siege of such a garrison, in one of the strongest places of europe, and supplied with proportionate artillery and stores, were sent against it, no reasonable hope could be entertained of its surrender." nelson groaned over the spirit of over-reasoning caution and unreasoning obedience. "my heart," said he, "is almost broken. if the enemy gets supplies in, we may bid adieu to malta; all the force we can collect would then be of little use against the strongest place in europe. to say that an officer is never, for any object, to alter his orders, is what i cannot comprehend. the circumstances of this war so often vary, that an officer has almost every moment to consider, what would my superiors direct, did they know what was passing under my nose?" "but, sir," said he writing to the duke of clarence, "i find few think as i do. to obey orders is all perfection. to serve my king, and to destroy the french, i consider as the great order of all, from which little ones spring; and if one of these militate against it (for who can tell exactly at a distance?) i go back and obey the great order and object, to down--down with the damned french villains!--my blood boils at the name of frenchmen!" at length, general fox arrived at minorca--and at length permitted col. graham to go to malta, but with means miserably limited. in fact, the expedition was at a stand for want of money; when troubridge arriving at messina to co-operate in it, and finding this fresh delay, immediately offered all that he could command of his own. "i procured him, my lord," said he to nelson,"1500 of my cobs--every farthing and every atom of me shall be devoted to the cause." "what can this mean?" said nelson, when he learned that col. graham was ordered not to incur any expenses for stores, or any articles except provisions!--"the cause cannot stand still for want of a little money. if nobody will pay it, i will sell bronte and the emperor of russia's box." and he actually pledged bronte for l6600 if there should be any difficulty about paying the bills. the long-delayed expedition was thus, at last, sent forth; but troubridge little imagined in what scenes of misery he was to bear his part. he looked to sicily for supplies: it was the interest, as well as the duty of the sicilian government to use every exertion for furnishing them; and nelson and the british ambassador were on the spot to press upon them the necessity of exertion. but, though nelson saw with what a knavish crew the sicilian court was surrounded, he was blind to the vices of the court itself; and resigning himself wholly to lady hamilton's influence, never even suspected the crooked policy which it was remorselessly pursuing. the maltese and the british in malta severely felt it. troubridge, who had the truest affection for nelson, knew his infatuation, and feared that it might prove injurious to his character, as well as fatal to an enterprise which had begun so well, and been carried on so patiently. "my lord," said he, writing to him from the siege, "we are dying off fast for want. i learn that sir william hamilton says prince luzzi refused corn some time ago, and sir william does not think it worth while making another application. if that be the case, i wish he commanded this distressing scene instead of me. puglia had an immense harvest; near thirty sail left messina before i did, to load corn. will they let us have any? if not, a short time will decide the business. the german interest prevails. i wish i was at your lordship's elbow for an hour. all, all, will be thrown on you!--i will parry the blow as much as in my power: i foresee much mischief brewing. god bless your lordship; i am miserable i cannot assist your operations more. many happy returns of the day to you--(it was the first of the new year)--i never spent so miserable a one. i am not very tender-hearted; but really the distress here would even move a neapolitan." soon afterwards he wrote, "i have this day saved thirty thousand people from starving; but with this day my ability ceases. as the government are bent on starving us, i see no alternative but to leave these poor unhappy people to perish, without our being witnesses of their distress. i curse the day i ever served the neapolitan government. we have characters, my lord, to lose; these people have none. do not suffer their infamous conduct to fall on us. our country is just, but severe. such is the fever of my brain this minute, that i assure you, on my honour, if the palermo traitors were here, i would shoot them first, and then myself. girgenti is full of corn; the money is ready to pay for it; we do not ask it as a gift. oh! could you see the horrid distress i daily experience, something would be done. some engine is at work against us at naples; and i believe i hit on the proper person. if you complain he will be immediately promoted, agreeably to the neapolitan custom. all i write to you is known at the queen's. for my own part, i look upon the neapolitans as the worst of intriguing enemies: every hour shows me their infamy and duplicity. i pray your lordship be cautious: your honest, open manner of acting will be made a handle of. when i see you, and tell of their infamous tricks, you will be as much surprised as i am. the whole will fall on you." nelson was not, and could not be, insensible to the distress which his friend so earnestly represented. he begged, almost on his knees, he said, small supplies of money and corn, to keep the maltese from starving. and when the court granted a small supply, protesting their poverty, he believed their protestations, and was satisfied with their professions, instead of insisting that the restrictions upon the exportation of corn should be withdrawn. the anxiety, however, which he endured, affected him so deeply that he said it had broken his spirit for ever. happily, all that troubridge with so much reason foreboded, did not come to pass. for captain ball, with more decision than nelson himself would have shown at that time and upon that occasion, ventured upon a resolute measure, for which his name would deserve always to be held in veneration by the maltese, even if it had no other claims to the love and reverence of a grateful people. finding it hopeless longer to look for succour or common humanity from the deceitful and infatuated court of sicily, which persisted in prohibiting by sanguinary edicts the exportation of supplies, at his own risk, he sent his first lieutenant to the port of girgenti, with orders to seize and bring with him to malta the ships which were there lying laden with corn; of the numbers of which he had received accurate information. these orders were executed to the great delight and advantage of the shipowners and proprietors: the necessity of raising the siege was removed, and captain ball waited in calmness for the consequences to himself. the neapolitan government complained to the english ambassador, and the complaint was communicated to nelson, who, in return, requested sir william hamilton would fully and plainly state, that the act ought not to be considered as any intended disrespect to his sicilian majesty, but as of the most absolute and imperious necessity; the alternative being either of abandoning malta to the french, or of anticipating the king's orders for carrying the corn in those vessels to malta. "i trust," he added, "that the government of the country will never again force any of our royal master's servants to so unpleasant an alternative." thus ended the complaint of the neapolitan court. "the sole result was," says mr. coleridge, "that the governor of malta became an especial object of its hatred, its fears, and its respect." nelson himself, at the beginning of february, sailed for that island. on the way he fell in with a french squadron bound for its relief, and consisting of the genereux seventy-four, three frigates, and a corvette. one of these frigates and the line-of-battle ship were taken; the others escaped, but failed in their purpose of reaching la valette. this success was peculiarly gratifying to nelson, for many reasons. during some months he had acted as commander-in-chief in the mediterranean, while lord keith was in england. lord keith was now returned; and nelson had, upon his own plan, and at his own risk, left him to sail for malta, "for which," said he, "if i had not succeeded, i might have been broke: and if i had not acted thus, the genereux never would have been taken." this ship was one of those which had escaped from aboukir. two frigates, and the guillaume tell, eighty-six were all that now remained of the fleet which buonaparte had conducted to egypt. the guillaume tell was at this time closely watched in the harbour of la valette; and shortly afterwards, attempting to make her escape from thence, was taken after an action, in which greater skill was never displayed by british ships, nor greater gallantry by an enemy. she was taken by the foudroyant, lion, and penelope frigate. nelson, rejoicing at what he called this glorious finish to the whole french mediterranean fleet, rejoiced also that he was not present to have taken a sprig of these brave men's laurels. "they are," said he, "and i glory in them, my children; they served in my school; and all of us caught our professional zeal and fire from the great and good earl st. vincent. what a pleasure, what happiness, to have the nile fleet all taken, under my orders and regulations!" the two frigates still remained in la valette; before its surrender they stole out; one was taken in the attempt; the other was the only ship of the whole fleet which escaped capture or destruction. letters were found on board the guillaume tell showing that the french were now become hopeless of preserving the conquest which they had so foully acquired. troubridge and his brother officers were anxious that nelson should have the honour of signing the capitulation. they told, him that they absolutely, as far as they dared, insisted on his staying to do this; but their earnest and affectionate entreaties were vain. sir william hamilton had just been superseded: nelson had no feeling of cordiality towards lord keith; and thinking that after earl st. vincent no man had so good a claim to the command in the mediterranean as himself, he applied for permission to return to england; telling the first lord of the admiralty that his spirit could not submit patiently, and that he was a broken-hearted man. from the time of his return from egypt, amid all the honours which were showered upon him, he had suffered many mortifications. sir sidney smith had been sent to egypt with orders to take under his command the squadron which nelson had left there. sir sidney appears to have thought that this command was to be independent of nelson; and nelson himself thinking so, determined to return, saying to earl st. vincent, "i do feel, for i am a man, that it is impossible for me to serve in these seas with a squadron under a junior officer." earl st. vincent seems to have dissuaded him from this resolution: some heart-burnings, however, still remained, and some incautious expressions of sir sidney's were noticed by him in terms of evident displeasure. but this did not continue long, as no man bore more willing testimony than nelson to the admirable defence of acre. he differed from sir sidney as to the policy which ought to be pursued toward the french in egypt; and strictly commanded him, in the strongest language, not, on any pretence, to permit a single frenchman to leave the country, saying that he considered it nothing short of madness to permit that band of thieves to return to europe. "no," said he, "to egypt they went with their own consent, and there they shall remain while nelson commands this squadron; for never, never, will he consent to the return of one ship or frenchman. i wish them to perish in egypt, and give an awful lesson to the world of the justice of the almighty." if nelson had not thoroughly understood the character of the enemy against whom he was engaged, their conduct in egypt would have disclosed it. after the battle of the nile he had landed all his prisoners, upon a solemn engagement made between troubridge on one side and captain barre on the other, that none of them should serve until regularly exchanged. they were no sooner on shore than part of them were drafted into the different regiments, and the remainder formed into a corps, called the nautic legion. this occasioned captain hallowell to say that the french had forfeited all claim to respect from us. "the army of buonaparte," said he, "are entirely destitute of every principle of honour: they have always acted like licentious thieves." buonaparte's escape was the more regretted by nelson, because, if he had had sufficient force, he thought it would certainly have been prevented. he wished to keep ships upon the watch to intercept anything coming from egypt; but the admiralty calculated upon the assistance of the russian fleet, which failed when it was most wanted. the ships which should have been thus employed were then required for more pressing services; and the bloody corsican was thus enabled to reach europe in safety; there to become the guilty instrument of a wider-spreading destruction than any with which the world had ever before been visited. nelson had other causes of chagrin. earl st. vincent, for whom he felt such high respect, and whom sir john orde had challenged for having nominated nelson instead of himself to the command of the nile squadron, laid claim to prize money, as commander-in-chief, after he had quitted the station. the point was contested, and decided against him. nelson, perhaps, felt this the more, because his own feelings, with regard to money, were so different. an opinion had been given by dr. lawrence, which would have excluded the junior flag-officers from prize-money. when this was made known to him, his reply was in these words: "notwithstanding dr. lawrence's opinion, i do not believe i have any right to exclude the junior flag-officers; and if i have, i desire that no such claim may be made: no, not if it were sixty times the sum--and, poor as i am, i were never to see prize-money." a ship could not be spared to convey him to england; he therefore travelled through germany to hamburgh, in company with his inseparable friends, sir william and lady hamilton. the queen of naples went with them to vienna. while they were at leghorn, upon a report that the french were approaching (for, through the folly of weak courts and the treachery of venal cabinets, they had now recovered their ascendancy in italy), the people rose tumultuously, and would fain have persuaded nelson to lead them against the enemy. public honours, and yet more gratifying testimonials of public admiration, awaited nelson wherever he went. the prince of esterhazy entertained him in a style of hungarian magnificence--a hundred grenadiers, each six feet in height, constantly waiting at table. at madgeburgh, the master of the hotel where he was entertained contrived to show him for money--admitting the curious to mount a ladder, and peep at him through a small window. a wine merchant at hamburgh, who was above seventy years of age, requested to speak with lady hamilton; and told her he had some rhenish wine, of the vintage of 1625, which had been in his own possession more than half-a-century: he had preserved it for some extraordinary occasion; and that which had now arrived was far beyond any that he could ever have expected. his request was, that her ladyship would prevail upon lord nelson to accept six dozen of this incomparable wine: part of it would then have the honour to flow into the heart's blood of that immortal hero; and this thought would make him happy during the remainder of his life. nelson, when this singular request was reported to him, went into the room, and taking the worthy old gentleman kindly by the hand, consented to receive six bottles, provided the donor would dine with him next day. twelve were sent; and nelson, saying that he hoped yet to win half-a-dozen more great victories, promised to lay by six bottles of his hamburgh friend's wine, for the purpose of drinking one after each. a german pastor, between seventy and eighty years of age, travelled forty miles, with the bible of his parish church, to request that nelson would write his name on the first leaf of it. he called him the saviour of the christian world. the old man's hope deceived him. there was no nelson upon shore, or europe would have been saved; but in his foresight of the horrors with which all germany and all christendom were threatened by france, the pastor could not possibly have apprehended more than has actually taken place. chapter vii 1800 1801 nelson separates himself from his wife--northern confederacy--he goes to the baltic, under sir hyde parker--battle of copenhagen, and subsequent negotiation--nelson is made a viscount. nelson was welcomed in england with every mark of popular honour. at yarmouth, where he landed, every ship in the harbour hoisted her colours. the mayor and corporation waited upon him with the freedom of the town, and accompanied him in procession to church, with all the naval officers on shore, and the principal inhabitants. bonfires and illuminations concluded the day; and on the morrow, the volunteer cavalry drew up, and saluted him as he departed, and followed the carriage to the borders of the county. at ipswich, the people came out to meet him, drew him a mile into the town, and three miles out. when he was in the agamemnon, he wished to represent this place in parliament, and some of his friends had consulted the leading men of the corporation--the result was not successful; and nelson, observing that he would endeavour to find out a preferable path into parliament, said there might come a time when the people of ipswich would think it an honour to have had him for their representative. in london, he was feasted by the city, drawn by the populace from ludgate-hill to guildhall, and received the thanks of the common-council for his great victory, and a golden-hilted sword studded with diamonds. nelson had every earthly blessing except domestic happiness; he had forfeited that for ever. before he had been three months in england he separated from lady nelson. some of his last words to her were--"i call god to witness, there is nothing in you, or your conduct, that i wish otherwise." this was the consequence of his infatuated attachment to lady hamilton. it had before caused a quarrel with his son-in-law, and occasioned remonstrances from his truest friends, which produced no other effect than that of making him displeased with them, and more dissatisfied with himself. the addington administration was just at this time formed; and nelson, who had solicited employment, and been made vice-admiral of the blue, was sent to the baltic, as second in command, under sir hyde parker, by earl st. vincent, the new first lord of the admiralty. the three northern courts had formed a confederacy for making england resign her naval rights. of these courts, russia was guided by the passions of its emperor, paul, a man not without fits of generosity, and some natural goodness, but subject to the wildest humours of caprice, and erased by the possession of greater power than can ever be safely, or perhaps innocently, possessed by weak humanity. denmark was french at heart: ready to co-operate in all the views of france, to recognise all her usurpations, and obey all her injunctions. sweden, under a king whose principles were right, and whose feelings were generous, but who had a taint of hereditary insanity, acted in acquiescence with the dictates of two powers whom it feared to offend. the danish navy, at this time, consisted of 23 ships of the line, with about 31 frigates and smaller vessels, exclusive of guard-ships. the swedes had 18 ships of the line, 14 frigates and sloops, seventy-four galleys and smaller vessels, besides gun-boats; and this force was in a far better state of equipment than the danish. the russians had 82 sail of the line and 40 frigates. of these there were 47 sail of the line at cronstadt, revel, petersburgh, and archangel; but the russian fleet was ill-manned, ill-officered, and ill-equipped. such a combination under the influence of france would soon have become formidable; and never did the british cabinet display more decision than in instantly preparing to crush it. they erred, however, in permitting any petty consideration to prevent them from appointing nelson to the command. the public properly murmured at seeing it intrusted to another; and he himself said to earl st. vincent that, circumstanced as he was, this expedition would probably be the last service that he should ever perform. the earl, in reply, besought him, for god's sake, not to suffer himself to be carried away by any sudden impulse. the season happened to be unusually favourable; so mild a winter had not been known in the baltic for many years. when nelson joined the fleet at yarmouth, he found the admiral "a little nervous about dark nights and fields of ice." "but we must brace up," said he; "these are not times for nervous systems. i hope we shall give our northern enemies that hailstorm of bullets which gives our dear country the dominion of the sea. we have it, and all the devils in the north cannot take it from us, if our wooden walls have fair play." before the fleet left yarmouth, it was sufficiently known that its destination was against denmark. some danes, who belonged to the amazon frigate, went to captain riou, and telling him what they had heard, begged that he would get them exchanged into a ship bound on some other destination. "they had no wish," they said, "to quit the british service; but they entreated that they might not be forced to fight against their own country." there was not in our whole navy a man who had a higher and more chivalrous sense of duty than riou. tears came into his eyes while the men were speaking. without making any reply, he instantly ordered his boat, and did not return to the amazon till he could tell them that their wish was effected. the fleet sailed on the 12th of march. mr. vansittart sailed in it; the british cabinet still hoping to attain its end by negotiation. it was well for england that sir hyde parker placed a fuller confidence in nelson than the government seems to have done at this most important crisis. her enemies might well have been astonished at learning that any other man should for a moment have been thought of for the command. but so little deference was paid, even at this time, to his intuitive and all-commanding genius, that when the fleet had reached its first rendezvous, at the entrance of the cattegat, he had received no official communication whatever of the intended operations. his own mind had been made up upon them with its accustomed decision. "all i have gathered of our first plans," said he, "i disapprove most exceedingly. honour may arise from them; good cannot. i hear we are likely to anchor outside of cronenburgh castle, instead of copenhagen, which would give weight to our negotiation. a danish minister would think twice before he would put his name to war with england, when the next moment he would probably see his master's fleet in flames, and his capital in ruins. the dane should see our flag every moment he lifted up his head." mr vansittart left the fleet at the scaw, and preceded it in a frigate with a flag of truce. precious time was lost by this delay, which was to be purchased by the dearest blood of britain and denmark: according to the danes themselves, the intelligence that a british fleet was seen off the sound produced a much more general alarm in copenhagen than its actual arrival in the roads; for the means of defence were at that time in such a state that they could hardly hope to resist, still less to repel an enemy. on the 21st nelson had a long conference with sir hyde; and the next day addressed a letter to him, worthy of himself and of the occasion. mr. vansittart's report had then been received. it represented the danish government as in the highest degree hostile, and their state of preparation as exceeding what our cabinet had supposed possible; for denmark had profited with all activity of the leisure which had so impoliticly been given her. "the more i have reflected," said nelson to his commander, "the more i am confirmed in opinion, that not a moment should be lost in attacking the enemy. they will every day and every hour be stronger; we shall never be so good a match for them as at this moment. the only consideration is, how to get at them with the least risk to our ships. here you are, with almost the safety, certainly with the honour of england, more entrusted to you than ever yet fell to the lot of any british officer. on your decision depends whether our country shall be degraded in the eyes of europe, or whether she shall rear her head higher than ever. again, i do repeat, never did our country depend so much upon the success of any fleet as on this. how best to honour her and abate the pride of her enemies, must be the subject of your deepest consideration." supposing him to force the passage of the sound, nelson thought some damage might be done among the masts and yards; though, perhaps, not one of them but would be serviceable again. "if the wind be fair," said he, "and you determined to attack the ships and crown islands, you must expect the natural issue of such a battle--ships crippled, and perhaps one or two lost for the wind which carries you in will most probably not bring out a crippled ship. this mode i call taking the bull by the horns. it, however, will not prevent the revel ships, or the swedes, from joining the danes and to prevent this is, in my humble opinion, a measure absolutely necessary, and still to attack copenhagen." for this he proposed two modes. one was to pass cronenburg, taking the risk of danger; take the deepest and straightest channel along the middle grounds, and then coming down to garbar, or king's channel, attack the danish line of floating batteries and ships as might be found convenient. this would prevent a junction, and might give an opportunity of bombarding copenhagen. or to take the passage of the belt, which might be accomplished in four or five days; and then the attack by draco might be made, and the junction of the russians prevented. supposing them through the belt, he proposed that a detachment of the fleet should be sent to destroy the russian squadron at revel; and that the business at copenhagen should be attempted with the remainder. "the measure," he said, "might be thought bold; but the boldest measures are the safest." the pilots, as men who had nothing but safety to think of, were terrified by the formidable report of the batteries of elsinore, and the tremendous preparations which our negotiators, who were now returned from their fruitless mission, had witnessed. they, therefore, persuaded sir hyde to prefer the passage of the belt. "let it be by the sound, by the belt, or anyhow," cried nelson, "only lose not an hour!" on the 26th they sailed for the belt. such was the habitual reserve of sir hyde that his own captain, the captain of the fleet, did not know which course he had resolved to take till the fleet were getting under weigh. when captain domett was thus apprised of it, he felt it his duty to represent to the admiral his belief that if that course were persevered in, the ultimate object would be totally defeated: it was liable to long delays, and to accidents of ships grounding; in the whole fleet there were only one captain and one pilot who knew anything of this formidable passage (as it was then deemed), and their knowledge was very slight--their instructions did not authorise them to attempt it. supposing them safe through the belts, the heavy ships could not come over the grounds to attack copenhagen; and light vessels would have no effect on such a line of defence as had been prepared against them. domett urged these reasons so forcibly that sir hyde's opinion was shaken, and he consented to bring the fleet to and send for nelson on board. there can be little doubt but that the expedition would have failed if captain domett had not thus timeously and earnestly given his advice. nelson entirely agreed with him; and it was finally determined to take the passage of the sound, and the fleet returned to its former anchorage. the next day was more idly expended in despatching a flag of truce to the governor of cronenburg castle, to ask whether he had received orders to fire at the british fleet; as the admiral must consider the first gun to be a declaration of war on the part of denmark. a soldier-like and becoming answer was returned to this formality. the governor said that the british minister had not been sent away from copenhagen, but had obtained a passport at his own demand. he himself, as a soldier, could not meddle with politics; but he was not at liberty to suffer a fleet, of which the intention was not yet known, to approach the guns of the castle which he had the honour to command: and he requested, "if the british admiral should think proper to make any proposals to the king of denmark, that he might be apprised of it before the fleet approached nearer." during this intercourse, a dane, who came on board the commander's ship, having occasion to express his business in writing, found the pen blunt; and, holding it up, sarcastically said, "if your guns are not better pointed than your pens, you will make little impression on copenhagen!" on that day intelligence reached the admiral of the loss of one of his fleet, the invincible, seventy-four, wrecked on a sand-bank, as she was coming out of yarmouth: four hundred of her men perished in her. nelson, who was now appointed to lead the van, shifted his flag to the elephant, captain foley--a lighter ship than the st. george, and, therefore, fitter for the expected operations. the two following days were calm. orders had been given to pass the sound as soon as the wind would permit; and, on the afternoon of the 29th, the ships were cleared for action, with an alacrity characteristic of british seamen. at daybreak on the 30th it blew a topsail breeze from n.w. the signal was made, and the fleet moved on in order of battle; nelson's division in the van, sir hyde's in the centre, and admiral graves' in the rear. great actions, whether military or naval, have generally given celebrity to the scenes from whence they are denominated; and thus petty villages, and capes and bays known only to the coasting trader, become associated with mighty deeds, and their names are made conspicuous in the history of the world. here, however, the scene was every way worthy of the drama. the political importance of the sound is such, that grand objects are not needed there to impress the imagination; yet is the channel full of grand and interesting objects, both of art and nature. this passage, which denmark had so long considered as the key of the baltic, is, in its narrowest part, about three miles wide; and here the city of elsinore is situated; except copenhagen, the most flourishing of the danish towns. every vessel which passes lowers her top-gallant sails and pays toll at elsinore; a toll which is believed to have had its origin in the consent of the traders to that sea, denmark taking upon itself the charge of constructing lighthouses, and erecting signals, to mark the shoals and rocks from the cattegat to the baltic; and they, on their part, agreeing that all ships should pass this way in order that all might pay their shares: none from that time using the passage of the belt, because it was not fitting that they who enjoyed the benefit of the beacons in dark and stormy weather, should evade contributing to them in fair seasons and summer nights. of late years about ten thousand vessels had annually paid this contribution in time of peace. adjoining elsinore, and at the edge of the peninsular promontory, upon the nearest point of land to the swedish coast, stands cronenburgh castle, built after tycho brahe's design; a magnificent pile--at once a palace, and fortress, and state-prison, with its spires, and towers, and battlements, and batteries. on the left of the strait is the old swedish city of helsinburg, at the foot, and on the side of a hill. to the north of helsinburg the shores are steep and rocky; they lower to the south; and the distant spires of lanscrona, lund, and malmoe are seen in the flat country. the danish shores consist partly of ridges of sand; but more frequently they are diversified with cornfields, meadows, slopes, and are covered with rich wood, and villages, and villas, and summer palaces belonging to the king and the nobility, and denoting the vicinity of a great capital. the isles of huen, statholm, and amak, appear in the widening channel; and at the distance of twenty miles from elsinore stands copenhagen in full view; the best city of the north, and one of the finest capitals of europe, visible, with its stately spires, far off. amid these magnificent objects there are some which possess a peculiar interest for the recollections which they call forth. the isle of huen, a lovely domain, about six miles in circumference, had been the munificent gift of frederick the second to tycho brahe. it has higher shores than the near coast of zealand, or than the swedish coast in that part. here most of his discoveries were made; and here the ruins are to be seen of his observatory, and of the mansion where he was visited by princes; and where, with a princely spirit, he received and entertained all comers from all parts, and promoted science by his liberality as well as by his labours. elsinore is a name familiar to english ears, being inseparably associated with hamlet, and one of the noblest works of human genius. cronenburgh had been the scene of deeper tragedy: here queen matilda was confined, the victim of a foul and murderous court intrigue. here, amid heart-breaking griefs, she found consolation in nursing her infant. here she took her everlasting leave of that infant, when, by the interference of england, her own deliverance was obtained; and as the ship bore her away from a country where the venial indiscretions of youth and unsuspicious gaiety had been so cruelly punished, upon these towers she fixed her eyes, and stood upon the deck, obstinately gazing toward them till the last speck had disappeared. the sound being the only frequented entrance to the baltic, the great mediterranean of the north, few parts of the sea display so frequent a navigation. in the height of the season not fewer than a hundred vessels pass every four-and-twenty hours for many weeks in succession; but never had so busy or so splendid a scene been exhibited there as on this day, when the british fleet prepared to force that passage where, till now, all ships had vailed their topsails to the flag of denmark. the whole force consisted of fifty-one sail of various descriptions, of which sixteen were of the line. the greater part of the bomb and gun vessels took their stations off cronenburgh castle, to cover the fleet; while others on the larboard were ready to engage the swedish shore. the danes, having improved every moment which ill-timed negotiation and baffling weather gave them, had lined their shores with batteries; and as soon as the monarch, which was the leading ship, came abreast of them, a fire was opened from about a hundred pieces of cannon and mortars; our light vessels immediately, in return, opened their fire upon the castle. here was all the pompous circumstance and exciting reality of war, without its effects; for this ostentatious display was but a bloodless prelude to the wide and sweeping destruction which was soon to follow. the enemy's shot fell near enough to splash the water on board our ships: not relying upon any forbearance of the swedes, they meant to have kept the mid channel; but when they perceived that not a shot was fired from helsinburg, and that no batteries were to be seen on the swedish shore, they inclined to that side, so as completely to get out of reach of the danish guns. the uninterrupted blaze which was kept up from them till the fleet had passed, served only to exhilarate our sailors, and afford them matter for jest, as the shot fell in showers a full cable's length short of its destined aim. a few rounds were returned from some of our leading ships, till they perceived its inutility: this, however, occasioned the only bloodshed of the day, some of our men being killed and wounded by the bursting of a gun. as soon as the main body had passed, the gun vessels followed, desisting from their bombardment, which had been as innocent as that of the enemy; and, about mid-day, the whole fleet anchored between the island of huen and copenhagen. sir hyde, with nelson, admiral graves, some of the senior captains, and the commanding officers of the artillery and the troops, then proceeded in a lugger to reconnoitre the enemy's means of defence; a formidable line of ships, radeaus, pontoons, galleys, fire-ships and gun-boats, flanked and supported by extensive batteries, and occupying, from one extreme point to the other, an extent of nearly four miles. a council of war was held in the afternoon. it was apparent that the danes could not be attacked without great difficulty and risk; and some of the members of the council spoke of the number of the swedes and the russians whom they should afterwards have to engage, as a consideration which ought to be borne in mind. nelson, who kept pacing the cabin, impatient as he ever was of anything which savoured of irresolution, repeatedly said, "the more numerous the better: i wish they were twice as many,--the easier the victory, depend on it." the plan upon which he had determined; if ever it should be his fortune to bring a baltic fleet to action, was, to attack the head of their line and confuse their movements. "close with a frenchman," he used to say, "but out manoeuvre a russian." he offered his services for the attack, requiring ten sail of the line and the whole of the smaller craft. sir hyde gave him two more line-of-battle ships than he asked, and left everything to his judgment. the enemy's force was not the only, nor the greatest, obstacle with which the british fleet had to contend: there was another to be overcome before they could come in contact with it. the channel was little known and extremely intricate: all the buoys had been removed; and the danes considered this difficulty as almost insuperable, thinking the channel impracticable for so large a fleet. nelson himself saw the soundings made and the buoys laid down, boating it upon this exhausting service, day and night, till it was effected. when this was done he thanked god for having enabled him to get through this difficult part of his duty. "it had worn him down," he said, "and was infinitely more grievous to him than any resistance which he could experience from the enemy." at the first council of war, opinions inclined to an attack from the eastward; but the next day, the wind being southerly, after a second examination of the danish position, it was determined to attack from the south, approaching in the manner which nelson had suggested in his first thoughts. on the morning of the 1st of april the whole fleet removed to an anchorage within two leagues of the town, and off the n.w. end of the middle ground; a shoal lying exactly before the town, at about three quarters of a mile distance, and extending along its whole sea-front. the king's channel, where there is deep water, is between this shoal and the town; and here the danes had arranged their line of defence, as near the shore as possible: nineteen ships and floating batteries, flanked, at the end nearest the town, by the crown batteries, which were two artificial islands, at the mouth of the harbour--most formidable works; the larger one having, by the danish account, 66 guns; but, as nelson believed, 88. the fleet having anchored, nelson, with riou, in the amazon, made his last examination of the ground; and about one o'clock, returning to his own ship, threw out the signal to weigh. it was received with a shout throughout the whole division; they weighed with a light and favourable wind: the narrow channel between the island of saltholm and the middle ground had been accurately buoyed; the small craft pointed out the course distinctly; riou led the way: the whole division coasted along the outer edge of the shoal, doubled its further extremity, and anchored there off draco point, just as the darkness closed--the headmost of the enemy's line not being more than two miles distant. the signal to prepare for action had been made early in the evening; and as his own anchor dropt, nelson called out, "i will fight them the moment i have a fair wind!" it had been agreed that sir hyde, with the remaining ships, should weigh on the following morning, at the same time as nelson, to menace the crown batteries on his side, and the four ships of the line which lay at the entrance of the arsenal; and to cover our own disabled ships as they came out of action. the danes, meantime, had not been idle: no sooner did the guns of cronenburgh make it known to the whole city that all negotiation was at an end, that the british fleet was passing the sound, and that the dispute between the two crowns must now be decided by arms, than a spirit displayed itself most honourable to the danish character. all ranks offered themselves to the service of their country; the university furnished a corps of 1200 youth, the flower of denmark--it was one of those emergencies in which little drilling or discipline is necessary to render courage available: they had nothing to learn but how to manage the guns, and day and night were employed in practising them. when the movements of nelson's squadron were perceived, it was known when and where the attack was to be expected, and the line of defence was manned indiscriminately by soldiers, sailors, and citizens. had not the whole attention of the danes been directed to strengthen their own means of defence, they might most materially have annoyed the invading squadron, and perhaps frustrated the impending attack; for the british ships were crowded in an anchoring ground of little extent:--it was calm, so that mortar-boats might have acted against them to the utmost advantage; and they were within range of shells from amak island. a few fell among them; but the enemy soon ceased to fire. it was learned afterwards, that, fortunately for the fleet, the bed of the mortar had given way; and the danes either could not get it replaced, or, in the darkness, lost the direction. this was an awful night for copenhagen--far more so than for the british fleet, where the men were accustomed to battle and victory, and had none of those objects before their eyes which rendered death terrible. nelson sat down to table with a large party of his officers: he was, as he was ever wont to be when on the eve of action, in high spirits, and drank to a leading wind, and to the success of the morrow. after supper they returned to their respective ships, except riou, who remained to arrange the order of battle with nelson and foley, and to draw up instructions. hardy, meantime, went in a small boat to examine the channel between them and the enemy; approaching so near that he sounded round their leading ship with a pole, lest the noise of throwing the lead should discover him. the incessant fatigue of body, as well as mind, which nelson had undergone during the last three days, had so exhausted him that he was earnestly urged to go to his cot; and his old servant, allen, using that kind of authority which long and affectionate services entitled and enabled him to assume on such occasions, insisted upon his complying. the cot was placed on the floor, and he continued to dictate from it. about eleven hardy returned, and reported the practicability of the channel, and the depth of water up to the enemy's line. about one the orders were completed; and half-a-dozen clerks, in the foremost cabin, proceeded to transcribe them, nelson frequently calling out to them from his cot to hasten their work, for the wind was becoming fair. instead of attempting to get a few hours' sleep, he was constantly receiving reports on this important point. at daybreak it was announced as becoming perfectly fair. the clerks finished their work about six. nelson, who was already up, breakfasted, and made signal for all captains. the land forces and five hundred seamen, under captain freemantle and the hon. colonel stewart, were to storm the crown battery as soon as its fire should be silenced: and riou--whom nelson had never seen till this expedition, but whose worth he had instantly perceived, and appreciated as it deserved--had the blanche and alcmene frigates, the dart and arrow sloops, and the zephyr and otter fire-ships, given him, with a special command to act as circumstances might require--every other ship had its station appointed. between eight and nine, the pilots and masters were ordered on board the admirals' ships. the pilots were mostly men who had been mates in baltic traders; and their hesitation about the bearing of the east end of the shoal, and the exact line of deep water, gave ominous warning of how little their knowledge was to be trusted. the signal for action had been made, the wind was fair--not a moment to be lost. nelson urged them to be steady, to be resolute, and to decide; but they wanted the only ground for steadiness and decision in such cases; and nelson had reason to regret that he had not trusted to hardy's single report. this was one of the most painful moments of his life; and he always spoke of it with bitterness. "i experienced in the sound," said he, "the misery of having the honour of our country entrusted to a set of pilots, who have no other thought than to keep the ships clear of danger, and their own silly heads clear of shot. everybody knows what i must have suffered; and if any merit attaches itself to me, it was for combating the dangers of the shallows in defiance of them." at length mr. bryerly, the master of the bellona, declared that he was prepared to lead the fleet; his judgment was acceded to by the rest; they returned to their ships; and at half-past nine the signal was made to weigh in succession. captain murray, in the edgar, led the way; the agamemnon was next in order; but on the first attempt to leave her anchorage, she could not weather the edge of the shoal; and nelson had the grief to see his old ship, in which he had performed so many years' gallant services, immovably aground at a moment when her help was so greatly required. signal was then made for the polyphemus; and this change in the order of sailing was executed with the utmost promptitude: yet so much delay had thus been unavoidably occasioned, that the edgar was for some time unsupported, and the polyphemus, whose place should have been at the end of the enemy's line, where their strength was the greatest, could get no further than the beginning, owing to the difficulty of the channel: there she occupied, indeed, an efficient station, but one where her presence was less required. the isis followed with better fortune, and took her own berth. the bellona, sir thomas boulden thompson, kept too close on the starboard shoal, and grounded abreast of the outer ship of the enemy: this was the more vexatious, inasmuch as the wind was fair, the room ample, and three ships had led the way. the russell, following the bellona, grounded in like manner: both were within reach of shot; but their absence from their intended stations was severely felt. each ship had been ordered to pass her leader on the starboard side, because the water was supposed to shoal on the larboard shore. nelson, who came next after these two ships, thought they had kept too far on the starboard direction, and made signal for them to close with the enemy, not knowing that they were aground; but when he perceived that they did not obey the signal, he ordered the elephant's helm to starboard, and went within these ships: thus quitting the appointed order of sailing, and guiding those which were to follow. the greater part of the fleet were probably, by this act of promptitude on his part, saved from going on shore. each ship, as she arrived nearly opposite to her appointed station, let her anchor go by the stern, and presented her broadside to the danes. the distance between each was about half a cable. the action was fought nearly at the distance of a cable's length from the enemy. this, which rendered its continuance so long, was owing to the ignorance and consequent indecision of the pilots. in pursuance of the same error which had led the bellona and the russell aground, they, when the lead was at a quarter less five, refused to approach nearer, in dread of shoaling their water on the larboard shore: a fear altogether erroneous, for the water deepened up to the very side of the enemy's line of battle. at five minutes after ten the action began. the first half of our fleet was engaged in about half an hour; and by half-past eleven the battle became general. the plan of the attack had been complete: but seldom has any plan been more disconcerted by untoward accidents. of twelve ships of the line, one was entirely useless, and two others in a situation where they could not render half the service which was required of them. of the squadron of gun-brigs, only one could get into action; the rest were prevented, by baffling currents, from weathering the eastern end of the shoal; and only two of the bomb-vessels could reach their station on the middle ground, and open their mortars on the arsenal, firing over both fleets. riou took the vacant station against the crown battery, with his frigates: attempting, with that unequal force, a service in which three sail of the line had been directed to assist. nelson's agitation had been extreme when he saw himself, before the action began, deprived of a fourth part of his ships of the line; but no sooner was he in battle, where his squadron was received with the fire of more than a thousand guns, than, as if that artillery, like music, had driven away all care and painful thoughts, his countenance brightened; and, as a bystander describes him, his conversation became joyous, animated, elevated, and delightful. the commander-in-chief meantime, near enough to the scene of action to know the unfavourable accidents which had so materially weakened nelson, and yet too distant to know the real state of the contending parties, suffered the most dreadful anxiety. to get to his assistance was impossible; both wind and current were against him. fear for the event, in such circumstances, would naturally preponderate in the bravest mind; and at one o'clock, perceiving that, after three hours' endurance, the enemy's fire was unslackened, he began to despair of success. "i will make the signal of recall," said he to his captain, "for nelson's sake. if he is in a condition to continue the action successfully, he will disregard it; if he is not, it will be an excuse for his retreat, and no blame can be imputed to him." captain domett urged him at least to delay the signal till he could communicate with nelson; but in sir hyde's opinion the danger was too pressing for delay. "the fire," he said, "was too hot for nelson to oppose; a retreat he thought must be made; he was aware of the consequences to his own personal reputation, but it would be cowardly in him to leave nelson to bear the whole shame of the failure, if shame it should be deemed." under, a mistaken judgment, therefore, but with this disinterested and generous feeling, he made the signal for retreat. nelson was at this time, in all the excitement of action, pacing the quarter-deck. a shot through the mainmast knocked the splinters about; and he observed to one of his officers with a smile, "it is warm work, and this day may be the last to any of us at a moment:"--and then stopping short at the gangway, added, with emotion--"but mark you! i would not be elsewhere for thousands." about this time the signal-lieutenant called out that number thirty-nine (the signal for discontinuing the action) was thrown out by the commander-in-chief. he continued to walk the deck, and appeared to take no notice of it. the signal officer met him at the next turn, and asked if he should repeat it. "no," he replied, "acknowledge it." presently he called after him to know if the signal for close action was still hoisted; and being answered in the affirmative, said, "mind you keep it so." he now paced the deck, moving the stump of his lost arm in a manner which always indicated great emotion. "do you know," said he to mr. ferguson, "what is shown on board the commander-in-chief? number thirty-nine!" mr. ferguson asked what that meant. "why, to leave off action!" then shrugging up his shoulders, he repeated the words--"leave off action? now, damn me if i do! you know, foley," turning to the captain, "i have only one eye,--i have a right to be blind sometimes:" and then putting the glass to his blind eye, in that mood of mind which sports with bitterness, he exclaimed, "i really do not see the signal!" presently he exclaimed, "damn the signal! keep mine for closer battle flying! that's the way i answer signals! nail mine to the mast!" admiral graves, who was so situated that he could not discern what was done on board the elephant, disobeyed sir hyde's signal in like manner; whether by fortunate mistake, or by a like brave intention, has not been made known. the other ships of the line, looking only to nelson, continued the action. the signal, however, saved riou's little squadron, but did not save its heroic leader. this squadron, which was nearest the commander-in-chief, obeyed and hauled off. it had suffered severely in its most unequal contest. for a long time the amazon had been firing, enveloped in smoke, when riou desired his men to stand fast, and let the smoke clear off, that they might see what they were about. a fatal order--for the danes then got clear sight of her from the batteries, and pointed their guns with such tremendous effect that nothing but the signal for retreat saved this frigate from destruction. "what will nelson think of us?" was riou's mournful exclamation when he unwillingly drew off. he had been wounded in the head by a splinter, and was sitting on a gun, encouraging his men, when, just as the amazon showed her stern to the trekroner battery, his clerk was killed by his side; and another shot swept away several marines who were hauling in the main-brace. "come, then, my boys!" cried riou; "let us die all together!" the words had scarcely been uttered before a raking shot cut him in two. except it had been nelson himself, the british navy could not have suffered a severer loss. the action continued along the line with unabated vigour on our side, and with the most determined resolution on the part of the danes. they fought to great advantage, because most of the vessels in their line of defence were without masts; the few which had any standing had their top-masts struck, and the hulls could not be seen at intervals. the isis must have been destroyed by the superior weight of her enemy's fire, if captain inman, in the desiree frigate, had not judiciously taken a situation which enabled him to rake the dane, if the polyphemus had not also relieved her. both in the bellona and the isis many men were lost by the bursting of their guns. the former ship was about forty years old, and these guns were believed to be the same which she had first taken to sea: they were, probably, originally faulty, for the fragments were full of little air-holes. the bellona lost 75 men; the isis, 110; the monarch, 210. she was, more than any other line-of-battle ship, exposed to the great battery; and supporting, at the same time, the united fire of the holstein and the zealand, her loss this day exceeded that of any single ship during the whole war. amid the tremendous carnage in this vessel, some of the men displayed a singular instance of coolness: the pork and peas happened to be in the kettle; a shot knocked its contents about; they picked up the pieces, and ate and fought at the same time. the prince-royal had taken his station upon one of the batteries, from whence he beheld the action and issued his orders. denmark had never been engaged in so arduous a contest, and never did the danes more nobly display their national courage--a courage not more unhappily than impolitically exerted in subserviency to the interests of france. captain thura, of the indfoedsretten, fell early in the action; and all his officers, except one lieutenant and one marine officer, were either killed or wounded in the confusion, the colours were either struck or shot away; but she was moored athwart one of the batteries in such a situation that the british made no attempt to board her; and a boat was despatched to the prince, to inform him of her situation. he turned to those about him, and said, "gentlemen, thura is killed; which of you will take the command?" schroedersee, a captain who had lately resigned on account of extreme ill-health, answered in a feeble voice, "i will!" and hastened on board. the crew, perceiving a new commander coming alongside, hoisted their colours again, and fired a broadside. schroedersee, when he came on deck, found himself surrounded by the dead and wounded, and called to those in the boat to get quickly on board: a ball struck him at that moment. a lieutenant, who had accompanied him, then took the command, and continued to fight the ship. a youth of seventeen, by name villemoes, particularly distinguished himself on this memorable day. he had volunteered to take the command of a floating battery, which was a raft, consisting merely of a number of beams nailed together, with a flooring to support the guns: it was square, with a breast-work full of port-holes, and without masts--carrying twenty-four guns, and one hundred and twenty men. with this he got under the stern of the elephant, below the reach of the stern-chasers; and under a heavy fire of small-arms from the marines, fought his raft, till the truce was announced, with such skill as well as courage, as to excite nelson's warmest admiration. between one and two the fire of the danes slackened; about two it ceased from the greater part of their line, and some of their lighter ships were adrift. it was, however, difficult to take possession of those which struck, because the batteries on amak island protected them; and because an irregular fire was kept up from the ships themselves as the boats approached. this arose from the nature of the action: the crews were continually reinforced from the shore; and fresh men coming on board, did not inquire whether the flag had been struck, or, perhaps, did not heed it; many or most of them never having been engaged in war before--knowing nothing, therefore, of its laws, and thinking only of defending their country to the last extremity. the danbrog fired upon the elephant's boats in this manner, though her commodore had removed her pendant and deserted her, though she had struck, and though she was in flames. after she had been abandoned by the commodore, braun fought her till he lost his right hand, and then captain lemming took the command. this unexpected renewal of her fire made the elephant and glatton renew theirs, till she was not only silenced, but nearly every man in the praams, ahead and astern of her, was killed. when the smoke of their guns died away, she was seen drifting in flames before the wind: those of her crew who remained alive, and able to exert themselves, throwing themselves out at her port-holes. captain bertie of the ardent sent his launch to their assistance, and saved three-and-twenty of them. captain rothe commanded the nyeborg praam; and perceiving that she could not much longer be kept afloat, made for the inner road. as he passed the line, he found the aggershuus praam in a more miserable condition than his own; her masts had all gone by the board, and she was on the point of sinking. rothe made fast a cable to her stern, and towed her off; but he could get her no further than a shoal called stubben, when she sunk, and soon after he had worked the nyeborg up to the landing-place, that vessel also sunk to her gunwale. never did any vessel come out of action in a more dreadful plight. the stump of her foremast was the only stick standing; her cabin had been stove in; every gun, except a single one, was dismounted; and her deck was covered with shattered limbs and dead bodies. by half-past two the action had ceased along that part of the line which was astern of the elephant, but not with the ships ahead and the crown batteries. nelson, seeing the manner in which his boats were fired upon when they went to take possession of the prizes, became angry, and said he must either send ashore to have this irregular proceeding stopped, or send a fire-ship and burn them. half the shot from the trekroner, and from the batteries at amak, at this time, struck the surrendered ships, four of which had got close together; and the fire of the english, in return, was equally or even more destructive to these poor devoted danes. nelson, who was as humane as he was brave, was shocked at the massacre--for such he called it; and with a presence of mind peculiar to himself, and never more signally displayed than now, he retired into the stern gallery, and wrote thus to the crown prince:--"vice-admiral lord nelson has been commanded to spare denmark when she no longer resists. the line of defence which covered her shores has struck to the british flag; but if the firing is continued on the part of denmark, he must set on fire all the prizes that he has taken, without having the power of saving the men who have so nobly defended them. the brave danes are the brothers, and should never be the enemies, of the english." a wafer was given him, but he ordered a candle to be brought from the cockpit, and sealed the letter with wax, affixing a larger seal than he ordinarily used. "this," said he, "is no time to appear hurried and informal." captain sir frederick thesiger, who acted as his aide-de-camp, carried this letter with a flag of truce. meantime the fire of the ships ahead, and the approach of the ramillies and defence from sir hyde's division, which had now worked near enough to alarm the enemy, though not to injure them, silenced the remainder of the danish line to the eastward of the trekroner. that battery, however, continued its fire. this formidable work, owing to the want of the ships which had been destined to attack it, and the inadequate force of riou's little squadron, was comparatively uninjured. towards the close of the action it had been manned with nearly fifteen hundred men; and the intention of storming it, for which every preparation had been made, was abandoned as impracticable. during thesiger's absence, nelson sent for freemantle, from the ganges, and consulted with him and foley whether it was advisable to advance, with those ships which had sustained least damage, against the yet uninjured part of the danish line. they were decidedly of opinion that the best thing which could be done was, while the wind continued fair, to remove the fleet out of the intricate channel from which it had to retreat. in somewhat more than half an hour after thesiger had been despatched, the danish adjutant-general, lindholm came, bearing a flag of truce, upon which the trekroner ceased to fire, and the action closed, after four hours' continuance. he brought an inquiry from the prince,--what was the object of nelson's note? the british admiral wrote in reply:--"lord nelson's object in sending the flag of truce was humanity; he therefore consents that hostilities shall cease, and that the wounded danes may be taken on shore. and lord nelson will take his prisoners out of the vessels, and burn or carry off his prizes as he shall think fit. lord nelson, with humble duty to his royal highness the prince, will consider this the greatest victory he has ever gained, if it may be the cause of a happy reconciliation and union between his own most gracious sovereign and his majesty the king of denmark." sir frederick thesiger was despatched a second time with the reply; and the danish adjutant-general was referred to the commander-in-chief for a conference upon this overture. lindholm assenting to this, proceeded to the london, which was riding at anchor full four miles off and nelson, losing not one of the critical moments which he had thus gained, made signal for his leading ships to weigh in succession; they had the shoal to clear, they were much crippled, and their course was immediately under the guns of the trekroner. the monarch led the way. this ship had received six-and-twenty shot between wind and water. she had not a shroud standing; there was a double-headed shot in the heart of her foremast, and the slightest wind would have sent every mast over her side. the imminent danger from which nelson had extricated himself soon became apparent: the monarch touched immediately upon a shoal, over which she was pushed by the ganges taking her amidships; the glatton went clear; but the other two, the defiance and the elephant, grounded about a mile from the trekroner, and there remained fixed for many hours, in spite of all the exertions of their wearied crews. the desiree frigate also, at the other end of the line, having gone toward the close of the action to assist the bellona, became fast on the same shoal. nelson left the elephant soon after she took the ground, to follow lindholm. the heat of the action was over, and that kind of feeling which the surrounding scene of havoc was so well fitted to produce, pressed heavily upon his exhausted spirits. the sky had suddenly become overcast; white flags were waving from the mast-heads of so many shattered ships; the slaughter had ceased, but the grief was to come; for the account of the dead was not yet made up, and no man could tell for what friends he might have to mourn. the very silence which follows the cessation of such a battle becomes a weight upon the heart at first, rather than a relief; and though the work of mutual destruction was at an end, the danbrog was at this time drifting about in flames; presently she blew up; while our boats, which had put off in all directions to assist her, were endeavouring to pick up her devoted crew, few of whom could be saved. the fate of these men, after the gallantry which they had displayed, particularly affected nelson; for there was nothing in this action of that indignation against the enemy, and that impression of retributive justice, which at the nile had given a sterner temper to his mind, and a sense of austere delight in beholding the vengeance of which he was the appointed minister. the danes were an honourable foe; they were of english mould as well as english blood; and now that the battle had ceased, he regarded them rather as brethren than as enemies. there was another reflection also which mingled with these melancholy thoughts, and predisposed him to receive them. he was not here master of his own movements, as at egypt; he had won the day by disobeying his orders; and in so far as he had been successful, had convicted the commander-in-chief of an error in judgment. "well," said he, as he left the elephant, "i have fought contrary to orders, and i shall perhaps be hanged. never mind: let them!" this was the language of a man who, while he is giving utterance to uneasy thought, clothes it half in jest, because he half repents that it has been disclosed. his services had been too eminent on that day, his judgment too conspicuous, his success too signal, for any commander, however jealous of his own authority, or envious of another's merits, to express anything but satisfaction and gratitude: which sir hyde heartily felt, and sincerely expressed. it was speedily agreed that there should be a suspension of hostilities for four-and-twenty hours; that all the prizes should be surrendered, and the wounded danes carried on shore. there was a pressing necessity for this, for the danes, either from too much confidence in the strength of their position and the difficulty of the channel, or supposing that the wounded might be carried on shore during the action, which was found totally impracticable, or perhaps from the confusion which the attack excited, had provided no surgeons; so that, when our men boarded the captured ships, they found many of the mangled and mutilated danes bleeding to death for want of proper assistance--a scene, of all others, the most shocking to a brave man's feelings. the boats of sir hyde's division were actively employed all night in bringing out the prizes, and in getting afloat the ships which were on shore. at daybreak, nelson, who had slept in his own ship, the st. george, rowed to the elephant; and his delight at finding her afloat seemed to give him new life. there he took a hasty breakfast, praising the men for their exertions, and then pushed off to the prizes, which had not yet been removed. the zealand, seventy-four, the last which struck, had drifted on the shoal under the trekroner; and relying, as it seems, upon the protection which that battery might have afforded, refused to acknowledge herself captured; saying, that though it was true her flag was not to be seen, her pendant was still flying. nelson ordered one of our brigs and three long-boats to approach her, and rowed up himself to one of the enemy's ships, to communicate with the commodore. this officer proved to be an old acquaintance, whom he had known in the west indies; so he invited himself on board, and with that urbanity as well as decision which always characterised him, urged his claim to the zealand so well that it was admitted. the men from the boats lashed a cable round her bowsprit, and the gun-vessel towed her away. it is affirmed, and probably with truth, that the danes felt more pain at beholding this than at all their misfortunes on the preceding day; and one of the officers, commodore steen rille, went to the trekroner battery, and asked the commander why he had not sunk the zealand, rather than suffer her thus to be carried off by the enemy? this was, indeed, a mournful day for copenhagen! it was good friday; but the general agitation, and the mourning which was in every house, made all distinction of days be forgotten. there were, at that hour, thousands in that city who felt, and more perhaps who needed, the consolations of christianity, but few or none who could be calm enough to think of its observances. the english were actively employed in refitting their own ships, securing the prizes, and distributing the prisoners; the danes, in carrying on shore and disposing of the wounded and the dead. it had been a murderous action. our loss, in killed and wounded, was 953. part of this slaughter might have been spared. the commanding officer of the troops on board one of our ships asked where his men should be stationed? he was told that they could be of no use! that they were not near enough for musketry, and were not wanted at the guns; they had, therefore, better go below. this, he said, was impossible; it would be a disgrace that could never be wiped away. they were, therefore, drawn up upon the gangway, to satisfy this cruel point of honour; and there, without the possibility of annoying the enemy, they were mowed down! the loss of the danes, including prisoners, amounted to about six thousand. the negotiations, meantime, went on; and it was agreed that nelson should have an interview with the prince the following day. hardy and freemantle landed with him. this was a thing as unexampled as the other circumstances of the battle. a strong guard was appointed to escort him to the palace, as much for the purpose of security as of honour. the populace, according to the british account, showed a mixture of admiration, curiosity, and displeasure, at beholding that man in the midst of them who had inflicted such wounds upon denmark. but there were neither acclamations nor murmurs. "the people," says a dane, "did not degrade themselves with the former, nor disgrace themselves with the latter: the admiral was received as one brave enemy ever ought to receive another--he was received with respect." the preliminaries of the negotiation were adjusted at this interview. during the repast which followed, nelson, with all the sincerity of his character, bore willing testimony to the valour of his foes. he told the prince that he had been in a hundred and five engagements, but that this was the most tremendous of all. "the french," he said, "fought bravely; but they could not have stood for one hour the fight which the danes had supported for four." he requested that villemoes might be introduced to him; and, shaking hands with the youth, told the prince that he ought to be made an admiral. the prince replied: "if, my lord, i am to make all my brave officers admirals, i should have no captains or lieutenants in my service." the sympathy of the danes for their countrymen who had bled in their defence, was not weakened by distance of time or place in this instance. things needful for the service, or the comfort of the wounded, were sent in profusion to the hospitals, till the superintendents gave public notice that they could receive no more. on the third day after the action, the dead were buried in the naval churchyard: the ceremony was made as public and as solemn as the occasion required; such a procession had never before been seen in that, or perhaps in any other city. a public monument was erected upon the spot where the slain were gathered together. a subscription was opened on the day of the funeral for the relief of the sufferers, and collections in aid of it made throughout all the churches in the kingdom. this appeal to the feelings of the people was made with circumstances which gave it full effect. a monument was raised in the midst of the church, surmounted by the danish colours: young maidens, dressed in white, stood round it, with either one who had been wounded in the battle, or the widow and orphans of some one who had fallen: a suitable oration was delivered from the pulpit, and patriotic hymns and songs were afterwards performed. medals were distributed to all the officers, and to the men who had distinguished themselves. poets and painters vied with each other in celebrating a battle which, disastrous as it was, had yet been honourable to their country: some, with pardonable sophistry, represented the advantage of the day as on their own side. one writer discovered a more curious, but less disputable ground of satisfaction, in the reflection that nelson, as may be inferred from his name, was of danish descent, and his actions therefore, the dane argued, were attributable to danish valour. the negotiation was continued during the five following days; and in that interval the prizes were disposed of, in a manner which was little approved by nelson. six line-of-battle ships and eight praams had been taken. of these the holstein, sixty-four, was the only one which was sent home. the zealand was a finer ship; but the zealand and all the others were burned, and their brass battering cannon sunk with the hulls in such shoal water, that, when the fleet returned from revel, they found the danes, with craft over the wrecks, employed in getting the guns up again. nelson, though he forbore from any public expression of displeasure at seeing the proofs and trophies of his victory destroyed, did not forget to represent to the admiralty the case of those who were thus deprived of their prize-money. "whether," said he to earl st. vincent, "sir hyde parker may mention the subject to you, i know not; for he is rich, and does not want it: nor is it, you will believe me, any desire to get a few hundred pounds that actuates me to address this letter to you; but justice to the brave officers and men who fought on that day. it is true our opponents were in hulks and floats, only adapted for the position they were in; but that made our battle so much the harder, and victory so much the more difficult to obtain. believe me, i have weighed all circumstances; and, in my conscience, i think that the king should send a gracious message to the house of commons for a gift to this fleet; for what must be the natural feelings of the officers and men belonging to it, to see their rich commander-in-chief burn all the fruits of their victory, which, if fitted up and sent to england (as many of them might have been by dismantling part of our fleet), would have sold for a good round sum." on the 9th, nelson landed again, to conclude the terms of the armistice. during its continuance the armed ships and vessels of denmark were to remain in their actual situation, as to armament, equipment, and hostile position; and the treaty of armed neutrality, as far as related to the co-operation of denmark, was suspended. the prisoners were to be sent on shore; an acknowledgment being given for them, and for the wounded also, that: they might be carried to great britain's credit in the account of war, in case hostilities should be renewed. the british fleet was allowed to provide itself with all things requisite for the health and comfort of its men. a difficulty arose respecting the duration of the armistice. the danish commissioners fairly stated their fears of russia; and nelson, with that frankness which sound policy and the sense of power seem often to require as well as justify in diplomacy, told them his reason for demanding a long term was, that he might have time to act against the russian fleet, and then return to copenhagen. neither party would yield upon this point; and one of the danes hinted at the renewal of hostilities. "renew hostilities!" cried nelson to one of his friends--for he understood french enough to comprehend what was said, though not to answer it in the same language--"tell him we are ready at a moment! ready to bombard this very night!" the conference, however, proceeded amicably on both sides; and as the commissioners could not agree on this head, they broke up, leaving nelson to settle it with the prince. a levee was held forthwith in one of the state-rooms, a scene well suited for such a consultation; for all these rooms had been stripped of their furniture, in fear of a bombardment. to a bombardment also nelson was looking at this time: fatigue and anxiety, and vexation at the dilatory measures of the commander-in-chief, combined to make him irritable; and as he was on his way to the prince's dining-room, he whispered to the officer on whose arm he was leaning, "though i have only one eye, i can see that all this will burn well." after dinner he was closeted with the prince; and they agreed that the armistice should continue fourteen weeks; and that, at its termination, fourteen days' notice should be given before the recommencement of hostilities. an official account of the battle was published by olfert fischer, the danish commander-in-chief in which it was asserted that our force was greatly superior; nevertheless, that two of our ships of the line had struck; that the others were so weakened, and especially lord nelson's own ship, as to fire only single shots for an hour before the end of the action; and that this hero himself, in the middle and very heat of the conflict, sent a flag of truce on shore, to propose a cessation of hostilities. for the truth of this account the dane appealed to the prince, and all those who, like him, had been eyewitnesses of the scene. nelson was exceedingly indignant at such a statement, and addressed a letter in confutation of it to the adjutant-general lindholm; thinking this incumbent on him for the information of the prince, since his royal highness had been appealed to as a witness: "otherwise," said he, "had commodore fischer confined himself to his own veracity, i should have treated his official letter with the contempt it deserved, and allowed the world to appreciate the merits of the two commanding officers." after pointing out and detecting some of the misstatements in the account, he proceeds: "as to his nonsense about victory, his royal highness will not much credit him. i sunk, burnt, captured, or drove into the harbour, the whole line of defence to the southward of the crown islands. he says he is told that two british ships struck. why did he not take possession of them? i took possession of his as fast as they struck. the reason is clear, that he did not believe it: he must have known the falsity of the report. he states that the ship in which i had the honour to hoist my flag fired latterly only single guns. it is true; for steady and cool were my brave fellows, and did not wish to throw away a single shot. he seems to exult that i sent on shore a flag of truce. you know, and his royal highness knows, that the guns fired from the shore could only fire through the danish ships which had surrendered; and that, if i fired at the shore, it could only be in the same manner. god forbid that i should destroy an unresisting dane! when they become my prisoners, i become their protector." this letter was written in terms of great asperity to the danish commander. lindholm replied in a manner every way honourable to himself. he vindicated the commodore in some points, and excused him in others; reminding nelson that every commander-in-chief was liable to receive incorrect reports. with a natural desire to represent the action in the most favourable light to denmark, he took into the comparative strength of the two parties the ships which were aground, and which could not get into action; and omitted the trekroner and the batteries upon amak island. he disclaimed all idea of claiming as a victory, "what, to every intent and purpose," said he, "was a defeat--but not an inglorious one. as to your lordship's motive for sending a flag of truce, it never can be misconstrued and your subsequent conduct has sufficiently shown that humanity is always the companion of true valour. you have done more: you have shown yourself a friend to the re-establishment of peace and good harmony between this country and great britain. it is, therefore, with the sincerest esteem i shall always feel myself attached to your lordship." thus handsomely winding up his reply, he soothed and contented nelson; who drawing up a memorandum of the comparative force of the two parties for his own satisfaction, assured lindholm that, if the commodore's statement had been in the same manly and honourable strain, he would have been the last man to have noticed any little inaccuracies which might get into a commander-in-chiefs public letter. for the battle of copenhagen nelson was raised to the rank of viscount--an inadequate mark of reward for services so splendid, and of such paramount importance to the dearest interests of england. there was, however, some prudence in dealing out honours to him step by step: had he lived long enough, he would have fought his way up to a dukedom. chapter viii 1801 1805 sir hyde parker is recalled and nelson appointed commander--he goes to revel--settlement of affairs in the baltic--unsuccessful attempt upon the flotilla at boulogne--peace of amiens--nelson takes command in the mediterranean on the renewal of the war--escape of the toulon fleet--nelson chases them to the west indies and back--delivers up his squadron to admiral cornwallis and lands in england. when nelson informed earl st. vincent that the armistice had been concluded, he told him also, without reserve, his own discontent at the dilatoriness and indecision which he witnessed, and could not remedy. "no man," said he, "but those who are on the spot, can tell what i have gone through, and do suffer. i make no scruple in saying, that i would have been at revel fourteen days ago! that, without this armistice, the fleet would never have gone, but by order of the admiralty; and with it, i daresay, we shall not go this week. i wanted sir hyde to let me, at least, go and cruise off carlscrona, to prevent the revel ships from getting in. i said i would not go to revel to take any of those laurels which i was sure he would reap there. think for me, my dear lord: and if i have deserved well, let me return; if ill, for heaven's sake supersede me, for i cannot exist in this state." fatigue, incessant anxiety, and a climate little suited to one of a tender constitution, which had now for many years been accustomed to more genial latitudes, made him at this time seriously determine upon returning home. "if the northern business were not settled," he said, "they must send more admirals; for the keen air of the north had cut him to the heart." he felt the want of activity and decision in the commander-in-chief more keenly; and this affected his spirits, and, consequently, his health, more than the inclemency of the baltic. soon after the armistice was signed, sir hyde proceeded to the eastward with such ships as were fit for service, leaving nelson to follow with the rest, as soon as those which had received slight damages should be repaired, and the rest sent to england. in passing between the isles of amak and saltholm, most of the ships touched the ground, and some of them stuck fast for a while: no serious injury, however, was sustained. it was intended to act against the russians first, before the breaking up of the frost should enable them to leave revel; but learning on the way that the swedes had put to sea to effect a junction with them, sir hyde altered his course, in hopes of intercepting this part of the enemy's force. nelson had, at this time, provided for the more pressing emergencies of the service, and prepared on the 18th to follow the fleet. the st. george drew too much water to pass the channel between the isles without being lightened; the guns were therefore taken out, and put on board an american vessel; a contrary wind, however, prevented nelson from moving; and on that same evening, while he was thus delayed, information reached him of the relative situation of the swedish and british fleets, and the probability of an action. the fleet was nearly ten leagues distant, and both wind and current contrary, but it was not possible that nelson could wait for a favourable season under such an expectation. he ordered his boat immediately, and stepped into it. night was setting in, one of the cold spring nights of the north; and it was discovered, soon after they left the ship, that in their haste they had forgotten to provide him with a boat-cloak. he, however, forbade them to return for one; and when one of his companions offered his own great-coat, and urged him to make use of it, he replied, "i thank you very much; but, to tell you the truth, my anxiety keeps me sufficiently warm at present." "do you think," said he presently, "that our fleet has quitted bornholm? if it has, we must follow it to carlscrona." about midnight he reached it, and once more got on board the elephant. on the following morning the swedes were discovered; as soon, however, as they perceived the english approaching, they retired, and took shelter in carlscrona, behind the batteries on the island, at the entrance of that port. sir hyde sent in a flag of truce, stating that denmark had concluded an armistice, and requiring an explicit declaration from the court of sweden, whether it would adhere to or abandon the hostile measures which it had taken against the rights and interests of great britain? the commander, vice-admiral cronstadt, replied, "that he could not answer a question which did not come within the particular circle of his duty; but that the king was then at maloe, and would soon be at carlscrona." gustavus shortly afterwards arrived, and an answer was then returned to this effect: "that his swedish majesty would not, for a moment, fail to fulfil, with fidelity and sincerity, the engagements he had entered into with his allies; but he would not refuse to listen to equitable proposals made by deputies furnished with proper authority by the king of great britain to the united northern powers." satisfied with this answer, and with the known disposition of the swedish court, sir hyde sailed for the gulf of finland; but he had not proceeded far before a despatch boat from the russian ambassador at copenhagen arrived, bringing intelligence of the death of the emperor paul, and that his successor alexander had accepted the offer made by england to his father of terminating the dispute by a convention: the british admiral was, therefore, required to desist from all further hostilities. it was nelson's maxim, that, to negotiate with effect, force should be at hand, and in a situation to act. the fleet, having been reinforced from england, amounted to eighteen sail of the line, and the wind was fair for revel. there he would have sailed immediately to place himself between that division of the russian fleet and the squadron at cronstadt, in case this offer should prove insincere. sir hyde, on the other hand, believed that the death of paul had effected all which was necessary. the manner of that death, indeed, rendered it apparent that a change of policy would take place in the cabinet of petersburgh; but nelson never trusted anything to the uncertain events of time, which could possibly be secured by promptitude or resolution. it was not, therefore, without severe mortification, that he saw the commander-in-chief return to the coast of zealand, and anchor in kioge bay, there to wait patiently for what might happen. there the fleet remained till dispatches arrived from home, on the 5th of may, recalling sir hyde, and appointing nelson commander-in-chief. nelson wrote to earl st. vincent that he was unable to hold this honourable station. admiral graves also was so ill as to be confined to his bed; and he entreated that some person might come out and take the command. "i will endeavour," said he, "to do my best while i remain; but, my dear lord, i shall either soon go to heaven, i hope, or must rest quiet for a time. if sir hyde were gone, i would now be under sail." on the day when this was written, he received news of his appointment. not a moment was now lost. his first signal, as commander-in-chief, was to hoist in all launches and prepare to weigh; and on the 7th he sailed from kioge. part of his fleet was left at bornholm, to watch the swedes, from whom he required and obtained an assurance that the british trade in the cattegat and in the baltic should not be molested; and saying how unpleasant it would be to him if anything should happen which might for a moment disturb the returning harmony between sweden and great britain, he apprised them that he was not directed to abstain from hostilities should he meet with the swedish fleet at sea. meantime he himself; with ten sail of the line, two frigates, a brig, and a schooner, made for the gulf of finland. paul, in one of the freaks of his tyranny, had seized upon all the british effects in russia, and even considered british subjects as his prisoners. "i will have all the english shipping and property restored," said nelson, "but i will do nothing violently, neither commit the affairs of my country, nor suffer russia to mix the affairs of denmark or sweden with the detention of our ships." the wind was fair, and carried him in four days to revel roads. but the bay had been clear of firm ice on the 29th of april, while the english were lying idly at kioge. the russians had cut through the ice in the mole six feet thick, and their whole squadron had sailed for cronstadt on the 3rd. before that time it had lain at the mercy of the english. "nothing," nelson said, "if it had been right to make the attack, could have saved one ship of them in two hours after our entering the bay." it so happened that there was no cause to regret the opportunity which had been lost, and nelson immediately put the intentions of russia to the proof. he sent on shore, to say that he came with friendly views, and was ready to return a salute. on their part the salute was delayed, till a message was sent to them to inquire for what reason; and the officer whose neglect had occasioned the delay, was put under arrest. nelson wrote to the emperor, proposing to wait on him personally and congratulate him on his accession, and urged the immediate release of british subjects, and restoration of british property. the answer arrived on the 16th: nelson, meantime, had exchanged visits with the governor, and the most friendly intercourse had subsisted between the ships and the shore. alexander's ministers, in their reply, expressed their surprise at the arrival of a british fleet in a russian port, and their wish that it should return: they professed, on the part of russia, the most friendly disposition towards great britain; but declined the personal visit of lord nelson, unless he came in a single ship. there was a suspicion implied in this which stung nelson; and he said the russian ministers would never have written thus if their fleet had been at revel. he wrote an immediate reply, expressing what he felt; he told the court of petersburgh, "that the word of a british admiral, when given in explanation of any part of his conduct, was as sacred as that of any sovereign's in europe." and he repeated, "that, under other circumstances, it would have been his anxious wish to have paid his personal respects to the emperor, and signed with his own hand the act of amity between the two countries." having despatched this, he stood out to sea immediately, leaving a brig to bring off the provisions which had been contracted for, and to settle the accounts. "i hope all is right," said he, writing to our ambassador at berlin; "but seamen are but bad negotiators; for we put to issue in five minutes what diplomatic forms would be five months doing." on his way down the baltic, however, he met the russian admiral, tchitchagof, whom the emperor, in reply to sir hyde's overtures, had sent to communicate personally with the british commander-in-chief. the reply was such as had been wished and expected; and these negotiators going, seamen-like, straight to their object, satisfied each other of the friendly intentions of their respective governments. nelson then anchored off rostock; and there he received an answer to his last despatch from revel, in which the russian court expressed their regret that there should have been any misconception between them; informed him that the british vessels which paul had detained were ordered to be liberated, and invited him to petersburgh, in whatever mode might be most agreeable to himself. other honours awaited him: the duke of mecklenburgh strelitz, the queen's brother, came to visit him on board his ship; and towns of the inland parts of mecklenburgh sent deputations, with their public books of record, that they might have the name of nelson in them written by his own hand. from rostock the fleet returned to kioge bay. nelson saw that the temper of the danes towards england was such as naturally arose from the chastisement which they had so recently received. "in this nation," said he, "we shall not be forgiven for having the upper hand of them: i only thank god we have, or they would try to humble us to the dust." he saw also that the danish cabinet was completely subservient to france: a french officer was at this time the companion and counsellor of the crown prince; and things were done in such open violation of the armistice, that nelson thought a second infliction of vengeance would soon be necessary. he wrote to the admiralty, requesting a clear and explicit reply to his inquiry, whether the commander-in-chief was at liberty to hold the language becoming a british admiral? "which, very probably," said he, "if i am here, will break the armistice, and set copenhagen in a blaze. i see everything which is dirty and mean going on, and the prince royal at the head of it. ships have been masted, guns taken on board, floating batteries prepared, and except hauling out and completing their rigging, everything is done in defiance of the treaty. my heart burns at seeing the word of a prince, nearly allied to our good king, so falsified; but his conduct is such, that he will lose his kingdom if he goes on; for jacobins rule in denmark. i have made no representations yet, as it would be useless to do so until i have the power of correction. all i beg, in the name of the future commander-in-chief, is, that the orders may be clear; for enough is done to break twenty treaties, if it should be wished, or to make the prince royal humble himself before british generosity." nelson was not deceived in his judgment of the danish cabinet, but the battle of copenhagen had crippled its power. the death of the czar paul had broken the confederacy; and that cabinet, therefore, was compelled to defer till a more convenient season the indulgence of its enmity towards great britain. soon afterwards admiral sir charles maurice pole arrived to take the command. the business, military and political, had by that time been so far completed that the presence of the british fleet soon became no longer necessary. sir charles, however, made the short time of his command memorable, by passing the great belt for the first time with line-of-battle ships, working through the channel against adverse winds. when nelson left the fleet, this speedy termination of the expedition, though confidently expected, was not certain; and he, in his unwillingness to weaken the british force, thought at one time of traversing jutland in his boat, by the canal to tonningen on the eyder and finding his way home from thence. this intention was not executed; but he returned in a brig, declining to accept a frigate, which few admirals would have done, especially if, like him, they suffered from sea-sickness in a small vessel. on his arrival at yarmouth, the first thing he did was to visit the hospital and see the men who had been wounded in the late battle--that victory which had added new glory to the name of nelson, and which was of more importance even than the battle of the nile to the honour, the strength, and security of england. the feelings of nelson's friends, upon the news of his great victory at copenhagen, were highly described by sir william hamilton in a letter to him. "we can only expect," he says, "what me know well, and often said before, that nelson was, is, and to the last will ever be, the first. emma did not know whether she was on her head or heels--in such a hurry to tell your great news, that she could utter nothing but tears of joy and tenderness. i went to davison, and found him still in bed, having had a severe fit of the gout, and with your letter, which he had just received; and he cried like a child; but, what was very extraordinary, assured me that, from the instant he had read your letter, all pain had left him, and that he felt himself able to get up and walk about. your brother, mrs. nelson, and horace dined with us. your brother was more extraordinary than ever. he would get up suddenly and cut a caper, rubbing his hands every time that the thought of your fresh laurels came into his head. but i am sure that no one really rejoiced more at heart than i did. i have lived too long to have ecstasies! but with calm reflection, i felt for my friend having got to the very summit of glory! the ne plus ultra! that he has had another opportunity of rendering his country the most important service, and manifesting again his judgment, his intrepidity, and his humanity." he had not been many weeks on shore before he was called upon to undertake a service, for which no nelson was required. buonaparte, who was now first consul, and in reality sole ruler of france, was making preparations, upon a great scale, for invading england; but his schemes in the baltic had been baffled; fleets could not be created as they were wanted; and his armies, therefore, were to come over in gun-boats, and such small craft as could be rapidly built or collected for the occasion. from the former governments of france such threats have only been matter of insult and policy: in buonaparte they were sincere; for this adventurer, intoxicated with success, already began to imagine that all things were to be submitted to his fortune. we had not at that time proved the superiority of our soldiers over the french; and the unreflecting multitude were not to be persuaded that an invasion could only be effected by numerous and powerful fleets. a general alarm was excited; and, in condescension to this unworthy feeling, nelson was appointed to a command, extending from orfordness to beachy head, on both shores--a sort of service, he said, for which he felt no other ability than what might be found in his zeal. to this service, however, such as it was, he applied with his wonted alacrity; though in no cheerful frame of mind. to lady hamilton, his only female correspondent, he says at this time; "i am not in very good spirits; and, except that our country demands all our services and abilities to bring about an honourable peace, nothing should prevent my being the bearer of my own letter. but, my dear friend, i know you are so true and loyal an englishwoman, that you would hate those who would not stand forth in defence of our king, laws, religion, and all that is dear to us. it is your sex that makes us go forth, and seem to tell us, 'none but the brave deserve the fair'; and if we fall, we still live in the hearts of those females. it is your sex that rewards us; it is your sex who cherish our memories; and you, my dear honoured friend, are, believe me, the first, the best of your sex. i have been the world around, and in every corner of it, and never yet saw your equal, or even one who could be put in comparison with you. you know how to reward virtue, honour, and courage, and never to ask if it is placed in a prince, duke, lord, or peasant." having hoisted his flag in the medusa frigate, he went to reconnoitre boulogne the point from which it was supposed the great attempt would be made, and which the french, in fear of an attack themselves, were fortifying with all care. he approached near enough to sink two of their floating batteries, and to destroy a few gun-boats which were without the pier. what damage was done within could not be ascertained. "boulogne," he said, "was certainly not a very pleasant place that morning; but," he added, "it is not my wish to injure the poor inhabitants; and the town is spared as much as the nature of the service will admit." enough was done to show the enemy that they could not, with impunity, come outside their own ports. nelson was satisfied by what he saw, that they meant to make an attempt from this place, but that it was impracticable; for the least wind at w.n.w. and they were lost. the ports of flushing and flanders were better points: there we could not tell by our eyes what means of transport were provided. from thence, therefore, if it came forth at all, the expedition would come. "and what a forlorn undertaking!" said he: "consider cross tides, &c. as for rowing, that is impossible. it is perfectly right to be prepared for a mad government; but with the active force which has been given me, i may pronounce it almost impracticable." that force had been got together with an alacrity which has seldom been equalled. on the 28th of july, we were, in nelson's own words, literally at the foundation of our fabric of defence, and twelve days afterwards we were so prepared on the enemy's coast that he did not believe they could get three miles from their ports. the medusa, returning to our own shores, anchored in the rolling ground off harwich; and when nelson wished to get to the nore in her, the wind rendered it impossible to proceed there by the usual channel. in haste to be at the nore, remembering that he had been a tolerable pilot for the mouth of the thames in his younger days, and thinking it necessary that he should know all that could be known of the navigation, he requested the maritime surveyor of the coast, mr. spence, to get him into the swin by any channel; for neither the pilots which he had on board, nor the harwich ones, would take charge of the ship. no vessel drawing more than fourteen feet had ever before ventured over the naze. mr. spence, however, who had surveyed the channel, carried her safely through. the channel has since been called nelson's, though he himself wished it to be named after the medusa: his name needed no new memorial. nelson's eye was upon flushing. "to take possession of that place," he said, "would be a week's expedition for four or five thousand troops." this, however, required a consultation with the admiralty; and that something might be done, meantime he resolved upon attacking the flotilla in the mouth of the boulogne harbour. this resolution was made in deference to the opinion of others, and to the public feeling, which was so preposterously excited. he himself scrupled not to assert that the french army would never embark at boulogne for the invasion of england; and he owned that this boat warfare was not exactly congenial to his feelings. into helvoet or flushing he should be happy to lead, if government turned their thoughts that way. "while i serve," said he, "i will do it actively, and to the very best of my abilities. i require nursing like a child," he added; "my mind carries me beyond my strength, and will do me up; but such is my nature." the attack was made by the boats of the squadron in five divisions, under captains somerville, parker, cotgrave, jones, and conn. the previous essay had taught the french the weak parts of their position; and they omitted no means of strengthening it, and of guarding against the expected attempt. the boats put off about half-an-hour before midnight; but, owing to the darkness, and tide and half-tide, which must always make night attacks so uncertain on the coasts of the channel, the divisions separated. one could not arrive at all; another not till near daybreak. the others made their attack gallantly; but the enemy were fully prepared: every vessel was defended by long poles, headed with iron spikes, projecting from their sides: strong nettings were braced up to their lower yards; they were moored by the bottom to the shore, they were strongly manned with soldiers, and protected by land batteries, and the shore was lined with troops. many were taken possession of; and, though they could not have been brought out, would have been burned, had not the french resorted to a mode of offence, which they have often used, but which no other people have ever been wicked enough to employ. the moment the firing ceased on board one of their own vessels they fired upon it from the shore, perfectly regardless of their own men. the commander of one of the french divisions acted like a generous enemy. he hailed the boats as they approached, and cried out in english: "let me advise you, my brave englishmen, to keep your distance: you can do nothing here; and it is only uselessly shedding the blood of brave men to make the attempt." the french official account boasted of the victory. "the combat," it said, "took place in sight of both countries; it was the first of the kind, and the historian would have cause to make this remark." they guessed our loss at four or five hundred; it amounted to one hundred and seventy-two. in his private letters to the admiralty, nelson affirmed, that had our force arrived as he intended, it was not all the chains in france which could have prevented our men from bringing off the whole of the vessels. there had been no error committed, and never did englishmen display more courage. upon this point nelson was fully satisfied; but he said he should never bring himself again to allow any attack wherein he was not personally concerned; and that his mind suffered more than if he had had a leg shot off in the affair. he grieved particularly for captain parker, an excellent officer, to whom he was greatly attached, and who had an aged father looking to him for assistance. his thigh was shattered in the action; and the wound proved mortal, after some weeks of suffering and manly resignation. during this interval, nelson's anxiety was very great. "dear parker is my child," said he; "for i found him in distress." and when he received the tidings of his death, he replied: "you will judge of my feelings: god's will be done. i beg that his hair may be cut off and given me; it shall be buried in my grave. poor mr. parker! what a son has he lost! if i were to say i was content, i should lie; but i shall endeavour to submit with all the fortitude in my power. his loss has made a wound in my heart, which time will hardly heal." "you ask me, my dear friend," he says to lady hamilton, "if i am going on more expeditions? and even if i was to forfeit your friendship, which is dearer to me than all the world, i can tell you nothing. for, i go out: i see the enemy, and can get at them, it is my duty: and you would naturally hate me, if i kept back one moment. i long to pay them for their tricks t'other day, the debt of a drubbing, which surely i'll pay: but when, where or how, it is impossible, your own good sense must tell you, for me or mortal man to say." yet he now wished to be relieved from this service. the country, he said, had attached a confidence to his name, which he had submitted to, and therefore had cheerfully repaired to the station; but this boat business, though it might be part of a great plan of invasion, could never be the only one, and he did not think it was a command for a vice-admiral. it was not that he wanted a more lucrative situation; for, seriously indisposed as he was, and low-spirited from private considerations, he did not know, if the mediterranean were vacant, that he should be equal to undertake it. he was offended with the admiralty for refusing him leave to go to town when he had solicited: in reply to a friendly letter from troubridge he says, "i am at this moment as firmly of opinion as ever, that lord st. vincent and yourself should have allowed of my coming to town for my own affairs, for every one knows i left it without a thought for myself." his letters at this time breathe an angry feeling toward troubridge, who was now become, he said, one of his lords and masters. "i have a letter from him," he says, "recommending me to wear flannel shirts. does he care for me? no: but never mind. they shall work hard to get me again. the cold has settled in my bowels. i wish the admiralty had my complaint: but they have no bowels, at least for me. i daresay master troubridge is grown fat; i know i am grown lean with my complaint, which, but for their indifference about my health, could never have happened; or, at least, i should have got well long ago in a warm room with a good fire and sincere friend." in the same tone of bitterness he complained that he was not able to promote those whom he thought deserving. "troubridge," he says, "has so completely prevented my ever mentioning anybody's service, that i am become a cipher, and he has gained a victory over nelson's spirit. i am kept here, for what?--he may be able to tell, i cannot. but long it cannot, shall not be." an end was put to this uncomfortable state of mind when, fortunately (on that account) for him, as well as happily for the nation, the peace of amiens was just at this time signed. nelson rejoiced that the experiment was made, but was well aware that it was an experiment. he saw what he called the misery of peace, unless the utmost vigilance and prudence were exerted; and he expressed, in bitter terms, his proper indignation at the manner in which the mob of london welcomed the french general who brought the ratification saying, "that they made him ashamed of his country." he had purchased a house and estate at merton, in surrey, meaning to pass his days there in the society of sir william and lady hamilton. he had indulged in pleasant dreams when looking on to this as his place of residence and rest. "to be sure," he says, "we shall employ the tradespeople of our village in preference to any others in what we want for common use, and give them every encouragement to be kind and attentive to us." "have we a nice church at merton? we will set an example of goodness to the under-parishioners. i admire the pigs and poultry. sheep are certainly most beneficial to eat off the grass. do you get paid for them, and take care that they are kept on the premises all night, for that is the time they do good to the land. they should be folded. is your head-man a good person, and true to our interest? i intend to have a farming-book. i expect that all animals will increase where you are, for i never expect that you will suffer any to be killed. no person can take amiss our not visiting. the answer from me will always be very civil thanks, but that i wish to live retired. we shall have our sea-friends; and i know sir william thinks they are the best." this place he had never seen till he was now welcomed there by the friends to whom he had so passionately devoted himself, and who were not less sincerely attached to him. the place, and everything which lady hamilton had done to it, delighted him; and he declared that the longest liver should possess it all. here he amused himself with angling in the wandle, having been a good fly-fisher in former days, and learning now to practise with his left hand what he could no longer pursue as a solitary diversion. his pensions for his victories, and for the loss of his eye and arm, amounted with his half-pay to about l3400 a-year. from this he gave l1800 to lady nelson, l200 to a brother's widow, and l150 for the education of his children; and he paid l500 interest for borrowed money; so that nelson was comparatively a poor man; and though much of the pecuniary embarrassment which he endured was occasioned by the separation from his wife--even if that cause had not existed, his income would not have been sufficient for the rank which he held, and the claims which would necessarily be made upon his bounty. the depression of spirits under which he had long laboured arose partly from this state of his circumstances, and partly from the other disquietudes in which his connection with lady hamilton had involved him--a connection which it was not possible his father could behold without sorrow and displeasure. mr. nelson, however, was soon persuaded that the attachment, which lady nelson regarded with natural jealousy and resentment, did not in reality pass the bounds of ardent and romantic admiration: a passion which the manners and accomplishments of lady hamilton, fascinating as they were, would not have been able to excite, if they had not been accompanied by more uncommon intellectual endowments, and by a character which, both in its strength and in its weakness, resembled his own. it did not, therefore, require much explanation to reconcile him to his son--an event the more essential to nelson's happiness, because, a few months afterwards, the good old man died at the age of seventy-nine. soon after the conclusion of peace, tidings arrived of our final and decisive successes in egypt; in consequence of which, the common council voted their thanks to the army and navy for bringing the campaign to so glorious a conclusion. when nelson, after the action of cape st. vincent, had been entertained at a city feast, he had observed to the lord mayor, "that, if the city continued its generosity, the navy would ruin them in gifts." to which the lord mayor replied, putting his hand upon the admiral's shoulder: "do you find victories and we will find rewards." nelson, as he said, had kept his word, had doubly fulfilled his part of the contract, but no thanks had been voted for the battle of copenhagen; and feeling that he and his companions in that day's glory had a fair and honourable claim to this reward, he took the present opportunity of addressing a letter to the lord mayor, complaining of the omission and the injustice. "the smallest services," said he, "rendered by the army or navy to the country, have always been noticed by the great city of london with one exception--the glorious 2nd of april--a day when the greatest dangers of navigation were overcome; and the danish force, which they thought impregnable, totally taken or destroyed, by the consummate skill of our commanders, and by the undaunted bravery of as gallant a band as ever defended the rights of this country. for myself, if i were only personally concerned, i should bear the stigma, attempted to be now first placed upon my brow, with humility. but, my lord, i am the natural guardian of the fame of all the officers of the navy, army, and marines who fought, and so profusely bled, under my command on that day. again i disclaim for myself more merit than naturally falls to a successful commander; but when i am called upon to speak of the merits of the captains of his majesty's ships, and of the officers and men, whether seamen, marines, or soldiers, whom i that day had the happiness to command, i then say, that never was the glory of this country upheld with more determined bravery than on that occasion: and if i may be allowed to give an opinion as a briton, then i say, that more important service was never rendered to our king and country. it is my duty, my lord, to prove to the brave fellows, my companions in danger, that i have not failed at every proper place to represent, as well as i am able, their bravery and meritorious conduct." another honour, of greater import, was withheld from the conquerors. the king had given medals to those captains who were engaged in the battles of the 1st of june, of cape st. vincent, of camperdown, and of the nile. then came the victory at copenhagen, which nelson truly called the most difficult achievement, the hardest-fought battle, the most glorious result that ever graced the annals of our country. he, of course, expected the medal; and in writing to earl st. vincent, said, "he longed to have it, and would not give it up to be made an english duke." the medal, however, was not given:--"for what reason," said nelson, "lord st. vincent best knows." words plainly implying a suspicion that it was withheld by some feeling of jealousy; and that suspicion estranged him, during the remaining period of his life, from one who had at one time been essentially, as well as sincerely, his friend; and of whose professional abilities he ever entertained the highest opinion. the happiness which nelson enjoyed in the society of his chosen friends was of no long continuance. sir william hamilton, who was far advanced in years, died early in 1803; a mild, amiable, and accomplished man, who has thus in a letter described his own philosophy: "my study of antiquities," he says, "has kept me in constant thought of the perpetual fluctuation of everything. the whole art is really to live all the days of our life; and not with anxious care disturb the sweetest hour that life affords--which is the present. admire the creator, and all his works, to us incomprehensible; and do all the good you can upon earth; and take the chance of eternity without dismay." he expired in his wife's arms, holding nelson by the hand; and almost in his last words, left her to his protection; requesting him that he would see justice done her by the government, as he knew what she had done for her country. he left him her portrait in enamel, calling him his dearest friend; the most virtuous, loyal, and truly brave character he had ever known. the codicil, containing this bequest, concluded with these words, "god bless him, and shame fall on those who do not say amen." sir william's pension of l1200 a year ceased with his death. nelson applied to mr. addington in lady hamilton's behalf, stating the important service which she had rendered to the fleet at syracuse; and mr. addington, it is said, acknowledged that she had a just claim upon the gratitude of the country. this barren acknowledgment was all that was obtained; but a sum, equal to the pension which her husband had enjoyed, was settled on her by nelson, and paid in monthly payments during his life. a few weeks after this event, the war was renewed; and the day after his majesty's message to parliament, nelson departed to take the command of the mediterranean fleet. the war he thought, could not be long; just enough to make him independent in pecuniary matters. he took his station immediately off toulon; and there, with incessant vigilance, waited for the coming out of the enemy. the expectation of acquiring a competent fortune did not last long. "somehow," he says, "my mind is not sharp enough for prize-money. lord keith would have made l20,000, and i have not made l6000." more than once he says that the prizes taken in the mediterranean had not paid his expenses; and once he expresses himself as if it were a consolation to think that some ball might soon close all his accounts with this world of care and vexation. at this time the widow of his brother, being then blind and advanced in years, was distressed for money, and about to sell her plate; he wrote to lady hamilton, requesting of her to find out what her debts were, and saying that, if the amount was within his power, he would certainly pay it, and rather pinch himself than that she should want. before he had finished the letter, an account arrived that a sum was payable to him for some neutral taken four years before, which enabled him to do this without being the poorer; and he seems to have felt at the moment that what was thus disposed of by a cheerful giver, shall be paid to him again. one from whom he had looked for very different conduct, had compared his own wealth, in no becoming manner, with nelson's limited means. "i know," said he to lady hamilton, "the full extent of the obligation i owe him, and he may be useful to me again; but i can never forget his unkindness to you. but, i guess many reasons influenced his conduct in bragging of his riches and my honourable poverty; but, as i have often said, and with honest pride, what i have is my own: it never cost the widow a tear, or the nation a farthing. i got what i have with my pure blood, from the enemies of my country. our house, my own emma, is built upon a solid foundation; and will last to us, when his houses and lands may belong to others than his children." his hope was that peace might soon be made, or that he should be relieved from his command, and retire to merton, where at that distance he was planning and directing improvements. on his birthday he writes, "this day, my dearest emma, i consider as more fortunate than common days, as by my coming into this world it has brought me so intimately acquainted with you. i well know that you will keep it, and have my dear horatio to drink my health. forty-six years of toil and trouble! how few more the common lot of mankind leads us to expect! and therefore it is almost time to think of spending the few last years in peace and quietness." it is painful to think that this language was not addressed to his wife, but to one with whom he promised himself "many many happy years, when that impediment," as he calls her, "shall be removed, if god pleased; and they might be surrounded by their children's children." when he had been fourteen months off toulon, he received a vote of thanks from the city of london for his skill and perseverance in blockading that port, so as to prevent the french from putting to sea. nelson had not forgotten the wrong which the city had done to the baltic fleet by their omission, and did not lose the opportunity which this vote afforded of recurring to that point. "i do assure your lordship," said he, in his answer to the lord mayor, "that there is not that man breathing who sets a higher value upon the thanks of his fellow-citizens of london than myself; but i should feel as much ashamed to receive them for a particular service marked in the resolution, if i felt that i did not come within that line of service, as i should feel hurt at having a great victory passed over without notice. i beg to inform your lordship, that the port of toulon has never been blockaded by me; quite the reverse. every opportunity has been offered the enemy to put to sea; for it is there that we hope to realise the hopes and expectations of our country." nelson then remarked that the junior flag-officers of his fleet had been omitted in this vote of thanks; and his surprise at the omission was expressed with more asperity, perhaps, than an offence so entirely and manifestly unintentional deserved; but it arose from that generous regard for the feelings as well as the interests of all who were under his command, which made him as much beloved in the fleets of britain as he was dreaded in those of the enemy. never was any commander more beloved. he governed men by their reason and their affections; they knew that he was incapable of caprice or tyranny and they obeyed him with alacrity and joy, because he possessed their confidence as well as their love. "our nel," they used to say, "is as brave as a lion and as gentle as a lamb." severe discipline he detested, though he had been bred in a severe school. he never inflicted corporal punishment if it were possible to avoid it; and when compelled to enforce it, he, who was familiar with wounds and death, suffered like a woman. in his whole life, nelson was never known to act unkindly towards an officer. if he was asked to prosecute one for ill behaviour, he used to answer, "that there was no occasion for him to ruin a poor devil who was sufficiently his own enemy to ruin himself." but in nelson there was more than the easiness and humanity of a happy nature: he did not merely abstain from injury; his was an active and watchful benevolence, ever desirous not only to render justice, but to do good. during the peace he had spoken in parliament upon the abuses respecting prize-money, and had submitted plans to government for more easily manning the navy, and preventing desertion from it, by bettering the condition of the seamen. he proposed that their certificates should be registered, and that every man who had served, with a good character, five years in war, should receive a bounty of two guineas annually after that time, and of four guineas after eight years. "this," he said, "might, at first sight, appear an enormous sum for the state to pay; but the average life of seamen is, from hard service, finished at forty-five. he cannot, therefore, enjoy the annuity many years, and the interest of the money saved by their not deserting would go far to pay the whole expense." to his midshipmen he ever showed the most winning kindness, encouraging the diffident, tempering the hasty, counselling and befriending both. "recollect," he used to say, "that you must be a seaman to be an officer; and also that you cannot be a good officer without being a gentleman." a lieutenant wrote to him to say that he was dissatisfied with his captain. nelson's answer was in that spirit of perfect wisdom and perfect goodness which regulated his whole conduct towards those who were under his command. "i have just received your letter, and am truly sorry that any difference should arise between your captain, who has the reputation of being one of the bright officers of the service, and yourself, a very young man, and a very young officer, who must naturally have much to learn; therefore the chance is that you are perfectly wrong in the disagreement. however, as your present situation must be very disagreeable, i will certainly take an early opportunity of removing you, provided your conduct to your present captain be such that another may not refuse to receive you." the gentleness and benignity of his disposition never made him forget what was due to discipline. being on one occasion applied to, to save a young officer from a court-martial, which he had provoked by his misconduct, his reply was, "that he would do everything in his power to oblige so gallant and good an officer as sir john warren," in whose name the intercession had been made. "but what," he added, "would he do if he were here? exactly what i have done, and am still willing to do. the young man must write such a letter of contrition as would be an acknowledgment of his great fault; and with a sincere promise, if his captain will intercede to prevent the impending court-martial, never to so misbehave again. on his captain's enclosing me such a letter, with a request to cancel the order for the trial, i might be induced to do it; but the letters and reprimand will be given in the public order-book of the fleet, and read to all the officers. the young man has pushed himself forward to notice, and he must take the consequence. it was upon the quarter-deck, in the face of the ship's company, that he treated his captain with contempt; and i am in duty bound to support the authority and consequence of every officer under my command. a poor ignorant seaman is for ever punished for contempt to his superiors." a dispute occurred in the fleet while it was off toulon, which called forth nelson's zeal for the rights and interests of the navy. some young artillery officers, serving on board the bomb vessels, refused to let their men perform any other duty but what related to the mortars. they wished to have it established that their corps was not subject to the captain's authority. the same pretensions were made in the channel fleet about the same time, and the artillery rested their claims to separate and independent authority on board, upon a clause in the act, which they interpreted in their favour. nelson took up the subject with all the earnestness which its importance deserved. "there is no real happiness in this world," said he, writing to earl st. vincent, as first lord. "with all content and smiles around me, up start these artillery boys (i understand they are not beyond that age), and set us at defiance; speaking in the most disrespectful manner of the navy and its commanders. i know you, my dear lord, so well, that with your quickness the matter would have been settled, and perhaps some of them been broke. i am perhaps more patient, but i do assure you not less resolved, if my plan of conciliation is not attended to. you and i are on the eve of quitting the theatre of our exploits; but we hold it due to our successors never, whilst we have a tongue to speak or a hand to write, to allow the navy to be in the smallest degree injured in its discipline by our conduct." to troubridge he wrote in the same spirit: "it is the old history, trying to do away the act of parliament; but i trust they will never succeed; for when they do, farewell to our naval superiority. we should be prettily commanded! let them once gain the step of being independent of the navy on board a ship, and they will soon have the other, and command us. but, thank god! my dear troubridge, the king himself cannot do away the act of parliament. although my career is nearly run, yet it would embitter my future days, and expiring moments, to hear of our navy being sacrificed to the army." as the surest way of preventing such disputes, he suggested that the navy should have it's own corps of artillery; and a corps of marine artillery was accordingly established. instead of lessening the power of the commander, nelson would have wished to see it increased: it was absolutely necessary, he thought, that merit should be rewarded at the moment, and that the officers of the fleet should look up to the commander-in-chief for their reward. he himself was never more happy than when he could promote those who were deserving of promotion. many were the services which he thus rendered unsolicited; and frequently the officer, in whose behalf he had interested himself with the admiralty, did not know to whose friendly interference he was indebted for his good fortune. he used to say, "i wish it to appear as a god-send." the love which he bore the navy made him promote the interests, and honour the memory, of all who had added to its glories. "the near relations of brother officers," he said, "he considered as legacies to the service." upon mention being made to him of a son of rodney, by the duke of clarence, his reply was: "i agree with your royal highness most entirely, that the son of a rodney ought to be the protege of every person in the kingdom, and particularly of the sea-officers. had i known that there had been this claimant, some of my own lieutenants must have given way to such a name, and he should have been placed in the victory: she is full, and i have twenty on my list; but, whatever numbers i have, the name of rodney must cut many of them out." such was the proper sense which nelson felt of what was due to splendid services and illustrious names. his feelings toward the brave men who had served with him are shown by a note in his diary, which was probably not intended for any other eye than his own: "nov. 7. i had the comfort of making an old agamemnon, george jones, a gunner into the chameleon brig." when nelson took the command, it was expected that the mediterranean would be an active scene. nelson well understood the character of the perfidious corsican, who was now sole tyrant of france; and knowing that he was as ready to attack his friends as his enemies, knew, therefore, that nothing could be more uncertain than the direction of the fleet from toulon, whenever it should put to sea. "it had as many destinations," he said, "as there were countries." the momentous revolutions of the last ten years had given him ample matter for reflection, as well as opportunities for observation: the film was cleared from his eyes; and now, when the french no longer went abroad with the cry of liberty and equality, he saw that the oppression and misrule of the powers which had been opposed to them, had been the main causes of their success, and that those causes would still prepare the way before them. even in sicily, where, if it had been possible longer to blind himself, nelson would willingly have seen no evil, he perceived that the people wished for a change, and acknowledged that they had reason to wish for it. in sardinia the same burden of misgovernment was felt; and the people, like the sicilians, were impoverished by a government so utterly incompetent to perform its first and most essential duties that it did not protect its own coasts from the barbary pirates. he would fain have had us purchase this island (the finest in the mediterranean) from its sovereign, who did not receive l5000 a year from it after its wretched establishment was paid. there was reason to think that france was preparing to possess herself of this important point, which afforded our fleet facilities for watching toulon, not to be obtained elsewhere. an expedition was preparing at corsica for the purpose; and all the sardes, who had taken part with revolutionary france, were ordered to assemble there. it was certain that if the attack were made it would succeed. nelson thought that the only means to prevent sardinia from becoming french was to make it english, and that half a million would give the king a rich price, and england a cheap purchase. a better, and therefore a wiser policy, would have been to exert our influence in removing the abuses of the government, for foreign dominion is always, in some degree, an evil and allegiance neither can nor ought to be made a thing of bargain and sale. sardinia, like sicily and corsica, is large enough to form a separate state. let us hope that these islands may one day be made free and independent. freedom and independence will bring with them industry and prosperity; and wherever these are found, arts and letters will flourish, and the improvement of the human race proceed. the proposed attack was postponed. views of wider ambition were opening upon buonaparte, who now almost undisguisedldy aspired to make himself master of the continent of europe; and austria was preparing for another struggle, to be conducted as weakly and terminated as miserably as the former. spain, too, was once more to be involved in war by the policy of france: that perfidious government having in view the double object of employing the spanish resources against england, and exhausting them in order to render spain herself finally its prey. nelson, who knew that england and the peninsula ought to be in alliance, for the common interest of both, frequently expressed his hopes that spain might resume her natural rank among the nations. "we ought," he said, "by mutual consent, to be the very best friends, and both to be ever hostile to france." but he saw that buonaparte was meditating the destruction of spain; and that, while the wretched court of madrid professed to remain neutral, the appearances of neutrality were scarcely preserved, an order of the year 1771, excluding british ships of war from the spanish ports, was revived, and put in force: while french privateers, from these very ports, annoyed the british trade, carried their prizes in, and sold them even at barcelona. nelson complained of this to the captain-general of catalonia, informing him that he claimed, for every british ship or squadron, the right of lying, as long as it pleased, in the ports of spain, while that right was allowed to other powers. to the british ambassador he said: "i am ready to make large allowances for the miserable situation spain has placed herself in; but there is a certain line, beyond which i cannot submit to be treated with disrespect. we have given up french vessels taken within gunshot of the spanish shore, and yet french vessels are permitted to attack our ships from the spanish shore. your excellency may assure the spanish government that, in whatever place the spaniards allow the french to attack us, in that place i shall order the french to be attacked." during this state of things, to which the weakness of spain, and not her will, consented, the enemy's fleet did not venture to put to sea. nelson watched it with unremitting and almost unexampled perseverance. the station off toulon he called his home. "we are in the right fighting trim," said he: "let them come as soon as they please. i never saw a fleet altogether so well officered and manned; would to god the ships were half as good! the finest ones in the service would soon be destroyed by such terrible weather. i know well enough that if i were to go into malta i should save the ships during this bad season; but if i am to watch the french i must be at sea; and if at sea, must have bad weather; and if the ships are not fit to stand bad weather, they are useless." then only he was satisfied and at ease when he had the enemy in view. mr. elliot, our minister at naples, seems at this time to have proposed to send a confidential frenchman to him with information. "i should be very happy," he replied, "to receive authentic intelligence of the destination of the french squadron, their route, and time of sailing. anything short of this is useless; and i assure your excellency, that i would not upon any consideration have a frenchman in the fleet, except as a prisoner. i put no confidence in them. you think yours good; the queen thinks the same; i believe they are all alike. whatever information you can get me i shall be very thankful for; but not a frenchman comes here. forgive me, but my mother hated the french." m. latouche treville, who had commanded at boulogne, commanded now at toulon. "he was sent for on purpose," said nelson, "as he beat me at boulogne, to beat me again; but he seems very loath to try." one day, while the main body of our fleet was out of sight of land, rear-admiral campbell, reconnoitring with the canopus, donegal, and amazon, stood in close to the port; and m. latouche, taking advantage of a breeze which sprung up, pushed out with four ships of the line and three heavy frigates, and chased him about four leagues. the frenchman, delighted at having found himself in so novel a situation, published a boastful account, affirming that he had given chase to the whole british fleet, and that nelson had fled before him! nelson thought it due to the admiralty to send home a copy of the victory's log upon this occasion. "as for himself," he said, "if his character was not established by that time for not being apt to run away, it was not worth his while to put the world right."--"if this fleet gets fairly up with m. latouche," said he to one of his correspondents, "his letter, with all his ingenuity, must be different from his last. we had fancied that we chased him into toulon; for, blind as i am, i could see his water line, when he clued his topsails up, shutting in sepet. but from the time of his meeting captain hawker in the isis, i never heard of his acting otherwise than as a poltroon and a liar. contempt is the best mode of treating such a miscreant." in spite, however, of contempt, the impudence of this frenchman half angered him. he said to his brother: "you will have seen latouche's letter; how he chased me and how i ran. i keep it; and if i take him, by god he shall eat it." nelson, who used to say, that in sea affairs nothing is impossible, and nothing improbable, feared the more that this frenchman might get out and elude his vigilance; because he was so especially desirous of catching him, and administering to him his own lying letter in a sandwich. m. latouche, however, escaped him in another way. he died, according to the french papers, in consequence of walking so often up to the signal-post upon sepet, to watch the british fleet. "i always pronounced that would be his death," said nelson. "if he had come out and fought me, it would at least have added ten years to my life." the patience with which he had watched toulon, he spoke of, truly, as a perseverance at sea which had never been surpassed. from may, 1803, to august, 1805, he himself went out of his ship but three times; each of those times was upon the king's service, and neither time of absence exceeded an hour. in 1804 the swift cutter going out with despatches was taken, and all the despatches and letters fell into the hands of the enemy. "a very pretty piece of work," says nelson; "i am not surprised at the capture, but am very much so that any despatches should be sent in a vessel with twenty-three men, not equal to cope with any row-boat privateer. the loss of the hindostan was great enough; but for importance it is lost in comparison to the probable knowledge the enemy will obtain of our connexions with foreign countries. foreigners for ever say, and it is true, we dare not trust england: one way or other we are sure to be committed." in a subsequent letter he says, speaking of the same capture: "i find, my dearest emma, that your picture is very much admired by the french consul at barcelona, and that he has not sent it to be admired, which i am sure it would be, by buonaparte. they pretend that there were three pictures taken. i wish i had them; but they are all gone as irretrievably as the despatches, unless we may read them in a book, as we printed their correspondence from egypt. but from us what can they find out? that i love you most dearly, and hate the french most damnably. dr. scott went to barcelona to try to get the private letters, but i fancy they are all gone to paris. the swedish and american consuls told him that the french consul had your picture and read your letters; and the doctor thinks one of them, probably, read the letters. by the master's account of the cutter, i would not have trusted an old pair of shoes in her. he tells me she did not sail, but was a good sea-boat. i hope mr. marsden will not trust any more of my private letters in such a conveyance: if they choose to trust the affairs of the public in such a thing, i cannot help it." while he was on this station, the weather had been so unusually severe that he said the mediterranean seemed altered. it was his rule never to contend with the gales; but either run to the southward to escape their violence, or furl all the sails, and make the ships as easy as possible. the men, though he said flesh and blood could hardly stand it, continued in excellent health, which he ascribed, in great measure, to a plentiful supply of lemons and onions. for himself, he thought he could only last till the battle was over. one battle more it was his hope that he might fight. "however," said he, "whatever happens, i have run a glorious race." "a few months rest," he says, "i must have very soon. if i am in my grave, what are the mines of peru to me? but to say the truth, i have no idea of killing myself. i may, with care, live yet to do good service to the state. my cough is very bad, and my side, where i was struck on the 14th of february, is very much swelled: at times a lump as large as my fist, brought on occasionally by violent coughing. but i hope and believe my lungs are yet safe." he was afraid of blindness and this was the only evil which he could not contemplate without unhappiness. more alarming symptoms he regarded with less apprehension, describing his own "shattered carcass" as in the worst plight of any in the fleet; and he says, "i have felt the blood gushing up the left side of my head; and, the moment it covers the brain, i am fast asleep." the fleet was in worse trim than the men; but when he compared it with the enemy's, it was with a right english feeling. "the french fleet yesterday," said he, in one of his letters, "was to appearance in high feather, and as fine as paint could make them; but when they may sail, or where they may go, i am very sorry to say is a secret i am not acquainted with. our weather-beaten ships, i have no fear, will make their sides like a plum-pudding." "yesterday," he says, on another occasion, "a rear-admiral and seven sail of ships put their nose outside the harbour. if they go on playing this game, some day we shall lay salt on their tails." hostilities at length commenced between great britain and spain. that country, whose miserable government made her subservient to france, was once more destined to lavish her resources and her blood in furtherance of the designs of a perfidious ally. the immediate occasion of the war was the seizure of four treasure-ships by the english. the act was perfectly justifiable, for those treasures were intended to furnish means for france; but the circumstances which attended it were as unhappy as they were unforeseen. four frigates had been despatched to intercept them. they met with an equal force. resistance, therefore, became a point of honour on the part of the spaniards, and one of their ships soon blew up with all on board. had a stronger squadron been sent, this deplorable catastrophe might have been spared: a catastrophe which excited not more indignation in spain than it did grief in those who were its unwilling instruments, in the english government, and in the english people. on the 5th of october this unhappy affair occurred, and nelson was not apprised of it till the twelfth of the ensuing month. he had, indeed, sufficient mortification at the breaking out of this spanish war; an event which, it might reasonably have been supposed, would amply enrich the officers of the mediterranean fleet, and repay them for the severe and unremitting duty on which they had been so long employed. but of this harvest they were deprived; for sir john orde was sent with a small squadron, and a separate command, to cadiz. nelson's feelings were never wounded so deeply as now. "i had thought," said he, writing in the first flow and freshness of indignation; "fancied--but nay; it must have been a dream, an idle dream; yet i confess it, i did fancy that i had done my country service; and thus they use me! and under what circumstances, and with what pointed aggravation? yet, if i know my own thoughts, it is not for myself, or on my own account chiefly, that i feel the sting and the disappointment. no! it is for my brave officers: for my noble minded friends and comrades. such a gallant set of fellows! such a band of brothers! my heart swells at the thought of them." war between spain and england was now declared; and on the eighteenth of january, the toulon fleet, having the spaniards to co-operate with them, put to sea. nelson was at anchor off the coast of sardinia, where the madelena islands form one of the finest harbours in the world, when, at three in the afternoon of the nineteenth, the active and seahorse frigates brought this long-hoped-for intelligence. they had been close to the enemy at ten on the preceding night, but lost sight of them in about four hours. the fleet immediately unmoored and weighed, and at six in the evening ran through the strait between biche and sardinia: a passage so narrow that the ships could only pass one at a time, each following the stern-lights of its leader. from the position of the enemy, when they were last seen, it was inferred that they must be bound round the southern end of sardinia. signal was made the next morning to prepare for battle. bad weather came on, baffling the one fleet in its object, and the other in its pursuit. nelson beat about the sicilian seas for ten days, without obtaining any other information of the enemy than that one of their ships had put into ajaccio, dismasted; and having seen that sardinia, naples, and sicily were safe, believing egypt to be their destination, for egypt he ran. the disappointment and distress which he had experienced in his former pursuits of the french through the same seas were now renewed; but nelson, while he endured these anxious and unhappy feelings, was still consoled by the same confidence as on the former occasion--that, though his judgment might be erroneous, under all circumstances he was right in having formed it. "i have consulted no man," said he to the admiralty; "therefore the whole blame of ignorance in forming my judgment must rest with me. i would allow no man to take from me an atom of my glory had i fallen in with the french fleet; nor do i desire any man to partake any of the responsibility. all is mine, right or wrong." then stating the grounds upon which he had proceeded, he added, "at this moment of sorrow, i still feel that i have acted right." in the same spirit he said to sir alexander ball: "when i call to remembrance all the circumstances, i approve, if nobody else does, of my own conduct." baffled thus, he bore up for malta, and met intelligence from naples that the french, having been dispersed in a gale, had put back to toulon. from the same quarter he learned that a great number of saddles and muskets had been embarked; and this confirmed him in his opinion that egypt was their destination. that they should have put him back in consequence of storms which he had weathered, gave him a consoling sense of british superiority. "these gentlemen," said he, "are not accustomed to a gulf of lyons gale: we have buffeted them for one-and-twenty months, and not carried away a spar." he, however, who had so often braved these gales, was now, though not mastered by them, vexatiously thwarted and impeded; and on february 27th he was compelled to anchor in pula bay in the gulf of cagliari. from the 21st of january the fleet had remained ready for battle, without a bulk-head up night or day. he anchored here that he might not be driven to leeward. as soon as the weather moderated he put to sea again; and after again beating about against contrary winds, another gale drove him to anchor in the gulf of palma on the 8th of march. this he made his rendezvous: he knew that the french troops still remained embarked; and wishing to lead them into a belief that he was stationed upon the spanish coast, he made his appearance off barcelona with that intent. about the end of the month he began to fear that the plan of the expedition was abandoned; and sailing once more towards his old station off toulon on the 4th of april, he met the phoebe, with news that villeneuve had put to sea on the last of march, with eleven ships of the line, seven frigates, and two brigs. when last seen they were steering towards the coast of africa. nelson first covered the channel between sardinia and barbary, so as to satisfy himself that villeneuve was not taking the same route for egypt which gantheaume had taken before him, when he attempted to carry reinforcements thither. certain of this, he bore up on the 7th for palermo, lest the french should pass to the north of corsica, and he despatched cruisers in all directions. on the 11th he felt assured that they were not gone down the mediterranean; and sending off frigates to gibraltar, to lisbon, and to admiral cornwallis, who commanded the squadron off brest, he endeavoured to get to the westward, beating against westerly winds. after five days a neutral gave intelligence that the french had been seen off cape de gatte on the 7th. it was soon after ascertained that they had passed the straits of gibraltar on the day following; and nelson, knowing that they might already be half way to ireland or to jamaica, exclaimed that he was miserable. one gleam of comfort only came across him in the reflection, that his vigilance had rendered it impossible for them to undertake any expedition in the mediterranean. eight days after this certain intelligence had been obtained, he described his state of mind thus forcibly in writing to the governor of malta: "my good fortune, my dear ball, seems flown away. i cannot get a fair wind, or even a side-wind. dead foul!--dead foul! but my mind is fully made up what to do when i leave the supposing there is no certain account of the enemy's destination. i believe this ill-luck will go near to kill me; but as these are times for exertion, i must not be cast down, whatever i may feel." in spite of every exertion which could be made by all the zeal and all the skill of british seamen, he did not get in sight of gibraltar till the 30th of april; and the wind was then so adverse that it was impossible to pass the gut. he anchored in mazari bay, on the barbary shore; obtained supplies from tetuan; and when, on the 5th, a breeze from the eastward sprang up at last, sailed once more, hoping to hear of the enemy from sir john orde, who commanded off cadiz, or from lisbon. "if nothing is heard of them," said he to the admiralty, "i shall probably think the rumours which have been spread are true, that their object is the west indies; and, in that case, i think it my duty to follow them--or to the antipodes, should i believe that to be their destination." at the time when this resolution was taken, the physician of the fleet had ordered him to return to england before the hot months. nelson had formed his judgment of their destination, and made up his mind accordingly, when donald campbell, at that time an admiral in the portuguese service, the same person who had given important tidings to earl st. vincent of the movements of that fleet from which he won his title, a second time gave timely and momentous intelligence to the flag of his country. he went on board the victory, and communicated to nelson his certain knowledge that the combined spanish and french fleets were bound for the west indies. hitherto all things had favoured the enemy. while the british commander was beating up again strong southerly and westerly gales, they had wind to their wish from the n.e., and had done in nine days what he was a whole month in accomplishing. villeneuve, finding the spaniards at carthagena were not in a fit state of equipment to join him, dared not wait, but hastened on to cadiz. sir john orde necessarily retired at his approach. admiral gravina, with six spanish ships of the line and two french, come out to him, and they sailed without a moment's loss of time. they had about three thousand french troops on board, and fifteen hundred spanish: six hundred were under orders, expecting them at martinique, and one thousand at guadaloupe. general lauriston commanded the troops. the combined fleet now consisted of eighteen sail of the line, six forty-four gun frigates, one of twenty-six guns, three corvettes, and a brig. they were joined afterwards by two new french line-of-battle ships, and one forty-four. nelson pursued them with ten sail of the line and three frigates. "take you a frenchman apiece," said he to his captains, "and leave me the spaniards: when i haul down my colours, i expect you to do the same, and not till then." the enemy had five-and-thirty days' start; but he calculated that he should gain eight or ten days upon them by his exertions. may 15th he made madeira, and on june 4th reached barbadoes, whither he had sent despatches before him; and where he found admiral cochrane, with two ships, part of our squadron in those seas being at jamaica. he found here also accounts that the combined fleets had been seen from st. lucia on the 28th, standing to the southward, and that tobago and trinidad were their objects. this nelson doubted; but he was alone in his opinion, and yielded it with these foreboding words: "if your intelligence proves false, you lose me the french fleet." sir w. myers offered to embark here with 2000 troops; they were taken on board, and the next morning he sailed for tobago. here accident confirmed the false intelligence which had, whether from intention or error, misled him. a merchant at tobago, in the general alarm, not knowing whether this fleet was friend or foe, sent out a schooner to reconnoitre, and acquaint him by signal. the signal which he had chosen happened to be the very one which had been appointed by col. shipley of the engineers to signify that the enemy were at trinidad; and as this was at the close of the day, there was no opportunity of discovering the mistake. an american brig was met with about the same time, the master of which, with that propensity to deceive the english and assist the french in any manner which has been but too common among his countrymen, affirmed that he had been boarded off granada a few days before by the french, who were standing towards the bocas of trinidad. this fresh intelligence removed all doubts. the ships were cleared for action before daylight, and nelson entered the bay of paria on the 7th, hoping and expecting to make the mouths of the orinoco as famous in the annals of the british navy as those of the nile. not an enemy was there; and it was discovered that accident and artifice had combined to lead him so far to leeward, that there could have been little hope of fetching to windward of granada for any other fleet. nelson, however, with skill and exertions never exceeded, and almost unexampled, bore for that island. advices met him on the way, that the combined fleets, having captured the diamond rock, were then at martinique on the fourth, and were expected to sail that night for the attack of granada. on the 9th nelson arrived off that island; and there learned that they had passed to leeward of antigua the preceding day, and had taken a homeward-bound convoy. had it not been for false information, upon which nelson had acted reluctantly, and in opposition to his own judgment, he would have been off port royal just as they were leaving; it, and the battle would have been fought on the spot where rodney defeated de grasse. this he remembered in his vexation; but he had saved the colonies, and above 200 ships laden for europe, which would else have fallen into the enemy's hands; and he had the satisfaction of knowing that the mere terror of his name had effected this, and had put to flight the allied enemies, whose force nearly doubled that before which they fled. that they were flying back to europe he believed, and for europe he steered in pursuit on the 13th, having disembarked the troops at antigua, and taking with him the spartiate, seventy-four; the only addition to the squadron with which he was pursuing so superior a force. five days afterwards the amazon brought intelligence that she had spoke a schooner who had seen them on the evening of the 15th, steering to the north; and by computation, eighty-seven leagues off. nelson's diary at this time denotes his great anxiety and his perpetual and all-observing vigilance. "june 21. midnight, nearly calm, saw three planks, which i think came from the french fleet. very miserable, which is very foolish." on the 17th of july he came in sight of cape st. vincent, and steered for gibraltar. "june 18th," his diary says, "cape spartel in sight, but no french fleet, nor any information about them. how sorrowful this makes me! but i cannot help myself." the next day he anchored at gibraltar; and on the 20th, says he, "i went on shore for the first time since june 16, 1803; and from having my foot out of the victory two years, wanting ten days." here he communicated with his old friend collingwood; who, having been detached with a squadron, when the disappearance of the combined fleets, and of nelson in their pursuit, was known in england, had taken his station off cadiz. he thought that ireland was the enemy's ultimate object; that they would now liberate the ferrol squadron, which was blocked up by sir robert calder, call for the rochefort ships, and then appear off ushant with 33 or 34 sail; there to be joined: by the brest fleet. with this great force he supposed they would make for ireland--the real mark and bent of all their operations; and their flight to the west indies, he thought, had been merely undertaken to take off nelson's force, which was the great impediment to their undertaking. collingwood was gifted with great political penetration. as yet, however, all was conjecture concerning the enemy; and nelson, having victualled and watered at tetuan, stood for ceuta on the 24th, still without information of their course. next day intelligence arrived that the curieux brig had seen them on the 19th, standing to the northward. he proceeded off cape st. vincent, rather cruising for intelligence than knowing whither to betake himself; and here a case occurred that more than any other event in real history resembles those whimsical proofs of sagacity which voltaire, in his zadig, has borrowed from the orientals. one of our frigates spoke an american, who, a little to the westward of the azores, had fallen in with an armed vessel, appearing to be a dismasted privateer, deserted by her crew, which had been run on board by another ship, and had been set fire to; but the fire had gone out. a log-book and a few seamen's jackets were found in the cabin; and these were brought to nelson. the log-book closed with these words: "two large vessels in the w.n.w.:" and this led him to conclude that the vessel had been an english privateer, cruising off the western islands. but there was in this book a scrap of dirty paper, filled with figures. nelson, immediately upon seeing it, observed that the figures were written by a frenchman; and after studying this for a while, said, "i can explain the whole. the jackets are of french manufacture, and prove that the privateer was in possession of the enemy. she had been chased and taken by the two ships that were seen in the w.n.w. the prizemaster, going on board in a hurry, forgot to take with him his reckoning: there is none in the log-book; and the dirty paper contains her work for the number of days since the privateer last left corvo; with an unaccounted-for run, which i take to have been the chase, in his endeavour to find out her situation by back reckonings. by some mismanagement, i conclude she was run on board of by one of the enemy's ships, and dismasted. not liking delay (for i am satisfied that those two ships were the advanced ones of the french squadron), and fancying we were close at their heels, they set fire to the vessel, and abandoned her in a hurry. if this explanation be correct, i infer from it that they are gone more to the northward; and more to the northward i will look for them." this course accordingly he held, but still without success. still persevering, and still disappointed, he returned near enough to cadiz to ascertain that they were not there; traversed the bay of biscay; and then, as a last hope, stood over for the north-west coast of ireland against adverse winds, till, on the evening of the 12th of august, he learned that they had not been heard of there. frustrated thus in all his hopes, after a pursuit, to which, for its extent, rapidity, and perseverance, no parallel can be produced, he judged it best to reinforce the channel fleet with his squadron, lest the enemy, as collingwood apprehended, should bear down upon brest with their whole collected force. on the 15th he joined admiral cornwallis off ushant. no news had yet been obtained of the enemy; and on the same evening he received orders to proceed, with the victory and superb, to portsmouth. chapter ix 1805 sir robert calder falls in with the combined fleets--they form a junction with the ferrol squadron, and get into cadiz--nelson is reappointed to the command--battle of trafalgar--victory, and death of nelson. at portsmouth, nelson at length found news of the combined fleet. sir robert calder, who had been sent out to intercept their return, had fallen in with them on the 22nd of july, sixty leagues off cape finisterre. their force consisted of twenty sail of the line, three fifty-gun ships, five frigates, and two brigs: his, of fifteen line-of-battle ships, two frigates, a cutter, and a lugger. after an action of four hours he had captured an eighty-four and a seventy-four, and then thought it necessary to bring-to the squadron, for the purpose of securing their prizes. the hostile fleets remained in sight of each other till the 26th, when the enemy bore away. the capture of two ships from so superior a force would have been considered as no inconsiderable victory, a few years earlier; but nelson had introduced a new era in our naval history; and the nation felt respecting this action as he had felt on a somewhat similar occasion. they regretted that nelson, with his eleven ships, had not been in sir robert calder's place; and their disappointment was generally and loudly expressed. frustrated as his own hopes had been, nelson had yet the high satisfaction of knowing that his judgment had never been more conspicuously approved, and that he had rendered essential service to his country, by driving the enemy from those islands where they expected there could be no force capable of opposing them. the west india merchants in london, as men whose interests were more immediately benefited, appointed a deputation to express their thanks for his great and judicious exertions. it was now his intention to rest awhile from his labours, and recruit himself, after all his fatigues and cares, in the society of those whom he loved. all his stores were brought up from the victory; and he found in his house at merton the enjoyment which he had anticipated. many days had not elapsed before captain blackwood, on his way to london with despatches, called on him at five in the morning. nelson, who was already dressed, exclaimed, the moment he saw him: "i am sure you bring me news of the french and spanish fleets! i think i shall yet have to beat them!" they had refitted at vigo, after the indecisive action with sir robert calder; then proceeded to ferrol, brought out the squadron from thence, and with it entered cadiz in safety. "depend on it, blackwood:" he repeatedly said, "i shall yet give m. villeneuve a drubbing." but when blackwood had left him, he wanted resolution to declare his wishes to lady hamilton and his sisters, and endeavoured to drive away the thought. he had done enough, he said: "let the man trudge it who has lost his budget!" his countenance belied his lips; and as he was pacing one of the walks in the garden, which he used to call the quarter-deck, lady hamilton came up to him, and told him she saw he was uneasy. he smiled, and said: "no, he was as happy as possible; he was surrounded by his family, his health was better since he had been an shore, and he would not give sixpence to call the king his uncle." she replied, that she did not believe him, that she knew that he was longing to get at the combined fleets, that he considered them as his own property, that he would be miserable if any man but himself did the business; and that he ought to have them, as the price and reward of his two years' long watching, and his hard chase. "nelson," said she, "however we may lament your absence, offer your services; they will be accepted, and you will gain a quiet heart by it: you will have a glorious victory, and then you may return here, and be happy." he looked at her with tears in his eyes: "brave emma! good emma! if there were more emmas there would be more nelsons." his services were as willingly accepted as they were offered; and lord barham, giving him the list of the navy, desired him to choose his own officers. "choose yourself, my lord," was his reply: "the same spirit actuates the whole profession: you cannot choose wrong." lord barham then desired him to say what ships, and how many, he would wish, in addition to the fleet which he was going to command, and said they should follow him as soon as each was ready. no appointment was ever more in unison with the feelings and judgment of the whole nation. they, like lady hamilton, thought that the destruction of the combined fleets ought properly to be nelson's work; that he who had been "half around the sea-girt ball, the hunter of the recreant gaul," ought to reap the spoils of the chase which he had watched so long, and so perseveringly pursued. unremitting exertions were made to equip the ships which he had chosen, and especially to refit the victory, which was once more to bear his flag. before he left london he called at his upholsterer's, where the coffin which captain hallowell had given him was deposited; and desired that its history might be engraven upon the lid, saying that it was highly probable he might want it on his return. he seemed, indeed, to have been impressed with an expectation that he should fall in the battle. in a letter to his brother, written immediately after his return, he had said: "we must not talk of sir robert calder's battle--i might not have done so much with my small force. if i had fallen in with them, you might probably have been a lord before i wished; for i know they meant to make a dead set at the victory." nelson had once regarded the prospect of death with gloomy satisfaction: it was when he anticipated the upbraidings of his wife, and the displeasure of his venerable father. the state of his feelings now was expressed in his private journal in these words: "friday night (sept. 13), at half-past ten, i drove from dear, dear merton; where i left all which i hold dear in this world, to go and serve my king and country. may the great god, whom i adore, enable me to fulfil the expectations of my country! and if it is his good pleasure that i should return, my thanks will never cease being offered up to the throne of his mercy. if it is his good providence to cut short my days upon earth, i bow with the greatest submission; relying that he will protect those so dear to me whom i may leave behind! his will be done. amen! amen! amen!" early on the following morning he reached portsmouth; and having despatched his business on shore, endeavoured to elude the populace by taking a by-way to the beach; but a crowd collected in his train, pressing forward to obtain a sight of his face: many were in tears, and many knelt down before him and blessed him as he passed. england has had many heroes; but never one who so entirely possessed the love of his fellow-countrymen as nelson. all men knew that his heart was as humane as it was fearless; that there was not in his nature the slightest alloy of selfishness or cupidity; but that with perfect and entire devotion he served his country with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his strength; and, therefore, they loved him as truly and as fervently as he loved england. they pressed upon the parapet to gaze after him when his barge pushed off, and he was returning their cheers by waving his hat. the sentinels, who endeavoured to prevent them from trespassing upon this ground, were wedged among the crowd; and an officer who, not very prudently upon such an occasion, ordered them to drive the people down with their bayonets, was compelled speedily to retreat; for the people would not be debarred from gazing till the last moment upon the hero--the darling hero of england! he arrived off cadiz on the 29th of september--his birthday. fearing that if the enemy knew his force they might be deterred from venturing to sea, he kept out of sight of land, desired collingwood to fire no salute and hoist no colours, and wrote to gibraltar to request that the force of the fleet might not be inserted there in the gazette. his reception in the mediterranean fleet was as gratifying as the farewell of his countrymen at portsmouth: the officers who came on board to welcome him forgot his rank as commander in their joy at seeing him again. on the day of his arrival, villeneuve received orders to put to sea the first opportunity. villeneuve, however, hesitated when he heard that nelson had resumed the command. he called a council of war; and their determination was, that it would not be expedient to leave cadiz, unless they had reason to believe themselves stronger by one-third than the british force. in the public measures of this country secrecy is seldom practicable, and seldomer attempted: here, however, by the precautions of nelson and the wise measures of the admiralty, the enemy were for once kept in ignorance; for as the ships appointed to reinforce the mediterranean fleet were despatched singly, each as soon as it was ready, their collected number was not stated in the newspapers, and their arrival was not known to the enemy. but the enemy knew that admiral louis, with six sail, had been detached for stores and water to gibraltar. accident also contributed to make the french admiral doubt whether nelson himself had actually taken the command. an american, lately arrived from england, maintained that it was impossible, for he had seen him only a few days before in london, and at that time there was no rumour of his going again to sea. the station which nelson had chosen was some fifty or sixty miles to the west of cadiz, near cape st. marys. at this distance, he hoped to decoy the enemy out while he guarded against the danger of being caught with a westerly wind near cadiz and driven within the straits. the blockade of the port was rigorously enforced, in hopes that the combined fleet might be forced to sea by want. the danish vessels, therefore, which were carrying provisions from the french ports in the bay, under the name of danish property, to all the little ports from ayamonte to algeziras, from whence they were conveyed in coasting boats to cadiz, were seized. without this proper exertion of power, the blockade would have been rendered nugatory by the advantage thus taken of the neutral flag. the supplies from france were thus effectually cut off. there was now every indication that the enemy would speedily venture out: officers and men were in the highest spirits at the prospects of giving them a decisive blow; such, indeed, as would put an end to all further contest upon the seas. theatrical amusements were performed every evening in most of the ships; and god save the king was the hymn with which the sports concluded. "i verily believe," said nelson (writing on the 6th of october), "that the country will soon be put to some expense on my account; either a monument, or a new pension and honours; for i have not the smallest doubt but that a very few days, almost hours, will put us in battle. the success no man can ensure; but for the fighting them, if they can be got at, i pledge myself. the sooner the better: i don't like to have these things upon my mind." at this time he was not without some cause of anxiety: he was in want of frigates, and the eyes of the fleet, as he always called them; to the want of which the enemy before were indebted for their escape, and buonaparte for his arrival in egypt. he had only twenty-three ships; others were on the way, but they might come too late; and though nelson never doubted of victory, mere victory was not what he looked to; he wanted to annihilate the enemy's fleet. the carthagena squadron might effect a junction with this fleet on the one side; and on the other it was to be expected that a similar attempt would be made by the french from brest; in either case a formidable contingency to be apprehended by the blockading force. the rochefort squadron did push out, and had nearly caught the agamemnon and l'aimable in their way to reinforce the british admiral. yet nelson at this time weakened his own fleet. he had the unpleasant task to perform of sending home sir robert calder, whose conduct was to be made the subject of a court-martial, in consequence of the general dissatisfaction which had been felt and expressed at his imperfect victory. sir robert calder and sir john orde, nelson believed to be the only two enemies whom he had ever had in his profession; and from that sensitive delicacy which distinguished him, this made him the more scrupulously anxious to show every possible mark of respect and kindness to sir robert. he wished to detain him till after the expected action, when the services which he might perform, and the triumphant joy which would be excited, would leave nothing to be apprehended from an inquiry into the previous engagement. sir robert, however, whose situation was very painful, did not choose to delay a trial from the result of which he confidently expected a complete justification; and nelson, instead of sending him home in a frigate, insisted on his returning in his own ninety-gun ship--ill as such a ship could at that time be spared. nothing could be more honourable than the feeling by which nelson was influenced; but, at such a crisis, it ought not to have been indulged. on the 9th nelson sent collingwood what he called, in his diary, the nelson-touch. "i send you," said he, "my plan of attack, as far as a man dare venture to guess at the very uncertain position the enemy may be found in; but it is to place you perfectly at ease respecting my intentions, and to give full scope to your judgment for carrying them into effect. we can, my dear coll, have no little jealousies. we have only one great object in view, that of annihilating our enemies, and getting a glorious peace for our country. no man has more confidence in another than i have in you; and no man will render your services more justice than your very old friend nelson and bronte." the order of sailing was to be the order of battle: the fleet in two lines, with an advanced squadron of eight of the fastest-sailing two-deckers. the second in command, having the entire direction of his line, was to break through the enemy, about the twelfth ship from their rear: he would lead through the centre, and the advanced squadron was to cut off three or four ahead of the centre. this plan was to be adapted to the strength of the enemy, so that they should always be one-fourth superior to those whom they cut off. nelson said, "that his admirals and captains, knowing his precise object to be that of a close and decisive action, would supply any deficiency of signals, and act accordingly. in case signals cannot be seen or clearly understood, no captain can do wrong if he places his ship alongside that of an enemy." one of the last orders of this admirable man was, that the name and family of every officer, seaman, and marine, who might be killed or wounded in action, should be, as soon as possible, returned to him, in order to be transmitted to the chairman of the patriotic fund, that the case might be taken into consideration for the benefit of the sufferer or his family. about half-past nine in the morning of the 19th, the mars, being the nearest to the fleet of the ships which formed the line of communication with the frigates inshore, repeated the signal that the enemy were coming out of port. the wind was at this time very light, with partial breezes, mostly from the s.s.w. nelson ordered the signal to be made for a chase in the south-east quarter. about two, the repeating ships announced that the enemy were at sea. all night the british fleet continued under all sail, steering to the south-east. at daybreak they were in the entrance of the straits, but the enemy were not in sight. about seven one of the frigates made signal that the enemy were bearing north. upon this the victory hove to; and shortly afterwards nelson made sail again to the northward. in the afternoon-the wind blew fresh from the south-west, and the english began to fear that the foe might be forced to return to port. a little before sunset, however, blackwood, in the euryalus, telegraphed that they appeared determined to go to the westward, "and that," said the admiral in his diary, "they shall not do, if it is in the power of nelson and bronte to prevent them." nelson had signified to blackwood that he depended upon him to keep sight of the enemy. they were observed so well that all their motions were made known to him; and as they wore twice, he inferred that they were aiming to keep the port of cadiz open, and would retreat there as soon as they saw the british fleet; for this reason he was very careful not to approach near enough to be seen by them during the night. at daybreak the combined fleets were distinctly seen from the victory's deck, formed in a close line of battle ahead, on the starboard tack, about twelve miles to leeward, and standing to the south. our fleet consisted of twenty-seven sail of the line and four frigates; theirs of thirty-three and seven large frigates. their superiority was greater in size and weight of metal than in numbers. they had four thousand troops on board; and the best riflemen who could be procured, many of them tyrolese, were dispersed through the ships. little did the tyrolese, and little did the spaniards, at that day, imagine what horrors the wicked tyrant whom they served was preparing for their country. soon after daylight nelson came upon deck. the 21st of october was a festival in his family, because on that day his uncle, captain suckling, in the dreadnought, with two other line-of-battle ships, had beaten off a french squadron of four sail of the line and three frigates. nelson, with that sort of superstition from which few persons are entirely exempt, had more than once expressed his persuasion that this was to be the day of his battle also; and he was well pleased at seeing his prediction about to be verified. the wind was now from the west, light breezes, with a long heavy swell. signal was made to bear down upon the enemy in two lines; and the fleet set all sail. collingwood, in the royal sovereign, led the leeline of thirteen ships; the victory led the weather line of fourteen. having seen that all was as it should be, nelson retired to his cabin, and wrote the following prayer:-"may the great god whom i worship, grant to my country, and for the benefit of europe in general, a great and glorious victory, and may no misconduct in any one tarnish it; and may humanity after victory be the predominant feature in the british fleet! for myself individually, i commit my life to him that made me; and may his blessing alight on my endeavours for serving my country faithfully! to him i resign myself, and the just cause which is entrusted to me to defend. amen! amen! amen!" having thus discharged his devotional duties, he annexed, in the same diary, the following remarkable writing:-october 21, 1805.--. then in sight of the combined fleets of france and spain, distant about ten miles. "whereas the eminent services of emma hamilton, widow of the right hon. sir w. hamilton, have been of the very greatest service to my king and country, to my knowledge, without ever receiving any reward from either our king or country. 1. that she obtained the king of spain's letter, in 1796, to his brother, the king of naples, acquainting him of his intention to declare war against england from which letter the ministry sent out orders to the then sir john jervis to strike a stroke, if opportunity offered, against either the arsenals of spain or her fleets. that neither of these was done is not the fault of lady hamilton; the opportunity might have been offered. 2. the british fleet under my command could never have returned the second time to egypt, had not lady hamilton's influence with the queen of naples caused letters to be wrote to the governor of syracuse that he was to encourage the fleet's being supplied with everything, should they put into any port in sicily. we put into syracuse, and received every supply; went to egypt and destroyed the french fleet. "could i have rewarded these services, i would not now call upon my country; but as that has not been in my power, i leave emma lady hamilton therefore a legacy to my king and country, that they will give her an ample provision to maintain her rank in life. "i also leave to the beneficence of my country my adopted daughter, horatia nelson thompson; and i desire she will use in future the name of nelson only. "these are the only favours i ask of my king and country, at this moment, when i am going to fight their battle. may god bless my king and country, and all those i hold dear! my relations it is needless to mention; they will of course be amply provided for. "nelson and bronte. "witness, ( henry blackwood. ( t.m.hardy." the child of whom this writing speaks was believed to be his daughter, and so, indeed, he called her the last time he pronounced her name. she was then about five years old, living at merton, under lady hamilton's care. the last minutes which nelson passed at merton were employed in praying over this child, as she lay sleeping. a portrait of lady hamilton hung in his cabin; and no catholic ever beheld the picture of his patron saint with devouter reverence. the undisguised and romantic passion with which he regarded it amounted almost to superstition; and when the portrait was now taken down in clearing for action, he desired the men who removed it to "take care of his guardian angel." in this manner he frequently spoke of it, as if he believed there were a virtue in the image. he wore a miniature of her, also, next his heart. blackwood went on board the victory about six. he found him in good spirits, but very calm; not in that exhilaration which he had felt upon entering into battle at aboukir and copenhagen: he knew that his own life would be particularly aimed at, and seems to have looked for death with almost as sure an expectation as for victory. his whole attention was fixed upon the enemy. they tacked to the northward, and formed their line on the larboard tack; thus bringing the shoals of trafalgar and st. pedro under the lee of the british, and keeping the port of cadiz open for themselves. this was judiciously done; and nelson, aware of all the advantages which it gave them made signal to prepare to anchor. villeneuve was a skilful seaman: worthy of serving a better master, and a better cause. his plan of defence was as well conceived, and as original, as the plan of attack. he formed the fleet in a double line; every alternate ship being about a cable's length to windward of her second ahead and astern. nelson, certain of a triumphant issue to the day, asked blackwood what he should consider as a victory. that officer answered, that, considering the handsome way in which battle was offered by the enemy, their apparent determination for a fair trial of strength, and the situation of the land, he thought it would be a glorious result if fourteen were captured. he replied: "i shall not be satisfied with less than twenty." soon afterwards he asked him if he did not think there was a signal wanting. captain blackwood made answer, that he thought the whole fleet seemed very clearly to understand what they were about. these words were scarcely spoken before that signal was made, which will be remembered as long as the language, or even the memory, of england shall endure; nelson's last signal:--"england expects every man to do his duty!" it was received throughout the fleet with a shout of answering acclamation, made sublime by the spirit which it breathed, and the feeling which it expressed. "now," said lord nelson, "i can do no more. we must trust to the great disposer of all events, and the justice of our cause. i thank god for this great opportunity of doing my duty." he wore that day, as usual, his admiral's frock-coat, bearing on the left breast four stars, of the different orders with which he was invested. ornaments which rendered him so conspicuous a mark for the enemy were beheld with ominous apprehensions by his officers. it was known that there were riflemen on board the french ships, and it could not be doubted but that his life would be particularly aimed at. they communicated their fears to each other; and the surgeon, mr. beatty, spoke to the chaplain dr. scott, and to mr. scott the public secretary, desiring that some person would entreat him to change his dress, or cover the stars; but they knew that such a request would highly displease him. "in honour i gained them," he had said when such a thing had been hinted to him formerly, "and in honour i will die with them." mr. beatty, however, would not have been deterred by any fear of exciting his displeasure from speaking to him himself upon a subject in which the weal of england, as well as the life of nelson, was concerned; but he was ordered from the deck before he could find an opportunity. this was a point upon which nelson's officers knew that it was hopeless to remonstrate or reason with him; but both blackwood, and his own captain, hardy, represented to him how advantageous to the fleet it would be for him to keep out of action as long as possible; and he consented at last to let the leviathan and the temeraire, which were sailing abreast of the victory, he ordered to pass ahead. yet even here the last infirmity of this noble mind was indulged, for these ships could not pass ahead if the victory continued to carry all her sail; and so far was nelson from shortening sail, that it was evident he took pleasure in pressing on, and rendering it impossible for them to obey his own orders. a long swell was setting into the bay of cadiz: our ships, crowding all sail, moved majestically before it, with light winds from the south-west. the sun shone on the sails of the enemy; and their well-formed line, with their numerous three-deckers, made an appearance which any other assailants would have thought formidable; but the british sailors only admired the beauty and the splendour of the spectacle; and in full confidence of winning what they saw, remarked to each other what a fine sight yonder ships would make at spithead! the french admiral, from the bucentaure, beheld the new manner in which his enemy was advancing--nelson and collingwood each leading his line; and pointing them out; to his officers, he is said to have exclaimed that such conduct could not fail to be successful. yet villeneuve had made his own dispositions with the utmost skill and the fleets under his command waited for the attack with perfect coolness. ten minutes before twelve they opened their fire. eight or nine of the ships immediately ahead of the victory, and across her bows, fired single guns at her, to ascertain whether she was yet within their range. as soon as nelson perceived that their shot passed over him, he desired blackwood and captain prowse, of the sirius, to repair to their respective frigates; and, on their way, to tell all the captains of the line-of-battle ships that he depended on their exertions; and that if, by the prescribed mode of attack, they found it impracticable to get into action immediately, they might adopt whatever they thought best, provided it led them quickly and closely alongside an enemy. as they were standing on the front of the poop, blackwood took him by the hand, saying, he hoped soon to return and find him in possession of twenty prizes. he replied, "god bless you, blackwood; i shall never see you again." nelson's column was steered about two points more to the north than collingwood's, in order to cut off the enemy's escape into cadiz: the lee line, therefore, was first engaged. "see," cried nelson, pointing to the royal sovereign, as she steered right for the centre of the enemy's line, cut through it astern of the santa anna three-decker, and engaged her at the muzzle of her guns on the starboard side--"see how that noble fellow, collingwood, carries his ship into action!" collingwood, delighted at being first in the heat of the fire, and knowing the feelings of his commander and old friend, turned to his captain, and exclaimed: "rotherham, what would nelson give to be here?" both these brave officers, perhaps, at this moment, thought of nelson with gratitude, for a circumstance which had occurred on the preceding day. admiral collingwood, with some of the captains, having gone on board the victory to receive instructions, nelson inquired of him where his captain was and was told, in reply, that they were not upon good terms with each other. "terms!" said nelson,--"good terms with each other!" immediately he sent a boat for captain rotherham; led him, as soon as he arrived, to collingwood; and saying, "look; yonder are the enemy!" bade them shake hands like englishmen. the enemy continued to fire a gun at a time at the victory, till they saw that a shot had passed through her main-top-gallant sail; then they opened their broadsides, aiming chiefly at her rigging, in the hope of disabling her before she could close with them. nelson, as usual, had hoisted several flags, lest one should be shot away. the enemy showed no colours till late in the action, when they began to feel the necessity of having them to strike. for this reason, the santissima trinidad, nelson's old acquaintance, as he used to call her, was distinguishable only by her four decks; and to the bow of this opponent he ordered the victory to be steered. meantime an incessant raking fire was kept up upon the victory. the admiral's secretary was one of the first who fell; he was killed by a cannon-shot while conversing with hardy. captain adair of the marines, with the help of a sailor, endeavoured to remove the body from nelson's sight, who had a great regard for mr. scott; but he anxiously asked: "is that poor scott that's gone?" and being informed that was indeed so, exclaimed: "poor fellow!" presently, a double-headed shot struck a party of marines who were drawn up on the poop, and killed eight of them; upon which nelson immediately desired captain adair to disperse his men round the ship, that they might not suffer so much from being together. a few minutes afterwards a shot struck the four-brace bits on the quarter-deck, and passed between nelson and hardy, a splinter from the bit tearing off hardy's buckle, and bruising his foot. both stopped, and looked anxiously at each other, each supposed the other to be wounded. nelson then smiled, and said, "this is too warm work, hardy, to last long." the victory had not yet returned a single gun: fifty of her men had been by this time killed or wounded, and her main-top-mast, with all her studding-sails and her booms, shot away. nelson declared, that, in all his battles, he had seen nothing which surpassed the cool courage of his crew on this occasion. at four minutes after twelve she opened her fire from both sides of her deck. it was not possible to break the enemy's line without running on board one of their ships: hardy informed him of this, and asked him which he would prefer. nelson replied: "take your choice, hardy, it does not signify much." the master was ordered to put the helm to port, and the victory ran on board the redoutable, just as her tiller ropes were shot away. the french ship received her with a broadside; then instantly let down her lower-deck ports, for fear of being bearded through them, and never afterwards fired a great gun during the action. her tops, like those of all the enemy's ships, were filled with riflemen. nelson never placed musketry in his tops; he had a strong dislike to the practice; not merely because it endangers setting fire to the sails, but also because it is a murderous sort of warfare, by which individuals may suffer, and a commander now and then be picked off; but which never can decide the fate of a general engagement. captain harvey, in the temeraire, fell on board the redoutable on the other side. another enemy was in like manner on board the temeraire; so that these four ships formed as compact a tier as if they had been moored together, their heads lying all the same way. the lieutenants of the victory, seeing this, depressed their guns of the middle and lower decks, and fired with a diminished charge, lest the shot should pass through, and injure the temeraire. and because there was danger that the redoubtable might take fire from the lower-deck guns, the muzzles of which touched her side when they were run out, the fireman of each gun stood ready with a bucket of water; which, as soon as the gun was discharged, he dashed into the hole made by the shot. an incessant fire was kept up from the victory from both sides; her larboard guns playing upon the bucentaure and the huge santissima trinidad. it had been part of nelson's prayer that the british fleet might be distinguished by humanity in the victory which he expected. setting an example himself, he twice gave orders to cease firing upon the redoutable, supposing that she had struck, because her great guns were silent; for as she carried no flag, there were no means of instantly ascertaining the fact. from this ship, which he had thus twice spared, he received his death. a ball fired from her mizzen-top, which, in the then situation of the two vessels, was not more than fifteen yards from that part of the deck where he was standing, struck the epaulette on his left shoulder, about a quarter after one, just in the heat of action. he fell upon his face, on the spot which was covered with his poor secretary's blood. hardy, who was a few steps from him, turning round, saw three men raising him up.--"they have done for me at last, hardy," said he.--"i hope not," cried hardy.--"yes!" he replied, "my back-bone is shot through." yet even now, not for a moment losing his presence of mind, he observed, as they were carrying him down the ladder, that the tiller ropes, which had been shot away, were not yet replaced, and ordered that new ones should be rove immediately. then, that he might not be seen by the crew, he took out his handkerchief, and covered his face and his stars. had he but concealed these badges of honour from the enemy, england, perhaps, would not have had cause to receive with sorrow the news of the battle of trafalgar. the cockpit was crowded with wounded and dying men, over whose bodies he was with some difficulty conveyed, and laid upon a pallet in the midshipmen's berth. it was soon perceived, upon examination, that the wound was mortal. this, however, was concealed from all except captain hardy, the chaplain, and the medical attendants. he himself being certain, from the sensation in his back, and the gush of blood he felt momently within his breast, that no human care could avail him, insisted that the surgeon should leave him, and attend to those to whom he might be useful; "for," said he, "you can do nothing for me." all that could be done was to fan him with paper, and frequently to give him lemonade to alleviate his intense thirst. he was in great pain, and expressed much anxiety for the event of the action, which now began to declare itself. as often as a ship struck, the crew of the victory hurrahed; and at every hurrah a visible expression of joy gleamed in the eyes, and marked the countenance of the dying hero. but he became impatient to see captain hardy; and as that officer, though often sent for, could not leave the deck, nelson feared that some fatal cause prevented him, and repeatedly cried, "will no one bring hardy to me? he must be killed! he is surely dead!" an hour and ten minutes elapsed from the time when nelson received his wound before hardy could come to him. they shook hands in silence, hardy in vain struggling to repress the feelings of that most painful and yet sublimest moment. "well, hardy," said nelson, "how goes the day with us?"--"very well," replied hardy; "ten ships have struck, but five of the van have tacked, and show an intention to bear down upon the victory, i have called two or three of our fresh ships round, and have no doubt of giving them a drubbing."--"i hope," said nelson, "none of our ships have struck?" hardy answered, "there was no fear of that." then, and not till then, nelson spoke of himself. "i am a dead man, hardy," said he: "i am going fast: it will be all over with me soon. come nearer to me. let my dear lady hamilton have my hair, and all other things belonging to me." hardy observed that he hoped mr. beatty could yet hold out some prospect of life. "oh, no!" he replied, "it is impossible. my back is shot through. beatty will tell you so." captain hardy then, once more, shook hands with him; and, with a heart almost bursting, hastened upon deck. by this time all feeling below the breast was gone; and nelson, having made the surgeon ascertain this, said to him: "you know i am gone, i know it. i feel something rising in my breast,"--putting his hand on his left side,--"which tells me so." and upon beatty's inquiring whether his pain was very great, he replied, "so great, that he wished he was dead. yet," said he, in a lower voice, "one would like to live a little longer too!" and after a few minutes, in the same under tone, he added--"what would become of poor lady hamilton, if she knew my situation!" next to his country she occupied his thoughts. captain hardy, some fifty minutes after he had left the cockpit, returned; and, again taking the hand of his dying friend and commander, congratulated him on having gained a complete victory. how many of the enemy were taken he did not know, as it was impossible to perceive them distinctly; but fourteen or fifteen at least. "that's well," cried nelson, "but i bargained for twenty." and then, in a stronger voice, he said: "anchor, hardy; anchor." hardy, upon this, hinted that admiral collingwood would take upon himself the direction of affairs. "not while i live, hardy," said the dying nelson, ineffectually endeavouring to raise himself from the bed: "do you anchor." his previous order for preparing to anchor had shown how clearly he foresaw the necessity of this. presently, calling hardy back, he said to him in a low voice, "don't throw me overboard:" and he desired that he might be buried by his parents, unless it should please the king to order otherwise. then reverting to private feelings: "take care of my dear lady hamilton, hardy take care of poor lady hamilton. kiss me, hardy," said he. hardy knelt down and kissed his cheek; and nelson: said, "now i am satisfied. thank god i have done my duty." hardy stood over him in silence for a moment or two, then knelt again and kissed his forehead. "who is that?" said nelson; and being informed, he replied, "god bless you, hardy." and hardy then left him --for ever. nelson now desired to be turned upon his right side, and said, "i wish i had not left the deck; for i shall soon be gone." death was, indeed, rapidly approaching. he said to the chaplain, "doctor, i have not been a great sinner;" and after a short pause, "remember that i leave lady hamilton and my daughter horatia as a legacy to my country." his articulation now became difficult; but he was distinctly heard to say, "thank god i have done my duty." these words he repeatedly pronounced; and they were the last words which he uttered. he expired at thirty minutes after four--three hours and a quarter after he had received his wound. within a quarter of an hour after nelson was wounded, above fifty of the victory's men fell by the enemy's musketry. they, however, on their part, were not idle; and it was not long before there were only two frenchmen left alive in the mizzen-top of the redoutable. one of them was the man who had given the fatal wound: he did not live to boast of what he had done. an old quarter-master had seen him fire; and easily recognised him, because he wore a glazed cocked hat and a white frock. this quarter-master and two midshipmen, mr. collingwood and mr. pollard, were the only persons left in the victory's poop; the two midshipmen kept firing at the top, and he supplied them with cartridges. one of the frenchmen, attempting to make his escape down the rigging, was shot by mr. pollard, and fell on the poop. but the old quarter-master, as he cried out, "that's he, that's he," and pointed at the other who was coming forward to fire again, received a shot in his mouth, and fell dead. both the midshipmen then fired at the same time, and the fellow dropped in the top. when they took possession of the prize, they went into the mizzen-top, and found him dead, with one ball through his head, and another through his breast. the redoutable struck within twenty minutes after the fatal shot had been fired from her. during that time she had been twice on fire in her fore-chains and in her forecastle. the french, as they had done in other battles, made use in this, of fire-balls and other combustibles; implements of destruction which other nations, from a sense of honour and humanity, have laid aside; which add to the sufferings of the wounded, without determining the issue of the combat: which none but the cruel would employ, and which never can be successful against the brave. once they succeeded in setting fire, from the redoutable, to some ropes and canvas on the victory's booms. the cry ran through the ship, and reached the cockpit; but even this dreadful cry produced no confusion: the men displayed that perfect self-possession in danger by which english seamen are characterised; they extinguished the flames on board their own ship, and then hastened to extinguish them in the enemy, by throwing buckets of water from the gangway. when the redoutable had struck, it was not practicable to board her from the victory; for, though the two ships touched, the upper works of both fell in so much, that there was a great space between their gangways; and she could not be boarded from the lower or middle decks because her ports were down. some of our men went to lieutenant quilliam, and offered to swim under her bows, and get up there; but it was thought unfit to hazard brave lives in this manner. what our men would have done from gallantry, some of the crew of the santissima trinidad did to save themselves. unable to stand the tremendous fire of the victory, whose larboard guns played against this great four-decker, and not knowing how else to escape them, nor where else to betake themselves for protection, many of them leaped overboard and swam to the victory; and were actually helped up her sides by the english during the action. the spaniards began the battle with less vivacity than their unworthy allies, but they continued it with greater firmness. the argonauta and bahama were defended till they had each lost about four hundred men; the san juan nepomuceno lost three hundred and fifty. often as the superiority of british courage has been proved against france upon the seas, it was never more conspicuous than in this decisive conflict. five of our ships were engaged muzzle to muzzle with five of the french. in all five the frenchmen lowered their lower-deck ports, and deserted their guns; while our men continued deliberately to load and fire till they had made the victory secure. once, amidst his sufferings, nelson had expressed a wish that he were dead; but immediately the spirit subdued the pains of death, and he wished to live a little longer, doubtless that he might hear the completion of the victory which he had seen so gloriously begun. that consolation, that joy, that triumph, was afforded him. he lived to know that the victory was decisive; and the last guns which were fired at the flying enemy were heard a minute or two before he expired. the ships which were thus flying were four of the enemy's van, all french, under rear-admiral dumanoir. they had borne no part in the action; and now, when they were seeking safety in flight, they fired not only into the victory and royal sovereign as they passed, but poured their broadsides into the spanish captured ships; and they were seen to back their topsails for the purpose of firing with more precision. the indignation of the spaniards at this detestable cruelty from their allies, for whom they had fought so bravely, and so profusely bled, may well be conceived. it was such that when, two days after the action, seven of the ships which had escaped into cadiz came out in hopes of re-taking some of the disabled prizes, the prisoners in the argonauta, in a body, offered their services to the british prize-master, to man the guns against any of the french ships, saying, that if a spanish ship came alongside, they would quietly go below; but they requested that they might be allowed to fight the french in resentment for the murderous usage which they had suffered at their hands. such was their earnestness, and such the implicit confidence which could be placed in spanish honour, that the offer was accepted and they were actually stationed at the lower-deck guns. dumanoir and his squadron were not more fortunate than the fleet from whose destruction they fled. they fell in with sir richard strachan, who was cruising for the rochefort squadron, and were all taken. in the better days of france, if such a crime could then have been committed, it would have received an exemplary punishment from the french government. under buonaparte it was sure of impunity, and perhaps might be thought deserving of reward. but if the spanish court had been independent, it would have become us to have delivered dumanoir and his captains up to spain, that they might have been brought to trial, and hanged in sight of the remains of the spanish fleet. the total british loss in the battle of trafalgar amounted to 1587. twenty of the enemy struck; but it was not possible to anchor the fleet, as nelson had enjoined. a gale came on from the s.w., some of the prizes went down, some went on shore; one effected its escape into cadiz; others were destroyed; four only were saved, and those by the greatest exertions. the wounded spaniards were sent ashore, an assurance being given that they should not serve till regularly exchanged; and the spaniards, with a generous feeling, which would not perhaps have been found in any other people, offered the use of their hospitals for our wounded, pledging the honour of spain that they should be carefully attended there. when the storm, after the action, drove some of the prizes upon the coast, they declared that the english who were thus thrown into their hands should not be considered as prisoners of war; and the spanish soldiers gave up their own beds to their shipwrecked enemies. the spanish vice-admiral, alva, died of his wounds. villeneuve was sent to england, and permitted to return to france. the french government say that he destroyed himself on the way to paris, dreading the consequences of a court-martial; but there is every reason to believe that the tyrant, who never acknowledged the loss of the battle of trafalgar, added villeneuve to the numerous victims of his murderous policy. it is almost superfluous to add, that all the honours which a grateful country could bestow were heaped upon the memory of nelson. his brother was made an earl, with a grant of l6000 a year. l10,000 were voted to each of his sisters; and l100,000 for the purchase of an estate. a public funeral was decreed, and a public monument. statues and monuments also were voted by most of our principal cities. the leaden coffin in which he was brought home was cut in pieces, which were distributed as relics of saint nelson,--so the gunner of the victory called them; and when, at his internment, his flag was about to be lowered into the grave, the sailors who assisted at the ceremony with one accord rent it in pieces, that each might preserve a fragment while he lived. the death of nelson was felt in england as something more than a public calamity; men started at the intelligence, and turned pale, as if they had heard of the loss of a dear friend. an object of our admiration and affection, of our pride and of our hopes, was suddenly taken from us; and it seemed as if we had never, till then, known how deeply we loved and reverenced him. what the country had lost in its great naval hero--the greatest of our own, and of all former times--was scarcely taken into the account of grief. so perfectly, indeed, had he performed his part, that the maritime war, after the battle of trafalgar, was considered at an end: the fleets of the enemy were not merely defeated but destroyed; new navies must be built, and a new race of seamen reared for them, before the possibility of their invading our shores could again be contemplated. it was not, therefore, from any selfish reflection upon the magnitude of our loss that we mourned for him: the general sorrow was of a higher character. the people of england grieved that funeral ceremonies, and public monuments, and posthumous rewards, were all which they could now bestow upon him, whom the king, the legislature, and the nation would have alike delighted to honour; whom every tongue would have blessed; whose presence in every village through which he might have passed would have wakened the church bells, have given schoolboys a holiday, have drawn children from their sports to gaze upon him, and "old men from the chimney corner" to look upon nelson ere they died. the victory of trafalgar was celebrated, indeed, with the usual forms of rejoicing, but they were without joy; for such already was the glory of the british navy, through nelson's surpassing genius, that it scarcely seemed to receive any addition from the most signal victory that ever was achieved upon the seas: and the destruction of this mighty fleet, by which all the maritime schemes of france were totally frustrated, hardly appeared to add to our security or strength; for, while nelson was living, to watch the combined squadrons of the enemy, we felt ourselves as secure as now, when they were no longer in existence. there was reason to suppose, from the appearances upon opening the body, that in the course of nature he might have attained, like his father, to a good old age. yet he cannot be said to have fallen prematurely whose work was done; nor ought he to be lamented who died so full of honours, at the height of human fame. the most triumphant death is that of the martyr; the most awful that of the martyred patriot; the most splendid that of the hero in the hour of victory: and if the chariot and horses of fire had been vouchsafed for nelson's translation, he could scarcely have departed in a brighter blaze of glory. he has left us, not indeed his mantle of inspiration, but a name and an example which are at this hour inspiring thousands of the youth of england: a name which is our pride, and an example which will continue to be our shield and our strength. thus it is that the spirits of the great and the wise continue to live and to act after them; verifying, in this sense, the language of the old mythologist:-[the book ends with two lines of ancient greek by the poet hesiod. their meaning is approximately that of the final lines above.] [in this text, to keep the character set to the minimum 'vanilla ascii': italics have been converted to capitals, accents etc. have been omitted, and the british 'pound' currency symbol has been written as 'l'. where angles are given in degrees, minutes and seconds; the abbreviations d, m, s have been used.] the life of _the right honourable_ _horatio_ lord viscount nelson: baron nelson of the nile, and of burnham-thorpe and hilborough in the county of norfolk; knight of the most honourable military order of the bath; doctor of laws in the university of oxford; vice-admiral of the white squadron of his majesty's fleet; duke of bronte, in farther sicily; grand cross of the order of st. ferdinand and of merit; knight of the imperial order of the ottoman crescent; knight grand commander of the equestrian, secular, and capitular, order of st. joachim of westerburg; and honorary grandee of spain. by mr. harrison. in two volumes. vol. i. lord viscount nelson's transcendent and heroic services will, i am persuaded, exist for ever in the recollection of my people; and, while they tend to stimulate those who come after him, they will prove a lasting source of strength, security, and glory, to my dominions. _the king's answer to the city of london's address on the battle of trafalgar._ london: ======= printed, at the ranelagh press, by stanhope and tilling; for c. chapple, pall mall, and southampton row, russell square. 1806. to the king; and his subjects, in every quarter of the globe, forming what is denominated the country; _these memoirs_ of _lord nelson's life_, which was so honourably devoted to, and so gloriously lost in, their service, are most humbly and respectfully dedicated, by james harrison. london, january 4, 1806. * * * * * advertisement. never, perhaps, was a greater panegyric pronounced on any human being, than that which is comprised in the motto to this biographical account of admiral lord viscount nelson, delivered from the lips of the sovereign who had experienced his worth; and who, with a noble gratitude, deigned thus publicly to acknowledge, and record, the transcendent heroism of his lordship's meritorious services: heroism and services, the recollection of which, his majesty generously anticipates, must not only exist for ever in the memory of the people; but, by continually stimulating future heroes, prove a perpetual source of strength, security, and glory, even to the country itself. a reflection worthy of a king! inciting to heroism, by the consideration of a more enlarged motive than seems to have been heretofore sufficiently regarded; and thus entitling himself to participate the very praise he is so liberally bestowing. the expressive voice of gratitude is thus, sometimes, surprised by a similar unexpected but grateful echo; and the rays of royalty, beaming with their fullest lustre on a brilliant object, are in part reflected back to their source. the general history of the world, to almost every part of which the influence of lord nelson's services may be considered as having in some measure extended, must most assuredly preserve the remembrance of one of it's chiefest heroes; and the future historian of our own country, in particular, will not fail exultingly to dwell on each of his lordship's great and glorious victories, with all the animated and enegertic glow of conscious dignity and truth. still, however, we are desirous to know more of so exalted a character than any general history can with propriety supply. we wish to see him not only as a hero, but as the hero of a respectable historian; and are anxious, with a laudable zeal, for such minuteness of detail, in the developement of every circumstance, not only relative to his public and professional character, but even to his private and domestic transactions, as is to be alone expected from what may be denominated the more humble labours of the biographer: who, nevertheless, must not be permitted to boast much of extraordinary humility, if he pretends to combine, in a single picture, any tolerable portion of that sublime grandeur, and that delicate simplicity, which constitute the iliad and the odyssey of literature. to produce a work not altogether unworthy the hero whose life it records, is the utmost that his present biographer can reasonably hope to accomplish. even this, he freely confesses, he must have despaired of ever effecting, had he not been indulgently honoured by the kindest communications from some whose near affinity to the immortal nelson, is evidently more than nominal; who not only have the same blood flowing in their veins, but whose hearts possess a large portion of the same unbounded goodness, generosity, and honour: as well as from other dear and intimate friends, professional and private, who were united to his lordship by the closest ties of a tender reciprocal amity. encouraged by such generous aids, the author may be allowed to boast that he has, at least, a considerable store of novelties to offer: it will be for the public to judge, on perusing the work, how far he has succeeded in making a suitable arrangement of the excellent information acknowledged to have been thus bountifully and benignantly afforded him. particular acknowledgments will be seen in the preface, to such of the family and friends of lord nelson as may have generously assisted the researches of the author; the number of whom are likely, from obvious circumstances, to be considerably augmented during the progress of the work. it may seem scarcely necessary to add, that the preface, though always placed, as the very name imports, at the beginning of a book, is usually the last part printed. * * * * * preface. there are few works, the authors of which can possibly be permitted to recommend them as worthy of universal regard, without the imputation of intolerable vanity; an imputation little likely to be diminished by the consideration, that other writers, over whom a decided preference is claimed, may have previously occupied the same subject. a life of lord nelson, however, replete with original anecdotes, many of them from the mouths of his lordship's nearest and dearest relatives and friends, with whom the author has, for many months, been honoured with an almost constant communication; and abounding in a profusion of interesting letters, and extracts of letters, written by the hero himself, which have generously flowed in, from all quarters, to aid the biographer; he may surely, without the charge of presumption, these facts being self-evident on the slightest inspection, be allowed to assert, must necessarily be entitled to very general notice and esteem. so numerous, indeed, have been the invaluable documents kindly tendered to the author's acceptance, that he has not only been under the necessity of greatly enlarging his original design; but may, probably, at a future and no very distant period, feel encouraged to present those who have so indulgently expressed their approbation of his present labours, with a sort of supplementary work, not necessarily attached, but still more minutely illustrative of many circumstances which relate to the life and character of this greatest and best of heroes and of men. it is not without painful sensations, that the author feels compelled to notice the many dishonourable insinuations which have been promulged by bold speculators on public credulity: some of whom, by prematurely publishing, have already sufficiently evinced their want of genuine information; and others, after the most illiberal reflections on all contemporaries, have found it expedient entirely to abandon their own boasted performances, or to wait the completion of the very work which they have thus meanly and insidiously laboured to depreciate, before they could possibly advance. this biographical memoir, like the character of the immortal man whom it proudly aspires to commemorate, rests on no false claim. it offers not any meretricious attraction to the eye; it submits itself, wholly, to the understanding, and to the heart. should it fail considerably to gratify the one, and powerfully to interest the other, it will be in vain for the author to urge, however true, that he has exerted himself, with a due sense of the dignity of his subject, and of the difficulty of the task, to produce a work which, though it can never sufficiently honour the incomparable hero, should as little as possible disgrace the kind contributory aids, and the generous patronage, which he has had the distinguished favour to receive from so many estimable and illustrious personages. to add a list of names, might seem ostentatious; but, certainly, such a list would contain almost every great and virtuous character allied to his late lordship, in the bonds of affinity as well as of friendship. with most of these, it will ever constitute the chief pride and happiness of the author's life, that he is also permitted to boast a considerable degree of intimate friendship; and, in the delightful retreat of merton place, surrounded by all who were most dear to the heart of the hero, in consanguinity as well as amity, have many of those valuable anecdotes been obtained, with which the work is so abundantly enriched. prompted to this undertaking, by a strong sense of conviction, that our chief hero, when his character was clearly understood, would be found as eminently good as great, the biographer has fearlessly endeavoured freely to investigate transactions of the utmost delicacy in private life; and he is fully prepared to assert, and as far as possible to prove, that there seldom has existed any human being adorned by the practice of so many positive virtues, so little sullied by any actual vice, as that immortal man, the chief particulars of whose history will be found, the author may, at least, be permitted to maintain, most faithfully recorded in the work now confided, with all it's imperfections, to the just judgment of the world; a tribunal which seldom fails doing compleat justice, either sooner or later, to all the merits both of heroes and of authors, of men as well as of books. the life of _lord nelson_, duke of bronte, &c. * * * * * when we survey, with rapture, the state of an exalted hero, arrived at all the honours which it is possible for a human being to receive from the gratitude, the veneration, and the love, of his fellow-mortals; seen, as he then is, like a luminary of the first magnitude in the full blaze of meridian glory, we are generally too dazzled by the lustre we behold, to penetrate, or even to reflect on, the circuitous, the tedious, or the perplexed path, through which he may have been constrained to pass, in pursuit of the splendid destiny at length happily attained. in this sublime situation, we have lately beheld a british naval hero, who has scarcely ever been equalled, and certainly never surpassed. as a nation, we have been charmed with his brilliant refulgence; we have been cheared by his vivifying influence; and we lament the short duration of his splendor with a grief so general, that it appears to be without parallel in the history of any age or country. to trace the progress of this heroic and inestimable character, through the various vicissitudes of his eventful life, from it's commencement to it's close, with all the accuracy and minuteness which circumstances will admit; contemplating and comparing the several causes and effects which may have retarded or accelerated the progress of his public career, which may have blessed or embittered his private comforts; is the arduous task of the present biographer: who holds, with a trembling; hand, the pen that would presumptuously aspire to record, with suitable dignity, the history of one of the very greatest and most successful naval heroes that has ever yet astonished and adorned the world. lord nelson, duke of bronte--for he always, very properly, signed with both these titles, from the moment of obtaining them--was the offspring of parents on each side highly respectable. the family of the nelsons had been long resident in the county of norfolk: they possessed, for many years, and their posterity still possess, a small patrimony at hilborough, with the patronage of that rectory. the sucklings, likewise a norfolk family, of lofty alliances, have been resident at wooton nearly three centuries. on the 11th of may, in the year 1749, the reverend edmund nelson, son of the then venerable rector of hilborough, and himself rector of burnham-thorpe, was married to catharine daughter of dr. maurice suckling, rector of basham in suffolk, as well as of wooton in norfolk, and a prebendary of westminster. by this union the nelson family gained the honour of being related to the noble families of walpole, cholmondeley, and townshend: miss suckling being the grand-daughter of sir charles turner, bart. of warham, in the county of norfolk, by mary, daughter of robert walpole, esq. of houghton, and sister to sir robert walpole, of wolterton, whose next sister, dorothy, was married to charles, second viscount townshend. the honour, however, so conferred, has since been abundantly recompenced to all these illustrious families, by a single nelson, the offspring of this very union; to whom, in their turn, they may now proudly boast their alliance, without any degradation of dignity. of these virtuous and most respectable parents, was horatio lord viscount nelson born, at the parsonage house of the rectory of burnham-thorpe, on michaelmas-day 1758: a place which will be ever renowned for having given him birth; and a day of annual festivity, which every briton has now an additional motive to commemorate. he was their fifth son, and their sixth child: his eldest sister, mrs. bolton, the amiable lady of thomas bolton, esq. by whom she has a son and four daughters, being about three years older than her renowned brother. there had been a former son christened horatio, who only survived about twelve months; and another, named edmund, after the father, who also died in early infancy: both of whom are entombed in hilborough church. the name of horatio, or horace, which is thus once more destined to live for ever honoured, was doubtless adopted, and persisted in by mr. and mrs. nelson, as a compliment to the memory of their noble relative, the first lord walpole; brother of the highly celebrated sir robert walpole, afterwards first earl of orford. it was then little imagined, even by the boundless partiality of parental affection, looking forward to sanguine hopes of a powerful family patronage, that this infant could ever possibly live to eclipse all the glory of his most brilliant ancestors! the name of maurice, after dr. maurice suckling the grandfather, and his son captain maurice suckling, had been previously given to another son, born may 24, 1753: who held a situation in the navy office, and died so recently as the year 1801, three days after receiving news of the battle of copenhagen; leaving a widow, but no issue. had this last gentleman survived his illustrious brother, he would, of course, have succeeded to his lordship's titles; which now devolve, augmented by an earldom, on the reverend william nelson, rector of hilborough; the sole remaining brother of this numerous family, most of whom died in their minority. the earl, who was born april 20, 1757, married, in november 1786, sarah daughter of the reverend henry yonge, of great torrington in the county of devon--cousin to the right reverend philip yonge, late bishop of norwich--by whom he has issue, charlotte-mary, born september 20, 1787; and horatio, born october 26, 1788, successor-apparent to the honours of his immortal uncle. of the whole eight sons, offspring of lord nelson's parents, it seems remarkable that only the present earl ever had any issue; while, of their three daughters, one died in her infancy, and the two who reached maturity, mrs. bolton and mrs. matcham, have both several children: mrs. bolton, as already noticed, having five now living; and mrs. matcham, her amiable younger sister, the lady of george matcham, esq. being the mother of no less than three sons and five daughters. we usually expect, that the life of a great character should commence with some early indication of his future excellence. this, being an apparent principle in nature, is probably just. that divine genius, of whatever description, which "_nascetur, non fit_;" is born with a man, and not possible to be made or acquired; must, necessarily, exist at his birth, whatever may be the period when, or the circumstance by which, the dormant spark is first awakened into action. parents, it is true, are in general great observers of infantine occurrences; and very apt to be presageful of wonderful results expected from trivial causes. few parents, however, are so blessed, as to have children who possess genius: of those who are, some silently treasure up their hopes, which may be buried with them in an untimely grave; some are too incessantly busied in the cares of providing for a numerous offspring, to be capable of indulging minute attentions to any particular infant; and some are altogether unconscious, or regardless, of the presence of genius, amidst the clearest manifestations of it's existence. to most other persons, but the parents, if we except a good old grandmother, or an artful or affectionate nurse, the actions and the sayings of a child seldom afford much interest; and the relation of them often gives rise to no inconsiderable degree of animosity. the parents of other children, and even the other children of the same parents, not unfrequently hear such praises with distaste and aversion; and, if they do not soon entirely forget them, it is, perhaps, only because their unextinguishable envy condemns them to preserve the remembrance of the circumstance by which it was originally excited. these, among various other causes, prevent our always becoming acquainted with the early occurrences which distinguish genius, even where they soonest appear: but, genius is not always apparent in early infancy; and, where it is, every hero does not, like hercules, find a serpent successfully to encounter in his cradle. of lord nelson's infancy, from whatever causes, scarcely any anecdote is now preserved. that which may, probably, be considered as the first, has often been related; but never, heretofore, in a manner sufficiently accurate and circumstantial. at the very early age of not more than five or six years, little horatio, being on a visit to his grandmother, at hilborough, who was remarkably fond of all her son's children, and herself a most exemplary character, had strolled out, with a boy some years older than himself, to ramble over the country in search of birds-nests. dinner-time, however, arriving, and her grandson not having returned, the old lady became so excessively alarmed, that messengers, both on horseback and on foot, were immediately dispatched, to discover the wanderer. the progress of the young adventurers had, it seems, been impeded by a brook, or piece of water, over which horatio could not pass; and, his companion having gone off and left him, he was found ruminating, very composedly, on the opposite bank. it is not ascertained, whether his companion had got across the water, or gone back again by the way they had approached it: whether the young hero was meditating how it might be passed; or too weary, or unwilling, to retread all his former steps. who shall pretend to say, that this child, thus sitting, in a state of abstraction, by the side of an impassable piece of water, might not first feel that ardent thirst of nautical knowledge excited, the gratification of which has since led to such glorious consequences! be this as it may--for even himself, if living, might not now be conscious of the fact--it is perfectly well remembered that, on his being brought into the presence of his grandmother, the old lady concluded her lecture respecting the propriety of children's rambling abroad without the permission of their friends, by saying--"i wonder, that fear did not drive you home."--"fear, grandmama," innocently replied the child, "i never saw fear; what is it?" perhaps, the frequent repetition of this anecdote, and the admiration which the sweet simplicity of the child's wonderful answer must naturally create in the bosom of every virtuous friend, had no small share in fixing his heroic character. he had never seen fear, he knew not what it was. what a reflection for an incipient hero, when he became capable of comprehending the full force of his own artless expression! if he ever lived to see fear, it was only in the enemies of his country; if to know it, it was only by name. there seems good reason to suppose, that his invincible spirit was visible at an early age, as well as his generally mild and amiable disposition. he was a prodigious favourite with his indulgent mother: who was herself a woman of considerable firmness and fortitude, though of a delicate habit, as well as of great meekness and piety: and, in one of the little customary strifes of brothers, the present earl being his antagonist, when requested, by some friends, who were alarmed at the noise, to interfere in behalf of the youngest, is well recollected to have replied, with the utmost composure, and a very visible satisfaction depicted on her expressive countenance--"let them alone, little horace will beat him; let horace alone!" the brother of mrs. nelson, captain maurice suckling, married to a sister of the present lord walpole, was a naval commander of very considerable skill and bravery: he frequently visited his sister; and was, also, particularly fond of horatio. he had, doubtless, heard the anecdote respecting fear; to which, in his own person, he felt himself as much a stranger as his little nephew: and, probably, was the first friend to hail and encourage the future hero. his sister, partial to the honourable profession of her brother, would naturally interpret every proof of her darling son's attachment to his uncle's person, his conversation, or even any of his professional habiliments, as well as each appearance of spirited resolution which he occasionally displayed, into an inclination, as well as fitness, for the service. she, like the holy mary, "kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart:" but, she lived not to behold the accomplishment of her cherished hopes! the principles of piety were carefully implanted in his infant mind, by the example, as well as precepts, of both parents; and, amidst all the tempestuous passions by which mankind is agitated during his progress through the various scenes of active life, these principles could never be eradicated from his bosom. the celebrated grammar-school at norwich, called the high school, of which a mr. symonds was then master, and which was afterwards superintended by the learned dr. parr, has the honour of having given him the first rudiments of a respectable education. how long he continued at norwich school is not now known, any more than the particular reason why he quitted it. from thence, however, he went to the grammar-school at north walsham; and was placed under the tuition of the reverend mr. jones, whose abilities are said to have then acquired much celebrity. it seems likely, that this removal might take place at the period of his mother's death, which happened on the 24th of december 1767; being about nine months after she was delivered of mrs. matcham, her eleventh and last child. the death of this excellent lady was a severe loss to her affectionate husband, and his infant family; who do not appear to have experienced any very substantial proofs of friendship from their illustrious relatives in general, after mrs. nelson's decease. it is, indeed, but too common for the affluent to neglect those of their humbler kindred who have a numerous offspring; as if marriage were a crime, and the fruits of virtuous love a reproach rather than a blessing. the reverend mr. nelson, however, was never in necessitous circumstances; and, as he felt no solicitude for any self-indulgences not always within his reach, he was enabled to effect the respectable establishment of all his children, without that assistance, or those attentions, which he might naturally have expected, and which it would certainly have been pleasing to receive. the good grandmother, at hilborough, however, did all in her power to promote the happiness and comfort of her son's children; and her kindness and affection supplied, as much as it can be supplied, the want of a mother. she was a fine old lady, and possessed uncommon wisdom, with extreme goodness of heart. her faculties were so lasting, that she could see to read the smallest print, and execute the finest needlework, till the close of her prolonged life, which extended to ninety-three years. captain suckling, too, seems to have formed one exception, at least, to the almost general indifference on the part of their maternal relations. he continued his occasional visits; and engaged, the first moment possible, to take horatio under his immediate protection. the child, in the mean time, was acquiring the advantages of a good education, at north walsham grammar-school; and it seems evident, from subsequent circumstances, that he must have been making considerable progress in learning, under mr. jones's able tuition, when he was suddenly withdrawn, at the tender age of only twelve years, from that respectable seminary, to commence his professional career on the perilous ocean. about the autumn of 1770, when the aggressions of the spaniards, who had violently taken possession of the falkland islands, so far alarmed the country, that a naval armament was prepared to chastise this indignity, captain suckling, having obtained the command of the raisonnable, of sixty-four guns, one of the ships put into commission on the occasion, immediately ordered his nephew from school, and entered him as a midshipman. the youth, after being properly equipped for this situation, was sent to join the ship, then at sheerness. it should seem, however, that his uncle could not at that time be on board, or any person whatever who knew of his coming: for he has been repeatedly heard to say, by one of his oldest and most esteemed friends, that he paced the deck, after his arrival from greenwich, the whole remainder of the day, without being in the smallest degree noticed by any one; till, at length, the second day of his being on board, some person, as he expressed it, "kindly took compassion on him." it was then discovered, for the first time, that he was the captain's nephew, and appointed to serve on board as a midshipman. what a primary reception was this, for such a youth to experience! it did not, however, dispirit him; and he was, no doubt, now heartily greeted and encouraged, with the golden hopes always inspired, among young seamen, by the prospect of a spanish war. whatever might be the extent of these hopes, they were destined to be speedily dissipated. the spaniards very readily made such concessions as administration thought it expedient, at that juncture, to accept, respecting this business; mr. harris, his majesty's minister at madrid, who had been recalled on the 21st of december 1770, was ordered to return thither on the 18th of january 1771; and, of course, all the ships which had been just commissioned for that service, were directed to be immediately laid up in ordinary, and paid off. this, on the whole, seemed no very auspicious commencement for the young hero. his father was in the condition of the country; he had incurred the expences of fitting out, for services which this compromise rendered unnecessary. peace, however, while it can be preserved with safety and honour, is always preferable to war; and initiation in an honourable profession, where so much depends on seniority, though it may not be immediately productive, is undoubtedly better than nothing. horatio, though discouraged, was not disgusted: on the contrary, he felt delighted with the profession of a sailor. under the eye of his respectable uncle, during the short time he had been on board, he became fully satisfied that, to form an accomplished seaman, would require no small degree of application, and no few years of experience. it was ever the opinion of the reverend mr. nelson, founded on an early and acute observation of his son's character, that horatio, in whatever station placed, would climb, if possible, to the very top of the tree: this sentiment seems to have swelled the bosom of the youth, at an age when few boys indulge any serious anticipatory reflection. with all that regarded nautical knowledge, he was studious to become thoroughly acquainted; and, being ardently desirous of making his first voyage, which was now impracticable in the navy, his uncle placed him under the care of mr. john rathbone, an excellent seaman, who then had the command of a west-indiaman belonging to the respectable house of hibbert, purrier, and horton. with this skilful and brave commander, who had formerly served under captain suckling, in the dreadnought, he now joyfully proceeded on his first expedition, by sailing to the west indies. the numerous and agreeable novelties continually presenting themselves to the view of the young adventurer, during this interesting voyage, could not fail to prove highly gratifying. he was beholding a new world, while he was gaining practical skill in a new profession: and, if the latter might be considered as a substitute for the school studies so lately quitted at north walsham; the former amply compensated the loss of those hours of vacation amusements, the enjoyment of which he might now recollect without any regret. the enervating influence of the torrid climes had no ill effect on his constitution; which was radically good, though partaking of his mother's slightness and delicacy: and he had been too virtuously educated, hastily to indulge that rash and dangerous intemperance which proves so often fatal to inconsiderate europeans, on their first visiting the west indies. with a considerable store of local and professional information, he returned to england about the middle of the year 1772. it has been said that, at this period, his mind had acquired, without any apparent cause, an entire horror of the royal navy; that captain suckling, who beheld with anxiety the critical situation of his nephew, was soon convinced, by the sentiment he appeared to indulge in--"aft, the most honour; but forward, the better man!"--his too credulous nephew had acquired a bias utterly foreign to his real character; and that it was many weeks before all the firmness of the captain, assisted by his thorough knowledge of the human heart, could overcome these prejudices in his nephew, and reconcile him to the service on board a king's ship. admitting the truth of this relation, it would be natural to suppose that mr. rathbone, who was probably a worthy but disappointed man, had inspired the youth with his own aversions to serving in the royal navy, without a due consideration being made for the differences of their respective interests. this gentleman, with the utmost purity of design, might wish to prepare the nephew of his friend for mortifications and disappointments to be expected in the profession he had just embraced; it was not his fault, if pictures, which he perhaps feelingly and faithfully pourtrayed from the life, excited too much abhorrence in the mind of his young pupil. the sentiment of "aft, the most honour; but forward, the better man!" might come with no ill grace from the lips of mr. rathbone, but could never originate with a boy of thirteen. so far, the fact may be supported by some degree of probability, but it seems incapable of proof. in the family, no such circumstance appears to be remembered. it is well recollected--in some degree, to the contrary--that, on a slight intimation from his father, of a wish that he might entirely quit the sea-service, he resolutely declared, that if he were not again sent out, he would set off without any assistance. it may, however, be taken for granted, that he wished for more active employment in seamanship, than he could well expect to obtain, on board a man of war, in the capacity of a midshipman. the mode which his uncle is said to have adopted for what is called the recovery of the original bias of his nephew's mind, was to work on the ambition which, it is on all hands agreed, he in a supereminent degree possessed, to become a thorough seaman. captain suckling had recently been appointed to the command of the triumph, then lying at chatham; on board of which ship he placed his nephew, in july 1772, immediately after the youth's return from the west indies, in his old situation on the quarter-deck: and, though he had, thus, the "aft" situation of "most honour," the uncle contrived that he should, at the same time, be permitted to enjoy all the advantages of the "forward," which might be supposed to form "the better man." this he judiciously effected, by permitting him to go in the cutter and decked long-boat attached to the commanding officer's ship at chatham: an indulgence which afforded him the highest satisfaction; while it tended so largely to promote his practical knowledge of navigation, that he is said to have soon actually become an excellent pilot for such vessels as sail from chatham to the tower of london, and down the swin channel to the north foreland. it was thus that this young seaman, by being continually engaged in the successful navigation of difficult passages, or dangerous coasts, habitually acquired that experimental reliance on his own skill, and that internal self-possession, which so essentially contribute to establish the dauntless intrepidity of a truly heroic mind. he felt a conviction of his growing powers, and panted for opportunities of bringing them to the proof. his present sphere of action, confined to a comparatively small spot, for the triumph never once went out to sea while he remained on board, made him languish for some new situation, better suited to his enterprising spirit; and it was not long before an occurrence took place, which seemed to promise the gratification of his most sanguine wish. about the beginning of february 1773, the earl of sandwich, then first lord of the admiralty, in consequence of an application which had been made to him by the royal society, laid before the king a proposal for an expedition to try how far navigation might be practicable towards the north pole; which his majesty was pleased to direct should be immediately undertaken, with every encouragement that could countenance such an enterprise, and every assistance that could contribute to it's success. the racehorse and carcass bombs, being selected as the strongest, and therefore the properest, vessels to be employed in this voyage, were taken into dock, and fitted in the most complete manner for the service. the command of the former was given to captain constantine john phipps, afterwards lord mulgrave; and that of the latter, to captain skeffington lutwidge, now admiral of the white. the complement for each was fixed at ninety men; and the ordinary establishment departed from, by appointing an additional number of officers, the whole recommended by their respective captains, and entering effective men instead of the usual number of boys two masters of greenlandmen were employed as pilots for each ship; the racehorse was furnished with new chain-pumps on captain bentinck's improved plan; dr. irving's apparatus for distilling fresh water from the sea was adopted; mr. israel lyons was engaged, by the board of longitude, to embark in this voyage, for the purpose of making astronomical observations; the board also sent two watch machines for keeping the longitude by difference of time, one on mr. harrison's principles, the other by mr. arnold; and, in short, every possible arrangement was made effectually to decide the long-agitated question concerning the practicability of a north-east passage into the pacific ocean. the report of this scientific voyage, from which so much nautical knowledge could not fail to be derived by a youth thirsting for professional information, most powerfully attracted the enterprising spirit of young nelson; who resolved, if possible, to participate in it's advantages, without any apprehensions from the perils to which he must necessarily be exposed in it's pursuit. it may, indeed, be justly doubted, whether the hope of successfully encountering these very perils might not constitute one of its chief charms for his intrepid mind. notwithstanding, therefore, the implied interdiction of the admiralty, respecting the employment of boys on this hazardous voyage, he so powerfully pleaded with captain lutwidge to be appointed coxswain, and so fully satisfied him he was not unqualified for the task, that the worthy captain at length, kindly consented to receive him in this capacity; and, though the carcass, when fitted, being found too deep in the water to proceed to sea with safety, was constrained to put part of her guns on shore, and reduce her complement to eighty men, the young coxswain felt himself already too firmly fixed in his captain's favour to dread being one of the dismissed number. on the 30th of may 1773, captain lutwidge, in the carcass, joined captain phipps, in the racehorse, at the nore: but, being delayed, by the easterly winds, till the 4th of june, his majesty's birth-day, at six o'clock that morning, both ships weighed; and captain lutwidge, having received his orders from captain phipps, they immediately sailed on the expedition. the journal of this important voyage, during which so much was seen and suffered, captain phipps published soon after his return, in a respectable quarto volume, which contains a large fund of scientifical and professional information. our young hero had recently felt the enervating effects of a burning sun, in the torrid regions of the west; he had now speedily to encounter the benumbing influence of a frozen atmosphere, in the torpid confines of the north. on the 13th of june, in the evening, land was first seen by the carcass: it was light enough to read on deck all night; and, the next day, some shetland boats came on board with fish. after proceeding along the coast of spitsbergen, and ranging between the land and the ice several days, at half past four, in the afternoon of the 7th of july, the ice setting very close, they ran between two pieces, and were suddenly stopped. the ice, indeed, now set so fast down, that they were soon fixed; and obliged to heave through, for two hours, with ice-anchors from each quarter, nor were they quite out of the ice till midnight. on the 25th, the carcass being becalmed very near moffen island, captain lutwidge took the opportunity of obtaining its exact extent, which he communicated to captain phipps. the master had been on shore for the purpose of this survey; and with him, doubtless, our young adventurer. they found the island to be nearly of a round form, about two miles in diameter; with a lake or large pond of water in the middle, all frozen over, except thirty or forty yards round the edge of it, which was water, with loose pieces of broken ice, and so shallow, that they walked through it, and went over on the solid ice. the ground between the sea and the pond was from half a cable's length to a quarter of a mile broad, and the whole island appeared covered with gravel and small stones, without the smallest verdure or vegetation of any kind. they met with only one piece of drift wood, about three fathom long, with a root on it, and as thick as the carcass's mizen mast; which had been thrown up over the high part of the land, and lay on the declivity towards the pond. they saw three bears; and a number of wild ducks, geese, and other sea fowls, with birds-nests all over the island. off this island, the survey of which must have afforded a high treat to horatio, one of the carcass's boats were attacked by a herd of sea-horses, as they are corruptly called by the sailors, from the russian name of morses, which were with difficulty driven away. these marine animals are the trichecus rosmarus of linnã¦us, and the arctic walrus of pennant and most other naturalists. on another occasion, two officers, in a boat belonging to the racehorse, having fired at and wounded one of these animals, it immediately dived, and brought up a number of others; which all joined in an attack on the boat, wresting an oar from one of the men, and were with difficulty prevented from staving or oversetting the boat: but a boat from the carcass, guided by the intrepid young coxswain, soon arrived, and effectually dispersed them. this was on the 29th of july, near what they called the low island; of which dr. irving, who went on the party to visit it, gives in substance the following account. on the shore were several large fir-trees lying sixteen or eighteen feet above the level of the sea: some of these trees were seventy feet long, and had been torn up by the roots; others cut down by the axe, and notched for twelve feet lengths. this timber was not in the least decayed, nor the strokes of the axe at all defaced. there were, likewise, some pipe-staves, and wood fashioned for use. the bench was formed of old timber, sand, and whale-bones. the island, which is flat, was found to be about seven miles long. it was formed chiefly of stones from eighteen to thirty inches over, many of them hexagons, and commodiously placed for walking on. the middle of the island was covered with moss, scurvy-grass, sorrel, and a few ranunculuses then in flower. two reindeer were feeding on the moss: one of these they killed, and found the venison to be fat and of high flavour. they saw a light grey fox; and a spotted white and black animal, somewhat larger than the weasel, with short ears, and a long tail. the island abounds with small snipes, similar to the english jack-snipe. the ducks were hatching their eggs, and many wild geese feeding by the water-side. from this pleasing scene, however, they found themselves, the next day, very differently situated. on the 30th of july, in the afternoon, they were among what are called the seven islands, and in the ice, with no appearance of any opening for the ships. between eleven and twelve at night, mr. crane, master of the racehorse, was dispatched by captain phipps, in the four-oared boat, to try if he could get through, and find an opening for the ship which might afford a prospect of getting farther; with directions, if he could reach the shore, to go up one of the mountains, in order to discover the state of the ice to the eastward and northward. captain lutwidge, who had employed a boat, conducted by his young coxswain for the same purpose, joined mr. crane on shore, and they proceeded to ascend a high mountain, from whence the prospect extended ten or twelve leagues to the east and north-east, over one continued plain of smooth ice, bounded only by the horizon. they also saw land stretching to the south-east, laid down in the dutch charts as islands: and now plainly discovered that the main body of ice, which the ships had traced from west to east, actually joined to these islands; and, from them, to what is called the north-east land. in returning to their ships, about seven in the morning, round which the ice had, in their absence, so completely got, that with their ice-anchors out they had moored alongside a field of it, they were frequently obliged to haul the boats, over ice which had closed since they went, to other openings. at nine o'clock, in the morning, the 31st, having a light breeze to the eastward, they cast off, and endeavoured to force through the ice; but, at noon, finding it too close to proceed, again moored to a field. in the afternoon they filled their casks with fresh water from the ice, which they found very pure and soft. the field of ice, to which both vessels were now moored, was found to be eight yards ten inches thick at one end, and seven yards eleven inches at the other. the ice closed fast, and was all round the ships; no opening to be any where seen, except a hole of about a mile and a half, where the ships lay fast to the ice, with ice-anchors. it being calm the greater part of the day, and the weather very fine, the ships companies amused themselves, almost the whole time, in playing on the ice. the pilots, however, finding themselves much farther than they had ever before penetrated, and reflecting on the advanced state of the season, seemed alarmed with apprehensions of being beset. on the 1st of august, the ice pressed in so fast, that there was now not the smallest opening. the two ships were within less than two lengths of each other, neither of them having room to turn. the ice, which had been all flat the day before, and almost level with the water's edge, was now in many places forced higher than the main-yard by the pieces squeezing together. their latitude this day at noon, by the double altitude, was eighty degrees thirty-seven minutes. on the 2d, it was thick, foggy, wet weather, the wind blowing fresh to the westward; but, though the ice immediately about the ships seemed rather looser than the day before, it hourly set in again so fast, that there appeared no probability of getting the ships out, without a strong east or north-east wind. on the 3d, the weather being very fine, clear, and calm, they perceived that the ships had been driven far to the eastward. the ice, however, was much closer than before; and the passage by which they had come in from the westward quite closed up, with no open water any where in sight. at five in the morning, the pilots having expressed a wish to get, if possible, farther out, the ships companies were set to work, that they might cut away the ice, and warp through the small openings to the westward. they found the ice so very deep, that they were often obliged to saw through pieces twelve feet thick; and, after toiling in this manner the whole day, with all their utmost efforts, had not been able to move the ship above three hundred yards to the westward, through the ice. they had, in the mean time, been driven, with the ice field itself to which they were fast, to the north-east and eastward, by the current; which had also forced the loose ice from the westward between the islands, where it became what the greenlandmen call packed, or one piece thrown up above another to a considerable height, and as firm as the main body. on the 4th, it was quite calm, till the evening; when they were flattered with a light air to the eastward, which produced no favourable effect. on the 5th, the probability of getting the ships out appearing every hour less, and the season being already far advanced, some speedy resolution became necessary for the preservation of the people. as the situation of the ships prevented them from seeing the state of the ice to the westward, by which, their future proceedings must be in a great measure determined, captain phipps sent mr. walden, one of his midshipmen, with two pilots, to an island twelve miles off, since distinguished, in the charts, by the name of walden's island, to see where the open water lay. on the 6th, in the morning, mr. walden and the two pilots returned; with an account that the ice, though close all about the ships, was open to the westward, round the point by which they had got in. they also remarked that, on the island, they had the wind very fresh to the eastward, though it had been almost calm the whole time where the ships lay. this circumstance considerably lessened the hopes, hitherto entertained, of the immediate effect of an easterly wind in clearing the bay. having now only one alternative; either patiently to wait the event of the weather on the ships, in hopes of getting them out, or to betake themselves to the boats. the ships had at this time driven into shoal water, having only fourteen fathom; and, should either the ships, or the ice to which they were fast, take the ground, they must be inevitably lost, and probably overset. the hopes of getting the ships out, however, were not hastily to be relinquished; nor, on the other hand, obstinately persisted in, till all other means of retreat were cut off. after a due consideration of the various difficulties which presented themselves in this perilous state, captain phipps thought it proper to send for the officers of both ships, and to inform them of his intention to prepare the boats for going away. they were, accordingly, hoisted out, and every precaution taken to make them secure and comfortable; which, however, would necessarily occupy some days. in the mean time, the water shoaling, and the ships driving fast towards the north-east rocks, a man was sent, with a lead and lines, from the racehorse, to the northward, and another, from the carcass, to the eastward, to sound, wherever they found cracks in the ice, that notice might be obtained before either the ships, or the ice to which they were fast, took the ground; as, in that case, they must, as before observed, instantly have been crushed or overset. on the 7th, in the morning, captain phipps set off in the launch, which hauled much easier than was expected. after getting it about two miles, he returned with the people for their dinner; and, finding the ice rather more open near the ships, he was encouraged to attempt moving them. the wind, though little, being easterly, they set the sails, and got both ships about a mile to the westward. they moved, indeed, very slowly; but were not, now, by a great deal, so far to the westward as where they were beset. in the mean time, all the sail was kept on them, that they might force through whenever the ice in the smallest degree slacked. though the people behaved very well in hauling the launches, and seemed reconciled to the idea of quitting the ships, having the fullest confidence in their officers; yet, as the boats could not, with the greatest diligence, be got to the water-side in less than a week, it was judiciously resolved to carry on both attempts together: moving the boats constantly, but without omitting any opportunity of getting the ships through. on the 8th, captain phipps got his launch above three miles; but the weather being foggy, and the people having worked hard, he returned on board in the evening, and found the ships had moved something through the ice, while the ice itself had drifted still more to the westward. on the 9th, in a thick morning fog, they moved the ships a little through some very small openings; and, in the afternoon, on it's clearing up, were agreeably surprised to find the ships had driven much more to the westward than they could have expected. thus encouraged, they laboured hard all day; but got very little to the westward, through the ice, in comparison to what the ice itself had drifted. having passed the launches, a number of men were sent to get them on board. though the people were much fatigued, the progress which the ships had made through the ice was a most favourable event; and, notwithstanding the drift of the ice was an advantage which might be as suddenly lost as it had been unexpectedly gained, by a change in the current, they began again to indulge hopes that a brisk gale of easterly wind might soon effectually clear them. on the 10th, the wind springing up, in the morning, to north north-east, they set all the sail they could, and forced through a great deal of very heavy ice. the ships, it is true, often struck excessively hard; and the racehorse, with one stroke, broke the shank of the best bower anchor; but, about noon, they had the unspeakable happiness to get through all the ice, and were safely out at sea. accordingly, on the 11th, they came to an anchor in the harbour of smeerenberg, where they were comfortably refreshed after their dreadful fatigues. the island where they lay is called amsterdam island, the westernmost point of which is hacluyt's headland. here the dutch once attempted to make an establishment, by leaving some people to winter, who all perished. the dutch, however, still resort thither for the latter season of the whale-fishery; and it afforded a very excellent retreat to our adventurers, who remained there till the 20th. after this, they made a few feeble attempts, but they were without hope of being able to penetrate farther. the summer had proved uncommonly favourable for the purpose; and, having enjoyed the fullest opportunity of repeatedly ascertaining the situation of that wall of ice which extends for more than twenty degrees, between the latitudes of eighty and eighty-one, without the smallest appearance of any opening, they were sufficiently satisfied of the impracticability of effecting any passage to the pacific ocean, and agreed on immediately returning to england. in steering to the southward, they soon found the weather grow more mild; or, rather, as captain phipps expresses it, to their feelings, warm. on the 24th of august, they perceived jupiter; and the sight of a star was now become almost as extraordinary a phenomenon to them, as the sun at midnight had appeared on their first getting within the arctic circle. for some part of their voyage back, the weather was very fine; but, from the 7th of september, when they were off shetland, till the 24th, when they made orfordness, they had hard gales of wind, with little intermission. in one of these violent gales, accompanied by a heavy sea, they lost three of their boats, and were obliged to throw two guns overboard. thus ended this famous voyage; happily, without the loss of a single person: and which was so far successful, at least, in accomplishing it's object, that it seems to have satisfactorily negatived the long-agitated question concerning the practicability of a north-east passage into the pacific ocean. perhaps, however, the increasing civilization of nations who are nearer neighbours, may awaken the spirit of enterprise in some hardy bosom, and conduct a new adventurer farther over the vast plains of ice descried from the mountains on this occasion, by means of sledges, &c. as well as boats, both properly prepared and furnished, than it has ever yet been penetrated, or is ever likely to be penetrated, by ships and their customary boats alone. not that any nearer approach to the pole, or even the discovery that it might be passed on solid ice, could ever facilitate, or render possible, the attainment of a way for navigating vessels through such insurmountable barriers of ice as nature has provided, at each pole, to sustain what may, perhaps, be denominated the two extremities of our globe. still it would be desirable, not only as an object of curiosity, but of science. those are much mistaken, who think there is nothing left for our posterity to discover. "whatever might be the decree of general satisfaction obtained from this voyage; which was so liberally fitted out by his majesty's command, and so ably conducted by those skilful and intrepid commanders, lord mulgrave and admiral lutwidge: to such individuals as had undertaken it for the attainment of nautical knowledge, scientific experience, or even the gratification of laudable curiosity, it had afforded a very considerable degree of profit and delight, to compensate the difficulties and perils so successfully surmounted; and, to the youthful nelson, whose aspiring mind was desirous of embracing the whole of these interesting objects, it proved a continued scene of pleasure. at the dreadful period when they were so long fast in the ice, he had earnestly solicited, and at length obtained, the command of a four-oared cutter, with twelve men, ingeniously constructed for the purpose of exploring channels, and breaking the ice: yet, while in this perilous situation, such was the irresistible force of the large bodies of floating ice, that several acres square were often seen lifted up between two much larger pieces, and becoming, as it were, one with them; and, afterwards, the piece, so formed, acting in the same manner on a second and third; which would probably have continued to be the effect, till the whole bay had been so filled with ice that the different pieces could have had no possible motion, had not the stream taken an unexpected turn, and providentially set the ice out of the bay. an anecdote is related, as a proof of that cool intrepidity which this young mariner possessed, even among scenes of such stupendous horror, which seems well worthy of being also exhibited as a fine picture of filial affection. during one of the clear nights common to these high northern latitudes, young nelson, notwithstanding the extreme severity of the cold, was missing from the ship. diligent search being immediately made after him in vain, he was given up for lost. as the rays of the rising sun, however, began to open the horizon, the adventurous youth was discovered, with astonishment, on the ice, at a considerable distance, anxiously pursuing a huge polar bear. he carried a musket in his hand; but, the lock being injured, the piece would not go off: he was, therefore, endeavouring to weary the animal, that he might be able to effect his purpose with the butt-end. captain lutwidge, who had been extremely uneasy during his absence, reprimanded him, on his return, for quitting the ship without leave; and asked, in a severe tone, what motive could possibly induce him to commit so rash an action? all the manliness of the hero now subsiding into the simplicity of the child--"i wished, sir," replied the ingenuous youth, "to get the skin for my father!" an answer which, doubtless, not only obtained him the pardon, but the praise, of captain lutwidge; and confirmed that ardent friendship which ever after subsisted between them. captain phipps, too, had seen enough of the young adventurer, during this voyage, to form a high opinion of his character; but he had, under his own more particular care, another youth of much promise, the present rear-admiral philip d'auvergne, prince of bouillon, who made several of the original drawings which were afterwards engraved and published in his celebrated journal of the voyage. though this young gentleman, who had been placed under captain phipps's protection by his noble patron, lord howe, possessed the advantage of having received instructions in the arts and sciences to which horatio was, at that time, almost a stranger, the latter had liberality enough not only to admire, but to applaud, the ingenuity which he witnessed in a youth four years older than himself. he was present when some of these sketches were taken, and viewed the process with delight and attention; particularly, that pleasing and accurate delineation of the celebrated iceberg in amsterdam island, opposite where the ships lay; which measured three hundred feet high, and out of which a cascade of water was then flowing. it may not be improper to mention, that these icebergs are large bodies of ice which fill the vallies between the lofty mountains; and present, towards the sea, an almost perpendicular face of a very lively light green colour. in these regions, it will readily be conceived, the numerous black mountains, white snow, and beautiful green of the ice, must form a very romantic and peculiar picture. large pieces frequently break off from these icebergs on the coast; and fall, with great noise, into the water: one such piece, which was observed to have floated out into the bay, grounded in fourteen fathom; yet was still fifty feet above the surface of the water, and preserved all the lustre of it's enchanting original colour. thus, amidst the dreariest scenes, has nature bounteously provided that there shall still be something to delight the eye; amidst the most imminent dangers, something to animate the heart. the pleasures and the perils of this voyage, however, were now equally at an end; but it's beneficial effects, and it's agreeable recollections, were never to be eradicated or effaced. in october 1773, the racehorse and carcass were both paid off; and these friends and companions, fully sensible of each other's worth, separated with sentiments of a sincere mutual esteem. captain suckling, as usual, welcomed the young hero on his return; and had the satisfaction to learn, from captain lutwidge, as well as from captain phipps, that his nephew was in all respects worthy of every encouragement that could be bestowed on him. there wanted not, however, this stimulus, in the bosom of that worthy man, to excite his affectionate regards for the promising son of his deceased sister. with the honest and feeling heart of a true british naval commander, he ever acted as a parent to all her children. a squadron was, at this time, fitting out for the east indies, under the command of admiral sir edward hughes. horatio, delighted with the prospect of visiting regions so different from those which he had just quitted, and anxious to enjoy all the professional advantages derivable from so distant and interesting a voyage, earnestly solicited his esteemed uncle to obtain him a situation in one of the ships intended for this expedition. captain suckling, accordingly, procured him a birth under that gallant and able officer, captain farmer: who, since, in the year 1779, so nobly but unfortunately perished in the flames of the quebec of thirty-two guns, which had accidentally taken fire, during it's engagement with la surveillante of forty guns, off ushant; which he refused to quit, though severely wounded, and was blown up with his ship, colours flying. with this excellent commander, in the sea-horse of twenty guns, did the adventurous and heroic youth sail to the east indies. he was, at first, stationed to watch in the fore-top; but captain farmer, who early discovered how very superior his abilities were to his age and appearance, soon placed him on the quarter-deck, and treated him with the most indulgent kindness. it may readily be supposed that, under such an officer, in the progress of a voyage to the east indies, and the subsequent visits of the sea-horse to almost every part of the east indies from bengal to bussorah, a youth of his talents must necessarily gain a large accession of nautical knowledge. though there happened not, on this occasion, to be any opportunity offer for evincing the heroism and bravery of his mind, sufficient instances presented themselves of his unusual proficiency in seamanship, and of his mild and amiable manners, to conciliate the esteem not only of all with whom he more immediately acted, either as superiors, equals, or inferiors, but to attract the notice, and fix the friendly regards, of the commander in chief. from sir edward hughes, he received many pleasing proofs of friendly attention, which he never forgot. he had, indeed, considerable claims to indulgence from his humane and generous superiors. the climate proved too powerfully relaxing for his delicate frame; and, braced as it had recently been, by the frozen atmosphere of the north, the sultry airs of these torrid regions were now rapidly undermining his constitution. alarmed for the danger of a youth thus distant from his friends, whose life was ever precious, even from his tenderest infancy, to all who had opportunities of once knowing the goodness of his heart, captain farmer and sir edward hughes united in recommending his return to england, as the only chance that remained for restoring him to health. captain james pigot, now admiral of the white, was at that time coming home with the dolphin of twenty guns. to this gentleman's care, horatio was particularly recommended by sir edward hughes; and such were the tender and humane attentions of the worthy commander, that he may be considered as having been greatly instrumental in the preservation of a life which has since proved so substantially beneficial to the country. such, indeed, were the salutary effects of admiral pigot's soothing kindness, and generous aids, added to the gradual change of air experienced on the passage to england, that his young charge arrived almost entirely restored to health, and again visited his beloved uncle. that worthy and gallant gentleman, who was now become comptroller of the navy, having succeeded sir hugh palliser in april 1775, received him with his accustomed benignity. his tenderness was alarmed at the ravages which he beheld in his nephew's countenance; and he resolved that, if he could not instantly reinstate his vigour, he would at least endeavour to recruit his spirits by the choicest of all professional cordials, an immediate and merited promotion. on the 24th of september 1776, the dolphin was paid off at woolwich; and, on the 26th of the same month, three days before his nephew completed his eighteenth year, he received, through the comptroller's influence, an order from sir james douglas, then commanding in chief at portsmouth, to act as lieutenant, in the worcester of sixty-four guns, under captain mark robinson. this meritorious officer, who afterwards distinguished himself in admiral keppel's memorable action of the 27th of july 1778; as well as in that of admiral greaves, off the chesapeak, the 5th of september 1781, where he lost a leg; was then under sailing orders for gibraltar, with a convoy. he had too much merit of his own, not soon to discover it in another; and was so well satisfied with his young officer, as to place the utmost confidence in his skill and prudence. under this able commander, he remained at sea, with various convoys, till the 2d of april 1777; and admiral robinson--for this worthy man was, in consequence of his misfortune, placed on the list of superannuated rear-admirals--has often been heard to remark, that he felt equally easy, during the night, when it was young nelson's turn to watch, as when the oldest officer on board had charge of the ship. these flattering testimonials to the merits of his nephew, which never failed to be obtained from every commander under whom he had yet served, could not but prove highly gratifying to an uncle in whose estimation he had always been held so dear: who had first nurtured him for the profession; and who, as soon as he could wield a sword, had presented him with an honourable and well-tried one of his own, which he charged him never to relinquish but with life. the pleasure thus received by his delighted uncle, was constantly communicated to the venerable and worthy pastor of burnham-thorpe: and the anxieties of the father, for the perils to which his son must necessarily be exposed, were calmed by that pious resignation to the will of heaven, in every situation of duty, with which he had early endeavoured to fortify the hearts of all his offspring; and which taught himself to hope, that perseverance in good would always be likely to receive the highest degree of requisite protection and safety. nor did he fail, to correspond with his son, at every convenient opportunity; and to inculcate, in writing, those pious and paternal precepts which had so often flowed from his venerable and revered lips. on the 8th of april 1777, within a single week of quitting the worcester, this youth, who had not yet completed the nineteenth year of his age, passed his professional examination for a lieutenancy; and, on the day following, received his commission as second lieutenant of the lowestoffe of thirty-two guns, commanded by captain william locker, since lieutenant-governor of greenwich hospital, in which situation he died on the 26th of december 1800. this ship, in consequence of the dispute with the american colonists, who had, on the 4th of july 1776, declared themselves free and independent states, under the name of the thirteen united provinces, and which terminated in their separation from the mother-country, was ordered to the west indies; there to remain, as one of the squadron under the good and gallant admiral gayton: an old officer of such distinguished activity and success, that his cruizers captured, while he commanded on the jamaica station, no less than two hundred and thirty-five american vessels. the worthy comptroller of the navy having thus secured rank, and a prospect of active employ, for his meritorious nephew, they parted with most affectionate adieus, and in the fullest hopes of again meeting. this, however, was not to happen: they never more beheld each other! his uncle was elected member of parliament for portsmouth, in 1778: and died, in the month of july, that year; leaving a handsome legacy to his nephew, as well as to all the rest of his sister's children. captain locker, who was a very friendly man, as well as an intelligent and skilful commander, became greatly attached to his young lieutenant, and very liberal of scientific and professional instruction. the youth had been powerfully recommended; and, as usual, he recommended himself still more powerfully. on his voyage to jamaica, therefore, where he had before sailed, in a merchantman, with his early friend mr. rathbone, he was now a second time receiving nautical instruction; nor did he at present feel inclined to cherish, whatever he might formerly have done, the smallest dread of any professional disappointments in the naval service of his country. he had been fortunate in patronage; and he had also been fortunate enough, through the circumspection of his excellent uncle, to have been constantly placed under none but skilful, brave, and worthy commanders. shortly after the lowestoffe's arrival at jamaica, a circumstance took place, during a cruize off the island, which affords a striking proof of that inherent firmness of character, and cool presence of mind, for which this heroic youth was always remarkable. in a strong gale of wind, and a heavy sea, an american letter of marque was discovered by captain locker; which, after a short chace, finding it could not escape, struck it's flag to the lowestoffe. the captain, accordingly, ordered his first-lieutenant to board and take possession of the captured vessel; but, owing to the tremendous sea which was then running, he found himself unable, though a very brave man, to approach sufficiently near, with the boat, to get on board the prize, and had the extreme mortification of being obliged to go back without effecting his purpose. on his return to the lowestoffe, captain locker, who was not a little chagrined at the disappointment, hastily exclaimed--"have i, then, no officer who can board the prize?" the master, at hearing these words, instantly ran to the gangway, that he might jump into the boat; but the intrepid second-lieutenant, who had been full as attentive and alert as himself, suddenly stopped him--"it is my turn, now," cried young nelson; "if i come back, too, it will be your's." he then leaped into the boat; and, from his superior expertness in managing it, soon contrived to get on board, and take possession of his first prize. this, though no real disgrace to the first-lieutenant, was certainly a very high honour to such a strippling as the second; who owed his success, on the present occasion, as he did at many future periods, to the practical knowledge of seamanship which he had always, from his first entering on the service, been sagaciously solicitous to acquire. he seems to have been early of opinion, that a commander who is not capable of being a master, in every sense of the word, must always, necessarily, have a master, in it's worst sense, on board his own ship. this maxim is earnestly recommended to every british youth who enters into the naval service of his country. captain locker was quite charmed with his young lieutenant, and heartily congratulated him on the event. he assured him of his constant friendship; and encouraged him always to ask any indulgence which it might be in his power to grant. the lowestoffe, from it's situation with the fleet, had at this time but small scope for active service, lieutenant nelson, therefore, ever anxious for professional employ, and ever thirsting for enlarged improvement in experimental seamanship, requested that captain locker would favour him with the command of the schooner which was attached as a tender to the frigate. this being readily complied with, he immediately proceeded, in that small vessel, to render himself a complete pilot for all the intricate passages of those islands, which are situated to the northward of st. domingo, or hispaniola, and known by the general appellation of the keys; and soon became as familiarly acquainted with the navigation of them, as he had long been with that of the british channel. on the 3d of march 1778, sir peter parker, who had, on the preceding 29th of january, been promoted to the rank of rear-admiral of the white, arrived at port royal, in the bristol of fifty guns; having been appointed to succeed the brave old admiral gayton, as commander in chief on the jamaica station, who was desirous of retiring to england. he, accordingly, sailed; and, attended by his usual good fortune to the last, added another american capture, of considerable value, on his passage; making, in all, two hundred and thirty-six prizes. the character which lieutenant nelson had acquired, occasioned him soon to be taken notice of by sir peter parker; who immediately appointed him third-lieutenant of his own flag-ship, the bristol. the pleasing manners of lieutenant nelson, added to his manifest spirit and talents, so perfectly gained the esteem of the commander in chief, as well as of his amiable and excellent lady, to whom he had been kindly introduced on shore, that he was promoted, in the course of a very few months, by the regular gradations, to be first-lieutenant, and even enabled to conclude his services in that rank. on the 8th of december, in this very year, he was appointed, by sir peter parker, commander of the badger brig; in which he was, shortly after, ordered to protect the musquito shore, and the bay of honduras, from the depredations of american privateers. so ably did he acquit himself in the discharge of this duty, and so greatly had he endeared himself to the settlers during the short time he was among them, that they unanimously voted him their thanks for his services, and sensibly expressed their regrets at the necessity of his quitting the station. while he commanded the badger, being at anchor in montego bay, jamaica, his majesty's ship the glasgow, of twenty guns, captain thomas lloyd, came into the bay. at six o'clock in the evening, about two hours and a half after it's arrival, the steward going down into the after-hold, with a lighted candle in his hand, for the purpose of clandestinely drawing some rum, carelessly set fire to the whole; and, notwithstanding every effort was immediately made by captain lloyd, his officers, and crew, the ship was entirely consumed. no sooner, however, did the humane and generous commander of the badger perceive the nature of the disaster, than he hastened to the dreadful scene; and, by his unceasing exertions, and astonishing presence of mind, the crew were saved from the flames. at his suggestion, the powder was instantly ordered to be thrown overboard; a measure to which all the other ships in the harbour, and even the town itself, probably owed their preservation. the inhabitants, indeed, were thrown into great confusion on the occasion: for the ship's broadside lay towards the town, and all the guns were loaded; so that they went off as the fire approached them, and damaged several houses, but happily did no other execution. the only life lost, by this dreadful accident, was that of the master; who had been snatched out of the flames, miserably scorched, and died next morning on board the badger. from the smallness of this vessel, it had no place to shelter such a number of men; and the constant rains experienced while sailing for port royal, greatly affected the health of the ship's company, who fell sick very fast: but, at length all the sufferers were landed in safety. the judgment and humanity manifested on this trying occasion, exhibited the heroic commander of this little brig in a new and amiable light. they obtained him the gratitude of every one belonging to the unfortunate ship, and the praise and admiration of all to whom the affair was related. in the mean time, his friend, captain locker, of the lowestoffe, who had been suffering ill health, from the climate, almost ever since his arrival, found it necessary, for the preservation of his existence, to quit that ship, arid return to england, about the middle of the year 1779. it was soon after this period, that sir peter parker, who was in february advanced to be vice-admiral of the blue, detached a small squadron, among which was the lowestoffe, then commanded by captain charles parker, for the purpose of intercepting some spanish register-ships, in the bay of dulce. the british squadron, under the honourable captain john luttrell, found that these register-ships had taken shelter under the strong fortress of st. fernando de omoa, which is situated on the south side of the bay of honduras, and on the gulph of dulce: but, fortunately falling in with the porcupine sloop, captain pakenham, which had a short time before been sent to co-operate with a small detachment of troops under the command of captain dalrymple, dispatched by the governor of jamaica, to drive away the spaniards from infesting the baymen on the musquito and bay of honduras shores, which service they had completely effected, it was judiciously agreed, between the naval and military commanders, to unite their forces, and proceed immediately to the attack of fort omoa, accordingly, on the 16th of october, they stormed and carried the fort: taking, and carrying away, the register-ships, on board of which were about three millions of piastres; as well as two hundred and fifty quintals of quicksilver, found on shore in the fortress. from the advantages of participating in this brilliant enterprise, captain locker had been thus deprived by want of health; and his second lieutenant, singular as it may seem, by an excess of patronage. while these transactions were taking place, however, captain nelson had, on the 11th of june 1779, obtained his post-rank, through the same generous influence as withdrew him from the now fortunate lowestoffe. he had, therefore, neither reason nor inclination to complain, for he had not yet completed his twenty-first year. in the bloom and vigour of youth, with an age of experience in the service, acquired within nine years, he was well qualified for the situation to which he had been thus liberally promoted. the possession of fort omoa continued little more than a month. a considerable body of spaniards invested it, on the 28th of november; and the garrison and crew of the porcupine, left for it's protection, were so reduced by a pestilential disorder which raged among them, that they were constrained to evacuate the fort, after spiking the guns and embarking the ammunition and stores. the first ship to which captain nelson was appointed, after his advancement to post rank, was the hinchinbroke. soon after which, in july 1779, the report of an intended expedition against jamaica, by count d'estaigne, with a fleet of one hundred and twenty-five sail, men of war and transports; and having, as it was said, twenty-five thousand troops ready to embark, at the cape; occasioned every exertion to be used for the defence of the island: and, such was the general confidence in the skill and bravery of captain nelson, that both the admiral and the governor agreed to entrust him with the command of the battery of fort charles, considered as one of the most important posts in jamaica. this threatened invasion, however, was never attempted: and, in the month of january 1780, an expedition began to be prepared, from jamaica, against the spanish territories in america. of this important undertaking, in which captain nelson bore so distinguished a part, a most interesting account has been given by dr. moseley, physician to chelsea hospital, in his celebrated treatise on tropical diseases, on military operations, and on the climate of the west indies. this gentleman was then surgeon-general of the island of jamaica; and, from his intimacy with captain nelson, had every opportunity of knowing all such particulars as did not come under his own immediate observation. it's uncommon excellence, notwithstanding it's extreme length as an extract, will prevent it's seeming tedious. "this expedition," says dr. moseley, "was directed by general dalling, at that time governor of jamaica. the plan, wherever it originated, was judiciously designed; and highly approved by lord george germaine, then secretary of state for the american department. "the intent was, to cut off the communication of the spaniards, between their northern and southern american dominions, by el rio san juan--or, the river st. john, as it is called by us--and the lake nicaragua; from the interior boundary of which, to the south sea, is only four or five leagues, through a level country. thus, a connection from the northern to the southern sea, was to have been kept up by us; a chain of posts established; and a communication opened, and protected, with an extensive coast, and all the richest, provinces of south america. "every person acquainted with the geography of the spanish territories, of the defenceless state of this approach to them, and of the insurrections that had then actually taken place in santa fã©, popayan, and many parts of peru, formed the most sanguine expectations. happy was every man who had hopes of bearing any part in the enterprise. enthusiasm was never carried to greater height, than by those who had promised to themselves the glory of shaking spain to her foundation. the colours of england were, in their imagination, already even on the walls of lima. "and so, indeed, they might have been, had general dalling met with no obstacles in arranging the business in jamaica: and, had there been no delay in sending out the force from england; which did not arrive till august, when it ought to have been on the spanish main in january. "the obstacles experienced by general dalling, were many; and, from various causes. "a long continued martial law, and military preparations against a threatened invasion by the french, had almost exhausted the island of military stores and provisions. there was but little of either, excepting in the king's ordnance and victualling magazines. over these the admiral claimed an exclusive command and controul, and exercised his authority. "this embarrassment, not to be viewed without regret, was however in a great measure surmounted, by the powerful resources, and spirited exertions, of a worthy and disinterested individual, hercules ross, esq. a merchant of kingston, who enabled the general to carry his government's orders into execution. "misunderstandings, opposition, and delays, the ruin of many military operations, were the origin of the failure of this. but even these perplexities and disappointments, great as they were, would not have defeated the expedition; or, at least, the spaniards might have been saddled with the expence of it; if we could only have made a lodgment on the lake, to have kept open the river: which might have been done, had the first detachment that general dalling sent taken san juan castle in two hours, instead of sitting down formally before it for eleven days. "the first detachment, consisting of about two hundred men, from the sixtieth and seventy-ninth regiments; one hundred of the loyal irish corps; and two hundred jamaica volunteers; left jamaica, under the convoy of the hinchinbroke, on the 3d of february 1780; and directed their course to the musquito shore, to take with them some of the musquito indians, who were waiting for their arrival. "on the 11th of february, they arrived at cape gratias ã  dios; disembarked, and encamped about a mile from the sea, on wank's savanna; an unhealthful situation. "here they were joined by a party of men from the seventy-ninth regiment, from black river. "on the 10th of march, the troops re-embarked, and took their departure from cape gratias ã  dios; and anchored at several places on the musquito shore, to take up our allies, the indians, who were to furnish proper boats for the service of the river, and to proceed with them on the expedition: and, on the 24th of march, they arrived at the river san juan. "san juan river is the northern branch, or mouth of lake nicaragua; and is situated in north latitude twelve degrees, west longitude eighty-three degrees forty-five minutes. "the heat of the climate must necessarily be excessive; and this is augmented, in the course of the river, by high woods, without sufficient intervals, in many places, to admit of being refreshed by the winds. "the river has, in it's course, many noisome marshes on it's sides; and the trees are so thick, as to intercept the rays of the sun: consequently, the earth beneath their branches is covered with rotten leaves and putrid vegetables. hence arise copious collections of foul vapours, which clog the atmosphere. these unite with large clouds, and precipitate in rains. the rains are no sooner over, than the sun breaks forth, and shines with scorching heat. the surface of the ground, in places not covered with trees, is scarcely dry, before the atmosphere is again loaded by another collection of clouds and exhalations, and the sun is again concealed. "in the rainy seasons of the year, months successively pass away in this sort of vicissitudes, without the least diminution of heat; excepting at nights, when the air is poisoned by noxious chilling dews. but, sometimes, during the periodical rains, which begin about the middle of april, and with uncertain intervals of dry weather end late in november, the torrents of water that fall, for weeks together, are prodigious, which give the river a tremendous aspect; and, from their suddenness and impetuosity, cannot be imagined, by a european, to portend any thing but a deluge. this bursting of the waters above, and the raging of the river below, with the blackness of the nights, accompanied with horrid tempests of lightning and thunder, constitute a magnificent scene of terror unknown but in the tropic world. "of the little army destined for the san juan expedition after some delay at the mouth of the river, two hundred regulars, with ammunition and stores; proceeded up the river with the indians, in their several crafts. it being now near the end of the dry season, the river contained very little water, and the shoals and sandy beaches rendered the passage difficult. the men were frequently obliged to quit their boats, and unite their strength in the water, to get them through some shallow channels. this labour continued for several days after they left the mouth of the river, till they arrived in deeper water; then, they made a quicker progress. however, they met with many obstacles, by currents, and occasional rapids or falls; which would have been insurmountable, but for the skill of the indians in managing the boats on those occasions. "on the 9th of april, this advanced party arrived at a little island up the river, called st. bartholomew; which they took, after receiving a few shot from the enemy, by which two men were wounded. "this island is situated about sixteen miles below san juan castle; and was occupied by the spaniards as a look-out, and defended by sixteen or eighteen men, in a small semicircular battery of nine or ten swivels. it was necessary for our purposes, as it commands the navigation of the river in a rapid and difficult part of it. "on the 11th of april, the troops arrived before the castle of san juan; and, on the 13th, the siege commenced. the ammunition and stores were landed two or three miles below the castle; and transported through the back woods, to the place where the attack began. san juan castle is situated sixty-nine miles up the river, from the mouth, and thirty-two from the lake of nicaragua; and, is a navigation of nine days: but, for loaded boats, much longer, from the harbour up to it. the return from it, down by the current, is made in a day and a half. "on the 24th of april, the castle surrendered. during the siege, two or three more were killed, and nine or ten wounded. "from the unfortunate delay before the castle, which surrendered when it was summoned, the season for the spring periodical rains, with their concomitant diseases, was now advanced: and the little army had lost the opportunity of pushing rapidly on, out of those horrid woods--where there are a multitude of antelopes, monkeys, parrots, vipers, and deadly venomous serpents--by which they were environed, to the dry, pleasant, and healthful plains, and agreeable towns, of grenada and leon, near the lake, in the province of nicaragua; which, from it's salubrity and situation, is justly termed, by the spaniards, mahomet's paradise: and where they might have maintained themselves, with the reinforcement which followed them from jamaica on the 10th of april, till a road for carriages might have been made from blue fields harbour to the lake, and the season would have permitted farther reinforcement, for the completion of a glorious enterprise; as the natives of the country were ready to revolt, and only waited for a prospect of success. but here they were shut up in the castle, as soon as they were in possession of it. the troops and indians were attacked with fluxes, and intermittents, and in want of almost every necessary: for the river was become so swoln and rapid by the rains, that the harbour where the provisions and stores were was tedious, and almost impracticable. here the troops, deserted by those indians who had not already perished, languished in extreme misery, and gradually mouldered away; till there was not sufficient strength alive to attend the sick, nor even to bury the dead. "thus reduced, in the month of september, they were obliged to abandon their flattering conquest, and return to the harbour: leaving a few men behind, who were the most likely to live, to keep possession of the castle, if possible, till farther orders should be received from jamaica. "the spaniards re-took the castle, as soon as the season permitted; and, with it, those who had not strength enough to make their escape. "the crews of the vessels and transports that convoyed and carried the troops, suffered considerably by diseases which the season produced, while lying on the coast, and a thousand seamen lost their lives. "of about eighteen hundred people who were sent to different posts, at different embarkations, to connect and form the various dependencies of this expedition, few of the europeans retained their health above sixteen days, and not more than three hundred and eighty ever returned; and those, chiefly, in a miserable condition. it was otherwise with the negroes who were employed on this occasion. few of them were ill; and the remainder returned to jamaica in as good health as they went from it. "the survivors of the party, after they left san juan castle, embarked for blue fields, an english settlement about sixty miles to the north of san juan river, where most of them died. "the climate of san juan was not more destructive to the human frame, than the harbour was to the ships: and, for the benefit of future naval operations, i think it is important to mention, here, that there is an absolute necessity for having every vessel employed on that coast copper-bottomed; especially, when there is a probability of detention: for, in our expedition, the bottoms of the ships, not being coppered, which went with the first equipment from jamaica, were in a short time so entirely eaten by the worms, as to become useless; and, had not fresh ships been dispatched from jamaica, the remains of the troops must have perished there, for want of transports to bring them away. "lord nelson, duke of bronte, then captain nelson, was the person who commanded the hinchinbroke man of war, the convoy of the expedition. on his authority i state, that the fever which destroyed the crews of the different vessels, invariably attacked them from about twenty to thirty days after their arrival in the harbour: that, in his own ship, of two hundred men, eighty-seven were seized, and confined to their beds, in one night; that one hundred and forty-five were buried there; and, that not more than ten survived the expedition! "in mentioning this illustrious character," adds dr. moseley, "to whose skill and valour the british empire is so much indebted, i cannot conceal, that i have great pleasure in recording, that it was on our san juan expedition he commenced his career of glory. "his capacious mind gave, on this dangerous and dreadful service, an early specimen of those splendid elements, which have since decorated, with never-fading laurels, the english naval military fame; with deeds unparalleled in history, with atchievements beyond the hope of envy. "when the unfortunate contentions alluded to had diffused their pernicious effects, slackened the ardour for the public-service, and destroyed the success of the expedition by anticipation, he did not suffer any narrow party spirit to influence his conduct he was as zealous as intrepid. "his country's honour, was his party! a brilliant example to all military men. he did more than what he might, if he chose, have considered as his duty. where any thing was to be done, he saw no difficulties. "not contented with having carried the armament safe to the harbour of san juan, he accompanied and assisted the troops in all their difficulties, and remained with them till the castle surrendered. "he was the first on shore, at the attack of st. bartholomew, followed by a few brave seamen and soldiers, in the face of a severe fire. the undauntedness of the act frightened the spaniards; who, from the nature of the ground, might have put him and his party to death: but they ran away, and abandoned the battery. "by his example and perseverance, the indians and seamen were encouraged through their toil, in forcing the boats, against the current, up the river: otherwise, not a man would have seen san juan castle. when they arrived at the castle--as prompt in thought, as bold in action--he advised the carrying it, instantly, by assault. that his advice was not followed, this recital is a lamentable testimony!" such is the grand outline of dr. moseley's history of this unfortunate expedition; in the miscarriage of which, it must not be dissembled that, among other causes, colonel polson appears in some degree inculpated. it cannot, therefore, be improper to add, at least, the account which the colonel himself officially transmitted to governor dalling, the day after the surrender of fort juan; and which, on the 18th of july 1780, appeared in the london gazette. his liberal praises of captain nelson, the first ever conveyed to the public, or possibly to government, would alone render it sufficiently interesting. "when i reached cape gratias ã  dios, there was not an indian to be seen: some villains, there, having taken pains to persuade them, that the english army had come merely with an intent of enslaving them, and sending them to jamaica. it was, therefore, some time, before any of them ventured to come in. i took the opportunity of sending them small presents, by one of their people who had ventured down to observe our motions. he, being acquainted with mr. campbell, was undeceived by him, and brought to me; which had the desired effect, as most of the tribes came in very soon after. "your excellency's letter of the 17th of march, i received the 20th, just as i entered the river st. john. i shall ever retain a grateful sense of the sentiments you was therein pleased to express for me: and i am sorry that the many delays i met at the cape, and other places between that and the harbour of st. john, from the want of craft, and the backwardness of the indians in coming out, prevented my operations keeping pace with your excellency's expectations. i, however, hope you will do me the justice to believe, that no time was lost, which could possibly be saved, situated as i was. it was the 3d of march, before any black river crafts arrived, and they were the only ones then provided. it is true, the indian governor promised a great many: but, when i came to his country, there was not a single one ready; and i got them, at last, with very great difficulty. the superintendant was entirely deceived by the indians, in the number of crafts and men; and still more so, in point of time. "captain nelson, then of the hinchinbroke, came up with thirty-four seamen, a serjeant, and twelve marines. i want words to express the obligations i owe that gentleman. he was the first, on every service, whether by day or by night. there was scarcely a gun fired, but was pointed by him, or captain despard, chief engineer, who has exerted himself on every occasion. i am persuaded, if our shot had held out, we should have had the fort a week sooner. as captain nelson goes to jamaica, he can inform you of every delay, and point of service, as well as i could; for, he knows my very thoughts. "the bearer, lieutenant mounsey, can inform your excellency of many things that may escape my memory. he is a very good officer, and commanded the party i sent to reconnoitre the look-out: and began the attack of it, in concert with captain despard and captain nelson; who, with his seamen, volunteered that duty." it is easy to perceive, at this early period, the singular heroism of captain nelson's character; as well in the slight but forcible delineation, sketched on the instant by colonel polson, as in the more leisurely and finished picture of dr. moseley's masterly composition. in both, we behold him seeking every opportunity to assist the enterprise, with the most magnanimous zeal, and the soundest discretion. without his vigorous and skilful exertions, indeed, as dr. moseley remarks, it is more than probable that not a man among them would ever have reached san juan castle. it was at the period while this brave and good man was thus honourably and actively engaged, that a circumstance occurred, which seems to indicate that he must have been under the peculiar protection of providence. having, one night, as was usual with him, while proceeding by land to the scene of action, had his cot slung between two trees, he slept very soundly till the morning; when he was early awakened, and not a little startled, by a lizard's passing over his face. he now suddenly arose; and, on hastily turning down the bed-cloaths, a large snake was discovered lying at his feet, without having offered him the smallest injury, though it was of a well known venomous species. the surrounding indians, who beheld this singular spectacle with astonishment--like the barbarians of melita, when the apostle paul shook off the viper--began to consider him as a sort of divinity, and determined to follow him wherever he went. they now, in fact, eagerly flocked after him, in crowds, with the idea that no harm could possibly come to them while they were in his presence. this occurrence, therefore, independent of it's extreme singularity, had an effect very favourable to the purposes of the expedition. though, however. captain nelson providentially escaped not only the venom of the snake, but the pestilential catastrophe which afterwards befel almost every individual of his unfortunate ship's company, as well as the land forces with whom he entered fort juan; he was, nevertheless, in a few days, violently seized with the contagion: and, fatigued and disappointed as he had been, in the attainment of what now manifestly appeared to him of little or no consequence, for even the treasure of the castle had been removed before it's surrender, he was sinking fast to the grave; with scarcely a hope, or even a wish, to survive the brave fellows who were every day falling around him. while he lay in this deplorable state, the reinforcement of troops which had immediately been sent from jamaica, on the first news of the surrender of fort juan, brought intelligence that captain bonnovier glover, the commander of the janus of forty-four guns, died on the 21st of march, and that sir peter parker had appointed captain nelson to succeed him. this kind promotion, he has been often heard to say, certainly saved his life. he immediately sailed to jamaica, on board the victor sloop, that he might take possession of the janus; and hope, that never entirely abandoned him, began again to invigorate his heart. his spirits, however, were always beyond his strength; though that, when in full health, was by no means feeble, as his country's enemies had many subsequent opportunities to experience. the air of jamaica, though far less unwholesome than that which he had just quitted on the spanish main, is not very invigorating to european constitutions; and, instead of it's restoring him, he every day grew worse and worse. sir peter parker, therefore, kindly invited him to make a home of his penn, which is the name of a west indian villa; where he received the most friendly attentions from lady parker, and the skilfullest medicinal aids. all, however, proved ineffectual. his extreme anxiety to get on board the ship to which he had been so honourably appointed, tended now to augment his indisposition; and he was reluctantly compelled, like his worthy friend, captain locker, to depart for england. this, too, unwilling to resign his ship, he positively declared, till the last, he never would do, while a single person could be found who was of opinion that he might possibly recover without quitting the island. no such person was obtainable; and, accordingly, in a state of the most extreme debility, towards the close of this year, he returned home, in his majesty's ship the lion, commanded by the honourable william cornwallis, the now celebrated admiral; whose kind care and attention, during their passage, greatly contributed to preserve his valuable life. on his arrival in england, though then barely in existence, and almost wholly without the use of his limbs, such was the excessive ardour of his mind for employ, that nothing could prevent him from being immediately carried to the admiralty, and applying for a ship. "this they readily promised me," he jocosely observed, soon after, to one of his relations, "thinking it not possible for me to live." he now went, directly, to bath: where he was, at first, under the necessity of being carried to the springs, and wherever else he wanted to go; and, for several weeks afterwards, constrained to use crutches. these, however, he at length threw aside, much sooner than his friends at the admiralty had expected; though it was nearly three months before he entirely recovered the use of his limbs. in a letter which he wrote, from this place, dated february 15, 1781, to his friend captain locker, he observes that he is, thank god, very near perfectly restored; having the complete use of all his limbs, except his left arm, of which he can hardly tell the ailment: from the shoulder to his fingers ends felt as if half dead, but the faculty gave him hopes that it would all go off. he expresses his anxiety to be employed; and, as if willing to demonstrate that his spirits were more lively than his limb, he says, with considerable pleasantry and wit, speaking of three portraits--one of the present admiral george montague, another of sir charles pole, and the third of himself, which was then painting by mr. rigaud as a present for captain locker--"i hope, when i come to town, to see a fine _trio_ in your room. when you get the pictures, i must be in the middle; for, god knows, without good _supporters_, i shall fall to the ground." after the restoration of his health, he paid a visit to his worthy and venerable father, at burnham-thorpe; as well as to his amiable eldest sister, then recently married to mr. bolton, who resided at wells, about five miles distant, and other relatives and friends in the county of norfolk: few of whom, except his father, had ever once beheld him for the last eleven years. the felicity of such a meeting is not to be described, and it can only be conceived by those who have experienced similar sensations. at length, in august 1781, captain nelson was appointed to the command of the albemarle of twenty-eight guns. in this ship, which had been a french merchantman, captured two years before, and purchased for the king's service, his delicate constitution underwent a new and severe trial; being employed, the whole winter, convoying and cruizing in the north seas. the inconvenience, too, as well as the dangers, of this service, were in no slight degree augmented, by the mast's having been made much too long for the ship; a circumstance which had, at several times, nearly occasioned it to be overset. these perils, too, were wholly unattended with what may be denominated any success; as the dutch, the greater part of the time, had not a single trading vessel at sea: and, though a privateer, said to be the noted pirate, fall, stole into the fleet which the albemarle was convoying, it got clear off, after an hour's chace, owing to the necessity of captain nelson's returning to the unprotected ships. on their arrival in england, the mast was taken out, and properly shortened; and, such other improvements being made, as suggested themselves to the captain, it was, at length, far from a bad old ship. he always, however, humorously insisted, that the french had taught the albemarle to run away; as it was never a good sailer, except when going directly before the wind. in march 1782, he was ordered to cork; to join the dã¦dalus, captain thomas pringle, and go with a convoy to quebec, where they were expected to winter. this was another severe blow at his tender frame, which had been so buffeted all the late season. he had, indeed, great reason to dread it's effects, and wished much to be off of this voyage; but, though he did not doubt that, if he had a little time, he might get another ship--especially, as his friend, surgeon adair, who also attended admiral keppel, had declared that, if he were sent to a cold climate, it would make him worse than ever--having received his orders from lord sandwich, he could not avoid thinking it wrong to ask admiral keppel to alter them. such was his high sense of propriety, and so little his self-consideration. on the 27th of may, captain nelson arrived in st. john's harbour, newfoundland, with four sail of the convoy; having parted with the dã¦dalus, twenty days before, three hundred leagues to the eastward of cape clear, in a hard gale of wind. on the 3d of june, hearing that the remainder of the quebec fleet had arrived at a harbour some leagues to the leeward, he sailed to join them; and, without losing a single vessel, they reached the place of destination on the 1st of july. the third day after their arrival, he was ordered on a cruize off boston; from which he returned to quebec on the 17th of september, with the whole crew almost devoured by the scurvy. himself and all the officers had, for eight weeks together, lived on salt beef; nor had the ship's company enjoyed a single fresh meal since the beginning of april. during the greater part of this time, he had made a point of contriving to see boston steeple every morning; where he watched for vessels, as they sailed in and out of the harbour. though this cruize was of the unsuccessful sort, not a single prize being brought into port, they took, saw, and destroyed, more enemies than are often met with in the same space of time. some of the prizes taken, and one of them of considerable value, were lost by the mismanagement of the prize-masters. that of the principal one, was occasioned by the intoxication of the captors; who had, indiscreetly, made too free with the wine on board. "i do not, however," said he, in a letter to captain locker, "repine at our loss; we have, in other respects, been very fortunate: for, on the 14th of august, we fell in with, in boston bay, four sail of the line, and the iris frigate, part of monsieur vaudreuil's squadron, who gave us a pretty dance for nine or ten hours. but we beat all, except the frigate; and, though we brought to for her, after we were out of sight of the line of battle ships, she tacked and stood from us. our escape i think wonderful. they were, on the clearing up of a fog, within shot of us; and chased us, the whole time, about one point from the wind. the frigate, i fancy, had not forgotten the dressing captain salter had given the amazon, for daring to leave the line of battle ships." this is the hero's own modest account of the affair: but, in truth, he might have assumed all the merit of his escape. the pretty dance he mentions, was led and concluded, by himself, with consummate skill and address, among the shoals of st. george's bank; where the line of battle ships were unable to follow, had they even possessed his skill in pilotage. they, therefore, at length, quitted the pursuit: though the frigate, for some time after, continued to persevere; and had, about sun-set, even approached within little more than gun-shot. at this time, overhearing some of his men remark to one another, that they thought, as the line of battle ships were not following, they should be able to manage the frigate, he immediately told his brave fellows, in the most kind and encouraging language, that he would, at least, give them an opportunity to try for it: and, ordering the main-top-sail to be instantly laid to the mast, the french frigate no sooner beheld them thus bringing to, to engage, than it suddenly tacked, and bore away to rejoin it's consorts. the ascription of this french pusillanimity, to captain salter's gallant chastisement of the amazon, on a similar occasion, is a very refined compliment to that deserving officer, and an admirable specimen of captain nelson's excessive candour and humility; while the acknowledgment that he had, "in other respects, been very fortunate," displays the genuine operation of nature in a valorous british bosom, so successfully described by goldsmith, in his admirable tale of the disabled veteran. it was at quebec that captain nelson and alexander davison, esq. commenced that friendship which was continued, on his part, to what may be considered as the last moment of his life; and which, on the part of mr davison, extending beyond the grave, still survives for all who were dear to him, and to every thing that regards a due veneration of his memory. in less than a month, while comfortably situated at quebec, chiefly residing on shore at mr. davison's, with no other expectations, or desire, than those of returning to england, the arrival of the drake sloop, and cockatrice cutter, brought directions for the transports to be fitted for the reception of troops, and sent to new york; in consequence of which, captain nelson was ordered to conduct the fleet thither. this, as he observed, in the letter last quoted, dated from the isle of bec, in the river st. lawrence, was "a very _pretty job_, at this late season of the year; for our sails are," adds he, "at this moment frozen to the yards." on arriving at new york, about the beginning of november, where he found lord hood, he requested that admiral would take him to the west indies. lord hood, accordingly, wrote to admiral digby, who was commander in chief at new york; and, he was, in consequence, to have sailed with the fleet: but, for some private reasons, when his ship was under sail from new york, to join lord hood, captain nelson was sent for, on shore; and informed, that he was to be kept forty-eight hours after the sailing of the fleet. though this is said to have been for his own individual advantage, he felt much disappointed at not sailing with the fleet. in the mean time, lord hood had highly praised him, in a very liberal letter, for wishing to go off this station, to a station of service, concluding with the most encouraging assurances of friendship. without pretending to penetrate into all that relates to the private reasons above stated, it is certain that lord hood was desirous to have captain nelson, and that admiral digby was unwilling to part with him: so sensible, at this early period, were both these commanders of his value. the contest, however, was at length concluded, by admiral hood's agreeing to leave a ship of nearly double the force for the albemarle; which, after all, admiral digby is said to have scarcely considered as sufficient. on joining the fleet, lord hood's notice of captain nelson was in the highest degree flattering to so young a man. he actually treated him as a son, and was always ready to grant him every thing that he could ask. prince william henry, too, as the duke of clarence was then called, having recently entered into the navy under admiral digby, contracted a strong friendship for captain nelson, which was ever retained. lord hood even told the prince, on first introducing them to each other, that if he wished to ask any questions relative to naval tactics, captain nelson could give him as much information as any officer in the fleet. this was, indeed, acting the part of a professional father to both the young men. in a letter from cape tiberoon, dated february 25, 1783, written by captain nelson to his friend captain locker, from which some of the above facts are also extracted, he says, speaking of the duke of clarence--"he will be, i am certain, an ornament to our service. he is a seaman; which, perhaps, you would hardly suppose: every other qualification you may expect from him. a vast deal of notice has been taken of him at jamaica: he has been addressed by the council, and the house of assembly were to address him the day after i sailed. he has his levees at spanish town; they are all highly delighted with him. with the best temper, and great good sense, he cannot fail being pleasing to every one." what a pity it is, that any impediment should have ever prevailed against the royal duke's taking an active command! some time after captain nelson had joined lord hood, in the west indies, the admiral having received several contradictory accounts of the number of the enemy's ships at the havannah, and being consequently unable to rely on such varying reports, was desirous of sending, for the requisite information, one on whom he well knew he might safely depend. accordingly, captain nelson was dispatched on this business, which he executed with his usual adroitness and success. he reflected that the albemarle, from it's having been formerly a french ship, might still be taken for one on this occasion. having, therefore, sailed for the spanish main, he hoisted french colours, and lay off the havannah harbour. while he remained in this situation, a boat filled with scientific gentlemen, who had been collecting curious plants, and other natural rarities, on the spanish main, happening to pass near, he ordered them to be hailed, and invited aboard. from these persons, who had no suspicion that this french-built vessel, and under a french flag, being addressed also in that language, was any other than it pretended to be, very readily mentioned all the particulars relative to the force and number of the ships in the harbour: their astonishment, however, is not to be described, when they found themselves prisoners of war, on board an english frigate. the worthy captain soon satisfied them, that they had not fallen into the hands of free-booters; and, in consideration of the scientific pursuits in which they were manifestly engaged, the manner in which they had been captured, and the requisite information with which they had faithfully furnished him, he told them, in the handsomest way possible, after regaling them on board for some time, that they should be at liberty to depart whenever they pleased, with their boat and all it contained, on their parole of honour, to be considered as prisoners, if his commander in chief should refuse to acquiesce in their being thus liberated, which he did not think at all likely to happen. struck with such generosity of sentiment, they earnestly entreated him to take whatever might be most acceptable from their collection of natural curiosities, or any thing else they had to offer; but he positively declined receiving any reward for doing what he felt to be his duty under all the circumstances of the case, and they parted with mutual good wishes for each other's felicity. it will hereafter appear, that this generous act was performed to one, at least, of the party, who retained a very grateful sense of the indulgence. captain nelson continued actively employed in the west indies, till the peace of 1783; but lord rodney's famous victory of the 12th of april 1782, which led finally to that event, had so completely damped the ardour of the enemy, that little or nothing farther occurred, worthy of particular notice. at the conclusion of the war, he had the honour of attending his royal highness the duke of clarence on a visit which he paid to the governor of the havannah; a circumstance which contributed still more powerfully to cement their mutual friendship. from hence, being under orders to return home, he sailed for england, where he safely arrived; and his ship was paid off, at portsmouth, about the first week in july 1783. in such estimation was this brave and worthy man held, even at that period, by those who had the best opportunities of judging, that the whole of his ship's company offered, if he could get a ship, to enter for it immediately. nor can we wonder at this attachment, when we behold him, on shore, after the conclusion of their services, employing all his activity and address in attempts to get the wages due to his good fellows, as he kindly called them, for various ships in which they had served during the war. the infernal plan of turning them over from ship to ship, he frequently declared, occasioned the chief disgust which seamen have to the navy; and both prevented them from being attached to their officers, and their officers from caring two-pence about them. a few days after the albemarle was paid off, lord hood introduced captain nelson at st. james's; where he remarked that the king was exceedingly attentive to what his lordship said. the beginning of the week following, he went to windsor; and there took leave of the duke of clarence, who was then about to embark for the continent. as captain nelson had now no thoughts of going to sea; his fortune not permitting him to live on board a king's ship, to use his own words, "in such a manner as is going on at present;" after again visiting his family and friends in norfolk, he agreed to reside a short time in france, with captain macnamara, for the purpose of acquiring a knowledge of the french language. sterne's sentimental journey, he said, was the best description he could give of this tour. he was highly diverted by looking what a curious figure the postillions, in their jack boots, and their rats of horses, made together. he was told that they travelled _en poste_, but did not get on above four miles an hour. their chaises were without springs, and the roads paved like london streets. they were shewn into an inn, as the frenchmen called it; but he thought it more like a pig-stye: there, in a room with two straw beds, they had two pigeons for supper, on a dirty cloth, with wooden handled knives. "oh!" exclaimed he, "what a transition from happy england!" but they laughed at the repast; and went to bed with a determination that nothing should ruffle their temper. in their way to st. omer's, they passed through a very fine corn country, diversified with woods; and captain nelson, though a norfolk man, acknowledged it to be the best place for game he had ever known. partridges, at montrieul, were sold at two-pence halfpenny a brace, and pheasants and woodcocks in proportion. on arriving at st. omer's, he was surprised to find it, instead of a dirty, nasty town, as he had always heard it represented, a large city, with good streets, well paved and lighted. while captain nelson was at st. omer's, he received a most polite letter from the principal personage among those whom he had detained off porto cavallo, when he went to look into the harbour of the havannah. this gentleman's rank he did not at all know till he got to france. his assumed name was that of the count de deux ponts: but he was, in fact, a prince of the german empire, a general of the french army, knight of the grand order of st. louis, and second in command at the capture of york town. his brother was heir-apparent of the electorate of bavaria, and of the palatinate. so that captain nelson had the honour of taking prisoner a man who was not unlikely to become a sovereign prince of europe, and capable of carrying into the field an army of a hundred thousand men. this letter, which had been dispatched the first moment it was known by the grateful writer that captain nelson had arrived in france, was truly expressive of the attention that had been paid him when on board the english ship, and contained a very kind and pressing invitation to paris; of which it was the captain's full intention to have availed himself, had he remained as long in the country as was originally intended. though he visited only a few english families, lest he should never speak french, he made but slow progress in learning the language; and, early in the year 1784, was recalled from it's pursuit by the prospect of an appointment. about the 20th of march, accordingly, he was commissioned for the boreas frigate of twenty-eight guns, then at long reach, under the command of captain wells: and, unfortunately, was attacked the very same day, by the ague and fever; which continued, every other day, for above a fortnight, and pulled him down most astonishingly. this, however, was not his sole misfortune. on his recovery, he sailed at daylight, just after high water; but the pilot run the ship aground, where it lay with so little water that the people could walk round, till next flood. that night, and part of the following day, the ship lay behind the nore, with a hard gale of wind and snow. "on tuesday," says he, in a true sailor's letter to captain locker, dated at portsmouth, april 21, 1784, "i got into the downs: wednesday, i got into a quarrel with a dutch indiaman, who had englishmen on board; which we settled, though with some difficulty. the dutchman made a complaint against me; but the admiralty, fortunately, have approved my conduct in the business; a thing they are not very guilty of, where there is a likelihood of a scrape. and yesterday, to complete me, i was riding a _blackguard_ horse, that ran away with me at common; carried me round all the works, into portsmouth, by the london gates; through the town; out at the gate that leads to common, where there was a waggon in the road, which is so very narrow that a horse could barely pass. to save my legs, and perhaps my life, i was obliged to throw myself from the horse; which i did, with great agility: but, unluckily, upon hard stones; which has hurt my back, and my legs, but done no other mischief. it was a thousand to one, that i had not been killed. to crown all, a young girl was with me: her horse ran away, as well as mine; but, most fortunately, a gallant young man seized the horse's bridle a moment before i dismounted, and saved her from the destruction she could not have avoided." this was, certainly, a most wonderful escape, though it is related with a vein of humour which takes off all apprehension from the reader; to whom it must, undoubtedly, appear little less whimsical and facetious than john gilpin's celebrated race: while, to balance the advantage of cowper's admirable fiction, it has the boast of nelson's unimpeachable truth. the boreas, being fully equipped for the leeward islands, as a cruizer on the peace establishment, captain nelson sailed from spithead about the middle of may 1784; carrying out lady hughes and her family, to admiral sir richard hughes, who commanded in chief on that station. they arrived at madeira, after a pleasant passage, on the 1st of june; and, on the 8th, proceeded to the place of destination, which they safely reached just before the hurricane season. the ladies expressed themselves well satisfied with their accommodation on board, which had certainly cost the captain nearly two hundred pounds extraordinary; for which lady hughes is stated, from most respectable authority, to have demonstrated her gratitude, by presenting him with a silver tea-caddy ladle, which could hardly be worth more than five shillings! the service, on this station, was attended with difficulties which had, perhaps, been but little expected, either by the officers of the british navy, or those who sent them; and it was far more fortunate for government, than it was for captain nelson, that he had been employed on the occasion. the americans, while colonists of great britain, had enjoyed, as subjects, almost the entire trade between their country and our west india islands. having erected themselves into independent states, they had hoped that, on the return of peace, we should have permitted them again to enjoy the privileges of fellow-subjects, which they had, by withdrawing their allegiance, undoubtedly forfeited. this hope had not been indulged, by the americans, through any want of political discernment on their part; they well knew themselves now to be, what on other occasions they loudly enough boasted, foreigners in every sense of the word. they were satisfied, however, at the same time, that the mother-country had not always been renowned for the highest degree of national sagacity; they felt, that they had themselves acquired, by force, the independence which they enjoyed; and they trusted that the british administration, through apprehensions of renewing an unpopular and disastrous war, would be induced to connive at, if not confirm, the privilege the americans affected to claim under the very navigation act of great britain, the most beneficial effect of which they were thus artfully contriving to destroy. the west indians, themselves, who were prevented, by an immediate prospect of the return of their own interest, from contemplating it in a remote view, they well knew, would oppose no obstacle: these, in fact, readily fell into the snare, and were clamorous for their old customers. those persons, too, who held official situations, generally more considerate of their ease and their emoluments, than of the duties proper to be performed, in a climate so enervating, and a country so luxurious, would naturally, it was not doubted, rather contend for, than against, such claims as seemed to favour these indulgences. here, too, with very few exceptions, they met with equally zealous and still more powerful supporters. the governors and custom-house officers, in fact, agreed that, by the navigation act, the americans had a right to trade with all our west india islands; and the merchants and planters, who likewise found it for their present interest to embrace the same doctrine, pretended that they were of the same opinion. captain nelson, in the mean time, ever as studious to acquire a due knowledge of the full extent of his professional duties, as zealously determined completely to perform the utmost that they could possibly require of him, unswayed by any sinister or selfish motive, viewed the business in a very different light; and felt that, as an executive naval officer, it was his business to enforce, on all occasions, the maritime laws of his country. accordingly, in november 1784, the hurricane months being over, and the squadron arrived at barbadoes, where the ships were to separate for the different islands, with no other orders than those for examining anchorages, and usual enquiries after wood and water, as this did not appear to him the intent of placing men of war, in peaceable times, he asked captain collingwood to accompany him, their sentiments being exactly similar, and ask the commander in chief a few questions. they, accordingly, proceeded together, to sir richard hughes; when captain nelson respectfully asked, whether they were not to attend to the commerce of their country, and to take care that the british trade was kept in those channels which the navigation laws pointed out? sir richard replied, that he had no particular orders, nor had the admiralty sent him any acts of parliament. that, captain nelson remarked, was very singular, as every captain of a man of war was furnished with the statutes of the admiralty, in which the navigation act was included; which act was directed to admirals, captains, &c. to see it carried into execution. on producing and reading these laws to sir richard, to use captain nelson's own words, "he seemed convinced that men of war were sent abroad for some other purpose than to be made a show of;" and, the americans then filling our ports, orders were issued for all the squadrons to see the navigation act carried into execution. when captain nelson went to his station, at st. kitt's, he sent away all the americans; not chusing to seize them at that time, lest it should have appeared a trap laid for them. in december, to his utter astonishment, he received an order from the commander in chief, stating that he had obtained good advice, and required that the americans might not only be prevented from coming in, but permitted to have free egress and regress, if the governor chose to allow them. he inclosed, at the same time, a copy of the orders which he had sent to the governors and presidents of the islands. some, on this, began by sending letters, not far different from orders, that they should admit them in such and such situations as they described: telling captain nelson, that sir richard had left it to them; but, that they thought it right to let him know it. these, however, he soon silenced. the commander in chief's was a more delicate business. he was under the necessity of either disobeying orders, or of disobeying acts of parliament which he conceived the latter was disobeying. he, therefore, nobly determined on the former: trusting to the uprightness of his intention; and fully confiding, that his country would not allow him to be ruined by protecting it's commerce. he sent to sir richard; expatiated on the navigation laws, to the best of his ability; and frankly told him, that some person, he was certain, had been giving him advice, which he would be sorry for having taken, against the positive directions of acts of parliament. he expressed his conviction, that sir richard had too much regard for the commerce of great britain, to suffer our worst enemy to take it from us; and that, too, at a time when great britain was straining every nerve to suppress illegal trade at home, which only affected her revenue: that he hoped we should not be so singular, as to allow of a much more ruinous traffic's being carried on under the king's flag. he added, in short, that he should decline obeying his orders, till he had an opportunity of seeing and talking to him; making, at the same time, an apology for any seeming impropriety. sir richard hughes was, at first, going to send a captain to supersede him: but, having mentioned the matter to his captain, was informed, that all the squadron seemed to think the orders sent were illegal; and, therefore, did not know how far captain nelson was obliged to obey them. such being their sentiments, he could not have been there tried by a court-martial. captain nelson now proceeded to inform the people of the custom-house, that he should, after such a day, seize all foreign vessels found in our islands; and, till then, keep them out to the utmost of his power. they fancied, however, that he could not seize, without a deputation; and, therefore, disregarded his threats. in may 1785, accordingly, he seized the first american vessel. immediately, he had the governor, the officers of the customs, and most of the planters, for his enemies. subscriptions were instantly set on foot, and soon filled, to prosecute him; and the admiral stood neuter, though his flag was then flying in the roads. this last circumstance grieved him; but there was nothing by which he could either be dismayed or deterred from any act which he considered as forming part of his positive duty. though he had thus offended most of the heads of distributive justice, and the demons of the law were accordingly let loose on him, before the first vessel's complaint was brought to trial, he had seized four others under similar predicaments. on these occasions, too, having ordered the masters on board his ship, to examine them; and sent marines to take forcible possession of their vessels, without allowing any person whatever to go on shore; he had many different actions brought against him, for detention, false imprisonment, &c. and damages laid, in the various causes, at the enormous sum of forty thousand pounds! the consequence was, that he remained a close prisoner on board his own ship eight weeks, to prevent being arrested for a sum which it would have been impossible for him to have found bail. when the trial came on, he was protected, for the day, by the judge. the marshal, however, was engaged to arrest him, and the merchants promised to indemnify that officer for the act: but, the judge having declared that he would send him to prison, if he dared take such a step, he thought proper to desist. let it, however, never be forgotten, that captain nelson had the good fortune to find an honest lawyer; and, that the president of nevis offered the court to become his bail for ten thousand pounds, if he chose to suffer the caption! the worthy president declared, that captain nelson had done only his duty; and, though himself suffered more in proportion than any of them, he could not possibly blame him. thus, supported by an upright judge, an honest attorney, and a sincere and opulent friend, after a trial of two days, he carried his cause, and the american vessels were condemned. as a last resource, when under the terrors of the law, the only terrors his heroic mind ever felt, he had transmitted a memorial to his majesty; who, immediately, says captain nelson, "had the goodness to order me to be defended at his expence; and sent orders to mr. shirley to afford me every assistance in the execution of my duty: referring him to my letters, &c. as there was, in them, what concerned him not to have suffered." this kindness was particularly grateful, as it manifested the fullest approbation of captain nelson's conduct; but he felt far from being pleased to find, that the chief praise bestowed by government on the occasion was addressed to the very person whom, he could not but be of opinion, least deserved it. "the treasury," says he, "by the last packet, has transmitted thanks to the commander in chief, and the officers under him, for their activity and zeal in protecting the commerce of great britain. had they known what i have told you, i don't think they would have bestowed thanks in that quarter, and neglected me. i feel much hurt that, after all the loss of health, and risque of fortune, another should be thanked for that which i did, and against his orders. i either deserved to be sent out of the service, or at least have had some little notice taken of me. they have thought it worthy of notice, and have neglected me. if this is the reward for a faithful discharge of my duty, i shall be careful, and never stand forward again. but, i have done my duty, and have nothing to accuse myself of." what is thus urged against the propriety of giving most thanks to him who had, from misconception or misrepresentation, been induced rather to prevent than promote those operations by which thanks were obtained; and not particularly directing the smallest attention, otherwise than by indemnifying his law expences, to the individual who had, at all hazards, effectually performed them; is certainly very natural. let it be considered, however, that government might not be so sufficiently informed of all the particulars as to warrant their entering into a nice degree of just discrimination. about this period, march 1786, captain nelson seems to have been engaged in paying his addresses to the widow of dr. nesbit, of the island of nevis, mrs. frances herbert nesbit, who was a daughter of william herbert, esq. the senior judge, and niece of his brother the president: for he says, in a letter to captain locker, "most probably, the next time you see me, will be as a benedict; i think, i have found a woman who will make me happy." he adds, that he shall tell him more shortly; but, that his paper is full. in two subsequent letters, however, one of the 29th of december following, and the other of the 9th of february 1787, not an additional word appears respecting the lady. in the mean time, admiral sir richard hughes had, in august, quitted the command; and, shortly after, captain nelson received orders from the admiralty, to take the pegasus and solebay frigates under his command, immediately on their arrival from nova scotia, which was about the latter end of november. the pegasus being commanded by prince william henry, the duke of clarence, his royal highness was, of course, under the command of captain nelson; who did every thing in his power to prevent his illustrious friend from being a loser by this pleasing circumstance. they were, in fact, mutually attached to each other, and almost inseparable companions. he knew that the prince had foibles, as well as private men; but he knew, also, that they were far overbalanced by his virtues. in his professional line, he considered him as superior to nearly two-thirds of the list; and, in attention to orders, and respect to his superiors, captain nelson declared, that he hardly ever knew his equal. the prince was every where received with all the honour and respect due to his rank, at our different islands: and was invited, also, by the french governor of martinico, the viscount de damas; and the baron de clugny, governor of guadaloupe; to favour their islands with a visit. on the 14th of february, captain nelson writes to his friend captain locker, from montserrat--"i am here, with the pegasus and solebay. the island has made fine addresses, and good dinners. tomorrow, we sail for nevis and st. christopher's, where the same fine things will be done over again. his royal highness keeps up strict discipline in his ship; and, without paying him any compliment, she is one of the first ordered frigates i have seen. he has had more plague with his officers than enough. his first-lieutenant will, i have no doubt, be broke. i have put him under arrest; he having written for a court-martial on himself, to vindicate his conduct, because his captain thought proper to reprimand him in the order-book. in short, our service has been so much relaxed during the war, that it will cost many a court-martial to bring it up again." the affair above alluded to, which made considerable noise at the time, appears to have been this: the prince, on going ashore, is said to have left express orders, that none of the crew should, during his absence, be permitted to quit the ship. the lieutenant, however, from the general maxim, that the superior officer on board has a right to exercise uncontrouled command, permitted a boat to go on shore with some of the men. this coming to his royal highness's knowledge, who could not possibly be pleased with what appeared manifestly done in defiance of his instructions, he adopted the method which has been mentioned of expressing, in the order-book, his disapprobation of the act. captain nelson proved, by his conduct on the occasion, what he thought of the business: and, without his knowledge of naval usage, a man at all conversant in legal constructions, or even the plainest principles of common sense, must see, if he is not blinded by prejudice, that the general rule above alluded to could never be intended to overthrow any positive orders left by a superior officer, at the will of the inferior. if, indeed, a case of necessity should arise, the latter would have a right to act according to his discretion; but it must always be at his peril, if he cannot prove, at least, that it appeared to be absolutely necessary; still more so, if he manifestly breaks through, wilfully or perversely, the very orders which himself received from his superior officer, and is consequently bound to see regularly carried into execution. it is somewhat remarkable, that captain nelson, in writing to captain locker, whom he always considered as a sort of father as well as a friend, on the day preceding his departure for nevis, where he was a few weeks afterwards married to the widow of dr. nesbit, a physician of that island, should not even yet muster sufficient resolution to say that he was then going to take possession of the woman who, he thought, was destined to make him happy. to this lady, who had a son then about nine years of age, he was, at length, early in march 1787, actually united. the marriage was celebrated with considerable splendour, and his royal highness the duke of clarence did them the honour to stand as the bride's father on the joyful occasion. a very few days afterwards, he proceeded, in the boreas, on his passage to tortola, with his royal highness, who had then only that island and grenada left unvisited. indeed, ever since november, his time had been entirely taken up in attending the prince on his tour round these islands. on the 21st of march, he wrote, while at sea, to captain locker, expressing how happy he should be when the time arrived for a voyage to england. "no man," he observes, "has had more illness, or more trouble, on a station, than i have experienced: but, let me lay a balance on the other side--i am married to an amiable woman, that far makes amends for every thing. indeed, till i married her, i never knew happiness. i shall have great pleasure in introducing you to her." the prince, he adds, who has shewn him every act of kindness that the most professed friendship could bestow, was expected to leave the country in june; and, by that time, himself hopes orders will arrive for his returning to england. he wonders that any independent man will accept the command of this station: "for," he concludes, "there is nothing pleasant to be got by it." in june 1787, accordingly, the term of three years usually allotted to ships employed on such stations in times of peace being expired, he was ordered home; and arrived at portsmouth the beginning of july, with mrs. nelson and her son. from this place he writes, on the 3d instant, to his friend captain locker; and, speaking of his "dear wife," says-"i have no doubt you will like her, on acquaintance; for, although i must be partial, yet she possesses great good sense, and good temper." in all these praises of his lady may be clearly discerned, that he congratulated himself on having made, at least, a prudent choice. there is little, however, of that rapturous extasy which issues from many a finally most infelicitous husband, some days, weeks, or even months, after the conjugal union. it was not, certainly, on his side, a mercenary match. he would have been incapable of marrying with so mean a motive. he is said, indeed, to have given, about this period, a substantial proof of very much the contrary disposition. this appears in the following anecdote, which has been repeatedly published. the president of nevis had been so excessively displeased with his only daughter, that he resolved to disinherit the young lady, and leave her immense fortune to his niece, mrs. nelson: but captain nelson, most generously, instead of widening the breach between them, actually made use of all his interest with the president, who had the highest regard for him, completely to close it, by bringing about a perfect reconciliation; which, at length, to his unspeakable satisfaction, he had the happiness of accomplishing. dr. nesbit, mrs. nelson's first husband, was a native of scotland. he had, formerly, been an apothecary at coventry; but, at nevis, he practised as a physician. he had not, however, acquired any very considerable wealth. it has even been asserted, that captain nelson received the widow and child without any present fortune whatever; and that four thousand pounds, some years afterwards bequeathed mrs. nelson, on the death of her father or uncle, was the whole that ever came into his hands by his marriage with that lady. when it is considered, that he was, at this time, a post-captain in the british navy, of more than eight years standing, though only twenty-nine years of age, there could, surely, be no reason for him to expect, without saying a word about prospects from his transcendent abilities, that he was ever to hear any reflections on the pecuniary advantages which he derived from this most disinterested union! the boreas was paid off at sheerness, on the 30th of november 1787; and the winter was chiefly employed in visiting places of public amusement, and introducing mrs. nelson to his numerous respectable friends. in a letter, written at bath, april 3, 1778, to his friend captain locker, he says, that he has been, for the last month, at a relation's near bristol, and is only just returned, to drink the waters another fortnight. he was, in fact, very partial to bath: not only on account of the present cure he had himself received there; but because his venerable and much afflicted father was under the absolute necessity of spending his winters in that city, during so many of the latter years of his life. the reverend mr. nelson, indeed, from paralytic and asthmatic affections, which would scarcely permit him to speak for several hours after rising in the morning, had actually been given over by the physicians almost forty years prior to his decease. from bath, captain nelson proceeded, on another visit of a month, to exmouth; and, passing through london, in the summer, went immediately into norfolk, where it was agreed to fix his future residence. his father, accordingly, gave him up the parsonage-house at burnham-thorpe, where he formed his little domestic establishment. he had, in the mean time, since his arrival in england, been again pestered with prosecutions from some of the americans whose ships he seized in the west indies, on this subject he says, in a letter to captain locker, "i have written them word, that i will have nothing to do with them, and they must act as they think proper: government, i suppose, will do what is right, and not leave me in the lurch. we have heard enough, lately, of the consequence of the act of navigation to this country. they may take my person; but, if six-pence would save me from a prosecution, i would not give it." though this may have the semblance of treating lightly these menaced legal prosecutions, it is well known that he felt very acutely on the occasion: and nothing is more certain, than that he would have for ever quitted england, had not government so far interfered as entirely to quiet all his apprehensions on the subject. his remonstrances were too strong to be resisted. he was a man to be in no way trifled with. thus, had a thoughtless or careless administration slighted, or neglected, his claim to protection, and left him a prey to legal machinations, the nation would have certainly lost it's chief champion; for, on the best authority, it is here repeated, he once had it in contemplation to leave for ever his native country! what an awful consideration does this demand, from those who are entrusted with the administration of justice! how many great men have been driven into eternal exile by the terrors of abused justice, by legal constructions of equity, and by the horrors of an impending prison for the perpetual incarceration of unfortunate and injured innocence! not, now, likely to be disturbed in the calmness of his retirement, he willingly descended, from the hero, to the private gentleman. nor did he even disdain to cultivate a few acres of glebe land annexed to the rectory. known, and beloved, by all the gentry in the neighbourhood, he joined frequently in their field diversions, and was particularly fond of coursing. though one of the best gunners in the world, he was a bad shot at a hare, a woodcock, or a partridge. in pointing a great gun, however, on grand and suitable occasions, at a ship, a castle, or a fort, he was scarcely to be equalled: so well, indeed, was this talent known, and so universally recognized, by his frequently volunteering his services on shore, that he was familiarly called the brigadier, ever after the affair of san juan. in cultivating the friendship of respectable neighbours, who laudably courted his society; in rendering kind offices to the humbler inhabitants of his vicinity, by whom he was universally beloved; in enriching his mind by reading and reflection, and improving his land by cultivation; this great man employed most part of the leisure which peace afforded him. sometimes, indeed, he went to bath, or other fashionable resorts, during the seasons, where he might meet with his old friends; and sometimes sought them in the metropolis, where he occasionally paid his respects at the admiralty. his heroic mind, no doubt, amidst the calm of peace, prepared for the storm of war; and, though he disdained not the culture of the ploughshare, he looked forward to the day when it would become necessary to exchange it for the sword. he was particularly fond of geographical studies: few men were so well acquainted with maps and charts; and his accurate eye frequently traced with eagerness the various parts of the globe which he had passed with difficulty or delight, and the spots at which he had successfully or unpleasantly paused. in the mean time, as he had become an affectionate husband to dr. nesbit's widow, so he proved, in every possible sense, a faithful father to his child. the youth was carefully educated, with all the advantages of this great man's excellent directions, and his progress was minutely inspected by the same truly paternal attention. being treated, in every respect, with the most indulgent tenderness, and seeming early to evince an inclination for the naval service, captain nelson, who had no prospect of issue by his lady, willingly consented to take him, as an only son, under his own immediate protection. doubtless, while the mind of this exalted man was thus innocently and laudably engaged in attending to the various duties of private life, he not unfrequently felt disposed to indulge in deep reflections on numerous noble plans meditated for the future service of his country: for, in common with almost every gifted possessor of superior genius, he seems to have constantly borne about him an invincible conviction, that he should, at some period of his life, be enabled to give the fullest manifestation of it's presence to an admiring world. as war was his element, he could have no hope of any opportunity to demonstrate his wonderful abilities till that national calamity should arrive: and, though he was much too good and pious a man, to be desirous of war, for no other purpose than a display of his own skill and valour; he was, at the same time, far too wise and wary, to imagine that a nation so rich in commerce as great britain, surrounded by artful, envious, and powerful enemies, would be permitted long to preserve an honourable state of public tranquillity. he was, therefore, as an individual, ever prepared for what he naturally expected soon to occur; and he was of opinion, that the power of the country should be kept in an equal state of continual readiness. in the year 1790, when the cruelties exercised by the spaniards at nootka sound, seemed to have awakened the national vengeance, and an armament was accordingly ordered to be prepared, he immediately offered his services at the admiralty; and is said to have felt not a little mortified, at finding his application ineffectual. the fact, however, appears to have been, that offers from commanders of longer standing had previously been made and accepted for all the ships then meant to be immediately commissioned. no blame, therefore, could be fairly imputed to the admiralty, on the occasion: and, when that business came, soon afterwards, to be adjusted, and the ships paid off, he had reason to congratulate himself on not having been put to expences for equipment, which the advantages of so little actual service were quite inadequate to repay. this, perhaps, at that period, might be no inconsiderable consolation. the sum finally stipulated to be paid by spain, on this occasion, besides restoring the vessels unjustly seized, was two hundred and ten thousand dollars. after two years more passed in retirement, the french revolutionary war having extended it's baneful influence to this country, there became an instant necessity for preparing all the strength of our navy to oppose it's pernicious tendency. he had now, happily, no difficulty in obtaining a ship; but, at the very commencement of the war, having made the usual application, he immediately received a positive promise from lord howe, which was handsomely performed still sooner than he had the smallest reason to expect. on the 26th of january 1793, he says, in a letter to his friend captain locker, "lord hood tells me, that i am now fixed for the agamemnon, at chatham; and, that whatever men are raised for her will be taken care of on board the sandwich." the name of the ship having been thus fixed for the purpose of his immediately raising men for sea, he had already sent out a lieutenant and four midshipmen to get men at every sea-port in norfolk. he applied, also, to his friends in yorkshire, and the north, who promised to obtain him what hands they could, and deliver them over to the regulating captains at whitby and newcastle. to captain locker, he says--"i hope, if any men in london are inclined to enter for the agamemnon, you will not turn your back on them; as, though my bills are dispersed over this country, &c. i have desired that no bills may be stuck up in london till my commission is signed." this was one of his delicate punctilios; for he did not expect that, from what lord howe had written him on the occasion, the ship would have been actually commissioned till about a fortnight longer. on the 30th of january, however, being only four days, instead of fourteen, after the date of the above letter, his commission was actually signed; and, on the 7th of february, he joined his ship, the agamemnon of sixty-four guns, which was then under orders of equipment for the mediterranean. his ship's company was soon raised; chiefly from norfolk and suffolk, and not a few from his own immediate neighbourhood. so universally was he esteemed, and such was even then the general opinion of his conduct and abilities, that many gentlemen in the vicinity were desirous of placing their sons under his command; some of whom, persons of considerable respectability, solicited and obtained this distinguished favour: particularly, the reverend mr. bolton, his relation, brother of thomas bolton, esq. his eldest sister's husband; with the reverend mr. hoste, and the reverend mr. wetherhead, his intimate friends. nor must it be forgotten that, on the very first appearance of actual service, he had taken his son-in-law, young josiah nesbit, from school, equipped him as a midshipman, and carried him on board the agamemnon. there is a curious anecdote related, and that from the very best authority, respecting one of the young gentlemen thus taken as a midshipman by captain nelson. the father of this youth, though a friend of captain nelson, happened to be a very staunch whig. the youth, therefore, he apprehended, might possibly require some little counteraction of the principles of modern whiggism, which he did not think very conducive to the loyalty and subordination of a young british sailor. accordingly, when this youth came on board, he called him into his cabbin, and immediately addressed him in the most impressive manner, to the following effect. "there are three things, young gentleman," said he, "which you are constantly to bear in mind: first, you must always implicitly obey orders, without attempting to form any opinion of your own respecting their propriety; secondly, you must consider every man as your enemy who speaks ill of your king; and, thirdly, you must hate a frenchman as you do the devil." the youth, who had been thus prepared, always conducted himself with great propriety; and, it is believed, ever afterwards retained a truly filial regard for his friendly patron. captain nelson was perfectly indefatigable in getting his ship ready for sea. in a letter to captain locker, written at the navy office, the beginning of february 1793, where his brother maurice had long held a situation, after requesting him to discharge maurice suckling, and such men as may be on board the sandwich, into the agamemnon, he says--"pray, have you got a clerk whom you can recommend? i want one very much, i urge nothing; i know your willingness to serve. the duke of clarence desires me to say, that he requests you will discharge joseph king into the agamemnon; or, that i am welcome to any other man, to assist me in fitting out. he is but poorly; but expresses the greatest satisfaction at the appointment you are likely to succeed to, and in which no one rejoices more than your affectionate horatio nelson." in another letter to this much honoured and honourable officer, written at chatham towards the end of the same month, he congratulates him on having obtained his appointment, which was that of lieutenant-governor of greenwich hospital; from which, he hopes, his friend will derive every comfort: and tells him, that he need not hurry himself about the charts, as he shall certainly see him before he sails. it was not, in fact, till about the middle of may, that the agamemnon, in company with the robust of seventy-four guns, captain the honourable george keith elphinstone, proceeded to it's station in the mediterranean, under the command of lord hood; who followed, a few days after, with the rest of his fleet, from plymouth, on the 22d of that month. about the beginning of june, he went with six sail of the line to cadiz, where they took in water. they also took in some wine: for he tells his worthy old friend, captain locker, that he has got him a cask of, he hopes, good sherry; which he shall take an early opportunity of sending home, and begs him to accept as a proof of his remembrance. he observes, that they have done nothing; and, that the same prospect appears before them: for, the french would not come out, and they had no means of getting at them in toulon. lord hood was to be joined, off barcelona, by twenty-one spanish ships of the line: "but," adds he, "if they are no better manned than those at cadiz, much service cannot be expected of them; though, as to ships, i never saw finer men of war." it was on the occasion above alluded to, when captain nelson put into cadiz to water, that he exclaimed, at the moment of first beholding the spanish fleet--"these ships are, certainly, the finest in the world: thank god, the spaniards cannot build men!" early in august, lord hood went with the fleet to remonstrate with the genoese respecting their supply of corn to the french, and bringing back french property under neutral papers: a practice which captain nelson, who was then off toulon, justly observed, rendered the station there a mere farce, if such trade should continue to be allowed. on the 20th of this month, writing to captain locker, he observes that the agamemnon sails well, and is healthy; but, that he wants to get into port for refreshment. he says that, by all the accounts, the district of provence would gladly become a separate republic under the protection of england; and, that the people of marseilles declared they would willingly destroy toulon to accomplish this measure. there seems, at the time of his thus writing, to have been a positive proposal to this effect then under the consideration of the commander in chief: for, on the 23d of august, only three days after, did admiral lord hood publish his celebrated preliminary declaration to the inhabitants of toulon, as well as his proclamation to the inhabitants of the towns and provinces in the south of france, which ended in his taking a provisional possession of toulon, with all the ships of war in the harbour, &c. on the 28th of the same month. captain nelson, however, was not present during the period of this negociation, or the subsequent taking possession of toulon; having been previously charged with dispatches from lord hood, dated off toulon, the 17th of august 1793, and addressed to sir william hamilton, knight of the bath, his majesty's envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary at the court of naples. it should seem that he had, also, some intermediate orders to execute; for, on his passage to naples, he met with lord hugh conway, at sea, who had left toulon in the possession of lord hood, and sent sir william hamilton a letter to that effect, dated the 31st of the same month. there was, evidently, more to be transacted at the court of naples, than a mere delivery of these dispatches from lord hood, or captain nelson would scarcely have been selected for the business. he went, no doubt, with confidential communications from the commander in chief to the british minister plenipotentiary, and objects of discretional discussion for mutual consideration, which were not possible to be transacted in writing, and consequently required the talents and address judiciously employed on the occasion. lord hood was no stranger to the superlative ability which he possessed for negotiation; and how much more rarely that quality is to be found in british naval officers, than the natural bravery which seems common to all, or even the great nautical skill which may justly be boasted by most of them. it was not till the 11th of september, that captain nelson arrived, in the agamemnon, at naples; and so effectually did he accomplish the objects of his mission, that sir william hamilton, who immediately communicated the intelligence of toulon's being in possession of lord hood to general acton, procured two thousand of his sicilian majesty's best troops to be embarked, the 16th, on board two line of battle ships, two frigates, two corvettes, and one neapolitan transport vessel. the next day, september 17, sir william hamilton sent intelligence of the above particulars to england, which appeared in the london gazette, dated whitehall, october 12, 1793: where it is added, that a spanish frigate, returning to toulon, had likewise taken some neapolitan troops on board; that three more battalions were that night to embark at gaeta, on board of two neapolitan frigates, two brigantines, and nine large polacres; that, in a week or ten days, the neapolitan government were to send off to toulon the remaining ships, and two thousand more men, with thirty-two pieces of regimental artillery, and plenty of provisions; and that, should the wind remain as it then was, these succours might reach toulon in five days, or sooner. in the mean time, captain nelson had been introduced to the king and queen of naples, from whom he met with a most cordial and gracious reception: nor must his singular previous introduction, by sir william, to lady hamilton, be passed over, without particular notice; on the result of which, so much of the felicity of this exalted hero's future life seems evidently to have in a superlative degree depended. on sir william hamilton's returning home, after having first beheld captain nelson, he told his lady that he was about to introduce a little man to her acquaintance, who could not boast of being very handsome: "but," added sir william, "this man, who is an english naval officer, captain nelson, will become the greatest man that ever england produced. i know it, from the few words of conversation i have already had with him. i pronounce, that he will one day astonish the world. i have never entertained any officer at my house, but i am determined to bring him here. let him be put in the room prepared for prince augustus." captain nelson was, accordingly, introduced to her ladyship; and resided with sir william hamilton during his short stay at naples: and thus commenced that fervid friendship between the parties, which continued to glow, with apparently increasing ardour, to the last moment of their respective existences whom it has been lady hamilton's severe lot to survive. the introductory compliment which had been paid by sir william hamilton, to captain nelson's transcendent abilities, was not ill requited by one of the latter's first salutations of the worthy envoy--"sir william," said he, in consequence of the dispatch made use of in obtaining the neapolitan troops, "you are a man after my own heart: you do business in my own way! i am, now, only a captain; but i will, if i live, be at the top of the tree." these reciprocal good opinions of each other, which form the basis of all substantial friendships, could not fail to unite such excellent and enlightened minds in a sincere amity. it can never appear wonderful, then, that lady hamilton, herself a person of very considerable talents, and possessing a warm and affectionate heart, naturally attached to splendid abilities, should be forcibly struck with the pleasing manners, extreme goodness and generosity of mind, and evident proofs of comprehensive intellect, which she continually witnessed in the new friend of her intelligent husband, during the few days of his continuance at naples. the frank and friendly attentions of her ladyship, at the same time, it must necessarily be supposed, made no slight impression on the susceptible bosom of captain nelson; who was charmed with the characteristic sweetness of disposition which she so fascinatingly displayed for the promotion of his ease and comforts. the imperious calls of professional duty soon separated the hero from his affectionate friends; but they parted not without mutual assurances of losing no opportunity which might occur of corresponding with or seeing each other. it appears, from lord hood's dispatches to the admiralty, that the first division of the neapolitan troops disembarked at toulon on the 28th of september, under the command of brigadier general pignatelli; and that they were a very fine body of men, in perfect health, and well appointed. the second division of neapolitans, consisting of two thousand men, arrived on the 5th of october; and the last two thousand were to leave naples on that very day. his sicilian majesty, lord hood added, had manifested the greatest readiness and zeal in fulfilling the treaty; and confided his ships and troops solely to his lordship's discretion, as that sovereign had made known to him in writing under his own hand. such was the success of captain nelson's services at naples, where the king and queen treated him with no less attention and regard than sir william hamilton and his lady, and witnessed his departure with similar regrets. the neapolitan troops thus obtained, greatly signalized themselves, on several occasions, while at toulon: but captain nelson, almost immediately on his arrival, received orders to join a squadron under commodore linzee; who had been detached by lord hood, at the request of general paoli, to protect corsica. he could, therefore, scarcely be said to have at all participated in the occurrences which took place at toulon, farther than in thus procuring military aids. captain nelson, indeed, appears to have had little concern with this unfortunate business: not the less so, perhaps, on that very account. notwithstanding all the blood and treasure which this expedition cost great britain, on toulon's being evacuated the 19th of december following, lord hood was only able to carry away three ships of the line and five frigates; after burning there nine ships of the line, and one at leghorn. about the period of these transactions, captain nelson was with commodore linzee, at tunis, negotiating for a french convoy under an eighty-gun ship and a corvette. the english, however, he observed, never yet succeeded in a negotiation against the french. "we have not," says he, in a letter to captain locker, dated off sardinia, december 1, 1793, "contradicted our practice at tunis, for the monsieurs have completely upset us with the bey; and, had we latterly attempted to take them, i am certain he would have declared against us, and done our trade some damage." in this letter he also mentions, that lord hood has, in a very handsome letter, ordered him from commodore linzee's command, to take the command of a squadron of frigates off corsica and the adjoining shore of italy, to look out for some french frigates which were in st. fiorenzo in corsica. with these frigates, it seems, captain nelson had, joined with one or two others, what he calls "a little brush," in the preceding october. he observes that, if they are active, they may do our trade some mischief: "but," adds he, "to say the truth, i believe that they are more inclined to be passive; at least, they had much of that inclination when i saw them." at this time, he does not appear to have thought toulon in much danger; and, at all events, was persuaded that the french fleet and arsenal might be destroyed. some of the ships, he remarked, were the finest he ever beheld. the commerce de marseilles, in particular, he says, had seventeen ports on each deck, and our victory looked nothing to it. their friend, sir charles pole, he observes, is gone to the west indies, which was a thing that officer dreaded: had himself been at toulon, he would have been a candidate for this service; for, he thought our sea war was over in the mediterranean. he admits, however, that the agamemnon has had it's share of service; having had the anchor down but thirty-four times since sailing from the nore, and then only to get water or provisions. he says that, having then upwards of one hundred of his ship's company absent, they are not much better than a fifty gun ship. to another friend, however, he jocosely observed, on this occasion, that those he had were chiefly norfolk men, and he always reckoned them as good as two others. in the warmth of gratitude, he asserts that lord hood is a very good friend to him; and is, certainly, the best officer he ever saw: every thing from him being so clear, that it is impossible to misunderstand him. all this day, the 1st of december, he observes, he has been in sight of the french squadron; which, he hears, has been joined by a frigate from calvi. he misses, however, the frigate which had received most of his fire; and adds, that there are not wanting those who declare that they beheld it sink. with these frigates, on the coast of corsica, captain nelson may be said to have commenced his career as commander of a squadron; and such was his activity, skill, and bravery, that they were perpetually engaged against the enemy. it would be difficult, perhaps impossible, to trace every single transaction which occurred during the time which he held this command. his services were, occasionally, exerted at land as well as sea; and such was his dexterity in getting out guns, erecting batteries, and assisting the reduction of fortresses, that much of our success in gaining possession of that island was generally ascribed to his ability. on the 10th of february 1794, the tower and garrison of mortella surrendered; and the strong redoubt and batteries of the convention were taken by storm on the 17th, after a severe cannonading of two days. the enemy abandoned, that same night, the tower of forneli, and two considerable sea-batteries dependent on it. on the 19th, they retreated from st. fiorenzo to bastia; having previously sunk one of their frigates, and burnt another in the gulph: and the town, forts, and port of st. fiorenzo, were taken possession of, the same day, by his majesty's land and sea forces. the frigate which had been sunk was afterwards weighed, and taken into our service under the name of the st. fiorenzo. at the siege of bastia, whither the enemy were followed, and which commenced the beginning of april, captain nelson bore a most conspicuous share; exerting himself with a vigour, alacrity, and judgment, which obtained universal admiration. it has been said, and re-echoed, that ample testimony was, on this occasion, given to his skill and unremitting exertions; but, it may safely be asserted, he never thought so. lord hood, it is true, makes respectful mention of his services; it would be extremely wonderful if he did not, when it is considered that he was the principal naval officer actively employed there, and yet served, with the most indefatigable perseverance, nearly two months on land. what follows, however, is all that appears in his lordship's dispatches relative to captain nelson, which few will think too much--"captain nelson, of his majesty's ship agamemnon, who had the command and direction of the seamen, in landing the guns, mortars, and stores, and captain hunt, who commanded at the batteries, very ably assisted by captain buller and captain serecold, and the lieutenants gore, hotham, stiles, andrews, and brisbane, have an equal claim to, my gratitude; as the seamen, under their management, worked the guns with great judgment and alacrity. never was a higher spirit, or greater perseverance exhibited; and i am happy to say, that no other contention was at any time known, than who should be most forward and indefatigable for promoting his majesty's service; for, although the difficulties they had to struggle with were many and various, the perfect harmony and good humour that universally prevailed throughout the siege overcame them all." this, certainly, is no singular praise of captain nelson; who, it is well known, greatly signalized himself on the occasion. in the very next paragraph of the same gazette, lord hood says--"i cannot but express, in the strongest terms, the meritorious conduct of captain duncan and lieutenant alexander duncan, of the royal artillery, and lieutenant de butts, of the royal engineers: but my obligation is particularly great to captain duncan, as more zeal, ability, and judgment, was never shewn by any officer than were displayed by him; and i take the liberty of mentioning him as an officer highly entitled to his majesty's notice." such superior praise and recommendation of a military officer, however deserving, by the naval commander in chief, could not be very pleasing to captain nelson; who felt conscious of having merited at least equal attention, by ably performing more than could be in any way considered as his actual duty. the slight sketch modestly given of this affair, by himself, in a letter to captain locker, will afford some idea of it's importance. it is dated, at bastia, may 30, 1794, on board the agamemnon: and states, that he has just got on board, after eight weeks service on shore; where, he trusts, he has acquitted himself in a manner his friends will be pleased with. the more he saw of this place, the more he was astonished at it's being given up: but, the truth was, that the different parties were afraid to trust each other; the surrender could be justified on no other ground. the frigates formerly mentioned had now, most of them, fallen into his hands; for he mentions that he has then on board the agamemnon two captains, twenty-four other officers, and three hundred seamen, of the ships he fell in with the preceding october. the officers abused the crews; the people, their officers: all joined against their commodore, for not coming down to the british ships after they were crippled. not that captain nelson had any idea they could have taken his ships; but, he admitted that they certainly behaved shamefully ill. the fortunã©e was burned, the minerve and le fleche taken: the melpomene got to calvi; and would, he trusted, fall into his hands. he adds, that they are now taking on board shot, powder, &c. for calvi; which, though very strongly situated, he thinks will soon fall. agamemnon is then to go to gibraltar, for something like a refitment, having been without the slightest repair, in hull or rigging, sixteen months. he describes bastia as most pleasantly situated; containing fourteen thousand inhabitants, and being capable of holding twenty thousand. a few hours, he says, will carr parties to italy: and observes that, if the corsicans knew their own interest, they would be happy with us; but, that they cannot bear dependance. this opinion of captain nelson's, respecting the disposition of the corsicans, is a fresh proof of his acute discernment, and was abundantly confirmed by the event. it having been agreed, by the two commanders in chief, lord hood and lieutenant-general the honourable charles stuart, that the utmost dispatch was necessary, in order to enable the troops selected for the siege of calvi to begin their operations before the commencement of the unhealthy season, every effort was used to forward the necessary preparations; and so effectual were the exertions of the different departments, that the regiments embarked at bastia in the course of a very few days. captain nelson, accordingly, who had been detached on the 9th of june, by lord hood, from the fleet off mortella bay, to take the charge of these embarkations, in his lordship's absence, agreed that they should proceed to port agra, where a landing was effected on the 19th of the same month; and, on that very day, the army encamped, in a strong position, on the serra del cappucine, a ridge of mountains three miles distant from the town of calvi. from many of the out-posts, and particularly from those which the friendly corsicans were ordered to occupy, it was distinctly discoverable that the town of calvi was strong in point of situation, well fortified, and amply supplied with heavy artillery. the exterior defences, on which the enemy had bestowed a considerable labour, consisted in the bomb-proof stone star fort mozello, mounting ten pieces of ordnance, with a battery of six guns on it's right, flanked by a small entrenchment. in the rear of this line, which covered the town to the westward, was placed, on a rocky hill to the east, a battery of three guns. considerably advanced on the plain to the south-west, the fort mollinochesco, on a steep rock, commanded the communication between calvi and the province of balagori; supported by two frigates, moored in the bay, for the purpose of raking the intermediate country. the principal difficulties, however, in approaching the enemy's works, did not so much arise from the strength of the defences, as from the height of the mountains and rugged rocky surface of the country it was necessary to penetrate; and so considerable were these obstacles, against the usual mode of attack, that it was judged expedient to adopt rapid and forward movements, instead of regular approaches. in conformity to this plan of proceeding, the seamen and soldiers were laboriously employed in making roads; dragging guns to the tops of the mountains; and collecting military stores, for the purpose of erecting two mortar and four separate gun batteries, on the same night. one of these was intended against the mollinochesco; the second, to be constructed on rocks, to cover the principal one, of six guns; which, by a sudden march, and the exertions of the whole army, was to be erected within seven hundred and fifty yards of the mozello. owing to some mistake, the proposed battery against the mollinochesco was built and opened two days earlier than the time appointed. observing, however, that though this fort was considerably damaged, it seemed evidently the intention of the enemy to repair rather than evacuate it, on the evening of the 6th of july, the royal irish regiment was ordered to move towards their left, exposing the men to the fire of their artillery. at sun set, and during the greatest part of the night, this diversion was seconded by a feigned attack of the corsicans: which so effectually deceived the enemy, that they withdrew a considerable piquet from the spot where the principal battery was to be constructed, in order to support the mollinochesco; and, directing the whole of their fire to that point, enabled the troops to complete their work. this important position established, the enemy was compelled to evacuate the mollinochesco, and to withdraw the shipping under the protection of the town. a heavy firing immediately commenced on both sides; which continued, with little intermission, till the 18th of that month: when, observing that their batteries were considerably damaged, and a breach appearing practicable on the west side of the mozello, a disposition was made for a general attack on the outworks, under cover of two batteries ordered to be erected that night; which would, from their position, in the event of a check, appear the principal object of the movement. by the greatest exertions, this battery was completely constructed, without discovery, within three hundred yards of the mozello, an hour before day-break: a signal gun was then fired from it, for the troops to advance. covered, in their approach, by two field pieces, they proceeded, with a cool and steady confidence, and unloaded arms, towards the enemy; forced their way through a smart fire of musquetry; and, regardless of live shells thrown into the trench, or the additional defence of pikes, stormed the mozello: while the royal irish regiment, with two pieces of cannon, equally regardless of opposition, carried the enemy's battery on the left, and forced their trenches, without firing a shot. the possession of these very important posts, which the troops maintained under the heaviest fire of shells, shot, and grape, induced an offer to consider such terms as the garrison of calvi might incline to propose. an unfavourable answer, however, being returned, the navy and army once more united their efforts; and, in nine days, completed batteries of thirteen guns, four mortars, and three howitzers, within six hundred yards of the town. these opened with so well directed a fire, that the enemy were unable to remain at their guns; and, in eighteen hours, sent proposals, which terminated in a capitulation, and the expulsion of the french from corsica, on the 10th of august, after a siege of fifty-one days. the above account of the reduction of calvi is extracted from the dispatches of the military commander in chief, and affords a very good idea of the siege. lord hood, who arrived off calvi on the 27th of june, where he continued during the siege, in his dispatches to the admiralty, writes--"the journal i here transmit from captain nelson, who had the command of the seamen, will shew the daily occurrences of the siege; and whose zeal and exertion i cannot sufficiently express--or, of that of captain hallowell--who took it by turns to command in the advanced battery, twenty-four hours at a time: and, i flatter myself, they, as well as the other officers and seamen, will have full justice done them by the general; it is, therefore, unnecessary for me to say more on the subject." what lieutenant general stuart did say, respecting captain nelson's wonderful exertions and consummate skill, on this occasion, however, instead of doing him fuller justice, was sufficiently moderate, and very concise--"the assistance and co-operation of captain nelson, the activity of captain hallowell, and the exertions of the navy, have greatly contributed to the success of these movements." can any person of the smallest discernment, for a moment suppose, that a mind like that of the heroic nelson, could feel satisfied by such indiscriminate and cold approbation as is here expressed? the slightest glance even of his own modest journal of the siege, must have convinced every one, had it been given, as he might expect, to the public, of the prodigious fatigue and perseverance, at least, which this great man underwent, if it had not demonstrated the astonishing skill and bravery which he is so well known to have there most eminently displayed. an intelligent corsican, now in england, mr. casalonga, perfectly remembers the general estimation in which captain nelson was held throughout the island, for the various prodigies of valour performed there during the year 1794; particularly, at the siege of the tower of mortella, and the towns of bastia and calvi. respecting this last place, he observes, an official report was sent to the municipality of ajaccio, where himself was a member, that during the siege, which was very obstinate and dangerous, the place being deemed impregnable, captain nelson ran to every direction; and, in spite of a tremendous fire kept up by the enemy, he erected his battery in such a position as to throw shot on the besieged; who, perceiving their works destroyed, and public and private buildings demolished, were soon panic struck, and sued for capitulation. thus, while captain nelson was only considered, at home, as making one among the many brave officers employed in this service, his distinguished merits were so attractive in the eyes of foreigners, on the spot, that they ascribed nearly the whole success to his transcendent abilities. nothing can be more certain, than that his services were supereminently beneficial; and, that the period was not yet arrived for their being duly acknowledged. though not a word appears, in the official returns of the wounded at the siege of calvi, to intimate the fact; though not a single syllable of regret is expressed, in the dispatches of either commander in chief; it was at this very siege, that the hero had the misfortune to be entirely deprived of the sight of his right eye. the calamitous accident was occasioned by a shot from one of the enemy's batteries striking the ground near the battery which he commanded; and driving, with prodigious violence, some minute particles of sand, or small gravel, into that tender organ. even this shocking event, with all it's attendant anguish, was incapable of forcing him from his post. with a ribbon tied over his inflamed eye, he persisted in directing the batteries, till the last fortress of corsica had submitted to his sovereign's arms. surely, if the total loss of sight in one eye, which himself is said never to have considered as a wound, did not entitle his name to be placed in the list of wounded officers, which seems somewhat doubtful, the gallantry of remaining at his post would never have escaped lord hood, as it seems to have done the honourable lieutenant general stuart, had he been present on the occasion. on the 8th of august, two days before the capitulation was signed, lord hood, who had received the thanks of both houses of parliament, for his very gallant conduct in the expedition against corsica, voted on friday, the 20th of june 1794; when, also, the like thanks were voted to all the officers, sailors, and soldiers, engaged in that expedition; sent a letter to captain nelson, dated on board the victory, off calvi, in which he inclosed the above resolutions: observing that, having received his majesty's commands, to communicate to the respective officers, seamen, marines, and soldiers, who had been employed in the different operations which had been successfully carried on against the enemy in corsica, a resolution of the two houses of parliament; he desires that he will make known, to all in the agamemnon, and such other officers and seamen as are with him, and were employed at bastia, the sense that is entertained of their spirited and meritorious conduct. this, too, which is merely an official letter, has been magnified, by those who clearly know nothing about the matter, into an additional honour conferred on captain nelson, and said to have been highly flattering to his feelings. how his feelings were in reality affected at this period, the reader will presently have an opportunity of knowing from much better authority. in the mean time, lord hood sent duplicates of his former dispatches to the admiralty, dated on board the victory, off calvi, august 9, 1794. he herewith transmits a continuation of captain nelson's journal, from the 28th of july, to the 8th of august: also, the copy of a letter which he had received from captain nelson, highly creditable to lieutenant harrison, a transport agent; as well as to mr. william harrington, master of the willington, and the transports men; who were all anxiously eager to serve on shore, or on board his majesty's ships, mentions having taken possession of the melpomene and mignonne frigates: the former, one of the finest ever built in france, carrying forty guns; the other, only thirty-two. captain cunningham, charged with these dispatches, who had been three months cruizing off calvi, with infinite diligence, and perseverance, under many difficulties, is recommended as an officer of great merit, and highly deserving any favour that can be shewn him. without wishing to detract from the merits of captain cunningham, it may certainly be contended that he had not, during the time mentioned, surpassed captain nelson, who receives no such decided praise, nor any positive recommendation whatever. these observations are drawn from the face of the public dispatches, compared with a knowledge of the services and character of captain nelson, as they were at that time manifesting themselves to all who knew him. his conspicuous merits, it should seem, were growing too conspicuous; the power of his rising splendour, it might begin to be feared, would too powerfully eclipse that which was getting into the wane; and, therefore, though praise could not be entirely denied, it was by no means to be lavishly bestowed. this is ever the cold and cautious sentiment of mean and mercenary minds: it sometimes creeps into the bosoms of even the liberal and the brave. in the former, it begets a fixed principle of action; from the latter, it is generally soon expelled by a little dispassionate reflection. it is like the last struggle of age, contending against a conviction of the superior vigour of youth: which, by a good parent, is often unwillingly relinquished, in even corporeal considerations; scarcely ever, willingly, in those of intellect. without meaning to hazard any particular application of these ideas, there is good reason to think that he began now to be an object of considerable attraction. his power, though still abundantly too confined for his ability, had been in some degree extended; and his services were, in consequence, so numerous and great, that he well merited recommendation to an enlarged sphere of action. that he thought himself slighted, is beyond a possibility of doubt: smarting with the total loss of sight in one eye, and almost exhausted by fatigue, he felt conscious of deserving applause more ardent than any which he had yet obtained. he was, probably, not pleased to find that his journal of the siege of calvi did not appear, as perhaps it ought to have done, in the gazette; nor even the letter in commendation of his voluntary coadjutors, which he had sent to lord hood. his lordship, however, it is but just to remark, could by no means be considered as accountable for these omissions, as he certainly transmitted both these documents to government. what were his sensations, at this juncture, it would be difficult exactly to ascertain; but his consolation is known, and it was worthy of his exalted mind--"they have not done me justice," said he, writing to his eldest sister, mrs. bolton, "in the affair of calvi; but, never mind, i'll have a gazette of my own." on another occasion, soon after, he remarked that he had then been more than a hundred days actually engaged, at sea and on shore, against the enemy, since the commencement of the war; that he had the comfort to be ever applauded by the commander in chief, but never to be rewarded: and, what he considered as more mortifying than all the rest, for services in which he was slightly wounded, others had been extravagantly praised, who were very snug in bed all the time, far distant from the scene of action. in october 1794, lord hood returned to england; when the command of the mediterranean fleet devolved on the present lord hotham, with whom captain nelson continued to serve with equally distinguished ability wherever opportunities occurred. at the latter end of december, and beginning of january 1795, they were cruizing off toulon for about three weeks: during fifteen days of which, in such a series of bad weather as he had scarcely ever experienced, they were almost constantly under storm stay-sails. they saw, while on this cruise, three french frigates; and had no doubt that, as one of them was a crippled ship, the agamemnon, which sailed better than any ship in the fleet, and was the nearest to them by a couple of leagues, might have taken one or two of them. a line of battle ship, however, never chasing on such occasions, and the admiral's anxiety to keep the fleet together preventing him from making the signal for the frigates to chase them till too late in the day, they unfortunately effected their escape. on the 10th of january, they arrived, from this unsuccessful cruise, in the gulph of st. fiorenzo; where, a few days after, in a very heavy sea, the berwick, of seventy-four guns, captain smith, which was preparing to join the fleet, not having the rigging set up, lost all it's masts, and was rendered a complete wreck. the superiority of the toulon fleet, at that time, rendered this a very serious misfortune, and it led to one which proved still greater. the french, in fact, had sixteen ships of the line, besides the sans culotte of a hundred and twenty guns, with twelve frigates and five corvettes, then in the harbour; and thirty marseilles ships were also fitting out as transports, generally supposed to be intended for the conveyance of troops on an expedition against our newly-acquired kingdom of corsica. admiral hotham, in the mean time, was desirous of getting again to sea, for the purpose of covering the convoy and expected reinforcements from england; and this he was obliged to effect without waiting longer for the berwick. he had, in truth, at this period, much to contend with. his fleet was only half manned; italy was calling him to her defence; and corsica perpetually demanding the reinforcements and convoy hourly expected. the french, well aware how inadequate, in numbers and in strength, admiral hotham must necessarily be for the accomplishment of all these objects in the face of such superior force, came out with positive orders to seek and to destroy the british mediterranean fleet. this being effected, which their presumption left them no doubt would soon happen, their troops were to be landed, and the kingdom of corsica retaken. on the 8th of march, admiral hotham being in leghorn road, received an express from genoa, that the french fleet, consisting of fifteen sail of the line and three frigates, was seen on the 6th instant off the isle of marguerite. this intelligence corresponding with a signal made from the moselle, then in the offing, for a fleet in the north-west quarter, he immediately caused the squadron to be unmoored; and, at day-break the following morning, put to sea, in pursuit of the enemy. the moselle having brought intelligence that the fleet seen was steering to the southward, admiral hotham shaped his course for corsica, lest their destination should be against that island; dispatching the tarleton brig to st. fiorenzo, with orders for the berwick to join him off cape corse. he had, however, the misfortune to learn, by the return of the brig, the same night, that the berwick had, two days before, been captured by the enemy's fleet. though the french ships were seen daily by the advanced frigates, the two squadrons did not get sight of each other till the 12th, when the enemy was discovered to windward. next morning, observing them still in that direction, without any apparent intention of coming down, the signal was made for a general chace. the weather being squally, and blowing very fresh, the ca-ira of eighty guns, formerly the couronne, was discovered to be without it's topmasts; which afforded captain freemantle, of the inconstant frigate, who was far advanced in the chace, an opportunity of shewing a good proof of british enterprise, by attacking, raking, and harassing that ship, till the coming up of captain nelson, in the agamemnon, by whom it was soon so completely cut up, as to be incapable of getting away: his brave fellows, all the time, who appear to have been miraculously preserved, working the ship about the enemy's stern and quarters, with as much exactness as if going into spithead. though the ca-ira had thirteen hundred men on board, and captain nelson only three hundred at quarters, including himself--for this is his own account and mode of reckoning--he had, after an action of two hours, in which a hundred and ten of the enemy were killed and wounded, not one of his agamemnons slain, and no more than seven wounded. the sans culotte, however, of a hundred and twenty guns, at length coming up, and the british heavy ships being still distant, admiral hotham called him off; making the signal for the squadron to form on the larboard line of bearing, in which order they remained during the night. in the morning of the 14th, the ca-ira was discovered in tow of the censeur of seventy-four guns, so far separated from their own squadron as to afford a probable chance of cutting them off. the opportunity was not lost; and, all sail being made to effect that purpose, the enemy were reduced to the alternative of abandoning those ships, or coming to battle. our advanced ships were so closely supported in their attack on the ca-ira and censeur, that they were effectually cut off from any assistance; and the conflict ended by the enemy's yielding them up: satisfied, after all their boasts, by firing on the british line, as they passed with a light air of wind, and evidently happy that our van ships had suffered too much for the squadron to follow them with any prospect of success. the grand object of their vaunted armament, however, was completely frustrated by this encounter. it could not, captain nelson observed, be denominated a battle, as the enemy would not afford any opportunity of closing with them; if they had, from the zeal and gallantry endeavoured to be shewn by each individual captain, there was not the smallest doubt that a glorious victory would have ensued. the french ships had been all fitted with forges; and fired, continually, from some of their guns, hot shot and shells. the diabolical practice of having furnaces in their cockpits, however, was found too dangerous to be long persisted in. several of the french ships were crippled, and some of them went off towed by frigates, or without bowsprits, &c. the sans culotte got to genoa, and others to vado bay. the british squadron, with the prizes, which were greatly shattered and very leaky, proceeded to st. fiorenzo: where it remained till the 22d; and then sailed for leghorn, to join the blenheim and bombay castle, that it might again go in pursuit of some of the french ships. captain nelson obtained, on this occasion, the highest approbation of our own fleet, and the handsomest and most liberal testimony from that of the enemy. the fleet having been refitted at leghorn, and obtained another seventy-four gun ship from the king of naples, they proceeded to the westward, for reinforcements, about the 10th of may; and afterwards went to minorca, where they remained some time waiting for a convoy's arrival from gibraltar. having returned to st. fiorenzo the latter end of june, captain nelson was dispatched, on the 4th of july, with the agamemnon, meleager, ariadne, moselle, and the mutine cutter, to co-operate with the austrian general in the recovery of genoa. the second day, however, he fell in with the french fleet, which admiral hotham had supposed at toulon, and was chased back to st. fiorenzo. it appears evident, from all their movements, that they did not know our fleet was in port. the chace continued twenty-four hours; and, owing to the freshness of the winds in these seas, he was occasionally hard pressed; but they being, as he said, neither seamen nor officers, gave him many advantages. on the 7th, in the morning, admiral hotham was much surprised to learn that the above squadron was seen in the offing, pursued into port by the enemy's fleet. immediately on their appearance, he made every preparation to put to sea after them; having the mortification, in the mean time, to behold captain nelson, with his little squadron, for nearly seven hours, almost wholly in their possession. the shore, and his knowledge of it, proved his greatest friends on this occasion. though most of the british ships were in the midst of watering and refitting, by very great exertions, the whole fleet got under weigh that night; but a calm, and swell, prevented their going out till the morning. it was not till day-break, on the 13th of july 1795, that they were discovered by the fleet. at eight o'clock, admiral hotham, finding that they had no other view than that of endeavouring to get off, made the signal for a general chace. the baffling winds, and vexatious calms, which render every naval operation in this country doubtful, soon afterwards taking place, a few only of our van ships could come up with the enemy's rear about noon. these they so warmly attacked, that one of the sternmost ships, the alcide of seventy-four guns, had struck in the course of an hour. the rest of their fleet, favoured by a shift of wind, that placed them to windward, had got so far into frejus bay, while the greater part of our's was becalmed in the offing, that it became impossible for anything farther to be effected. had the wind lasted twenty minutes longer, the six flyers, as they were called, would have been alongside as many of the enemy. captain nelson had every hope of getting the agamemnon, one of these flyers, alongside an eighty-gun ship, with a flag or broad pendant flying; but the west wind dying away, and the east coming, gave them the advantage, and enabled them to reach their own shore, from which they were not three leagues distant. rear-admiral mann, who had shifted his flag to the victory on this occasion, commanded the six ships thus distinguished by their superiority of sailing: he proved himself, captain nelson observed, a good man, in every sense of the word. the disappointment of our brave countrymen, on this day, must have been prodigiously great. in the morning, there had been a hope of taking the whole of the french fleet; and, even latterly, no bad prospect of securing six sail of the line. instead of which, they had only taken a single ship, the alcide; and that, such was the fortune of this luckless day, took fire about half an hour after it had struck, and before being taken into possession--said to be occasioned by a box of combustibles in the fore-top--and the whole ship was soon in a blaze. several boats, from our fleet, were instantly dispatched to rescue as many as possible of the unhappy crew from the devouring flames; and, by great exertion, three hundred were saved: the remainder, consisting of about four hundred, had the melancholy fate of being blown up with the ship. the agamemnon, with it's usual good fortune, had none killed in this action, and only one wounded. it received, however, several shot under water, which kept the hands pretty well employed at the pumps: but this, captain nelson insisted, must have happened by accident, as he was very certain they only fired high. the six ships engaged were the victory, admiral mann, and captain reeve; agamemnon, nelson; defence, wells; culloden, troubridge; cumberland, rowley; and blenheim, bazeley. after anchoring for a few hours at st. fiorenzo, with the fleet, captain nelson was again dispatched, in the agamemnon, with orders to sail as before directed, when he had been chased back. accordingly, with a light squadron under his command, consisting of the inconstant, meleager, southampton, tartar, ariadne, and speedy, he proceeded to co-operate with the austrian general de vins: and, being informed by the general, that a convoy of provisions and ammunition was arrived at alassio, a place in the possession of the french army, he proceeded thither on the 25th of august; where, within an hour, he took nine vessels, burnt a tenth, and drove another on shore. some of the enemy's cavalry fired on the boats when boarding the vessels near shore, but not a single man was killed or wounded. the french had two thousand horse and foot soldiers in the town, which prevented his landing and destroying their magazines of provisions and ammunition. captain freemantle of the inconstant, was sent, in the mean time, with the tartar, to languelia, a town on the west side of the bay of alassio; where, captain nelson observes, in his dispatches to admiral hotham, published october 3,1795, in the london gazette, that commander executed his orders in a most officer-like manner. "i am indebted," he concludes, "to every officer in the squadron, for their activity: but, most particularly so, to lieutenant george andrews, first-lieutenant of the agamemnon; who, by his spirited and officer-like conduct, saved the french corvette from going on shore." the vessels taken were--a french corvette of ten guns, four swivels, and eighty-seven men; a french gun-boat of one brass gun, four swivels, and forty-nine men; a french galley of one brass gun, four swivels, and thirty men; a like galley, with twenty-nine men; a french brig, in ballast, burden a hundred tons; a french bark, burden seventy tons, laden with powder and shells; a french brig, burden a hundred tons, laden with wine; a galley, burden fifty tons, in ballast; and a tartane, burden thirty-five tons, laden with wine: those destroyed--a bark, laden with powder, drove on shore; and a ditto, laden with provisions, burnt. though this enterprise called for no particular exertion of great ability, it was executed with very complete success; and the result was both advantageous to the captors and their allies, and distressful to the common enemy. admiral hotham, in his dispatches to government, inclosing the account of this business which he had received from captain nelson, handsomely remarks that "his officer-like conduct upon this, and indeed upon every occasion, where his services are called forth, reflects on him the highest credit." admiral hotham was a very brave and highly respectable commander; and, being also a worthy man, he did whatever was in his power to serve captain nelson, whose superior ability he would, probably, have himself readily acknowledged on any occasion. he might not be sufficiently what captain nelson called a man of business, to admire the agreed co-operation with the austrian army, though as ready as any man to encounter the fleet of the enemy at sea: when, therefore, that co-operation became necessary, captain nelson's known habits of soldiering, immediately directed the admiral's attention to the brigadier; who had, accordingly, a not altogether unpleasant command of the squadron at vado bay, consisting of thirteen sail of frigates and sloops. this little fleet, however, with the exception of the above expedition, did very little important business, not a single frigate being allowed to chase out of sight. it was about this period, that captain nelson had the satisfaction of learning that he had, on the 6th of june preceding, in consequence of the then promotion of flag-officers, been appointed one of the colonels of marines. he had, it seems, been in some expectation of this promotion, but little imagined that it had already taken place: for, writing to captain locker on the 18th of june, off minorca, he observes that great changes had taken place in the fleet, and that more were on the eve of doing so. "perhaps," adds he, "the admiralty may commission me for some ship here: if so, provided they give me the marines, i shall feel myself bound to take her, much as i object to serving another winter campaign without a little rest." his health, indeed, had been considerably impaired before lord hood quitted the station; but as he had, after the reduction of corsica, less occasion for much continued exertion, it was now, on the whole, rather increased than diminished; and this timely promotion appears to have operated as a powerful cordial restorative. with the austrian general de vins, at vado bay, on the coast of genoa, he continued to co-operate during the whole time that admiral hotham retained the command; who quitted it in november 1795, and was succeeded by sir john jervis; the present earl of st. vincent. this change seems to have been a very fortunate circumstance for captain nelson; and, perhaps, on the whole, little less so for sir john jervis. the new commander in chief was much too shrewd and discerning a character not to see the full value of such an officer as captain nelson. himself a man of the highest bravery, and of the first professional knowledge, he could not fail to recognize, in every act, the vigorous intellect, and undaunted valour, which captain nelson possessed. it was no slight shade of an uncertain tint, but a plain and decided distinction of character clearly perceptible at a single glance. bravery and skill abound, and will, it is hoped, always abound, in the british navy; and great, indeed, must be the merits of any one who shines with superior lustre in a constellation of such general brilliancy. sir john had, under his command, many able officers; but he immediately perceived that captain nelson was a star of the first magnitude, and nobly resolved to remove every intervening cloud which might prevent his appearing in full splendour. the great importance, not only to both these exalted naval characters, but to their country, which has been so much benefitted by their respective and united services, must prevent the necessity of any apology for reverting to the very origin of their acquaintance with each other: a communication which the author of these memoirs has the honour of being enabled to give, on no less authority than that of the earl of st. vincent himself. his lordship, while sir john jervis, was returning from the house of commons, of which he was then a member; when, in the treasury passage, he perceived captain locker at a distance, whom he instantly knew, from the singularity of his looking through an eye-glass fitted at the head of his cane. sir john immediately hailed his old friend: and captain locker, coming up, expressed his happiness at seeing sir john jervis; as he wished, he said, to introduce his _eleve_, captain nelson. from that period, till the time when sir john jervis took the command of the mediterranean fleet, he had never again beheld captain nelson; who, having served much with lord hood, and not knowing sir john jervis's generous intentions to bring him still more forward, expressed a wish to return to england in the agamemnon. that ship, indeed, from it's then bad state, was expected to be soon sent home: but sir john jervis seems to have felt more unwilling to part with captain nelson than his ship. on the death of lord hervey, the captain of the zealous, which happened soon after, sir john jervis immediately offered captain nelson the command of that ship; which he declined, still persisting in his desire to go home. it was not long, however, before he became sufficiently sensible of sir john's great attachment to him, and now readily expressed the desire which he felt to remain under his command. they were, thus, mutually pleased with each other; and there resulted, from the harmony which continued to prevail between these two truly great and heroic characters, the utmost possible advantage to their country, and the most complete glory to themselves. on the 23d of february 1796, captain nelson, after looking into toulon, where there were then thirteen sail of the line and five frigates ready for sea, left the commander in chief to the westward of toulon, and proceeded to genoa. in april, so highly did sir john jervis approve of captain nelson's conduct, that he promoted him to the rank of temporary commodore, with directions to wear a distinguishing pendant, which was accordingly hoisted on board the old agamemnon. in may, orders having arrived for a third rate, the worst ship then in the line, to return home with the convoy, there could be no doubt that the agamemnon must be the ship: and john samuel smith, esq. the commander of the captain of seventy-four guns, being in a very ill state of health, and desirous of going to england, captain nelson was appointed to captain smith's ship; and he was to have went home in the agamemnon, had he not, shortly after, died at gibraltar. so completely, indeed, had captain nelson worn out his old and favourite ship, by a series of hard service, that when it went into dock for refitment, there was not a mast, yard, sail, or any part of the rigging, which remained fit for service, the whole having been cut to pieces with shot. the hull, also, was so greatly damaged, that it had for some time been secured and kept together merely by having cables properly served or thrapped round. on the 11th of august, he obtained the permanent rank of commodore, having a captain appointed to command under him in his new ship. in the mean time, he had been also incessantly employed, and still continued actively engaged till october, in the various arduous services of blockading leghorn; taking possession of porto ferrajio, with the island of caprea; and, lastly, in the evacuation of bastia. having convoyed, in safety, all the british troops from corsica to porto ferrajio, he joined sir john jervis in st. fiorenzo bay, and proceeded with him to gibraltar. on his way to gibraltar, november 5, 1796, in writing to his friend captain locker, he remarks that he has seen the first and the last of the kingdom of corsica, it's situation, he says, was certainly most disirable for us; but the generality of the inhabitants were so greedy of wealth, and so jealous of each other, that it would require the patience of job, and the riches of croesus, to satisfy them. he adds, that they say, of themselves, they are only to be governed by the ruling power's shooting all it's enemies, and bribing all it's friends. in this letter, too, he observes, to his old friend, with evident exultation, that as soon as the fleet is united, which was then expecting to be joined by admiral mann, he had no doubt that they should look out for the combined fleet; who, he supposed, were about thirty-four sail of the line, badly manned, and worse ordered: "while our's," exclaims the gallant commodore, "is such a fleet as i never before saw at sea! there is nothing, hardly, beyond our reach. i need not give you the character of sir john jervis, you know him well; therefore, i shall only say, that he is worthy of such a fleet, for he knows how to use it in the most beneficial manner for our country." after landing at minorca, the 11th of november, where he observes that they were on shore "upon velvet," the fleet proceeded to it's destination, and soon safely arrived. the commodore, however, remained but a short time at gibraltar with the fleet; being ordered, by the commander in chief, to remove his broad pendant on board la minerve frigate of thirty-two guns, commanded by captain george cockburne; and, accompanied by la blanche of the same force, captain preston commander, immediately to proceed to porto ferrajio, for the purpose of bringing away the troops, and naval and military stores, which still remained there, and which were much wanted at gibraltar, in consequence of the change of circumstances occasioned by the recent commencement of the war with spain. during the night of the 19th of december, on his passage to porto ferrajio, commodore nelson fell in with two spanish frigates of considerable force. the largest ship, which carried a poop light, was immediately attacked by the commodore; who, at the same time, directed la blanche to bear down and engage the other. at forty minutes past ten, la minerve brought it's opponent to close action; and the fire continued, without intermission, till half past one in the morning, when the spaniard struck. it proved to be la sabina spanish frigate of forty guns; twenty-eight of them, on the main deck, being eighteen pounders; with two hundred and eighty-six men, commanded by captain don jacobo stuart. the captured ship lost it's mizen mast during the action; and the main and fore masts were so damaged, that they both gave way on the very first attempt to carry a press of sail. in this terrible conflict, one hundred and sixty-four spaniards, more than half the crew, were killed and wounded; while la minerve, though it's masts were shot through, and it's rigging much cut, had only seven men killed, and thirty-four wounded. in commodore nelson's first letter to sir john jervis, relative to this action, dated december 20, 1796, he assumes not the smallest merit, but modestly gives the entire praise to his officers and crew. "you are, sir," says he, "so thoroughly acquainted with the merits of captain cockburne, that it is needless for me to express them: but the discipline of la minerve does the highest credit to her captain and lieutenants, and i wish fully to express the sense which i have of their judgment and gallantry. lieutenant culverhouse, the first lieutenant, is an old officer of very distinguished merit; lieutenants hardy, gage, and noble, deserve every praise which gallantry and zeal justly entitle them to, as does every other officer and man in the ship. "you will observe, sir, i am sure, with regret, among the wounded, lieutenant james noble; who quitted the captain to serve with me, and whose merits and repeated wounds, received in fighting the enemies of our country, entitle him to every reward a grateful nation can bestow." in the handsomest manner, he thus liberally concludes with praising his vanquished antagonist--"la minerve's opponent being commanded by a gallant officer, was well defended; which has caused her list of killed and wounded to be great, and her masts, sails, and rigging, to be much damaged." lieutenants culverhouse and hardy, with a proper number of men, being put in charge of la sabina, which was taken in tow, at four in the morning, a spanish frigate, known by it's signals, was seen coming up; and, at half past four, engaged with la minerve. commodore nelson now cast off the prize, and directed lieutenant culverhouse to stand to the southward. after a trial of strength for more than half an hour, the spaniard wore, and hauled off; or it would, the commodore was confident, have shared the same fate as it's companion. at this time, three other ships were seen standing for la minerve. the hope was now alive, that they were only frigates, and that la blanche was one of them: but, when the day dawned, it was mortifying to find that they were two spanish ships of the line, and two frigates, while la blanche was far to windward. in this situation, the enemy, by bringing up the breeze frequently within shot, it required all the skill of captain cockburne, which he eminently displayed, to get off with his crippled ship. "here," says commodore nelson, from whose letter to sir john jervis the above facts are chiefly collected, "i must also do justice to lieutenants culverhouse and hardy, and express my tribute of praise for their management of the prize. a frigate repeatedly fired into her without effect; and, at last, the spanish admiral quitted the pursuit of la minerve for that of la sabina, which was steering a different course; evidently, with the intention of attracting the notice of the admiral, as english colours were hoisted over the spanish. the sabina's main and fore masts fell overboard before she surrendered. "this is, sir, an unpleasant tale; but the merits of every officer and man in la minerve and her prize, were eminently conspicuous through the whole of this arduous day. the enemy quitted the pursuit of la minerve at dark." there were ten men wounded in this last attack, but none killed; and the mainmast was much damaged, and the rigging greatly cut. d'arcy preston, esq. captain of la blanche, had brought, on the preceding night, a few minutes after la minerve's first broadside, the smaller spanish frigate to close action. the enemy made but a trifling resistance, and eight or nine broadsides completely silenced them; when they called out for quarter, and their colours were hauled down. "i am sorry to add," says captain preston, in his letter to commodore nelson, written at sea, december 20, "the very near approach of three fresh ships, two of which we discovered nearly within gun-shot before we went into action, rendered my taking possession of her impracticable; when i wore, to join la minerve. finding the ships did not then close with the frigate, which i had left much damaged in her hull, sails, and rigging, i again stood after her: but she had, by this time, got her fore-sail, fore top-sail, and fore top-gallant sail, set; and not only out-sailed the blanche, before the wind, but was joined by another ship standing from the land. "nothing could exceed the steadiness and good conduct of the first-lieutenant, mr. cowen; and the whole of the officers, and ship's company, i have the honour to command. i have great pleasure to inform you, that not one person was hurt, or the rigging the least damaged. "i beg leave to add, how much i am obliged to captain maitland, who is on board, a passenger, to join his ship, for his very great assistance on the quarter-deck during the action." the worthy and gallant commodore was far less chagrined at the loss of these two prizes, than at that of his brave officers and men who were unfortunately on board that of which la minerve had taken possession. he seized, therefore, the first possible opportunity of sending a letter, by a flag of truce, to his excellency don miguel gaston, captain general of the department of carthagena, of which the following authentic copy is now for the first time printed. "his britannic majesty's ship the minerve, at sea, dec. 24, 1796. "sir, "the fortune of war put la sabina into my possession, after she had been most gallantly defended: the fickle dame returned her to you, with some of my officers and men in her. "i have endeavoured to make the captivity of don jacobo stuart, her brave commander, as light as possible; and i trust to the generosity of your nation for it's being reciprocal for the british officers and men. "i consent, sir, that don jacobo may be exchanged, and at full liberty to serve his king, when lieutenants culverhouse and hardy are delivered into the garrison of gibraltar, with such others as may be agreed on by the cartel established between gibraltar and st. roche, for the exchange of prisoners. "i have also a domestic taken in la sabina, his name is israel coulson. your excellency will, i am sure, order him to be immediately restored to me, for which i shall consider myself as obliged to you. "i also trust, that those men now prisoners of war with you will be sent to gibraltar. it becomes great nations to act with generosity to each other, and to soften the horrors of war. "i have the honour to be, with the most perfect esteem, your most obedient servant, "horatio nelson." not satisfied with this single application, he immediately strengthened it by another epistle, which he addressed to the spanish admiral, don juan mareno. in this letter, he also kindly bears testimony to the merits of the unfortunate commander of la sabina. "i cannot," says he, "allow don jacobo to return to you, without expressing my admiration of his gallant conduct. to you, who have seen the state of his ship, it is needless to mention the impossibility of her longer defence. i have lost many brave men: but, in our masts, i was most fortunate; or, probably, i should have had the honour of your acquaintance. but it pleased god to order it otherwise, for which i am thankful. i have endeavoured to make don jacobo's captivity as easy as possible; and i rely on your generosity, for reciprocal treatment towards my brave officers and men, your prisoners." on the 24th of december, la minerve captured, off the south end of sardinia, a french privateer, called the maria, of six nine pounders, and sixty-eight men; which was taken in tow, and carried safely into porto ferrajio: they arrived at that port on the 27th, and found there six of his majesty's ships at anchor. after employing upwards of a month, in refitting ships, and obviating various objections which had been unexpectedly made to the embarkation of the troops and stores from elba, on the 29th of january 1797, the whole being embarked in twelve sail of transports, la minerve, with the romulus, southampton, dido, dolphin, dromedary, and sardine, sailed from porto ferrajio. sir gilbert elliot, the late viceroy of corsica, since lord minto; with the ingenious colonel drinkwater, secretary at war for that island; and the rest of the establishment; took their passage in la minerve, with commodore nelson: who, on his way to gibraltar, looked into the ports of the respective enemies, that he might be enabled to ascertain, and report to the commander in chief, the apparent state of the combined fleet. on the 30th, he parted from the convoy, accompanied by the romulus; and, on the 1st of february, looked into toulon harbour. they took, on the 5th, a small spanish felucca; and, on the 6th, another. on the 9th, looked into the harbour of carthagena; and, on the 10th, safely moored in rosier bay, gibraltar: a few days after the spanish fleet from carthagena had been seen to pass through the straits. the next day, commodore nelson had the pleasure to receive on board lieutenants culverhouse and hardy, with all the seamen belonging to la minerve, who had been liberated, by the spaniards, and returned to gibraltar, in consequence of his judicious applications. anxious to join sir john jervis, that he might partake in the glory of an expected engagement between the two fleets, on saturday, the 11th, at half past two in the afternoon, la minerve weighed, and made sail; when, on proceeding westward to the appointed place of rendezvous, two spanish ships of the line, cut or slipped from algesiras, and gave chase. la minerve, however, making all possible sail, left them fast; and, in the evening, was within four leagues of cape spartel. in the morning of the 12th, at half past three, the report of several guns was heard; which, there seemed little doubt, proceeded from the spanish fleet. the commodore, therefore, bore up to the northward. next morning, the 13th, he saw two strange sail bearing north north-west, after which he made sail; and, at half past three, heard several guns fired in that quarter, which was evidently the situation of the spanish fleet. at half past eight, commodore nelson saw the english fleet; and made the private signal, which was answered by the commander in chief. on joining the fleet, commodore nelson communicated to sir john jervis what he had remarked respecting the situation of the spanish fleet; and which, with other intelligence, induced the commander in chief to send off dispatches to england, expressive of his hopes soon to come up with the enemy; whom it was his determination to engage the first moment possible. commodore nelson having been made acquainted, by sir john jervis, with the particulars of his plan for the intended order of battle, which had several days before been imparted to the other commanders of the respective ships, shifted his broad pendant, at half past six in the morning, from la minerve to his former ship, the captain, of seventy-four guns, ralph willet miller, esq. commander: shortly after which, the signal was thrown out, for every ship to prepare for action. though, on joining the british fleet, the lively frigate, commanded by the right honourable lord viscount garlies, was appointed to proceed with sir gilbert elliot, and the gentlemen accompanying him, to england; there being reason to expect an approaching general engagement with the spanish fleet, the lively, at the joint solicitations of sir gilbert elliot and lord garlies, who were desirous of waiting and observing the issue, was detained with the squadron, and acted as a repeating frigate during the action. this circumstance enabled colonel drinkwater, who was on board the lively, to view that interesting scene with a precision and leisure which could never have occurred to any person actually engaged in the conflict. to the elegant pen of this gentleman, the world is indebted for one of the most accurate and masterly descriptions of a naval engagement which has ever been given; and his correct and elegant pencil has also illustrated his "narrative of the proceedings of the british fleet, commanded by admiral sir john jervis, k.b. on the 14th of february 1797," with engraved plans of the relative positions of the two fleets, at the various most momentous periods of the celebrated battle off cape st. vincent's. from this ingenious pamphlet, now become exceedingly scarce, there will, perhaps, be no impropriety in extracting the chief particulars of this, at that time, unparalleled naval victory: particularly as, from the very extraordinary share which commodore nelson actually had in this glorious engagement, by disingenuously presenting a garbled account relative to him alone, it might seem rather to appear as his battle, than that of sir john jervis, the illustrious commander in chief; who derives, so deservedly, from that splendid victory, his title of earl of st. vincent. the weakness of over-zealous friends is often more prejudicial than the most violent efforts of professed enemies. no man ever less needed, or less desired, to strip a single leaf from the honoured wreath of any other hero, with the vain hope of augmenting his own, than the immortal nelson; no man ever more merited the whole of that which a generous nation unanimously presented to sir john jervis, than the earl of st. vincent. "before i enter," says colonel drinkwater, "on the detail of the proceedings of the important day which will certainly immortalize the name of jervis, and of his brave seconds, it will be proper to state the relative force of the british and spanish fleets. "the british fleet--or, to use, i believe, a more correct term, the british squadron--consisted of fifteen sail of the line, four frigates, a sloop of war, and a cutter; the spanish fleet, of twenty-seven sail of the line, ten frigates, and a brig. "before sun-set, in the evening of the 13th, the signal had been made for the british squadron to prepare for battle, and the ships were also directed to keep in close order during the night. "at day-break, on the 14th--st. valentine's day--the british fleet was in complete order, formed in two divisions, standing on a wind to the south south-west. the morning was hazy. about half past six, the culloden made the signal for five sail in the south-west by south quarter; which was soon after confirmed by the lively and niger frigates, and that the strange sail were by the wind on the starboard tack. the bonne citoyenne sloop of war, captain lindsey, was therefore directed to reconnoitre. "at a quarter past eight o'clock, the squadron was ordered, by-signal, to form in a close order; and, in a few minutes afterwards, the signal was repeated to prepare for battle. "about half past nine o'clock, the culloden, blenheim, and prince george, were ordered to chase in the south by west quarter; which, upon the bonne citoyenne making a signal that she saw eight sail in that quarter, was afterwards strengthened by the irresistible, colossus, and orion. "a little past ten o'clock, the minerve frigate made the signal for twenty sail in the south-west quarter; and, a few minutes after, of eight sail in the south by west. half an hour afterwards, the bonne citoyenne made the signal that she could distinguish sixteen--and, immediately afterwards, twenty-five--of the strange ships, to be of the line. the enemy's fleet were, indeed, now become visible to all the british squadron. "the ships first discovered by the culloden were separated from their main body; which, being to windward, were bearing down in some confusion, with a view of joining their separated ships. it appeared to have been the british admiral's intention, on discovering the separated ships of the enemy's fleet, to have cut them off, if possible, before the main body could arrive to their assistance; and, with this view, the fast-sailing ships of his squadron were ordered to chase. "assured, now, of the near position of their main body, he probably judged it most advisable to form his fleet into the line of battle; and the signal was made for their forming the line of battle ahead and astern, as most convenient. a signal was made, directing the squadron to steer south south-west. "about twenty minutes past eleven o'clock, the admiral pointed out that the victory, his flag-ship, would take her station next to the colossus. some variation in steering was afterwards directed, in order to let the rear ships close up. at twenty-six minutes past eleven o'clock, the admiral communicated his intention to pass through the enemy's line, hoisting his large flag and ensign; and, soon after, the signal was made to engage. "the british van, by this time, had approached the enemy; and the destination of leading the british line into action, fell to the lot of the culloden, commanded by captain troubridge. about half past eleven o'clock, the firing commenced, from the culloden, against the enemy's headmost ships to windward. "as the british squadron advanced, the action became more general; and it was soon apparent, that the british admiral had accomplished his design of passing through the enemy's line. "the animated and regular fire of the british squadron was but feebly returned by the enemy's ships to windward; which, being frustrated in their attempts to join the separated ships, had been obliged to haul their wind on the larboard tack. those to leeward, and which were most effectually cut off from their main body, attempted also to form on their larboard tack; apparently, with a determination of either passing through, or to leeward of, our line, and joining their friends: but the warm reception they met with, from the centre ships of our squadron, soon obliged them to put about; and, excepting one, the whole sought safety in flight, and did not again appear in the action till the close of the day. this single ship, which persevered in passing to leeward of the british line, was so covered with smoke, that her intention was not discovered till she had reached the rear: when she was not permitted to pass without notice, but received the fire of our sternmost ships; and, as she luffed round the rear, the lively, and other frigates, had also the honour of exchanging, with this two-decker, several broadsides. "sir john jervis having effected his first purpose, now directed his whole attention to the enemy's main body to windward; consisting, at this time, of eighteen sail of the line. at eight minutes past twelve, the signal was therefore made for the british fleet to tack in succession; and, soon after, the signal for again passing the enemy's line. "the spanish admiral's plan seemed to be, to join his ships to leeward, by wearing round the rear of our line; and the ships which had passed, and exchanged shot, with our squadron, had actually borne up with this view. "this design, however, was frustrated by the timely opposition of commodore nelson; whose station in the rear of the british line afforded him an opportunity of observing this manoeuvre, and of frustrating the spanish admiral's intention. his ship, the captain, had no sooner passed the rear of the enemy's ships that were to windward, than he ordered her to wear, and stood on the other tack towards the enemy. "in executing this bold, and decisive manoeuvre, the commodore reached the sixth ship from the enemy's rear, which was the spanish admiral's flag, the santissima trinidada, of one hundred and thirty-six guns; a ship of four decks, and said to be the largest in the world. notwithstanding the inequality of force, the commodore instantly engaged this colossal opponent; and, for a considerable time, had to contend not only with her, but with her seconds ahead and astern, of three decks each. while he maintained this unequal combat, which was viewed with admiration, mixed with anxiety, his friends were flying to his support: and the enemy's attention was soon directed to the culloden, captain troubridge; and, in a short time after, to the blenheim, of ninety guns, captain frederick; who, very opportunely, came to his assistance. "the intrepid conduct of the commodore staggered the spanish admiral, who already appeared to waver in pursuing his intention of joining the ships cut off by the british fleet; when the culloden's arrival, and captain troubridge's spirited support of the captain, together with the approach of the blenheim, followed by rear-admiral parker, with the prince george, orion, irresistible, and diadem, not far distant, determined the spanish admiral to change his design altogether, and to make the signal for the ships of his main body to haul their wind, and make sail on the larboard tack. "advantage was now apparent, in favour of the british squadron, and not a moment was lost in improving it. as the ships of rear-admiral parker's division approached the enemy's ships, in support of the captain, and her gallant seconds, the blenheim and culloden, the cannonade became more animated and impressive. the superiority of the british fire over that of the enemy, and it's effects on the enemy's hulls and sails, were so evident, that there was no longer any hesitation in pronouncing a glorious termination of the contest. "the british squadron, at this time, was formed in two divisions, both on the larboard tack: rear-admiral parker, with the blenheim, culloden, prince george, captain, orion, and irresistible, composed one division, which was engaged with the enemy's rear; sir john jervis, with the other division, consisting of the excellent, victory, barfleur, namur, egmont, goliah, and britannia, was pressing forward in support of his advanced squadron, but had not yet approached the real scene of action. "while the british advanced division warmly pressed the enemy's centre and rear, the admiral meditated, with his division, a co-operation which must effectually compel some of them to surrender. "in the confusion of their retreat, several of the enemy's ships had doubled on each other; and, in the rear, they were three or four deep. it was, therefore, the british admiral's design to reach the weathermost of these ships; and, then, to bear up, and rake them all, in succession, with the seven ships composing his division. his object, afterwards, was to pass on to the support of his van division; which, from the length of time they had been engaged, he judged might be in want of it. the casual position, however, of the rear ships of his van division prevented his executing this plan. the admiral, therefore, ordered the excellent, the leading ship of his own division, to bear up; and, with the victory, he himself passed to leeward of the enemy's rearmost and leewardmost ships; which, though almost silenced in their fire, continued obstinately to resist the animated attack of all their opponents. "captain collingwood, in the excellent, in obedience to the admiral's orders, passed between the two rearmost ships of the enemy's line; giving to the one most to windward, a seventy-four, so effectual a broadside, in addition to what had been done before, that her captain was induced to submit. the excellent, afterwards, bore down on the ship to leeward, a three-decker: but, observing the orion engaged with her, and the victory approaching her, he threw into her only a few discharges of musketry, and passed on to the support of the captain, at that time warmly engaged with a three-decker, carrying a flag. his interference here was opportune, as the continual and long fire of the captain had almost expended the ammunition she had at hand, and the loss of her fore-topmast, and other injuries she had received in her rigging, had rendered her nearly ungovernable. "the spanish three-decker had lost her mizen-mast; and, before the excellent arrived in her proper station to open on this ship, the three-decker dropped astern aboard of, and became entangled with, a spanish two-decker, that was her second. thus doubled on each other, the excellent gave the two ships her fire; and then moved forwards to assist the headmost ships in their attack on the spanish admiral, and the other ships of the enemy's centre. "meanwhile, sir john jervis, disappointed in his plan of raking the enemy's rear ships, and having directed, as before observed, the excellent to bear up, ordered the victory to be placed on the lee-quarter of the rearmost ship of the enemy, a three-decker; and having, by signal, ordered the irresistible and diadem to suspend their firing, threw into the three-decker so powerful a discharge, that her commander, seeing the barfleur, carrying vice-admiral the honourable william waldegrave's flag, ready to second the victory, thought proper to strike to the british commander in chief. two of the enemy's ships had now surrendered; and the lively frigate, and diadem, had orders to secure the prizes. the next that fell, were the two with which commodore nelson was engaged. "while captain collingwood so nobly stepped in to his assistance, as already mentioned. captain ralph willet miller, the commodore's captain, was enabled to replenish his lockers with shot, and prepare for a renewal of the fight. no sooner, therefore, had the excellent passed on, than the gallant commodore renewed the battle. "the three-decker with which he was before engaged having fallen aboard her second, that ship, of eighty-four guns, became now the commodore's opponent. to her, therefore, he directed a vigorous fire; nor was it feebly returned, as the loss on board the captain evinced, nearly twenty men being killed and wounded in a very few minutes. it was now that the various damages already sustained by that ship, through the long and arduous conflict which she had maintained, appearing to render a continuance of the contest in the usual way precarious, or perhaps impossible, that commodore nelson, unable to bear the idea of parting with an enemy of whom he had so thoroughly assured himself, instantly resolved on a bold and decisive measure; and determined, whatever might be the event, to attempt his opponent sword in hand. the boarders were accordingly summoned, and orders given to lay his ship, the captain, on board the enemy. "fortune favours the brave! nor, on this occasion, was she unmindful of her favourite. captain miller so judiciously directed the course of the captain, that she was laid aboard the starboard quarter of the spanish eighty-four; her spritsail-yard passing over the enemy's poop, and hooking in her mizen shrouds: and, the word to board being given, the officers and seamen, destined for this duty, headed by lieutenant berry, together with the detachment of the sixty-ninth regiment, commanded by lieutenant pearson, then doing duty as marines on board the captain, passed with rapidity on board the enemy's ship; and, in a short time, the san nicolas was in the possession of her intrepid assailants. the commodore's impatience would not permit him to remain an inactive spectator of this event. he knew, that the attempt was hazardous; and his presence, he thought, might contribute to it's success. he, therefore, accompanied the party in this attack: passing, from the fore-chains of his own ship, into the enemy's quarter gallery; and, thence, through the cabin, to the quarter-deck, where he arrived in time to receive the sword of the dying commander, who was mortally wounded by the boarders. for a few minutes after the officers had submitted, the crew below were firing their lower-deck guns: this irregularity, however, was soon corrected, and measures taken for the security of the conquest. but this labour was no sooner atchieved, than he found himself engaged in another, still more arduous. the stern of the three-decker, his former opponent, was directly amidships on the weather-beam of the san nicolas; and, from her poop and galleries, the enemy sorely annoyed, with musketry, the british who had boarded the san nicolas. the commodore was not long in resolving on the conduct to be adopted on this momentous occasion. the two alternatives that presented themselves to his unshaken mind, were to quit the prize, or instantly board the three-decker. confident of the bravery of his seamen, he determined on the latter. directing, therefore, an additional number of men to be sent from the captain on board the san nicolas, the undaunted commodore headed, himself, the assailants in this new attack; vehemently exclaiming--"westminster abbey! or, glorious victory!" "success, in a few minutes, and with little loss, crowned the enterprise. such, indeed, was the panic occasioned by his preceding conduct, that the british no sooner appeared on the quarter-deck of their new opponent, than the commandant advanced; and, asking for the british commanding officer, dropped on one knee, and presented to him his sword; mentioning, at the same time, as an excuse for the spanish admiral's not appearing, that he was dangerously wounded. for a moment, commodore nelson could scarcely persuade himself of this second instance of good fortune: he, therefore, ordered the spanish commandant, who had the rank of a brigadier, to assemble the officers on the quarter-deck, and direct steps to be instantly taken for communicating to the crew the surrender of the ship. all the officers immediately appeared; and the commodore had the surrender of the san josef duly confirmed, by each of them delivering to him his sword. "william fearney, one of the commodore's bargemen, had attended close by his side throughout this perilous adventure. to him the commodore gave in charge the swords of the spanish officers, as he received them; and the jolly tar, as they were delivered to him, tucked these honourable trophies under his arm, with all the _sang-froid_ imaginable. it was at this moment, also, that a british sailor, who had long fought under the commodore, came up, in the fullness of his heart; and, excusing the liberty he was taking, asked to shake him by the hand, to congratulate him on seeing him safe on the quarter-deck of a spanish three decker. "this new conquest had scarcely submitted, and the commodore returned on board the san nicolas, when the latter ship was discovered to be on fire in two places. at the first moment, appearances were alarming; but presence of mind, and resources, were not wanting to the british officers in this emergency. the firemen were immediately ordered from the captain; and, proper means being taken, the fires were soon got under. "a signal was now made, by the captain, for boats to assist in separating her from her two prizes: and, as the captain was incapable of farther service till refitted, commodore nelson hoisted his broad pendant, for the moment, on board la minerve frigate; and, in the evening, shifted it to the irresistible of seventy-four guns, captain martin. "four of the enemy's ships were now in possession of the british squadron--two of three decks, the salvador del mondo, and the san josef, of a hundred and twelve guns each; one of eighty-four, the san nicolas; and the san ysidro, of seventy-four guns--and the van of the british line still continued to press hard the santissima trinidada, and others, in the rear of the enemy's flying fleet. "the close of the day, before the four prizes were secured, undoubtedly saved the spanish admiral's flag from falling into the hands of the victors. the santissima trinidada, in which he carried it, had been so much the object of attention, that the ship was a perfect wreck when the action ceased. many, indeed, aver that she actually struck both her flag and ensign; hoisting a white flag, as a signal of submission: but, as she continued her course, and afterwards hoisted a spanish jack, others doubt this circumstance. it is, however, an indisputable truth, that her fire had been silent for some time before this event is reported to have occurred. it was a defensive combat, entirely, on their parts, after commodore nelson obliged them to haul their wind on the larboard tack. "the loss of the enemy, in this engagement, must have been very considerable. the fire of the british squadron was, throughout the action, superior, in the proportion of five or six to one; and, if we were to judge from the number of killed and wounded found on board the prizes, their casualties, must greatly exceed the numbers that have been usually computed. almost all their wounded, that had lost limbs, died for want of assistance; and many others, who were wounded in other parts, were found dead in the holds. "the loss of the british squadron, in killed and wounded, amounted to exactly three hundred: moderate, indeed, when compared with that of the enemy, and considering the duration of the action! but the expenditure of ammunition was beyond any recent example. the culloden, it is said, expended one hundred and seventy barrels of powder; the captain, one hundred and forty-six; and the blenheim, one hundred and eighty: other ships expended in similar proportions. it is by no means unworthy of remark, however, that not a single british gun burst. "the captain fired more shot than are usually given to a ship of her rate, at her first equipment in england: and it was observed that, when shot or grape were wanting, on board this ship, for the carronades, the tars substituted, in their place, nine-pounds shot, seven of which were frequently discharged at one time; and this at so short a distance, that every shot of the seven must have had effect. "i could wish to convey, in some adequate manner, the merits of the chief personages in this glorious engagement; but the praise of those who were most conspicuous will, after all, be best collected from this faithful narrative of their actions: to express it, is far above the power of my pen. i confess, the admiration with which i viewed their conduct, would not permit me to be silent; or to suppress the strong feelings excited in my mind, by all the glories of that memorable day--if it were not for a real despair of reaching the extraordinary merits of some, and for a sincere apprehension of doing injustice even to those whom i might name, as well as to those whom i might, from ignorance, omit. certain it is, that while the admiral, and some distinguished actors in this scene, are covered with never-fading laurels--if others of the squadron had not the same important share in the transactions of the day, it was owing to circumstances not dependent on themselves, and to no want of ardour or personal exertion. "if i may be permitted to hazard an opinion, the whole squadron have gained immortal honour; for the victory of the 14th of february stands, in all it's circumstances, first and unparalleled in naval history. "the time mentioned in the narrative is taken from the minutes kept on board the victory. some difference occurs between them and those kept on board other ships; but i have thought proper to follow the former, conceiving them to be the most correct." such is the account of this glorious victory, as described by colonel drinkwater; who not only had the best possible view of the transactions in general, but was favoured with many particulars from some of the most intelligent officers who commanded or served on board the respective ships. the official letter of the commander in chief, as addressed, on this occasion, by sir john jervis, to evan nepean, esq. secretary of the admiralty, and published in the london gazette, it has been frequently observed, was remarkable for not containing a single syllable of individual praise. this circumstance has been differently accounted for, by different persons, as they have been swayed by their prejudices, their partialities, or their imaginations; few, however, appear to have been very solicitous about the truth. indeed, there are no inconsiderable number of writers, and of readers too, who would be rather mortified than pleased to discover any positive verity which might overthrow, or even oppose, their own preconceived notions, however unjust or erroneous. that the omission to mention names was the result of design, and not of accident, in the public letter of the commander in chief, is certainly true; and the earl of st. vincent need never blush at avowing the motive by which he was laudably actuated to avoid mentioning the names of individuals. he had seen an instance of the fatal consequences of such selections, in the then recent example of lord howe; who, with the best intentions, had thus unfortunately excited the most cruel pangs in the bosoms of many brave commanders. he resolved, therefore, with the most humane and benevolent view, to speak only, to the public, in terms of general approbation. having had occasion to say so much respecting this public letter, it's omission might, by the malignant, be construed into a wish to prevent it's being sufficiently investigated. truth, however, is always a gainer by minute enquiry: notwithstanding, therefore, the repetition which this letter necessarily contains of what has been already seen by the reader in colonel drinkwater's narrative, it is here subjoined- "victory, off lagos bay, february 16, 1797. "sir, "the hopes of falling in with the spanish fleet, expressed in my letter to you of the 13th instant, were confirmed, that night, by our distinctly hearing the report of their signal-guns, and by intelligence received from captain foote, of his majesty's ship niger, who had, with equal judgment and perseverance, kept company with them for several days, on my prescribed rendezvous; which, from the strong south-east winds, i had never been able to reach: and, that they were not more than three or four leagues from us. i anxiously waited the dawn of day; when, being on the starboard tack, cape st. vincent bearing east by north seven leagues, i had the satisfaction of seeing a number of ships, extending from south-west to south, the wind then at west by south. at forty minutes past ten, the weather being extremely hazy, la bonne citoyenne made the signal that the ships were of the line, twenty-five in number: his majesty's squadron, consisting of the fifteen ships of the line named in the margin, were happily formed, in the most complete order of sailing, in two lines. by carrying a press of sail, i was fortunate in getting in with the enemy's fleet at half past eleven o'clock, before it had time to connect and form a regular order of battle. such a moment was not to be lost: and, confident in the skill, valour, and discipline, of the officers and men i had the happiness to command, and judging that the honour of his majesty's arms, and the circumstances of the war in these seas, required a considerable degree of enterprize, i felt myself justified in departing from the regular system; and, passing through their fleet, in a line formed with the utmost celerity, tacked, and thereby separated one-third from the main body. after a partial cannonade, which prevented their rejunction till the evening, and by the very great exertions of the ships which had the good fortune to arrive up with the enemy on the larboard tack, the ships named in the margin were captured, and the action ceased about five o'clock in the evening. i inclose the most correct list i have been able to obtain of the spanish fleet opposed to me, amounting to twenty-seven sail of the line; and an account of the killed and wounded in his majesty's ships, as well as in those taken from the enemy. the moment the latter, almost totally dismasted, and his majesty's ships the captain and culloden, are in a state to put to sea, i shall avail myself of the first favourable winds to proceed off cape st. vincent, in my way to lisbon. captain calder, whose able assistance has greatly contributed to the public service during my command, is the bearer of this; and will more particularly describe, to the lords commissioners of the admiralty, the movements of the squadron on the 14th, and the present state of it. i am, &c. "j. jervis." "evan nepean, esq." this is, certainly, a very fair hasty sketch of the business; in which, though the names of particular commanders are not mentioned, for the reasons already stated, they are, perhaps, more than sufficiently hinted, to an eye of any discernment, by those of the ships described as having suffered most severely in the action. nor is this all. sir john jervis, in his private letter, of the same date, addressed to lord spencer, then first lord of the admiralty, as a guide for merited promotion, was by no means backward in naming those commanders who had been enabled most to distinguish themselves. of this important letter, which cannot fail to demonstrate that he did ample justice to individual gallantry and exertion, the author has been kindly honoured with an extract; which is now, for the first time, presented to the public, with the consent of the earl of st. vincent. "the correct conduct of every officer and man in the squadron, on the 14th instant, made it improper to distinguish one more than another, in my public letter; because i am confident that, had those who were least in action been in the situation of the fortunate few, their behaviour would not have been less meritorious: yet, to your lordship, it becomes me to state, that captain troubridge, in the culloden, led the squadron through the enemy in a masterly stile, and tacked the instant the signal flew; and was gallantly supported by the blenheim, prince george, orion, irresistible, and colossus. the latter had her fore and fore-topsail yards wounded, and they unfortunately broke in the slings in stays; which threw her out, and impeded the tacking of the victory. "commodore nelson, who was in the rear on the starboard tack, took the lead on the larboard, and contributed very much to the fortune of the day; as did captain collingwood: and, in the close, the san josef and san nicolas having fallen foul of each other, the captain laid them on board; and captain berry, who served as a volunteer, entered at the head of the boarders, and commodore nelson followed immediately, and took possession of them both. the crippled state of these ships, and the captain, entangled as they were, and that part of the enemy's fleet which had been kept off in the morning--as described in the public letter--joining at the instant, it became necessary to collect the squadron, to resist an attempt to wrest these ships, the salvador del mundo, and san ysidro, from us, which occasioned the discontinuance of the action." it is evident from this letter, and it's consequences, that the merits of commodore nelson were now duly appreciated. the handsome acknowledgment, by the commander in chief, that he had contributed much to the fortune of the day, was a very sufficient hint that he ought to participate in the honours and advantages which it might be expected to produce. sir john jervis, accordingly, became the earl of st. vincent; and commodore nelson, sir horatio nelson, k.b. in the mean time, so enraptured was sir john jervis, with the skill and bravery which he had witnessed in the gallant commodore, that he literally clasped him in his arms, when he came on board the victory, after the action--dirtied and disfigured as he was, with great part of his hat shot away--and pressed to his own valiant bosom one of the most heroic hearts that ever inhabited a human breast. this undoubted fact is given on no less authority than that of thomas bolton, esq. who received it from the honourable lips of his immortal brother-in-law. a week after the action, on his way to lisbon, the commodore wrote a letter to captain locker, dated on board the irresistible, lagos bay, february 21, 1797; in which, observing that he had been too unwell to write by the lively frigate, which carried the news of victory to england, he mentions that, as he knows how anxious his friend would be for his welfare, both in health and reputation, he sends him a short detail of the transactions of the captain: adding that, if he approved of it, he was at perfect liberty to insert it in the newspapers; inserting the name of "commodore," instead of "i." he mentions, that captain miller and berry, &c. authenticated the truth, till he quitted the san josef, to go on board la minerve; and that, farther than this, the detail should not be printed. as he does not write for the press, he modestly intimates, there may be parts which require the pruning-knife, which he desires him to use at discretion, without fear. "i pretend not to say," concludes he, "that these ships might not have fallen, had i not boarded them: but, truly, it was far from impossible that they might have forged into the spanish fleet, as the other two ships did." though the account inclosed in the above letter is in a considerable degree anticipated by the more copious and general narrative of colonel drinkwater, and in some measure by the letters of the commander in chief, the circumstance of it's having been written by the heroic commodore himself will be a better apology for inserting it, than any that could be offered by his biographer for it's omission. _a few remarks relative to the proceedings of his majesty's ship captain, on board of which ship commodore nelson's pendant was flying on the 14th of february 1797._ written by the commodore. "at one p.m. the captain having passed the sternmost of the enemy's ships, which formed their van, and part of their centre, consisting of seventeen sail of the line, they on the starboard, we on the larboard tack, the admiral made the signal to tack in succession; but, perceiving all the spanish ships to bear up before the wind, evidently with an intention of forcing their line, going large, and joining their separated divisions, at that time engaged with some of our centre ships, or flying from us--to prevent either of their schemes from taking place, i ordered the ship to be wore; and, passing between the diadem and excellent, at a quarter past one o'clock, was engaged with the headmost, and of course leewardmost, of the spanish division. the ships, which i knew, were the santissima trinidada of one hundred and thirty-six guns, san josef of one hundred and twelve, salvador del mundo of one hundred and twelve, san nicolas of eighty; there was another first-rate, and a seventy-four, names unknown. "i was immediately joined, and most nobly supported, by the culloden, captain troubridge. the spanish fleet, not wishing, i suppose, to have a decisive battle, hauled to the wind on the larboard tack, which brought the ships abovementioned to be the leewardmost and sternmost ships in their fleet. for near an hour, i believe, but i do not pretend to be correct as to time, did the culloden and captain support this not only apparently, but really, unequal contest; when the blenheim, passing between us and the enemy, gave us a respite, and sickened the dons. at this time, the salvador del mundo, and san ysidro, dropped astern; and were fired into, in a masterly stile, by the excellent, captain collingwood, who compelled the san ysidro to hoist english colours; and, i thought, the large ship, salvador del mundo, had also struck: but captain collingwood, disdaining the parade of taking possession of a vanquished enemy, most gallantly pushed up, with every sail set, to save his old friend and messmate; who was, to appearance, in a critical state. the blenheim being ahead, the culloden crippled and astern, the excellent ranged up within two feet of the san nicolas, giving a most tremendous fire. the san nicolas luffing up, the san josef fell on board her; and the excellent, passing on for the santissima trinidada, the captain resumed her station abreast of them, and close alongside. at this time, the captain having lost her fore-top-mast, not a sail, shroud, nor rope left, her wheel away, and incapable of farther service in the line or in chace, i directed captain miller to put the helm a-starboard; and, calling for the boarders, ordered them to board. the soldiers of the sixty-ninth, with an alacrity which will ever do them credit, and lieutenant pearson of the same regiment, were almost the foremost on this service. the first man who jumped into the enemy's mizen chains was captain berry, late my first-lieutenant--captain miller was in the act of going, also, but i directed him to remain--he was supported by our spritsail yard, which hooked in the mizen rigging. a soldier of the sixty-ninth regiment having broken the upper quarter-gallery window, i jumped in, myself, and was followed by others as fast as possible. i found the cabin doors fastened, and some spanish officers fired their pistols: but, having broke open the doors, the soldiers fired; and the spanish brigadier--commodore, with a distinguishing pendant--instantly fell, as retreating to the quarter-deck; where immediately onwards, for the quarter-deck; where i found captain berry in possession of the poop, and the spanish ensign hauling down. i passed with my people, and lieutenant pearson, on the larboard gangway, to the forecastle; where i met two or three spanish officers, prisoners to my seamen. they delivered me their swords. a fire of pistols or muskets, opening from the admiral's stern-gallery of the san josef, i directed the soldiers to fire into her stern; and, calling to captain miller, ordered him to send more men into the san nicolas, and directed my people to board the first-rate, which was done in an instant, captain berry assisting me into the main-chains. at this moment, a spanish officer looked over the quarter-deck rail, and said they surrendered. from this most welcome intelligence, it was not long before i was on the quarter-deck; where the spanish captain, with a bow, presented me his sword, and said the admiral was dying of his wounds. i asked him, on his honour, if the ship surrendered. he declared, she was. on which, i gave him my hand; and desired him to call in his officers, and ship's company, and tell them of it: and, on the quarter-deck of a spanish first-rate, extravagant as the story may seem, did i receive the swords of vanquished spaniards; which, as i received, i gave to william fearney, one of my bargemen; who put them, with the greatest _sang-froid_, under his arm. i was surrounded by captain berry, lieutenant pearson of the sixty-ninth regiment, john sykes, john thompson, francis cooke--all old agamemnons--and several other brave men, seamen and soldiers. thus fell these ships. "n.b. in boarding the san nicolas, i believe, we had about seven killed, and ten wounded; and about twenty spaniards lost their lives by a foolish resistance. none were lost, i believe, in boarding the san josef. "rear-admiral don francisco winthuysen died of his wounds on board the san josef, and commodore gerraldelino on board the san nicolas, soon after the action ceased. "don enrique m'donal was killed on board the san nicolas, when boarded by the captain." the second day after writing the letter which inclosed the above admirable account of the proceedings of the captain, on the memorable 14th of february, the fleet sailed from lagos bay, and proceeded to lisbon, which they reached on the 27th instant. the rejoicings of the portuguese at this glorious victory over the spaniards were little less ardent than if it had been their own; and their reception of the british heroes, at lisbon, was cordial beyond conception. while the fleet remained at anchor in the tagus, his majesty's ships the orion, minerve, romulus, southampton, andromache, bonne citoyenne, leander, and raven, received orders to put themselves under the command of commodore nelson; and, on the 6th of march, sailed from the tagus, with sealed instructions to the squadron, which were only to be opened in case of separation. the intention of this cruize is fully unveiled in a letter, written to a friend in england, dated on board the irresistible, off lagos bay, march 16, 1797; in which he observes--"i am here, looking out for the viceroy of mexico, with three sail of the line, and hope to meet him. two first-rates, and a seventy-four, are with him; but the larger the ships, the better the mark. "the spanish fleet," he adds, "is in cadiz; the officers hooted, and pelted, by the mobility. their first report was, the action happening in a foggy day; when the fog cleared up, they only saw fifteen sail of the line: therefore, concluded that, at least, five of our's were sunk in the action. my usual good fortune attended me; which, i know, will give you, among my other friends, satisfaction." this letter is extracted from the naval chronicle: the following is from a private letter to the earl of st. vincent, bearing the same date--"our cruize, as yet, has been unfortunate; but, i believe, no vessels have passed, which were not examined. the squadron want nothing, and are remarkably healthy. i shall remain off cape st. vincent's till i receive your farther orders." though the object of this cruize was pursued with uncommon ardour, the viceroy appears to have eluded all the vigilance of the british squadron; which, on the 20th of march, was joined by the captain, when commodore nelson again hoisted his broad pendant on board that ship. on the 2d of april, he joined the commander in chief off cadiz; and, on the 11th of that month, having received orders to blockade this port, wrote to apprize the american and danish consuls of the event. about the middle of this month, having been promoted to be rear-admiral of the blue, he was ordered, by sir john jervis, to bring off the garrison of porto ferrajio; a service which he performed with his usual address: and, as usual, he gives all the praise to his coadjutors. this will abundantly appear in the following letter to sir john jervis, dated on board the captain, off cape pallas, may 1, 1797. "dear sir, "as i shall send away the rose cutter the moment i see the rock, you will know, from her arrival, that we are in a fair way for arriving safe at gibraltar. i spoke a danish frigate, on the 27th of april, from malaga four days. he says, the spanish fleet has most positive orders to come to sea, and fight you. this makes me doubly anxious to join you. i have not interfered with captain freemantle's charge and arrangement of the convoy: it could not be in better hands; therefore, i only overshadow them with my wings. i have the satisfaction to tell you, that all the troops--except the royals, who were always intended to be embarked in the ships of war--are embarked in the transports; with the exception of twenty, and general horneck, who are in two vessels loaded with wine. i offered to take a hundred into each ship of my squadron, but i found there was not the smallest necessity for it. i hope, sir, you will state this point at home; as it would have been a severe reflection on me, not to have left what was necessary for the embarkation of the army. i rejoice in this opportunity of vindicating my conduct; and beg leave again to recommend lieutenant day, agent for transports, to your notice. i placed my reliance on his judgment, not to leave a ship more than was necessary; and, i am not deceived: a more zealous, active officer, as agent for transports, i never met with. general de burgh also speaks of him in the highest terms; and, i hope, the transport board will keep their promise of recommending those officers in their service who eminently distinguish themselves; which, i take upon myself to say, lieutenant day has not only done at bastia, but at porto ferrajio. for his conduct at the former place, you was so good, on my stating his services, to recommend him to the admiralty; i should not do justice to his majesty's service, were i not to urge it again. "i have the pleasure to add, that all the captains under my orders have conducted themselves like zealous, good officers. "i have the honour to be, sir, with the greatest respect, your most obedient servant, "horatio nelson." on the 20th of may, having arrived safely at gibraltar, he received a letter from james simpson, esq. the american consul; mentioning, that twelve sail of vessels belonging to the united states of america, with their cargoes on board, were in the road of malaga, unable to proceed on their respective voyages, because three french privateers were waiting to seize on them the moment they got from under the guns of that port, and there was no doubt that the french consul would adjudge them to be good prizes, as he had recently adjudged several american vessels and cargoes. the consul added, that it was impossible to get protection for them, unless the commodore should be pleased to afford them that of his majesty's fleet till they got close to the barbary coast, where they would consider themselves as safe. he accordingly sent, the very next day, the andromache frigate, captain mansfield, for that purpose. in the mean time, he returned a polite answer to the consul: in which he observed that, by thus freely granting the protection of the british flag to the subjects of the united states, he was sure of fulfilling the wishes of his sovereign; and, he hoped, of strengthening the harmony which at present so happily subsisted between the two nations. on the 27th, he shifted his flag from the captain to the theseus; and was appointed to the command of the inner squadron, at the blockade of cadiz. a curious proof occurs, at this period, of the conciliatory conduct, amiable manners, and more than chivalrous gallantry, of the heroic commodore and his commander in chief. this is contained in a letter addressed to the spanish admiral, don josef de mazerendo, dated on board the theseus, may 30, 1797, as follows- "sir, "i have the honour of sending your excellency a packet from sir john jervis; and i embrace the opportunity of assuring you of my high esteem for your character. the 4th of june being the birth-day of my royal master, sir john jervis intends firing a _feu de joye_, at eight o'clock in the evening; and has desired me to mention it to your excellency, that the ladies at cadiz may not be alarmed at the firing. believe me your excellency's most faithful servant, "horatio nelson." the spanish admiral's answer, addressed to sir horatio nelson, equally deserves to be recorded, as partaking of the same liberal spirit. "on board the conception, off cadiz, 1st june 1797. "my dear sir, "i correspond to the urbanity merited by the letter with which you honoured me the 30th of may last. "the ladies of cadiz, accustomed to the noisy sounds of salutes of the vessels of war, will sit, and will hear what sir john jervis means to regale them with, for the evening of the 4th current, in honour of his britannic majesty's birth-day; and the general wish of the spanish nation cannot but interest itself in so august a motive. "god preserve you, many years. i kiss your hands. "your attentive servant, "josef de mazerendo. "p.s. i beg that you will be pleased to direct the two adjoined letters to the admiral jervis and to sir james saumarez." flags of truce, indeed, were continually passing, at this time, between the british and spanish commanders; and peace, by the latter, at least, was ardently wished for. the naval fãªte, proposed for his majesty's birth-day, had another object, which could not very courteously be hinted to the spanish admiral. on that day, it seems, rear-admiral nelson was invested, by his commander in chief, who personated the king on this occasion, with the insignia of the order of the bath, and the gold medal, which had been transmitted by the sovereign, in consequence of the glorious victory of the 14th of february over the spanish fleet. the mutual civilities between the spanish and british officers, while in expectation of peace, were certainly to the honour of both parties. it seems, however, to have been soon suspected, that advantage was taken of a most humane indulgence. on the 30th of june, a letter was addressed, by rear-admiral sir horatio nelson, to don josef mazerendo, the spanish admiral, from on board the theseus, which evidently intimated apprehensions of such an effect. "sir, "i am directed by my worthy commander in chief to inform your excellency, that numbers of the spanish fishing-boats are found at such a distance from the land as plainly to evince that they have something farther in view than catching fish; and, therefore, that orders are given, that no fishing vessel be in future permitted to go farther from the shore than their usual fishing ground; which, we understand, is in about thirty-five fathoms water. your excellency, i am confident, will receive this communication as an additional mark of attention from my commander in chief to the inhabitants of cadiz and it's environs; and will take measures for the information of the fishermen that their boats will be sunk, if found acting in contradiction to this notification of the british admiral. with every sincere good wish towards your excellency, believe me, your most obedient, "horatio nelson." this seems the prelude of augmented precaution, and a more rigid adherence to the closeness of the blockade. it was usual to send, nightly, a guard of one or two boats, manned and armed, from each ship, into the very mouth of the harbour. these were supported by some gun-boats, purposely fitted for the occasion; and which, in case of attack, depended for their own protection on the interior line of ships under the command of rear-admiral sir horatio nelson. with a view to enforce a strict attention throughout all the inferior branches of the service, the rear-admiral was accustomed to be rowed, in his barge, through these guard-boats, after they had been duly stationed for the night. thus officers and men were kept constantly in a state of alertness; and ready to repel any attack which might be meditated against them from the blockaded port itself. the spaniards, too, had equipped a number of gun-boats and large launches, in which they also rowed guard during the night, to prevent any nearer approach of the blockaders; who might, otherwise, they feared, suddenly annoy their fleet. on these occasions, they sometimes approached each other; and several little skirmishes had occurred, but none of any importance. as the spaniards seemed to be perpetually increasing the number of these gun-boats and armed launches, the british commander in chief thought it necessary to give them a timely check. so that, notwithstanding the occasional civilities of their epistolary correspondence, such are often the necessary deceptions of war, that hostilities were, perhaps, all the time, meditating by both parties. certain it is, that on the night of the 3d of july, only three days after the date of the above letter, rear-admiral sir horatio nelson received orders actually to bombard cadiz, without any polite intimation to the ladies of that city of the real danger which now awaited them. his letter to the commander in chief, on this occasion, will inform the reader how far it was successful. "theseus, july 4, 1797. "sir, "in obedience to your orders, the thunder bomb was placed, by the good management of lieutenant gomley, her present commander, assisted by mr. jackson, master of the ville de paris, who volunteered his able services, within two thousand five hundred yards of the walls of cadiz; and the shells were thrown from her, with much precision, under the direction of lieutenant baynes of the royal artillery. but, unfortunately, it was soon found, that the large mortar was materially injured, from it's former services; i therefore judged it proper to order her to return, under the protection of the goliah, terpsichore, and fox; which were kept under sail for that purpose, and for whose active services i feel much obliged. "the spaniards having sent out a great number of mortar and gun-boats, and armed launches, i directed a vigorous attack to be made on them; which was done with such gallantry, that they were drove and pursued close to the walls of cadiz, and must have suffered considerable loss: and i have the pleasure to inform you, that two mortar-boats, and an armed launch, remain in our possession. "i feel myself particularly indebted, for the successful termination of this contest, to the gallantry of captains freemantle and miller, the former of whom accompanied me in my barge: and to my coxswain, john sykes; who, in defending my person, is severely wounded, as was captain freemantle, slightly, in the attack: and my praises are, generally, due to every officer and man; some of whom i saw behave in the most noble manner, and i regret that it is not in my power to particularize them. "i must also beg to be permitted to express my admiration of don miguel tyrason, the commander of the spanish gun-boats. in his barge, he laid my boat alongside, and his resistance was such as to honour a brave officer; eighteen of the twenty-six being killed, and himself and all the rest wounded. "not having a correct list of our killed and wounded, i can only state that, i believe, about six are killed, and twenty wounded. "i have the honour to be, sir, your most obedient servant, "horatio nelson." the encounter so modestly described in the above letter, was one of the sharpest conflicts in which the heroic writer had ever been engaged. sir horatio fought, hand to hand, with the spanish commandant; and, though the crew of his own barge consisted only of himself, captain freemantle, the coxswain, and ten bargemen, they killed or wounded the whole of the twenty-six men, with the commandant, who were in the spanish armed launch. never, indeed, had the rear-admiral been in a more perilous state. it was always his opinion, that he would probably have lost his life, if his brave and most faithful coxswain, john sykes, whose name deserves to be coexistent with that of nelson, had not wilfully interposed his own head to save him from the blow of a spanish sabre, which this generous man plainly perceived must otherwise prove fatal to his beloved master; and, though the poor fellow thus readily received the diverted stroke, it inflicted on his skull a very dangerous wound, which was for some time thought to be incurable. even before this unexampled proof of attachment, had that worthy and gallant man saved sir horatio, more than once during the conflict, from the dangerous blows of his numerous assailants; several of whom sykes, as well as his master, had mortally wounded. sir john jervis, in his letter to the admiralty, on this occasion, dated the 5th of july 1797, gives the handsomest and the highest possible encomium to rear-admiral nelson. "the rear-admiral," says he, "who is always present in the most arduous enterprises, with the assistance of some other barges, boarded and carried two of the enemy's gun-boats, and a barge-launch belonging to some of their ships of war, with the commandant of the flotilla. rear-admiral nelson's actions speak for themselves; any praise of mine would fall very short of his merit!" a second and more effectual bombardment of the city of cadiz, and the shipping in the harbour, under the direction of rear-admiral sir horatio nelson, took place on the evening of the 5th of july. the bomb vessels, arranged by his instructions, suddenly opened a most tremendous discharge on the town, as well as on the fleet; which was vigorously kept up, till they had expended the whole of their allotted portion of shells: when, having greatly annoyed the enemy, and considerably diminished the force of the warlike preparations which had been collecting, they retired in good order, without themselves receiving the smallest injury. even these hostile attacks, however, do not appear to have extinguished civilities between the contending commanders, though they must certainly have diminished their satisfaction at receiving them. two or three days after, thirty spanish prisoners having been taken in a ship from the havannah, with the captain of a spanish frigate which had been burnt there, and who was a passenger in the captured vessel, rear-admiral nelson wrote a letter to don josef mazerendo, dated on board the theseus, july 8, 1797; in which he says, that he is directed, by sir john jervis, to acquaint his excellency that these thirty men are at liberty to return into cadiz, whenever he may be pleased to send for them, on condition that they do not serve till regularly exchanged. of the spanish captain, taken as a passenger, he generously adds--"i know it to be my commander in chief's intention, that he should not be considered as a prisoner of war. the distresses occasioned by the known laws of war," liberally concludes this exalted man, "are miserable enough, without adding to them!" the prisoners, accordingly, were immediately sent for; but there seems to have been a backwardness in the spanish admiral's performance of the conditions proposed: and, on the 10th, rear-admiral nelson resolutely demanded them again, that they might be immediately sent to england, if they were not received as prisoners of war; which, at length, was reluctantly agreed to. it appears that, about this time, intelligence had been received, by the commander in chief, of a prodigiously rich ship, el principe d'asturias, belonging to the philippine company, and bound from manilla to cadiz, being then in the port of santa cruz, the capital of the island of teneriffe; where the treasure was intended to be landed for security, as had previously been the case with several other rich cargoes. with a view of obtaining possession of these valuable treasures, an expedition against that place was determined on, under the conduct of rear-admiral sir horatio nelson. he was accordingly detached, by sir john jervis, on the 15th of july, with three ships of the line, the theseus, culloden, and zealous; the terpsichore, emerald, and seahorse, frigates; and the fox cutter. these were afterwards joined by the leander of fifty guns. the general orders which sir horatio nelson received were, to make a vigorous and spirited attack; but, on no account, personally to land with the forces, which were to be under the command of captain troubridge, unless his presence should be absolutely necessary. these particular injunctions were generally thought to have been most humanely given, by the commander in chief, for the sake of preserving the valuable life of the rear-admiral; which might, otherwise, from his known disregard of danger, be too much exposed: and some also ascribed them to the wish of giving captain troubridge a considerable share in the glory of that intended brilliant enterprise. the plan of this expedition was contrived with all that masterly address and precision which ever marked the operations projected by the judicious and gallant rear-admiral; and, as the author is favoured with the opportunity of giving them in detail, the principles which they comprise may be adopted, perhaps, with deserved success, by other commanders, on many future occasions. the first order issued by rear-admiral nelson was addressed to thomas troubridge, esq. captain of his majesty's ship culloden, and commander of the forces ordered to be landed for taking santa cruz. "theseus, at sea, july 20, 1797. "sir, "i desire you will take under your command the number of seamen and marines named in the margin, who will be under the command of captains hood, freemantle, bowen, miller, and waller, and the marines under the command of captain thomas oldfield, and a detachment of the royal artillery under the command of lieutenant baynes; all of whom are now embarked on board his majesty's frigates seahorse, terpsichore, and emerald. with this detachment, you will proceed as near to the town of santa cruz as possible, without endangering your being perceived; when you will embark as many men as the boats will carry, and force your landing in the north-east part of the bay of santa cruz, near a large battery; which, when carried, and your post secured, you will either proceed by storm against the town and mole-head battery, or send in my letter, as you judge most proper, containing a summons, of which i send you a copy, and the terms are either to be accepted or rejected in the time specified, unless you see good cause for prolonging it, as no alteration will be made in them: and you will pursue such other methods as you judge most proper for speedily effecting my orders; which are, to possess myself of all cargoes and treasures which may be landed in the island of teneriffe. having the firmest confidence in the ability, bravery, and zeal, of yourself, and all placed under your command, i have only to heartily wish you success; and to assure you, that i am your most obedient and faithful servant, "horatio nelson." the number of seamen and marines mentioned in the margin of the above letter were--theseus, culloden, and zealous, two hundred each; seahorse, terpsichore, and emerald, one hundred each: making, in all, nine hundred, exclusive of officers and their servants. the summons alluded to, addressed to the governor or commanding officer of santa cruz, was as follows. "_by sir horatio nelson, knight of the most honourable order of the bath, rear-admiral of the blue, and commander in chief of his britannic majesty's forces by sea and land, before santa cruz._ "theseus, 20th july 1797. "sir, "i have the honour to acquaint you, that i am come here to demand the immediate surrender of the ship el principe d'asturias, from manilla, bound to cadiz, belonging to the phillipine company, together with her whole and entire cargo; and, also, all such other cargoes and property as may have been landed in the island of teneriffe, and not intended for the consumption of it's inhabitants. "and, as it is my earnest wish, that not one individual inhabitant of the island of teneriffe should suffer by my demand being instantly complied with, i offer the following most honourable and liberal terms; which, if refused, the horrors of war, which will fall on the inhabitants of teneriffe, must be, by the world, imputed to you, and to you only: for i shall destroy santa cruz, and the other towns in the island, by a bombardment, and levy a very heavy contribution on the island. "article i. "the forts shall be delivered to me; and, instantly, a party of the british troops shall be put in possession of the gates. "article ii. "the garrison shall lay down their arms, but the officers shall be allowed to keep their swords; and the garrison, without the condition of being prisoners of war, shall be transported to spain, or remain in the island while their conduct is orderly and proper, as the commanding officer pleases. "article iii. "on the express condition, that the full and entire cargoes of the el principe d'asturias, and all such other cargoes and property as may have been landed on the island of teneriffe, and not intended for the consumption of it's inhabitants, be given up, and the first article complied with, not the smallest contribution shall be levied on the inhabitants, but they shall enjoy the fullest protection in their persons and property. "article iv. "no interference whatever shall be made in the holy catholic religion; the ministers of it, and all it's religious orders, shall be considered as under my especial care and protection. "article v. "the laws and magistrates shall be continued as at present, unless by the general wish of the islanders. "these terms subscribed to, the inhabitants of the town of santa cruz shall lodge their arms in one house, under the joint care of the bishop and chief magistrate; and it will be my pride to consult with these gentlemen what may be most advantageous for the inhabitants. "horatio nelson." "i allow half of one hour for acceptance or rejection. "horatio nelson." these articles being transmitted to captain troubridge, special orders were sent, the same day, to captain thomas oldfield, senior captain of the marines ordered to disembark; and to lieutenant baynes, of the royal artillery; directing them to attend, respectively, to all the desires of captain thomas troubridge, who was to command all the forces landed for taking the town of santa cruz. to the latter officer, a copy of the third article of the following regulations was, at the same time, particularly addressed. _"regulations recommended by rear-admiral sir horatio nelson_. "1. "that each ship's boats should be kept together, by towing each other, which will keep the people of each ship collected; and the boats will be in six divisions, and nearly get on shore at the same moment. "2. "the marines of each ship of the line to be put in their launches--which will carry them. "3. "the moment the boats are discovered, by a firing being made on them, the bomb vessel to commence her fire on the town, and to keep it up till the flag of truce is hoisted from either the enemy or from us. "4. "that a captain should be directed to see the boats put off from the beach, that more men may be speedily got on shore with the field pieces. "5. "frigates to anchor as soon as possible after the alarm is given, or the forces ashore near the battery in the north-east part of the bay. "6. "immediately as the forces get ashore, they are to get in the rear of the battery marked s, in the north-east part of the bay, and to instantly storm it; and, also, to take post on the top of the hill which is above it. "every ship to land the number of men as against their names expressed, with a proper proportion of officers, exclusive of commissioned officers and servants--[as stated in the letter to captain troubridge]--and the captains are at liberty to send as many more men as they please; leaving sufficient to manage the ship, and to man the launch and another boat. every captain, that chuses, is at liberty to land and command his seamen, under the command of captain troubridge. "it is recommended to put as many marine coats or jackets on the seamen as can be procured; and, that all should have canvas crop belts. "the marines to be all under the direction of captain oldfield, the senior marine officer: and he is directed to put himself under the direction of captain troubridge; as is lieutenant baynes of the royal artillery, with his detachment." to these general regulations were added the following particular instructions- "theseus, july 21, 1797. "the culloden's officers and men, with only their arms, to be ready to go on board the terpsichore, at one p.m. this day. to carry with them four ladders--each of which to have a lanyard four fathoms long--a sledge hammer, wedges, and a broad axe. "the boats oars to be muffled with either a piece of canvas or kersey. "horatio nelson. "memorandum--the culloden and zealous to each make a platform for one eighteen pounder, the theseus to make a sley for dragging cannon. "each ship to make as many iron ramrods as possible; it being found that the wooden ones are very liable to break, when used in a hurry. "the seahorse to make a platform for one nine pounder." the whole plan of proceedings being thus judiciously arranged, the attempt was commenced with every hope of success: but it turned out, that a very erroneous representation had been given of the forces of the enemy, which appear to have been far too numerous for so small a body of men successfully to encounter; and, indeed, there were other unexpected difficulties and disappointments. the following letter, from captain troubridge to sir horatio nelson, will account, in a considerable degree, for the miscarriage of the enterprise. "culloden, 25th july 1797. "sir, "from the darkness of the night, i did not immediately hit the mole, the spot appointed to land at; but pushed on shore under the enemy's batteries, close to the southward of the citadel. captain waller landed at the same instant, and two or three other boats. the surf was so high, many put back. the boats were full of water in an instant, and stove against the rocks; and most of the ammunition in the men's pouches was wet. "as soon as i collected a few men, i immediately pushed, with captain waller, for the square, the place of rendezvous, in hopes of there meeting you and the remainder of the people, and waited about an hour; during which time, i sent a serjeant, with two gentlemen of the town, to summons the citadel. i fear, the serjeant was shot on his way, as i heard nothing of him afterwards. "the ladders being all lost in the surf, or not to be found, no immediate attempt could be made on the citadel. i, therefore, marched to join captains hood and miller; who, i had intelligence, had made good their landing to the south-west of the place i did, with a body of men. i endeavoured, then, to procure some intelligence of you, and the rest of the officers, without success. "by day-break, we had collected about eighty marines, eighty pikemen, and one hundred and eighty small-arm seamen. these, i found, were all that were alive, that had made good their landing. with this force, having procured some ammunition from the spanish prisoners we had made, we were marching to try what could be done with the citadel without ladders: but found the whole of the streets commanded by field-pieces; and upwards of eight thousand spaniards, and one hundred french, under arms, approaching by every avenue. as the boats were all stove, and i saw no possibility of getting more men on shore, the ammunition wet, and no provisions, i sent captain hood with a flag of truce to the governor, to say i was prepared to burn the town; which i should immediately put in force, if he approached one inch farther: and, at the same time, i desired captain hood to say, it would be done with regret, as i had no wish to injure the inhabitants; and that, if he would come to my terms, i was ready to treat. these he readily agreed to: a copy of which i have the honour to send you by captain waller; which, i hope, will meet your approbation, and appear highly honourable. "from the small body of men, and the greater part being pike and small-arm seamen, which can be only called irregular, with very little ammunition in the pouches but what was wet in the surf at landing, i could not expect to succeed in any attempt on the enemy, whose superior strength i have before mentioned. "the spanish officers assure me, they expected us, and were perfectly prepared with all the batteries, and the number of men i have before mentioned under arms; which, with the great disadvantages of a rocky coast, high surf, and in the face of forty pieces of cannon, though we were not successful, will shew what an englishman is equal to. i have the pleasure to acquaint you, that we marched through the town, on our return, with the british colours flying at our head. "i have the honour to be, with great respect, sir, your most obedient humble servant, "thomas troubridge. "p.s. i beg to say that, when the terms were signed and ratified, the governor, in the handsomest manner, sent a large proportion of wine, bread, &c. to refresh the people, and shewed every mark of attention in his power." when the treaty just mentioned was first proposed to the spanish governor, he told captain hood that they ought to surrender as prisoners of war: to which he replied, that captain troubridge had directed him to say that, if the terms offered were not accepted in five minutes, he would set the town on fire, and attack the spaniards at the point of the bayonet; on which, the governor instantly closed, by signing the following treaty- "santa cruz, 25th july 1797. "that the troops, &c. belonging to his britannic majesty, shall embark, with all their arms of every kind; and take their boats off, if saved, and be provided with such other as may be wanting. in consideration of which, it is engaged, on their part, that they shall not molest the town, in any manner, by the ships of the british squadron now before it, or any of the islands in the canaries, and prisoners shall be given up on both sides. "given under my hand, and word of honour, "samuel hood. "ratified by- "thomas troubridge, commander of the british troops. "juan antonio gutierrez, commandant general de las islas canarias." the next public document relative to this unfortunate expedition, it was the melancholy lot of the rear-admiral to pen with the left hand, his right arm having been shot off on the evening of the 24th, for the information of the commander in chief, to whom it was immediately transmitted. "theseus, off santa cruz, 27th july 1797. "sir, "in obedience to your orders to make a vigorous attack on the town of santa cruz, in the island of teneriffe, i directed, from the ships under my command, a thousand men, including marines, to be prepared for landing, under the direction of captain troubridge of his majesty's ship culloden; and captains hood, thompson, freemantle, bowen, miller, and waller, who very handsomely volunteered their services: and, although i am under the painful necessity of acquainting you, that we have not been able to succeed in our attack, yet it is my duty to state that, i believe, more daring intrepidity never was shewn, than by the captains, officers, and men, you did me the honour to place under my command; and the journal which i transmit you herewith will, i hope, convince you, that my abilities, humble as they are, have been exerted on the occasion. "inclosed, i also transmit you a list of killed and wounded; and, among the former, it is with the deepest sorrow i have to place the name of captain richard bowen, of his majesty's ship terpsichore--than whom, a more enterprising, able, and gallant officer, does not grace his majesty's naval service: and, with great regret, i have to mention the loss of lieutenant john gibson, commander of the fox cutter; and a great number of gallant officers and men. "i have the honour to be, sir, with the greatest respect, your most faithful and obedient servant, "horatio nelson." the journal mentioned in this letter, as written by the rear-admiral, with his left hand, and transmitted to sir john jervis, was as follows. it is remarkable, that neither the letter, nor this journal, make the smallest mention of his having lost his arm on the occasion; which information merely occurs in the list of the killed and wounded. this singular mode of omitting to particularise himself, forms a curious trait in the character of the immortal hero. _a detail of the proceedings of the expedition against the town of santa cruz, in the island of teneriffe._ by rear-admiral nelson. "on friday the 21st inst. i directed to be embarked, on board the seahorse, terpsichore, and emerald frigates, one thousand men--including two hundred and fifty men under the command of captain thomas oldfield--the whole commanded by captain troubridge; attended by all the boats of the squadron, scaling ladders, and every implement which i thought necessary for the success of the enterprise. i directed that the boats should land, in the night, between the fort on the north-east side of the bay of santa cruz and the town, and endeavour to make themselves masters of that fort; which, when done, to send in my summons: the liberal terms of which, i am confident, you will approve. though the frigates approached within three miles of the place of debarkation, by twelve o'clock; yet, from the unforeseen circumstance of a strong gale of wind in the offing, and a strong current against them in shore, they did not approach within a mile of the landing-place when the day dawned, which discovered to the spaniards our force and intentions. "on my approach with the line of battle ships, captains troubridge and bowen, with captain oldfield of the marines, came on board, to consult with me what was best to be done; and were of opinion, if they could possess the heights, over the fort before mentioned, that it could be stormed. to which, i gave my assent; and directed the line of battle ships to batter the fort, in order to create a diversion. but, this was found impracticable; not being able to get nearer the shore than three miles, from a calm, and contrary currents: nor could our men possess themselves of the heights, as the enemy had taken possession of them, and seemed as anxious to retain as we to get them. thus foiled in my original plan, i considered it for the honour of our king and country, not to give over the attempt to possess ourselves of the town; that our enemies might be convinced there is nothing that englishmen are not equal to: and, confident in the bravery of those who would be employed in the service, i embarked every person from the shore on the 22nd at night. "on the 24th, i got the ships to an anchor, about two miles to the northward of the town, and made every shew for a disposition of attacking the heights; which appeared to answer the end, from the great number of people they had placed on them. the leander, captain thompson, joined this afternoon, and her marines were added to the force before appointed; and captain thompson also volunteered his services. at-eleven o'clock at night, the boats of the squadron, containing between six and seven hundred men, a hundred and eighty men on board the fox cutter, and about seventy or eighty men in a boat we had taken the day before, proceeded towards the town; the divisions of boats conducted by all the captains, except freemantle and bowen, who attended with me to regulate and lead the way to the attack: every captain being acquainted, that the landing was to be made on the mole; from whence they were to proceed, as fast as possible, into the great square; where they were to form, and proceed on such services as might be found necessary. we were not discovered, till within half gun-shot of the landing-place: when i directed the boats to cast off from each other, give a huzza, and push for the shore. "a fire of thirty or forty pieces of cannon, with musketry from one end of the town to the other, opened on us; but nothing could stop the intrepidity of the captains landing the divisions. unfortunately, the greater part of the boats did not see the mole; but went on shore, through a raging surf, which stove all the boats to the left of it. "for a detail of their proceedings, i send you a copy of captain troubridge's account to me; and i cannot but express my admiration of the firmness with which he and his brave associates supported the honour of the british flag. "captains freemantle and bowen, and myself, with four or five boats, stormed the mole; though opposed, apparently, by four or five hundred men; took possession of it; and spiked the guns: but such a heavy fire of musketry, and grape-shot, was kept up from the citadel, and the houses at the head of the mole, that we could not advance; and we were all, nearly, killed or wounded. "the fox cutter, in rowing towards the town, received a shot under water, from one of the enemy's distant batteries, and immediately sunk; and lieutenant gibson, her commander, with ninety-seven men, were drowned. "i must not omit to acquaint you of the satisfaction which i received from the conduct of lieutenant baynes of the royal artillery; not only from the ardour with which he undertook every service, but also from his professional skill." _list of killed, wounded, drowned, and missing, of his majesty's ships undermentioned, in storming santa cruz, in the island of teneriffe, in the night of the 24th of july 1797._ theseus, eight seamen, four marines, killed; twenty-five seamen wounded; and thirty-four drowned. culloden, one seaman, two marines, killed; twelve seamen, six marines wounded; and thirty-six drowned. zealous, three seamen, two marines, killed; and nineteen seamen, two marines, wounded. leander, one seaman, five marines, killed; one seaman, four marines, wounded; and one missing. seahorse, two seamen killed; and thirteen seamen, one marine, wounded. terpsichore, eight seamen killed; nine seamen, two marines, wounded; and four missing. emerald, five seamen, three marines, killed; eleven seamen wounded; and ten drowned. fox cutter, seventeen drowned. total killed, wounded, and missing, two hundred and fifty-one. officers killed. richard bowen, captain of the terpsichore. george thorpe, first-lieutenant of ditto. john wetherhead, lieutenant of the theseus. william earnshaw, second lieutenant of the leander. raby robinson, lieutenant of marines, ditto. lieutenant baisham, marines, of the emerald. lieutenant gibson, of the fox cutter, drowned. officers wounded. rear-admiral nelson, right arm shot off. captain thompson, leander, slightly. captain freemantle, seahorse, in the arm. lieutenant j. douglas, ditto, in the hand. mr. waits, midshipman, zealous. in a small spanish pamphlet, published at madrid, with a translation of which the author has been most obligingly furnished by sir john talbot dillon, though the account of our loss is so prodigiously exaggerated, as to state the killed to be twenty-two british officers and at least five hundred and sixty-six men, and adding that some accounts even make it eight hundred, there are certainly several interesting particulars which bear every mark of authenticity. the acknowledged loss of the spaniards, however, said to be only twenty-three killed, and thirty-eight wounded, may be considered as not a little apocryphal. indeed, no reliance can be placed on their numerical exactness; for the fox cutter is asserted, by them, to have contained three hundred and eighty men, instead of one hundred and eighty; and rear-admiral nelson is said to have lost his right arm, when in his boat, and before landing, which obliged him to re-embark on board the theseus, with the other officers who accompanied him badly wounded, on the 23d, instead of on the 24th. this pamphlet informs us, that captain bowen, of the terpsichore, who was killed, had first proposed the attack of santa cruz to admiral sir john jervis; which he represented as very easy, having previously cut out of that bay the spanish frigate, prince ferdinand, from the philippine islands. his chief pilot was a chinese, taken out of his former prize, who was also killed on the present occasion. lieutenant robinson, of the marines, badly wounded, was properly attended in the spanish hospital. a copy of captain thompson's orders had been found on him, by don bernardo collagon; a brave and most gallant spanish youth, who had, sword in hand, defended his country with great spirit, and was so generous and humane to the unfortunate wounded enemy, that he is said to have actually stripped himself of his shirt to make bandages for the wounds of the english. great humanity, indeed, was shewn to all the wounded; who were carefully re-embarked, many of them in a dying state, immediately after the capitulation was signed. the spanish governor generously regaled all the english troops with bread and wine, before they went into their boats, and invited the principal officers to dine with him that day. this, however, they politely declined; fearing some irregularity among their soldiers, from the effects of the wine: but agreed to wait on the governor next day. they accordingly did so: when, instructed by rear-admiral nelson, they offered, in his name, to take charge of the governor's dispatches for the spanish court; and he thus actually became the first messenger of his own defeat. in the mean time, he returned thanks to the spanish governor, for his great care of the sick and wounded, by writing him the following letter; dated on board his majesty's ship theseus, opposite santa cruz de teneriffe, july 26, 1797. "sir, i cannot take my departure from this island, without returning your excellency my sincerest thanks for your attention towards me, by your humanity in favour of our wounded men in your power, or under your care, and for your generosity towards all our people who were disembarked, which i shall not fail to represent to my sovereign; hoping, also, at a proper time, to assure your excellency, in person, how truly i am, sir, your most obedient humble servant, "horatio nelson. p.s. i request your excellency will do me the honour to admit of a cask of english beer, and a cheese." "his excellency, don antonio gutierrez, commandant general of the canary islands." to this friendly epistle, the spanish governor immediately returned the following liberal answer- "santa cruz de teneriffe, 26th july 1797. "sir, with the highest pleasure, i received your esteemed favour, proceeding from your generous and well-disposed mind; since, on my part, i conceive, no laurel is due to him who only fulfils what humanity dictates: and i have done no more, in behalf of the wounded men, as well as others who disembarked; and whom, after all warfare has ceased, i ought to consider as brothers. "if, in the state to which the uncertain fate of war has led you, it were in my power, or could any thing that this island produces afford the least comfort or aid to you, it would yield me the truest satisfaction: and, i hope, you will admit of a couple of large flasks of canary wine; which, i believe, is none of the worst that this island produces. "a personal intercourse will give me great pleasure, when circumstances permit it, with a person so deserving, and of such distinguished qualifications as you so feelingly indicate. meantime, i pray god to preserve you in his holy keeping; and am, sir, your most obedient servant, "don antonio gutierrez. "p.s. i have received, and highly esteem, the cask of beer, and cheese, which you have done me the favour to send me." "rear-admiral nelson." on the 27th of july, there was a solemn te deum sung by the spaniards, in the parochial church of santa cruz: that day being the festival of st. christopher, the tutelary patron of the island; on which an annual thanksgiving is celebrated, as being the identical day when that island was first conquered, three hundred and one years prior to this period. such are the chief particulars of the spanish account, as supplied by sir john talbot dillon's most respectable translation; and which places in a very amiable point of view the characters of the respective commanders. on comparing the various accounts of this unfortunate expedition, there are certainly some incongruities. in the numerous biographical memoirs of lord nelson, either abridged or amplified from that in the naval chronicle, it is stated that the rear-admiral "received his wound soon after the detachment had landed." in these, too, it is added that, "while they were pressing on with the usual ardour of british seamen, the shock caused him to fall to the ground; where, for some minutes, he was left to himself, till lieutenant nesbit, missing him, had the presence of mind to return: when, after some search in the dark, he at length found his brave father-in-law weltering in his blood on the ground, with his arm shattered, and himself apparently lifeless. lieutenant nesbit, having immediately applied his neck-handkerchief as a tourniquet to the rear-admiral's arm, carried him on his back to the beach; where, with the assistance of some sailors, he conveyed him into one of the boats, and put off to the theseus, under a tremendous, though happily ill-directed, fire from the enemy's batteries. the day after the rear-admiral lost his arm," concludes the naval chronicle account, "he wrote to lady nelson; and, in narrating the foregoing transaction, says--"i know it will add much to your pleasure, on finding that your son josiah, under god's providence, was instrumental in saving my life." on the other hand, it seems remarkable that the spanish relation of this catastrophe positively pronounces him "to have lost his right arm when in his boat, and before landing." this, too, corresponds with the following short description of that unhappy business; which, without any essential alteration as to facts in it's transit, most assuredly proceeded from the ever to be revered hero's own faithful lips. the circumstance of so few boats hitting the mole with the rear-admiral, who had appointed it as the general place of landing, after having been baffled in his first design, proved fatal to the enterprise. by landing in the surf, they lost their scaling implements; and captain troubridge was not prepared instantly to storm the citadel, before the approach of the spanish troops, which could only have been carried by a sudden _coup de main_. rear-admiral nelson had only one foot out of the boat, and was in the act of landing on the mole, under a most tremendous fire from the batteries, when his arm was shot nearly off; and he fell back in the boat. at that awful moment, he recollected the injunction of his deceased uncle, on receiving the sword which he had thus been compelled to drop; and, groping at the bottom, speedily recovered it, and firmly grasped it in his remaining hand. he called to his brave companions in arms, who had already landed to storm the mole, and directed them to force the gate of the citadel; a task which, with all their exertion, they found it impossible to accomplish, though they succeeded in spiking several of the guns. at this juncture, lieutenant nesbit very humanely took the handkerchief from his neck, and tied it round the shattered arm of his father-in-law, a little above where it had been shot. the boat, in the mean time, was hastening to return on board the theseus, amidst a most dreadful discharge from the batteries. it soon approached where the fox cutter had just been sunk by a shot under water; and the unhappy men with which it had been charged, consisting of one hundred and eighty persons, were in the act of struggling for their lives. this was a scene of distress too dreadful to be passed, by their humane commander, without at least endeavouring to lessen the extent of the calamity. as many as possible of these poor fellows were instantly taken into the boat; an office of humanity in which the rear-admiral himself eagerly assisted, with his sole arm, smarting as he then was under the agony occasioned by the recent separation of the other. the corporeal anguish which he now felt, however, was mitigated by the solace he received in thus rescuing a few of his brave fellows from impending destruction; but, alas! the mental horror which he suffered, at beholding some of the noblest of the human race compelled to be forcibly rejected, and abandoned to their wretched fate, through dread of sinking his own overcharged boat, admitted of no alleviation, and inflicted pangs on his heroic heart, to describe which the powers of language are incapable of yielding any adequate expression. every possible exertion was used to reach the theseus, with a faint hope of the boat's returning in time to save a few more of these unhappy victims; and, a chair being called for, to accommodate the rear-admiral in getting on board, so impatient was he for the boat's return, that he desired to have only a single rope thrown over the side, which he instantly twisted round his left arm, and was thus hauled up into the ship. it appears, on referring to the account of the drowned, in the list of killed and wounded, &c. that eighty-three only were saved; so that ninety-seven men, including officers, from the different ships, thus miserably perished! the rear-admiral, on getting aboard the theseus, immediately suffered the amputation of his arm; but, some mistake having occurred, in taking up one of the arteries, which is described as having been united with a nerve, by an ingenious french surgeon, he long felt the most excruciating tortures. the earl of st. vincent, in his dispatches to government relative to this expedition, dated on board the ville de paris, off cadiz, august 16, 1797, observes that, though the enterprise had not succeeded, his majesty's arms had acquired a very great degree of lustre. "nothing," says his lordship, "from my pen, can add to the eulogy the rear-admiral gives of the gallantry of the officers and men employed under him. i have greatly to lament," continues the noble earl, "the heavy loss which the country has sustained in the severe wound of rear-admiral nelson, and the death of captain richard bowen, lieutenant gibson, and the other brave officers and men who fell in this vigorous and persevering assault. the moment the rear-admiral joins, it is my intention to send the seahorse to england with him, the wound captain freemantle has received in his arm also requiring change of climate; and i hope, that both of them will live to render important services to their king and country." accordingly, after receiving the kindest condolences from the earl of st. vincent, and sending into cadiz the dispatches of the worthy governor of santa cruz, he immediately sailed for england. this affair of teneriffe, however unfortunate, being the first expedition against a place, the whole of which was undertaken and planned by himself, has been thought worthy of very particular attention. that the plan was not defective in wisdom, the reader has had an opportunity of sufficiently judging, by a perusal of the various preliminary documents actually issued on the occasion. the undertaking could only be expected to prove with certainty successful, by a secret and rapid _coup de main_, which should suddenly have obtained possession, in the first place, of the fort on the north-east side of the bay; and, in the second, of the heights by which it was commanded. the primary of these objects was wholly frustrated by the non-arrival of the boats at the place of destination under cover of the night; for, at the dawning of day, the spaniards having discovered both the forces and their intention, were induced to lose as little time as possible in previously occupying the heights above the fort. thus, by the delay of the boats, in the first instance, and by waiting, in the second, to consult with the rear-admiral, instead of at once pushing forward to secure this essential post, the business was completely reduced to a merely forlorn hope; and had better, from that moment, have been entirely abandoned. the exalted mind of the rear-admiral, however, though it felt, there is good reason to believe, the full force of this opinion, being conscious of having received instructions, from his commander in chief, to make a vigorous and spirited attack, and convinced that such attack had not been yet made, could by no means have satisfied itself, had he not at least endeavoured, whatever the risque might prove, to execute, with every effort, the utmost intention of his orders. with a promptness which never failed him, he now directed the troops to be embarked from the shore; having resolved on vigorously attacking the town, and even the citadel itself. this design, however, he ingeniously contrived to cover, by remaining apparently inactive on the 23d, as if he had entirely abandoned his intentions against the place: and, on the 24th, by approaching and anchoring to the northward of the town, and making every apparent disposition for assailing the heights, he drew the notice of the spaniards entirely to that quarter; who, consequently, left less invulnerable the objects of his real attention. the design of this meditated assault was certainly desperate; and so conscious did he feel of it's danger, though nothing could deter him from the attempt, that he has been frequently heard to declare the sensation he experienced, on going over the ship's side, to enter his boat, on the 24th at night, was a full conviction that he should never return. there was, indeed, a hope of success, but it was a faint one, and the evil genius of the expedition again interposed to defeat it. the boats did not keep together, as instructed; they did not all land, as directed, on the mole: and, in consequence, they were stove, by running ashore through a raging surf; the ammunition in the men's pouches got wet; and the scaling ladders were either lost, or forgotten in the confusion of the scene. even those who landed with captain troubridge, and whose valour instantly got entire possession of the town, lost the only chance there seems to have remained for successfully storming the citadel, by waiting so long in expectation of the rear-admiral, who had been fatally prevented from landing, and other aids and augmentations, that the spanish troops gained time to collect, and approach them, from the vicinity, in such force as nothing but the matchless address and intrepidity of british officers, and british men, could possibly have braved and surmounted. that they were extricated, by a daring resolution and determined valour, in captain troubridge and captain hood, which would have done honour even to rear-admiral nelson himself, is as certain, as that no want of courage prevented, in the smallest degree, the success of the enterprise. there can be no such possible imputation. by bravery, alone, it was wholly unaccomplishable; it might, possibly, have been effected, but even that is by no means certain, if they had not been deprived of the chief hero's most fertile mental resources, ever rising with the exigency, which his fatal wound had effectually prevented--and which no other man must be censured for not possessing; because, perhaps, no other man ever did possess them in so eminent a degree. besides, justice demands a due acknowledgment, that those who may rank among the greatest of men, having others at hand whom they consider as still greater than themselves, are to be excused for not hastily relying on their own judgment; though delay should, as it generally does in the operations of war, prove ultimately dangerous. the same persons, left under the necessity of acting for themselves, might be inspired with more confidence in their own ability, and proceed very differently in their operations. in lamenting that the several trials were not instantly made, which have been suggested as remaining at all practicable, during the critical periods alluded to, due regard must be paid to the opinions of those who had better opportunities of judging from intervening circumstances. not, indeed, that it is by any means unusual for the most exalted characters to discover, themselves, after the event, opportunities which might have been seized, and which they have for ever lost, of performing some peculiarly brilliant achievement. this is no disgrace. of much regret, it may often constitute a subject; of just reproach, never. by indulging these reflections, there is no other object in contemplation, than that of assisting to afford an accurate view of the ability which was exerted in this unfortunate enterprise; and thus demonstrating, by a new example, the force of the old observation--that success is not always acquirable, even where it is most merited. about the middle of september 1797, sir horatio nelson having arrived safely in london, had apartments engaged in bond street; where he was attended by dr. moseley, the late celebrated surgeon cruikshanks, and other gentlemen of the faculty. it appears that, in consequence of a nerve having been improperly included in one of the ligatures employed for securing a bleeding artery, at the time of the operation--which ligature, according to the customary practice of the french surgeons, was of silk instead of waxed thread--a constant irritation, and perpetual discharge, were kept up; and, the ends of the ligature, hanging out of the wound, being daily pulled, in order to effect their separation, occasioned the severest agony to the heroic sufferer, who had scarcely any intermission of pain, either by night or day. his excellent spirits, however, never deserted him: and, in fact, he had not felt the slightest degree of fever on the occasion; a very unusual circumstance, after the loss of a limb. his deserved popularity had already acquired such a height, that the nation might be said to participate in his sufferings; and he received the most consoling civilities from the prince of wales, the duke of clarence, and other illustrious and noble characters. friends flocked around him. his worthy relatives hastened to attend and console him, from the country; and mr. bolton, in particular, was his constant companion. besides the order of the bath, and the gold medal, which he had received from his sovereign, in consequence of his important share in the victory of the 14th of february, he had also been presented with the freedom of the city of london in a gold box; and, in the month of october 1797, it was generously resolved, by his majesty, to recompence his services, and ameliorate his sufferings, by granting him a pension of one thousand pounds a year. the indispensable custom of presenting a memorial to the sovereign, before any such grant can be issued, stating the nature of the services for which it is intended, gave rise to the following very singular recapitulation. "_to the king's most excellent majesty._ "the memorial of sir horatio nelson, k.b. and a rear-admiral in your majesty's fleet, "sheweth- "that, during the present war, your memorialist has been in four actions with the fleets of the enemy: viz. on the 13th and 14th of march 1795; on the 13th of july 1795; and, on the 14th of february 1797. in three actions in boats, employed in cutting out of harbours; in destroying vessels; and, in taking three towns. your memorialist has also served on shore, with the army, four months; and commanded the batteries at the sieges of bastia and calvi. that, during the war, he has assisted at the capture of seven sail of the line, six frigates, four corvettes, and eleven privateers of different sizes; and taken and destroyed near fifty sail of merchant vessels: and, your memorialist has actually been engaged against the enemy upwards of one hundred and twenty times. in which service, your memorialist has lost his right eye and arm, and been severely wounded and bruised in his body; all of which services, and wounds, your memorialist most humbly submits to your majesty's most gracious consideration. "horatio nelson." the pension thus granted proved highly acceptable: but his wound continued to torment him with unabated violence, till about the latter end of november; when, having one night experienced the unusual refreshment of a sound and lasting sleep, he was, on awaking, astonished to find, that his wound felt nearly free from pain. impatient to have it examined, he sent for his surgeon; and, to their mutual surprise, the silk instantly came away, at a single touch, without the smallest difficulty. from this hour, the wound began to heal; and, with all that characteristic piety of disposition, and that sincere gratitude to providence for signal deliverances, which he never failed to profess, he gave the late reverend mr. greville, of st. george's, hanover square, the following form of thanksgiving, to be read at that church during the time of divine service- "_an officer desires to return thanks to almighty god, for his perfect recovery from a severe wound; and, also, for the many mercies bestowed on him._" "_december 8th 1797; for next sunday._" the original of the above thanksgiving, in his own hand-writing, is still carefully preserved by the present reverend mr. greville, son and successor of the venerable clergyman to whom it was delivered by sir horatio nelson. on the 13th of december, having been pronounced fit for service, by his surgeons, he made his appearance at court; and his majesty received him in the most gracious and tender manner: expressing, with peculiar marks of sensibility, his excessive sorrow for the loss which sir horatio had suffered, and the regret which he felt at beholding him in a state of health apparently so far reduced as to deprive the country of his future services. the brave admiral, however, immediately replied to his sovereign, with the most respectful but dignified tone of expression, in the following energetic and affectionate speech--"may it please your majesty, i can never think that a loss, which the performance of my duty has occasioned; and, while i have a foot to stand on, i will combat for my king and country!" his majesty appeared deeply affected by this manly and loyal answer; and, in consequence, on the 19th, only six days after, sir horatio nelson received orders to hoist his flag on board the vanguard, and again proceed to the mediterranean, as soon as that ship could be properly equipped for the voyage. not having been before in england since he lost, at calvi, the sight of his right eye, it was about this period that he went, accompanied by mr. bolton, to receive a year's pay, as smart-money; that being the customary allowance, in the navy, on losing an eye or a limb: but could not obtain payment, for want of the formality of a certificate from the faculty, to testify that the sight was actually extinguished. vexed, for a moment, at what he considered as a superfluous and almost impertinent requisition, it's loss being sufficiently notorious, though by no means apparent, he not only immediately procured the desired certificate; but, from whimsical pleasantry, humorously requested, and actually obtained, at the same time, a certificate from his surgeons of the loss of his arm, which was sufficiently obvious: asserting--with much propriety, in his particular instance, at least--that one might just as well be doubted as the other. on going, afterwards, to receive the sum, which was the annual pay of a captain only, that being his rank when he sustained the loss, the clerk observed that he thought it had been more. "oh, no!" jocosely replied the hero, "this is only for an eye: in a few days, i shall come for an arm; and, in a little time longer, god knows, most probably, for a leg!" accordingly, he soon after went again to the office, accompanied by the same gentleman as before; and, with perfect good-humour, exhibited the supererogatory certification of the loss of his arm. in january 1798, sir horatio nelson having presented to the city of norwich the sword of the spanish admiral, delivered to him on the memorable 14th of february 1797, an ingenious device, executed by mr. windham of that city, was erected in the council-chamber of the town-hall, to commemorate this event, and the consequent gift, which has been thus described--to the ring of an anchor, is suspended a yard and sail, supposed to be torn in action: on which is inscribed--"the sword of the spanish admiral, don xavier winthuysen, who died of the wounds he received in an engagement with the british fleet, under the command of admiral earl st. vincent, 13th of february 1797, which ended in the most brilliant victory ever obtained by this country over the enemy at sea; wherein the heroic valour, and cool determined courage, of rear-admiral sir horatio nelson, k.b. had ample scope for their display. he, being a native of norfolk, has honoured the city, by presenting this sword, surrendered to him in that action." from the flukes of the anchor, the sword is suspended. underneath, is the coat of arms of sir horatio nelson, which was given to him by the king. the crest is the stern of a man of war; the supporters, are a sailor bearing a british lion, trampling on the spanish colours. the motto is--"faith and works." sir horatio appears to have spent his preceding christmas, and commencement of the present year, with his venerable father, and the esteemed husband of his amiable younger sister, mrs. matcham, at bath; where, also, he might be desirous to recruit his health and vigour for his approaching voyage. certain it is, that he quitted bond street in december, and was at bath the beginning of february. it was not till the 1st of april 1798, that the convoy which he had in charge for lisbon was completely ready; and, though he sailed with it, on that day, from spithead, the wind, at the back of the isle of wight, coming to the westward, he was constrained to return to st. helen's. after waiting till the 9th, he proceeded to lisbon with the convoy; and, on the 29th of april, joined the earl of st. vincent, off cadiz. not a moment was lost by these great men, in proceeding to co-operate for the glory of their country. the crisis was peculiarly portentous. bonaparte, baffled in his views of invading england, or even ireland---after the last and most serious disaffection, recently extinguished, in the mutiny of the home fleet, produced an almost general unanimity of the country--had been engaged in preparing an expedition, on a scale of imposing grandeur, for some object which was endeavoured to be carefully concealed, till it should be manifested by it's tremendous effects. the armament destined for this grand secret expedition, which was collecting at toulon, under bonaparte, consisted of thirteen ships of the line, and seven forty-gun frigates, with twenty-four smaller vessels of war, and nearly two hundred transports; the latter filled with troops, horses, artillery, provisions, and military stores. in this fleet, it was said, were also to embark artists and scientific men of every description, with ancient and modern linguists, and all sorts of useful and curious instruments and machinery, calculated to promote knowledge, and extend improvement, in the intended country which they were about thus to seize and newly colonize. it was immediately agreed, by the earl of st. st. vincent, and sir horatio nelson, that the latter should the next morning sail, with the vanguard, orion, and alexander, of seventy-four guns each, the emerald and terpsichore frigates, and la bonne citoyenne sloop of war, to watch the motions of this formidable french armament. the earl of st. vincent was at no loss to know who was the senior officer under his command, and what was the customary etiquette; but he knew, at the same time, that he had, as commander in chief, a discretionary power; and carrying, in his own bosom, a dread responsibility to his country, he had not an instant to hesitate on whom it was his duty to depend. to the noble earl's magnanimity, therefore, is the country to be eternally considered as indebted for affording our favourite hero the opportunity of demonstrating his unequalled powers. by other commanders, as he formerly most feelingly remarked, he had been always praised, but never promoted; he was now promoted by his commander, and praised by all the world, while his commander generously declared that no praise could do justice to his actions. the confidence of the fleet, and of the nation too, were with the earl of st. vincent; and, though a few mean and malignant characters, envious of superior merit, mould occasionally suggest their base insinuations, that sir horatio nelson might not be equal to the management of a large fleet, the commander in chief, one of the first naval tacticians any country ever produced, had early seen who had the readiest and clearest conceptions of his own numerous plans, and well knew that nelson's genius would keep full pace with any augmentation of command which it was possible he should ever obtain. sir horatio, with the squadron abovementioned, sailed from gibraltar on the 9th of may; and, on the 17th, having captured a small corvette, which came out of toulon the preceding night, gained some little intelligence respecting the fleet, but none to be relied on as to their destination. his letter to the earl of st. vincent, mentioning this circumstance, concludes with these words--"you may rely, my lord, that i shall act as occasion may offer, to the best of my abilities, in following up your ideas, for the honour of his majesty's crown, and the advantage of our country." a sufficient proof of the concurrence of sentiment in these two heroic commanders, which led to so glorious a result. on the 22d, being in the gulph of lyons, at two in the morning, a most violent squall of wind took the vanguard, which carried away all the topmasts; and, at last, the foremast. the other ships also experienced, though in a less degree, the ill effects of this severe gale. to add to the disaster, the line of battle ships lost sight of their three frigates on this eventful day; which proved to be that on which the french armament had, at length, taken it's departure from toulon, and was then actually passing within a few leagues of the unconscious sufferers employed to watch it's motions. the little squadron now bore up for sardinia; the alexander taking the vanguard in tow, and the orion looking out ahead for a pilot to conduct them into st. pierre's road. this anchorage they happily reached on the 24th; and expected to have met with that friendly reception which their distresses demanded, from a power professing neutrality. the governor of st. pierre, however, had received orders from the french, not to admit any british ship; but no dread of hostilities could prevent the brave admiral from resolutely anchoring in the road. in a letter, written this very day, dated on board the vanguard, st. peter's island. sardinia, may 24, 1798, and addressed to lady nelson, he thus describes the effect produced on his mind by the dangers just escaped. "my dearest fanny, "i ought not to call what has happened to the vanguard, by the cold name of accident: i believe, firmly, it was the almighty's goodness, to check my consummate vanity. i hope it has made me a better officer, as i feel it has made me a better man. i kiss, with all humility, the rod. figure to yourself, on sunday evening, at sun-set, a vain man, walking in his cabin, with a squadron around him, who looked up to their chief, to lead them to glory; and in whom their chief placed the firmest reliance, that the proudest ships, of equal numbers, belonging to france, would have bowed their flags; and, with a very rich prize lying by him--figure to yourself, on monday morning, when the sun rose, this proud, conceited man, his ship dismasted, his fleet dispersed, and himself in such distress that the meanest frigate out of france would have been an unwelcome guest. but it has pleased almighty god to bring us into a safe port; where, although refused the rights of humanity, yet the vanguard will, in two days, get to sea again as an english man of war." this is the letter of a truly christian hero, as well as of a most affectionate and tender husband. it will not be hastily believed, by the reflecting part of mankind, that he who possessed so high a sense of all the relative duties as the immortal nelson, had not afterwards good reasons for being separated from the wife whom he could once consent thus to address. what those reasons were, the reader will, probably, in the sequel, be enabled to form a tolerably correct judgment. notwithstanding the unfavourable reception encountered at st. peter's island, as hinted in the above letter, the resources of british seamen, which are seldom known to fail, enabled them soon to surmount most of their difficulties. captain berry, with the very able assistance which he received from sir james saumarez and captain ball, contrived to equip the vanguard with a jury foremast, jury main and mizen topmasts, and to fish the bowsprit, which was sprung in many places; and, on the fourth day after anchoring in st. pierre's road, they again put to sea, with top-gallant yards across. in the mean time, sir horatio nelson had addressed a letter to the viceroy of sardinia, dated on board his britannic majesty's ship, the vanguard, at anchor off the island of st. peter, 26th may 1798; in which he remonstrated, with becoming dignity, but not without considerate kindness, against the conduct he was experiencing. "sir, "having, by a gale of wind, sustained some trifling damage, i anchored a small part of his majesty's fleet under my orders, off this island; and was surprised to hear, by an officer sent by the governor, that admittance was to be refused to the flag of his britannic majesty into this port. when i reflect that my most gracious sovereign is the oldest, i believe, and certainly the most faithful, ally which his majesty of sardinia ever had, i could feel the sorrow which it must have been to his majesty to have given such an order; and also for your excellency, who has to direct it's execution. i cannot but look at afric's shore; where the followers of mahomet are performing the part of the good samaritan, which i look for in vain at st. peter's, where it is said the christian religion is professed. may god almighty bless your excellency, is the sincere wish of your most obedient servant, "horatio nelson." it is not improbable, that this letter immediately occasioned a little secret assistance to be bestowed. certain it is, that some aid was actually received, or they could not so soon have conveniently taken their departure. they now steered for their appointed rendezvous, which they reached on the 4th of june; and were joined, next day, by la mutine, captain hardy, who was charged with orders to the admiral, and brought the highly acceptable information, that captain troubridge, with ten sail of the line, and a fifty-gun ship, had been detached to reinforce him. the knowledge of this circumstance diffused universal joy throughout the little squadron; which could scarcely be felt in a superlative degree by the heroic commander himself, who was now about to obtain what it had been the business of his life to acquire, an opportunity of evincing the ability with which he felt conscious of having been gifted by heaven. in the exultation of his open and generous heart, he observed to captain berry, that he should soon be a match for any hostile fleet in the mediterranean; and his only desire would then be, to encounter one. the squadron, on the 6th, were widely spread, in anxious expectation, looking out for the expected reinforcement. they were informed, that several sail, then in sight, were spanish ships, richly laden; but the love of glory now filled too powerfully the hero's breast, to admit the presence of any sordid or selfish passion. he had heard that, with the storm in which his ships so severely suffered, the grand armament had set out from toulon; and, perhaps, but for this apparently unfriendly gale, his little squadron might have become the prey of such greatly superior force. the fury of that tempest, however, though violent, was soon exhausted, and it's ill effects were quickly repaired: but the dark storm of desolation, proceeding from the collected thunders of france issued at the port of toulon, was now passing dreadfully over the menaced world; and every country seemed waiting, in awful horror, to behold where it should finally burst, and fatally descend. the consideration of the important part which sir horatio nelson had to act, in the grand theatre of the universe, now absorbed every other consideration. the alexander, indeed, had stopped one of the spanish ships; but, captain ball finding that it had on board eighty or ninety priests, driven by french persecution from the papal sanctuary of rome, considered it would be an act of inhumanity to prevent their seeking an asylum. he accordingly suffered the ship to proceed: bringing away only a few volunteer genoese seamen from the spanish vessel, who expressed their desire of the honour to serve in the british fleet, and their resentment of the ill usage which they had recently experienced from the detested french. in a state of the most pleasingly painful anxiety did this little squadron, and their impatient commander, continue to watch, for the expected reinforcement, till the 8th at noon; when they had the happiness to discover, from the mast-head, ten sail; and it was not long before these were recognized to be british ships of war, standing on a wind, in close line of battle, with all sails set. private signals were now exchanged; and, before sun-set, this important junction was completely effected. captain troubridge brought no instructions to admiral nelson respecting the course he was to steer, nor any positive account of the destination of the enemy's fleet. every thing was left to his own judgment. the pleasure which he felt at being thought worthy of such a command, called forth every power of his grateful and magnanimous mind. he had soon the felicity to find, that the captains under his authority, had no need of particular instructions to keep in constant readiness for battle; the ardour of their zeal anticipated his utmost wishes. the decks of all the ships were perfectly clear night and day, and every man was ready to take his post at a moment's notice. he perceived them, with unspeakable satisfaction, daily exercising their men at the great guns, as well as with small arms; and, in short, placing every thing in the best state of preparation for actual service. knowing that the enemy had sailed with a north-west wind, he naturally concluded that their course was up the mediterranean. he sent la mutine to civita vecchia, and along the roman coast, for intelligence; and, in the mean time, steered with the fleet to corsica, which he reached on the 12th of june, without obtaining any intelligence. the next day, he continued his course between corsica and elba, and between planosa and elba; through the latter of which passages large ships, or fleets, had not been accustomed to pass. on making the roman coast, they were rejoined by la mutine; but captain hardy, with all his exertions, had been unable to acquire any information. admiral nelson now resolved to steer towards naples, with the hope of proving more successful in his enquiries. it had been rumoured, that the plundering of algiers was the object of the french armament; but this account he considered as much too vague to warrant implicit adoption. on the 16th, they saw mount vesuvius; and captain troubridge was detached, in la mutine, with letters to sir william hamilton, making earnest enquiries respecting the french fleet, as well as of the powers and disposition of the court of naples to accommodate the british squadron. in one of these letters, he says- "if their fleet is not moored in as strong a port as toulon, nothing shall hinder me from attacking them; and, with the blessing of almighty god, i hope for a most glorious victory. i send captain troubridge to communicate with your excellency; and, as captain troubridge is in full possession of my confidence, i beg that whatever he says may be considered as coming from me. captain troubridge is my honoured acquaintance of twenty-five years, and the very best sea-officer in his majesty's service. i hope, pilots will be with us in a few hours; for i will not lose one moment after the brig's return, to wait for any thing." in the mean time, knowing the anxiety of his country, at this period, he wrote to earl spencer, informing him of his belief that, if the french fleet passed sicily, towards which they had been seen steering, he should imagine they were going on their scheme of possessing alexandria, and getting troops to india, on a plan concerted with tippoo saib. "but," adds the hero, "be they bound to the antipodes, your lordship may rely that i will not lose a moment in bringing them to action, and endeavour to destroy their transports. i have sent captain troubridge on shore, to talk to general acton, and hope the king of naples will send me some frigates; for mine parted company on the 20th of may, and have not joined me since. the whole squadron is remarkably healthy, and perfectly equal to meet the french fleet." after observing, that he shall make sail the moment captain troubridge returns, he concludes thus--"highly honoured as i feel with this very important command, i beg you will believe that i shall endeavour to approve myself worthy of it; and that i am, with the highest respect, your lordship's most obedient servant, "horatio nelson." on the 17th, in answer to a letter sent by a boat from sir william hamilton, he writes--"captain troubridge will say every thing i could put in a ream of paper. i have only to observe, in my present state, if i meet the enemy at sea, the convoy will get off, for want of frigates. i submit this to you, to urge general acton upon. the king of naples may now have part of the glory in destroying these pests of the human race; and the opportunity, once lost, may never be regained. god bless you! depend on my exertions." this day, too, he wrote the following very laconic, but truly characteristic letter, for the earl of st. vincent; to be forwarded, by sir william hamilton, from naples. "vanguard, off naples, 17th june 1798. "my lord, "i have only to assure you, i will bring the french fleet to action the moment i can lay my hands on them. till then, adieu. "horatio nelson." having received information, by captain troubridge, that the french were at malta, on the 8th, going to attack it; and that naples, being at peace with the french republic, could afford us no assistance; he seemed to lament that even a day had been lost, by visiting the bay of naples, and resolved instantly, by the shortest cut, to make the pharos of messina. such, at least, was the apparent face of the business; but, in truth, one grand object of captain troubridge's mission had been secretly successful to a very high degree. he had reached naples at five in the morning: when sir william hamilton immediately arose, and communicated on the business with the king of the two sicilies and general acton; who, after much deliberation, agreed, that nothing could possibly be done, which might endanger their peace with the french republic. lady hamilton, in the mean time, aware what would be the decision; and convinced, by all she heard from captain troubridge, of the importance to the british fleet, as well as to the real security of the neapolitan and sicilian territories, that the ports of these countries should by no means be closed against those who were alone able to protect them from the force or perfidy of general bonaparte; without consulting any thing but her own correct judgment, and well-intentioned heart, she contrived to procure, from some being of a superior order, sylph, fairy, magician, or other person skilled in the occult sciences, as many in naples, as well as elsewhere, positively profess themselves to be, a small association of talismanic characters, fraught with such magical and potential influence, in favour of the possessor, that the slightest glance of this mystic charm no sooner saluted the eye of a sicilian or neapolitan governor, than he was incapable of regarding any other object except what the bearer presented to his dazzled view, or of hearing any other injunction but that which the same person addressed to his astonished ear; while his tongue was, at the same time, impelled to secrecy, by the dread of an assured death. possessed of this treasure, sir horatio had immediately sailed; but, as his possession of this talisman was to remain a profound secret, till those periods should arrive when it must necessarily be produced, the same sort of correspondence continued to be kept up, between the parties, as if no such favour had been conferred on the hero by any friendly enchantress whatever. accordingly, the following epistle, dated on board the vanguard at sea, the 18th of june 1798, was sent to sir william hamilton, apologizing for not having answered the letter of that worthy and most esteemed gentleman previously to sailing. "my dear sir, "i would not lose one moment of the breeze, in answering your letter. the best sight--as an irishman would say--was, to see me out of sight: especially, as i had not time to examine the marquis de gallo's note to you. i send you an extract of the admiralty orders to the earl of st. vincent, by which it would appear as determined by the cabinet, to keep a superior fleet to that of the enemy in the mediterranean; for the admiralty, you know, can give no such orders, but by an order from the secretary of state. as for what depends on me, i beg, if you think it proper, to tell their sicilian majesties, and general acton, they may rest assured that i shall not withdraw the king's fleet, but by positive orders, or the impossibility of _procuring supplies_. i wish them to depend upon me, and they shall not be disappointed. god forbid it should so happen, that the enemy escape me, and get into any port! you may rely, if i am properly supplied, that there they shall remain, a useless body, for this summer. but, if i have gun and mortar boats, with fire-ships, it is most probable they may be got at: for, although i hope the best, yet it is proper to be prepared for the worst; which, i am sure, all this fleet would feel to be, the escape of the enemy into port. my distress for frigates is extreme; but i cannot help myself, and no one will help me. but, i thank god, i am not apt to feel difficulties. pray, present my best respects to lady hamilton. tell her, i hope to be presented to her crowned with laurel or cypress. but, god is good; and, to him, do i commit myself and our cause. ever believe me, my dear sir, your obliged and faithful "horatio nelson." on the 20th of june, the british fleet passed through the pharos of messina, with a fair wind. the joy with which the sicilians hailed the squadron, when they discovered it to be british, gave the most heartfelt satisfaction to all on board. a vast number of boats came off, and rowed round with the loudest congratulations, and the most sincere exultations of delight; as they had been apprehensive that the french fleet, having secured malta, was coming to act against them. having learned, from the british consul, that malta had certainly been attacked, and was reported to have, at least, in part, surrendered to the french, he now addressed a letter to the most illustrious grand master of malta: apprizing him, that he was hastening to prevent that island from falling into the hands of the common enemy; and instructing him how to proceed till his arrival, which might be expected the following friday. he had, at this time, reason to suppose, that the french were only in possession of the old city; and, that their fleet was anchored between goza and malta. accordingly, he again wrote to sir william hamilton, requesting him to procure, from the court of naples, at least, a few gun-boats, if they could supply nothing more, to assist in dislodging the enemy from malta, and prevent their expected subsequent designs on sicily. both the above letters were delivered to the british consul, who had gone on board from messina on the 20th; and, next day, the fleet proceeded, with a press of sail, for malta. in the evening, being close off syracuse, they hoisted their colours, when a boat rowed out for about a mile; but, though the fleet brought to, and the mutine was sent in shore, it immediately rowed back again. at day-break, the following morning, la mutine, being off cape passaro, spoke a genoese brig which sailed from malta the day before; and the master informed captain hardy, that malta having surrendered on friday the 15th, the french fleet had left it the very next day, and were gone, as it was supposed, for sicily. the wind then blowing strong from the west north-west, there was no possibility of getting to malta till it should moderate; and, even there, no better information might be obtainable, while the french were in possession of the place. in the mean time, he greatly suspected the truth of what the genoese reported; well knowing how often vessels had been stationed by the enemy to give misinformation respecting their intended course. he would himself have examined the master, but found that he had been gone some hours. thus situated, the admiral had no other guide than his own judgment; and, after a due consideration of all the circumstances, having been assured, by sir william hamilton, that naples was at peace with the french, and sicily positively declared, by bonaparte, not to be the object, he determined to steer for alexandria; with the hope of frustrating the intentions of this armament, whatever those intentions might finally prove. from this period, to the 28th of june, only three vessels were spoken with; neither of which, though two were from alexandria, had seen any thing of the enemy's fleet. this day, the pharos tower of alexandria was perceived by the british squadron: and they continued wearing the land, with a press of sail, till the whole of them had a distinct view of both harbours; where, to the general surprise and disappointment of all, not a french ship was visible. having arrived off this port, captain hardy was directed to run close in with la mutine, and send an officer on shore with the following letter to mr. baldwin- "sir, "the french having possessed themselves of malta, on friday the 15th of this month, the next day the whole fleet, consisting of sixteen sail of the line, frigates, bomb vessels, &c. and near three hundred transports, left the island. i only heard this unpleasant news on the 22d, off cape passaro. as sicily was not their object, and the wind blew fresh from the westward; from the time they sailed, it was clear that their destination was to the eastward: and, i think, their object is, to possess themselves of some port in egypt, to fix themselves at the head of the red sea, in order to get a formidable army into india; and, in concert with tippoo saib, to drive us, if possible, from india. but, i have reason to believe, from not seeing a vessel, that they have heard of my coming up the mediterranean, and are got safe into corfu. still, i am most exceedingly anxious to know, from you, if any reports or preparations have been made in egypt for them; or any vessels prepared in the red sea, to carry them to india: or for any other information you would be good enough to give me, i shall hold myself much obliged. i am, sir, your most obedient servant, "horatio nelson." the officer charged with this letter, brought back information that mr. baldwin had left alexandria nearly three months. there were, it appeared, in the old port, one turkish ship of the line, four frigates, and about twelve other turkish vessels; and, in the franks port, about fifty sail of vessels belonging to different nations. the line of battle ship was observed to be landing it's guns, and the place filling with troops. what the brave admiral felt, at being thus disappointed, it would be less difficult to conceive than to describe: certain it is, that the anxiety which he suffered in consequence of this so long baffled pursuit, brought on such violent spasms in the regions of his heroic heart as continued occasionally to afflict him during the remainder of his days. in a letter which he wrote to his commander in chief, the earl of st. vincent, immediately on discovering that the french were not at alexandria, after relating the particulars of his unfortunate progress, he pours forth the effusions of his honourable bosom, in a strain so affecting, that his biographer has been incapable of transcribing the passage without tears. "to do nothing," says this incomparable man, was, i felt, disgraceful; therefore, i made use of my understanding: and, by it, i ought to stand or fall. i am before your lordship's judgment--which, in the present case, i feel, is the tribunal of my country--and if, under all circumstances, it is decided i am wrong, i ought, for the sake of our country, to be superseded: for, at this moment, when i know the french are not in alexandria, i hold the same opinion as off cape passaro; viz. that, under all circumstances, i was right in steering for alexandria; and, by that opinion, i must stand or fall. however erroneous my judgment may be, i feel conscious of my honest intentions; which, i hope, will bear me up under the greatest misfortune that could happen to me as an officer, that of your lordship's thinking me wrong." it was now the object of his incessant contemplation, to ascertain the possible course of the enemy, and what could be their ultimate design. he feared, indeed, that sicily, in his absence, had fallen under the french yoke. with a mind too perturbed for repose, he was wholly incapable of remaining inactive. he shaped his course, therefore, to the northward, for the coast of caramania; that he might, as expeditiously as possible, arrive at some quarter where information was likely to be obtained. on the 4th of july, he made that coast; and, steering along the south side of candia, and carrying a press of sail, both night and day, with a contrary wind, being also in want of water, the fleet came, on the 18th, in sight of the island of sicily, and he determined to enter the port of syracuse. such instructions, however, had been sent to the governor of syracuse, through the preponderancy of french interest at this period, that he would have found it difficult even to enter, and probably have obtained little or no refreshment of any kind, though much was absolutely necessary, had he not, very fortunately, experienced the beneficial effects of lady hamilton's powerful influence secretly exerted in the only quarter which was not rendered impenetrable by the menacing insinuations of the then gallic resident at naples. it was the assistance he now procured, by virtue of the talismanic gift received from lady hamilton, and without which he could not, in any reasonable time, have pursued the french fleet, and possibly might never have come up with them, that he so solemnly recognized, a short time before his death, as to make it the subject of a codicil annexed to his will, in which he expressly _bequeaths that lady to the remuneration of his country_. on the 20th, in a letter to sir william hamilton, he says- "it is an old saying, the devil's children have the devil's luck. i cannot find, or to this moment learn, beyond vague conjecture, where the french fleet are gone to. all my ill fortune, hitherto, has proceeded from want of frigates. off cape passaro, on the 22d of june, at daylight, i saw two frigates, which were supposed to be french; and, it has been said, since, that a line of battle ship was to leeward of them, with the riches of malta on board; but it was the destruction of the enemy, and not riches for myself, that i was seeking. these would have fell to me, if i had had frigates: but, except the ship of the line, i regard not all the riches in this world. from my information off malta, i believed they were gone to egypt: therefore, on the 28th, i was communicating with alexandria, in egypt, where i found the turks preparing to resist them, but knew nothing beyond report. from thence, i stretched over to the coast of caramania; where, not speaking a vessel who could give me information, i became distressed for the kingdoms of the two sicilies: and, having gone a round of six hundred leagues, at this season of the year, with an expedition incredible, here i am, as ignorant of the situation of the enemy, as i was twenty-seven days ago. i shall be able, for nine or ten weeks longer, to keep the fleet in active service, when we shall want provisions and stores. i send a paper on that subject herewith. mr. littledale is, i suppose, sent up by the admiral to victual us; and, i hope, he will do it cheaper than any other person. but, if i find out that he charges more than the fair price, and has not the provisions of the very best quality, i will not take them: for, as no fleet has more fag than this, nothing but the best food, and greatest attention, can keep them healthy. at this moment, we have not one sick man in the fleet. in about six days, i shall sail from hence; and, if i hear nothing more of the french, i shall go to the archipelago; where, if they are gone towards constantinople, i shall hear of them. i shall go to cyprus; and, if they are gone to alexandretta, or any other part of syria or egypt, i shall get information. you will, i am sure, and so will our country, easily conceive what has passed in my anxious mind; but i have this comfort, that i have no fault to accuse myself of: this bears me up, and this only." the next day, july 21st, he writes to sir william- "what a situation am i placed in! as yet, i can learn nothing of the enemy; therefore, i have no conjecture, but that they are gone to syria; and, at cyprus, i hope to hear of them. if they were gone to the westward, i rely that every place in sicily would have information for me; for, it is too important news to leave me one moment in doubt about. i have no frigate, or a sign of one. the masts, yards, &c. for the vanguard, will i hope be prepared directly: for, should the french be so strongly secured in port that i cannot get at them, i shall immediately shift my flag into some other ship, and send the vanguard to naples, to be refitted; for, hardly any person but myself would have continued on service so long in such a wretched state." the following letter of complaint, calculated to blind the neapolitan government, as well as the french resident, is a masterpiece of requisite political duplicity, fabricated at the very instant when he was receiving every possible assistance. "vanguard, syracuse, 22d july 1798. "my dear sir, "i have had so much said about the king of naples's orders only to admit three or four of the ships of our fleet into his ports, that i am astonished. i understood, that private orders, at least, would have been given for our free admission. if we are to be refused supplies, pray send me, by many vessels, an account; that i may, in good time, take the king's fleet to gibraltar. our treatment is scandalous for a great nation to put up with, and the king's flag is insulted at every friendly port we look at. i am, with the greatest respect, your most obedient servant, horatio nelson. p.s. i do not complain of the want of attention in individuals, for all classes of people are remarkably attentive to us." "his excellency, the right honourable sir william hamilton, k.b." a secret epistle, at the same time, addressed to sir william and lady hamilton, has these words- "my dear friends, "thanks to your exertions, we have victualled and watered: and, surely, watering at the fountain of arethusa, we must have victory! we shall sail with the first breeze; and, be assured, i will return either crowned with laurel, or covered with cypress." though no person in the fleet was acquainted with the harbour of syracuse, such was the skill and exertion of the officers that every ship got safely in: and, full permission having been secured, by the admirable management and address of lady hamilton, not only water, but other articles of the first necessity, were obtained with the greatest expedition. indeed, though there was no proper or regular water-place, the classical fountain of arethusa, that celebrated daughter of oceanus, and nymph of the goddess of chastity, supplied them copiously with her pure and traditionally propitious libations; and the hero, it has been seen, did not fail to anticipate, with becoming gratulations, his sense of their indisputable efficacy. such were the exertions of the officers and men, and such were the facilities, in other respects, which they now enjoyed, that the whole squadron were in a condition to put to sea by the 25th. in the mean time, admiral nelson had addressed a letter to the earl of st. vincent, on the 20th instant, stating what he had done since his last, and his future intentions. "yesterday," says he, "i arrived here; where i can learn no more than conjecture, that the french are gone to the eastward. every moment, i have to regret the frigates having left me; to which must be attributed my ignorance of the movements of the enemy. your lordship deprived yourself of frigates, to make mine, certainly, the first squadron in the world; and i feel that i have zeal and activity to do credit to your appointment: and yet, to be unsuccessful, hurts me most sensibly. but, if they are above water, i will find them out; and, if possible, bring them to battle. you have done your part, in giving me so fine a fleet; and i hope to do mine, in making use of them. it is my intention to get into the mouth of the archipelago; where, if the enemy are gone towards constantinople, we shall hear of them directly: if i get no information there, to go to cyprus; where, if they are in syria or egypt, i must hear of them. we have a report that, on the 1st of july, the french were seen off candia; but, near what part of the island i cannot learn." being now ready for sea, and finding that the french fleet had neither been seen in the archipelago, nor the adriatic, nor gone down the mediterranean, he concluded that the coast of egypt must still be the object of their destination. with this impression on his anxious mind, it is not to be supposed that he would for a moment hesitate in again seeking them there, through any consideration of the immoderate heat of climate, or other experienced or apprehended hardships. on the 25th of july, accordingly, the british squadron sailed from syracuse; and, hoping some positive information might be obtained in the morea, he steered first for that coast: having, on the 28th, made the gulph of coron, captain troubridge was dispatched with the culloden, into the port of coron; off which place, owing to the usual active exertion of that able officer, the fleet was not detained longer than three hours. the turkish governor, with great pleasure, gave captain troubridge the welcome intelligence, that the enemy had been seen steering to the south-east, from candia, about four weeks before. the captain had, also, during his very short visit, the satisfaction of observing that the inhabitants of coron entertained the most serious apprehensions from the french armament, and expressed the greatest possible detestation and abhorrence of that people. the reasons now became evident, which had before seemed unaccountable, how it happened that the enemy should have been missed by the british squadron, both in it's passage to alexandria, and in it's return to syracuse. the french, having steered a direct course for candia, had necessarily made an angular passage towards alexandria; while admiral nelson, by immediately proceeding to alexandria, most materially shortened the distance. the smallness of his squadron, too, making it expedient to sail in close order, the space which it occupied was extremely limited; and, having no frigates to detach on the look out, the chance of descrying the enemy, unless very near, amid the haze of the atmosphere in that climate, was prodigiously circumscribed. under these circumstances, the distance of about thirty-five leagues, between candia and the barbary coast, must be considered as leaving more than sufficient space for two of the largest fleets ever known mutually to pass without the smallest observation of one another. in returning to syracuse, the british squadron, by steering up to the northward, while the enemy kept a southern coast for alexandria, had the chance of falling in with them rendered still less likely than before. pleased with the information which they had received, though still unable implicitly to rely on the fact, after such repeated disappointments, not a moment was lost in carrying all possible sail for alexandria. on the 1st of august, at noon, they had the happiness to descry the port of alexandria; with an aspect, however, far different from what it had before presented to their disappointed view. they perceived, with delight, that it now appeared filled with ships; and had, soon, the undescribable transport to behold the french flag flying on board several of them. a tumult of joy animated every bosom in the british squadron, at sight of the enemy. the humblest individual felt himself a hero; and had a great right so to feel, since every individual was eagerly prepared to risque his life for the safety and glory of his king and country. the brave admiral was calm, but no mortal can convey to another the sense of ineffable delight which glowed in every fibre of his frame. the bliss of his bosom, at this impressive moment, was that of extatic perfection; for, it admitted not the smallest doubt of success. his calmness was the result of his piety; for his noble heart was pouring forth to heaven the sacred effusions of gratitude, anticipatory of the glorious conquest which he was about to prove the honoured medium of atchieving. this perfection of bliss is felt but by a few favoured mortals, and with none will it consent to abide. that it was, for a moment, felt by the immortal nelson, when he first beheld the french fleet, a due consideration of his entire character, so powerfully presses on the mind of his biographer, that he cannot resist the temptation to tender it as an assumed fact. in a narrative, formed from the minutes of an officer of rank, reported to be the present sir edward berry, then captain of the vanguard, first published in the naval chronicle, it is observed, that the pleasure which the admiral himself felt was perhaps more heightened than that of any other man, as he had now a certainty by which he could regulate his future operations. "the admiral had," continues this narrative, and, as it subsequently appeared, most justly, "the highest opinion of, and placed the firmest reliance on, the valour and conduct of every captain in his squadron. it had been his practice, during the whole of his cruise, whenever the weather and circumstances would permit, to have his captains on board the vanguard: where he would fully develope to them his own ideas of the different and best modes of attack; and such plans as he proposed to execute, on falling in with the enemy, whatever their position or situation might be, by night or by day. there was no possible position in which they could be found, that he did not take into his calculation, and for the most advantageous attack of which he had not digested and arranged the best possible disposition of the force which he commanded. with the masterly ideas of their admiral, therefore, on the subject of naval tactics, every one of the captains of his squadron was most thoroughly acquainted; and, on surveying the situation of,the enemy, they could precisely ascertain what were the ideas and intentions of their commander, without the aid of farther instructions. thus, signals became almost unnecessary; much time was saved; and the attention of every captain could almost undistractedly be paid to the condition of his own particular ship: a circumstance from which, on this occasion, the advantages to the general service were almost incalculable. it cannot here be thought irrelevant, to give some idea of what were the plans which admiral nelson had formed, and which he explained to his captains with such perspicuity as to render his ideas completely their own. to the naval service, at least, they must not only prove interesting but useful. had he fallen in with the french fleet at sea, that he might make the best impression on any part of it that should appear the most vulnerable, or the most eligible for attack, he divided his force into three sub-squadrons, viz. vanguard orion culloden minotaur goliah theseus leander majestic alexander audacious bellerophon. swiftsure. defence zealous. two of these sub-squadrons were to attack the ships of war; while the third was to pursue the transports, and to sink and destroy as many as it could. the destination of the french armament was involved in doubt and uncertainty; but it forcibly struck the admiral that, as it was commanded by the man whom the french had dignified with the title of the conqueror of italy, and as he had with him a very large body of troops, an expedition had been planned which the land force might execute without the aid of their fleet, should the transports be permitted to make their escape, and reach in safety their place of rendezvous: it therefore became a material consideration with the admiral, so to arrange his force, as at once to engage the whole attention of their ships of war, and at the same time materially to annoy and injure their convoy. it will be fully admitted, from the subsequent information which has been received on the subject, that the ideas of the admiral on this occasion were perfectly just, and that the plan which he had arranged was the most likely to frustrate the designs of the enemy. it is almost unnecessary to explain his projected mode of attack at anchor, as that was minutely and precisely executed in the action about to be described. these plans, however, were formed two months before an opportunity presented itself of executing any of them; and the advantage now was, that they were familiar to the understanding of every captain in the fleet. "it has been already mentioned, that the pharos of alexandria was seen at noon on the 1st of august. the alexander and swiftsure had been detached ahead on the preceding evening, to reconnoitre the port of alexandria, while the main body of the squadron kept in the offing. the enemy's fleet was first discovered by the zealous, captain hood, who immediately communicated, by signal, the number of ships, sixteen, lying at anchor in a line of battle, in a bay on the larboard bow, which was afterwards found to be aboukir bay. the admiral hauled his wind that instant; a movement which was immediately observed, and followed, by the whole squadron: and, at the same time, he recalled the alexander and swiftsure. the wind was, at this time, north north-west; and blew what seamen call a top-gallant breeze. it was necessary to take in the royals, to haul up on a wind. the admiral made the signal to prepare for battle; and, that it was his intention to attack the enemy's van and centre as they lay at anchor, according to the plan previously developed. his idea, in this disposition of his force was, first, to secure the victory; and, then, to make the most of it, as circumstances might permit. a bower cable of each ship was immediately got out abaft, and bent forward. they continued carrying sail; and standing in for the enemy's fleet, in close line of battle. as all the officers of the squadron were totally unacquainted with aboukir bay, each ship kept sounding as she stood in. "the enemy appeared to be moored in a strong and compact line of battle, close in with the shore; their line describing an obtuse angle in it's form, flanked by numerous gun-boats, four frigates, and a battery of guns and mortars on an island in their van. this situation of the enemy seemed to secure to them the most decided advantages; as they had nothing to attend to but their artillery, in their superior skill in the use of which the french so much pride themselves, and to which, indeed, their splendid series of land victories are in general chiefly to be imputed. "the position of the enemy presented the most formidable obstacles: but the admiral viewed them all with the eye of a seaman determined on attack; and it instantly struck his eager and penetrating mind, that "where there was room for an enemy's ship to swing, there was room for one of our's to anchor." no farther signals were necessary, than those which had already been made. the admiral's designs were fully known to his whole squadron; as was his determination to conquer, or perish in the attempt. the goliah and zealous had the honour to lead inside, and to receive the first fire from the van ships of the enemy, as well as from the batteries and gun-boats with which their van was strengthened. these two ships, with the orion, audacious, and theseus, took their stations inside the enemy's line, and were immediately in close action. the vanguard anchored the first on the outer side of the enemy; and was opposed, within half pistol-shot, to le spartiate, the third in the enemy's line. the shores of the bay of aboukir were soon lined with spectators, who beheld the approach of the english, and the awful conflict of the hostile fleets, in silent astonishment. "sir horatio nelson, as rear-admiral of the blue, carried the blue flag at the mizen; but, from a standing order of the earl of st. vincent, the squadron wore the white, or st. george's ensign, in the action. this being white, with a red cross, the first quarter bearing the union, it occasioned the display of the cross on the renowned and ancient coast of egypt. "so entirely was the admiral resolved to conquer, or to perish in the attempt, that he led into action with six ensigns, or flags, viz. red, white, and blue, flying in different parts of the rigging. he could not bear to reflect on the possibility of his colours being carried away even by a random shot from the enemy. "in standing in, the leading ships were unavoidably obliged to receive into their bows the whole fire of the broadsides of the french line, till they could take their respective stations: and it is but justice to observe, that the enemy received their opponents with great firmness and deliberation; no colours having been hoisted on either side, nor a gun fired, till our van ships were within half gun-shot. at this time, the necessary number of our men were engaged aloft in furling sails, and on deck in hauling the braces, and other requisite employments, preparatory to casting anchor. as soon as this took place, a most animated fire opened from the vanguard; which ship covered the approach of those in the rear, who were following in a close line. the minotaur, defence, bellerophon, majestic, swiftsure, and alexander, came up in succession; and, passing within hail of the vanguard, took their respective stations opposed to the enemy's line. all our ships anchored by the stern; by which means, the british line became inverted from van to rear. captain thompson, of the leander of fifty guns, with a degree of judgment highly honourable to his professional character, advanced towards the enemy's line on the outside, and most judiciously dropped his anchor athwart hause of le franklin, raking her with great success; the shot, from the leander's broadside, which passed that ship, all striking l'orient, the flag-ship of the french commander in chief. "the action commenced at sun-set, which was at thirty-one minutes past six, with an ardour and vigour which it is impossible to describe. in a few minutes, every man stationed at the first six guns in the fore part of the vanguard's deck, was down, killed or wounded, and one gun in particular was repeatedly cleared: one of the midshipmen was just remarking the escapes he had experienced, when a shot came, and cut him in two. at about seven o'clock, total darkness had come on; but the whole hemisphere was, at intervals, illuminated by the fire of the hostile fleets. our ships, as darkness came on, had all hoisted their distinguishing lights, by a signal from the admiral. "the van ship of the enemy, le guerrier, was dismasted in less than twelve minutes; and, in ten minutes after, the second ship, le conquerant, and the third, le spartiate, very nearly at the same moment, experienced a similar fate. l'aquilon, and le souverain peuple, the fourth and fifth ships of the enemy's line, were taken possession of by the british at half past eight in the evening. captain berry, at that hour, sent lieutenant galway, of the vanguard, with a party of marines, to take possession of le spartiate: and that officer returned, by the boat, the french captain's sword, which captain berry immediately delivered to the admiral; who was then below, in consequence of the severe wound which he had received in the head during the heat of the attack." this wound seems to have been inflicted by langridge shot, or a piece of iron; which, cutting his forehead at right angles, the skin hung over his face, captain berry, fortunately happening to be sufficiently near, caught the admiral in his arms, and prevented him from falling. it was, at first, the universal opinion, that their beloved commander had been shot through the head; and, indeed, the appearance was rendered dreadfully alarming, by the hanging skin and the copious effusion of blood. not a man on board was now solicitous for his own life; every brave fellow was alone anxious for that of the worthy admiral. this, however, far from repressing their ardour, served only to animate their fury, and prompt them, if possible, to still greater exertions. on being carried into the cockpit, where several of his gallant crew were stretched with their shattered limbs, and lacerated wounds, the surgeon, with the most respectful anxiety, quitted the poor fellow then under his hands, that he might instantly attend on the admiral. "no," replied the heroic commander, with the utmost composure, though he had then no hope of surviving, "i will take my turn with my brave fellows." "the agony of his wound, in the mean time, greatly increasing, he became satisfied that the idea which he had long indulged of dying in battle was now about to be accomplished. he desired to see his chaplain, the reverend mr. comyn, and begged he would bear his remembrances to lady nelson; and, as the last beneficial office that he conceived he should be able to perform, he appointed captain hardy, of la mutine, to be captain of the vanguard. having expressed a wish to see captain louis, of the minotaur, captain berry had hailed that ship, and the commander came on board. the admiral was desirous of personally thanking him for the assistance which he had, in the height of danger, been enabled to render the vanguard. "my dear louis," said the admiral, "farewel! i shall never, should i survive, forget the obligation i am under to you. whatever may become of me, my mind is at peace." he, then, with the most pious composure, seemed resigning himself to death. as soon as the surgeon had, according to the express injunctions of the admiral, paid all necessary attention to every person previously wounded, he came forward to examine the wound of their commander. an awful silence prevailed; but it was of short duration, for the surgeon almost immediately pronounced it to be merely superficial, and of no dangerous consequence. the pleasing intelligence speedily circulated through the ship, and the excess of sorrow was instantaneously converted into the excess of joy: nor did the hero feel less delighted at hearing the grateful expressions of gladness from his generous crew, than at the unexpected announcement of his life's being considered, by the surgeon, as in no sort of danger. this circumstance, indeed, greatly tended to alleviate his sufferings during the painful operation of dressing his wounded forehead. "at this time, it appeared that victory had already declared itself in our favour; for, though l'orient, l'heureux, and le tonnant, were not taken possession of, they were considered as completely in our power: which pleasing intelligence captain berry had likewise the satisfaction of communicating in person to the admiral. "at ten minutes after nine, a fire was observed on board l'orient, the french admiral's ship, which seemed to proceed from the after part of the cabin; and which increased with great rapidity, presently involving the whole of the after part of the ship in flames. this circumstance captain berry immediately communicated to the admiral; who, though suffering severely from his wound, came immediately on deck: where, the first consideration that struck his benevolent mind was, concern for the danger of so many lives; to save as many as possible of whom, he ordered captain berry to make every practicable exertion. a boat, the only one that could swim, was instantly dispatched from the vanguard; and other ships, that were in a condition to do so, immediately followed the example: by which means, from the best possible information, the lives of about seventy frenchmen were saved. the light thrown by the fire of l'orient on the surrounding objects, enabled the commanders to perceive, with more certainty, the situation of the two fleets, the colours of both being clearly distinguishable. the cannonading was partially kept up to leeward of the centre till about ten o'clock, when l'orient blew up with a most tremendous explosion. "an awful pause, and death-like silence, for about three minutes, ensued; when the wreck of the masts, yards, &c. which had been carried to a vast height, fell down into the water, and on board the surrounding ships. a port fire from l'orient fell into the main-royal of the alexander; the fire occasioned by which was, however, extinguished in about two minutes, by the active exertions of captain ball. "after this awful scene, the firing recommenced with the ships to leeward of the centre, till twenty minutes past ten; when there was a total cessation of firing, for about ten minutes: after which, it was revived till about three in the morning; when, it again ceased. "after the victory had been secured in the van, such british ships as were in a condition to move, had gone down on the fresh ships of the enemy. at five minutes past five in the morning, the two rear ships of the enemy, le guillaume tell and le genereux, were the only french ships of the line that had their colours flying. at fifty-four minutes past five, a french frigate, l'artemise, fired a broadside, and struck her colours: but such was the unwarrantable and infamous conduct of the french captain, that after having thus surrendered, he set fire to his ship; and, with part of his crew, made his escape on shore. another of the french frigates, la serieuse, had been sunk by the fire from some of our ships; but, as her poop remained above water, her men were saved on it, and were taken off by our boats in the morning. the bellerophon, whose masts and cables had been entirely shot away, could not retain her situation abreast of l'orient, but had drifted out of the line to the lee side of the bay, a little before that ship blew up. the audacious, in the morning, was detached to her assistance. at eleven o'clock le genereux and guillaume tell; with the two frigates, la justice, and la diane; cut their cables, and stood out to sea: pursued by the zealous, captain hood, who handsomely endeavoured to prevent their escape. but, as there was no other ship in a condition to support the zealous, she was recalled. "the whole day of the 2d of august was employed in securing the french ships that had struck; and which were now all completely in our possession, le tonnant and timoleon excepted. as these were both dismasted, and consequently could not escape, they were naturally the last of which it was necessary to think of taking possession. "on the morning of the 3d, the timoleon was set fire to; and le tonnant had cut her cable, and drifted on shore: but that active officer, captain miller, of the theseus, soon got her off again, and secured her in the british line. "the british force engaged, consisted of only twelve ships of seventy-four guns, and the leander of fifty: for, from the over anxiety and zeal of captain troubridge to get into action, his ship, the culloden, in standing in for the van of the enemy's line, had unfortunately grounded on the tail of a shoal, running off from the island on which were the mortar and gun batteries of the enemy; and, notwithstanding all the exertions of that able officer, and his ship's company, she could not be got off. this unfortunate circumstance was severely felt, at the moment, by the admiral, and all the officers of the squadron: but their feelings were nothing, compared to the anxiety, and even agony of mind, which the captain of the culloden himself experienced for so many eventful hours. there was but one consolation which could offer itself to him, in the midst of the distresses of his situation--a feeble one, it is true--that his ship served as a beacon for three other ships, viz. the alexander, theseus, and leander, which were advancing, with all possible sail set, close in his rear: and which, otherwise, might have experienced a similar misfortune; and thus, in a greater proportion still, have weakened our force. it was not till the morning of the 2d, that the culloden could be got off: and it was then found, that she had suffered very considerable damage in her bottom; that her rudder was beat off; and the crew could scarcely keep her afloat, with all pumps going. the resources of captain troubridge's mind availed him much, and were admirably exerted, on this trying occasion. in four days, he had a new rudder made, on his own deck, which was immediately shipped; and the culloden was again in a state for actual service, though still very leaky. "the admiral, knowing that the wounded of his own ships had been well taken care of, bent his first attention to those of the enemy. he established a truce with the commandant of aboukir; and, through him, made a communication to the commandant of alexandria, that it was his intention to allow all the wounded frenchmen to be taken ashore to proper hospitals, with their own surgeons to attend them: a proposal which was assented to by the french, and carried into effect the following day. the activity and generous consideration of captain troubridge were again exerted, at this time, for the general good. he communicated with the shore, and had the address to procure a supply of fresh provisions, onions, and other necessary refreshments, which were served out to the sick and wounded, and which proved of essential utility. "on the 2d, the arabs and mamelukes, who had, during the battle, lined the shores of the bay, saw with transport that the victory was decisively on the part of the british fleet: an event, in which they participated, with an exultation almost equal to that of the conquerors; and, on that and the two following nights, the whole coast and country were illuminated as far as the eye could penetrate, in celebration of the happy event. this had a great effect on the minds of the prisoners; as they conceived that this illumination was the consequence not entirely of the defeat of their fleet, but of some signal success obtained by the arabs and mamelukes over bonaparte. "though it is natural to suppose, that the time and attention of the admiral, and all the officers of his squadron, were very fully employed in repairing the damages sustained by their own ships, and in securing those of the enemy which their valour had subdued, yet the mind of that great and good man felt the strongest emotions of the most pious gratitude to the supreme being, for the signal success which, by the divine favour, had crowned his endeavours in the cause of his country; and, in consequence, on the morning of the 2d, he issued the following memorandum to the different captains of his squadron- "memorandum. "vanguard, off the mouth of the nile, 2d aug. 1798. "almighty god having blessed his majesty's arms with victory, the admiral intends returning public thanksgiving for the same at two o'clock this day; and he recommends every ship doing the same, as soon as convenient." "to the respective captains of the squadron." "at two o'clock, accordingly, public service was performed on the quarter-deck of the vanguard, by the reverend mr. comyn; the other ships following the example of the admiral, though not all exactly at the same time. this solemn act of gratitude to heaven, seemed to make a very deep impression on several of the prisoners, both officers and men: some of the former remarked--"that it was no wonder such order and discipline were preserved in the british navy, when the minds of our men could be impressed with such sentiments after a victory so great, and at a moment of such seeming confusion." on the very same day, the following memorandum was likewise issued to all the ships; expressive of the admiral's sentiments of the noble exertions of the different officers and men of his squadron- "memorandum. "vanguard, off the mouth of the nile, aug. 2, 1798. "the admiral most heartily congratulates the captains, officers, seamen, and marines, of the squadron he has had the honour to command, on the event of the late action; and he desires they will accept his most sincere and cordial thanks, for their very gallant behaviour in this glorious battle. it must strike, forcibly, every british seaman, how superior their conduct is, when in discipline and good order, to the riotous behaviour of lawless frenchmen. the squadron may be assured, the admiral will not fail, with his dispatches, to represent their truly meritorious conduct, in the strongest terms, to the commander in chief." "to the captains of the ships of the squadron." "the praise expressed in this memorandum, could not fail to be highly acceptable, and gratifying, to every individual in the squadron; and the observation which it endeavoured to impress on the minds of all, of the striking advantages derived from discipline and good order, was so much the effect of recent experience, that every bosom immediately assented to it's justice. the benefit of this important truth will not, we trust, be confined to any particular branch of the british navy: the sentiment of the hero of the nile must infuse itself into the heart of every british seaman, in whatever quarter of the globe he may be extending the glory and interests of his country; and will there produce the conviction, that courage alone will not lead him to conquest, without the aid and direction of exact discipline and order, "let those who desire to emulate, as every british seaman must, the glory acquired on this signal occasion, pursue the same means; which, principally, led to it's acquisition. let them repose the most perfect reliance in the courage, judgment, and skill, of their superior officers; and let them aid the designs of these, by uniformly submissive obedience, and willing subordination: so shall the british navy continue to prove the admiration of the world, till time shall be no more. "immediately after the action, some maltese, genoese, and spaniards, who had been serving on board the french fleet, offered their services in the british; and, being accepted, expressed the greatest happiness, at thus being freed, as they said, from the tyranny and cruelty of the french." it has been thought proper to adopt the description of the battle of the nile from this unadorned narrative, not only because it is said to have been originally sketched by captain berry; but because there seems no small degree of internal evidence that it was originally founded on the minutes of the hero himself, to whose most glorious victory it adverts with far less admiration and applause than it probably would have received from any other pen. the following journal of the 1st, 2d, and 3d days of august 1798, said to have been written by a french officer of high rank, will be found to comprehend a more just and animated picture of this grand naval engagement, and it's consequences, than could have been reasonably expected from what is usually seen of gallic candour and impartiality. "the 1st of august 1798, wind west north-west, light breezes, and fair weather. the second division of the fleet sent a party of men on shore to dig wells. every ship in the fleet sent twenty-five men, to protect the workmen from the continual attacks of the bedouins and vagabonds of the country. at two in the afternoon, l'heureux made the signal for twelve sail, west south-west; which we could easily distinguish, from the mast-heads, to be ships of war. the signal was then made, for all the boats, workmen, and guards, to repair on board their ships, which was only obeyed by a small number. at three o'clock, the admiral, not having any doubt that the ships in sight were the enemy, ordered the hammocks to be stowed for action; and directed l'alert and ruiller brigs of war to reconnoitre the enemy; who, we soon perceived, were steering for bequier bay, under a crowd of canvas, without observing any order of sailing. at four o'clock, we saw, over the fort of aboukir, two ships, apparently waiting to join the squadron: without doubt, they had been sent to look into the port of alexandria. we likewise saw a brig, with the twelve ships; so that they were, now, fourteen sail of the line, and a brig. l'alert then began to put the admiral's orders into execution, viz. to stand toward the enemy till nearly within gun-shot, and then to manoeuvre, and endeavour to draw them towards the outer shoal lying off the island. but the english admiral, without doubt, had experienced pilots on board; as he did not pay any attention to the brig's track, but allowed her to go away, hauling well round all the dangers. at this time, a small boat, dispatched from alexandria to rosetta, voluntarily bore down to the english brig, which took possession of her, notwithstanding the repeated efforts of l'alert to prevent it, by firing a great many shot at the boat. at five o'clock, the enemy came to the wind in succession. this manoeuvre convinced us, that they intended attacking us that evening. the admiral got the top-gallant yards across; but, soon after, made the signal, that he intended engaging the enemy at anchor. after this signal, each ship ought to have sent a stream-cable to the ship astern of her, and to have made a hawser fast to the cable about twenty fathoms in the water, and passed the opposite side to that intended as a spring; _this was not generally executed_. orders were then given, to let go another bower anchor; and the broadsides of the ships were brought to bear upon the enemy, having the ships heads south-east from the island of bequier, forming a line about thirteen hundred fathoms north-west and south-east, distant from each other eighty fathoms, and with an anchor out south south-east at a quarter past five, one of the enemy's ships that was steering to get to windward of the headmost of the line, ran on the reef east north-east of the island. she had immediate assistance from the brig, and got afloat in the morning. the battery on the island opened a fire on the enemy, and their shells fell ahead of the second ship in the line. at half past five, the headmost ships of our line being within gun-shot of the english, the admiral made the signal to engage; which was not obeyed, till the enemy was within pistol-shot, and just doubling us. the action then became very warm. le conquerant began to fire, then le guerrier, le spartiate, l'aquilon, le peuple souverain, and le franklin. at six o'clock, la serieuse frigate and l'hercule bomb, cut their cables, and got under weigh, to avoid the enemy's fire. they got on shore; la serieuse caught fire, and had part of her masts burnt; l'artemise was obliged to get under weigh, and likewise got on shore. the two frigates sent their ships companies aboard the different line of battle ships. the sloops of war, two bombs, and several transports that were with the fleet, were more successful; as they got under weigh, and reached the anchorage under the protection of the fort of aboukir. all the van were attacked on both sides by the enemy, who ranged close along our line. they had each an anchor out astern, which facilitated their motions, and enabled them to place themselves in the most advantageous position. at a quarter past six, le franklin opened her fire on the enemy from the starboard side; at three quarters past six, she was engaged on both sides. l'orient, at this time, began firing from her starboard guns; and, at seven, le tonnant opened her fire. all the ships, from le guerrier to le tonnant, were now engaged against a superior force: this only redoubled the ardour of the french, who kept up a very heavy fire. at eight o'clock at night, the ship which was engaging l'orient on the starboard quarter, notwithstanding her advantageous position, was dismasted; and so roughly treated, that she cut her cables, and drove farther from the line. this event gave le franklin hopes that l'orient would now be able to assist her, by attacking one of the ships opposed to her; but, at this very moment, the two ships that had been observed astern of the fleet, and were quite fresh, steered right for the centre. one of them anchored on l'orient's starboard bow; and the other cut the line astern of l'orient, and anchored off her larboard quarter. the action, in this place, then became extremely warm. admiral de brueys, who had at this time been slightly wounded in the head and arm, very soon received a shot in the belly, which almost cut him in two. he desired not to be carried below, but to be left to die on deck: he lived but a quarter of an hour. rear-admiral blanquet, as well as his aid-du-camp, were unacquainted with this melancholy event till the action was nearly over. admiral blanquet received a severe wound in the face, which knocked him down; he was carried off the deck, senseless. at a quarter past eight o'clock, le peuple souverain drove to leeward of the line, and anchored a cable's length abreast of l'orient: it was not known what unfortunate event occasioned this. the vacant place she made, placed le franklin in a more unfortunate position; and, it became very critical, from the manoeuvre of one of the enemy's fresh ships, which had been sent to the assistance of the ship on shore. she anchored athwart le franklin's bows, and commenced a very heavy raking fire. notwithstanding the dreadful situation of the ships in the centre, they continually kept up a very heavy fire. at half past eight o'clock, the action was general from le guerrier to le mercure. the admiral de brueys's death, and the severe wounds of admiral blanquet, must have deeply affected the people who fought under them: but, it added to their ardour for revenge; and the action continued, on both sides, with great obstinacy. at nine o'clock, the ships in the van slackened their fire; and, soon after, totally ceased: and, with infinite sorrow, we supposed they had surrendered. they were dismasted very soon after the action began; and so much damaged that, it is to be presumed, they could not hold out any longer against an enemy so superior by an advantageous position, in placing several ships against one. at a quarter past nine o'clock, l'orient caught fire in the cabin; it soon afterwards broke out on the poop. every effort was made to extinguish it; but, without effect; and, very soon, it was so considerable, that there was no hope of saving the ship. at half past nine, citoyen gillet, capitain de pavilion of the franklin, was very severely wounded, and was carried off the deck. at three quarters past nine, the arm-chest, filled with musket-cartridges, blew up, and set fire to several places in the poop and quarter-deck, but was fortunately extinguished. her situation, however, was still very desperate; surrounded by enemies, and only eighty fathoms to windward of l'orient entirely on fire, there could not be any other expectation, than falling a prey either to the enemy or the flames. at ten o'clock, the main and mizen masts fell, and all the guns on the main-deck were dismounted. at half past ten, le tonnant cut her cables, to avoid the fire of l'orient. the english ship that was on l'orient's larboard quarter, as soon as she had done firing at her, brought her broadside on le tonnant's bow, and kept up a very heavy raking fire. l'heureux, and le mercure, conceived that they ought likewise to cut their cables. the manoeuvre created so much confusion amongst the rear ships, that they fired into each other, and did considerable damage. le tonnant anchored ahead of the guillaume tell; le genereux and timoleon, the other two ships, got on shore. the ship that engaged le tonnant on her bow cut her cables; all her rigging and sails were cut to pieces; and she drove down, and anchored astern of the english ship, that had been engaging l'heureux and le mercure before they changed their position. those of the etat-major and ship's company of l'orient, who had escaped death, convinced of the impossibility of extinguishing the fire, which had got down on the middle gun-deck, endeavoured to save themselves. rear-admiral ganteaume saved himself in a boat, and went on board of le salamine; and, from thence, to aboukir and alexandria. the adjutant-general motard, though badly wounded, swam to the ship nearest l'orient, which proved to be english. commodore casabianca, and his son, who was only ten years old, and who gave, during the action, proofs of bravery and intelligence far above his age, were not so fortunate. they were in the water, on the wreck of l'orient's masts, not being able to swim, seeking each other, till three quarters past ten, when the ship blew up, and put an end to their hopes and fears. the explosion was dreadful, and spread the fire all around to a considerable distance. le franklin's decks were covered with red-hot seams, pieces of timber, and rope, on fire. she was on fire, but luckily got it under. immediately after the tremendous explosion, the action ceased every where, and was succeeded by the most profound silence. the sky was darkened by clouds of black smoke, which seemed to threaten the destruction of the two fleets. it was a quarter of an hour before the ships crews recovered from the kind of stupor into which they had been thrown. towards eleven o'clock, le franklin, anxious to preserve the trust confided to her, recommenced the action with a few of her lower-deck guns; all the rest were dismounted: two thirds of the ship's company were killed and wounded, and those who remained prodigiously fatigued. she was surrounded by enemy's ships, who mowed down the men every broadside. at half past eleven o'clock, having only three lower-deck guns that could defend the honour of the flag, it became necessary to put an end to so disproportioned a struggle, and citoyen martinet, captain of a frigate, ordered the colours to be struck. "the action in the rear of the fleet was very trifling, till three quarters past eleven o'clock, when it became very warm. three of the enemy's ships were engaging them, and two were very near. le tonnant, already badly treated, who was nearest the ships engaged, returned a very brisk fire. about three o'clock in the morning, she was dismasted, and obliged to cut her cables a second time; and, not having any more anchors left, she drove on shore. le guillaume tell, le genereux, and le timoleon, shifted their births, and anchored farther down, out of gun-shot. these vessels were not much damaged. at half past three o'clock, the action ceased throughout the line. early in the morning, the frigate la justice got under weigh, and made several small tacks to keep near the guillaume tell; and, at nine o'clock, anchored: an english ship having got under weigh, and making small tacks to prevent her getting away. at six o'clock, two english ships joined those who had been engaging the rear, and began firing on l'heureux and le mercure, which were aground. the former soon struck, and the latter followed the example, as they could not bring their broadsides to bear on the enemy. at half past seven, the ship's crew of l'artemise frigate quitted her, and set her on fire: at eight o'clock, she blew up. the enemy, without doubt, had received great damage in their masts and yards, as they did not get under weigh to attack the remains of the french fleet. the french flag was flying on board four ships of the line and two frigates. this division made the most of their time; and, at three quarters past eleven, le guillaume tell, le genereux, la diane, and la justice, got under weigh, and formed in line of battle. the english ship that was under sail stood towards her fleet, fearing that she might be cut off; but, two other enemy's ships were immediately under weigh to assist her. at noon, le timoleon, which probably was not in a state to put to sea, steered right for the shore, under her fore-sail; and, as soon as she struck the ground, her foremast fell. the french division joined the enemy's ships, which ranged along their line on opposite tacks, within pistol-shot, and received their broadsides, which it returned: they, then, each continued their route. the division was in sight at sun-set. nothing remarkable passed, during the night of the 2d. the 3d of august, in the morning, the french colours were flying in le tonnant and timoleon. the english admiral sent a flag of truce to the former, to know if she had struck; and, on being answered in the negative, he directed two ships to go against her. when they got within gun-shot of her, she struck, it being impossible to defend her any longer. le timoleon was aground, too near in for any ship to approach her. in the night of the 2d, they sent the greatest part of their ship's company on shore; and, at noon the next day, they quitted her, and set her on fire. "thus ends the journal of the 1st, 2d, and 3d, days of august; which will ever be remembered, with the deepest sorrow, by those frenchmen who possess good hearts, and by all those true republicans who have survived this melancholy disaster." to the above anonymous french account, may be added that of the celebrated scientific traveller, soldier, and artist, monsieur denon; who was one of the chief sã§avans in the egyptian expedition, and an anxious spectator of the interesting scene. it is to be remarked that, though his description of the battle, like that by which it is preceded, has less want of candour than is commonly found in french narratives of this nature, neither of them is altogether free from the characteristic partiality of that boastful nation. both of them fail to state the true number of british ships; but, as frequently happens with those who are not remarkably tenacious of truth, though both make the number greater than it actually was, they do not agree with each other any more than with the fact, and thus mutually aid to produce a conviction of their own want of veracity. our true force was fifteen sail only. denon, in order to gain an accurate view of the expected engagement, hastened to a lofty tower- "when," says he, "we had reached the tower which commands the monastery, we descried a fleet of twenty sail. to come up, to range themselves in a line, and to attack, were the operations of a minute. the first shot was fired at five o'clock; and, shortly after, our view of the two fleets was intercepted by the smoke. when night came on, we could distinguish somewhat better; without, however, being able to give an account of what passed. the danger to which we were exposed, of falling into the hands of the smallest troop of bedouins which might come that way, did not draw our attention from an event by which we were so strongly interested. rolls of fire, incessantly gushing from the mouths of the cannon, evinced clearly that the combat was dreadful, and supported with an equal obstinacy on both sides. on our return to rosetta, we climbed on the roofs of the houses; whence, at ten o'clock, we perceived a strong light, which indicated a fire. a few minutes afterwards, we heard a terrible explosion, which was followed by a profound silence. as we had seen a firing kept up, from the left to the right, on the object in flames, we drew a conclusion that it was one of the enemy's ships, which had been set fire to by our people; and we imputed the silence which ensued, to the retreat of the english: who, as our ships were moored, were exclusively in possession of the range of the bay; and who, consequently, could persevere in or discontinue the combat, at pleasure. at eleven o'clock, a slow fire was kept up; and, at midnight, the action again became general. it continued till two in the morning. at day-break, i was at the advanced posts; and, ten minutes after, the fleets were once more engaged. at nine o'clock, another ship blew up. at ten, four ships, the only ones which were not disabled, and which i could distinguish to be french, crouded their sails, and quitted the field of battle; in the possession of which they appeared to be, as they were neither attacked nor followed. such was the phantom produced by the enthusiasm of hope! "i took my station at the tower of abumandur; whence i counted twenty-five vessels, half of which were shattered wrecks; and the others incapable of manoeuvring to afford them assistance. "for three days, we remained in this state of cruel uncertainty. by the help of my spying-glass, i had made a drawing of this disastrous scene; that i might be enabled the better to ascertain, whether the morrow would be productive of any change. "in this way we cherished illusion, and spurned at all evidence; till, at length, the passage across the bar being cut off; and the communication with alexandria intercepted, we found that our situation was altered; and that, separated from the mother-country, we were become the inhabitants of a distant colony, where we should be obliged to depend on our own resources for subsistence, till the peace. we learned, that it was l'orient which blew up at ten o'clock at night, and l'hercule the following morning; and that the captains of the ships of the line, le guillaume tell and genereux--and of the frigates, la diane and la justice--perceiving that the rest of the fleet had fallen into the enemy's hands, had taken advantage of a moment of lassitude and inaction on the part of the english, to effect their escape. we learned, lastly, that the 1st of august had broken the unity of our forces; and that the destruction of our fleet, by which the lustre of our glory was tarnished, had restored to the enemy the empire of the mediterranean: an empire which had been wrested from them by the matchless exploits of our armies, and which could only have been secured to us by the existence of our ships of war. "the shore, to the extent of four leagues, was covered by wrecks, which enabled us to form an estimate of the loss that we had sustained at the battle of aboukir. to procure a few nails, or a few iron hoops, the wandering arabs were employed in burning on the beach the masts, gun-cariages, boats, &c. which had been constructed at so vast an expence in our ports." in both these accounts it is sufficiently manifest, that the french were fully convinced there could be no possibility of denying their defeat, however they might seek to disguise the extent of their disaster. the grand designation of their expensive and numerous armament was thus, at a single blow, completely frustrated: and, instead of finding themselves, flushed with success, in a treacherously subjugated country, with a view of extending their conquest to india; they became, at once, reduced to depend on their own resources for even their subsistence, in a distant land, without any other hope of ever returning home, than what was afforded them by the remote prospect of a peace. though admiral nelson had written his dispatches for the commander in chief immediately after this glorious victory, he was unable to send captain berry, of the vanguard, in the leander of fifty guns, to the earl of st. vincent, off cadiz, till the 5th of august. in a few days after, as if the admiral had foreseen the fate of the leander, which it will appear he certainly apprehended, he prepared a copy of these dispatches to the earl of st. vincent; and transmitted it to evan nepean, esq. secretary to the admiralty, by the honourable captain thomas bladen capel, in la mutine brig, to which he had just been appointed on captain hardy's promotion to the vanguard. in these will be seen his own modest and pious account of a victory, perhaps, without parallel, when duly considered in it's completeness and consequences. "vanguard, mouth of the nile, 7th august 1798. "sir, "herewith, i have the honour to transmit you a copy of my letter to the earl of st. vincent, together with a line of battle of the english and french squadrons; also, a list of the killed and wounded. i have the honour to inform you, that eight of our ships have already top-gallant yards across, and are ready for any service: the others, with the prizes, will soon be ready for sea. in an event of this importance, i have thought it right to send captain capel, with a copy of my letter to the commander in chief, overland; which, i hope, their lordships will approve: and i beg leave to refer them to captain capel, who is a most excellent officer, and fully able to give every information; and i beg leave to recommend him to their lordships notice. "i have the honour to be, sir, your most obedient servant, "horatio nelson. "p.s. the island i have taken possession of; and brought off the two thirteen-inch mortars, with all the brass guns, and destroyed the iron ones." "evan nepean, esq." his celebrated letter to the earl of st. vincent was in the following words- "vanguard, off the mouth of the nile, 3d august 1798. "my lord, "almighty god has blessed his majesty's arms, in the late battle, by a great victory over the fleet of the enemy; whom i attacked, at sun-set on the 1st of august, off the mouth of the nile. the enemy were moored in a strong line of battle, for defending the entrance of this bay (of shoals;) flanked by numerous gun-boats, four frigates, and a battery of guns and mortars on an island in their van: but nothing could withstand the squadron your lordship did me the honour to place under my command. their high state of discipline is well known to you; and, with the judgment of the captains, together with their valour, and that of the officers and men of every description, it was absolutely irresistible. could any thing from my pen add to the characters of the captains, i would write it with pleasure; but, that is impossible. i have to regret the loss of captain westcott, of the majestic, who was killed early in the action; but the ship was continued to be so well fought by her first-lieutenant, mr. cuthbert, that i have given him an order to command her till your lordship's pleasure is known. the ships of the enemy, all but their two rear ships, are nearly dismasted; and these two, with two frigates, i am sorry to say, made their escape: nor was it, i assure you, in my power to prevent them. captain hood most handsomely endeavoured to do it; but i had no ship in a condition to support the zealous, and i was obliged to call her in. the support and assistance i have received from captain berry cannot be sufficiently expressed. i was wounded in the head, and obliged to be carried off the deck; but, the service suffered no loss by that event. captain berry was fully equal to the important service then going on; and, to him, i must beg leave to refer you, for every information relative to this victory. he will present you with the flag of the second in command, that of the commander in chief being burnt in l'orient. herewith, i transmit you lists of the killed and wounded; and, the lines of battle of ourselves and the french. "i have the honour to be, my lord, your lordship's most obedient servant, "horatio nelson." "to admiral the earl of st. vincent, commander in chief, &c. off cadiz." british line of battle. ships. captains. guns. men. 1. culloden thomas troubridge 74 590 2. theseus ralph willet miller 74 590 3. alexander alexander john ball 74 590 4. vanguard {rear-adm. sir h. nelson, k.b.} {edward berry } 74 595 5. minotaur thomas louis 74 640 6. leander thomas boulden thompson 50 343 7. swiftsure benjamin hallowell 74 590 8. audacious davidge gould 74 590 9. defence john peyton 74 590 10. zealous samuel hood 74 590 11. orion sir james saumarez 74 590 12. goliath thomas foley 74 590 13. majestic george b. westcott 74 590 14. bellerophon henry d'e. darby 74 590 brig. 15. la mutine thomas hardy horatio nelson. vanguard, off the mouth of the nile, 3d august 1798. french line of battle. how disposed ships. commanders. guns. men. of. 1. le guerrier 74 700 taken. 2. le conquerant 74 700 taken. 3. le spartiate 74 700 taken. 4. l'aquilon 74 700 taken. 5. le souverain peuple 74 700 taken. 6. le franklin {blanquet, 1st contre } { admiral } 80 800 taken. 7. l'orient {admiral brueys, } {commander in chief }120 1010 burnt. 8. le tonnant 80 800 taken. 9. l'heureux 74 700 taken. 10. le timoleon 74 700 burnt. 11. le mercure 74 700 taken. 12. le guillaume tell {villeneave, 2d contre} { admiral } 80 800 escaped. 13. le genereux 74 300 escaped. frigates. 14. la diane 48 300 escaped. 15. la justice 44 300 escaped. 16. l'artemise 36 250 burnt. 17. le serieuse 36 250 dismasted and sunk. horatio nelson. vanguard, off the mouth of the nile, 3d august 1798. no mention is made, in the above french list, of the numerous gun-boats employed by the enemy; while the culloden, though not engaged, is preserved in the british line of battle. _a return of the killed and wounded in his majesty's ships under the command of sir horatio nelson, k. b. rear-admiral of the blue, &c. in action with the french fleet, at anchor, on the 1st of august 1798, off the mouth of the nile._ +-------------++---------------++---------------++-------+ | || killed || wounded || t k w | | |+---------------++---------------+| o i o | | || o | s | m | t || o | s | m | t || t l u | | || f | e | a | o || f | e | a | o || a l n | | || f | a | r | t || f | a | r | t || l e d | | || i | m | i | a || i | m | i | a || d e | | || c | e | n | l || c | e | n | l || d | | || e | n | e | || e | n | e | || a | | || r | | r | || r | | r | || n | |ships names. || s | | s | || s | | s | || d | +-------------++---+---+---+---++---+---+---+---++-------+ |theseus || | 5| | 5|| 1| 24| 5| 30|| 35 | |alexander || 1| 13| | 14|| 5| 48| 5| 58|| 72 | |vanguard || 3| 20| 7| 30|| 7| 60| 8| 75|| 105 | |minotaur || 2| 18| 3| 23|| 4| 54| 6| 64|| 87 | |swiftsure || | 7| | 7|| 1| 19| 2| 22|| 29 | |audacious || | 1| | 1|| 2| 31| 2| 35|| 36 | |defence || | 3| 1| 4|| | 9| 2| 11|| 15 | |zealous || | 1| | 1|| | 7| | 7|| 8 | |orion || 1| 11| 1| 13|| 5| 18| 6| 29|| 42 | |goliath || 2| 12| 7| 21|| 4| 28| 9| 41|| 62 | |majestic || 3| 33| 14| 50|| 3|124| 16|143|| 193 | |bellerophon || 4| 32| 13| 49|| 5|126| 17|148|| 197 | |leander || | | | || | 14| | 14|| 14 | | |+---+---+---+---++---+---+---+---++-------+ | || 16|156| 46|218|| 37|562| 78|677|| 895 | +-------------++---+---+---+---++---+---+---+---++-------+ officers killed of what ships. | names and rank. ----------------+-------------------------------------------- vanguard | captain william faddy, marines. | mr. thomas seymour, midshipman | mr. john g. taylor, midshipman. alexander | mr. john collins, lieutenant. orion | mr. baird, captain's clerk. goliath | mr. william davies, master's mate. | mr. andrew brown, midshipman. majestic | george b. westcott, esq. captain. | mr. zebedeeford, midshipman. | mr. andrew gilmore, boatswain. bellerophon | mr. robert savage daniel, lieutenant. | mr. philip watson launder, lieutenant. | mr. george jolliffe, lieutenant. | mr. thomas ellison, master's mate. minotaur | lieutenant john s. kirchener, marines. | mr. peter walters, master's mate. ----------------+---------------------------------------- officers wounded of what ships. + names and rank. ------------------+---------------- vanguard | mr. nathaniel vassal, lieutenant. | mr. john m. adye, lieutenant. | mr. john campbell, admiral's secretary. | mr. michael austin, boatswain. | mr. john weatherstone, midshipman. | mr. george antrim, midshipman. theseus | lieutenant hawkins. alexander | alexander john ball, esq. captain. | captain j. creswell, marines. | mr. william lawson, master. | mr. george bulley, midshipman. | mr. luke anderson, midshipman. audacious | mr. john jeans, lieutenant. | mr. christopher font, gunner. orion | sir james saumarez, captain. | mr. peter sadler, boatswain. | mr. philip richardson, midshipman. | mr. charles miell, midshipman. | mr. lanfesty, midshipman. goliath | mr. william wilkinson, lieutenant. | mr. lawrence graves, midshipman. | mr. peter strahan, schoolmaster. | mr. james payne, midshipman. majestic | mr. charles seward, midshipman. | mr. charles royle, midshipman. | mr. robert overton, captain's clerk. bellerophon | henry d'e. darby, esq. captain. | mr. edward kirby, master. | captain john hopkins, marines. | mr. chapman, boatswain. | mr. nicholas betson, midshipman. minotaur | mr. thomas irwin, lieutenant. | lieutenant john jewel, marines. | mr. thomas foxton, second master. | mr. martin wills, midshipman. swiftsure | mr. william smith, midshipman. ------------------+------------------------------------- horatio nelson. it appears, from these lists, that sixteen officers, one hundred and fifty-six seamen, and forty-six marines, making in all two hundred and eighteen persons, lost their lives; and that thirty-seven officers, five hundred and sixty-two seamen, and seventy-eight marines, amounting to six hundred and seventy-seven persons, were wounded: forming a total, in killed and wounded, on board the british fleet, if the admiral be included, who has, as usual, omitted himself, of eight hundred and ninety-six. such was the dreadful price paid by the conquerors for this glorious victory; to the vanquished, the loss was incalculable. on a moderate estimate, for the exact number has not been ascertained, there could scarcely be less than three thousand french killed and wounded in this most memorable conflict. certain it is, that the bay of aboukir, for many days after the battle, was so covered with the floating bodies of the slain, as to exhibit a most horrid and painful spectacle; and, though all possible endeavours were exerted to keep sinking them whenever they appeared, the shot used for this intention so frequently slipped off, that many of the bodies perpetually rose again to the surface. indeed, from the excessive heat of the weather, the survivors, besides the offensive disgusts naturally excited, felt very alarming apprehensions of some pestilential visitation; which, however, they happily escaped. the numerous prisoners, including all the wounded, were immediately restored, on condition of not serving against england till exchanged. in the mean time, from parts of the floating wreck of l'orient, the officers of the fleet vied with each other in causing numerous articles to be manufactured, as commemorations of this glorious victory, which they most affectionately presented to their respected commander. captain hallowell, in particular, with singular zeal and attachment, procured a coffin to be made, by his carpenter, on board the swiftsure, entirely from the wreck of l'orient, iron as well as wood, in the most elegant manner that the workman could effect with such limited materials, and so little skill in that particular branch of business; which was delivered to admiral nelson with the following letter. swiftsure, august 1798. "sir, "i have taken the liberty of presenting you a coffin made from the mainmast of l'orient; that, when you have finished your military career in this world, you may be buried in one of your trophies: but, that that period may be far distant, is the earnest wish of your sincere friend, "benjamin hallowell." the present of this worthy and brave officer, however singular, was received with an affectionate regard equal to that felt by himself. so highly, indeed, did the hero prize this gift, that he had it immediately placed upright in his cabin; and, though he was at length prevailed on, by the intreaties of an old and favourite servant, to have the coffin carried below, nothing could possibly prevent his resolution to have it finally made use of for the purpose originally intended by the gallant and esteemed donor. while the various dispatches were preparing to be sent by captain capel to england, as soon as la mutine could be got ready for sailing, those of bonaparte to france were fortunately intercepted; as appears in the continuation of the following letter from admiral nelson to sir william hamilton. "vanguard, mouth of the nile, 8th august 1798. "my dear sir, "almighty god has made me the happy instrument of destroying the enemy's fleet; which, i hope, will be a blessing to europe. you will have the goodness to communicate this happy event to all the courts in italy; for my head is so indifferent, that i can scarcely scrawl this letter. captain capel, who is charged with my dispatches for england, will give you every information. pray, put him in the quickest mode of getting home. you will not send, by post, any particulars of this action; as i should be sorry to have any accounts get home before my dispatches. i hope there will be no difficulty in our getting refitted at naples. culloden must be instantly hove down, and vanguard have all new masts and bowsprit. not more than four or five sail of the line will probably come to naples: the rest will go with the prizes to gibraltar. as this army never will return, i hope to hear the emperor has regained the whole of italy. with every good wish, believe me, dear sir, your most obliged, and affectionate, "horatio nelson. "9th august. i have intercepted all bonaparte's dispatches going to france. the army is in a scrape, and will not get out of it." these intercepted dispatches were transmitted to earl spencer, as first lord of the admiralty, with the following letter. "mouth of the nile, 9th august 1798, "my lord, "were i to die this moment, _want of frigates_ would be found stamped on my heart. no words of mine, can express what i have suffered, and am suffering, for want of them. having only la mutine brig, i cannot yet send off captain capel, which i am very anxious to do: for, as an accident may happen to captain berry, it is of some importance, i think, for your lordship to be informed of our success as speedily as possible. if the king of naples had joined us, nothing at this moment could prevent the destruction of the store ships, and all the transports, in the port of alexandria; four bomb vessels would burn the whole in a few hours: but, as i have not the means, i can only regret the circumstance. i send you a pacquet of intercepted letters, some of them of great importance; in particular, one from bonaparte to his brother. he writes such a scrawl, as no one not used to it can read: but, luckily, we have got a man who has wrote in his office to decypher it. bonaparte has differed with his generals here: and he did want--and, if i understand his meaning, does want, and will strive to be, the washington of france. "_ma mere_," is evidently meant for "_my country_." but, i beg pardon: all this is, i have no doubt, well known to administration. i believe, our victory will, in it's consequences, destroy this army; at least, my endeavours shall not be wanting. i shall remain here for some time. i have thought it right to send an officer (by alexandretta, aleppo, and bussorah) over land, to india, with an account of what i have gathered from these dispatches; which, i hope, will be approved. i have sent a copy of my letter to the board of controul, that they may give the necessary directions for paying the officers bills. if it should have gone to the east india company, i hope that board will forward it. ever believe me, your lordship's most obliged and obedient servant, "horatio nelson." the letter thus mentioned, as being addressed to the board of controul, was written to the right honourable henry dundas, then president of that board, the present celebrated lord melville, in these words- "vanguard, mouth of the nile, 9th august 1798. "sir, "as president of the board of controul for india, i have addressed this letter to you: if i ought to have addressed it to the india house, i request you will have the goodness to send it to the chairman of the company; and, that you will excuse the trouble i have given you. i have thought it right to send an officer, lieutenant duval, who very handsomely offered his services, by alexandretta, aleppo, and bussorah, to bombay, to give all the accounts i know of the movements of the french army, and their future intentions. herewith, i send a copy of my letter; and of the orders i have given him, to draw for money on the east india company, &c. if i have done wrong, i hope the bills will be paid, and i will repay the company; for, as an englishman, i shall be proud that it has been in my power to be the means of putting our settlements on their guard. mr. baldwin not having been for some months at alexandria, has been a great misfortune. i have the honour to be, sir, with the greatest respect, your most obedient servant, "horatio nelson." with a hundred dollars, in cash, and letters of credit to his britannic majesty's consuls, vice-consuls, and even british merchants, on his prescribed route, lieutenant duval was this day dispatched by admiral nelson, as bearer of the following letter to his excellency the governor of bombay. "vanguard, off the mouth of the nile, 9th august 1798. "sir, "although, i hope, the consuls who are, or ought to be, in egypt, have sent you an express of the situation of affairs here; yet, as i know mr. baldwin has, some months, left alexandria; it is possible you may not be regularly informed. i shall therefore relate to you, briefly, that a french army of forty thousand men, in three hundred transports, with thirteen sail of the line, eleven frigates, bomb vessels, gun-boats, &c. arrived at alexandria on the 1st of july. on the 7th they left it, for cairo; where they arrived on the 22d. during their march, they had some actions with the mamelukes, which the french call grand victories. as i have bonaparte's dispatches before me, which i took yesterday, i speak positively. he says--"i am now going to send off, to take suez and damietta." he does not speak very favourable of either the country or people; but there is so much bombast in his letters, that it is difficult to get near the truth. he does not mention india, in these dispatches. he is what he calls organizing the country: but, you may be assured, is master only of what his army covers. from all the enquiries which i have been able to make, i cannot learn that any french vessels are at suez, to carry any part of the army to india. bombay, i know, if they can get there, is their first object. but, i trust, almighty god will, in egypt, overthrow these pests of the human race. it has been in my power to prevent twelve thousand men from leaving genoa; and, also, to take eleven sail of the line, and two frigates: in short, only two sail of the line, and two frigates, have escaped us. this glorious battle was fought at the mouth of the nile, at anchor. it begun at sun-set, august 1st, and was not finished at three the next morning. it has been severe, but god blessed our endeavours with a great victory. i am now at anchor between alexandria and rosetta, to prevent their communication by water; and nothing, under a regiment, can pass by land. but, i should have informed you that the french have four thousand men posted at rosetta, to keep open the mouth of the nile. alexandria, both town and shipping, are so distressed for provisions, which they can only get from the nile, by water, that i cannot guess the good success which may attend my holding our present position; for bonaparte writes his distress for stores, artillery, things for their hospitals, &c. all useful communication is at an end, between alexandria and cairo. you may be assured, i shall remain here as long as possible. bonaparte had never yet to contend with an english officer, and i shall endeavour to make him respect us. this is all i have to communicate. i am confident, every precaution will be taken to prevent, in future, any vessels going to suez, which may be able to carry troops to india. if my letter is not so correct as might be expected, i trust for your excuse; when i tell you, that my brain is so shook with the wound in my head, that i am sensible i am not always so clear as could be wished: but, while a ray of reason remains, my heart and my hand shall ever be exerted for the benefit of our king and country. i have the honour to be, sir, your most obedient humble servant, "horatio nelson. "the officer, lieutenant duval, who carries this dispatch voluntarily to you, will--i trust--be immediately sent to england, with such recommendations as his conduct will deserve." the importance of thus sending this information to india, which few other naval commanders would have thought necessary, proved prodigiously great. expensive preparations were at that moment making, by the east india company, for a most powerful armament to oppose any force which the french might be enabled to send against their possessions, in conjunction with tippoo saib: and this timely intelligence, by instantly quieting every apprehension of that sort, suddenly arrested the progress of all extraordinary warlike operations, and consequently saved a vast sum of money to the company; which, without the wonderful circumspection of this great man, must necessarily have been expended. the dispatches to england, however, were unable to be forwarded, for several days. in the mean time, on the morning of the 11th, the swiftsure brought into the fleet a captured french corvette of eighteen guns, and seventy men, called la fortune. on the 12th, sir james saumarez, captain of the orion, was directed to take the bellerophon, minotaur, defence, audacious, theseus, and majestic, under his command; and proceed with the prizes, le souverain peuple, conquerant, spartiate, aquilon, franklin, and tonnant, for gibraltar: where, if he found no orders, he was to join the commander in chief off cadiz, or go to lisbon. sir james sailed, accordingly, on the 15th; and admiral nelson having, on this very day, received secret orders and letters from the earl of st. vincent, found it requisite to destroy the other french prizes. the necessity of this measure is explained in the following letter of the succeeding day, addressed to evan nepean, esq. for the lords commissioners of the admiralty. "sir, "six of the prizes sailed yesterday, under sir james saumarez. three others, viz. guerrier, heureux, and mercure, are in the act of repairing. in this state, i last evening received the earl of st. vincent's most secret orders, and most secret and confidential letters, relative to the important operations intended to be pursued in the mediterranean. thus situated, it became an important part of my duty, to do justice between my king and country, and the brave officers and men who captured those ships at the battle of the nile. it would have taken one month, at least, to have fitted those ships for a passage to gibraltar; and not only at a great expence to government, but with the loss of the services of at least two sail of the line. i, therefore, confiding that the lords commissioners will, under the present circumstances, direct that a fair value shall be paid for these ships, ordered them to be burnt, after saving such stores as would not take too much time out of them: and, i have farther thought it my duty to tell the squadron the necessity i am under, for the benefit of the king's service, of directing their property to be destroyed; but, that i had no doubt government would make them a liberal allowance. all which, i hope, their lordships will approve. "i have the honour to be, sir, with great respect, your most obedient servant, "horatio nelson." la mutine being at length ready, these letters were dispatched to england, by the way of naples, on the 16th of august. the sword of the captured french admiral blanquet was also sent, by captain capel, from admiral nelson to the city of london, with the following letter, which he had several days previously written for the lord-mayor. "vanguard, mouth of the nile, 8th august 1798. "my lord, "having the honour of being a freeman of the city of london, i take the liberty of sending to your lordship the sword of the commanding french admiral, monsieur blanquet, who survived after the battle of the 1st, off the nile; and request that the city of london will honour me by the acceptance of it, as a remembrance that britannia still rules the waves: which, that she may for ever do, is the fervent prayer of your lordship's most obedient servant, "horatio nelson." "right honourable lord mayor of london." on the 13th, the alcmene, emerald, and bonne citoyenne frigates, at length, joined the squadron; and, on the 17th, the seahorse. admiral nelson now arranged every thing necessary with captain samuel hood, who was to remain with his own ship, the zealous; the swiftsure, captain hallowell; the goliah, captain foley; the alcmene, captain hope; the seahorse, captain edward james foote; and the emerald, captain waller: for the purpose of cruising off alexandria, or continuing at anchor, as he might judge most proper, more effectually to prevent any supplies being thrown into that port for the french fleet; and, also, to intercept an expected french convoy with provisions, as well as to prevent, if possible, all communication between the french army at rosetta, and their fleet at alexandria. this business being settled, he sailed, on the 18th, from alexandria; and having, on that day, received a letter from the honourable william windham, the british minister at the court of florence, he wrote the following answer, dated on board the vanguard, 21st august 1798, which presents some additional information respecting the glorious victory off the nile, and it's beneficial effects. "my dear sir, "i received, three days ago, your letter of june 20th, and i beg leave to thank you for it. i send you a paper, which will inform you of the extent of our victory. my health, from my wound, is become so indifferent, that i think of going down the mediterranean as soon as i arrive at naples; unless i should find any thing very extraordinary to detain me, when my health is of no consequence. the command, in my absence, will devolve on captain troubridge; than whom, the king has not a better sea-officer. sir james saumarez is on his way to gibraltar, with six of our prizes: the others i burnt, that the mediterranean might not be left without ships; for each prize takes a ship of the line to man her, and attend to her wants. this you will believe, when i tell you that only two masts are standing, out of nine sail of the line. l'orient certainly struck her colours, and did not fire a shot, for a quarter of an hour before, unfortunately for us, she took fire: but, though we suffer, our country is equally benefitted. she had on board nearly six hundred thousand pounds sterling: so says the adjutant-general of the fleet, who was saved out of her; and, although he does not say she struck her colours, yet he allows that all resistance on her part was in vain. admiral brueys was killed early in the battle; and, from the commencement of the fight, declared all was lost. they were moored in a strong position, in a line of battle, with gun-boats, bomb-vessels, frigates, and a gun and mortar battery on an island in their van; but, my band of friends was irresistible. the french army is in possession of alexandria, aboukir, rosetta, damietta, and cairo; and bonaparte writes, that he is sending a detachment to take possession of suez and fayume. by the intercepted letters from the army, for we took the vessel with bonaparte's courier, they are grievously disappointed, the country between their posts being completely hostile. i have little doubt but that army will be destroyed, by plague, pestilence, and famine, and battle and murder; which, that it may soon be, god grant. the turks will soon send an army into syria; and as, for the present, we block them up by sea, they must soon experience great distress. i hope to find, on my arrival at naples, that the emperor, and many other powers, are at war with the french; for, till they are reduced, there can be no peace in this world." this letter appears to have remained unfinished, for want, probably, of an opportunity of sending it away, about three weeks. it then received the following conclusion. "september 7th. i feel myself so much recovered, that it is probable i shall not go home at present. the turks have seized all french ships in the levant, in consequence of their taking a turkish sixty-gun ship at alexandria, and seizing all turkish property. this was done on the 14th of august. i shall always receive pleasure in hearing from you, both as a public and private man; and believe me, dear sir, with the greatest respect, your most obedient servant, "horatio nelson." in the mean time, admiral nelson had written the following letter to francis j. jackson, esq. his britannic majesty's minister to the ottoman porte, dated on board the vanguard, off the isle of rhodes, 27th august 1798. "sir, "i have the honour to acquaint you, that i attacked the french fleet off the mouth of the nile, on the 1st inst. the result of which you will see by the inclosed paper; and that, on the 14th, the french took possession of the turkish admiral's ship at alexandria, hauled down her colours, and hoisted french colours, and seized on all the turkish property on shore. the french are in possession of alexandria, aboukir, rosetta, and damietta, on the coast, and of grand cairo: but all communication is cut off between their army and their transports at alexandria, by sea, by an english squadron of three ships of the line and four frigates, which i have left cruising there; and, by land, by the bedouins. so that, if the grand signior will but send a few ships of the line, and some bombs, he may destroy all their transports in alexandria; and an army of ten thousand men may retake alexandria immediately, as the french have only four thousand men in it, and the whole french army are very sickly. "i have been informed, that the french have put to death two hundred turks at alexandria, for rejoicing at our victory; and that general bonaparte only wants a communication opened by sea, to march into syria, that the transports with stores, &c. for the army may go along shore with him. "i have the honour to be, sir, your most obedient servant, "horatio nelson." the inclosed papers, mentioned in this and the preceding letter, were lists of the forces of the english and french fleets at the battle off the nile shewing which were taken, burnt, &c. and copies of this last letter were sent to the earl of st. vincent and earl spencer. on the 8th of september, at sea, he addressed a letter to the marquis de niza, commander of the portuguese squadron; regretting that they had not joined him prior to the 1st of august, when not a single french ship could have escaped: but, as he observes, that being without remedy, it is necessary to look forward to the next important service for the common cause; which, in his opinion, is that of preventing the french from getting any supplies of stores, by water, from alexandria. he concludes with observing, that the grand signior will, he hopes, not only send an army into syria; but also send ships of war, with bomb-vessels, gallies, &c. in order to destroy all the vessels in alexandria: and concludes with inviting his excellency to be a partaker in these joyful events. in a very few days, however, he learned that the marquis de niza had returned from alexandria; and he now, with equal address, sent him to malta. on the 14th, by la mutine, he dispatched letters to the earl of st. vincent, in which he expresses his fear that it will be thought wrong, not to have returned any of the "numerous frigates, brigs, cutters, &c. which had been sent to egypt "it was," says he, "only on the 13th of august, that the alcmene, emerald, and bonne citoyenne, joined me. on the 17th, the seahorse joined; and, till september 7, i neither saw nor heard of any. the earl of st. vincent cutter then joined me, forty leagues from messina; where i was informed that the portuguese squadron, with the lion and terpsichore, had passed the pharos, the 28th of august, on their way to egypt. i therefore sent the cutter with a letter to the marquis de niza, and to captain hood." he then proceeds to state, that the thalia had just brought him accounts from captain hood, which he sends; and considers the exertions of the officers as great, and highly to be approved. he thinks that the two men who saved the dispatches ought to have a pecuniary reward. "you will see," he adds, "by my second letter to the marquis de niza, that i have requested him to go off malta, which may be the means of driving the french out of that island." after expressing his confidence that, with a little exertion, the french army in egypt will fall a prey to plague, pestilence, famine, and mamelukes, he concludes with praying that the earl will give him credit for his earnest endeavours to do what is right. this day, the hero of the nile received a letter from general sir john acton, transmitting the congratulations of the king and queen of naples; to which he returned the following most elegant epistolary acknowledgment, by the culloden. "vanguard, at sea, 15th september 1798. "sir, i was yesterday honoured with your excellency's very handsome and flattering letter of the 9th, conveying to me their sicilian majesties congratulations on the victory obtained by my royal master's fleet over the enemy. i have to request, that your excellency will have the goodness to assure their majesties, that i am penetrated with their condescension in noticing this battle; which, i most fervently pray, may add security to their majesties throne, and peace and happiness to all mankind. the hand of god was visibly pressed upon the french; and, i hope, there is not a person in the british fleet, who does not attribute this great victory to the blessing of the almighty on our exertions in a just cause. with every sentiment of respect, believe, me, your excellency's most obedient, "horatio nelson." "sir john acton, bart." on the 16th, being off strombolo, he inclosed general acton's letter, which contained some state secrets of importance, in a private letter to earl spencer. the portuguese, he observes, having been got, with no small difficulty, from naples, went to egypt; where, however, they would neither stay, nor give our ships water, which was all captain hood requested. having watched for them off messina, he had now sent them to malta; but hoped that his lordship would not build hope on their exertions. "the moment," says he, "i can get ships, all aid shall be given the maltese. what would i give for four bomb-ships! all the french armament would long since have been destroyed. pray, if the service will admit of it, let me have them: i will only say, i shall endeavour to make a proper use of them." he complains, also, in this letter, of the uncertainty of our situation with regard to genoa; which, he says, has been at war with us during the two past years. even at this period of our hero's glory, he seems to have been suffering under what he considered as legal persecution; and animadverts, with much severity, on the conduct of the judge of the admiralty. "he has cited me to appear before him," complains the indignant hero, "and shew cause why i seized a genoese ship; the accounts of which i long ago sent to the board of admiralty, for the sale of her cargo, and which i have long wanted to be taken out of my hands. the ship was liberated, when our troops evacuated porto ferrajio. the seas are covered with genoese ships; but the judge of the admiralty's conduct has, to me, so repeatedly militated against my duty in the service of my king and country, that i dare not do my duty. i have already been half ruined by him; and condemned, without knowing i was before him. the treasury, it is true, paid part of the expence, but that does not make the judge's conduct less grievous." in all this, there is much to regret; but the judge could scarcely entertain the smallest personal prejudice against our hero, though he might appear too favourable to the frauds of neutral powers from even a laudable anxiety to prevent any national embroilment. nelson, on the spot, could better penetrate their artifices, than the judge on his distant bench of justice; and, fearing nothing, he spurned at every law subtlety which he perceived sanctioning fraud, to the present injury of his king, his country, and their brave defenders. it was, ever, far less for himself, than for others, that he was solicitous. in this very letter to earl spencer, he thus concludes--"i am looking, anxiously, for the foudroyant; and, also, for your lordship's goodness to my son-in-law: i, of course, wish he had a good frigate." three days after, in another letter to earl spencer, the benignity of his excellent heart pleads powerfully for a son of the late captain faddy. it's perusal cannot fail to gratify every feeling reader. "vanguard, at sea, 19th sept. 1798. "my lord, "captain faddy, of the marines, who was killed on board the vanguard, has a family of small children: his eldest son is now on board this ship, only fourteen years of age. i beg to solicit your lordship for a commission in the marines for him. i understand, it has been done; and the youth permitted to remain at school, till of a proper age to join the corps. if, however, this should, in the present instance, be thought wrong, may i request that his name may stand as an elevã© of the admiralty, and mrs. faddy acquainted of it; which must give her some relief, under her present misfortune. "ever your lordship's most obedient servant, "horatio nelson." with his mind thus humanely and diligently employed, amidst the toil and bustle inseparable from an active naval commander, on the 22d, early in the morning, the hero approached within view of naples. no sooner was the vanguard perceived, at the distance of several leagues, than upwards of five hundred boats and pleasure-barges, having been apprised of his coming, by the previous arrival of the culloden and alexander, on the 16th, immediately went out to meet him; with bands of music in most of them, and joy depicted on every countenance. sir william and lady hamilton, in their state-barge, accompanied by several of the neapolitan nobility, led the way, and were consequently his first visitors. the transports of sir william, and his amiable lady, at seeing their friend return covered with laurels, and of the thus honoured hero, at once more beholding his estimable friends, can only be conceived by minds of equal susceptibility. the interview, indeed, was exquisitely impressive, and even affecting, to all by whom it was witnessed. while the company were partaking of some refreshment in his cabin, a small bird familiarly perched on his shoulder. on the circumstance being remarked--"it is," said he, "a very singular thing; this bird came on board the day before the battle off the nile: and i have had other instances of a bird's coming into my cabin previously to former engagements." this is the more remarkable, as the same thing is said to have afterwards happened prior to the battle of copenhagen. in superstitious times, some inference would probably have been made from such facts; but philosophy will not warrant any other deduction, than that, as birds of passage frequently seek shelter in ships, these visits were merely accidental. the coincidence, however, is certainly somewhat curious. in a short time, the king of naples, and his suite, who had also come out full three leagues, in the royal barge, to greet the victorious british admiral, went on board the vanguard; where the king affectionately embraced the hero of the nile; and, taking him by the hand, expressed the effusions of his gratitude in terms of the most flattering regard for our king, our country, and the immortal nelson: whom the sovereign of the two sicilies, his ministers, and all classes of his subjects, hailed with the appellation of "_nostro liberatore!_"--"our deliverer!" the king of naples, who prides himself on being a seaman, went all over the ship, and examined every thing with apparent delight and satisfaction. his neapolitan majesty sailed with admiral nelson, for about three hours, on board the vanguard; which was saluted, as they passed, by all the forts. as soon as the vanguard anchored in the bay, the king of naples returned on board his own barge, and admiral nelson accompanied sir william and lady hamilton. immediately on landing, sir william's open carriage conveyed the hero, in triumph, to the house of his esteemed friends, surrounded by the enraptured neapolitans; who gave every possible proof of their joy, admiration, and gratitude. the lazzaroni, in particular, crowded round him in multitudes: vast numbers of them bearing birds of different species, in curious wicker baskets; which they displayed to the hero as he passed, and then giving them their liberty, watched their flight with all the anxiety and assumed importance of the ancient roman augury. the queen of naples had also gone out, with her numerous family, in another barge; but had, unfortunately, been too late to greet the hero on board his victorious vessel, from which he had taken his departure previously to her arrival. her majesty, however, after being rowed round the vanguard, no sooner returned on shore, than she immediately addressed a letter to lady hamilton; requesting to see, as soon as possible, the hero of the nile. sir william and lady hamilton, accordingly, accompanied him to the palace, in the afternoon, where he experienced a most gracious and flattering reception. on this visit, lady hamilton acted as interpreter between the queen and admiral nelson, neither of them understanding each other's language sufficiently to converse together. the queen constantly addressed him by the appellation of "our virtuous and brave admiral." such, in short, was the universal transport at naples, on this occasion, that general illuminations, with apt and ingenious devices, and one grand scene of unbounded festivity and rejoicing, were continued for three successive days. the queen of naples, immediately after her interview with admiral nelson, addressed a letter to the marquis de circello, the neapolitan ambassador at the court of london, from which the following is said to be a correctly translated extract- "i write to you with joy inexpressible! the brave and enterprising british admiral nelson has obtained a most signal and decisive victory. my heart would fain give wings to the courier who is the bearer of these propitious tidings, to facilitate the earliest acknowledgments of our gratitude. so extensive is this victory in all it's relative circumstances, that were it not that the world has been accustomed to see prodigies of glory atchieved by the english on the seas, i should almost question the reality of the event. it has produced, among us, a general spirit of enthusiasm. it would have moved you much, to have seen my infant boys and girls hanging round my neck in tears, expressing their joy at the happy tidings, made doubly dear to us by the critical period at which they arrived. this news of the defeat of bonaparte's egyptian fleet has made many disaffected persons less daring, and improved the prospect of the general good. make my highest respects acceptable to their majesties of england. recommend the gallant hero, nelson, to his royal master. he has raised, in the italians, an enthusiastic reverence for the english nation. great expectations were naturally founded on his enterprising talents, but no one could look for so total an overthrow of the enemy. all here are frantic with excess of joy!" in a letter, of the 25th of september, written to earl spencer, by admiral nelson, after slightly mentioning the reception with which he had thus been honoured, particularly by their sicilian majesties, he makes use of these modest and pious expressions--"you will not, my lord, i trust, think that one spark of vanity induces me to mention the most distinguished reception that ever, i believe, fell to the lot of a human being; but, that it is a measure of justice due to his sicilian majesty and the nation. god knows, my heart is amongst the most humble of the creation, full of thankfulness and gratitude." even before admiral nelson's arrival at naples, lachavardiere, the french consul for palermo, who had just escaped from egypt, thus laments the decline of french influence, and announces the triumph of the english. "the french name," says he, "is heard here with horror. the king is arming eighty thousand men. the cabinet either refuses to answer, or answers with insolence, the notes presented by our charge des affaires, la chaise, who is an excellent republican. the french are forbade to enter the country, and the most extravagant predilection prevails in favour of the english. the people of sicily are still more incensed against us. our vessels are driven out of their ports; and, wherever the french appear, the populace pelt them with stones, and sometimes fire on them. not one french cockade is suffered. in a word, there only wants frenchmen, in order to celebrate again sicilian vespers. the day before yesterday"--(this letter is dated the 20th of september)--"two english vessels arrived; and nelson himself is expected to-morrow, in a third. to give you some idea of the favour in which the enemies of our country are held here, you must know that, with my own eyes, i saw the king of naples go more than two leagues to sea, to meet the english, to applaud and congratulate them. the two vessels which are arrived have brought two french officers with them, one of them is vice-admiral blanquet." lachavardiere also gives an account of the battle; which, however, contains nothing of peculiar importance. one circumstance, indeed, is sufficiently singular--"admiral brueys," he says, "was wounded in the head and the hand: but continued to command, till a cannon-ball cut him in two; and," adds this frenchman, "_he lived a quarter of an hour afterwards!_" the integrity of our heroic nelson seems to have revolted at the characteristic falsehood and deceit so generally experienced in the french. he could not be prevailed on, by his friends at naples, to visit admiral blanquet, who had his nose shot off, and was otherwise dreadfully wounded in the face. on this occasion, he seems to have adopted all the rough bluntness of a british tar. he had beaten him, he said, and would not insult him. "seeing me," added the hero, "will only put him in mind of his misfortune. i have an antipathy to frenchmen; which is so powerful, that i must, i think, have received it from my mother, at my birth." he was, himself, at this period, though in excellent spirits, so corporeally weak and reduced, that he was obliged to be kept chiefly on ass's milk for some time after his arrival. indeed, though excess of joy, at the first meeting of such friends as admiral nelson, and sir william and lady hamilton, absorbed every other consideration, a most essential personal difference was manifest in the hero from that which had appeared on his former visit to naples. it is to be recollected, that neither sir william nor his lady had ever beheld him, prior to this period, except for a very few days, while the neapolitan subsidiary troops were embarking for toulon, when he was without any wound or disfigurement whatever, though always of a plain but pleasingly expressive countenance: he was now returned, in the short space of about four years, having atchieved victories which might have graced an age of absence; but, at what a price were they purchased! the vision of an eye had been completely extinguished, at calvi; an arm totally lost, at teneriffe; and a hideous wound, leaving it's indelible scar on his manly forehead, had recently been inflicted on their heroic friend, at the battle of the nile. to say nothing of various slighter casualties; of the effect of climate; and of those incessant excessive cares, anxieties, and disappointments, which so soon and so deeply wrinkle the smoothest brow, and so cruelly furrow the comeliest countenance. if they were shocked, at reflecting what their incomparable but mutilated friend must have suffered, in the severe and disastrous fortune of war; they were enraptured to perceive him by no means impaired in any of those higher qualities which had given birth to their reciprocal attachments. admiral sir horatio nelson, returning from his glorious victory off the nile, was the same kind, affable, intelligent, and virtuous friend, as captain nelson had formerly been, when departing for toulon. an amity thus founded on a union of superior intellect in the respective parties, could only be destroyed, however it might be envied, by the decay of that celestial principle which had served to cement it's origin. the hero's birth-day occurring on the 29th, when he completed his fortieth year, a most splendid fãªte, with a ball and supper, were given by sir william and lady hamilton, to the nobility and gentry of naples, at which upwards of eighteen hundred persons are said to have been entertained. on this occasion, a grand rostral column was erected in the principal saloon, with the celebrated old roman motto- "veni; vidi; vici!" which was never more appropriately applied, since it's original adoption by julius cã¦sar. it is to be regretted, that the harmony of this festival, which cost sir william hamilton two thousand ducats, was considerably deranged, towards it's conclusion, by the hero's son-in-law; who, it seems, so far forgot himself, as grossly to offend the very man whom every other person was delighting to honour. to such a height, indeed, was this young gentleman's intemperance unfortunately carried, that captain troubridge and another officer felt themselves under the absolute necessity of conducting him out of the room. this disagreeable occurrence, naturally agitating the breast of the worthy admiral, who was at that very period soliciting the indiscreet young man's preferment, in a letter then on it's way to england, occasioned a violent return of those internal spasms to which all excesses of the passions had constantly subjected him since the time when this grievance first commenced, while his anxious mind was occupied in vainly pursuing the french fleet: indeed, he always said, and it seems highly probable, that the disappointment, had it much longer continued, and his expectation of encountering them been finally frustrated, would certainly have "broke his heart." it is from no disrespect to captain nisbet that this affair is mentioned: nor is it for the sake of observing, what that gentleman must be sensible is the undoubted fact, that he was indebted for a reconciliation with his father-in-law, shortly after, to the kind interference of sir william and lady hamilton; who, very properly representing it as solely the effect of a young man's pardonable inebriety on so joyous an occasion, again introduced him to favour at their rural villa in the vicinity of naples. the fact, in itself, is trivial; but, on subjects of domestic or family delicacy, the minutest thread of verity may chance to have it's use in conducting through the intricate labyrinth by which the temple of truth is generally found to be environed. it was not till after admiral nelson's arrival at naples, that he heard of the capture of the leander, with his dispatches for the earl of st. vincent respecting the battle of the nile; an event for which, as has been seen, he had judiciously and almost prophetically prepared, by transmitting copies to england. by letters from corfu, he now learned that, on the 16th of august, the leander of fifty guns, captain thompson, having captain berry on board, with the dispatches for the earl of st. vincent, fell in with le genereux of seventy-four guns, captain lejoille, jun. one of the french ships which had escaped after the battle of the nile. the leander, with eighty men short of it's complement, and a number of wounded on board, being off the island of candia, was chased by le genereux under neapolitan colours; which, on approaching nearly within gun-shot, about eight in the morning, were changed to french. captain thompson had not been deceived by this artifice, but the leander's inferiority of sailing rendered it impossible to escape. at nine, being within half gun-shot of the leander's weather-quarter, captain thompson hauled up sufficiently to bring his broadside to bear, and immediately commenced a vigorous cannonade, which was powerfully returned. the ships continued nearing each other till half past ten, under a constant and heavy fire; when the enemy, taking advantage of the disabled condition of the leander, endeavoured to enter on the larboard bow: but the small party of marines, on the poop and quarter-deck, by a most spirited and well-directed fire, aided by a furious cannonade, repulsed them with great slaughter. a light breeze now springing up, enabled captain thompson to disentangle himself; and, soon after, he had the satisfaction to luff under le genereux's stern, and discharge every gun into that ship, at the distance of only ten yards. the action continued, within pistol-shot, till half past three in the afternoon; when le genereux, with a light breeze, passed the leander's bows, and brought itself on the starboard side, where the guns had been all nearly disabled by the wreck of the spar, which had fallen on that side. this necessarily producing a cessation of the leander's fire, the enemy hailed, to know if the ship had surrendered. being now a complete wreck; the decks covered with killed and wounded; and captain thompson himself badly wounded, without the most distant hope of success; that brave officer asked captain berry, if it appeared that more could be done: who, agreeing that farther resistance would be in vain, they consented to submit. le genereux had on board nine hundred men; one hundred of whom were killed, and a hundred and eighty-eight wounded, in the action; the leander had thirty-five killed, and fifty-eight wounded. the captain of le genereux, in an official letter of true french gasconade, describes the leander as carrying "seventy-four guns, twenty-four, and thirty pounders on the lower deck, and twelve pounders on the upper!" captain thompson and his officers no sooner arrived on board le genereux, than they were plundered of every article they had possessed, except the apparel which covered them. on this harsh treatment, they vainly expostulated with the captain, and reminded him of the different situation of the french officers made prisoners by admiral nelson. he coolly answered--"i am sorry for it; but, the truth is, that the french are good at plundering." captain berry expressed his wish to have a pair of pistols returned, and pointed out the man who had stolen them. captain lejoille, jun. by immediately securing them for himself, proved the truth, in his own person, of what he had just observed respecting french expertness at pillage: for, though he told captain berry that he would give him, in return, a pair of french pistols, to protect him on his journey home, this mean french officer never performed his promise. to such a pitch, indeed, did these miscreants carry their cruelty and theft, that they purloined the english surgeon's instruments, while he was performing operations on the wounded; and nearly rendered mortal the wound of captain thompson, by forcibly obstructing his attendance. in short, the miseries suffered by this unfortunate crew, both before and after their arrival at corfu, were greater than, it is to be hoped, for the honour of humanity, often occurs on such occasions; bad as the usage of the french is generally described to be--not, indeed, by english speculative writers; but by brave men, speaking from their own melancholy and repeated experience! on the 2d of october, the honourable captain capel arrived in england, with the joyful intelligence of admiral nelson's glorious victory off the nile: a victory which, from the peculiar period at which it occurred, the extent of it's beneficial effects, and it's splendid and complete success, excited in every british bosom such rapturous sensations as had never, in the memory of any living person, been before felt by the nation. general illuminations, both in town and country, were continued for three days; and every other species of public rejoicing, demonstrative of universal admiration, affection, and gratitude, to the hero of the nile, and his brave associates in arms, prevailed for several weeks. even infants were instructed to articulate the name of nelson; and to clap their little hands, with transport, in rapturous applauses of the preserver and protector of innocence, from their threatened invaders, the corrupters and destroyers of the human race. subscriptions were immediately opened, for the relief of the widows and children of all those brave men who had lost their lives on this glorious occasion; and a large fund was soon established, by a committee at lloyd's coffee-house, cornhill, the beneficial effects of which have since been prodigiously extended. on the 3d of october, at a court of common-council, the lord-mayor of london read the letter addressed to him by admiral nelson; and, when the tumult of applause had subsided, the sword of vice-admiral blanquet was ordered, on the motion of mr. deputy leeky, to be placed among the city regalia. the thanks of the court were then unanimously voted to admiral nelson, and to the officers and seamen under his command. the next day, having again assembled, the french admiral's sword was ordered to be placed in an elegant glass-case, in the most conspicuous part of the council-room, with an inscription expressive of the gift on a marble tablet. it was then resolved, that a sword of two hundred guineas value should be presented to admiral nelson from the city of london; and the freedom of the city, in a gold box worth one hundred guineas, to captain edward berry: and the lord-mayor, sir william anderson, bart, was requested to provide and present the said sword to the hero of the nile. on the 6th of october, his majesty created admiral nelson a peer of great britain, by the title of baron nelson of the nile, and of burnham-thorpe in the county of norfolk; and, at the meeting of parliament, in november, a message from the king was presented by mr. pitt, preparatory to the motion which he immediately afterwards made for a pension of two thousand pounds per annum, commencing on the 1st of august 1798, to be granted admiral lord nelson of the nile, and his two next successors in the title. general walpole, who seconded the motion, having expressed an opinion, that lord nelson should also have a higher degree of rank; mr. pitt observed that, entertaining the highest sense of the transcendent merits of admiral nelson, he thought it needless to enter at any length into the question of rank. his fame, he added, must be coeval with the british name; and it would be remembered that he had obtained the greatest naval victory on record, when no man would think it worth his while to ask, whether he had been created a baron, a viscount, or an earl. such a motion was not likely to be opposed; and the annuity recommended by his majesty was unanimously granted. it may be remarked, however, that general walpole's opinion respecting higher rank, was certainly that of the public. the thanks of both houses of parliament were voted, and ordered to be transmitted by the respective speakers, to the brave admiral, the captains, officers, seamen, and marines, for their resolute and intrepid conduct displayed on this glorious occasion. a gold medal, of peculiar elegance and beauty, emblematical of the victory, executed by the inimitable louis pingo, esq. principal engraver of the royal mint in the tower of london, was struck on the occasion, by command of his majesty; who ordered one to be given, and in future worn by, each of the captains, all of whom afterwards received the honour of knighthood. the obverse of this medal displays a fine figure of victory placing a laurel wreath on the head of britannia, in a stile of the most chaste simplicity. the reverse incloses each respective name, which is engraved in the centre, with two branches, one of oak and the other of laurel. the motto--"in memory of the defeat of the french fleet on the coast of egypt." various other medals were struck on this memorable occasion; and one, in particular, most liberally distributed at the expence of alexander davison, esq. the valuable friend of lord nelson, has peculiar claim to attention. the obverse side of mr. davison's medal, to commemorate his friend's great victory, has the figure of hope, crowned with laurel, standing on a rugged rock, with an olive-branch in her right hand; and supporting, with her left arm, the profile of lord nelson on a medallion, to which her fore-finger is evidently pointing. the motto to the medallion--"europe's hope, and britain's glory." the legend--"rear-admiral lord viscount nelson of the nile." the reverse represents the french fleet at anchor in aboukir bay, with the british fleet advancing to the attack; the fortified islands in the enemy's van; the four frigates moored within their line, to cover their flank; the gun-boats near the islands; the setting-sun; the coast of egypt; the mouth of the nile; and, the castle of aboukir. the legend--"almighty god has blessed his majesty's arms." beneath the view--"victory of the nile, august 1, 1798." this handsome and valuable medal was presented, by mr. davison, struck in gold, to admiral lord nelson, and every captain of the british squadron; in silver, to every other warrant officer; in gilt metal, to every petty officer; and, in copper, to every individual seaman and marine serving on board during the action. the whole, as it is said, at the expence of little less than two thousand pounds: an instance of private and patriotic munificence, as well as generous friendship, which has, perhaps, seldom been surpassed. the government of ireland, immediately on receiving the joyful intelligence of this glorious victory, passed a vote of thanks similar to that of the british parliament, and granted the hero an additional annuity of one thousand pounds during the same term. the honourable united east india company, which felt so immediately benefitted on the occasion, unanimously voted him a gift of ten thousand pounds; the london turkey company, plate of very considerable value; and several other corporate bodies, as well in the metropolis as in our first provincial cities, the freedom of their respective corporations, in elegant gold boxes. to these tributes of esteem from a grateful country, must be added, as by no means the least acceptable, the proof of affectionate regard prepared for their beloved commander, by those most honourable and brave associates in arms, the captains of his own squadron, whom he so emphatically denominates, "the band of brothers." by these worthy and valorous officers, was their revered chief, the hero of the nile, presented with a magnificent sword; the hilt of which most appropriately represented a crocodile, very finely executed in gold. to enumerate the various epistolary plaudits and congratulations, and other demonstrations of admiration and applause, expressed by individuals, in england, of all ranks, to the hero and his friends, on account of this most splendid victory, is quite impracticable. the following extract of a letter, however, written by the worthy and venerable father of the immortal hero, to his friend the reverend mr. b. allot, in answer to a very kind congratulatory epistle from that gentleman, is so exquisitely and amiably characteristic both of father and son, that it cannot, under any consideration, be omitted. it is, indeed, a charming picture of parental and filial affection. "my great and good son," says this excellent and intelligent parent, "went into the world without fortune; but, with a heart replete with every moral and religious virtue. these have been his compass to steer by; and it has pleased god to be his shield in the day of battle, and to give success to his wishes to be of service to his country. his country seems sensible of his services: but, should he ever meet with ingratitude, his scars will cry out, and plead his cause--for, at the siege of calvi, he lost an eye; at teneriffe, an arm; on the memorable 14th of february, he received a severe blow on his body, which he still feels; and, now, a wound on the head! after all this, you will believe, his bloom of countenance must be faded; but the spirit beareth up, yet, as vigorously as ever. on the 29th of september, he completed his fortieth year: cheerful, generous, and good. fearing no evil, because he has done none: an honour to my grey hairs; which, with every mark of old age, creep fast upon me." while these various honours and gifts were preparing for the hero, in his native country, foreign nations, not less sensible of his worth, and in some instances scarcely less benefitted by his exertions and valour, were emulously pouring, with a laudable profusion, their richest presents before him, and investing him with their most distinguished dignities. on the 8th of september, immediately after receiving information of the battle off the nile, the grand signior directed a most superb diamond aigrette--called, by the turks, a chelengk, or plume of triumph--taken from one of the imperial turbans, to be sent for our victorious admiral, with a rich pelisse of the choicest sable fur; and a purse of two thousand sequins, in cash, to be distributed among the wounded british seamen. a note, at the same time, was delivered to mr. spencer smith, his majesty's minister at constantinople, of which the following is given as a correct translation. "it is but lately that, by a written communication, it has already been made known, how much the sublime porte rejoiced at the first advice received of the english squadron's having defeated that of the french, off alexandria, in egypt. by recent accounts, however, comprehending a specific detail of the action, it appears now more positive, that his britannic majesty's fleet has actually destroyed, by that action, the best ships the french had in their possession. this joyful event, therefore, laying this empire under an obligation, and the service rendered by our much-esteemed friend, admiral nelson, on this occasion, being of a nature to call for public acknowledgment, his imperial majesty, the powerful, formidable, and most magnificent grand signior, has destined as a present, in his imperial name, to the said admiral, a diamond aigrette, and a sable fur with broad sleeves; besides two thousand sequins, to be distributed among the wounded of his crew: and, as the english minister is constantly zealous to contribute, by his endeavours, to the increase of friendship between the two courts, it is hoped that he will not fail to make known this circumstance to his court; and to solicit the permission of the most powerful and august king of england, for the said admiral to put on, and wear, the said aigrette and pelisse." these presents were conveyed, under the care of mahomet kelim, an effendi, or secretary of state, in a turkish frigate, to alexandria; from whence, on finding the hero had departed for naples, the effendi, and his suite, immediately followed, in the alcmene frigate. the turkish secretary, and his twelve associates, on their arrival, performed their parts with suitable solemnity and address. they put on their state robes in the hero's anti-chamber; and presented the aigrette, seated on cushions, after the oriental method. the pelisse was composed of the finest scarlet cloth, lined and enriched with the most beautiful sable fur imaginable. the aigrette, which is a sort of artificial plume, or feather, represents a hand with thirteen fingers, covered with diamonds; allusive to the thirteen ships taken and destroyed by the hero: and it's size is that of a child's hand, at the age of five or six years, when open. the centre diamond, and the four by which it is surrounded, are estimated at a thousand pounds each, and there are said to be at least three hundred diamonds of smaller sizes. this immensely rich and beautiful jewel is more particularly described in the following extract of a letter, said to have been written by the grand signior himself. in this letter, it it called, a chelengk, or plume of triumph: such as has been, on every famous and memorable success of the ottoman arms, conferred on victorious mussulmen, seraskiers--"never, before, i believe," says the imperial writer, "on any disbeliever--as the _ne plus ultra_ of personal honour, separate from official dignity. the present is esteemed rich in it's kind; being a blaze of brilliants, crowned with a vibrating plumage, and a radiant star in the middle, turning on it's centre, by means of watch-work which winds up behind. this badge, actually taken from one of the imperial turbans, can hardly, according to the idea of such insignia here"--(the letter was dated, at constantinople, october 3, 1798)--"be considered as less than equivalent to the first order of chivalry in christendom: such, at least," concludes the imperial donor, "was my view in the indication." by these remarks, added to the verbal communications of mahomet kelim, at the time of investiture, lord nelson was led to consider this honour as the ottoman order of merit. it could, certainly, be nothing less; and the civilized world has to felicitate itself on the brilliance of our immortal hero's glory, which could, at length, dissipate the cloud of prejudice, that had so long obscured, from the sincerest followers of mahomet, the lustre of every christian virtue. even the dowager sultana, mother of the grand signior, caught the enthusiastic admiration of our hero from her generous and illustrious son, and sent his lordship the superb and flattering present of a very rich diamond ornament, in the form of a rose. no sooner were the honours conferred on our hero by the grand signior, and his wish respecting the wearing them, made known to his majesty, than the imperial desire was immediately complied with, and the following royal grants and concessions were also published in the london gazette- "the king has been graciously pleased to give, and grant, to the right honourable horatio baron nelson of the nile, and of burnham-thorpe in the county of norfolk, rear-admiral of the blue squadron of his majesty's fleet, and k.b. in consideration of the great zeal, courage, and perseverance, manifested by him on divers occasions, and particularly of his able and gallant conduct in the glorious and decisive victory obtained over the french fleet, at the mouth of the nile, on the 1st of august last, his royal licence and authority, that he, and his issue, may bear the following honourable augmentations to his armorial ensign: viz. "a chief, undulated, argent--thereon, waves of the sea; from which, a palm-tree issuant, between a disabled ship on the dexter, and a ruinous battery on the sinister; all proper." and, for his crest, "on a naval crown, or; the chelengk, or plume of triumph, presented to him by the grand signior, as a mark of his high esteem, and of his sense of the gallant conduct of the said horatio baron nelson in the said glorious and decisive victory; with the motto--_palmam qui meruit ferat_:" and, to his supporters, being a sailor on the dexter, and a lion on the sinister, the honourable augmentation following; viz. "in the hand of the sailor, a palm branch, and another in the paw of the lion, both proper, with the addition of a tri-coloured flag and staff in the mouth of the latter;" which augmentations to the supporters are to be borne by the said horatio nelson, and by those to whom the said dignity shall descend in virtue of his majesty's letters patent of creation; and, that the same may be first duly exemplified, according to the laws of arms, and recorded in the herald's office: and, also, to order that his majesty's said concession, and especial mark of his royal favour, be registered in his college at arms." the above most appropriate motto was adopted by the express desire of his majesty: who, also, with the utmost possible propriety, fixed the honourable plume of triumph on the hero's crest; a circumstance which could not fail to afford the grand signior a pleasing proof, that his present had been duly appreciated both by the hero and his sovereign. the emperor paul, of russia, wrote lord nelson a congratulatory epistle, with his own hand, and accompanied it by a valuable portrait of himself, superbly surrounded with brilliants, and a gold box set with diamonds, estimated at two thousand five hundred pounds. the king of sardinia also sent him a letter, and a gold box richly ornamented with diamonds; the king and queen of naples made him many valuable presents; from palermo, he received a gold box and chain, brought on a silver waiter, containing the freedom of that city, which also conferred on him the honour of being a grandee of spain; and even the island of zante, in grateful remembrance that they had happily been liberated from french cruelty by the good effects of the battle of the nile, sent the illustrious hero their epistolary acknowledgments, with a valuable gold-headed sword and cane. numerous other presents were received by, and honours conferred on, the immortal hero of the nile, as well at naples, as elsewhere, for a considerable time after this splendid victory; which, from it's brilliant success, and important consequences, had powerfully attracted the attention and admiration of all mankind, in every quarter of the globe not contaminated by french principles. during the period while these honours were universally soliciting the acceptance of this exalted man, his great and active mind, amid every corporeal lassitude and fatigue, was unceasingly engaged in pursuits calculated to merit additional renown, and consequently to augment their acquisition. with an eye to the recapture of malta, which the neapolitans seemed rather to expect from our hero's prowess than their own exertions, he had, immediately on his arrival at naples, detached the terpsichore to that island, for the purpose of gaining such intelligence as might enable him to form the best plan for effectually accomplishing this purpose; and, a few days afterwards, sent captain ball, in the alexander, with a frigate and sloop, to cruise off malta, which was then under the blockade of the portuguese squadron. on the 9th of october, writing to lord spencer, he says--"three weeks, i admit, is a long time to refit a fleet after a battle; but, when it is considered that nearly every mast in the fleet has taken much more time than if they had been new; that naples bay is subject to a heavy swell, of which we have felt the inconvenience; and that we go to sea victualled for six months, and in the highest health and discipline; i trust, some allowance will be made for me." he adds, with an almost prophetic foresight--"naples sees this squadron no more--except the king calls for our help; and, if they go on, and lose the glorious moments, we may be called for _to save the persons of their majesties_." of general mack, who was then at naples, for the purpose of taking under his command the neapolitan army, which had been recently raised to oppose the french, he thus expresses his predictive apprehensions--"general mack cannot move without five carriages. i have formed my opinion--i heartily pray, i may be mistaken." on the tuesday following the date of this letter, general mack arrived at caserta; and lord nelson, the next thursday, accompanied by sir william and lady hamilton, went to meet him at dinner with the king and queen of naples. their majesties introduced them to each other, with every expression of esteem and regard. the queen, however, could not help saying--"general, be to us, by land, what my hero nelson has been at sea!" the emperor, it seems, had desired the king of naples to begin, and promised that he would support him. at this interview, mack said he would march in ten days; and, by his conversation and address, seems to have temporarily withdrawn our hero from the contemplation of his actions, that unerring criterion of character. the judgment which lord nelson had first formed of general mack, on this principle, has since appeared to be just. with such a general as mack, and such a minister as our hero describes the marquis de gallo to have been, in a letter to earl spencer, we can scarcely wonder at any misfortunes which might befal the amiable sovereigns with whose welfare they were fatally entrusted. "this marquis de gallo," says our hero, "i "detest. he is ignorant of common civility. sir william hamilton has just found out, that a messenger sets out for london within an hour; yet, i was with this minister for an hour last night. he admires his ribbon, ring, and snuff-box, so much, that an excellent _petit-maã®tre_ was spoiled, when he was made a minister. the sentiments of my heart have flown from my pen, and i cannot retract them." after observing, that he has not, owing to the above circumstance, time to write what he wished, he concludes, with the most perfect good-humour--"pray excuse this short letter, and abuse of the marquis de gallo." on monday, the 15th of october, being ready to sail from naples, at eight o'clock in the morning, the king and prince leopold, as well as sir william and lady hamilton, went on board the vanguard, to breakfast with lord nelson. at ten, the british squadron, consisting of the vanguard, minotaur, audacious, goliath, and la mutine brig, weighed anchor; and, at eleven, the royal and illustrious visitors quitted the ship, taking an affectionate leave of their heroic protector and friend--"the king expressed himself," says lord nelson, in a letter to the earl of st. vincent, dated off marsala, the west end of sicily, october 22, 1798, "in the most flattering manner towards me. his majesty had all the respect paid him, by the squadron, which our situation would admit of, and which it was not only our duty, but so much our inclination, to pay him. the king," he observes, "having desired my return to naples in the first week in november, i shall, after having arranged the blockade of malta, return to naples, and endeavour to be useful in the movements of their army. in thus acquiescing in the desire of the king of naples, i give up my plan; which was, to have gone to egypt, and attended to the destruction of the french shipping in that quarter: but, i hope, before captain hood quits his station, both the turks and russian squadron will be on that coast; when all will be right, i hope: although i own myself not willing to trust any of our allies to do that which we could do ourselves. i have reason for thinking, that a strong wish for our squadron's being on the coast of naples is, that in case of any mishap, their majesties think their persons much safer under the protection of the british flag, than under any other." after observing, that the culloden would be ready for sea about the time mentioned, and that he had directed captain troubridge to wait his arrival, with the transports which he had at first intended to take to syracuse, he concludes with remarking that he had not a sick man in the squadron. on the 24th, lord nelson arrived off malta; when he immediately wrote the following letter to sir william hamilton. "vanguard, off malta, 24th oct. 1798. "my dear sir, "i am just arrived off this place, where i found captain ball and the marquis de niza: from these officers, i do not find such an immediate prospect of getting possession of the town, as the minister at naples seems to think. all the country, it is true, is in possession of the islanders; and, i believe, the french have not many luxuries in the town: but, as yet, their bullocks are not eat up. the marquis tells me, the islanders want arms, victuals, and mortars and cannon to annoy the town. when i get the elect of the people on board, i shall desire them to draw up a memorial for the king of naples, stating their wants and desires, which i shall bring with me. the marquis sails for naples to-morrow morning. till he is gone, i shall not do any thing about the island; but i will be fully master of that subject, before i leave this place. god bless you! is the sincere prayer of your affectionate horatio nelson." the very next day, he sent into malta, by captain ball, the following admirable and most spirited letter, addressed to the french general and admiral commanding in the town of valetta and fort of malta. it breathes, throughout, that liberal and manly spirit which so highly distinguishes our hero, and which conveys to the heart such irresistible proofs of honour and veracity. "his britannic majesty's ship vanguard, off malta, 25th oct. 1798. "gentlemen, "in addressing to you this letter, containing my determination respecting the french now in malta, i feel confident that you will not attribute it either to insolence or impertinent curiosity, but a wish of my sentiments clearly understood. the present situation of malta is this: the inhabitants are in possession of all the island; except the town of valetta, which is in your possession--that the islanders are in arms against you--and, that the port is blockaded by a squadron belonging to his britannic majesty. my objects are, to assist the people of malta in forcing you to abandon the island, that it may be delivered into the hands of it's lawful sovereign; and, to get possession of le guillaume tell, la diane, and la justice. to accomplish these objects as speedily as possible, i offer that, on the delivery of the french ships to me, all the troops and seamen, now in malta and goza, shall be landed in france, without the condition of their being prisoners of war; that i will take care that the lives of all those maltese who have joined you shall be spared, and i offer my mediation with their sovereign for the restoration of their property. should these offers be rejected; or the french ships make their escape, notwithstanding my vigilance; i declare, that i will not enter, or join, any capitulation, which the general may hereafter be forced to enter into, with the inhabitants of malta; much less will i intercede for the forgiveness of those who have betrayed their duty to their country. i beg leave to assure you, this is the determination of a british admiral; and i have the honour to be, gentlemen, your most obedient humble servant, "horatio nelson." though this notice was not successful to the full extent of his wish, it seems to have accelerated the surrender of goza. in the mean time, all possible aid was given to the maltese; who, it appears, had been shockingly neglected by the neapolitan government. in a letter of the 27th, addressed to sir william hamilton, the indignant hero enlarges on this topic with a feeling and energy incomparably expressive of his heroic and independent character. "when i come to naples, i can have nothing pleasant to say of the conduct of his sicilian majesty's ministers towards the inhabitants of malta, who wish to be under the dominion of their legitimate sovereign. the total neglect and indifference with which they have been treated, appears to me cruel in the extreme. had not the english supplied fifteen hundred stand of arms, with bayonets, cartouch boxes, and ammunition, &c. and the marquis supplied some few, and kept the spirit of those brave islanders from falling off, they must long ago have bowed to the french yoke. could you, my dear sir william, have believed, after what general acton and the marquis de gallo had said, in our various conversations relative to this island, that nothing had been sent by the governor of syracuse--_secretly_, was the word used to us--or openly, to this island! and i am further assured, that the governor of syracuse never had any orders sent him, to supply the smallest article. i beg your excellency will state this, in confidence, to general acton. i shall most assuredly tell it the king. the justice i owe myself, now i feel employed in the service of their sicilian majesties, demands it of me; and also the duty i owe our gracious king, in order to shew that i am doing my utmost to comply with his royal commands. as i have before stated, had it not been for the english, long, long ago, the maltese must have been overpowered. including the fifteen hundred stand of arms given by us, not more than three thousand are in the island. i wonder how they have kept on the defensive so long. at least, two thousand stand of small arms complete, ammunition, &c. should be sent by the emerald. this is wanted, to defend themselves; for offence, two or three large mortars, fifteen hundred shells, with all necessaries; and, perhaps, a few artillery. the bormola, and all the left side of the harbour, with this assistance, will fall. ten thousand men are required to defend those works, the french can only spare twelve hundred; therefore, a vigorous assault being made in many parts, some one must succeed. but, who have the government of naples sent, to lead or encourage these people? a very good, and i dare say brave, old man; enervated, and shaking with the palsy. this is the sort of man that they have sent; without any supply, without even a promise of protection, and without his bringing any answer to the repeated respectful memorials of these people to their sovereign. i know their majesties must feel hurt, when they hear these truths. i may be thought presuming; but, i trust, general acton will forgive an honest seaman for telling plain truths. _as for the other minister, i do not understand him._ we are different men. he has been bred in a court; and i, in a rough element: but, i believe, my heart is as susceptible of the finer feelings as his, and as compassionate for the distress of those who look up to me for protection." having thus very justly and indignantly censured the neapolitan government; particularly, the then first minister, the marquis de gallo; he proceeds most judiciously and forcibly to state, not only what ought to have been done, but what still should be attempted. in doing this, he has admirably sketched the characteristic outlines of a good commander. "the officer sent here should have brought supplies, promises of protection, and an answer from the king to their memorials. he should have been a man of judgment, bravery, and _activity_. he should be the first to lead them to glory; and the last, when necessary, to retreat: the first to mount the wall of the bormola, and never to quit it. this is the man to send. such, many such, are to be found. if he succeeds, promise him rewards: my life for it, the business would soon be over. "god bless you! i am anxious to get this matter finished. i have sent ball, this day, to summon goza; if it resists, i shall send on shore, and batter down the castle. three vessels, loaded with bullocks, &c. for the garrison, were taken yesterday, from tripoli: ten more are coming, but we shall have them. i had almost forgot to mention, that orders should be immediately given, that no quarantine be laid on boats going to the coast of sicily for corn. at present, as a matter of favour, they have fourteen days only. yesterday, there was only fourteen days bread in the island; luckily, we got hold of a vessel loaded with wheat, and sent her into st. paul's. once more, god bless you! and ever believe me, your obliged and affectionate "horatio nelson. "this day i have landed twenty barrels of gunpowder--two thousand eight hundred pounds--at malta." the island of goza, in consequence of the summons mentioned in this letter, surrendered to his majesty's arms: and admiral nelson, in the evening of the 30th, having received particulars of the capitulation from captain ball, sailed again for naples; leaving that excellent officer, the present sir john alexander ball, governor of malta, to continue the blockade, with the same ships as were before employed on that service. these particulars were, on the 2d of november, forwarded to the commander in chief; with the following letter, by which they are here preceded. "vanguard, at sea, 1st nov. 1798. "my lord, "i have the honour to transmit to you a letter received from captain ball, dated october 30th, together with the capitulation of the castle of goza, and a list of ordnance, &c. found in it. the prisoners are embarked in the vanguard and minotaur, till i can get a vessel to send them to france. captain ball, with three sail of the line, a frigate, and fire-ship, is entrusted with the blockade of malta, in which are two sail of the line and three frigates ready for sea; and, from the experience i have had of captain ball's zeal, activity, and ability, i have no doubt that, in due time, i shall have the honour of sending you a good account of the french in the town of valetta. i am, with the greatest respect, your lordship's most obedient servant, "horatio nelson." "earl of st. vincent." "alexander, off malta, 30th oct. 1798. "sir, "i have the honour to acquaint you, that the commandant of the french troops in the castle of goza signed the capitulation on the 28th inst. which you had approved. i ordered captain cresswell of the marines to take possession of it in the name of his britannic majesty, and his majesty's colours were hoisted. the next day, the place was delivered up, in form, to the deputies of the island, his sicilian majesty's colours hoisted, and he acknowledged their lawful sovereign. "i embarked, yesterday, all the french officers and men who were on the island of goza, amounting to two hundred and seventeen. i inclose the articles of capitulation, and an inventory of the arms and ammunition found in the castle; part of which, i directed to be sent to the assistance of the maltese who are in arms against the french. there were three thousand two hundred sacks of corn in the castle; which will be a great relief to the inhabitants, who are much in want of that article. i have the honour to be, &c. "alex. john ball." "rear-admiral sir h. nelson, k.b." "_articles of capitulation, between alexander john ball, esq. captain of his majesty's ship the alexander, appointed to conduct the blockade of malta, under rear-admiral sir horatio nelson, k.b. on the part of great britain; and lieutenant-colonel lockey, aju. de battailon, commander of the french troops in the castle of goza_. "1. "the french troops shall march out of the castle of goza with the honours of war, and shall lay down their arms as they get out of the gate. "2. "the castle of goza, with all the military implements and stores, shall be delivered up to the british officer appointed to take charge of them. "3 "the french officers and troops shall be protected in their persons and effects, and the officers allowed to retain their side-arms. they shall be embarked, immediately, on board his britannic majesty's ships; and sent to france, in transports, at the expence of the french government they are not to serve against his britannic majesty, or his allies, during the war, till regularly exchanged. "rear-admiral sir horatio nelson, k.b. has entered into articles with the inhabitants of goza, that if the french surrender to the british, they shall be considered as under their protection, and they will not offer them the smallest insult or molestation. "signed, 28th oct. 1798. "alexander john ball, captain of his britannic majesty's ship alexander. "approved, "lockey, aju. de battailon. horatio nelson." "_extract of articles found in the castle of goza, the 28th of october_ 1798. "fifty barrels of powder, nine thousand ball-cartridges, one thousand musket-cartridges without ball, one thousand flints, thirty-eight eighteen-pound cartridges filled, one hundred and forty twelve-pound ditto, four hundred and fifty six-pound ditto, two hundred and sixty-eight four-pound ditto, twenty-five three-pound ditto, eighty-eight two-pound ditto, eighteen good eighteen-pounder guns and two hundred shot, two good twelve-pounder guns and nine hundred shot, four good six-pounders and two thousand nine hundred and eighty-five shot, four hundred hand-grenades filled, ninety-nine pikes, ninety halberts, and three thousand two hundred sacks of corn. "n.b. no small-arms, except those laid down by the french troops." on the 12th of november, admiral nelson, having a few days before arrived safely at naples, went to the camp at st. germaine's, in consequence of a request from his sicilian majesty, to meet general mack and general acton, at a grand review of the whole neapolitan army; and sir william and lady hamilton, with all the english nobility and gentry then at naples, accompanied our hero, where they joined the king, queen, and royal family. the account of this meeting, and it's results, including an intended attack of leghorn, are sufficiently explained in the following very interesting letter to earl spencer: which is farther remarkable for being the first epistle that our hero appears to have ever signed with the omission of his christian name, in consequence of being advanced to the peerage; of which honour he had, even yet, it should seem, by what will be seen hereafter, no official information from the noble earl to whom he was writing, though he must certainly have received some regular previous information on the subject. "camp, st. germaine's, 13th nov. 1798. "my lord, "a desire from his majesty called me here yesterday, to concert with general mack and general acton the commencement of the war. thirty thousand of--_mack says--"la plus belle d'armie d'europe_," was drawn out, for me to see; and, as far as my judgment goes in these matters, i agree, that a finer army cannot be. in the evening, we had a council; and it was settled, that four thousand infantry, and six hundred cavalry, should take possession of leghorn. the infantry--(having stopped captain troubridge's squadron for corfu)--i shall embark in the vanguard, culloden, minotaur, two portuguese ships, (if i can get them ready, not that i see they have any wants) and the alliance storeship. a neapolitan ship brings the cavalry, in a convoy, after us. the king's order for the destination was to be given to me; and, when at sea, i was to give it to the general commanding the troops: who was to be totally ignorant, that leghorn was the object, and not malta; which, as a secret, was communicated to him. his majesty approved of this plan, and mack was to march--i repeat it with pleasure--"with thirty thousand of the finest troops in europe," on saturday, the 17th, to rome; and keep advancing, trusting to the support of the emperor. every hour, the french are increasing their italian army, and two new generals are arrived at rome. thus i went to bed last night; and, at six this morning, came to take leave of their majesties. i found them in great distress. the courier who left london on the 4th, has not brought any assurance of support from the emperor. m. turget is evasive; and wishes, he says, the french to be the aggressors. it is aggression, if this court knows--all the world knows--that the french are collecting an army to over-run naples; in a week, destroy the monarchy; plunder, and make it a republic. as this is fully known; surely, it is an aggression of the most serious nature. the emperor's troops have not yet been in the habits of retaking kingdoms; and it is easier to destroy, than restore. i ventured to tell their majesties, directly, that one of the following things must happen to the king, and he had his choice--"either advance, trusting to god for his blessing on a just cause, to die with _l'epã©e a la main_; or remain quiet, and be kicked out of your kingdom." the king replied, that he would go on, and trust in god; and desired me to stay till noon, to consult with mack on this new face of affairs. "november 15. i came from the king after dinner; and their majesties both told me, that things stood precisely as they did before the receipt of the dispatches from london and vienna. there was, evidently, a great disappointment at not getting money from england. that they want, is certain; nor do the ministers, i believe, know how to get it. their paper money is at forty per cent. discount. i long ago told the queen, i did not think mr. pitt would go to parliament, and ask money of the country, in the present moment; that, if england saw every exertion made, in this country, to save themselves, john bull was never backward in supporting his friends in distress. good god, my lord, can the emperor submit to this! "november 18. last evening, lady hamilton received a letter from the queen, full of the idea that money was indispensable: and desired her ladyship to shew it to me; and, that i would say what i saw. that i can do, very soon. i see the finest country in the world, full of resources; yet, without enough to supply the public wants: all are plundering, who can get at public money or stores. in my own line, i can speak. a neapolitan ship of the line would cost more than ten english ships fitting out. five sail of the line must ruin the country. every thing else is, i have no doubt, going on in the same system of thieving: i could give your lordship so many instances of the greatest mal-conduct of persons in office, and of those very people being rewarded. if money could be placed in the public chest at this moment, i believe it would be well used: for the sad thing in this country is, that although much is raised, yet very little reaches the public chest. i will give you a fact--when the order of jesuits was suppressed in this country and sicily, they possessed very large estates: although these, with every other part of their property, were seized by the crown; yet, to this moment, not one farthing has reached the public chest. on the contrary, some years, the pretended expence of management was more than the produce. taxes have been sold for sums of money; which, now, are five times more than when sold. this, it is true, was done by viceroys, to please their distant masters. but, i am tiring your patience. in short, their majesties look to us for every succour; and, without it, they are undone. "i have wrote to the turkish and russian admirals, and shall take care to keep on the very best footing with all the allied powers. "believe me, your lordship's most obedient and obliged servant, "nelson." at this neapolitan review, a curious circumstance is said to have occurred. by some mistake of general mack's, in directing the operations of a feigned fight, it so happened that his own troops were completely surrounded by those of the enemy; when lord nelson, vexed at the unfortunate and inauspicious blunder, immediately exclaimed, to his surrounding friends--"this fellow does not understand his business!" it having been agreed, in a council held at the camp of st. germaine's, as suggested in the foregoing letter, to take possession of leghorn, not a moment was lost, by lord nelson, in preparing for that expedition. the king and queen of naples, affected by the very indifferent state of his lordship's health, and fearing that the exertion might prove too much for their chief protector, wished him to remain at naples. when the queen, accordingly, through the medium of lady hamilton, advised him to send the troops; he instantly directed her to inform her majesty, that it was his custom, in order to succeed, not to say--"go!" but--"let us go!" such was the dispatch used on this occasion, that all the troops were embarked, and his lordship sailed from the bay of naples, on the 22d instant. the vanguard, culloden, minotaur, and alliance, were the only british ships, on board of which were about two thousand seven hundred soldiers; and, in the portuguese principe real, albuquerque, and st. sebastian, two thousand four hundred. in all, five thousand, one hundred and twenty-three. as it blew a strong gale all that night, and the following day, none but the british kept company with the vanguard, which arrived in leghorn road on the 28th. the ministers of their majesties of great britain and of the two sicilies, the honourable william windham and the duke di sangro, immediately going on board the vanguard, and being of opinion that a summons in the name of admiral lord nelson, as well as that of the neapolitan general naselli, would be proper, the following was instantly prepared. "we, the commanders of the troops of the king of the two sicilies, and of the squadron of his britannic majesty, now before leghorn, demand of the governor of leghorn the free and instant admission of his sicilian majesty's troops into the town and fortress of leghorn, and every thing thereunto depending. if you refuse, we have power to enforce our just demand; which will, undoubtedly, instantly be done. "naselli, general. "nelson, rear-admiral." captain troubridge, accompanied by the two ministers, went on shore with this summons: and he returned, at eight in the evening, with a capitulation signed; in consequence of which the troops were immediately landed, and possession taken of the town and fortress of leghorn. on the following day, the portuguese squadron also arrived, and landed the remainder of the troops. in the mean time, the neapolitan general refused to seize the french vessels at leghorn, under pretence that the king of naples was not at war with france; and the neapolitan minister, the duke di sangro, was likewise weak enough to maintain the same opinion. the vexation which these impolitic scrupulosities occasioned in the superior mind of our decided hero, is difficult to be described. he saw the destructive tendency of such mental imbecility, and trembled for the fate of a country which was condemned to be thus served. his lordship's feelings will be best conceived, by his own account of what passed in his anxious bosom on the occasion, thus addressed to mr. windham. vanguard, 30th nov. 1798. "my dear sir, "i have been thinking, all night, of the general naselli and the duke di sangro's saying that the king of naples had not declared war against the french. now, i assert, that he has; and, in a much stronger manner than the ablest minister in europe could write a declaration of war. has not the king received, as a conquest made by him, the republican flag taken at goza? is not the king's flag flying there, and at malta; not only by the king's absolute permission, but by his orders? is not his flag shot at, every day, by the french; and returned, from batteries bearing the king's flag? are not two frigates, and a corvette, placed under my orders? and they would fight the french, meet them where they may. has not the king sent publicly, from naples, guns, mortars, &c. with officers and artillery, to fight against the french in malta? if these acts are not tantamount to any written paper, i give up all knowledge of what is war. so far, then, i assert, that the general is authorized to seize all french and ligurian vessels. but that is a small matter, to what will happen if he permits the many hundreds of french which are now in the mole to be neutral, till they have a fair opportunity of being active. even the interest of the grand duke calls loudly, that the neapolitan general should act with vigour; for, if all other schemes fail, they have one sure: viz. set one vessel on fire, and the port of leghorn is ruined for twenty years. pray, say this to seratti. i have, you know, no interest personal to myself, in this advice. i wish the great duke to have no unnecessary risk, and for the neapolitan general and myself to take all the odium on ourselves. pray, excuse this letter; but, i could not resist writing it. ever your, &c. "nelson." the unanswerable reasoning in this letter could not fail to produce perfect conviction; and general naselli, at his lordship's request, consented to lay an embargo on all the vessels at leghorn, till he should receive orders for their disposal from his sicilian majesty. among these ships, were a great number of french privateers; some of them, his lordship observed, in a letter to sir william hamilton, of such force as to do the very greatest mischief to our commerce, if permitted to sail. there were also about seventy sail of vessels, calling themselves belonging to the ligurian republic, before called genoa, ready to sail, loaded with corn, for genoa and france; the arrival of which, must expedite the entrance into italy of more french troops. "general naselli," says lord nelson, "sees, i believe, the permitting these vessels to depart, in the same light as myself; but, there is this difference between us--the general, prudently, and certainly safely, waits the orders of his court, taking no responsibility on himself; i act from the circumstance of the moment, as i feel it may be most advantageous for the honour of the cause which i serve, taking all responsibility on myself." having left captain troubridge at leghorn, to act as exigencies might require, lord nelson immediately returned to naples; where he arrived on the 5th of december, having been absent little more than ten days. during this time, letters had arrived from commodore duckworth, relating to the conquest of minorca; and, these letters having been forwarded after him to leghorn, he wrote the following apology and congratulation to his friend the commodore, now admiral sir john duckworth, who commanded the squadron which had sailed from gibraltar on this expedition. "naples, 6th dec. 1798. "my dear sir, "on my arrival here, yesterday, i found lieutenant gregory, who had been charged with your letters to me; but which were, unluckily, sent after me to leghorn: and, as lieutenant gregory is very anxious to return to you, it is out of my power to answer such part of your public letter as might require. however, i most heartily congratulate you on the conquest of minorca; an acquisition invaluable to great britain, and which completely, in future, prevents any movements from toulon to the westward. my situation in this country has had, doubtless, _one_ rose; but, it has been plucked from a bed of thorns. nor is my present state that of ease; and my health, at best but indifferent, has not mended lately. naples is just embarked in a new war: the event, god only knows; but, without the assistance of the emperor, which is not yet given, this country cannot resist the power of france. leghorn is in possession of the king of naples's troops, as is civita vecchia. i have troubridge, with minotaur, terpsichore, and bonne citoyenne, &c. on the north coast of italy. three sail of the line, under ball, are off malta: and hood, with three sail of the line, and two frigates, is in egypt; but i expect his return every moment, and that the turks and russian ships and flotilla have relieved him. i am here, _solus_; for, i reckon the portuguese as nothing. they are all flag-officers, and cannot serve under any of my brave friends. "with every good wish, believe me your most obedient servant, "nelson." from the following congratulatory letter which lord nelson wrote, at the same time, to his old "brother brigadier," the honourable lieutenant-general stuart, commander in chief of the forces at the reduction of minorca, may be learned the very unpromising state of military affairs with the neapolitan army at this important period. it also clearly developes the secret cause of his lordship's sudden recall from egypt. naples, 6th dec. 1798. "my dear sir, "allow me to congratulate you on the conquest of minorca; an acquisition, as a sea-port, invaluable to our country. i hurried from egypt, early in august; as, by the earl of st. vincent's orders, i was in expectation of being summoned to attend you. however, i am sure, my place was much better filled by commodore duckworth. the new war commenced here, it is yet impossible to say how it may turn: whether it will really hasten the ruin, or save the monarchy. at all events, if the king had not began the war, he would have soon been kicked out of his kingdom. the king is at rome; but five hundred french still hold possession of st. angelo. general mack is gone to civita castellana, where thirteen thousand french have taken post. mack's force, with him, is twenty thousand fine young men; but, with some few exceptions, wretchedly officered. if the french are not soon driven from their post, which is very strong by nature, mack must fall back to the frontier on the side of ancona. the french have drove back, to say no more, the right wing of the king's army, and taken all their baggage and artillery. the emperor has not yet moved, and his minister, thugut, is not very anxious to begin a new war; but, if he does not, naples and tuscany will fall in two months. i shall be happy if you will honour me, at any time, with your commands, here or elsewhere; being, with the highest respect, your most obedient servant, "nelson." a letter from earl spencer had likewise reached naples, at this period, with the official intelligence of admiral nelson's elevation to the peerage; an elevation which, it is certain, the hero of the nile by no means considered as excessive, any more than his particular friends, and even the country in general. in the following answer to earl spencer, it will appear, however, that his zeal kindles with far more ardour for his friend troubridge, than for himself. naples, 7th dec. 1798 "my dear lord, "on my arrival here, from leghorn, i received your lordship's letter of october 7, communicating to me the title his majesty had been graciously pleased to confer upon me; an honour, your lordship is pleased to say, the highest that has ever been conferred on an officer of my standing, who was not a commander in chief. "i receive, as i ought, what the goodness of our sovereign, and not my deserts, is pleased to bestow: but, great and unexampled as this honour may be, to one of my standing--yet, i own, i feel a higher one, in the unbounded confidence of the king, your lordship, and the whole world, in my exertions. even at the bitter moment of my return to syracuse, your lordship is not insensible of the great difficulties i had to encounter, in not being a commander in chief. the only happy moment i felt, was in the view of the french; then, i knew, that all my sufferings would soon be at an end! "i observe what your lordship is pleased to say, relative to the presenting myself, and the captains who served under me, with medals; and, also, that the first lieutenants of the ships engaged will be distinguished by promotions, as well as the senior marine officers. i hope, and believe, the word "engaged" is not intended to exclude the culloden; the merit of that ship, and her gallant captain, are too well known to benefit by any thing i could say. her misfortune was great, in getting aground, while her more fortunate companions were in the full tide of happiness. no; i am confident, that my good lord spencer will never add misery to misfortune. captain troubridge, on shore, is superior to captains afloat. in the midst of his great misfortunes, he made those signals which prevented, certainly, the alexander and swiftsure from running on the shoals. i beg your pardon for writing on a subject which, i verily believe, has never entered your lordship's head; but my heart, as it ought to be, is warm to my gallant friends. "ever your lordship's most faithful and obedient "nelson." so anxious was lord nelson for his gallant friend troubridge, and the other brave officers of the culloden, that he thus urges, at the same time, in a letter to the earl of st. vincent, the subject which occupied his feeling heart. "i received, yesterday," writes he, "a private letter from lord spencer; saying, that the first lieutenants of all the ships engaged would be promoted. i sincerely hope, this is not intended to exclude the first of the culloden. for heaven's sake, for my sake, if it be so, get it altered! our dear friend troubridge has suffered enough; and no one knows, from me, but culloden was as much engaged as any ship in the squadron. his sufferings were, in every respect, more than any of us. he deserves every reward which a grateful country can. bestow on the most meritorious sea-officer of his standing in the service. i i have felt his worth every hour of my command. i have before wrote you, my dear lord, on this subject; therefore, i place troubridge in your hands." of his own disappointment, at not having obtained higher rank, he writes nothing to his commander in chief; but, among his most intimate friends, he is known to have freely expressed his grief and indignation at receiving the title of baron only. had they left him as he was, he has been heard repeatedly to say, he would not have complained; but, he thought, his services merited more than a barony. it would, perhaps, be difficult to find any substantial objection against his having been made, at least, a viscount; which would still have left the commander in chief his superior in rank. indeed, on such peculiarly great and glorious occasions, there need be little dread respecting precedents. no minister would have been impeached, who had even advised his being created a duke; and, most assuredly, the country would have rejoiced at his merited elevation to that dignity. why should not the navy possess honours equal to those of a military marlborough? and, when do we expect to behold the hero on whom they may with more propriety be bestowed? it is a positive fact, that lord nelson would never wear his own gold medal, till he had obtained one for his friend captain troubridge; who, by the strictness of official etiquette, without any actual blame in administration, had been at first excluded. the following laconic epistle to captain troubridge, at leghorn, exhibits a true sailor's letter. "naples, dec. 10th 1798. "my dear troubridge, "i have just received mr. windham's letter of november 30th, and find it is settled that all the cargoes of the genoese ships should be landed; and all the french privateers disarmed, and their crews sent away. so far, i am content. money is not our object; but to distress the common enemy. i hope, if you liked it, you visited the grand duke, in my stead; i could not have been better represented--the copy is a damned deal better than the original. "nelson." "duckworth has a captain under him; john dixon, from england, is post captain; and mr. grey arrived." at the same time, he wrote to his excellency the honourable mr. windham, apologizing for not having himself accepted his royal highness the grand duke's invitation to visit him at pisa. "i have," says he, "to request that you will present my most profound acknowledgments to his royal highness. i was under a sacred promise, to return here as expeditiously as possible; and not to quit the queen and royal family of naples, without her majesty's approbation. this will plead my cause for quitting leghorn so expeditiously." another letter, written to mr. windham this day, is too interesting to be omitted. it presents his opinion of the patriotic character of mr. windham, the disinterestedness of his own, and the wretched pusillanimity of the neapolitan officers. naples, 10th dec. 1798. "my dear sir, "your several letters of november 30, came to me this moment. believe me, no person can set a higher value on your friendship than i do; for, i know, from experience, that you have nothing more at heart, than the honour of our king and country. i rejoice to hear, that the cargoes of corn in the mole of leghorn will be landed; and the privateers disarmed, and the scoundrels belonging to them sent away. the enemy will be distressed; and, thank god, i shall get no money. the world, i know, think that money is our god; and, now, they will be undeceived, as far as relates to us. "down, down with the french!" is my constant prayer. i hope, that the emperor is marched to support this country: for, unused to war, it's officers seem alarmed at a drawn sword; or a gun, if loaded with shot. many of them, peaceable heroes, are said to have run away when brought near the enemy. the king and general acton being at rome, i know not what orders will be sent to general naselli; but, you may depend, i will do nothing which can do away your just demand of retribution to our merchants robbed by the french at leghorn. i arrived here on the 5th of december, and found my presence very comfortable for the poor queen. ever believe me, my dear sir, your most faithful and obliged "nelson." our indefatigable hero wrote, also, on this day, two letters to his excellency, the right honourable sir moreton eden, k.b. minister plenipotentiary at vienna. in the first of these, he says, with his usual excellence of heart, "i have to thank you, for your kindness to captain berry. poor fellow, he has suffered greatly, both in body and mind; but, i hope, his reception in england will perfectly restore him." the other letter fully demonstrates that his head was no less excellent than his heart. it would have been well for the repose of europe, and particularly for the welfare of the emperor of germany, and his hereditary dominions, as well as of his royal relatives at naples, had our hero's advice, even at this late period, been sufficiently regarded. we give, with peculiar pleasure, the whole of this almost prophetic document. naples, dec. 10, 1798. "my dear sir, "i received, with thanks, your favour of november the 15th: and perfectly agree with you, that a delayed war, on the part of the emperor, will be destructive to this monarchy; and, of course, to the newly-acquired dominions of the emperor in italy. had the war commenced in september or october, all italy would at this moment have been liberated. this month is worse than the last; the next will render the contest doubtful; and, in six months, when the neapolitan _republic_ will be organized, armed, and with it's numerous resources called forth, i will suffer to have my head cut off, if the emperor is not only defeated in italy, but that he totters on his throne at vienna. pray, assure the empress, from me, that, notwithstanding the councils which have shook the throne of her father and mother, i shall remain here, ready to save the sacred persons of the king and queen, and of her brothers and sisters; and, that i have also left ships at leghorn, to save the lives of the great duke and her imperial majesty's sister: for all must be a republic, if the emperor does not act with expedition and vigour. "down, down with the french!" ought to be placed in the council-room of every country in the world: and, may almighty god give right thoughts to every sovereign! is the constant prayer of your excellency's most obliged and obedient servant, "nelson." "whenever the emperor acts with vigour, your excellency may say that a proper naval force shall attend to the safety of the adriatic, as far as in my power." at this period, it appears, the unfavourable news from the royal army, and the manifest cowardice, treason, and treachery, every where seeming to pervade the unhappy and devoted kingdom of naples, plunged the excellent queen into an agony of grief which admitted not of consolation. "none, from this house," says lord nelson, writing on the 11th of december to earl spencer, "have seen her majesty these three days; but, her letters to lady hamilton paint the anguish of her soul. however," adds his lordship, "on enquiry, matters are not so bad as i expected. the neapolitan officers have not lost much honour; for, god knows, they had not much to lose: but, they lost all they had. mack has supplicated the king to sabre every man who ran from civita castellana to rome. he has, we hear, torn off the epaulets of some of those scoundrels, and placed them on good serjeants. i will, as briefly as i can, state the position of the army, and it's lost honour; for, defeat they have had none. the right wing of nineteen thousand men under general st. philip, and micheux (who ran away at toulon) were to take post between ancona and rome, to cut off all supplies and communication. near fermi, they fell in with the enemy, about three thousand. after a little distant firing, st. philip advanced to the french general; and, returning to his men, said--_i no longer command you!"_ and was going off to the enemy. a serjeant said--"you are a traitor; what have you been talking to the enemy?" st. philip replied _i no longer command you!"_--"then you are an enemy!" and, levelling his musket, shot st. philip through the right arm. however, the enemy advanced; he was among them; micheux ran away, as did all the infantry; and, had it not been for the good conduct of two regiments of cavalry, they would have been destroyed. so great was this panic, that cannon, tents, baggage, military chest, all were left to the french. could you credit--but, it is true--that this loss has been sustained with the death of only forty men! the french lost many men by the cavalry; and, having got the good things, did not run after an army three times their number. some ran thirty miles, to pesara. the peasantry took up arms, even the women, to defend their country. however, the runaways are not only collected, but advanced to arcoti; which they took from the french, cutting open the gates with hatchets. it is said, they have got a good general; cetto, a neapolitan prince; and, i hope, will be ashamed of their former conduct. general micheux is bringing a prisoner to naples. this failure has thrown mack backward. it is the intention of that general to surround civita castellana. chevalier saxe advanced th viterbi; general metch to fermi; and mack, with the main body, finding his communication not open with fermi, retreated towards castellana. in his route, he was attacked from an entrenchment of the enemy, which it was necessary to carry. finding his troops backward, he dismounted, and attempted to rally them: but they left their general, and basely fled. the natural consequence was, he was sorely wounded; but saved by some gallant cavalry, and carried off by the bravery of a coachman: and is safe, poor fellow, at rome; and, hopes are entertained of his recovery. the fugitives are fled to rome, fancying the french at their heels; who never moved from their entrenchment, which was carried by another party of troops, under general dumas. it is reported, that the king has stripped the prince di tarante, duc di tranoulle, of his uniform, and disgraced him. he commanded under saxe; and fled, among the first, to rome. it is for the traitorous and cowardly conduct of these scoundrels, that the great queen is miserable, knowing not whom to trust. the french minister, and his legation, went off by sea yesterday." on the 14th, the king of naples returned home; and notice was immediately given, by lord nelson, through the medium of sir william hamilton, with as much secrecy as circumstances would admit, that three english transports, then in the bay of naples, had directions to receive on board such valuable effects as could be stowed in them, from british merchants, and other residents, and that the whole squadron would be ready to receive their persons, should such a measure be found necessary, in consequence of the kingdom's being invaded by a formidable french army. the marquis de niza, at the same time, was desired, by his lordship, to spare a number of portuguese officers and seamen, for the purpose of assisting to fit some of the neapolitan ships for sea. he wrote, also, to captain ball, at malta, for the goliath, captain foley, to be sent immediately; and to captain troubridge, at leghorn, whom he desired to join him without one moment's loss of time; leaving the terpsichore in leghorn roads, to bring off the grand duke, should such an event be necessary. "the king," writes he, "is returned home, and every thing is as bad as possible. for god's sake, make haste. approach the place with caution. messina, probably, i shall be found at; but you can enquire, at the lipari islands, if we are at palermo. caution gage to act with secrecy; and desire him to write to windham, and give him those instructions which may be necessary, at this time, for his guarded conduct and secrecy." it had, at this time, been fully resolved, that the king, queen, and royal family, of naples, should embark, with all their richest moveable effects, on board lord nelson's ship, for sicily. in the mean while, it was necessary to conceal such an intention from the neapolitans in general; who would, probably, never have consented to their departure. most of the nobility, who were disaffected, and of the common people, who were loyal, it was not doubted, would object, for different reasons, to a measure which they must behold in different points of view, and consequently both conspire to defeat: while, by the dangerous collision, a spark might be struck on materials of so inflammable a nature as the rude populace, and particularly of a populace so very rude as the lazzaroni of naples; which, suddenly blazing forth into a devouring flame, might fatally involve the whole royal family, and their most faithful and friendly adherents, and render them the unfortunate victims of the cruel and destructive conflagration. it was, therefore, at the extreme hazard of their lives, that lord nelson, with sir william and lady hamilton, for several days preceding the meditated departure, took in charge the various articles secretly conveyed from the palace, and concerted the different operations necessary for effecting the escape of the royal family without discovery or suspicion. every day, lady hamilton assisted and advised with the king and queen of naples, and their jewels, cloaths, &c. were conveyed in boxes, during the night. neither sir william hamilton, nor lord nelson, for several days, judged it safe to appear publicly at the palace; but his lordship secretly accompanied lady hamilton, one evening, for the purpose of exploring a subterraneous passage leading from the queen's bedchamber to the sea, by which it was agreed that they should get off; and settled every preliminary preparation with the few loyal nobility in whom the royal family could confide. great anxiety was expressed for the cardinals, and other members of the romish church, who had taken refuge, in naples, from french persecution, and might now be expected to fall the first victims of their cruelty; but lord nelson desired they might be humanely informed that, on coming in boats alongside any of his ships, and displaying their red stockings, they should be instantly received on board. in the midst of this important business, his lordship had written, on the 18th, the following very concise epistle to earl spencer. naples, dec. 18, 1798. "my dear lord, "there is an old saying--that, when things are at the worst, they must mend." now, the mind of man cannot fancy things worse than they are here. but, thank god, my health is better; my mind never firmer; and my heart in the right trim, to comfort, relieve, and protect, those who it is my duty to afford assistance to. pray, my lord, assure our gracious sovereign--that, whilst i live, i will support his glory; and that, if i fall, it shall be in a manner worthy of your lordship's faithful and obliged "nelson." "i must not write more. every word may be a text for a long letter." in spite of every precaution, however, an idea of what was going forward, seems to have prevailed among the people; and, on the 20th, riotous proceedings began to take place, and some murders were committed, which filled the royal family, and their loyal adherents, with new alarms. this was a most critical period for our hero, and sir william and lady hamilton, who would certainly have been sacrificed to the fury of the populace, had a full discovery been then made of the important parts they were acting. nothing, however, could deter these firm friends from continuing to assist the royal family in escaping from the perils by which they were so cruelly surrounded: and, at night, they were got off, by his lordship, through the subterraneous passage; and conveyed, in barges, amidst a most tremendous sea, on board the vanguard, where they safely arrived about ten o'clock. among this unfortunate royal family, thus constrained to quit their kingdom, under protection of the british flag, was the amiable princess royal, and with her infant of only a month old. they sailed, on the 23d, at night; and, in addition to their misfortunes, a more furious tempest the next day arose than lord nelson had ever before witnessed. it was borne, however, by the royal sufferers, with all the magnanimity which can distinguish minds worthy of majesty. scarcely had the storm subsided, when their estimable hearts were subjected to a still more severe trial: for, next morning, being christmas-day, their third son, prince albert, seven years of age, was suddenly taken ill; and, at six o'clock in the evening, died in lady hamilton's arms. this was an affliction too poignant for nature to be defeated of her tribute; and the unhappy pair were overwhelmed, on the melancholy occasion, with a grief which adorned their illustrious character, and communicated even to the most heroic of their friends. at ten o'clock, they entered the bay of palermo; and, at midnight, the viceroy and nobility arrived on board, and informed the royal mourners that all their sicilian subjects were ready to receive their majesties with joy. the following most interesting letter, written by lord nelson to the earl of st. vincent, the third day after their arrival, contains a valuable narrative of the various proceedings by which this important business was preceded, and at length thus successfully accomplished. "palermo, dec. 28, 1798. "my lord, "on the 22d, i wrote a line to commodore duckworth, telling him that the royal family of the two sicilies were safely embarked on board the vanguard; and requested him to take the first opportunity of acquainting your lordship of this event. for many days previous to the embarkation, it was not difficult to foresee that such a thing might happen. i, therefore, sent for the goliath, from off malta; and for captain troubridge in the culloden, and his squadron from the north and west coast of italy: the vanguard being the only ship in naples bay. on the 14th, the marquis de niza, with three of the portuguese squadron, arrived from leghorn; as did captain hope, in the alcmene, from egypt. from this time, the danger for the personal safety of their sicilian majesties was daily increasing; and new treasons were found out, even to the minister at war. the whole correspondence relative to this important business was carried on, with the greatest address, by lady hamilton and the queen; who, being constantly in the habits of correspondence, no one could suspect. it would have been highly imprudent, either in sir william hamilton or myself, to have gone to court; as we knew that all our movements were watched, and that even an idea was entertained, by the jacobins, of arresting our persons, as a hostage--as they foolishly imagined--against the attack of naples, should the french get possession of it. lady hamilton, from this time, to the 21st, every night received the jewels of the royal family, &c. &c. &c. and such cloaths as might be necessary for the very large party to embark; to the amount, i am confident, of full two millions five hundred thousand pounds sterling. on the 18th, general mack wrote, that he had no prospect of stopping the progress of the french; and intreated their majesties to think of retreating from naples, with their august family, as expeditiously as possible. all the neapolitan navy were now taken out of the mole, consisting of three sail of the line and three frigates. the seamen, from the two sail of the line in the bay, left their ships, and went on shore; and a party of english seamen, with officers, were sent from the vanguard, to assist in navigating them to a place of safety. from the 18th, various plans were formed for the removal of the royal family from the palace to the water-side. on the 19th, i received a note from general acton; saying, that the king approved of my plan for their embarkation. this day, and the 20th, and 21st, very large assemblies of the people were in commotion; several people were killed, and one was dragged by the legs to the palace. the mob, by the 20th, were very unruly, and insisted that the royal family should not leave naples. however, they were pacified by the king and queen's speaking to them. on the 21st, at half past eight, three barges, with myself and captain hope, landed in a corner of the arsenal. i went into the palace, and brought out the whole royal family; put them in the boats; and, at half past nine, they were all safely on board the vanguard: when i gave immediate notice to all british merchants, that their persons would be received on board every and any ship in the squadron, their effects of value being before embarked; and i had directed that all the condemned provisions should be thrown overboard, in order to make room for their effects. sir william hamilton had also directed two vessels to be hired for the accommodation of the french emigrants, and provisions were supplied from our victuallers. in short, every thing had been done for the comfort of all persons embarked. i did not forget, in these important moments, that it was my duty not to leave the chance of any ships of war falling into the hands of the french; therefore, every preparation was made for burning them, before i sailed. but the reasons given me by their sicilian majesties, induced me not to burn them till the last moment. i, therefore, directed the marquis de niza to remove all the neapolitan ships outside the squadron under his command; and, if it were possible, to equip some of them with jury-masts, and send them to messina: and, whenever the french advanced near naples, or the people revolted against their legitimate government, then immediately to destroy the ships of war, and to join me at palermo; leaving one or two ships to cruise between capri and ischia, in order to prevent the entrance of any english ships into the bay of naples. on the 23d, at seven in the evening, the vanguard, samnite, and archimedes, with about twenty sail of vessels, left the bay of naples, the next day, it blew much harder than i ever experienced since i have been at sea. your lordship will believe, that my anxiety was not lessened by the great charge that was with me; but, not a word of uneasiness escaped the lips of any of the royal family. on the 25th, at nine in the morning, prince albeit, their majesty's youngest child, having eat a hearty breakfast, was taken ill; and, at seven in the evening, died in the arms of lady hamilton! and here it is my duty to tell your lordship, the obligations which the whole royal family, as well as myself, are under, on this trying occasion, to her ladyship. they necessarily came on board without a bed, nor could the smallest preparation be made for their reception. lady hamilton provided her own beds, linen, &c. and became their slave; for, except one man, no person belonging to royalty assisted the royal family. nor did her ladyship enter a bed the whole time they were on board. good sir william, also, made every sacrifice for the comfort of the august family embarked with him. i must not omit to state, the kindness of captain hardy, and every officer in the vanguard; all of whom readily gave their beds for the convenience of the numerous persons attending the royal family. at three in the afternoon, being in sight of palermo, his sicilian majesty's royal standard was hoisted at the main top-gallant mast-head of the vanguard: which was kept flying there, till his majesty got into the vanguard's barge; when it was struck in the ship, and hoisted in the barge, and every proper honour paid to it from the ship. as soon as his majesty set his foot on shore, it was struck from the barge. the vanguard anchored at two in the morning of the 26th. at five, i attended her majesty, and all the princesses, on shore: her majesty being so much affected, by the death of prince albert, that she could not bear to go on shore in a public manner. at nine, his majesty went on shore; and was received with the loudest acclamations and apparent joy. i have the honour to be, with the greatest respect, your lordship's most obedient humble servant, "nelson." earl of st. vincent." it has been said, that the king of naples had not, without much difficulty, been induced to quit the seat of his government. doubtless, as will ever be the case, where various powerful parties unhappily divide a country, each chiefly regardful of it's own particular interest, the leaders of the several factions would struggle, by all imaginable stratagems, to draw into their own vortex the sovereign on whose debasement they could alone hope to erect any satisfactory individual exaltation. the king of naples, though a man of excellent dispositions, and neither defective in valour nor in wisdom, might possibly have fallen a prey to some of the numerous deceptive artifices which originated in these causes, if the admirable political sagacity of his vigilant and august consort, the worthy daughter of maria theresa, aided by the keen council of our immortal nelson, and the penetrative wisdom and address of the british minister and his accomplished lady, had not preserved his sicilian, majesty's unsuspecting mind from the ruinous effects of such, destructive machinations. nothing can possibly be more obvious, than that the advice of these friendly fellow-sufferers must necessarily have been sincere; and, if the king really did hesitate, before he embraced a design which nothing but necessity could justify, it must only be ascribed to that ardent desire of constantly doing what is right, which finally induced his majesty to adopt the proposed salutary measure. the king, however, had by no means abandoned his loyal neapolitan subjects, in thus guarding against the treasons of the disloyal; that would not have been a measure for our exalted hero or his estimable friends ever to have advised, or either of their sicilian majesties to have adopted. on the contrary, prince pignatelli had been previously created a viceroy; a grand, police guard established, to preserve the tranquillity of the city during his majesty's absence, commanded by officers selected equally from the respective classes of the nobility and private citizens; and large sums of money, with a prodigious number of arms, freely distributed among the lazzaroni, to preserve all the advantages of their accustomed ardent zeal and loyal attachment. it was, therefore, in fact, only a temporary removal of the court of the king of the two sicilies, from his capital of naples, in one grand division of his dominions, at a most critical period, to that of palermo, in the other. in short, the prudence of the precaution soon manifested itself by the event; and the noble part which our immortal hero so successfully performed, by his consummate wisdom, on the important occasion, liberally interwove, with the civic laurels of italy, the honoured wreath of naval glory, which had been recently and universally yielded to his invincible valour on the banks of the nile. end of volume the first. --------------printed by stanhope and tilling, ranelagh the life of _the right honourable_ _horatio_ lord viscount nelson: baron nelson of the nile, and of burnham-thorpe and hilborough in the county of norfolk; knight of the most honourable military order of the bath; doctor of laws in the university of oxford; vice-admiral of the white squadron of his majesty's fleet; duke of bronte, in farther sicily; grand cross of the order of st. ferdinand and of merit; knight of the imperial order of the ottoman crescent; knight grand commander of the equestrian, secular, and capitular, order of st. joachim of westerburg; and honorary grandee of spain. by mr. harrison. in two volumes. vol. ii. lord viscount nelson's transcendent and heroic services will, i am persuaded, exist for ever in the recollection of my people; and, while they tend to stimulate those who come after him, they will prove a lasting source of strength, security, and glory, to my dominions. _the king's answer to the city of london's address on the battle of trafalgar._ london: printed at the ranelagh press, by stanhope and tilling; for c. chapple, pall mall, and southampton row, russell square. 1806. the life of _lord nelson_, duke of bronte, &c. in tracing the history of a hero so active as lord nelson, the mind can scarcely be allowed a moment's pause. his multifarious transactions, indeed, frequently arise in such rapid successions, that they become far too much involved with each other to admit of any precise chronological arrangement. operations are commenced, which cannot always be soon brought to a conclusion: and, while these are transacting, an attention to other occurrences, of more or less magnitude, becomes perpetually requisite; which are, in their turn, subjected to similar procrastinating delays and necessarily diverted attentions. the cares of lord nelson can hardly be said to have one minute ceased, even when he landed, in safety, at palermo, the royal and illustrious characters, and their immense treasure, which he had successfully conveyed thither, amidst such alarming difficulties and dangers. his anxious bosom, it is true, was now relieved from the apprehensions which it had suffered during the storm; and felt, no doubt, as it ought, a sympathetic sense of the grateful felicitations of beloved friends, on the event of their happy arrival at a place of secure refuge. he could not, indeed, fail to rejoice in their joy: but it was, with all of them, a joy mingled with melancholy; and, with him, it was particularly so. an intellectual tempest, at this apparently enviable period of our hero's glory, was violently agitating the secret recesses of his too susceptible heart. justly jealous of honour, his soul ever kindled with alarm at the most remote idea of aught that could, by any possibility of implication, be considered as having the smallest tendency to sully or impair a single particle of that celestial inheritance which he felt conscious of having a legitimate right to possess in undiminished lustre, if it should be thought, by the more calmly philosophical mind, that he might sometimes too soon take the alarm; let it, at least, not fail to be remembered, that the true votary of honour must never be, even once, a single moment too late. the reader who has attentively perused the preceding part of lord nelson's history, will long since have discovered, that one grand trait of character, in this exalted man, was a determined resolution of accomplishing, to it's fullest possible extent, the business, whatever it might be, which was once committed to his charge; and that, in every expedition, it formed his chief pride, to effect even more than could have been expected, by those who had, from the greatest possible confidence in his skill and ability, selected him for the enterprise. it was this invariable principle that, by prompting him to serve on shore, at the batteries before calvi, cost him the vision of an eye; and it was to this same cause, that he owed the loss of his arm at teneriffe. conformably to this grand characteristic, having so honourably received the earl of st. vincent's orders to seek and to destroy the french armament, which he had at length gloriously encountered at the mouth of the nile; he still internally regretted, that the wound on that occasion received in his forehead, by rendering him almost wholly blind, had proved the sole cause of a single french ship's escape. not that this undoubted conviction in his own bosom, that he should certainly have captured or destroyed the whole fleet, conveys the smallest reflection on any other officer for not having effected the same purpose: for, most assuredly, though many captains in this noble squadron might boast of equal bravery with himself, and of much skill too, lord nelson greatly surpassed them all, and perhaps every other naval commander, in that promptitude of vigorously winged imagination which instantaneously rises to the exigency. the moment captain berry had, on first beholding the position of the french fleet at anchor, fully comprehended the entire scope of his adored admiral's design for the attack, he exclaimed, in an extacy--"if we succeed, what will the world say?"--"there is no if in the case," coolly replied the admiral: "that we shall succeed, is certain; who may live to tell the story, is a very different question!" so positive was this great man of success, even before the battle commenced. though lord nelson had hitherto failed in taking the fugitive ships from egypt, and the transports were not yet destroyed at alexandria; he never relinquished the idea, that some of his "band of brothers," the heroic captains of the nile, might finally fall in with, and either take or destroy, the two line of battle ships, and two frigates, which had alone escaped, and thus complete the destruction of all the ships of war. nor had the comprehensive mind of our hero limited it's hope to these alone: he trusted that some of his brave band would at least assist in effecting the destruction of the transports; as well as in preventing every remaining frenchman, who had been landed in egypt, from ever returning to france. for this purpose, he had not only left captain hood on the coast; but solicited, both at home, and of our allies, the requisite bomb-vessels, &c. by repeated most urgent epistles. at length, the necessary preparations had been made, and dispatched from england, under the command of sir william sidney smith, brother of the english minister, mr. spencer smith, at the ottoman court. the high character of sir sidney smith--as he is usually called--for intrepid gallantry, as well as for incomparable dexterity and address in that species of naval exploit which may be denominated incendiary warfare, seemed to justify sufficiently the judgment of the admiralty in selecting a character so respectably enterprising for this service, and the measure was certainly extremely popular at home. every thing, indeed, was expected from sir sidney smith's ability: and truth requires the acknowledgment, that neither government, nor the people, were finally disappointed; as the history of the siege of acre, where he commanded on shore, and fairly defeated bonaparte, will for ever afford a most satisfactory and substantial proof. a very obvious consequence, however, attended this appointment; which, strange as it may seem, undoubtedly escaped the attention of the admiralty, as well as of the country at large: the former of whom, it is certain, would not have adopted, nor the latter have applauded, any act which they had foreseen could be liable to hurt the feelings of their chief favourite, the gallant hero of the nile. not only did this measure introduce a new british hero to assist in the full accomplishment of the business originally committed, by the earl of st. vincent, to admiral nelson; appearing, to his lordship's exquisite feelings, an implied defectiveness in his noble band of brothers for the completion of the enterprise: but, by the circumstance of sir sidney smith's authorization to take under his command captain hood, and the ships left with him in egypt, lord nelson felt himself deprived of a part of his squadron, in favour of a junior officer, who would consequently be placed above his brave friends. the day after leaving naples, his lordship had received dispatches from sir sidney smith, then off malta, in his way to egypt, apprizing him of these intentions; and, on the 27th, at palermo, others from the earl of st. vincent, who does not appear to have been previously consulted, respecting the appointment of sir sidney smith. it is probable, therefore, that the noble earl might participate with his gallant friend in the unpleasant feelings thus excited. unfortunately, too, sir sidney had written, about this period, to our hero's friend, sir william hamilton; in terms, as it should seem, of insufficient caution; originating, perhaps, merely in the ebullitions of an honest overflowing heart, alive to it's own importance. be this as it may, that of lord nelson was fired with an indignation, which he thus vehemently expresses to his commander in chief. "palermo, 31st dec. 1798. "my dear lord "i do _feel, for i am man_, that it is impossible for me to serve in those seas, with a squadron under a junior officer. could i have thought it; and, from earl spencer? never, never was i so astonished, as your letter made me. as soon as i can get hold of troubridge, i shall send him to egypt, to endeavour to destroy the ships in alexandria. if it can be done, troubridge will do it. the swedish knight writes sir william hamilton, that he shall go to egypt, and take captain hood, and his squadron, under his command. the knight forgets the respect due to his superior officer. he has no orders from you, to take my ships away from my command: but, it is all of a piece. is it to be borne? pray, grant me your permission to retire; and, i hope, the vanguard will be allowed to convey me, and my friends sir william and lady hamilton, to england. god bless you, my dear lord! and believe me, your affectionate friend, "nelson." "earl of st. vincent." his lordship now, certainly, had it in contemplation to retire, as expressed in the above letter. he even went so far, as to request the earl of st. vincent's permission, that he might leave the command to his gallant and most excellent second, captain troubridge, or some other of his brave friends who so gloriously fought at the battle of the nile--if his health and uneasiness of mind should not be mended. in the mean time, he resolved to send captain troubridge to egypt, as he had before intended, that he might endeavour to destroy the transports in alexandria; after which, he was now to deliver up the levant seas to the care of sir sidney smith. piqued as lord nelson evidently was, on this occasion, by what he felt as the obtrusion of sir sidney smith, to the exclusion of his favourite band of brothers, he nevertheless wished him all possible success, and readily yielded him every requisite assistance in his power. at the same time, with abundant address, his lordship selected, from the dispatches which had been transmitted to him, an extract from lord grenville's instructions, which he transcribed into the following letter to sir sidney smith, as a gentle hint that this officer's authority was not wholly without restriction. "palermo, dec. 31, 1798. "sir, "i have been honoured with your letter from off malta, with it's several inclosures: viz. an extract of a letter from lord grenville to john spencer smith, esq. &c.--"and his majesty has been graciously pleased to direct, that your brother, sir sidney smith, shall proceed to constantinople with the eighty-gun ship le tigre. his instructions will enable him to take the command of such of his majesty's ships as he may find in those seas--unless, by any unforeseen accident, it should happen that there should be, among them, any of his majesty's officers of superior rank; and he will be directed to act with such force, in conjunction with the russian and ottoman squadrons, for the defence of the ottoman empire, and for the annoyance of the enemy in that quarter:"--also, an extract of another letter, from lord grenville to yourself and brother--and the earl of st. vincent having sent me an extract of a letter from earl spencer to him; saying that, for certain circumstances, you should be the officer selected for the command of a small squadron in the levant seas: and, his lordship having also informed me, that captain miller was the officer of your choice; and directing me to give you a frigate, or a sloop of war, till captain miller's arrival--you may rest assured, that i shall most strictly comply with the instructions sent by lord grenville to your brother; also, those of earl spencer, and the earl of st. vincent. for this purpose, i must desire that you will lose no time in proceeding to alexandria, to take upon you the command of the blockade, &c. which i shall direct to be delivered up to you; and, from my heart, i wish you every success. the united squadrons of the turks and russians, and of two sail of the line under your command, must be sufficient for the two ships _armée en flute_, and three frigates; which, thank god! are all the enemy have left in those seas. "i have the honour to be, sir, your most obedient servant, "nelson." it is by no means improbable, that lord nelson, while coolly transcribing the above passage from lord grenville's judiciously guarded instructions, to convince sir sidney smith, that he was not restrained, had in some measure convinced himself that those instructions could not possibly be intended to give him, or his gallant friends, the smallest just cause of offence. on this same day, the last of the glorious year 1798, his lordship also wrote the following answer to a letter from john julius angerstein, esq. chairman of the committee at lloyd's, which he had just received. "vanguard, palermo, 31st dec. 1798. "sir, "i have had the honour of receiving your's of the 10th october, inclosing a circular letter addressed to the commanders in the squadron under my command, requesting them to favour the committee with the lists of the killed and wounded on board their respective ships at the battle of the nile: and i beg leave to acquaint you, that i have given the necessary directions to the captains of the ships at present under my command to furnish the committee with lists, agreeable to their wishes; and will write to the captains of those ships which are gone down the mediterranean with the prizes, to do the same as soon as possible, in order to forward their charitable intentions. "i have the honour to be, with the greatest respect, your most obedient and humble servant, "nelson." however, neither this nor any other pleasing employ, amidst his lordship's numerous indispensible avocations, could hastily reconcile him to the unpleasant circumstance of not being left to finish the business which he had so nobly commenced, and so nearly closed. even the soothings of his amiable and illustrious friends were ineffectual; and, on the next day, the first of the year 1799, he wrote to earl spencer for permission to return to england. this fact will appear in the following letter; though, happily, by the timely and judicious interference of the earl of st. vincent, added to the earnest and united requests of the king and queen of naples, and sir william and lady hamilton, he was induced finally to continue a command which the royal sufferers felt so necessary for their protection. "palermo, 1st jan. 1799. "my dear lord, "i have transmitted to mr. nepean, by way of vienna, a duplicate of my letter to the commander in chief: which, of course, will likewise be sent you from him; and it will inform you of all which has passed, from the determination of leaving naples to our arrival at palermo. "the day after i left naples, i received a letter from sir sidney smith, with several inclosures. i send you my answer. every thing which the extracts sent me by sir sidney smith point out to him, has been fully talked over, and fully explained, by kelim effendi; a person holding the office similar to our under-secretary of state, who had been sent with my order of merit: for, by the form of the investiture, that seems to me the properest name to call it. "and now, my lord, having left the command of the two sail of the line in the levant seas to sir sidney smith--than whom, i dare say, no one could be so proper--commodore duckworth will ably, i am sure, watch toulon; for i shall very soon, i hope, be able to send him one or two sail of the line: and, captain troubridge, or some other of my brave and excellent commanders, being left to guard the one sicily, and the coast of italy; i trust, i shall not be thought hasty, in asking permission to return to england for a few months, to gather a little of that ease and quiet i have so long been a stranger to. "captain troubridge goes directly to egypt, to deliver up to sir sidney smith the blockade of alexandria, and the defence of the ottoman empire by sea; for, i should hope, that sir sidney smith will not take any ship from under my command, without my orders; although sir sidney, rather hastily, in my opinion, writes sir william hamilton, that captain hood naturally falls under his orders. i am, probably, considered as having a great force; but i always desire it to be understood, that i count the portuguese as nothing but trouble. ever believe, my dear lord, your most obliged "nelson." "january 2d. general acton has just wrote me, that the french are within thirty miles of naples, on the 30th. marquis de niza is prepared to burn the ships when the french get a little nearer. mack is at capua, with a strong force, numbers not mentioned. dreadful weather! the great queen very ill: i fear for her. "n." two causes, in a short time, particularly contributed, as it should seem, to tranquillize the mind of our hero, with regard to what he could not but consider as sir sidney smith's too great assumption of authority: one of these was, the hope that his friend captain troubridge might effect the destruction of the transports at alexandria before sir sidney's arrival; and the other, immediate information from the earl of st. vincent, that he was as little satisfied as lord nelson himself, with the business which had so deeply affected his feelings, and had therefore exerted his own power to prevent any such future occurrence. "sir sidney smith," says his lordship, writing this month to captain ball, "from a letter he wrote the earl of st. vincent off malta, has given great offence; having said, that he presumed, all the ships in the levant being junior to him, he had a right to take them under his command. his lordship has, in consequence, given him a broad hint, and taken him handsomely down; and, to prevent any thing of the kind happening in future, he has ordered sir sidney to put himself _immediately_ under my command." these great men, however, though they felt jealous of their own command, had minds superior to the retention of any continued animosity; and, when they fully understood each other, became very sincere friends. they were all equally anxious for the good of the country; for the honour of the profession; and, for their own individual reputation. their differences consisted more in the manner than in the form and substance of the thing; and, perhaps, on the whole, lord nelson's excess of feeling may be regarded as having, for a time, punished both himself and sir sidney with far more severity than the necessity of the case, when coolly considered, could by any means render requisite. one of the first public measures taken by his sicilian majesty, after arriving at palermo, was that of sending away, from the whole island of sicily, every frenchman it contained, of whatever description. a resolution which, if it did not originate with our hero, was too consonant with his lordship's known inveterate antigallicanism, not to have received his hearty approbation. the following notice, dated on board the vanguard, 6th january 1799, was accordingly issued by lord nelson. "his sicilian majesty having directed, that all french, of whatever description, should leave the island of sicily--a ship of six hundred tons, an english transport, will be ready, by to-morrow morning, to receive french emigrants; say, two hundred. she will have put on board her biscuit, salt provisions, peas, oatmeal, and the common wine of the country. as this will be an additional gratuity, on the part of the king of great britain, the _emigrées_ will, if they chuse it, lay in such stock of fresh provisions, and other comforts, as they please. "all those pensioned by great britain, will be received by a note from the british agent; and all those pensioned by his sicilian majesty, by a note from the neapolitan agent. "a neapolitan corvette to be attached to this ship, to convey her to trieste, and back again, and to receive on board such _emigrées_ as the court shall direct. the transports and corvette out to sail as soon as possible. their time of departure will depend on the king's order." on occasions of this sort, no doubt, there will always be some cases of peculiar hardship; but the difficulty of discriminating between the treacherous and the sincere, among a people so excessively insidious, and the danger to be dreaded from deceit, by those who were so severely suffering it's effects, maybe considered as sufficiently justifying the measure. captain troubridge, having arrived on the 5th, sailed on the 7th, with the culloden, theseus, bulldog, and victuallers, for syracuse; with orders to collect the bombs, and proceed with them and the theseus to alexandria, for the purpose of making a vigorous attack on the shipping in that harbour. in writing, on this subject, to the earl of st. vincent, lord nelson says--"if the thing can be done, troubridge will do it." captain louis, of the minotaur, the present celebrated admiral louis, ever one of his lordship's most deservedly favourite friends, had been now ordered to command on the coast of italy towards leghorn: and commodore mitchell, of the portuguese squadron, was directed by lord nelson, if he could not, by the rules of the portuguese service--a subject which, his lordship remarked, this was not the time to enter on--put himself under that very old and respectable officer, captain louis; at least, to co-operate with him in the service on which he was ordered, and to remain on that service till farther orders from his lordship, or captain louis's consent for leaving it. in a letter of this day, to the earl of st. vincent, his lordship says--"minotaur is gone to leghorn, to endeavour to do good; and louis will act, i am sure, for the best, as circumstances arise." this very letter, sent by captain hope, he thus concludes--"i must refer you, my dear lord, to hope, who is very zealous and active." so warmly affectionate was the heart of this great and good man to all his worthy officers; and, indeed, to every deserving person under his authority. on this day, lord nelson wrote no less than five public letters: that already noticed, to the earl of st. vincent; another, to earl spencer; two to constantinople, one of them for spencer smith, esq. and the other for francis wherry, esq. a fourth to commodore duckworth; and the fifth, to the honourable lieutenant-general stuart. besides what has been extracted from the letter to the earl of st. vincent, it contains the following intelligence relative to the then state of naples--"on the 4th, the french were not at naples; but were only sixteen miles distant, negociating with the _nobles_ of naples, for the exclusion of the king. the french long to give them the fraternal squeeze. another party is for making the duke of parma's son, married to the king of spain's daughter, now at madrid, king under french protection. the lower class are the only loyal people; and they, we know, may any moment take a wrong turn. mack is at capua; but, it was determined, should retreat towards salerno. on the 3d, at night, the french attempted to force the lines of capua. they did not succeed. what occasioned their retreat, is difficult to guess; although the neapolitan army is twenty-five thousand, and the french not eight thousand. _is not this a dream! can it be real_?" the letter to earl spencer is as follows. "palermo, jan. 7, 1799. "my dear lord "our news from naples has been daily from bad to worse. on the 4th, the enemy was not at naples. there are parties, in the capital, for a republic; and another for making the duke of parma, who is at madrid, king: but, i believe, the fighting party is very small. the events which have taken place in the kingdom of naples have been so rapid and extraordinary, that it appears a dream. the king, god bless him, is a philosopher; but the great queen feels sensibly all that has happened. she begs me not to quit palermo; for that sir william and lady hamilton, and myself, are her only comforts. i shall, as is my duty, do every thing in the best manner i am able, for the honour of our country. general stuart, from minorca, calls for me; mr. windham, from florence, does the same; and the affairs of egypt and malta are endeavouring to be brought to an issue. captain ball has done wonders; and, i trust, will soon succeed. the bombs, from malta, go to egypt, and are to make a vigorous attack on the shipping at alexandria. these two points successful, will set us quite at our ease on the sea. with every sentiment of respect, believe me, your lordship's most faithful servant, "nelson." the letters to spencer smith, and francis wherry, esqrs. contain little more than a reference to sir sidney smith, as the new defender, by sea, of the ottoman empire, and a polite termination of his lordship's public correspondence with these gentlemen. what his lordship wrote to commodore now admiral duckworth, contains so many interesting particulars, that it must necessarily be presented entire. "palermo, 7th jan. 1799. "my dear sir, "you will have heard, by captain richardson, who left naples on the 22d of december, of what had happened, to the astonishment of all europe. it is incredible; but, such things are! i have received the notification of the force expected from brest; and, if they do get into the mediterranean, i am confident, they will first go to toulon: which, when you are apprized of, i submit to your consideration, in concert with his excellency general stuart, the propriety of uniting our forces, at what point will be best; but, i shall be truly happy in coinciding with the general and yourself. i am well aware of the small force of the general and yourself, should an invasion of minorca take place: but, i have a most detestable opinion of the spanish officers and troops, and the very highest, from experience, of general stuart; who, by his abilities, would make a bad army a good one. from the situation of affairs here, and having now got bomb-ships, i have determined to bring our matters to issue, both at alexandria and malta, as expeditiously as possible; for which purpose, troubridge goes this day for egypt, with my orders to make a vigorous attack on the ships in alexandria. captain ball has, at this moment, i hope, finished with malta. he was using the bombs, by the last account; and intended, about this time, storming the bormola, the left side of the harbour: by which all the shipping must fall, and the french be close kept up in the town of la vilette. i wish to send you two sail of the line, and to request your look-out upon toulon: i am sure, it cannot be in better hands. but, our situation respecting italy every day alters from bad to worse, so that i cannot answer for my present intentions. i have, under my command, four portuguese ships of the line; you are most heartily welcome to them all, if you think they will be useful. i own, i consider them as nothing; except trouble in writing orders, which are intolerably executed. however, you may be assured of my ardent desire to do every thing which can render your command pleasant; and, for the security of the valuable acquisition of minorca. "ever believe me, dear sir, your faithful and obliged. "nelson." in the letter to general stuart is a recapitulation of the affairs of naples; with the observation that such things are, if he is not dreaming! "the conduct of the emperor," he writes, "is to me extraordinary; the loss, at least, of his new italian dominions, will be the natural consequence. tuscany must drop from his family; and, whether a month sooner or later, is of little importance. you have seen the movements of austrian armies, so have i; and found, unhappily, all their generals traders, making the most of their command, by oppressing the poor soldiers. i feel, very much, my dear general, for your situation, in the invaluable possession which your excellent judgment placed under the dominion of his majesty; and, believe me, i shall have the greatest pleasure in doing every thing you can wish me." after observing that his force is merely nominal, and repeating his intentions, as expressed to commodore duckworth, his lordship concludes--"the vanguard is at palermo, their sicilian majesties desiring me not to leave them; but, the moment you want me, i fly to your assistance." the fact is, that lord nelson did not entertain apprehensions of any serious attack on minorca; and, therefore, without weakening more essential service, prudently kept merely an eye to the remote possibility of such an event; nor did his lordship's judgment, on this occasion, prove to be less judicious than usual. on the 8th, our hero received a most flattering encomium, indeed, from england; which, certainly, could not fail fully to compensate for every temporary mortification which he might have experienced. this was nothing less than an elegant complimentary and congratulatory epistle, written to his lordship by earl howe, expressive of that noble and illustrious veteran's high admiration of the glorious victory off the nile. what his lordship may be supposed to have felt at the perusal of this most acceptable testimonial to his transcendent merits, cannot be more effectually impressed than by reading the following admirable answer, which he appears to have instantly written, while his heart was overflowing with gratitude. "palermo, 8th jan. 1799. "my lord, "it was only this moment, that i had the invaluable approbation of the great, the immortal, earl howe; an honour the most flattering a sea-officer could receive, as it comes from the first and greatest sea-officer the world has ever produced. i had the happiness to command a band of brothers; therefore, night was to my advantage. each knew his duty; and, i was sure, each would feel for a french ship. by attacking the enemy's van and centre, the wind blowing directly along their line, i was enabled to throw what force i pleased on a few ships. this plan my friends readily conceived, by the signals--for which we are principally, if not entirely, indebted to your lordship--and we always keep a superior force to the enemy. at twenty-eight minutes past six, the sun in the horizon, the firing commenced. at five minutes past ten, when l'orient blew up, having burnt seventy minutes, the six van ships had surrendered. i then pressed forward, towards the rear; and, had it pleased god, that i had not been wounded, and stone-blind, there cannot be a doubt but that every ship would how have been in our possession. but, here, let it not be supposed, that any officer is to blame. no; on my honour, i am satisfied each did his very best! i have never, before, my lord, detailed the action to any one; but i should have thought it wrong, to have kept it from one who is our great master in naval tactics and bravery. may i presume to present my very best respects to lady howe, and to lady mary; and to beg that your lordship will believe me, ever, your most obliged "nelson." this was a rich repayment to the venerable and illustrious earl, of the exalted praise which he had so liberally transmitted our hero: praise which, however excessive, could scarcely be, on either side, too much. on the following day, the 9th, an opportunity occurs to exhibit our incomparable hero in a new and most amiable light; the irresistible christian advocate of humanity, pleading for the emancipation of mahometan captives from slavery. the ambassador, and his suite, from the grand signior, who had arrived at naples, and were now at palermo, were about to take their departure; having long since fulfilled, as was formerly described, the object of their mission, by investing our hero with the ottoman dignities. their return appears to have been delayed by the affairs of naples, which would not sooner admit of a ship's being spared for their conveyance to constantinople. the bonne citoyenne, however, commanded by captain nisbet, his lordship's son-in-law, had now the honour of that service. accordingly, as kelim effendi, the turkish ambassador, was passing, in a boat, to go on board the bonne citoyenne, near the portuguese man of war, the principe real, then laying in the mole, several moors and turks called to him, from that ship, where they were confined as slaves. the ambassador immediately sent to lord nelson, requesting his interference in procuring their liberty; and his lordship, with all that amiable humanity which so highly distinguished his character, immediately wrote as follows to the marquis de niza. "palermo, jan. 9th, 1799. "my dear marquis, "you have some turkish slaves on board. i beg, as a friend--as an english admiral--as a favour to me, as a favour to my country--that you will give me the slaves. in doing this, you will oblige your faithful friend, "nelson." the marquis very handsomely gave up, instantly, all the moors and turks he had oh board, twenty-five in number; and they were sent, by his lordship, to the turkish ambassador, secretary kelim, who took them with him to constantinople, blessing their noble benefactor. on the 11th, intelligence was received at palermo, that commodore campbell had prematurely burned all the neapolitan ships of war; though the french were not then at naples, or near it: "for," says his lordship, "while an army was covering naples, the enemy could not be considered as near taking it." of this conduct, lord nelson expressed his entire disapprobation; and his sicilian majesty was, as he had just reason to be, greatly displeased on the occasion. the commodore, however, who had evidently acted too precipitately, yet with the best intentions, being under a portuguese commander, happily escaped the enquiry of a court-martial; to which he would undoubtedly have been subjected, had he served in the british fleet. the king and queen of naples, indeed, satisfied of commodore campbell's upright, though unadvised conduct, graciously condescended to intercede in his behalf; and lord nelson, shortly afterwards, though he had at first been exceedingly angry, convinced the worthy commodore that he retained not the smallest animosity, by employing him on a confidential expedition to the bey of tripoli. the fate of naples was, in truth, at this time fast approaching. the prince general pignatelli had signed an armistice with the french, in which the name of the king of naples was omitted to be mentioned, who could not but entirely disapprove of such a proceeding; and the french, who were in possession of capua, now visited naples as a friendly place. in this situation of affairs, his lordship, though very unwell, offered to go to the bay of naples; but both the king and queen so earnestly pressed him not to move, that he was unable to withstand their intreaties: they were, they freely acknowledged, full of apprehensions, and had confidence in him only for their safety. what the abilities of a nelson might have effected, had it been possible for him to have headed, at land, the loyal lazzaroni of naples, is incapable of being ascertained; but no skill or valour could alone have long preserved a nation so corrupt and pusillanimous from the destruction which, by their meanness, the generality of the upper and middling classes were inviting. there wanted, only, what their subtle invaders well knew was never far distant, some plausible artifice suddenly to prevail over the simplicity of the honest but credulous vulgar, which could not fail to divert that powerful torrent, into whatever channel should most rapidly lead them to the gulph of perdition. without entering into the history of this war, which is neither practicable, nor requisite, on the present occasion, it may be briefly remarked--that championet, the french general, is well known to have informed the directory at paris that, by means of a correspondence with the disaffected party, he should be master of naples by the time they received the news of the capitulation of capua--that this treachery soon becoming suspected by the lazzaroni, who were in the royal interest, they seized all the arms; parading the streets, and vociferating the names of the king and their tutelary st. januarius--that general mack was regarded as a traitor; and the remains of the army which he had commanded were considered as jacobins whom french gold had corrupted--that mack, not very unfavourably to the suspicions of the lazzaroni, fled from them to championet, who gave him a passport and escort to milan; where, however, with true french protection, he was seized as a prisoner of war, by order of the directory--that the neapolitan army, equally terrified with their general at the menaces of the numerous lazzaroni, deserted, to that of the french, and was in two days quite disorganized and annihilated--that the lazzaroni, urged to fury by the escape of their prey, attacked and drove in the advanced posts of the french, and penetrated even to the line--that prince molliterno, who had been chosen their general, did not escape their menaces, when they found that he was entering into a negociation with championet--that they now every where plundered and massacred the objects of their suspicions, however well or ill founded--that prince molliterno, and his friends, seizing on the forts, called the french to their assistance--and that, after numerous severe struggles, in which vast numbers of the french, as well as of the lazzaroni, were slain, the latter were only finally subdued by stratagem. in the momentary cessations from mutual slaughter, championet offered his protection to several of the terrified inhabitants. he professed a most profound veneration for st. januarius; and gravely invoked the all-powerful saint, for the preservation of human lives, and the restoration of peace, in the suffering city of naples. a french guard of honour was stationed at the church of the tutelary apostle: and "respect for januarius," adopted as the consign of their army. the report of such sincere devotion to their favourite saint, flew with the celerity of lightning along the ranks of the lazzaroni. "_vivent les français!_--_vive la republique!"_--"long live the french!--long live the republic!"--soon followed, in thundering applauses, through the lines. in short, without pursuing the various scenes of the wretched farce by which these miserable devotees of superstition were betrayed into an opinion that championet possessed nearly as much sanctity as st. januarius himself, and was scarcely less entitled to the adoration which many of the simple souls were now weak enough to pay him; the shouts of admiration, and of joy, universally succeeded to the shrieks of anguish, and the fearful cries of desperation; the contest was immediately brought to a close, and peace everywhere loudly proclaimed. wonders were not wanting on the occasion--the blood of st. januarius miraculously flowed this very evening, at the intercession of the venerable archbishop, and his pious clergy; whose devotion to the saint, appears to have far surpassed their loyalty to their sovereign: and, though a fiery eruption of mount vesuvius, which had been tranquil for the preceding five years, was actually seen to burst forth on the very day, the 24th of january 1799, even that ancient proof of the anger of the saint was, in the madness of the moment, considered as an additional token of his holiness's approbation! such is the inconsistency of untutored folly, and the fate of misinstructed superstition; the power of superior cunning, and the effect of unprincipled deceit. the concern of the good king and queen of naples, at the calamitous effects of these successful stratagems on the deluded people, could not fail to be excessive; and that of our indignant hero, and his estimable friends, were little inferior. the despicable frauds, by which the miserable vulgar had been ensnared, were to them abundantly manifest; but they well knew that, had they even been present, and assured the credulous creatures, that the liquification of st. januarius's blood, and even the blaze of mount vesuvius--which was unaccompanied by any natural overflow of the lava--were both easily effected by a simple chemical process, and a few kindled faggots and barrels of gunpowder thrown into the crater, they would most probably have been instantly massacred for what the priests must have necessarily pronounced, for their own safety, the most blasphemous of all possible impieties. in writing, on the 28th of january, to the honourable mr. windham, at leghorn, lord nelson thus foretells the fate of tuscany, and of all the emperor of germany's italian dominions. "alas!" says his lordship, "the fancied neutrality of tuscany will be it's downfall. you see it, and it cannot fail soon to happen. tuscany does not, or cannot, support it's neutrality for us or naples; only to protect the french, is this name prostituted. seratti, who is a man of sound sense, must see it. when the emperor loses tuscany and naples--which, i am bold to say, the conduct of his ministry conduces to do more than the arms of the french--his newly-acquired dominions will not keep to him. active, not passive; actions, are the only weapons to meet these scoundrels with. we can, as your excellency knows, have no desire to distress the grand duke by our conduct; on the contrary, it is our duty to support his royal highness against the tyranny of the french. your excellency will be so good as to say, for me, to his royal highness, that an english ship of war shall, as long as he pleases, remain at leghorn, ready to receive his person and family; for, unless the emperor acts speedily, the british flag will be his only security. tuscany has the choice, to act like men, and take the chance of war; or, in a few weeks, to become another conquest of the french, and to form a new republic." speaking of naples, he, says--"we have heard nothing since the 19th; and, from those accounts, it is difficult to say, what turn the mob will take; at that time, they were certainly loyal. the nobility, to a man, jacobins. mack has disappeared, and no one knows the route he has taken." such, it appears, was the uncertainty of the royal family of naples, with regard to it's fate, on the 28th, at palermo; though, in reality, it had then been already determined. in fact, on the 25th, the following curious advertisement, for a grand te deum, in consequence of this desirable event, was actually published at naples; and the archbishop, with the rest of the clergy, solemnly assured the people, that great faith, and extraordinary prayers, had induced their saint to testify his entire approbation of the measure. "all the faithful citizens of naples are invited to be present this day, (friday, the 25th of january 1799,) at two in the afternoon, at the celebration of te deum; which the archbishop, accompanied by the chapter, the clergy, the general in chief and staff of the army of naples, will sing in the cathedral church, to thank the most high for the glorious entry of the french troops into this city; and who, protected in a peculiar manner by providence, have regenerated this people, and are come to establish and consolidate our happiness. st. januarius, our protector, rejoices in their arrival. his blood miraculously liquified on the very evening of the entry of the republican troops." lord nelson, in the letter last mentioned, thus speaks of the state of sicily--"as to this island, i cannot take upon me to say much: that they all hate the french, is certain; but, still, they feel themselves an oppressed people. on the 20th, at augusta, a french vessel, with a hundred and forty officers and soldiers, arrived from egypt. the boat people, and those of the town, attacked them. eighty-seven were killed; the remainder escaped on board a neapolitan frigate, who protected them. sir william and lady hamilton, and i may add myself, are all unwell. the great queen is far from well. the king is the best of the party. as the queen is very anxious to hear of the fate of tuscany, i shall direct captain louis--who, i was sure, your excellency would like--to send either terpsichore, or this brig, back to palermo." in a letter of the same date to captain now admiral louis, his lordship says, observing that all in the house had been ill, and were still far from well--"the air of palermo is very bad, in my opinion." his confidence in captain louis, as well as in mr. windham, is thus strongly expressed--"you will, i am sure, my dear sir, act in that way, which will always meet my wishes and do credit to our country. whenever mr. windham tells you, that his royal highness the grand duke his no occasion for his majesty's ships, i shall be very glad to see you here; but consult with mr. windham, and you cannot err." on the last day of january, lord nelson received, from england, official communications of the votes which had been passed by the house of peers, the house of commons, and the irish house of commons, conveying their thanks, by their respective speakers, to his lordship, his officers, and men, who fought in the battle off the nile; which he instantly acknowledged, by most respectful answers to lord loughborough, the right honourable henry addington, and the honourable john foster. on the same day, he also received letters from the lord mayor of london, the clerk of the drapers company, and the mayor of liverpool; to which he immediately wrote, respectively, the following answers. "vanguard, palermo, 31st jan. 1799. "sir, "i have only this day received the honour of your letter (when lord mayor) of the 16th october; and i beg that you will convey to the court of common council my sincere gratitude for all their goodness to me; and assure them, it shall be the business of my life, to act in the manner most conducive to the prosperity of the city of london, on which depends that of our country. "i am truly sensible of your politeness, in desiring me to say what particular devices i should wish on the sword which is to be presented to me by the city of london; but, i beg to leave that to the better judgment of my fellow-citizens. believe me, when i assure you, that i feel myself your most faithful and obliged servant," nelson. "sir william anderson, bart late lord-mayor of london. "vanguard, palermo, 31st jan. 1799. "sir, "i have this day received your letter, conveying to me the great honour conferred upon me by the worshipful company of drapers of london, by presenting me with the freedom of their company. i beg you will, sir, have the goodness to convey to the worshipful company, how much i feel honoured by their kind notice of my services; and assure them, that it shall be the study of my life, to preserve their good opinion. allow me, also, to thank you, for the very flattering manner in which you have executed the orders of the company. believe me, sir, with great respect, your much obliged and most obedient servant," "nelson." henry smith, esq. clerk of the drapers company. "vanguard, palermo, 31st jan. 1799. "sir, "i am this day favoured with your letter, conveying to me the unanimous resolution of the common council of liverpool, to honour me with their thanks, and also the freedom of their town. i beg you will assure those whom, from this moment, i am to call my brother freemen, that my future exertions shall never be wanting, to approve myself worthy of the high honour conferred upon me by the representative body of the second sea-port in the kingdom; and believe me, with the highest respect, your much obliged and obedient servant, "nelson." "thomas leyland, esq. mayor of liverpool." the transactions of this busy day were of a nature which could not fail highly to gratify the feelings of our hero. he also received, either on this day or the following, a most kind, friendly, and highly satisfactory epistle, from the earl of st. vincent; the purport of which is sufficiently obvious from this answer, dated on board the bellerophon, to which he had now shifted his flag. "bellerophon, palermo, 1st feb. 1799. "my lord, "i have to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 16th of january, inclosing a copy of one from sir sidney smith, off malta, with your answer; as, also, your lordship's order to take him under my command. i consider myself highly honoured by your lordship's letter, and flattered by your attention; and will order sir sidney smith to put himself under my command the very first opportunity. i am, with the highest respect, my lord, your most obedient and faithful servant, "nelson." the vanguard, and la minerve, had just been sent to malta; and the bellerophon wanting a little repair, his lordship had now shifted his flag on board that ship till the vanguard's return. he was not without hope, that malta would soon fall; and chose rather to let captain ball have the credit of driving the french out, after having, as he observed, gone through "all the hard fag," than permit the portuguese squadron, now at messina, to participate the glory, who had been unwilling to encounter the fatigue, which his lordship had originally wished them to partake. in mentioning the portuguese officers to the earl of st. vincent, he says--"as for the great commodores, their rank is as much a plague to them as it is to me. niza is a good-tempered man. we are, apparently, the very best friends; nor have i, nor will i do an unkind thing by him." but, he had torn himself away from malta, at the commencement, and his lordship was determined not to send him at the close. three letters were this day written by lord nelson to the earl of st. vincent; one of them has a conclusion so forcibly interesting, on several accounts, that it must on no account be omitted. what a picture it affords, of a contrariety of contending passions, struggling, at the same moment, in the bosom of this wonderful man; ever, as it should seem, feeling with too much energy, for the stability of it's own prolonged peace! "all in this house have been ill, and are still. our great queen, who truly admires you; our dear, invaluable lady hamilton; our good sir william; and give me leave to add myself, to this excellent groupe; have but one opinion about you: viz. that you are every thing which is great and good. let me say so, about sir sidney smith! i thank you, most truly. my health is indeed, very indifferent; but, whilst i live, if the queen desire it, i remain for her security. no consideration of my own health shall make me abandon my honourable post, in which you have placed me. a parliament is called here: the queen has her doubts about their temper; and i have promised, under my hand, not to leave her; unless by her desire. let me thank you, for your goodness to captain nisbet. i _wish_ he may deserve it; the thought half kills me! my dear lord, there is no true happiness in this life; and, in my present state, i could quit it with a smile. may god almighty bless you with health, happiness, and long life! is the fervent prayer of your affectionate friend, "nelson." to the intelligent reader, here is ample scope for reflection, in a very short compass. felt gratitude, warmly expressed, to the earl of st. vincent, for his kind and generous attentions; lofty eulogiums of his lordship's royal and illustrious friends on the conduct of the noble earl; severe mention of his friend sir sidney; complaint of ill health; firm attachment to the royal family at palermo; fearful apprehensions for a beloved son-in-law, whom he had brought tenderly up with all the anticipatory hopes of the fondest paternal affection, and for whose future conduct he seems, by some untoward circumstances, to have been now filled with all a feeling father's anxieties and alarms; and, lastly, as the consequence of defeated expectations, a desponding willingness to relinquish even life, from an experienced conviction that it affords no permanent or perfect felicity. on the 3d, his lordship received, through the earl of st vincent, the thanks of the house of peers of ireland, to himself, and the captains, officers, seamen, and marines, of the detached squadron under his command at the battle off the nile, and immediately returned a respectful answer by the same channel. he also wrote the following true sailor's letter to the earl, respecting malta. "palermo, feb. 3, 1799. "my dear lord, "the incendiary is just come from ball, off malta; and has brought me information, that the attempt to storm the city of valette had failed, from--(i am afraid, i must call it)--cowardice. they were over the first ditch, and retired, _damn them_! but, i trust, the zeal, judgment, and bravery, of my friend ball, and his gallant party, will overcome all difficulty. the cutter just going off prevents my being more particular. ever your most faithful, "nelson." "naples is declared a republic, and the french flag flying. we are low in spirits, but all in this house love you." his lordship should have considered, before he pronounced the above naval anathema against the maltese, for pusillanimity, the wretched starving state of the poor fellows carcases; of this he could not be ignorant, since he had, this very day, written to sir john acton in their behalf. "if," says he, "six thousand salms of corn are not sent directly to malta, the inhabitants are in that state of want, that the worst consequences for the interest of his sicilian majesty may be apprehended. all these poor people want is, that the king should give them six months credit; when they could make their payments, in money or cotton. the case is important, and demands instant compliance. "the inhabitants have not seven days bread." he wrote, the day following, to his friend captain ball, and inclosed him a satisfactory answer just received from general acton on the subject: adding--"this evening i saw the king; and he is exceedingly angry, to think that his faithful maltese subjects should want for any comforts or necessaries which it is in his power to bestow." he addressed, at the same time, a seasonable letter to the deputies of the maltese people; containing, also, a copy of general acton's letter, with assurances of captain ball's protection, and his own determination to afford them every assistance in his power. in short, though his lordship execrated all appearances of cowardice, he compassionated every species of distress. lord nelson, in a letter, dated the beginning of this month, addressed to admiral then commodore duckworth, thus regrets the difficulty which he experiences, in consequence of having lost his right arm, with regard to writing--"i thank you, most truly, for your several very interesting letters, and beg that i may be favoured with your correspondence whenever opportunity offers. you will, i am sure, make allowance for a left-handed man; but, my inclination to write longer letters is great. i can get but slowly over the paper." this, added to the numerous avocations necessarily arising from so widely extended a command as that in which he was now engaged, will sufficiently account for any seeming neglect of continued correspondence with old friends; whom, however, he was not the man ever to forget. the truth of this observation more particularly manifests itself in the following letter written to that esteemed veteran, captain locker; who had sensibly felt the effect of this difficulty, though not the last to congratulate his honoured pupil on the success of his most splendid victory. this excellent letter has been repeatedly published, but it well merits to be again printed. "palermo, 9th feb. 1799. "my dear friend, "i well know, your own goodness of heart will make all due allowances for my present situation; in which, truly, i have not the time, or power, to answer all the letters i receive, at the moment. but you, my old friend, after twenty-seven years acquaintance, know that nothing can alter my attachment and gratitude to you. i have been your scholar. it was you who taught me to board a frenchman, by your conduct when in the experiment. it is you who always hold--"lay a frenchman close, and you will beat him!" and my only merit in my profession is, being a good scholar. our friendship will never end, but with my life: but, you have always been too partial to me. "pray tell kingsmill, that it was impossible i could attend to his recommendation. indeed, i had, not being a commander in chief, no power to name an agent. remember me kindly to him. "the vesuvian republic being fixed, i have now to look out for sicily: but revolutionary principles are so prevalent in the world, that no monarchical government is safe, or sure of lasting ten years. "i beg you will make my kindest remembrances to miss locker, and all your good sons; and believe me, ever, your faithful and affectionate friend, "nelson." "lieutenant-governor locker, royal hospital, greenwich." as the vesuvian republic had been now formed on the ruins of the neapolitan monarchy, under the protection of the french, and was consequently at war with great britain, lord nelson gave directions for the property of all persons who had not left this new state to be seized as lawful prize. application was again made to the emperor; a survey taken of the island, for the purpose of ascertaining it's strength and security; and every endeavour used to obtain, during the war, a truce with tunis and tripoli. the opinion of lord nelson, with regard to the safety of sicily, is conveyed in the following letter to sir john acton, bart, expressly on that subject. "palermo, feb. 11, 1799. "my dear sir, "i have to thank your excellency for the honour of your letter; and for sending, for my perusal, the report of various officers on the situation of this island, and of it's means of defence. respecting an invasion of the french, _in propriâ personâ_, i own, i have no alarms; for, if this island is true to itself, no harm can happen: but, i own my fears, that revolutionary principles may be sown here; and, the seasons being propitious to the growth, will produce fruit. if the emperor will not move, and save--(himself, for his throne must fall if the late measures of his councils are persisted in)--the good king, queen, and family of naples, in the possession of their kingdoms; we may lament, but what must follow is certain. having thus openly declared my general opinion, it is perfectly proper, no doubt, to be prepared for defence; and, if calabria is occupied by the french, the first object is the preservation of messina and the torre del faro. as to the other ports of the island, if the inhabitants are loyal, the french may be defied; they will not venture their carcases. but, indeed, my dear sir, it is on the fidelity of the islanders we must depend for it's defence. when captain troubridge returns from egypt, i shall have the power of having more ships on the east coast: as to palermo, it shall never be without a proper defence in shipping from all attacks by sea; that is, from what the french have at present in the mediterranean. in all other things, i beg that your excellency will have the goodness to assure his sicilian majesty, that nothing shall be wanting, on my part, for the defence of his kingdoms, and whatever can administer to his comforts; and i beg your excellency will believe with what great respect i am your most faithful and obedient servant, "nelson." the safety of messina appearing to be the first object for the preservation of sicily from the french, five hundred troops were immediately ordered thither by the portuguese ships; and his lordship also urged his excellency, the vice-admiral theodore uschakoff, who commanded the russian fleet then before corfu, to send as many ships and troops as possible to messina, for the promotion of the common cause, and the good of his sicilian majesty in particular. on the same day, february 15, his lordship wrote also to his excellency abdul cadir bek, vice-admiral of the turkish fleet, likewise at corfu, with a similar request for ships and troops. "your excellency, without doubt," writes his lordship, "has heard of the melancholy news from naples. the french, not content with having, by perfidy, declared naples a republic, have forced a great part of calabria to erect a tree of _terror_, which these unbelievers call of _liberty_; and their emissaries are sowing the seeds of anarchy into this island, particularly at messina." his lordship adds, that as he has several ships in egypt, for the grand signior, he earnestly requests such turkish ships and troops as can be spared, to prevent messina's falling into the hands of the french. on the 24th of february, lord nelson had the satisfaction to distribute the following sums of money, given by his sicilian majesty, among the several persons who assisted in conveying the royal family from naples: one thousand ounces of silver to the officers, seamen, and marines, of his britannic majesty's ship the vanguard, as a mark of the king's approbation of their conduct during the time he was on board; one hundred ounces to each of the two barges crews who brought off the royal family from the palace; one hundred ounces to the admiral's servants; and one hundred ounces to the barge's crew of the alcmene. the thousand ounces for the several persons on board the vanguard were thus apportioned, by his lordship's directions--the wardroom, one hundred ounces; twenty-seven gentlemen of the quarter-deck, and warrant-officers, four ounces each; five hundred and seventy-nine seamen and marines, one and one-third of an ounce each; twenty-six boys, half an ounce each; and a surplus of seven ounces, to be expended for general use. while lord nelson was busily exerting himself for the security of messina, as the key to the island of sicily, the masters of english merchant vessels at palermo were impatient for convoy, that they might convey their cargoes to leghorn. on the hazard of visiting a place so critically situated, he felt it his duty strongly to remonstrate; and, aware how often danger is disregarded, where the loss is to fall on underwriters, he even suggested the impropriety of thus incurring risks which could not possibly be in the contemplation of the parties at the time of effecting the insurances, before he gave his reluctant consent for their departure. this great man was indifferent to nothing by which either national or individual honour might be affected. a just sense of lord nelson's services, in this respect, has probably contributed, in no slight degree, to the extreme popularity of that most laudable institution for the relief of suffering seamen and marines, and their distressed families, so happily commenced and continued by the committee at lloyd's. nor is, perhaps, the idea very chimerical, when we reflect on the magnitude of the contributions, which looks forward to a possible permanent establishment, at no distant day, on this very basis; in which the voluntary subscriptions of benevolent and opulent individuals shall almost vie, in the extent of it's charity to this meritorious class of society, whose services can alone preserve the united kingdom and it's extended commerce in full security, with the grand and munificent public endowment which so nobly adorns our country at greenwich: to which, also, some national augmentation might, with much propriety, be at the same time made; not only to keep pace with the increase of our navy, but to afford an equally needful asylum for those deserving and greatly exposed auxiliaries, the unfortunate and superannuated royal marines. a sight of such noble institutions, with suitable pictures and statues of naval heroes and their glorious atchievements, in which lord nelson and his transcendent actions must for ever stand pre-eminently conspicuous, would far surpass, in genuine grandeur, perhaps, and certainly in rational and philosophical contemplation, the loftiest and most stupendous pillar or pyramid ever raised by human art and industry, for little other purpose than to attract the gaze of profitless admiration, with the vain attempt of mocking the powers of tempests and of time, by which the proudest of these trophied monuments must necessarily be bowed to subjection, and finally crumbled into dust. the solitary hermitage, which shelters a single hoary head, is more interesting to the feeling heart than the proudest display of barren pomp that neither rises over the tomb of departed worth nor affords any living mortal a comfortable habitation. the grand naval pillar, to commemorate the battle off the nile, for which a large sum was some years since subscribed, without any previously decided plan, and which is said to be still undisposed of, if employed in erecting a respectable edifice for the residence of those brave veterans by whom that battle was fought, and such of their successors, for ever, as should live to find such a residence desirable, might be so constructed and endowed, with the money contributed, as to afford a higher satisfaction to the subscribers; a superior, and perpetually renewable, memorial of the event; and a far more gratifying object of contemplation, even for such of the brave heroes who may never need such a sanctuary; than the loftiest and most embellished obelisk that human ingenuity can ever devise, or human industry execute. this is a subject on which the author could with pleasure dilate; and the promotion of which he would gladly assist, in every way, with all his slender abilities: but, at present, it is an agreeable reverie, in which he feels that he must no longer indulge. he will, however, transcribe one of lord nelson's letters written on the subject which led to this digression, as a satisfactory proof of his lordship's attention to the mercantile interests of his country in that respect, and at this particular period. "palermo, 25th feb. 1799. "gentlemen, "i have received your letter of the 23d. i can assure you, i have always the greatest pleasure in paying attention to the representations of the masters of merchant ships; who, at this distance, act for their owners in great britain. i can have no difficulty in granting you a convoy to leghorn; but it is my duty to again point out to you the expressions of mr. windham's several letters, and the request of the english factory at leghorn to captain louis: and, at the same time, you must be sensible that an english man of war cannot always lay in the neutral port; and i expect, that the minotaur is now on her passage to join me. if, under all these circumstances, you still persist in going to leghorn, i will grant a convoy to that port as soon as possible. you cannot, of course, expect that, when all the knowledge you have, here, of the situation of tuscany, is known in london, that the underwriters, or myself, can in the smallest degree be answerable for what may happen to your ships or cargoes. i can only again assure you of my readiness to afford you all the protection possible, compatible with the other important duties entrusted to me; and that i am, with great respect, your most obedient servant, "nelson." "to the masters of the english ships in the port of palermo." to this it may be sufficient to add that, on their persisting in a desire to sail, he granted them the convoy; repeating, in another letter, "but still with the reservation for the underwriters and myself, as i think the case requires." he also wrote to mr. windham, informing that gentleman of the necessity which he had felt himself under to comply with their desire; and requesting him to acquaint captain derby, whom he sent on that service, in the bellerophon, whether he might with safety leave them at leghorn. if not, his lordship observed, the signal should be made for convoy; and those who chose to quit a place of danger might be brought back, with the comfort of having lost the present convoy for england. however, he adds, it is his duty, and it is his inclination too, to do every thing for the protection of our commerce consistently with the other important duties required of him. captain derby was directed, should circumstances require, to wait a reasonable time for such of the merchant ships as might have perishable cargoes on board, to enable them to dispose of them. in the letter to mr. windham above quoted, his lordship says, alluding to the cruelties of the french, who were then over-running italy--"your excellency's account of the treatment of his royal highness the grand duke, of the king of sardinia, and of the poor old pope, makes my heart bleed; and i curse, in the bitterness of my grief, all those who might have prevented such cruelties!" it will be recollected, that the venerable pope pius vi, who had been seized and carried off by the french, and whose fate lord nelson thus feelingly commiserates, as if anticipatory of the event, was at the period of being thus forced from rome in his eighty-second year; and that his holiness expired, at valence, on the 19th of august following, after a captivity of six months: his body being consumed, by unslacked lime thrown into the grave, to prevent it's receiving, at any future period, the honours which might be esteemed due to a modern martyr; who, perhaps, possessed equal piety and resignation, with many holy sufferers of ancient times, for a like rigid adherence to the christian religion, who have been canonized by the roman catholic church. on the last day of february, the 28th, lord nelson sent instructions to his friend captain ball, at malta, to preside over the meetings of the maltese people: their deputies having represented to sir william hamilton and his lordship, that he had, by his address, frequently united the jarring interests of the different chiefs, at their distracted councils, and that they were therefore desirous of his future assistance; which was, also, the wish of his sicilian majesty. captain ball, therefore, was vested with full power to leave his ship in charge of the first-lieutenant, directing him how to proceed, and to be on shore whenever he should deem it necessary, either to attend such meetings, or assist the maltese army; his lordship observing that, though neither sir william hamilton nor himself had power to grant any salary for the extraordinary expences he must thus necessarily incur, it would be proper to keep an account of them, that it might be represented to his majesty's ministers in england, and the amount allowed him. at the beginning of march, lord nelson was made a citizen of palermo; which the court thought might have a good effect, by shewing the attachment of the english hero to the royal family. this, with other information, is more particularly mentioned in the following letter to earl spencer, which appears to have been written immediately on captain nisbet's return from constantinople with la bonne citoyenne, bringing several important dispatches. "vanguard, palermo, 6th march 1799. "my dear lord, "i send you a copy of the turkish admiral's letter to me, from corfu; also, one from the emperor of russia: and one from sir sidney smith, those parts of which, that are ministerial, are--i doubt not--very proper; but, indeed, my dear lord, those parts of sir sidney's letter which, as a captain of a man of war to an admiral commanding the squadron in the levant, are not so respectful as the rules of our service demands from the different ranks in it. no man admires sir sidney's gallantry and zeal more than myself; but he should recollect, how i must feel, on seeing him placed in the situation which i thought naturally would fall to me. you may be assured, that i shall take care and arrange proper plans with the porte for the service of egypt, and shall support sir sidney to the utmost of my power. it is matter of regret, that no squadron of turks and russians are yet gone to egypt; for, i want all our ships for malta, sicily, naples, and leghorn: and my only wish is, that the turks and russians would take care of all the french to the east of malta. our situation here is quiet; but who can say, if the french get into our neighbourhood, that we shall remain so? in calabria, the people have cut down the tree of liberty; but i shall never consider any part of the kingdom of naples safe, or even sicily, till i hear of the emperor's entering italy: when all my ships shall go into the bay of naples, and i think we can make a revolution against the french; at least, my endeavours shall not be wanting. i hope to go on the service myself, but i have my doubts if the king and queen will consent to my leaving them for a moment. a few days past, i was presented, in due form, with the freedom of the city of palermo in a gold box, and brought upon a silver salver. i have endeavoured so to conduct myself, as to meet the approbation of all classes in this country, and i hope to be equally fortunate in meeting your lordship's. a ship is in sight, from malta. i shall keep this letter open till her arrival; but i do not expect any thing particularly good. the blockade must continue, to the end of the chapter; for neither maltese, nor italians, will fight by themselves. ever your lordship's faithful, and obedient, "nelson. "p.s. i send your lordship copies of captain ball's letters from malta. it is not for me to judge the propriety of captain ball's plans; but, i can assure you, he is a man of great judgment and abilities, and ought to have a recompence for all his expence and trouble." the letters of captain ball principally related to taking men into british pay; those of the turkish and russian admirals, from corfu, were highly satisfactory, giving assurances of all possible assistance; and that from the emperor paul of russia, congratulatory of the glorious victory of the nile, was in the highest degree flattering, and accompanied by the emperor's picture, in a box magnificently set with diamonds. his lordship, however, learned that corfu, though daily expected to fall, had not yet surrendered; and that le genereux unfortunately escaped the vigilance of the blockading squadrons, on the 5th of february. from constantinople, he received the agreeable information that the grand signior had ordered ten thousand albanese troops to sicily; but sir sidney smith's letters, luckily blending his naval and ministerial characters, so outraged lord nelson's nice sense of propriety, that it renewed all those keen sensations of inquietude which had been so recently tranquilized in our hero's breast. this circumstance produced the following letter to sir sidney smith; which serves to shew that his lordship, though displeased on the occasion, was not altogether unjust in requiring better future discrimination. "vanguard, palermo, 8th march 1799. "sir, "i have received your letters of january the 23d, february 6th, 10th, and 23d. your situation as joint-minister at the porte, makes it absolutely necessary that i should know who writes to me: therefore, i must direct you, whenever you have ministerial affairs to communicate, that it is done jointly with your respectable brother, and not mix naval business with the other; for, what may be very proper language for a representative of majesty, may be very subversive of that dicipline of respect from the different ranks in our service. a representative may dictate to an admiral, a captain of a man of war would be censured for the same thing: therefore, you will see the propriety of my steering close between the two situations. i have sent you my orders, which your abilities as a sea-officer will lead you to punctually execute. not a ship more than the service requires shall be kept on any particular station; and that number must be left to my judgment, as an admiral commanding the squadron detached by the commander in chief to the extent of the black sea. i shall, of course, keep up a proper communication with the turkish and russian admirals, which net captain of a man of war under my orders must, interfere in. i am, sir, your very humble servant, "nelson." "sir william sidney smith." the above epistle, which was accompanied by a regular order, dated the preceding day, for sir william sidney smith, captain of his majesty's ship le tigre, to put himself under lord nelson's command may certainly be considered as sufficiently severe; and, it is probable, his lordship was of that opinion: but he judged it necessary, for his own comfort thus plainly to deliver his sentiments, however painful the task, that he might escape any repetitions of what must continue to excite unpleasant feelings. on this day, too, lord nelson wrote to captain ball, from whom he had received letters which gave hopes of a speedy termination to his long and arduous labours. the deputies lately arrived from malta had solicited supplies of arms, ammunition, and money, from his sicilian majesty; and their application, it will appear, had not proved in vain. money, cloathing, &c. lord nelson informs captain ball, are difficult to be got; however, some will be sent. "you will," he adds, "receive seven thousand ounces, which the king confides in you to dispose of to the best advantage. whenever the french are driven out, you are certainly fitted for the station of chief, and i should suppose his sicilian majesty could have no objection to give you the proper appointments. you are sure, i shall do every thing that is in my power, for your honour and benefit. having said this, i will finish, for i am tired to death with writing." his lordship, however, does not conclude without observing that he trusts to nothing but his blockade for the reduction of malta; that there is yet no news of the emperor's movements, but move he must; that all the lower order of the kingdom of naples are ready to take arms against the french; that ten thousand albanese are near messina; and that ten thousand russians are on that side constantinople, for the same destination, besides the russian army passing the tyrol. "apropos," he at length concludes, "the emperor of russia has sent me his picture, in a magnificent box; but, this shall not prevent my keeping a sharp look out on his movements against the good turk." part of the money mentioned in this letter, as well as of the arms, ammunition, &c. requested by the deputies, and three of the deputies themselves, were conveyed, in la bonne citoyenne, by captain nisbet, to malta, in his return to constantinople; who was charged with dispatches for sir sidney smith, spencer smith, esq. his brother, and his excellency constantine upsilanti, at the ottoman court. the remainder of the arms, ammunition, stores, and money, with the other three deputies, were sent to malta by captain gage in the terpsichore: who was afterwards to deliver a letter from lord nelson to his sardinian majesty, at cagliari in sardinia; to call at minorca, for any dispatches which commodore duckworth might have for the earl of st. vincent; and, finally, to join the commander in chief at gibraltar, or wherever else the earl might happen to be. on the 10th of march, general sir charles stuart arrived at palermo, with the thirtieth and eighty-ninth regiments; who immediately departed for messina. this, his lordship observes, in a letter to mr. windham, a few days afterwards, would not only save that important place from all danger, but had already acted like an electrical shock over the whole island, and must extend it's influence to naples. with abundant address, at this period, lord nelson offered himself as a mediator between the bey of tunis and bashaw of tripoli, and his sicilian majesty and the queen of portugal: for which purpose, he wrote to perkin magra, esq. the british consul at tunis, as well as to the bey himself; and to the bashaw of tripoli, as well as to simon lucas, esq. consul-general at that court mrs. magra, and her family, it appears, were then residing in the hospitable mansion of sir william hamilton, as well as his lordship; for he says, writing to the consul, and mentioning his lady and family, "they will give you all the chit-chat of the place. lady hamilton is so good to them, that they in truth require nothing from me; but, whenever they think it right to go to tunis, a ship of war shall carry them." on the 17th, captain troubridge and captain hood arrived with the squadron from egypt, where every endeavour to destroy the transports at alexandria proved quite ineffectual. the french had, after the departure of lord nelson, very strongly fortified all the points of the harbour; and the transports could not be destroyed by shells, as all the mortars burst, and six fireships were lost in a gale of wind. this was a mortifying circumstance to our hero, and it did not come unaccompanied. captain troubridge was the bearer of sir sidney smith's dispatches; which, with their usual fatality, again offended his lordship in one of the nicest points. the cause, and the effect, will at once be seen in the following most peremptory epistle. "vanguard, palermo, 18th march 1799. "sir, captain troubridge arrived here last evening: and, as he has delivered to me all the papers he received from you, amongst which i see a form of a passport; and captain troubridge tells me, that it was your intention to send into alexandria, that all french ships might pass to france--now, as this is _in direct opposition to my opinion_; which is, _never to suffer any one individual frenchman to quit egypt_; i must, therefore, _strictly charge and command you_, never to give any french ship, or man, leave to quit egypt. and i must also desire, that you will oppose, by every means in your power, any permission which may be attempted to be given by any foreigner, admiral, general, or other person; and you will acquaint those persons, that i shall not pay the smallest attention to any such passport after your notification: and you are to put my orders in force, not on any pretence to permit a single frenchman to leave egypt. of course, you will give these orders to all the ships under your command. as i am very, anxious for the return of the emma polacre, i have to request that you will not detain her more than two hours. as i shall hope to have a constant communication with you, through the means of the turkish or russian admirals, all letters for your squadron, i shall direct to be left in the vanguard. "i am, sir, your very humble servant, "nelson." "sir william sidney smith, captain of his majesty's ship le tigre." not even the judicious plan which his lordship was now busily engaged in arranging for the recovery of naples, with all the other objects of his incessant care, could divert his attention from that grand object, the entire destruction of the french armament sent to egypt. he had just received information of the, surrender of corfu; and, about this time, a very elegant and flattering letter had been written to his lordship by the king of sardinia, full of gratitude for the protection of the british flag in conveying him from leghorn. in writing to the earl of st. vincent, after mentioning these subjects, with the return of captain troubridge's squadron from egypt, he observes that it is his intention to send a small squadron, under that commander, into the bay of naples, "i wish, first," says his lordship, "to take the island of procida, which will secure a tolerable anchorage, and effectually blockade naples. it must, also, have the effect of preventing the french from detaching any troops from naples to to the provinces, who are all loyal. the court tells me, that twelve thousand russians, and fifteen thousand turks, are ready to cross the adriatic, to land in the kingdom of naples. if so, our squadron will create a powerful diversion." having stated the reasons which have been seen for captain troubridge's failure at alexandria, he adverts to sir sidney, who has now the blockade of that place. "i send you," says his lordship, "copies of my letters to him; for the victory of the nile would, in my opinion, be useless, if any ship, or frenchman, is suffered to return to europe. i hope you will approve of my conduct; for, as a captain to an admiral, either sir sidney smith, or myself, must give way. bonaparte is at cairo, not more than sixteen thousand strong. he must and will fall, sooner or later, if sir sidney smith does not allow him to retreat by sea. as to myself, i am, at times, ill at my ease: but, it is my duty to submit; and, you may be sure, i shall not quit my post, without absolute necessity. if the emperor moves, i hope yet to return the royal family to naples. at present, i cannot move; would the court but let me, i should be better: for, here, i am writing from morn to eve; therefore, you must excuse this jumble of a letter." neither of these letters, however, mention the very important circumstance of captain troubridge's having intercepted bonaparte's dispatches, on his way to constantinople; which is contained in the following communication to his excellency the honourable william windham, for the purpose of having that satisfactory intelligence transmitted to england. this letter, as well as other dispatches of the 21st, to mr. windham, was written on board the culloden; into which ship lord nelson had shifted his flag, having that day sent captain hardy to tripoli with the vanguard. "culloden, palermo, 22d march 1799. "my dear sir, the ambassador of bonaparte being intercepted by my friend troubridge, on his way to constantinople, among other articles of his instructions, is a very important one; viz. an offer to enter on terms for his quitting egypt, with his army. this offer is what i have long expected the glorious battle of the nile would produce; but it was my determination, from that moment, never, if i could help it, to permit a single frenchman to quit egypt. captain sir william sidney smith, who has the present command of the squadron off alexandria, i have reason to believe, thinks differently from me, and will grant passports for that part of the french army which god almighty permits to remain. i have, therefore, thought it highly proper to send captain sir sidney smith the order of which i transmit a copy; for, i consider it nothing short of madness, to permit that band of thieves to return to europe. _no!_ to egypt they went, with their own consent: and there they shall remain, whilst nelson commands this detached squadron; for never, never, will he consent to the return of one ship or frenchman. "i beg your excellency will take the earliest opportunity of sending this important information, and a copy of my letter to captain sir sidney smith, to england; and ever believe me, with the greatest respect, your obliged and faithful servant, "nelson." on the 25th of march, lord nelson says, in a letter to captain ball, dated at palermo--"now, my dear friend, captain nisbet is appointed to the thalia, a very fine frigate, and i wish he may do credit to himself, and in her. will you do me the favour of keeping her, and sending me la minerve; for i want cockburne, for service of _head_. as soon as captain barker's surveys, &c. are over, make one of the small craft bring him here. i have sent vanguard to tripoli, to scold the bashaw. tunis behaves well. as corfu has surrendered, i hope malta will follow the example very soon. i am not well; but keep rubbing on, from day to day. god bless you; finish the business as soon as you can." captain dunn, in the thalia, for captain nisbet, was the bearer of the above letter with other dispatches to captain ball; and captain maling took his passage in the thalia, to supercede captain nisbet in la bonne citoyenne. captain dunn went to supercede captain barker in the incendiary; on his appointment to the barfleur; and he was required to join lord nelson by the very first opportunity, being wanted to go down the mediterranean. this day, too, his lordship wrote congratulatory letters to the russian and turkish admirals, on the surrender of corfu; and invited them, respectively, to co-operate with him in placing the good king and queen of naples again on their throne in the capital of that kingdom. to speridion foresti, esq. the consul at corfu, lord nelson wrote, also, the following very flattering encomiums, in a letter which contains some additional reasons for his lordship's complaint with regard to sir sidney smith. "palermo, 26th march 1799. "sir, "i feel myself very much obliged by your interesting and important letters, which i have sent to the earl of st. vincent. give me leave to say that, throughout my command in the levant seas, you have done yourself the highest honour; and rendered, as far as was possible, the greatest services to your country. this public testimony, from a stranger to every thing except your good conduct, will, i trust, be not unacceptable. i observe what you tell me of lord grenville's orders to obey sir william sidney smith. you will, of course, follow lord grenville's orders, as sir william sidney smith is considered as a minister at constantinople. i, also, know him in that capacity, jointly with his worthy brother; but, captain of the tigre, and in all matters relative to naval operations, he is under my orders: and this i would have you perfectly understand; and explain, when it may be necessary. for an idea seems gone abroad, very injurious to my credit in the world; that, although i was entrusted with the command of the detached squadron, even into the black sea, should the french have got there--that, although i had the happiness of commanding the squadron who obtained the glorious victory off the nile--captain sir william sidney smith was sent out to command somewhere, in prejudice to me, and four or five captains now serving with me, in the levant. having stated this fully to you, you will be equal to every explanation. whenever you favour me with your very interesting correspondence, i shall receive it with pleasure. as sir william hamilton writes you, i shall not repeat, &c. &c. "nelson." speridion foresti, esq. every exertion was at this time making, by lord nelson, and captain troubridge, in concert with their sicilian majesties, for the recovery of naples from the domination of the french. cardinal ruffo, who united, in himself, the three important characters of statesman, prelate, and general, had raised a large army of loyalists in the provinces, by the powerful operation of the catholic cause, and headed in person what was denominated the christian army. the french, with their usual insatiable thirst of plunder, officers as well as men, had attended to little else than their own individual gratifications, since they entered naples; and this did not fail to produce it's customary concomitant, a speedy spirit of insubordination. the fiery population of naples, in the mean time, like the volcano in it's vicinity, though at present apparently tranquil, might be expected suddenly to burst forth, and overwhelm every obstacle to the progress of it's destructive torrent. in this state of things, it was judiciously resolved that captain troubridge should proceed to the bay of naples; for which purpose, lord nelson--who had, by the general promotion of admirals, on the 14th of february, been made rear-admiral of the red---furnished that brave officer with the following instructions. by horatio lord nelson, k.b. rear-admiral of the red, &c. "whereas it is of the utmost importance, that the city and towns in the bay of naples should be immediately blockaded, to prevent the french forces in those places from getting any supplies of corn or other articles by sea; and it being expedient that an officer of your distinguished merit and abilities should command the blockade, in order to render it the more effectual- "you are hereby required and directed to take under your command, the ships named in the margin--[minotaur, zealous, swiftsure, seahorse, perseus bomb, and el corso sloop]--embarking on board them the governor of procida, and two hundred troops, as also such officers as are ordered by his sicilian majesty to embark with them, and proceed to the bay of naples. and it being necessary that the squadron employed on this service should have some safe anchorage, the more effectually to carry on the said blockade, and the island of procida affording the anchorage desired, you will do your endeavours to seize and get possession of the said island of procida, if possible, and reinstate the governor in the command thereof, and using every means in your power to conciliate the affections of the loyal part of the inhabitants; and, also, of those of the islands of ischia and capri; and, if possible, bring them to their former allegiance: and, also, to communicate with the loyal inhabitants of naples, as much as in your power, and by every opportunity; but, by no means, to fire upon the city, without farther orders from me, or circumstances render it necessary to fire on some parts of it, in case of the loyal taking arms against the french. and you will use every effort to prevent all supplies of corn, or other articles, from entering the city and ports in the bay of naples; and also of gaietta and it's vicinity, and along the roman coast to civita vecchia: and, as it is said, the ponzo islands continue in their allegiance to his sicilian majesty, you will direct that all protection and assistance may be given to them, should they stand in need. and you will consider that every means is to be used, not only by yourself, but by all those under your command, to communicate with the inhabitants on all the northern coast of the kingdom of naples, and the islands before mentioned; and, as much as in your power, to cultivate a good understanding with them, and conciliate their affections, in order to induce them to return to their allegiance to his sicilian majesty, and to take arms to liberate their country from french tyranny and oppressive contributions. palermo, 28th march 1799. to captain troubridge, his majesty's ship culloden. captain troubridge, who was also armed with additional powers by his sicilian majesty, sailed on the 31st of march to the bay of naples, for the purpose of carrying into effect these important orders. it is a singular fact that, even at this very period, when lord nelson was thus engaged in securing sicily from the french, as well as labouring to obtain the restoration of naples, attempts were making, by the governor of messina, then actually protected by british troops, to prevent the condemnation of a french prize which had been taken near the entrance of that port, as if it were still in a state of neutrality. it is difficult to decide, whether this strange conduct originated in a pusillanimous dread of french resentment, or a traitorous disaffection to his sicilian majesty. lord nelson, however, soon satisfied the prize agents, messrs. birch and broadbent, at messina, that such shameful conduct would not be submitted to by a british admiral. he wrote, accordingly, the following spirited letter to those gentlemen, which immediately produced it's desired effect. "palermo, 2d april 1799. "gentlemen, i have received your letter of the 26th of march, and am exceedingly surprised that the governor of messina should presume to interfere in the captures made by a british ship of war. captain foley is justifiable in taking the french tartan, although she was going into the port, or even in the port. you will, therefore, claim from him the materials of which the vessel has been plundered; and, at the same time, demand from him what he has done with the french prisoners of war taken in the vessel, as it is highly presumptuous in him to interfere with british prisoners of war. as to demands made against the vessel, it is my desire that they are not paid, nor has he any right to make them; on the contrary, the captors have a right to demand, from him, satisfaction, for the employment of the vessel on the coast of calabria. i am, gentlemen, your very humble servant, nelson. the vanguard this day arrived from tripoli; and captain hardy brought, with other pacific promises, from the bashaw, the most positive assurances that no provisions should be sent to malta by any of his subjects: but, his lordship observed, interest is, we know, their main spring, and they are not to be greatly depended on. the bashaw of tripoli had, in fact, made a treaty with bonaparte on the 24th of february, when he received a present of a diamond; the pernicious effects of which, to great britain and her allies, his lordship was thus determined totally to counteract. on the 5th of april, in a letter to his excellency sir charles whitworth, the british minister at petersburgh, lord nelson thus writes respecting malta--we certainly have, at an expence of fifteen thousand pounds a month, so closely blockaded the port of la valette, that the appearance of the russian troops on the island must insure it's fall in a week, if famine does not force it's surrender before their arrival. the garrison are mutinous, and in dreadful want of provisions. the scurvy cannot be checked. his lordship then observes, that his anxiety to get possession of le guillaume tell, and two frigates, which escaped after the battle of the nile, will not be doubted; and that these ships, but for our close blockade, would probably have long ago been in france: all which, he begs, may be submitted to his imperial majesty, the emperor of russia. he has, he adds, given directions to captain ball to co-operate in the most cordial manner with the russian troops; who so ably conducted himself, not only as a sea-officer, but as conciliating the affections of the maltese, that he was, unanimously, by the islanders, and with the approbation of his sicilian majesty, elected their general and chief. his lordship trusts that, should the order be restored, captain ball would be a knight of it; "for a more gallant, able officer, does not grace this world. i feel," continues he, "i have said a great deal; but, with my honour, i pledge myself for the truth of it." then, with the most consummate address, lord nelson proceeds to remark--"his imperial majesty will know, that the poor islanders have often, in their distress, and as a mark of their gratitude, offered--as far as they could--themselves for subjects of our king, and made their request to his sicilian majesty; but both sir william hamilton and myself, knowing that no views of individual aggrandizement actuate the breast of our gracious sovereign, have invariably refused every offer of that nature: but, in the present situation of his sicilian majesty, and by his desire, his colours and the british flag fly together, to mark that great britain protects the flag of his sicilian majesty. it is proper in this place to mention, as the heart of the emperor overflows with justice, that in many instances the islanders have been grievously oppressed by the order; probably, more by their consummate pride, than by a wish to oppress. i know, it is only necessary to mention this matter, for the consideration of the present illustrious grand master, to have it remedied; by which, a brave and industrious people will be rendered happy." his lordship concludes this exquisite proof of diplomatic dexterity, with observing, that he impatiently waits the arrival of the russian troops; by nine or ten thousand of whom naples would be recovered in a week, and his imperial majesty have the glory of replacing a good monarch and an amiable queen, again on their throne. captain troubridge, in the mean time, was executing, with all possible activity and success, the very important duties which he had been sent to perform. the islands of procida, ischia, and capri, immediately surrendered; and the inhabitants in general, who had been greatly oppressed by the usurpers, manifested such a spirit of loyalty, that they gladly delivered up all the municipal officers for the disposal of their lawful sovereign, and the principals were received, as prisoners, on board the british squadron. the information of these auspicious commencements diffused universal joy at palermo; and greatly revived the drooping spirits of their sicilian majesties, who readily sent the distressed islanders all the relief which it was in their power to bestow, both in provisions and money. the consideration of those distresses, however, while they excited the compassion of their majesties for the oppressed, necessarily called forth their indignation against the oppressors: and, with the relief sent under convoy of la minerve, for the most distressed of the former; a judge was sent out by his sicilian majesty, on board that vessel, charged with a special commission for the trial and execution of the most criminal among the latter. in writing, on the 12th of april, to the earl of st. vincent, respecting these events, his lordship says--"captain troubridge is in complete possession of procida, ischia, and capri; the inhabitants of which islands have joyfully hoisted his sicilian majesty's colours, cut down the tree of liberty, and delivered up all the municipality and the detested jacobins; all of whom are confined on board ship, and in the chateau of ischia. the french in naples are not more than two thousand, the civic guards about twenty thousand; but, as these last will not remain fighting for the french if there is any risk, i am warranted in saying that ten thousand troops would place the king again on his throne." the health of his lordship appears to have been, at this period, very indifferent. indeed, the air of sicily seems by no means to have ever agreed with him. he says, in this letter, speaking of sir william and lady hamilton--"we, of this house, are all anxious to get home; yet, in the present moment, cannot move. indeed, we have been the main-spring, joined with you, that have kept, and are keeping, this so much out of repair machine from breaking to pieces." the difficulties, indeed, of supporting a government every way so feeble in what constitutes the true strength of a state, perplexed our hero in no small degree. he saw, every where, that inactivity and indecision which so little accorded with his own prompt and active mind; and he languished for the busy scenes of action, from which he was detained by the alarms of their sicilian majesties, and the constant claims on the wisdom of his councils, which they could not always find the means, or even the firmness, completely to carry into execution. captain ball had transmitted a painful picture of the wretched state of the inhabitants of malta, but their sicilian majesties were incapable of affording them relief; captain troubridge had been obliged to part with all his flour, to preserve the recovered islands from starving. "i have," says his lordship, in another letter to the earl of st. vincent, dated the 17th of april, "eternally been pressing for supplies; and represented that a hundred thousand pounds, given away in provisions, just now, might purchase a kingdom. in short, my dear lord, my desire to serve, as is my duty, faithfully their sicilian majesties, has been such, that i am almost blind, and worn out; and cannot, in my present state, hold out much longer. i would, indeed, lay down my life for such good and gracious monarchs; but i am useless, when i am unable to do what, god knows, my heart leads me to." happily, this sombre state was a little relieved a few days after, by the arrival of a cutter from england; which brought considerable supplies, both of consolation and money, for his sicilian majesty. on the 21st of april, his lordship now writes to captain ball, that his efforts to obtain a small sum of money for the unhappy maltese had been useless, till the arrival of this vessel from england; "which," says he, "brought the court such accounts of goodness, that sir william and myself again touched the point about malta, when the queen gave up seven thousand ounces; for, although the island has granted two millions of money, yet not one sixpence is collected; therefore, they are in distress enough. if any person can keep the maltese in good humour, it is, my dear friend, you and you only; therefore, for all our sakes, try hard till the arrival of the russians, who cannot now be long before they make their appearance." then, adverting to naples, his lordship adds--"all goes on as it should, on the other side. the lower order only want a little support from the regular troops, and the business is over." captain troubridge, indeed, was proceeding with great vigour; but the sicilian judge, it appears, did not accord with our naval heroes in his notions of criminal justice. cardinal ruffo, too, seems to have entertained what they considered as erroneous ideas of lenity. if the judge and the cardinal really meant to be merciful; whatever might be the effect of such good intentions, the motive is not possible to be condemned: they might be weak, but they would not be criminal. on the other hand, the possessors of that wisdom which perceives when it is necessary to make examples of the incorrigibly guilty, for the preservation of the menaced innocent, as well as of those who are yet unconfirmed in crimes; and of that firmness and fortitude which then induce them to risk all the obloquy of contrary appearance, for the sake of producing true lenity in it's fullest extent; are not to be considered as by any means less inclined to mercy than those who, without loving it more, do not conduce so much to it's genuine interests. often, however, the really merciful, for the openly avowed and honest discharge of a severe duty, are condemned, by the inconsiderate zeal of weak and vulgar minds; while those who are induced artfully to draw dispositions of a malignant, treacherous, or sanguinary nature, in the semblance of merciful habits, for the mere purpose of acquiring the popularity of that applause to which this divine attribute must ever entitle it's amiable possessors, are idolized by the unreflecting crowd, as the sincerest friends of the very virtue to which they are, in truth, the severest enemies. the following letter to captain troubridge, who had communicated his sentiments on this subject to lord nelson, fully demonstrates his lordship's disdain of any improper interference with the criminal jurisdiction of his sicilian majesty's government, however it might fail to meet with his approbation. it speaks, his free sentiments both of the judge and cardinal; but hastens to other topics, of better aspect, and comprehends several points of interesting elucidation. "palermo, april 25,1799. "my dear troubridge, "i thank you, again and again, for your letters, and for the ability and exertion you shew on all occasions. as to mr. judge, he must hang, or let it alone, as he pleases. it has been that miserable system, which has caused much of the present misery in naples. in respect to the cardinal, he is a swelled up priest. if his letter had been directed to you, his answer would, i am sure, been proper. such impertinence, in treating of the assistance of england, deserves reprobation. he makes his army great or small, as it suits his convenience. he is now frightened at a thousand men going against him: which, at one time, is thirty thousand; at another, not three thousand. in short, my dear friend, without foreign troops, the stream will sometimes run different ways. some russian ships are said to be at otranto; but, we know less than you. if the austrian armies are beaten, naples will be lost; if victorious, our exertions, with the constant loyalty of the lower order, will hasten the king's return. what are your ideas of the king's going into the bay of naples, without foreign troops? if it should cause an insurrection in naples, which did not succeed, would it not be worse? the king, if a rising of loyal people took place, ought to be amongst them; and, that he will never consent to. alphonso is going to tripoli; the bashaw has taken another twist. lord spencer disavows the conduct of sir william sidney smith, as being in any manner independent of me. what will his lordship say, when he reads the passports? your wants and wishes shall, as far as i am able, be complied with. your bill for extra expences, if the court will not pay, i will answer for. with kind remembrances, &c. "nelson." the mode adopted by lord nelson, with regard to the bashaw of tripoli, on this occasion, was a master-stroke of policy. in order not to commit the country, with too much precipitation, though resolved to act with all requisite energy at the moment, his lordship employed a portuguese ship in the business, and selected that of commodore campbell for this confidential service. his knowledge of mankind taught him, that this officer would not fail to feel gratified by the honour of such a mission; consequently, be induced to execute it with his best ability. simon lucas, esq. his britannic majesty's consul at tripoli, had found it expedient to quit that court for palermo: but he consented to return with commodore campbell, in order to assist the negociation; and, should it appear advisable, to resume there his ministerial functions. the letter which lord nelson sent by commodore campbell is much too curious to be omitted. it is, indeed, highly characteristic of it's able author. "palermo, 28th april 1799. "sir, "when i received your highness's letter, by captain hardy of the vanguard, i was rejoiced to find that you had renounced the treaty you had so imprudently entered into with some emissaries of general bonaparte; that man of blood, that despoiler of the weak, that enemy of all good mussulmen: for, like satan, he only flatters that he may the more easily destroy; and it is true that, since the year 1789, all frenchmen are exactly of the same disposition. i had sent your letter to the great king, my master; i had done the same to the grand signior: for i never believed, that your highness would say a word that was not strictly true. a lye is impossible for a true mussulman to tell; at least, i had always believed so. what, then, must have been my astonishment, to have heard, from his britannic majesty's consul, mr. lucas, that the moment the vanguard sailed, the french consul, and all the french, were liberated; and, also, the french vessels in the port allowed to fit for sea: and one, to my knowledge, had sailed for malta! why will your highness be thus led astray by evil counsellors; who can have no other object in view, but your ruin? your highness knows that, although a powerful squadron of portuguese ships has been since last august under my command, by every means in my power they have been prevented from cruizing against the ships of your highness, or from approaching your coast. it is now my duty to speak out, and not to be misunderstood. that nelson, who has hitherto kept your powerful enemies from destroying you, can and will let them loose upon you, unless the following terms are in two hours complied with; viz. that the french consul at tripoli, vice-consul, and every frenchman, are delivered on board her most faithful majesty's ship alphonso, to commodore campbell, in two hours from mr. lucas's setting his foot on shore; that hostages are also sent on board, to remain till every frenchman in the state of tripoli shall be sent off, which shall not exceed four days. n.b. there shall be no reservation, or trick, about the french consul, &c. at tripoli; he shall be on board in two hours after the demand's being made. all french vessels, or vessels pretended to be taken from the french, shall be destroyed in two hours. these terms complied with, commodore campbell will, as he has done upon the passage, refrain from taking your vessels, till his arrival at palermo. if, then, proper terms are not complied with, i can no longer prevent the ships of her most faithful majesty from acting with vigour against your highness. "your highness will, without difficulty, write me a letter, the substance of which will be dictated by mr. lucas: you will also, as a convincing proof of your detestation of the evil councils which have been given to you by hamet reis, your captain of the port, either cause him to be delivered to commodore campbell, that i may send him to constantinople, or dispose of him in such a manner that he may for ever be incapable of giving your highness any advice; for his heart is so black, that i am informed he can give you no good. "your highness will, i am confident, approve of the open and unreserved manner of this letter; and consider it as a proof of the honest and upright intentions of the great monarch who i have the honour of serving, and that it comes from your highness's most obedient and faithful servant, "nelson." "his highness the bashaw of tripoli." mr. lucas was furnished with a copy of this letter; and instructed, if possible, to bring the bashaw to a proper way of thinking, by forcibly representing the numerous evils which bad counsellors would be sure to bring on him, should he persist in his present disloyal conduct. the dismissal of the captain of the port, though a very desirable thing, was not to be persisted in, so as to occasion the hostilities of commodore campbell against his highness; for, lord nelson observed, "every master has a right to chuse his own servants." the other articles were not in any manner to be given up. it was, however, directed to be carefully pressed on the bashaw, that his britannic majesty was not at war with him; and that his lordship would be happy still to interest himself in preventing depredations on his highness's coast, provided he should immediately return to a proper way of thinking and acting. on the 30th, lord nelson writes to the earl of st. vincent, that his friends are doing wonders on the continent: hood had taken salerno, twenty-eight miles from naples, and garrisoned the small castle with his marines and loyalists; and had caused sorento, &c. to castello a mare to rise and massacre the jacobins. the swiftsure was anchored at the latter place, which is opposite naples, though twelve miles distant by the round of the bay. these events, so near the capital, with the successes of the austrian army both on the rhine and in italy, had induced the french to call in all their out-posts, leave five hundred men in the castle of st. elmo, and retire from naples to capua; taking with them all their sick, as well as every description of plunder. the jacobins, too, with the traitor carraccioli among them, were retired to the castle of st. elmo. lord nelson was preparing to send eight hundred troops, with three hundred cavalry, but, his lordship observes, the court being poor, and having no revenue, made things slower than they would otherwise be: "however," he adds, "we make the best of the slender means we possess. i own, my dear lord, myself much fitter for the actor than the counsellor, of proper measures to be pursued in this very critical situation of public affairs; but, at least, their sicilian majesties are satisfied that my poor opinion is an honest one. their majesties are ready to cross the water, whenever naples is entirely cleansed; when that happy event arrives, and not till then, a desire will be expressed for the british troops to be removed from messina into naples, to guard the persons of their majesties. whenever your name is mentioned, i can assure you, their expressions are the very handsomest that tongue can utter; and, as is my duty, both as my commander in chief, and my friend, i do not fail ever to speak of you in the only way, if truth is spoken, that you can be represented, as the very ablest sea-officer his majesty has, and as the best and truest friend that can be in this world. my dear lady hamilton is always my faithful interpreter, on all occasions; and, never with so much pleasure. my dear lord, you will forgive my short sketches of what is going on here; for neither my head, nor my hand, is equal to what is absolutely necessary for me to write: therefore, all private correspondence is given up; for, i cannot answer a letter. three of sir william sidney smith's ships, with sick frenchmen, are stopped by troubridge; the poor devils are sent to corsica. i am very much displeased with this levant commodore with a broad pendant. i send one of his passports. we are not forced to understand french! malta is as usual, the moment a land force arrives it will fall. god bless you, my dear lord." in a letter written the preceding day to earl spencer, lord nelson says, speaking of the affairs of naples--"i think it very probable that, in ten days, their sicilian majesties will be again in naples. these happy prospects have been brought about, first, by the war of the emperor; secondly, by the wonderful loyalty of the lower order of the people; and, lastly, i flatter myself, i may say, by the conduct of the english. captain troubridge has given a portion of that spirit he possesses to all who communicate with him. on the 25th, macdonald left the town, for capua; with all the troops, except five hundred in the castle of st. elmo. orders have been given, by the jacobin government, for the batteries not to fire on the english ships. in short, the communication with naples is so open, that a general took a boat from the city, and came on board troubridge, to consult about surprising st. elmo. the civic guards have individually declared, that they assembled to keep peace in the city, and not to fight. many of the principal jacobins have fled, and carraccioli has resigned his situation as head of the marine. this man was fool enough to quit his master, when he thought his case desperate; yet, in his heart, i believe, he is no jacobin. the fishermen, a few days ago, told him, publicly--"we believe you are loyal, and sent by the king; but, much as we love you, if we find you disloyal, you shall be among the first to fall. i am not, in person, in these busy scenes; more calculated for me, than remaining here, giving advice. but their majesties think the advice of my incompetent judgment valuable, at this moment; therefore, i submit: and can only say, that i give it as an honest man, one without hopes or fears; therefore, they get at the truth, which their majesties have seldom heard." the french, in evacuating naples, in their retreat to caserta and capua, robbed all the shops as they passed along: the neapolitan republic, however, continued organizing their troops, as yet disinclined to give in; and the royalists remained inactive, probably waiting for the departure of the french out of the kingdom before they ventured to commence their operations. the band of brothers, in the mean time, who had so nobly fought off the nile, were fast gathering fresh laurels on the neapolitan coast; and inspiring, by their example, other naval heroes of merited celebrity. to these brave men, lord nelson paid the just and honoured tribute of applause which their conduct merited, in the following very flattering epistle to captain troubridge. vanguard, palermo, 8th may 1799. "my dear troubridge, i desire you will express, to captain hood, the true sense i have of his conduct, not only at salerno, but on all other occasions; and, that i never expect any but the most useful services, where he commands: and i beg you will say the same for me, to captains louis, hallowell, foote, and oswald; not forgetting captain harward, and commodore mitchell, as far as they have been concerned. as to yourself, your conduct is so all of a piece, that i can only say, what is true, that the last services seem to eclipse the former ones. you have an arduous task in your present command; and no officer in his majesty's service could, i am convinced, perform it with more judgment and advantage for his majesty's service, than yourself: and i beg that you will ever believe me, your faithful, affectionate, and obliged friend, "nelson." this day, the neapolitan ship lion, captain dixon, arrived from egypt; and brought information that three or four french frigates, and as many corvettes, had escaped from alexandria. sir sidney smith left that place on the 7th of march, and these ships got away between the 5th and 18th of april. captain dixon finding these ships gone, came away; without hearing more of sir sidney, than that he had arrived at st. jean d'acre. at this momentous period, when the king's restoration to his neapolitan dominions was daily to be expected; when the fall of malta was judged scarcely possible to be long delayed; and lord nelson was anxiously looking forward to a temporary cessation of his toils, and a speedy return to his native country; intelligence suddenly arrived, that the french fleet from brest, having escaped lord keith's vigilance, had been seen off oporto, and was expected to effect a junction with that of spain at cadiz. on the 12th of may, at six o'clock in the evening, this information was brought to palermo, by l'espoir brig; which, at midnight, such was his lordship's dispatch, sailed for procida, minorca, and gibraltar, with letters for captain troubridge, captain ball, admiral duckworth, and the earl of st. vincent. to captain troubridge his lordship writes, that he must immediately send the minotaur, swiftsure, and st. sebastian, with either the culloden or zealous; and either himself, or captain hood, remain with the seahorse, la minerve, &c. at procida, and get the lion from leghorn, in exchange for one of the small craft--to admiral duckworth, that he is sending him eight, nine, or ten, sail of the line, with all expedition, that they may be ready to form a junction with their great and excellent commander in chief; for which purpose his lordship ventures to offer an opinion, that it will be better for the ships to remain under sail off port mahon, than in the harbour: and adds best wishes for success, as he is not permitted to come--and, to the earl of st. vincent, that these several ships will be ready to obey the earl's orders off mahon; and that, hoping the russians are off malta, he has requested some of that admiral's ships may be sent to minorca. "in short," his lordship concludes this last letter, "you may depend on my exertions, and i am only sorry that i cannot move to your help; but, this island appears to hang on my stay. nothing could console the queen, this night, but my promise not to leave them, unless the battle was to be fought off sardinia. may god almighty bless and prosper you, is the fervent prayer of your obliged and affectionate "nelson." his lordship also wrote to captain ball, desiring him, if the russian squadron were before malta, to proceed with all the line of battle ships, and the thalia frigate, off port mahon, under the orders of admiral duckworth; laying his lordship's letter before vice-admiral uschakoff, as well as the ottoman admiral, should he be there, and procuring such ships as they could both spare for minorca: but, if they were not with him, to send the audacious and goliath to mahon. at nine o'clock in the evening of the 13th, the lieutenant of the petterel arrived, by land, at palermo. the sloop not being able to get up, owing to strong east winds, captain austin very properly sent the lieutenant on shore. he brought intelligence, that the french fleet had actually passed the straits mouth: and this news induced his lordship to alter his intended plan of sending such ships as he could collect off mahon; instead of which, he now resolved to rendezvous with the whole of them off the island of maritimo. of this change he instantly sent to apprize the commander in chief, as well as admiral duckworth; trusting that the latter would send his squadron there, which might enable him to look the enemy in the face. he hoped, indeed, that if the russians and turks were off malta, he should get a force, of different nations, equal to the enemy; when it was his determination, that not a moment should be lost in bringing them to battle. though the french fleet consisted of nineteen sail of the line, and that of the spaniards with which it was about to form a junction no less than twenty-five, his lordship determined to sail, with all possible expedition, for maritimo. on the 17th, the culloden, minotaur, swiftsure, and st. sebastian, arrived off palermo; but it blew so hard, from the east south-east, that the ships were obliged to strike yards and top-masts. this gale continued till the 20th, when his lordship put to sea; and, on the 24th, in the morning, arrived off maritimo. in a letter of this day's date, to the earl of st. vincent, his lordship observes that, not having been yet joined by captain ball or admiral duckworth, he has only to remain on the north side of maritimo, to keep covering palermo, which shall be protected to the last, and to wait the earl's orders for regulating his future proceedings. "your lordship," he adds, "may depend, that the squadron under my command shall never fall into the hands of the enemy; and, before one is destroyed, i have little doubt but the enemy will have their wings so completely clipped, that they may be easily overtaken." yet, at this period, it is to be observed, his lordship had only five british ships of the line, with three portuguese, la minerve neapolitan frigate, l'entreprennante cutter, and the incendiary fireship. in a postscript, his lordship concludes--"no doubt, by this time, the austrians are at leghorn; and, if this event had not happened, we should have been in naples." lord nelson remained at sea till the latter end of may; when, having on the 28th been informed, off trappano, by the earl of st. vincent, that he might, from the then state of the french and spanish fleets, act as he thought best, in the situation of affairs; his lordship determined on returning to palermo, for the purpose of completing the provisions of his squadron to six months, with as much wine as they could stow, that they might be in momentary readiness to act as circumstances should require. in the mean time, by continuing on the coast of sicily, to cover the blockade of naples, he was certain of preserving the former from any attack; to which it would not only be more exposed, were the ships withdrawn, but the spirits of the people receive such a damp that they would make little or no resistance. on the 30th, lord nelson arrived at palermo; and, having learned that the bey of tunis had stopped several vessels with his lordship's passports, he immediately wrote a very spirited letter to mr. magra, the consul, and another to the bey, which he dispatched in the earl of st. vincent cutter on the 4th of june. in these letters, however, he again offers his services, as the mediator of a truce, or peace, with his sicilian majesty, as well as with the portuguese; and observes, that the marquis de niza is ready to send a ship for this latter purpose. his lordship assures the bey of tunis, that he has granted no passports to any vessel which his highness, and every good man, will not highly approve of; and, that those who would, or dare, counsel his highness to prevent food from being given to those who are fighting in the cause of god against those vile infidels the french, are no better than frenchmen. "i will," says his lordship to the consul, "have my passports respected, given only to serve the cause in which his highness ought to be as much interested as i am. this you will state clearly and forcibly to the bey--that, as i will do no wrong; so, i will suffer none: this is the firm determination of a british admiral." in a letter written to the earl of st. vincent on the following day, june 5, his lordship says, after noticing the conduct of the bey of tunis, "i hope to bring this gentleman to reason." he adds--"my time has been so taken up, that i have not been able to pay that attention to the barbary states i could have wished, but i know these people must be talked to with honesty and firmness." his lordship had, indeed, just received, from tripoli, a tolerable good proof of the efficacy of his mode of dealing with the barbary states, in the success of commodore campbell, of which his lordship thus writes to the earl--"we are better friends with the bashaw of tripoli than ever. commodore campbell, whom i selected for that purpose, in the first place, because he was fit for the business; and, secondly, to mark that, although i could _censure_ when wrong, yet that i have no resentment for the past; having done, on that occasion, what i thought right. the commodore has, on this occasion, conducted himself with proper spirit and judgment; and he has, by it, made a very advantageous peace for portugal." so completely did commodore campbell act up to the spirit of lord nelson's orders, that the bashaw actually delivered to him all the french who were at tripoli, nearly forty in number. these, his lordship sent in the susannah cartel, carrying french prisoners to genoa, which sailed on the 6th of june; honourably stating, that they were not to be considered as prisoners of war, having been sent from tripoli, in barbary, for political reasons. on the 7th of june, in consequence of his lordship's recent information of being promoted to be rear-admiral of the red, he quitted the vanguard; and, on the 8th, hoisted it on board the foudroyant. while lord nelson was engaged in provisioning his squadron, without losing sight of the blockade of naples; and anxiously expecting to hear that the earl of st. vincent had fallen in with the french fleet, and obtained another brilliant victory; he had the mortification to be again suddenly impeded in the prosecution of his plan for replacing their sicilian majesties on the throne of their neapolitan dominions, by a letter from lord keith, dated the 6th of june, who appears to have been alarmed for the supposed fate of minorca. at the receipt of this letter, the 13th of june, lord nelson was actually on his way to naples, with troops, &c. in order to finish matters in that kingdom: but, considering the force of the french fleet on the coast of italy, then said to be twenty-two sail of the line, four of them first-rates; and that, probably, the ships at toulon would have joined them by the time he was reading the letter; the force with his lordship being only sixteen sail of the line, not one of which was of three decks; three being portuguese, and one of the english a sixty-four very short of men; his lordship considered himself as having had no choice left, but to return to palermo, and land the troops, ammunition, &c. which he accordingly did. he then proceeded off maritimo, hoping to be joined by such reinforcements from captain ball, &c, as might enable him to seek the enemy's fleet; when, his lordship said, there should not be a moment lost in bringing them to battle: "for," concludes he, in his answer to lord keith, dated the 16th of june, on board the foudroyant, at sea, "i consider the best defence for his sicilian majesty's dominions is, to place myself alongside the french. that i may be very soon enabled to have that honour, is the fervent prayer of your lordship's most obedient servant, nelson." though lord nelson felt that he had no force fit to face the enemy, and was resolved never to get out of their way--"i cannot think myself justified," said his lordship, writing to the earl of st. vincent, this same day, "in exposing the world--i may almost say--to be plundered by these miscreants. i trust, your lordship will not think me wrong, in the painful determination i conceived myself forced to make; for agonized, indeed, was the mind of your lordship's faithful and affectionate servant." the fact seems to be, that lord nelson had not the smallest apprehensions of any serious designs on minorca; and greatly feared that, if he should entirely quit the protection of sicily and naples, they would both soon be irrecoverably lost. it was, therefore, with extreme reluctance, that he proceeded on the present business; and having, next day, the 17th, been joined off malta by the alexander and goliath, his force was now fifteen sail of two-decked english ships, and three portuguese, with a fireship and cutter. on the 20th, the swallow portuguese corvette brought dispatches of the 17th, from the earl of st. vincent; acquainting lord nelson of the near approach of the squadron under sir alan gardiner, and that lord keith was going in search of the french fleet. having now, therefore, no hope of any sufficient reinforcement to enable him to do the same, his lordship determined once more to offer himself for the service of naples, which he seems to have imagined the french intended to visit; and, indeed, information to that effect had repeatedly arrived, by different ships, as well british as foreign. accordingly, having parted for palermo, he arrived off that port on the 21st; but, the ship being becalmed, he was under the necessity of proceeding some leagues in his barge. having reached palermo early in the morning of this day, he waited on sir william hamilton; and requested that, the instant they had breakfasted, the carriage might be ready to take himself, with sir william and lady hamilton, to the king and queen. nothing could possibly have been more opportune than this unpremeditated visit; for his lordship now learned, that general acton had actually written to him, by the desire of their majesties, though he had not yet received the letter most earnestly intreating his return, for the purpose of going into the bay of naples, and there completing the business which had been so auspiciously commenced under his judicious arrangements. such, indeed, was the then critical state of affairs at naples, that it required both the ablest heads, and the best hearts, to seize the favourable moment, already beginning to flit away, for effectually restoring loyalty and order in that devoted country. during the absence of lord nelson and captain troubridge, from sicily and naples, cardinal ruffo, with his army of twenty thousand calabrese and other loyalists, aided by some hundred russian troops, had defeated the neapolitan republicans, after the evacuation of naples by the french under general macdonald, who succeeded to championet; and, in consequence, was actually in possession of all the capital, except the castles of st. elmo, ovo, and nuovo, the two latter of which were momentarily expected to fall. in this state of things, with many doubts respecting the firmness rather than the fidelity of the cardinal, and much apprehension with regard to the pernicious effects of the imposing plausibility of several chiefs of the numerous parties into which the distracted country was unhappily divided, every precaution was considered necessary to be adopted that human sagacity could contrive, and all the fortitude judged requisite to be preserved that the most magnanimous bosom could exercise. their sicilian majesties well knew, that they had now before them a man, devoted to their just interests, who possessed, in the supremest degree, these rare and most estimable qualities. they intreated him, therefore, to undertake the arduous task, which could not be securely committed to any other hands than his own. his lordship was sensible of the importance of the charge, and overwhelmed with generous sentiments for the noble confidence expressed by the royal sufferers in his abilities to render them those essential services which their peculiar situation demanded. difficulty could never deter the mind of lord nelson from any attempt; for, where there is no difficulty, heroism is without an object. his lordship had, therefore, not a moment to pause, with respect to his ready acquiescence in the will of their majesties; but, from his very imperfect knowledge of the italian language, he expressed his apprehensions that he might be subject to fatal deceptions, if he should trust to the fidelity of any interpreter among a people so generally corruptible. he did not, however, state the objection, without proposing a remedy. if, his lordship said, sir william and lady hamilton would accompany him into the bay of naples, that he might have the assistance of their able heads, and excellent hearts, to consult, correspond, and interpret, on all occasions, he should not have the smallest doubt of complete success in the business. sir william, and his lady, were accordingly requested, by the king and queen, to afford their requisite aid on the occasion: to which they agreed, without a moment's hesitation; and, in less than three hours from the time of his first landing, such was the dispatch thought necessary, that her ladyship, having packed up a few articles of the first necessity, proceeded in the barge, with sir william and his lordship, on board the foudroyant, which instantly sailed for the bay of naples. lord nelson, it may be supposed, had received very full powers from their sicilian majesties; with the advice of their equally brave, wise, and skilful privy-counsellor, general sir john acton: but, such was the delicacy of his lordship in the exercise of his almost limitless authority, that no single instance can be with truth adduced, where he ever interfered with the criminal jurisprudence of the country; except, indeed, on the side of mercy, to which his excellent heart, it is well known, constantly inclined. on the 24th, they arrived in the bay of naples; where lord nelson saw a flag of truce flying on board the seahorse, captain foote, and also on the castles of ovo and nuovo. having, on the passage, received information, that an infamous armistice was entered into with the rebels of those castles, to which captain foote had put his name, his lordship instantly made the signal to annul the truce; being determined, as he said, never to give his approbation to any terms, with rebels, but unconditional submission. the fleet was now anchored in close line of battle, north-west by north, and south-east by south, from the mole head, one mile and a half distant; flanked by twenty-two gun and mortar boats, which he had recalled from procida. his lordship sent, instantly, captains troubridge and ball to the cardinal vicar-general ruffo; to represent to his eminence, the opinion which he entertained of the infamous truce entered into with the rebels. they were also charged with two papers to his eminence, expressive of these sentiments; one of which was intended for their perusal, previously to the agreed surrender. the cardinal, however, declared that he would send no papers; and that, if his lordship pleased, he might break the armistice, for he was himself tired of his situation. captain troubridge then asked this plain question--"if lord nelson breaks the armistice, will your eminence assist him in the attack of the castles?" his answer was decisive--"i will neither assist him with men nor guns." after much talking, to very little purpose, his eminence expressed a wish to see his lordship on board, that he might converse with him respecting this situation of affairs; and they, accordingly, accompanied him thither. sir william hamilton interpreted between lord nelson and cardinal ruffo, till he was almost exhausted with fatigue. the dispute lasted about two hours, and frequently ran very high; the cardinal, however, proved more than a match for sir william and his lordship together in volubility, though far from equal to either in true eloquence. the venerable sir william, at length, vexed and wearied, calmly seated himself; and requested his lady, though less loquacious than the generality of her sex, to assist their honourable friend, who continued pacing the cabin with the most determined perseverance, in conducting this war of words. the pleasingly persuasive voice of her ladyship, delivering the manly sentiments of his lordship, made no impression on the cardinal. he would not submit to reason, nor his lordship to any thing else: so that the lady was in a fair way of becoming soon as desirous to desist as sir william had been before her, and for the same reason too, if lord nelson had not suddenly put an end to the argument, by observing that, since he found an admiral was no match for a cardinal in talking, he would try the effect of writing. he wrote, therefore, the following opinion, which he immediately delivered to cardinal ruffo- "rear-admiral lord nelson, who arrived in the bay of naples on the 24th of june, with the british fleet, found a treaty entered into with the rebels; which, he is of opinion, ought not to be carried into execution, without the approbation of his sicilian majesty--the earl of st. vincent--lord keith." thus terminated the interview: the cardinal retired in disgust; and the rebels, after having notice of his lordship's resolve, persisted in coming out of the castles, which were immediately occupied by the marines of the squadron. much has been said, by weak persons, respecting the justice of thus annulling a truce which had been actually signed before his lordship's arrival. they know little of this great and honourable man, the glory of human nature, as well as of his country, who can for a moment conceive that any part of lord nelson's character, public or private, need shrink from the severest scrutiny to which the actions of terrestrial beings may with justice be subjected. he was, it is maintained, among the best, as well as the bravest, among the most just, as well as the most judicious, of mankind. with regard to the right which his lordship possessed of putting an end to the armistice, notwithstanding the capitulation had been signed, while the castles remained unsurrendered, a few plain words will be allowed sufficient, by the sober part of mankind, for whom they can, indeed, scarcely be necessary, to set the question at rest for ever. had the french fleet arrived, instead of the british, would the capitulation have been at all regarded by those who had agreed to surrender these castles? would they have delivered them up to the then overpowered besiegers? on the contrary, would they not have instantly directed the guns of these very fortresses against the persons to whom they had just signed their submission? these questions are so obvious, that they scarcely need any reply, since there cannot possibly be two opinions on the subject. if there exists, in such derogations, any departure from strictly moral justice, which admits of much doubt, it must be ascribed to the rigorous necessities inseparable from a state of war, and not to any want of rectitude in the breasts of those honourable men on whom devolves the severe task of dictating the operations of that dreadful but unavoidable chastiser of the human race. the besieged, by the laws of war, would have had a right to avail themselves, as is suggested, in the case of such an arrival of the french fleet; and, unquestionably, that of the british, which actually occurred, was alike entitled to alter the effect of the unexecuted capitulation. it appears, however, that lord nelson, though he would not sanction an armistice which he considered as dishonouring the sovereign for whom he was acting, had not the smallest desire to interfere with the disposal of the rebels whom he was so anxious to secure. it was not for their punishment, but for the security of those whom he feared they might contaminate by their principles, that he resolved to keep them in safe custody till the farther pleasure of his sicilian majesty should be known; and, in this, even cardinal ruffo, it seems, at length, reluctantly acquiesced. on the morning of the 27th, having embarked all the principal rebels in the several ships of the british squadron, and the rest in polacres anchored under their care, his lordship ordered captain troubridge to land with a detachment of troops, for the purpose of cutting down "the infamous tree of anarchy," which was immediately burnt before the king's palace. his sicilian majesty's flag was now every where flying in naples, except on the castle of st. elmo. this fortress still remaining in the hands of the french, captains troubridge and ball, who had now, in some degree, conciliated the cardinal, taking with them thirteen hundred men from the ships, five hundred russian troops, and a considerable body of royalists, proceeded to invest it. as there could be little doubt that this place, though exceedingly strong, must in a few days yield to the vigorous operations of the brave and skilful officers by whom it was besieged, which would complete the repossession of the neapolitan capital, lord nelson wrote to general acton; requesting that his sicilian majesty would come into the bay of naples, as well as the general, to sanction and direct, by his royal presence, and their united councils, the requisite measures for completing the important business now in so fair a train for being happily concluded. at the surrender of the castles, carraccioli had effected his escape; but he was soon apprehended by the royalists, who were clamorous for his execution; and, on the 29th, after a fair trial, by a board of naval officers of his sicilian majesty, for rebellion against his lawful sovereign, and firing at his sicilian majesty's frigate la minerve, he was hanged at the fore-yard-arm of that ship. lord nelson greatly lamented the fate of this unhappy man, though he could not deny the justice of his sentence; and he would, undoubtedly, have recommended him as an object of mercy to his sicilian majesty, had he not well known that such an interference, in the then temper of the people, must have rendered himself an object of their suspicion; and thus have operated against the king's interest, without finally preserving the culprit from the worst effects of their fury. when it is considered that, a very few months before, carraccioli had received, at palermo, the supreme command of the small remains of his sicilian majesty's fleet; that, on his departure for messina, he had been earnestely and most pathetically conjured by the queen, while taking leave of her majesty, to do every thing in his power for the promotion of the welfare of her little family; that he had, soon after, under pretence of assisting the royalists in calabria, abandoned his sovereign, and actually joined the republicans with the force committed to his charge; he cannot be well regarded as an object entitled to any very extraordinary degree of commiseration. on the 3d of july, lord nelson had the high gratification of receiving official notice of the liberal grant of ten thousand pounds, which had been unanimously voted to his lordship by the honourable east india company, for his services at the battle off the nile; and his considerate regard to their interests, demonstrated by his judicious conduct immediately after that glorious event. to the letter from sir stephen lushington, bart. chairman of the court of directors, which conveyed this agreeable information, his lordship instantly wrote the following answer. "foudroyant, naples bay, 3d july 1799. "sir, "i was this day honoured with your letter of may 1st, conveying to me the resolutions of the honourable east india company. it is true, sir, that i am incapable of finding words to convey my feelings, for the unprecedented honour done me by the company. having, in my younger days, served in the east indies, i am no stranger to the munificence of the honourable company; but this generous act of their's to me so much surpasses all calculation of gratitude, that i have only the power of saying that i receive it with all respect. give me leave, sir, to thank you for your very elegant and flattering letter, and to add, that i am, with the greatest respect, your most obliged and obedient servant, "nelson." nor did this generous man, for whose just praise language must ever be at a loss, rise from the table at which he had penned the above letter of thanks, till his liberal soul, invited every dear relative in the first degree to a kind participation of the bounty which he had just received; by making out drafts, of five hundred pounds each, for his venerable father--his elder brother, maurice nelson, esq. of the navy office--the reverend dr. nelson, the present earl--and his two most amiable sisters, mrs. bolton and mrs. matcham: thus nobly disposing of a fourth part of what he had so honourably acquired, in a way which must ever reflect unfading glory on his memory, and no inconsiderable lustre on the characters of those who were thought thus uniformly entitled to the tender regards of such an exalted as well as kindred mind. it will scarcely be supposed possible, that any human being could convert this generous token of his lordship's affection and esteem for his family, into a cause of violent complaint. there was one person, however, who did complain on the occasion; and that with such piteous lamentations, as absolutely induced his lordship's father, in whose house she was at the same time residing, to decline accepting his portion of his son's most honourable gift. the mention of this undoubted fact, has no other object, than to demonstrate how very distant from a unity of sentiment, in some important respects, lady nelson and her illustrious husband, must necessarily have been; the unfortunate want of which, is ever likely to occasion a proportionable degree of connubial infelicity, and to account for all it's disagreeable consequences, without resorting to grosser motives. on the 6th of july, captain ball, who had been commanding at st. elmo with captain troubridge, was ordered by lord nelson to resume his situation at malta; for which place he accordingly sailed in the alexander, with the portuguese ship alfonso de albequerque, and captain peard in the success. during the siege of st. elmo, many of the neapolitans came out, every day, in boats, to the british squadron; and the leaders of different parties, with various views, but all affecting the strictest zeal and most loyal attachment to their sovereign, paid congratulatory visits to lord nelson and sir william and lady hamilton: it was not, perhaps, always possible to discover the insincere; but this illustrious triumvirate, as they merit to be denominated, by their extreme circumspection and address, made all of them conduce, whatever might have been their original design, to the promotion of the royal cause. her ladyship, on these occasions, was eminently successful in conciliating those who had entertained unjust prejudices against the queen; and, by the well timed distribution of necklaces, ear-rings, and other trinkets, among the most active of the female partisans, said to be the gracious gifts of her majesty, who had not any present means of more profusely showering her bounty on her beloved people, in which assertion there was but little departure from truth, such an astonishing progress was made in the attachments of them and their numerous admirers, as would appear scarcely credible to those who are unacquainted with the wonderful influence of the neapolitan women. on the 10th of july, his sicilian majesty, with his principal ministers, arrived in the bay of naples; and went on board the foudroyant, when his royal standard was instantly hoisted. at the first notice of this event, the neapolitan royalists came out in prodigious numbers; and, rowing round the ship, called, in the most affectionate manner, for a sight of their beloved sovereign, under the denomination of their dear father. "the effusions of loyalty," says lord nelson, in writing to lord keith of this event, "from the lower order of the people to their _father_, for by no other name do they address the king, is truly moving!" it was, indeed, very affecting to hear them; and their transports of joy, on beholding him, are not to be described. every day, which their king remained on board, did these loyal people continue to flock out; crying--"father! father! let us only see your face, and we will be satisfied." it was truly pathetic to hear the generous creatures; and to behold the amiable condescension of their worthy sovereign, who never refused to indulge them with a sight of his person. from half past twelve, however, the constant time of dining, till four in the afternoon, when the king usually slept, the most profound silence was preserved by the many anxious and impatient people with whom the surrounding boats were crouded. if the smallest noise occurred, silence was immediately insisted on--"do you not know," they would softly, but fiercely, say, "that our father is asleep? would you dare to disturb him?" then, as the time of his awaking drew near, they generally asked for their good mistress, the name by which they addressed lady hamilton; requesting that she would kindly let them know when their father was ready to see them. this, her ladyship never failed to do; and they immediately resumed the eager and affecting cry of--"father! father!" &c. when the king instantly presented himself to their view, and often spoke to them with the most consoling affability. the effect of lady hamilton's continual presents and kind remembrances from her majesty, soon occasioned them to make similar enquiries after their good mother, the queen; and their dear children, the royal offspring--"when shall we again behold our good mother? when shall we once more see our dear children?" in such simple expressions of affectionate regard, did all the humble classes of neapolitans pour forth their effusions of loyal attachment to their beloved sovereign; while the generality of those who possessed titles of honour, seemed wholly destitute of it's principles. "the conduct of the nobles," lord nelson remarked, in the letter above noticed, "has been infamous; and it delights me, to see that his majesty marks the difference in the most proper manner. it has been, and is, my study, to treat his majesty with all the respect due to so great a personage; and i have the pleasure to believe, that my humble endeavours have met with the royal approbation." the painful anxiety of the king, as he viewed the hostile flag on the distant castle of st. elmo, feeling both for the besiegers and the besieged, was excessive; but, when on the third day after his arrival, it was visibly lowered, as he stood on the deck, with lord nelson and sir william and lady hamilton, he threw his arms round them in an extacy of gratitude, and hailed those generous friends by the appellation of his preservers and restorers. in fact, the castle surrendered, on the 12th, by capitulation, after a close siege of eight days, with open batteries; in which, the bravery of captain troubridge, and the other british officers serving under him, with a most heterogeneous army of british marines, and russian, portuguese, albanese, calabrese, and swiss troops, was eminently conspicuous. the particulars of this siege, as well as it's success, will appear in the following letter sent by captain troubridge to lord nelson. "antignano, near st. elmo, july 13, 1799. "my lord, agreeable to your lordship's orders, i landed with the english and portuguese marines of the fleet, on the 27th of june: and, after embarking the garrisons of the castles of ovo and nuovo, composed of french and rebels, i put a garrison in each; and, on the 29th, took post against fort st. elmo, which i summoned to surrender. but, the commandant being determined to stand a siege, we opened a battery of three thirty-six pounders and four mortars, on the 3d inst. within seven hundred yards of the fort; and, on the 5th, another, of two thirty-six pounders. the russians, under captain buillie, opened another battery of four thirty-six pounders and four mortars, against the opposite angle; intending to storm it, in different places, as soon as we could make two practicable breaches in the work. on the 6th, i added four more mortars: and, on the 11th, by incessant labour, we opened another battery of six thirty-six pounders, within a hundred and eighty yards of the wall of the garrison; and had another, of one eighteen pounder, and two howitzers, at the same distance, nearly completed. after a few hours cannonading from the last battery, the enemy displayed a flag of truce, when our firing ceased; and, their guns being mostly dismounted, and their works nearly destroyed, the inclosed terms of capitulation were agreed to and signed. "in performing this service, i feel much satisfaction in informing your lordship, that i received every possible assistance from captain ball, for the first seven days: when your lordship ordered him on other service, and did me the honour to place captain hallowell under my orders in his room; whose exertions and abilities your lordship is acquainted with, and merit every attention. "lieutenant-colonel strickland, major cresswell, and all the officers of marines, and men, merit every praise i can bestow: as does antonio saldineo de gama, and the officers and men belonging to her most faithful majesty the queen of portugal; their readiness, on all occasions, does them great honour. the very commanding situation of st. elmo, rendered our approaches difficult; or, i trust, it would have been reduced much sooner. the ready acquiescence to all our demands, and the assistance received from the duc di salandra, i beg, may be made known, by your lordship, to his sicilian majesty. "i feel myself also much indebted to colonel tschudy, for his great zeal and exertions on all occasions. i have the honour to be, &c. t. troubridge, the right honourable lord nelson, k.b." _articles of capitulation agreed upon between the garrison of fort st. elmo and the troops of his sicilian majesty and his allies._ i. the french garrison of fort st. elmo shall surrender themselves prisoners of war to his neapolitan majesty and his allies; and shall not serve against any of the powers actually at war with the french republic, until regularly exchanged. ii. the english grenadiers shall take possession of the gate of the fort in the course of the day. iii. the french garrison shall march out of the fort to-morrow, with their arms, and drums beating. the troops shall lay down their arms on the outside of the gate of the fort; and a detachment of english, russian, portuguese, and neapolitan, troops, shall take possession of the castle. iv. the officers shall keep their arms. v. the garrison shall be embarked on board the english squadron, until the necessary shipping are provided to convey them to france. vi. when the english grenadiers take possession of the gate, all the subjects of his sicilian majesty shall be delivered up to the allies. vii. a guard of french soldiers shall be placed round the french colours, to prevent their being destroyed: that guard shall remain until all the garrison be marched out, and it is relieved by an english officer and guard; to whom orders shall be given to strike the french flag and hoist that of his sicilian majesty. viii. all private property shall be reserved for those to whom the same appertains; and all public property shall be given up with the fort, as well as the effects pillaged. ix. the sick, not in a state to be removed, shall remain at naples, with french surgeons, and shall be taken care of at the expence of the republic. they shall be sent back to france as soon as possible after their recovery. done at fort st. elmo, the 22d messidor, in the seventh year of the french republic, or 12th july 1799. signed, il duca di salandra, captain-general of the forces of his majesty the king of the two sicilies. thomas troubridge, of his britannic majesty's ship culloden, and commander of the british and portuguese troops at the attack of st. elmo. chevalier belle, captain-lieutenant, commanding the troops of his imperial russian majesty at the attack of st. elmo. jh. mejau, commanding fort st. elmo. _return of killed and wounded at the siege of the castle of st. elmo._ marine forces landed from the squadron--john hickman, private, of the vanguard, killed; daniel elliott, christopher calonie, privates of ditto, wounded. serjeant morgan, of the foudroyant, thomas jones, and benjamin cole, privates of ditto, wounded. royal artillery--lieutenant millbank killed. t. strickland, lieutenant-colonel of the marine forces. swiss regiment--two officers, seven privates, killed; nine privates wounded. albanese volunteers--four privates wounded. russians--one officer, three rank and file, killed; one officer, three rank and file, wounded. calabrese regiment--one officer, twenty-one rank and file, killed; four officers, sixty-four rank and file, wounded. total--five officers, thirty-two rank and file, killed; five officers, seventy-nine rank and file, wounded. foudroyant, naples bay, 13th july 1799. the castle of st. elmo, at the time of it's surrender, had no want of ammunition or provisions: of the former, besides abundance of shot, shells, grenades, cartridges, &c. they had twenty-five thousand pounds of powder; and, of the latter, with eighteen oxen, upwards of three hundred barrels of salt beef and pork, nearly three thousand quintals of wheat, a hundred and fifty-eight of biscuit, two thousand one hundred and sixty-seven of flour, and numerous other articles of food in proportion, they had fifty thousand pints of wine, and six thousand of brandy. lord nelson, immediately on receiving these dispatches from captain troubridge, wrote the following official letter to lord keith. "foudroyant, naples bay, 13th july 1799. "my lord, "i have the pleasure to inform you of the surrender of fort st. elmo, on the terms of the inclosed capitulation, after open batteries of eight days; during which time, one heavy battery was advanced within a hundred and eighty yards of the ditch. the very great strength of st. elmo, and it's more formidable position, will mark with what fortitude, perseverance, and ability, the combined forces must have acted. captain troubridge was the officer selected for the command of all the forces landed from the squadron. captain ball assisted him for seven days, till his services were wanted at malta, when his place was ably supplied by captain hallowell, an officer of the most distinguished merit, and to whom captain troubridge expresses the highest obligation. captain hood, with a garrison for the castle of nuovo, and to keep good order in the capital--an arduous task, at that time--was also landed from the squadron; and i have the pleasure to tell you, that no capital is more quiet than naples. i transmit you captain troubridge's letter to me, with a return of killed and wounded. "i have now to state to your lordship, that although the ability and resources of my brave friend troubridge are well known to all the world; yet he had difficulties to struggle with, in every way, which the state of the capital will easily bring to your idea, that has raised his great character even higher than it was before: and it is my earnest request, that your lordship will mention him, in that way, to the board of admiralty, that his majesty may be graciously pleased to bestow some mark of his royal favour on captain troubridge; which will give real happiness to your lordship's most obedient and faithful servant, "nelson." "right honourable lord keith." besides the above letter, lord nelson this day wrote three other letters to lord keith, and one to earl spencer; so indefatigable was his lordship in the performance of every branch of his duty. yet, at this very moment, he was hazarding the imputation of too little regarding it, by those who have not his ability to discern in what it truly consists, or the magnanimity to hazard the consequences of a nominal and apparent breach, for the sake of securely seizing the spirit and substance of it's unquestionably intended effect. a truly great man, must sometimes even venture to expose his character, as well as his person, in perilous situations; though he will seldom be so presumptuous or rash as wantonly to commit either, on trivial occasions. the fact is, that his lordship had, at this very critical juncture, been ordered, by lord keith, to detach a considerable part of his squadron for the reinforcement of his lordship, then at minorca; with this order, however, having already parted with two ships for malta, it was not possible to comply, without again putting the safety of naples to a most imminent hazard. he ventured, therefore to remonstrate against the measure, in the following apology to lord keith; describing his precise situation, of which the commander in chief could not have any possible knowledge at the time of sending such orders. "foudroyant, naples bay, 13th july, 1799. "my lord, "i have to acknowledge the receipt of your lordship's orders of 27th june; and, as soon as the safety of his sicilian majesty's kingdoms is secured, i shall not lose one moment in making the detachment you are pleased to order. at present, under god's providence, the safety of his sicilian majesty, and his speedy restoration to his kingdoms, depends on this fleet; and the confidence inspired, even by the appearance of our ships before the city, is beyond all belief: and i have no scruple in declaring my opinion that, should any event draw us from the kingdom, if the french remain in any part of it, disturbances will again arise: for, all order having been completely overturned, it must take a thorough cleansing, and some little time, to restore tranquillity. i have the honour to be, with great respect, your lordship's obedient servant, "nelson." "right honourable lord keith." with these accounts of the operations at naples, copies of which were transmitted by lord nelson, to england, for public information, his lordship wrote the following private letter to earl spencer; in which, among other interesting particulars, descriptive of his then state, he alludes to the impropriety of hastily detaching any ships for minorca. "foudroyant, naples bay, 13th july 1799. "my dear lord, "i have much to say; but am unable to write, or speak, half so much as my duty would make it right: therefore, i must be brief. on my fortunate arrival here, i found a most infamous treaty entered into with the rebels, in direct disobedience of his sicilian majesty's orders. i had the happiness of saving his majesty's honour; rejecting, with disdain, any terms but unconditional submission to rebels. your lordship will observe my note and opinion to the cardinal. the rebels came out of the castle with this knowledge, without any honours; and the principal rebels were seized, and conducted on board the ships of the squadron. the others, embarked in fourteen polacres, were anchored under the care of our ships. his majesty has entirely approved of my conduct in this matter. i presume to recommend captain troubridge for some mark of his majesty's favour: it would be supposing you, my dear lord, were ignorant of his merits, was i to say more than that he is a first-rate general. the king holds his levees on the quarter-deck of the foudroyant, at the same hour as he did when in his palace. his majesty's health is perfect, and he is in the highest spirits and good humour. may i offer my kindest respects to lady spencer; and, believe me, i am sensible of her goodness. lieutenant parkinson will, i am sure, meet with your kind protection; he is an officer of great merit. lord keith writes me, if certain events take place, it may be necessary to draw down this squadron for the protection of minorca. should such an order come, at this moment, it would be a cause for some consideration, whether minorca is to be risked, or the two kingdoms of naples and sicily. i rather think, my decision would be, to risk the former. i am told, the alteration of the government is began in this capital, by the abolition of the feudal system, and that it is meant to be continued through the country. sir john acton is with his majesty: i need not say more, than that he has the wisest and most honest head in this kingdom. sir william and lady hamilton are, to my great comfort, with me; for, without them, it would have been impossible i could have rendered half the service to his majesty which i have now done: their heads, and their hearts, are equally great and good. with every sentiment of respect and attachment, believe me, my dear lord, your obliged and faithful "nelson." "earl spencer." in the public letter to evan nepean, esq. which inclosed the several dispatches, lord nelson also recommends lieutenant parkinson, who is the bearer, to the notice of the lords of the admiralty; observing, that this officer is sent, by desire of his sicilian majesty, to mark that monarch's approbation of his lordship's conduct. then, apologising for the brevity of his letter, when he has so much to communicate, his lordship adds, that he is writing in a fever, and finds it barely possible to keep out of bed; but, to the last, begs he will assure the board, that every exertion shall be made for the honour of his king and country. by the surrender of st elmo, the king of naples had once more the satisfaction to behold his own flag waving over the capital, and all the forts by which it was defended. the only places now remaining in the hands of the french and his neapolitan majesty's rebellious subjects, were capua and gaieta. against the former of these, on the 14th, captains troubridge and hallowell began to make preparations, by landing a thousand men from the squadron; which, uniting with four thousand other troops, of various denominations, marched in a few days to effect it's reduction. on the 17th, lord nelson, by the desire of his sicilian majesty, sent a letter to captain troubridge, directing him, when he sent in a summons to the commander of the french troops in capua, to state that, on condition of immediately giving up capua and gaieta, both being under his command, the french garrisons, after laying down their arms, should be permitted to go to france without any restrictions; but, if this were not complied with, they should be considered as prisoners of war, with as degrading terms as it was in his power to give them: in short, the allies must dictate the terms. to this letter, there was a remarkable postscript; which serves to shew, with what marked contempt his lordship regarded those whom he had reason to consider as traitors--"there is a person," says his lordship, "who has been a _notorious rebel;_ but, now, _pretends_ to serve his king faithfully. if he should attempt to come even into your presence, i earnestly request, that you will never voluntarily admit him to your sight, much less speak to him; for honour and loyalty, which you possess, never ought to be contaminated with infamy and rebellion. his name is said to be _roccaromara_." there can be no doubt, that lord nelson had good reasons for this positive caution: the want of which might, perhaps, have been prejudicial to the expedition; if not fatal to this his lordship's favourite commander, for whose honour and welfare he was to the full as solicitous as for his own. just as every thing was arranged, ready to march against capua, the event which his lordship had anticipated in his letter to earl spencer actually occurred. a peremptory order arrived, on the 19th, from lord keith, directing him to detach, immediately, from the island of sicily, the whole of his squadron--or such part, at least, as might not be necessary in that island--for the protection of minorca. lord nelson, however, well knowing, that lord keith, at the time of sending this order, could not be informed of the change of affairs in the kingdom of naples, where all the marines, and a considerable body of seamen, were now landed, in order to drive the french scoundrels out of the kingdom--which was likely, he said, with god's blessing, to be very soon effected, when a part of the squadron should be instantly sent--he thought it right, till the french were all driven from capua, not to obey his lordship's order for sending down any part of the squadron under his command. after stating these reasons, as his apology for thus acting, his lordship thus concludes--"i am perfectly aware of the consequences of disobeying the orders of the commander in chief; but, as i believe the safety of the kingdom of naples depends, at the present moment, on my detaining the squadron, i have no scruple in deciding, that it is better to save the kingdom of naples, and risk minorca, than to risk the kingdom of naples, and save minorca. your lordship will, i hope, approve of my decision." though lord nelson's heroic bosom could by no means fail to be violently agitated on this very alarming occasion, his resolution was not to be shaken by any consideration of personal suffering: had the refusal been attended with the certain loss of life, he would not have consented to part with a single ship; such was the inflexible firmness of this invincible man, when his determination was once fixed. he did not, however, set danger at defiance; though he so little regarded it's weight, when placed in the scale which opposed his own conscious sense of duty. desirous to be duly understood, and to obtain the indemnity of which he could not but consider himself as worthy of receiving, he had ventured to hope for lord keith's approbation of his conduct. he judged it right, however, to be prepared against the worst that could happen, by immediately addressing earl spencer, also, in a private letter on the subject; as well as the admiralty in general, through their secretary, mr. nepean. these valuable documents, at once self-criminating and exculpatory, are finely characteristic of his lordship's firmness, sensibility, and honour. "foudroyant, naples bay, 19th july 1799. "my dear lord, "you will easily conceive my feelings, at the order this day received here from lord keith; but my mind, your lordship will know, by my letter sent by mr. lieutenant parkinson and mr. silvester, was perfectly prepared for this order: and, more than ever, is my mind made up. at this moment, i will not part with a single ship; as i cannot do that, without drawing a hundred and twenty men from each ship now at the siege of capua, where an army is gone this day. i am fully aware of the act i have committed; but, sensible of my loyal intentions, i am prepared for any fate which may await my disobedience. capua and gaieta will soon fall; and, the moment the scoundrels of french are out of this kingdom, i shall send eight or nine ships of the line to minorca. i have done what i thought right: others may think differently; but it will be my consolation, that i have gained a kingdom, seated a faithful ally of his majesty firmly on his throne, and restored happiness to millions. do not think, my dear lord, that my opinion is formed from the arrangements of any one. _no_; be it good, or be it bad, it is all my own. it is natural i should wish the decision of the admiralty, and my commander in chief, as speedily as possible. to obtain the former, i beg your lordship's interest with the board; and, in all events, i shall consider myself your lordship's, &c. &c. "nelson." "earl spencer." the letter for the lords of the admiralty, addressed to evan nepean, esq. their secretary, was as follows. "foudroyant, naples bay, 19th july 1799. "sir, "i send you a copy of lord keith's orders to me, my answer, and a copy of a letter written since my letter to lord keith. my decision was taken, and i feel the importance of it in every way; and know, i must be subject to trial for my conduct: but i am so confident of the uprightness of my intentions for his majesty's service; and for that of his sicilian majesty, which i consider as the same; that i, with all submission, give myself to the judgement of my superiors. i have the honour to be, with great respect, your, &c. "nelson." by this open and dignified manner of appealing to the honourable board of admiralty, as well as to his commander in chief, lord nelson not only escaped any public censure, but even obtained great private applause, very much to the honour of all parties. it was, they well knew, no light departure from duty, originating in presumption or ignorance; but a necessary deviation, dictated by the most profound wisdom, and justified by the truest discernment. lord nelson appears to have been of opinion, about this time, that the french fleet, which had effected a junction with the spanish, making together forty-three sail of the line, and were reported to have sailed from carthagena on the 29th of june, had hostile designs against the kingdom of portugal. this he mentions to sir sidney smith, in a congratulatory epistle on the first successes of that able officer in egypt. "yesterday," his lordship says, writing on the 24th of july, "brought me letters from your worthy brother; and we had the great pleasure of hearing that your truly meritorious and wonderful exertions were in a fair train for the extirpation of that horde of thieves, who went to egypt with that arch-thief bonaparte. i beg you will express, to captain miller, and to all the brave officers and men who have fought so nobly under your orders, the sense i entertain of your and their great merit." to sir sidney's brother, his lordship writes with still stronger praise of that spirited and enterprising officer--"i thank you, truly," says his lordship, "for your letter of june 9th, containing an extract of one from your brother, who has done so much at acre. it is like his former conduct; and, i can assure you, no one admires his gallantry and judgment more than myself. but, if i know myself, as i never have encroached on the command of others, so i will not suffer even my friend sir sidney to encroach upon mine. i dare say, he thought he was to have a separate command in the levant; i find, upon enquiry, it never was intended to have any one in the levant separate from me." this candid explanation may be considered as a manly acknowledgment of his lordship's, that he had pushed his severity against his friend sir sidney sufficiently far. lord nelson also received, from constantinople, among other dispatches, the approbation of the grand signior for his conduct at tripoli and tunis: to whom he had constantly sent copies of his correspondence with the bashaw and the bey; and now, in a letter to his excellency the grand vizir, observed that he had no other object in view, than to fulfil the orders of the great king, his master, by proving him a most faithful ally. on the 28th, the garrison of capua surrendered to captain troubridge, and the commanders of the other allied troops; of which event he informed lord nelson, next day, in the following public letter. "culloden, naples bay, 29th july 1799. "my lord, "agreeable to your lordship's orders, i marched on the 20th inst. with the english and portuguese troops from naples, and arrived at caserta the following morning. after resting the people, we marched and encamped near capua. the swiss, under colonel tschudy, the cavalry under general acton, and the different corps of infantry under general boucard and colonel gams, took up their appointed situations: the former, to the left of the camp; and the latter, to the right of the river. "on the 22d, a bridge of pontoons was thrown over the river, to establish a communication. batteries of guns and mortars were instantly began, within five hundred yards of the enemy's works: and, on the 25th, the gun-battery of four twenty-four pounders, another with two howitzers, and two mortar-batteries, were opened, and kept up a constant and heavy fire; which was returned, by the enemy, from eleven pieces of cannon. on the 26th, trenches were opened, and new batteries began, within a few yards of the glacis. "the enemy, on finding our approach so rapid, sent out terms, which i rejected _in toto_; and offered, in return, the inclosed terms of capitulation, which the french general agreed to, and signed the following morning at six o'clock. the french garrison marched out this morning, at three; and, grounding their arms, proceeded to naples, under the escort of four hundred english marines, and two squadrons of general acton's cavalry. "in performing this service, i feel much indebted to captains hallowell and oswald; to whose abilities and exertions, i attribute the reduction of the place in so short a time; as they staid night and day in the field, to forward the erecting of the batteries. i also beg leave to recommend lieutenant-colonel strickland and major cresswell, the officers and marines, for their constant and unremitted attention; as well as the officers and men of her most faithful majesty, the queen of portugal. the russian forces, under captain builie, rendered every assistance. generals acton and de boucard, and colonel gams, merit much for their zeal in chearfully performing all the different services that arose. colonel tschudy's zeal merits great attention, for his constant readiness to send working parties to the batteries, as well as pushing his men forward on all occasions. "to m. monfrere, a volunteer gentleman from the seahorse, whom i had the honour to recommend to your lordship's notice at st. elmo, i feel indebted for his great ability and assistance as an engineer, which forwarded our operations much. "lieutenants lowcay and davis, who served as aides-du-camp to me, have also great merit; as well as mr. greig, an officer in the russian service, serving in his majesty's ship under my command, whom i beg your lordship to recommend to the court of petersburgh as a promising officer. count di lucci, chief of the etat-major, was unremitting in his attention. i have the honour to inclose your lordship a return of the ordnance, stores, and provisions, found in capua, as well as a return of the garrison, not including jacobins, which were serving with the french. "i have the honour to be, &c. "t. troubridge." "the right honourable lord nelson, k.b." the capitulation contained nine articles, like that of st. elmo, which it in all other respects resembled. the ordnance was one hundred and eighteen pieces of cannon; and there were twelve thousand muskets, four hundred and fourteen thousand musket-cartridges filled, and sixty-seven thousand eight hundred and forty-eight pounds of powder. the french garrison consisted of a hundred and ninety-nine officers, and two thousand six hundred and eighteen non-commissioned officers and privates. the town and garrison of gaieta, being under the same commander in chief as capua, monsieur girardon, general of brigade, was immediately after agreed to be surrendered without a siege, and an order to that effect was sent, on the 30th, to the governor: on which account, the place having only been blockaded, all the french troops, consisting of eighty-three officers, and fourteen hundred and fifteen privates, were allowed to march out with their firelocks, bayonets, swords, and cartouch-boxes, without being deemed prisoners of war on their arrival in france. in other respects, the articles of the capitulation, which was signed by general acton, lord nelson, and monsieur girardon, on board the foudroyant, were very similar to those of capua. there were sixty pieces of brass cannon, twelve iron, and thirteen mortars, with an immense quantity of powder and other garrison stores. on the 1st day of august 1799, the first anniversary of lord nelson's glorious victory off the nile, his lordship had the inexpressible happiness of announcing to his king and country, the entire liberation of the kingdom of naples from french anarchy; the restoration of it's worthy sovereign to his hereditary throne; and of his numerous oppressed subjects, to the felicity of that benign and paternal protection which they had ever experienced under his sicilian majesty's mild and gentle sway. this agreeable intelligence was communicated in the two following letters: one, to the commander in chief, lord keith; the other, to evan nepean, esq. secretary to the admiralty. "foudroyant, bay of naples, 1st august 1799. "my lord, "i have the honour to transmit you a copy of captain troubridge's letter to me, and the capitulation of capua and gaieta, &c. too much praise cannot be given to captain troubridge, for his wonderful exertion in bringing about these happy events, and in so short a space of time. captain hallowell has also the greatest merit. captain oswald, whom i send to england with a copy of my letter, is an officer most highly deserving promotion. i have put lieutenant henry compton, who has served as a lieutenant with me from january 1796, in the perseus bomb, in his room, and whom i recommend to your lordship. "i sincerely congratulate your lordship, on the entire liberation of the kingdom of naples from a band of robbers; and am, with the greatest respect, my lord, your, &c. "nelson." "right honourable lord keith, k. b." "foudroyant, naples bay, 1st august 1799. "sir, "i have the honour to transmit you copies of my letter to the commander in chief, with it's several enclosures: and most sincerely congratulate their lordships on the entire liberation of the kingdom of naples from the french robbers; for by no other name can they be called, for their conduct in this kingdom. this happy event will not, i am sure, be the less acceptable, from being principally brought about by part of the crews of his majesty's ships under my orders, under the command of captain troubridge. his merits speak for themselves. his own modesty, makes it my duty to state that, to him alone, is the chief merit due. the recommendation bestowed on the brave and excellent captain hallowell, will not escape their lordship's notice, any more than the exceeding good conduct of captain oswald, colonel strickland, and captain cresswell, to whom i ordered the temporary rank of major; and all the officers and men of the marine corps: also, the party of artillery, and the officers and men landed from the portuguese squadron. "i must not omit to state, that captain hood, with a garrison of seamen, in castle nuovo, has for these five weeks very much contributed to the peace of the capital; and naples, i am told, was never more quiet than under his directions. "i send captain oswald, of the perseus bomb, with this letter; and i have put lieutenant henry compton, who has served with me ever since january 1796, as a lieutenant, into the perseus: and i beg leave to recommend these two officers, as highly meriting promotion. "i have the honour to be, &c. "nelson." "evan nepean, esq." in his lordship's private letter to earl spencer, of the same date, which accompanied the dispatches to england, he thus expresses himself--"i certainly, from having only a left hand, cannot enter into details which may explain the motives that actuate my conduct, and which may be necessary for a commanding officer who may wish to have every subject of duty detailed by those under his command. my principle, my dear lord, is--to assist in driving the french to the devil, and in restoring peace and happiness to mankind. i feel, that i am fitter to do the action, than to describe it; therefore, briefly, all the french being forced to quit this kingdom, and some order restored, two more ships of the line are to sail this evening for minorca, which i will take care of." having thus demonstrated that he was embracing the earliest opportunity to comply with lord keith's former orders, his lordship proceeds to state that he is going to send five hundred marines, with six hundred excellent swiss, for the attack of civita vecchia, and to assist the insurrection in the roman state: the sea part of this business to be under the direction of captain louis of the minotaur, and the land part under captain hallowell of the swiftsure; assisted by an excellent officer, captain cresswell of the marines, whom it has been necessary to give the temporary rank of major, which he wishes the board to confirm. his lordship also trusts to the earl's goodness, for the promotion of lieutenant compton. at the time of writing this letter, lord nelson had not heard that the french and spanish fleets were returning to brest; for he congratulates the earl on the happy arrival of the combined fleets at cadiz; having, he says, been fearful that, as they had escaped the vigilance of lord keith, they would get to brest. on the state of affairs at naples, his lordship remarks that, his sicilian majesty, having settled a certain degree of order, will return to palermo on the 7th. "i send you," adds his lordship, "a letter of sir john acton to me, which gives reasons for continuing the cardinal at the head of affairs in this country. my opinion of him has never altered. he is now only lieutenant-general of the kingdom; with a council of eight, without whose consent no act is valid: but, we know, the head of every board must have great weight. this man must soon be removed; for all about him have been, and are, so corrupt, that there is nothing which may not be bought. acton, and belmonte, seem to me the only uncorrupted men in the kingdom." lord nelson's opinion of cardinal ruffo has been already seen, in his letter to captain troubridge: his lordship used facetiously to denominate him, the great devil who commanded the christian army; and, though he did not seriously think him a traitor, he probably considered him as not altogether incorruptible. to an ambitious cardinal, the tiara might have proved a dangerous temptation. captain louis, who had been sent to the french governor of the fortress of gaieta, with the terms of capitulation entered into between lord nelson and the commandant of capua for the surrender of gaieta, was to have immediate possession of the gates; and, within twenty-four hours, to embark the garrison. some objections, however, being raised by the governor, which he expressed in writing, captain louis was induced to send them to his lordship; who instantly returned, for answer, that he was hurt, and surprised, the capitulation had not been complied with. "it shall be," said his lordship, "and the commander has agreed to it. i have not read your paper inclosed. you will execute my orders, or attack it. the fellow ought to be kicked, for his impudence." this french governor, it seems, with true gallic insolence, had the audacity to require, among other unreasonable conditions, that they should embark horses for france, as well as carry away all the pillaged property; but lord nelson was not thus to be trifled with. "the greatest care," said his lordship, in a letter of the 3d of august, to captain darby, "is to be taken that no property, which they did not bring with them into the country can be theirs, or is suffered to be carried away. we are to send them to france: and will, properly; but, not as they dictate. as to horses, it is nonsense; as well might they say--_we will carry a house_! if the fellow is a scoundrel, he must be threshed." a letter of this date, however, from captain louis, informed his lordship that the matter was settled; in answer to which, he thus expresses himslef--"i was sorry that you had entered into any altercation with the scoundrel. the capitulation once signed, there could be no room for dispute. there is no way of dealing with a frenchman, but to knock him down. to be civil to them, is only to be laughed at, when they are enemies." we tremble, in this age of refinement, for the fate of so rough a sentiment; but, perhaps, we ought rather to tremble for that of the age which is become so refined. it will, at least, not be disputed, by posterity, that no man ever knew better than lord nelson, how to deal properly with frenchmen. besides assisting the councils of his sicilian majesty, with regard to the necessary arrangements for naples, lord nelson was actively engaged in making a proper distribution of the squadron under his command, and directing the various operations already commenced, or in immediate contemplation. he had already ordered the bellerophon, captain darby, and the zealous, captain hood, to minorca: and captain martin, in the northumberland, was now detached, with the san leon, captain harward, with orders to proceed off civita vecchia; looking out for captain nisbet of the thalia, who had been seen cruizing off that place, and was to join them. from thence, captain martin had instructions to proceed into leghorn roads, and send a boat on shore for intelligence respecting the affairs of the north of italy, and the situation of the allied armies: and, should he fall in with captain foote, of the seahorse, to take that officer under his orders; and, proceeding to the gulph of genoa, co-operate with field-marshal suwarrow, for the annoyance of the enemy, and the good of the common cause. the following kind letter, which was written by lord nelson to captain nisbet, at this period, will evince the truly paternal anxiety which his lordship felt for the welfare of his son-in-law, "foudroyant, naples bay, 3d august 1799. "my dear sir, "i herewith inclose you a letter received some days ago: and, on the receipt of this, you will keep a good look out for the northumberland, who is coming your way; and join her as soon as you can, captain martin having letters for you. i am sorry to find, you have been cruizing off civita vecchia; i was in hopes of your being on the north coast of italy: but, i am persuaded, it was done for the best. i here inclose you the copy of a letter, sent open to me, from mr. smith, at constantinople; respecting some supplies furnished la bonne citoyenne, at the dardanelles: and request, that you will give the necessary directions to have it settled; or explain it to me, that it may be settled. mr. tyson has written to the purser, mr. isaacson, to desire he will draw out bills for the amount; and fresh vouchers for your signature, and the settlement of his account. "i am, wishing you every success, your's very affectionately, "nelson." "captain nisbet." this letter cannot require any comment; it must produce decisive convictions in the mind of every intelligent reader, respecting the true characteristics of both parties. it forms, indeed, a genuine picture of paternal solicitude. on the 5th of august, lord nelson wrote to inform lord keith, as well as earl spencer and the board of admiralty, that being then about to proceed, in the foudroyant, with his sicilian majesty on board, for palermo; and, finding it necessary the command of the squadron in naples bay, and along the coast, should be left with an officer above the rank of post-captain--especially, as the russian and turkish squadrons were soon expected in the bay--he had thought it right to give captain troubridge an order to wear a broad red pendant at the main top-gallant mast-head of the culloden, which he hoped their lordships would, respectively, approve and confirm. having thus generously promoted his friend troubridge, he left under the command of the new commodore, besides the culloden, the audacious, goliath, and swiftsure, british line of battle ships, with two portuguese, and smaller vessels of war: directing him to co-operate with cardinal ruffo, the lieutenant-general of the kingdom of naples, in all things necessary for it's safety, and the peace and quiet of the capital; with liberty, should he find it necessary, to detach a part of the squadron along the roman coast, to the northward, as far as leghorn, in order to prevent the french from carrying off the plunder of rome. this and every other requisite arrangement being completed, for the peace and security of his sicilian majesty's neapolitan dominions, and the due distribution of the british squadron under lord nelson's command, his lordship immediately sailed for palermo, with the king and his principal ministers, and his friends sir william and lady hamilton; all impatient personally to acquaint the queen with the particulars of those joyful events which had filled every bosom with sensations of the purest delight. her majesty, indeed, had been regularly apprised of the various transactions, immediately as they occurred: but, in an affair of such variety and importance as the recovery of a wrested kingdom from foreign and domestic enemies, ten thousand little occurrences, often most powerfully interesting to souls of genuine grandeur, and forming the chief charm for minds of a delicate and tender susceptibility, may be supposed to have attracted those who were present amidst these impressive scenes, absolutely incommunicable by the most practised and facile pen, and only to be successfully detailed with the many adventitious aids of personal elocution. the feelings of the king, as he benignantly eyed his noble benefactors; of the illustrious hero, and his two estimable friends, who were the honoured objects of his majesty's just regards; must be left to the conception of the reader: it would be difficult to decide, which enjoyed, on this occasion, the greatest portion of substantial felicity; the grateful monarch thus happily restored to his rightful throne, or the generous friends who had so disinterestedly and successfully accomplished the arduous task of replacing him. fraught with these dignified sentiments, they no sooner arrived off palermo, on the 8th inst. than the queen, and royal offspring, sympathetically replete with equally exalted sensations, and who had impatiently awaited the happy return of his majesty, came out, in the royal barge; attended by innumerable pleasure-boats filled with loyal sicilians of all ranks, who hailed their beloved sovereign with acclamations of the sincerest joy. her majesty, overwhelmed with delight, no sooner got on board the foudroyant, than she embraced lady hamilton, who had respectfully hastened to receive the queen; and, at the same instant, hung round her ladyship's neck a rich chain of gold, to which was suspended a beautiful portrait of herself, superbly set in diamonds, with the motto--"_eterna gratitudine!_"--"eternal gratitude!"--inscribed at the back of the picture. to lord nelson, her majesty also united with the king in the highest degree of grateful regard which it is possible for language to convey. he was addressed as their preserver, their deliverer, their restorer; and it was easy to perceive that, even when they were silent, their great minds meditated some noble reward. nor were the substantial services of sir william hamilton, though of a less brilliant nature than those of his heroic friend, passed over without the most grateful acknowledgments of their sicilian majesties; whose interests that wise and worthy minister had uniformly promoted, for a long series of years, with a zeal little less ardent than that which he is well known to have constantly exerted for the honour and advantage of his own sovereigns, whom himself and lady so splendidly and munificently represented at the neapolitan court. a few days after their arrival at palermo, lord nelson received the royal remuneration of his transcendent services, in a stile far surpassing any expectation which his lordship could possibly have formed on the subject; and of which, so rare is any excess of human gratitude, history scarcely affords a single similar instance. indeed, when lady hamilton, by desire of the queen of naples, first announced to his lordship, on the second day after their arrival, that it was the determination of his sicilian majesty to create him duke of bronte, and to confer on him all the valuable estate and princely privileges attached to that most distinguished and appropriate title; such were his lordship's nice notions of honour, that he positively protested against receiving any reward from that sovereign, for what he considered as a mere faithful discharge of the duty which he owed to his own. it was not the formal "_nolo episcopari!_"--"i am unwilling to become a bishop, or to take on myself the episcopal character!"--of every new bishop; who is injudiciously constrained, by a singular perversion of propriety, to prepare for the exercise of the most sacred of all functions, by making a declaration which, though it ought, in a spiritual sense, to be strictly correct, is extremely subject, at best, to be considered as not altogether sincere: but, in truth, the spontaneous and felt sense of that dignified delicacy of honourable conduct, by which his lordship was ever directed; and of which persons of vulgar intellect, who are by no means fitted to form any just estimate of the actions of so exalted a character, will probably be weak enough still to doubt the actual existence. it is certain, nevertheless, that lord nelson resolutely held out against the acceptance of these elevated dignities, and their annexed emoluments, for two or three days, at least, notwithstanding all the intreaties of sir william and lady hamilton: nor did this incomparable man finally agree to receive them--maintaining, to the last, that he could not do so without subjecting the purity of his motives, in what he had happily effected, to the opprobrium of unjust suspicion--till lady hamilton, at the express instance of the queen, solicited the inflexible hero, even on her knees, to consent to the wishes of these truly amiable and most munificent sovereigns; as requisite to demonstrate that, amidst the too rigid sense which he evidently entertained of what might seem to him proper for the maintenance of his own honour, he was not altogether unregardful of what the world, as well as themselves, must ever consider as absolutely necessary for the preservation of their's. the exquisite address of this argument, as suggested by her sicilian majesty, and pressed by the unaffected eloquence of her ladyship, was too powerful to be opposed. his lordship could offer nothing sufficiently substantial against such persuasive wisdom; and, being unable longer to reason, he could no longer continue to resist. should the scornful insolence, that is ever awakened, in low and vicious minds, by even the slightest mention of virtuous deeds, endeavour to interpose the mean malignity of it's cold suspicions on hearing this recital; let the humbler bosom, that cherishes more generous sentiments, reflect but for a moment, that his lordship had recently risked even a disobedience of orders from his temporary commander in chief, while promoting the interests of their neapolitan majesties, and it will feel sufficient reasons for our hero's delicate repugnance to the ready acceptance of any undesired aggrandizement, however highly merited, on this particular occasion. on the 13th, therefore, in consequence of this acquiescence, the king of naples sent his lordship a superb diamond-hilted sword, with a most affectionate letter; thanking him for having reconquered his majesty's kingdom, and again placed him on the throne of his ancestors. the value of this present, estimated at four thousand guineas, was incalculably enhanced by the very appropriate circumstance of it's being the identical sword which had been given to the king of naples, by charles the third, on that monarch's memorable departure to spain, accompanied by the following most remarkable declaration--"with this sword, i conquered the kingdom which i now resign to thee. it ought, in future, to be possessed by the first defender of the same; or, by him who shall restore it to thee, in case it should ever be lost." at the same time, lord nelson received an official letter from his excellency the prince di luzzi, informing him that his sicilian majesty had that day been graciously pleased to create his lordship duke of bronte, in sicily, and to confer on him all the valuable estate and privileges attached to that most honourable title. when it is considered, that the word _bronte_ signifies, in the greek language, _thunder_; that the fabulous forger of the thunder of jupiter was said to be one of the cyclops, named _bronte_, who resided at etna in the island of sicily, where the dukedom of bronte is situated; and that the military guard of honour, appertaining to the dukes of bronte, still actually wear, in allusion to the fabled cyclops, sons of neptune and amphitrite, who had one large eye in the middle of their foreheads, the representation of an eye on the front of their caps; there could not, every person must admit, have been a more appropriate dignity bestowed on our incomparable hero, by his sicilian majesty, than that which he had thus liberally and judiciously been induced to confer. lord nelson, penetrated with unutterable gratitude, by his majesty's most generous munificence, instantly wrote the following letter to the minister who had made this interesting communication. "palermo, 13th august 1799. "sir, "i have this moment received the honour of your excellency's letter, conveying to me his sicilian majesty's most gracious approbation of my conduct; and, also, that his majesty had been pleased to confer upon me the title of duke of bronte, together with the estate attached to it. i request that your excellency will lay me, with all humility, and full of gratitude, at his majesty's feet: express, to him, my attachment to his sacred person, the queen, and royal family; and that it shall be the study of my life, by following the same conduct which has gained me his royal favours, to merit the continuance of them. "i sincerely thank your excellency for the very handsome manner in which you have executed the royal commands; and believe me, with the highest respect, your excellency's most obliged and obedient servant, "bronte nelson". "his excellency prince di luzzi." immediately after, his lordship penned also the following admirable letter for the sovereign by whom he had been thus bountifully honoured, which was instantly transmitted to that generous monarch. "palermo, 13th august 1799. "sire, the bounty of your majesty has so overwhelmed me, that i am unable to find words adequate to express my gratitude: but it shall be my study to continue in the same line of conduct which your majesty has been pleased to approve, and to mark with such very extraordinary proofs of your royal favour; and which has also gained me the approbation of my own most gracious sovereign, your majesty's most faithful ally. that the almighty may pour down his choicest blessings on your sacred person, and on those of the queen and the whole royal family, and preserve your kingdoms in peace and happiness, shall ever be the fervent prayer of your majesty's faithful servant, bronte nelson. on the morning of this day, while lady hamilton was at the palace with the queen, who had purposely invited that lady early, two coach loads of the most magnificent and costly dresses, were secretly sent to her house, with a richly jewelled picture of the king, worth a thousand guineas, for her ladyship; and another picture of his majesty, of the same value, for sir william hamilton. the whole of the presents on this occasion received by sir william and his lady, from their sicilian majesties, were estimated at full six thousand guineas. lord nelson had, in these few days, so completely detached the squadron under his command to the several destinations, that his own flag was now flying on board the samuel and jane transport; yet, even thus situated, so confident were their majesties, and their sicilian subjects, that there could be nothing to fear while they possessed even the person of our invincible hero, not the smallest alarm was either felt or expressed on the occasion. the foudroyant, indeed, which had accompanied two portuguese ships of the line to captain ball at malta, was only intended to remain there a few days, with some hope of quickening the surrender of that island by the appearance of such a force; and, on the 14th, his sardinian majesty having requested a ship to carry him and his family to the continent, in a letter received from his minister by our grand protector of kings, his lordship was constrained to order the foudroyant on that important service. this letter also solicited the kind and powerful interference of our hero, to obtain, from the bey of tunis, some modification of the very severe terms to which his sardinian majesty had been under the necessity of agreeing, but found it impossible immediately to raise the sum stipulated from his distressed people for the ransom of their fellow-subjects. though his lordship could not but feel almost hopeless of success in any requisition of pecuniary forbearance from a barbary state, he did not hesitate a single moment in making the attempt, by writing both to mr. magra and the bey of tunis, with his customary diplomatic dexterity and address. having done this, his lordship thus answered the letter of his sardinian majesty's minister, count chilembert. "palermo, 16th august 1799. "sir "i was yesterday honoured with your excellency's letter of august 11th. the situation of the poor people taken by the bey of tunis is shocking to humanity, and must sensibly touch the royal heart: but i will not attempt to cherish a hope, that the bey will abate one zequin of the sum fixed in the convention of june the 21st; and i very much doubt, if a longer time than that fixed by the convention, and witnessed by six friendly consuls, will be granted. however, i have, i can assure your excellency, no difficulty in sending a letter to mr. magra, his britannic majesty's consul, covering one to the bey; to say, that i am confident such a mark of his goodness will be highly acceptable to the great king, my master. the chevalier marechal is gone towards malta, after the foudroyant; and, i hope, she will be at cagliari in three days after this letter: i have, therefore, only to intreat, that every thing for the service of his majesty may be ready to put on board the moment she anchors. i send the foudroyant, as she is my own flag-ship, and the first two-decked ship in the world. i would send more ships, but the service of the civilized world requires every exertion; therefore, i have not the power to send another ship of war. a very fine brig i have directed from naples, to assist in carrying his majesty's attendants; and, as a much less ship has carried a much more numerous royal family, i trust, their majesties will not be pressed for room. i beg that your excellency will lay me at their majesties feet, and assure them of my sincere desire to be useful for their service; and believe me, with the greatest respect, your excellency's most obedient servant, "bronte nelson. "there is a russian squadron in the bay; but they are not, in the smallest degree, under my orders." "his excellency compte chilembert." the russian squadron mentioned in the above postscript had arrived at palermo the preceding day, as appears from the following letter to the celebrated russian general, field-marshal suwarrow. "palermo, 16th aug. 1799. "my dear field-marshal, "yesterday, brought me your excellency's letter of july 30th; and four galliots are ordered, by his sicilian majesty, to protect provisions, &c. for the use of your army, under the orders of my friend captain martin. i have ordered another frigate and brig to join the squadron on the riviere of genoa. i wish, i could come to you myself; i shall truly have a pleasure in embracing a person of your exalted character; but, as that cannot be at present, i only regret i cannot send you more ships. rear-admiral katzow is here, with three sail of the line and a frigate; but, they are not under my orders or _influence_. may god bless you, my honoured friend! and believe me, for ever, your attached friend, "bronte nelson." in a long letter, of this day's date, to admiral duckworth, lord nelson says--"in naples, every thing is quiet; but the cardinal appears to be working mischief against the king, and in support of the nobles: sooner, or later, he must be removed, for his bad conduct. we are dying with heat, and the feast of santa roselia begins this day; how shall we get through it!" then, mentioning the honours and gifts from the king of naples, his lordships says, respecting the dukedom of bronte, "the title, of course, i cannot assume, without the approbation of our king; which, i now hear, has been some time desired." his lordship, it appears, had just received medals for his captains; for he says- "darby and hood, i hope, have long joined you. pray, be so good as to deliver to them the medals, with my best regards. our dear lady," he adds, "has been very unwell: and, if this fête, to-night, does not kill her, i dare say she will write to you to-morrow; for, there is none she respects more than yourself. good sir william is much better for his trip. make my best regards to sir james st. clair. i really have not the power of writing, and i am really blind; but, whilst i have life," concludes this excellent, indefatigable, and friendly hero, "believe me, my dear admiral, your obliged and affectionate "nelson." his lordship might well be weary, on this sultry day; the festivity of which he so little regarded, that he was actually employed, from morning till night, in writing and dictating letters and orders. in the evening of this day, lord nelson received information that the russian and turkish squadrons, from corfu, had arrived at messina; and, on the 18th, sent the copy of a letter just received from lord keith, who had quitted the mediterranean in pursuit of the combined fleets, to admiral uschakoff, commander in chief of the russian squadron, who had retaken the leander at corfu, mentioning an order from the british admiralty for the restoration of that ship. his lordship, however, not having received this order, apologized for being unable to send it: and stated, very properly, that it was to be presumed the courts of petersburgh and london had decided on the restoration of the leander; as the admiralty would not, otherwise, have sent such orders to the commander in chief, and appointed officers to that ship. captain drummond, his lordship observed, who would wait on his excellency with these letters, was appointed to the temporary command of the leander; and requested that he might be favoured with directions to the officer commanding at corfu, for assistance in fitting out and manning the said ship, so as to enable him to proceed with it to minorca. on the 19th, his lordship wrote to commodore troubridge, acquainting him that lord keith was in pursuit of the combined fleets, which had been seen off cape st. vincent's the 24th of july; that the british fleet passed the straits on the 30th; and that the earl of st. vincent sailed for england, in the argo, on the 31st. his lordship also mentions, that he has just received great news from egypt. the siege of acre was raised on the 21st of may; and bonaparte, leaving all his cannon and sick behind, had got again to cairo. the la forte french frigate had been taken by the english la sybille, but that poor captain coote had been killed; "and here," says his lordship, "we must shed a tear for dear miller! by an explosion of shells, which he was preparing on board the theseus, him and twenty-five others were killed; nine drowned, by jumping overboard; and forty-three wounded." after observing that, if commodore troubridge cannot immediately proceed against civita vecchia, he is to collect all his ships; and, the moment the russians appear, to join his lordship, for the purpose of proceeding to gibraltar, by the way of palermo, where the necessary provisions may be obtained--"your letter of the 13th," he concludes, "is just arrived. the neapolitans must manage their own jacobins; we have, thank god, done with them." sir sidney smith having transmitted to lord nelson, as his superior in command, the account of his splendid atchievements in the defence of acre, and the total defeat and discomfiture of bonaparte on that memorable occasion, his lordship immediately wrote the following congratulatory epistle to sir sidney; whose important dispatches he afterwards forwarded to england, accompanied by a public letter to mr. nepean, as they were afterwards published in the london gazette. "palermo, 20th aug. 1799. "my dear sir, "i have received, with the truest satisfaction, all your very interesting letters to july 16th. the immense fatigue you have had, in defending acre against such a chosen army of french villains, headed by that arch-villain bonaparte, has never been exceeded; and the bravery shewn by you, and your brave companions, is such as to merit every encomium which all the civilized world can bestow. as an individual, and as an admiral, will you accept of my feeble tribute of praise and admiration, and make them acceptable to all those under your command? i have returned the cameleon, that your lieutenant might have a good sloop; which, i hope, lord keith will approve: and, in every thing in my junior situation in the fleet, you may be assured of my readiness to do what you can wish me. i hope, alexandria is long before this in your possession, and the final blow given to bonaparte; but, i hope, no terms will ever be granted for his individual return to europe. captain stiles will tell you all our news here; and good sir william hamilton tells me, he thinks that he has told you the heads of all. in short, all is well, if lord keith falls in with the combined fleet. i think, you had better order the theseus to mahon; and i will endeavour to send you either a good sloop, or a small frigate. the factory at smyrna, in my opinion, have written a very improper letter to you. i do not like the general stile of mr. wherry's letters, they too much talk of government affairs. it is our duty to take care of the smyrna trade, as well as all other, and it never has yet been neglected; but great britain, extensive as her navy is, cannot afford to have one ship lay idle. be assured, my dear sir sidney, of my perfect esteem and regard, and do not let any one persuade you to the contrary: but my character is, that i will not suffer the smallest tittle of my command to be taken from me. but, with pleasure, i give way to my friends; among whom, i beg, you will allow me to consider you: and, that i am, with the truest esteem and affection, your, &c. "nelson. "sir sidney smith." this excellent letter not only makes amends for all former asperities, but forms a most noble eulogium on the merits of sir sidney smith; who, it must be confessed, had entitled himself, by his skill and valour, even to this proudest of all possible panegyrics from the first of heroes. the russian admiral not complying with lord nelson's request, as to the restoration of the leander, his lordship immediately addressed the chevalier italinskoy, the russian minister at the court of their sicilian majesties, on the subject: informing him that, whenever the admiral chose to send the leander to minorca, the ship would be received. "but," says his lordship, "after even my word not being taken, by his excellency, i cannot again subject myself to a refusal of giving up the leander, agreeable to the intention of the emperor; though the form of order, on this occasion, was not arrived." his lordship also sent captain drummond, with the particulars of this refusal, to lord keith; observing, that he should now wait till the russian admiral sent the leander to mahon. captain drummond was desired, on failure of meeting with lord keith, to proceed immediately to england, and deliver his lordship's letter to the secretary of the admiralty, acquainting him with the cause of his arrival. on the 28th, lord nelson transmitted to captain hope, at the request of his sicilian majesty, a diamond ring of considerable value: for having, as it was expressly stated, embarked his majesty and the prince royal in his barge, on the night of december 21, 1798; and which his majesty desired might be accepted, by captain hope, as a mark of his royal gratitude. this, and other similar presents of rings and gold boxes, were sent by sir john acton, to sir william hamilton, from his sicilian majesty; with a request that his excellency would have the goodness to present them to the duke of bronte, that he might distribute them according to the note enclosed, and in the name of his sicilian majesty, as a small mark of his royal gratitude to the several english commanders. the pleasure which this agreeable task afforded lord nelson's excellent heart, may be judged of by the following effusion of it's feelings, addressed to captain hood on the occasion. "my dear hood, i never had greater pleasure, than in executing his sicilian majesty's orders, for sending you a box from his majesty; and, as the dispatch expresses it--to captain hood, for services in the gulph of naples, and at salerno; for his operations on shore, and his care of the castles of naples." in afterwards describing these presents from his sicilian majesty, on writing to england, his lordship informs mr. nepean, that each of the captains had a very valuable gold box, set round with diamonds. in the centre of that given to commodore troubridge, was his majesty's portrait; and, to him, he also gave an elegant ring. in the centre of the others, were his majesty's cypher of f.r. neatly set in diamonds. his majesty, he adds, has also presented captain thomas masterman hardy, his lordship's captain in the foudroyant, with an elegant box, set round with a double row of diamonds, and his portrait in the centre, and an elegant diamond ring; and, to mr. tyson, his lordship's secretary, a diamond ring of great value. transient, however, seem to have been all the felicities of his lordship's most eventful life. the happiness which he enjoyed, in seeing the companions of his cares and successes thus rewarded with truly royal munificence; while he felt himself remunerated, beyond his proudest hope or expectation; the pleasing sensations which he must necessarily have experienced on beholding the vast and magnificent preparations to celebrate their united atchievments on the anniversary of receiving, at naples, the first intelligence of the glorious victory off the nile, which had arrived on the 3d of the preceding september; were not permitted to remain undisturbed in his ever anxious bosom, even for a few days. on the 31st, his lordship received letters from malta, which gave birth to most extraordinary suspicions. the agonized feelings of his heroic mind are not to be described; but, nothing could for a moment divert him from the painful discharge of it's duty. in a state of inconceivable agitation, he wrote the following letter to sir john acton. "palermo, 31st aug. 1799. "my dear sir, "i send your excellency a letter from captain ball, of his majesty's ship alexander, with two papers enclosed. i cannot bear the thought of what the papers convey; but it is my duty, as a british admiral, to ask of your excellency an explanation of this very extraordinary business--which, i trust in god, is entirely false, as far as relates to his sicilian majesty and prince luzzi! if this man is an unauthorized person, his majesty will have no difficulty in approving of my condemning him as a spy; and, as such, ordering him to be hanged. but, what shall i say, if prince luzzi has authorized this man to enter la vilette, and to communicate with the enemy? i must say, that the minister has betrayed his trust; for i never will believe, that their sicilian majesties could treat in such a manner his britannic majesty, my royal master. on your excellency's communication of his sicilian majesty's pleasure, depends the line of conduct which my duty will call upon me to perform. i have the honour to be, with the greatest respect, your excellency's obedient servant, "bronte nelson." "his excellency, sir john acton, bart." happily, this alarm turned out to be unfounded; but the circumstance serves, nevertheless, to assist in demonstrating the jealous attention of his lordship to whatever might be supposed capable of affecting either the national honour or his own. in a few days, having fully investigated the affair, he wrote thus to captain ball--"my dear ball, mr. alos is, doubtless, a scoundrel. he had persuaded some here, that he had an interview with vaubois; which, i believe, is a lie: and, as to his conduct with the maltese, it was, probably, to shew his consequence. i am sure, the good queen never had a thought of any under-hand work against us; therefore, i would recommend sending him here with a kick in the breech, and let all the matter drop." in a letter of this date, august 31, lord nelson thus laments, to commodore troubridge, the situation in which he finds himself. "our joint exertions," he says, "have been used, to get the king to go to naples; but, of no avail; the austrians will be there before him. i do not expect any of the russian troops this some time to come. i am, indeed, sick and tired of this want of energy; and, when i find the impossibility of being longer useful, i will retire from this inactive service." he complains, also, to lord spencer, in a letter written about this time, of the uncomfortableness of his situation: for, he says, plain common sense points out that the king should return to naples; but, nothing can move him. "believe me," his lordship adds, "i shall do my best, in all circumstances. but, i am almost blind; and, truly, very unwell; and, which does not mend matters, i see no king in europe really assisting these good monarchs, but our gracious sovereign." in this unenviable state of mental anxiety, and corporeal lassitude, was our justly renowned hero, at the period of those preparations being completed, which were calculated to display him, in the view of an enraptured people, as the greatest and most felicitous of mortals; nor did his admirable heart, amidst all it's oppressions, reject a temporary participation in the bliss which was so amply provided for his enjoyment, on the 3d of september, their sicilian majesties gave their splendid fête champêtre in the royal gardens at palermo, to celebrate the recovery of the kingdom of naples under the auspices of lord nelson. a grand temple of fame was erected, on this occasion; in which were three figures, the size and exact resemblance of life, beautifully modelled in wax. the centre figure represented admiral lord nelson, duke of bronte, dressed in a full british uniform; as conducted, by a figure of sir william hamilton, to receive from the hand of a third, resembling lady hamilton in the character of victory, the laurel wreath of triumph which adorned the hero's brow. before the steps of this temple, their sicilian majesties, with all the royal family, stood ready to receive the three illustrious characters thus represented; and, on their approach, after publicly embracing them, the king, with his own hand, took the laurel wreath from the wax figure, and placed it on the head of the real hero, who wore it during the whole of the entertainment. sir william, and his lady, were also presented with similar investments; the queen thus honouring her ladyship, and his majesty sir william. on the robe of the figure of victory were embroidered the names of all those heroes, in particular, who had fought at the battle of the nile; and, on various egyptian pyramids, placed around the several temples of the garden, were inscribed the names of the most distinguished english, neapolitan, russian, and turkish, heroes of the war, with appropriate verses to each. their majesties received the company; which consisted of some of the principal nobility of naples as well as of palermo, with all the british, russian, and turkish, officers of the respective squadrons. prince leopold, their majesties youngest surviving son, then nine years of age, who was educating for the navy, did the honours of the evening, in his midshipman's uniform: and all the three princesses, as well as the consort of the hereditary prince, and most other ladies, wore some ornament allusive to lord nelson and his victories round their necks. the entertainment commenced with a most brilliant and magnificent fire-work: representing the english and french fleets at aboukir, the ever-memorable battle off the nile, and the total defeat of the french; terminating with the explosion of l'orient, and the blowing up of the tri-coloured flag. the queen, at this representation, said to cadir bey, the turkish admiral--"on this day, last year, we received from lady hamilton intelligence of this great man's victory; which not only saved your country, and our's, but all europe!" after the fire-works, a cantata was performed, entitled the happy concord. this piece, which was written purposely on the occasion, expressed the general joy for the deliverance of the two sicilies; loyal wishes for the prosperity of their sovereigns, and the royal family, as well as for those of their worthy allies; and particular acknowledgments to the british hero. the music was most excellent; and all the opera band, with senesino at their head, sung--"rule britannia!" and "god save the king!" in which they were joined by the whole assembly, who had been previously drilled to the english pronunciation. about the time of this grand festival, an unfortunate affray between the turkish seamen and some of the sicilians, occurred at a tavern, in palermo; and was carried to such an excess, that many men of both countries lost their lives on the occasion. the quarrel originated in the superstition of the sicilians; who, like all the vulgar italians, when they address the turks, rudely tell them, that they are not christians, but beasts. the turks, after getting on board their ships, continued to wrangle among themselves; and were, at length, in such a state of mutiny, that cadir bey, their commander in chief, became greatly terrified. lord nelson, however, being made acquainted with the affair, and having a great friendship for this turkish admiral, immediately offered him his services; and, the next day, very calmly going on board, accompanied by sir william and lady hamilton, speedily quelled the mutiny. it appears, however, to have soon again broken out: having been excited, it is said, by patrona bey, who was desirous of supplanting cadir bey; but who, not very long afterwards, had rendered himself so obnoxious to the men whom he thus endeavoured to delude, that they suddenly rose on him, and literally cut him to pieces. it was well, therefore, that the generous friendship of lord nelson had impelled him to pen a letter to the grand signior, previously to cadir bey's departure, that he might protect this worthy man from any misrepresentation respecting the fatal affray with the sicilians; as, without such a powerful advocate, it is highly probable that cadir bey would have lost his situation, if not his life: instead of which, he obtained the merited approbation of the grand signior, by this epistle; which was inclosed in a letter to the captain pacha--and a copy of it also sent to spencer smith, esq. the minister at constantinople--of the same date. the letter to the grand signior was expressed in the following terms. "palermo, 10th sept. 1799. "sire, "i trust, that your imperial majesty will permit the servant of your most faithful ally to bear his testimony to the good conduct of your admiral cadir bey. "i can assure your majesty, that ships in higher order cannot be, than those under his command; and the little disturbance which has arose in this place has not been owing to any want of attention from your majesty's admiral. "cadir bey is with me every day; and a better man does not live in the world, or a better officer. he is my brother; and i am, in the truest sense of the words, your majesty's attached and faithful servant, "bronte nelson." "to his imperial majesty, the grand signior." his lordship, in writing to earl spencer, a few days before, thus states the difference between the russian and turkish commanders in chief. "the russian admiral," says he, "has a polished outside, but the bear is close to the skin: he is jealous of our influence; and thinks, whatever is proposed, that we are at the bottom. the turk, who is by no means a fool, on the contrary, has more natural sense than the other; is our brother; and, i am sure, there is not a thing that we could desire him to do, which he would not instantly comply with. i make use of the word _we_," adds his lordship; "because sir william and lady hamilton have more merit in gaining the affection and implicit confidence of cadir bey, and his officers, than i have." on the 12th, lord nelson writes to rear-admiral duckworth--"the russian admiral has told me, his ships _cannot_ keep the sea in winter; and i see no _desire_ to go to sea in summer." then, mentioning the state of some of the ships at minorca, reported to be unfit for active service, his lordship says--"to keep them lying at mahon, appears to me to be a waste of public money. my mind," proceeds this great and most considerate commander, "is fixed, that i will not keep one ship in the mediterranean, that is not fit for _any_ service during the winter; those half fit, drain us of all the stores, and render us all useless: you have acted on this principle, in sending the aurora and dolphin; and it is my _particular_ desire, that you continue it. i beg you will write to the admiralty, of my intentions to keep no ships but what are fit for service in the mediterranean; and, i am sure, the king will save by the measure being adopted on stations so near england. i am aware of the argument, which may be used against my plan; viz. our seamen get no good by going to england: to which, i perfectly agree. but, the ships left here with me are beyond all common refit; nor can they be furnished with stores, not having any foundation to be kept up: and what would be an ample supply to keep up a squadron, is really nothing in our situation." to sir james st. clair erskine, also at minorca, in a letter of the 13th, his lordship writes--"i see, with pleasure, that you do not envy me my good fortune. the field of glory is a large one, and was never more open to any one, than at this moment to you. rome would throw open her gates, and receive you as her deliverer; and the pope would owe his restoration to the papal chair to a _heretic_. this is the first great object; as it would not only be the compleat deliverance of italy, but restore peace and tranquillity to the torn to pieces kingdom of naples: for such an occasion, a part of the garrison of messina might be taken. the next great object, is the reduction of malta; and, in any other moment than the present, it would be a most important one. vaubois only wants a pretence, to give up: his sole hope is that, in the next month, he may escape with the ships." general fox, however, being hourly expected at minorca, sir james did not judge it proper to lessen the garrison; and, says his lordship, in a letter to sir thomas troubridge, "enters upon the difficulty of the undertaking in a true soldier way." these difficulties, however, were in a very few days completely surmounted by sir thomas troubridge: for, on the 20th of september, a capitulation was entered into by that commander, who was then blockading civita vecchia, on the part of great britain and her allies, with the general of division gamier, commander in chief of the french troops, and those of italy and other allies then in the roman republic in a state of siege; which terminated in the surrender of the fort and town of civita vecchia on the 29th in the afternoon, and of rome and st. angelo two hours after midnight. civita vecchia, corneto, and tolfa, containing five thousand troops, were taken into possession by two hundred marines and seamen of the culloden and minotaur; and general bouchard, with the troops of his sicilian majesty, took possession of rome: but the french general refused to treat with any other than a british commander. it was the wish of lord nelson, that commodore troubridge should himself have every advantage of transmitting to england the dispatches on this occasion: being generously desirous of giving all the glory to this favourite officer; who, accordingly, wrote the following letter to mr. nepean. "civita vecchia, 5th oct. 1799. "sir, "in obedience to orders from lord nelson, i have the honour to send you, for their lordships information, a copy of the articles of capitulation i have made with the french general garnier, to clear the roman state. as i knew the french had all the valuables of the roman state packed up ready for embarking, and the coast of civita vecchia forming a deep bay, with hard west south-west gales and a heavy sea, which prevented the blockade from being so close as was necessary to prevent the enemy from carrying off those truly valuable articles; i, therefore, thought it best to grant the liberal terms i have, to get them out of this country, where they have committed every excess possible. i trust, what i have done, may meet their lordships approbation. i beg you to represent to their lordships, that i received every assistance from captain louis; who went to rome, and arranged the evacuation and taking possession of that place, with general bouchard, with great ability and exertion, and much to my satisfaction. i have the honour to be, &c. t. troubridge. evan nepean, esq." lord nelson informed earl spencer, in a private letter, as well as the admiralty board in a public one to mr. nepean, that he had desired commodore troubridge to send extracts of all his letters to him, as temporary commander in chief of the mediterranean fleet, with the terms on which the french evacuated the roman state. "i sincerely congratulate your lordship," concludes lord nelson to earl spencer, "on this event, so honourable to our country; for the french would treat with no country but britain." it was, certainly, a most singular circumstance, that rome should thus be reduced by a naval force: and it appeared to be the more remarkable, as it fulfilled what was now called a prophecy, which had been pronounced on our hero's first arrival at naples after his glorious victory off the nile; in which it had been said, _that his lordship should take rome by his_ ships. this prophecy, however, it seems proper to remark--the author having no desire to encourage the growth of superstition, or to degrade the dignity of historical research by dazzling weak powers of perception with the fascinative influence of the marvellous--was considered, at the time of it's being pronounced, as nothing more than a mere harmless hibernicism; originating in the zeal of father m'cormick, a very honest and worthy irish priest, who had come from rome to naples, disgusted at the enormities of the french. this good and loyal man, in the ardent warmth of congratulating lord nelson on his stupendous victory, triumphantly exclaimed--"and your lordship shall, before long, take rome, too, with your _ships!_" a declaration which, it may be supposed, was heard with far less gravity than it was uttered, though now converted into a prophetic anticipation of the event. this honest irish pastor, though not regarded as a prophet by lord nelson, was so well known to be a pious and faithful priest, that his lordship, who was for ever studying how he could best serve all persons of merit who came in his way, afterwards recommended him to the present pope, in a letter which was written, expressly for that purpose, by lady hamilton. so active was lord nelson in all his operations, that he no sooner received information of the successes of commodore troubridge, than he instantly drew his attention to other objects. in a letter of the 1st of october, his lordship says--"if it is necessary to leave a few of your and louis's marines, do it, and one or two of the small craft for the protection of the trade; but i want, certainly, all the line of battle ships, and such of the small craft as are not absolutely wanted there. my intention is, to go almost directly to minorca, and arrange a proper naval defence for that island; and to try and get troops to finish the business of malta, which the french intend to relieve. five polacres, and two venetian ships, are loading provisions and stores; therefore, i wish to fix our ships on the spot most likely to intercept them: at lampedosa and cape bon, and in the track from toulon to ajaccio. these are my ideas; for, as to blockading toulon for so few ships, they would escape, the first north-west wind, if the whole fleet was there. i need only say, to you, these are my objects, for you to support me; which it is my pleasure always to acknowledge." his lordship afterwards repeats the full confidence which he feels, that the commodore, knowing what is necessary, will come as soon as he can; "for," says his lordship, "our business is never done." lord nelson had already sent information to the marquis de niza respecting these supplies for malta, which were preparing at toulon, with directions for intercepting them; but, by letters from lisbon, just received, the portuguese squadron was now ordered to return home. anxious, therefore, to prevent the intended relief from reaching malta--over the people of which island he had, a few days before, obtained the honour, for his friend captain ball, of being regularly appointed chief, by his sicilian majesty--he inclosed the particulars of this information to general acton, and urged the necessity of having part of the english garrison at messina, as well as of the russian squadron and troops, ordered immediately to malta; observing that, if malta was relieved, all our forces got together could not take it, and the commencement of a new blockade would become useless. "nor," says his lordship, "would this be the worst consequence; for all the barbary cruizers would here have their rendezvous, and not a vessel of his sicilian majesty's could put to sea: and, great britain and russia not being at war with those powers, the case would be dreadful, and ruinous, to the subjects of his sicilian majesty. i have," concludes his lordship, "stated the situation, under mature reflection; and have only to request, that it maybe taken into immediate consideration." in the mean time, lord nelson wrote to the marquis de niza, inculcating the necessity of not obeying his orders to return home. "i have," says his lordship, "received a letter from don roderigo de souza, saying that, as the squadron under your orders were not now necessary in the mediterranean, his royal highness had directed their return. on this belief, your orders are founded; but, as the contrary is the fact--for your services were never more wanted than at this moment, when every exertion is wanting to get more troops of english and russians to malta--i must, therefore, most positively desire, that your excellency will not, on any consideration, withdraw one man from the shore, or detach any ship down the mediterranean. i send you an order, to justify your excellency's not complying with his royal highness's orders; and, i am confident, he will approve of my conduct." while his lordship was indefatigably engaged in obtaining every aid for the reduction of malta, information arrived, that thirteen french and spanish sail of the line, one of them a three-decker, had been seen on the coast of portugal. he immediately, therefore, wrote to hasten commodore troubridge, and sent also to sir sidney smith: informing them, that he should sail next day, the 5th of october, for mahon; and, probably, to gibraltar. "if," says his lordship, to commodore troubridge, "i can but get a force to fight these fellows, it shall be done quickly. i am in dread for our outward bound convoys; seven hundred sail, under a few frigates, in england, thinking all the force was at brest. i need only say, get to mahon as quick as possible, that we may join." accordingly, having sailed from palermo, he wrote the following letter to captain ball. "fondroyant, at sea, 5th oct. 1799. my dear ball, "i fervently hope, that niza has got hold of the french ships from toulon. as that business is over, i have only to hope the best: this day, by his sicilian majesty's orders, a letter is wrote to messina, to request general graham to get to malta with five hundred men. the russian admiral is wrote to, to go with at least seven hundred. a corps of russian grenadiers are also expected at leghorn, for malta. if niza has been successful, all will end well. ever your's, most faithfully, "nelson." "i am not well; and left our dear friends, sir william and lady hamilton, very unwell." "captain ball, chief of the maltese." his lordship had, this day, fallen in with the salamine brig; which brought him a letter from captain darby at minorca, stating that a fleet of twenty vessels, among which were two sail of the line and several frigates, had been seen steering to the south-east on the 29th of september. these, his lordship was of opinion, could only be the two venetian ships from toulon, with a convoy for malta; and, as the marquis de niza had seven sail of the line, one frigate, and three sloops, he had hopes that the greatest part of them would be taken. on the 12th, having arrived off port mahon; and left orders with captain darby, who had come on board the foudroyant, for commodore troubridge, with some other ships to follow, his lordship proceeded on his voyage to gibraltar. between port mahon and majorca, however, lord nelson fell in with the bull-dog, ten days from rear-admiral duckworth, at gibraltar; who, giving little or no credit to the report of the ships seen off cape ortegal, and sir edward berry, from lisbon, assuring his lordship that the information was entirely disbelieved there, the squadron returned to minorca. on the 14th, his lordship wrote a long letter to rear-admiral duckworth; in which are some interesting passages, relative to captain nisbet. "i send you down," says his lordship, "the bellerophon; who, darby says, and i believe truly, is in good order, and fit to stand fair winter's service. the thalia also goes with him: i wish i could say any thing in her praise, inside or out. you will receive an order for holding a court-martial on the lieutenant of marines. perhaps, you may be able to make something of captain nisbet; he has, by his conduct, almost broke my heart. the ship, i believe, wants some little matter doing to her. if so, i wish inglefield would bring her out of the mole as soon as possible; and if, after all our pains, no good can be got out of either ship or captain, send the thalia to england with some of the convoys; or send her any where out to try. i wished to have placed him with my friend cockburne; but, alas! he will not let me do for him what my heart wishes." this letter mentions the propriety of getting a list of all vessels taken since the 1st of august, lord keith having arrived in torbay on the 17th. custom, his lordship observes, will point out, whether they are to be considered as the only two flag-officers in the mediterranean; and freights of money, by the earl of st. vincent's acting, belong to the commander in chief. "whether that is so, or no," says his lordship, "we shall never differ about; my only wish is, to do as i would be done by." after detailing the particulars of his proceedings since leaving palermo, and stating his future intentions, particularly with regard to malta, his lordship concludes with observing--"captain buchanan has just told me, that you wish to put two young men into the port mahon; and, that lord st. vincent had intended you should name all the officers for her. believe me, i would not, on any consideration, do less than was intended by the earl; therefore, i beg you will send up all officers you like, and i will leave acting orders for them with captain buchanan." in a letter to mr. nepean, dated port mahon, october 15, 1799, lord nelson also details his late proceedings and intentions with regard to malta; which, if not speedily forced to surrender, will call for the attention of more ships than he may have the power of placing there, and necessarily cramp other requisite services. the chichester storeship, captain stevens, his lordship observes, is going with the officers of the leander to corfu, having now the russian admiral's order for that ship's delivery; and he has no doubt that captain stevens, who appears an excellent seaman, will very soon get her to minorca. "this island," says his lordship, "is in such a state of security as to bid defiance to any force spain can send against it; and, if general fox was not hourly expected, sir james would go with me to the attack of malta, with fifteen hundred good troops." in another letter, of the same date, addressed to earl spencer, his lordship says, "i have considered the security of his sicilian majesty's dominions as very near the heart of the king: this makes the reduction of malta of the very utmost importance, and to accomplish which is now, in italy, the dearest object i have in view." lord nelson mentions that, sir edward berry having joined the foudroyant, by the bull-dog, he has put captain hardy into the princess charlotte; and, mustering a few men, intends taking her with him to sea. "my friend hardy," says his lordship, "will make a man of war of her very soon; and i make it my earnest request that, if captain stephenson is not sent out to her, captain hardy may be allowed to remain in her, and receive an admiralty commission." this letter, too, is remarkable for containing, a request in favour of his worthy elder brother, maurice nelson, esq. "i have given," says his lordship, "my brother, belonging to the navy office, a strong letter of recommendation to your lordship, that he may be appointed a commissioner of the navy. i mention the circumstance, that you may be aware such a letter is coming; and prepared, i most earnestly hope, to meet my wishes." on the 23d of october, lord nelson returned to palermo, where he found letters from sir sidney smith; to which he, next day, returned the following interesting answer. "palermo, 24th oct. 1799. "my dear sir, "when i arrived here, yesterday, from mahon--having been down the mediterranean to look out for a french and spanish squadron, which had been on the coast of portugal, but returned to ferrol---i received all your letters by the turkish corvette, which is arrived at messina. the details you have given me, although unsuccessful at aboukir, will by all military men ever reflect upon you, and your brave companions, the highest honour; and i beg you will tell all those whose conduct you have so highly approved, that their merits--even of the lowest--will be duly appreciated by me: for which reason, i have given all the promotion, and shall continue to do it, if they deserve it, amongst them. all the arrangements for your young men are filled up as you desired; and, my dear sir, you shall ever find that, although i am jealous of having a particle of my honour abridged, yet that no commanding officer will be so ready to do every thing you wish. we have but little, here, of stores; but i have stripped the foudroyant of every thing. at mahon, there is nothing. but, your demands, with a bare proportion for the theseus, goes to-morrow for gibraltar; and, although i am pretty sure you will not receive half what your ships want, i shall urge inglefield to send you every thing he can. you will have heard, probably, that lord st. vincent still retains the mediterranean command; and that i am, by order, acting till his return: therefore, i have not the power of giving commissions, or any thing more than acting orders. as to getting neapolitan gunboats to you, there are many reasons against it. in the first place, they have none fit for such a voyage. this is enough; but, was this not sufficient, it would be a thing impossible. i believe, we are as bad a set to deal with, for real service, as your turks. mr. harding has sent me word, he does not chuse to return to egypt; for which, he is a fool. your brother will, of course, tell you all our good news from holland and germany; and, i hope, the king of prussia has joined the coalition. may peace, with a monarchy in france, be soon given to us! i have just got a report, which appears to have some foundation, that bonaparte has passed corsica in a bombard, steering for france. no crusado ever returned with more humility. contrast his going out in l'orient, &c. again, be assured that i place the greatest confidence in all you do; and no commanding officer shall ever have more attention to all your wants and wishes, than will your, &c. "nelson." "sir william sidney smith, knt." lord nelson had, also, on his return to palermo, received a letter from his friend, lord minto; which, he observed in his answer, gave equal pleasure to sir william, lady hamilton, and himself. "yesterday," says his lordship, writing on the 24th, "your whole letter was read to the queen. i am charged to say every thing which is grateful, and thankful, on her majesty's behalf. but, i know, i need not say much; as she intends, i believe, to write you herself. we all have the most affectionate regard for your public and private character; and i should do injustice to my friends, was i to attempt to say my regard exceeded their's. my conduct, as your's, is to go straight and upright. such is, thank god, the present plan of great britain; at least, as far as i know: for, if i thought otherwise, i should not be so faithful a servant to my country, as i know i am at present. as i shall send you my letters to mr. nepean and lord spencer, they will speak for themselves: therefore, i will only say, believe i am the same nelson as you knew captain of the agamemnon; and, more than ever, your attached and faithful friend." the pleasurable sensations excited by lord minto's most kind and friendly communications, were succeeded by the most racking anxieties respecting malta. fresh orders had arrived for the recall of the portuguese squadron; and captain ball could with difficulty keep the distressed islanders from joining the french. lord nelson, in a state of distraction, wrote letters to the marquis de niza, deprecating his departure; and consoled captain ball with hopes of assistance, which he strained every nerve to obtain from all possible sources. the following most urgent epistle to sir james st. clair erskine, on this occasion, will not only convey the state of his lordship's feelings to every intelligent reader, but elucidate the genuine principles on which his lordship ventures to advise a departure from the strictness of etiquette in the discharge of military duties. "palermo, 26th oct. 1799. "my dear sir james, "i am in desperation about malta. we shall lose it, i am afraid, past redemption, i send you copies of niza's and ball's letters; also, general acton's: so that, you will see, i have not been idle. if ball can hardly keep the inhabitants, in hopes of relief by the five hundred men landed from our ships; what must be expected, when four hundred of them, and four sail of the line, will be withdrawn? and, if the islanders are forced again to join the french, we may not find even landing a very easy task; much less, to get again our present advantageous position. i therefore intreat, for the honour of our king, and for the advantage of the common cause, that whether general fox is arrived, or not, at least, the garrison of messina may be ordered to hold post in malta, till a sufficient force can be collected to attack it; which, i flatter myself, will in time, be got together. but, while that is effecting, i fear our being obliged to quit the island; therefore, i am forced to make this representation. i know, well enough, of what officers in your situation can do. the delicacy of your feelings, on the near approach of general fox, i can readily conceive; but, the time you know nothing about. this is a great and important moment; and the only thing to be considered--_is his majesty's service to stand still for an instant?_ i have no scruple in declaring what i should do: that, knowing the importance of possessing malta, to england and her allies; that, if even two regiments were ordered from minorca, yet it must be considered--for which the officer must certainly be responsible--was the call for these troops known at home, would not they order them to proceed where the service near at hand so loudly calls for them? _this is the only thing, in my opinion, for consideration._ if we lose this opportunity, it will be impossible to recal it. if possible, i wish to take all the responsibility. i know, my dear sir james, your zeal and ability; and, that delicacy to general fox, has been your sole motive for not altering the disposition of the troops: but, i hope, general fox is with you; and, i am sure, from his character, he will approve of my feelings on this subject. if he is not, i must again earnestly entreat that, at least, you will give directions for colonel graham to hold malta till we can get troops to attack la valette. may god direct your councils, for the honour of our king and his allies, and to the destruction of the french, is the fervent prayer of, &c. "nelson." at the same time, addressing a letter to commodore troubridge, who he had reason to suppose was at minorca, his lordship says--"my letter to sir james st. clair, if this finds you at mahon, will shew you what i feel about malta." after again describing apprehended consequences, and expressing his hope that general fox is arrived, and that sir james will lay all circumstances before him, his lordship continues--"i know sir james to be a most fair, honourable, and zealous officer; and i earnestly hope, that you will have the carrying him and fifteen hundred troops to malta. if, alas! all my arguments are in vain, against _orders--not knowing our situation here_--or the delicacy of the approach of general fox; then, it is only for me to grieve, and intreat of you to come here, and bring the northumberland--that, at least, i may prevent supplies getting in: and, for this purpose, i shall be under the distressing necessity of taking as many ships as possible from minorca; which, i assure you, would hurt me very much." on the 28th, his lordship detached the minotaur, and even the foudroyant, to join the marquis de niza off malta; intreating him, not to withdraw a man from the island, even on the arrival of the russians. "again, and again," writes his lordship, "i desire--for which, you may be certain, i hold myself responsible--that you will not, on any consideration, withdraw a single man belonging to your squadron from the island." scarcely a day now passed, that lord nelson did not send some information to captain ball, for the purpose of inspiriting his depressed hopes in the conduct of this arduous undertaking; and, certainly, the indefatigability of his lordship, in labouring to obtain every requisite aid for the accomplishment of this important object, was impossible to be surpassed, and has probably never been equalled. every risk, the purity of his heroic mind was prepared to encounter; every honour, it's dignified humility was desirous of yielding to all who should assist in the enterprize. in one of these letters, he says--"i have begged, almost on my knees, for money, for the present subsistence of the maltese who bear arms." in another, a day or two after--"the court have all the inclination; but, to my knowledge, they have not cash enough for the common purposes of the government!" in a third, the day following--"the king of naples has sent four thousand ounces, to assist the poor islanders who bear arms." his lordship adds, that this will do for the present; and, that the large sum required must come from the three allied courts. in a future letter, lord nelson observes, that this sum of four thousand ounces, was taken, for it was no where else to be had, from their sicilian majesties children, with the hope of being replaced with the money which lord grenville had so handsomely promised to the marquis circello. "the enormous expences," writes his lordship to earl spencer, "incurred within the last eight months, have drawn the king's chest very low; but, his majesty has never failed giving every thing i could ask." on the 31st of october, lord nelson, fully resolved that nothing should, on his part, be neglected, for the attainment of malta, or the advantage of it's temporary chief, wrote a long epistle to the emperor of russia, as grand master. in which, he details the principal operations of this protracted siege; the various difficulties which had occurred, and those which still existed: with the admirable address, fortitude, and perseverance, of captain ball, in conciliating the inhabitants, relieving their necessities, and animating their nearly extinguished hopes; whose merits his lordship most earnestly recommended to the notice of his imperial majesty. his lordship had before applied for the order of malta, for his friend ball, in a letter to sir charles whitworth; but, not having received any answer, he says, in a letter to captain ball, "i have now gone to the fountain head." while lord nelson was thus earnestly solicitous to obtain honours for his meritorious friend, he little imagined that he should, in two or three days, be gratified by the acquisition of a new and most distinguished one conferred on himself. this, however, actually and very unexpectedly happened: for a turkish corvette, which had probably reached messina about the time when his lordship was writing the above letter in favour of his brave friend, brought from constantinople abdur amand, a special messenger, sent by the grand signior, who arrived at palermo on the 3d of november, and was charged with an additional manifestation of the sublime porte's friendly esteem for our incomparable hero. this gentleman, on that day, presented to lord nelson, as an honourable gift from his imperial master, the grand signior, a magnificent diamond star, or medallion; in the centre of which, on blue enamel, were represented the turkish crescent and a star. this valuable present was accompanied by an elegant letter from the grand vizier, dated the 9th of september: in which it was announced, that the grand signior had been pleased to order lord nelson a medallion, which his imperial majesty was desirous should be worn on his lordship's breast, as a mark of esteem for his kindness to osman hadgi--a noble turk, who had accompanied lord nelson from alexandria, and to whom his lordship was much attached by the strongest ties of friendship--as well as for the interest which his lordship on all occasions took in the prosperity of the sublime porte. from the nature of this rich gift, and the respectful manner in which it was delivered by abdur amand, his lordship was induced to consider it as constituting him, in conjunction with the former insignia, first knight of the order of the imperial turkish or ottoman crescent. in a most respectful answer to the grand vizier, lord nelson says--"i intreat that your excellency will present, with the most profound gratitude, my thanks to the emperor, for this new and distinguished honour conferred upon me. i have placed it on my coat, on my left side, over my heart. i cannot say, however flattering this mark of favour is to me, that i can in any manner serve the sublime porte more than i have done; for, it has ever been with all my soul. but this mark of favour shews, in the strongest light, that the smallest services are watched, and most magnificently rewarded, by his imperial majesty; whose life, may god prolong, with health and every other earthly happiness: and may he give me opportunities of shewing my gratitude, by risking my life for the preservation of the smallest grain of sand belonging to the ottoman empire; and may the enemies of his imperial majesty fall into dust, by the wise councils of your excellency!" his lordship also wrote a similar letter to the captain pacha; in which he did not forget the kindest recommendation of his friend cadir bey, and general remembrances to all the admirals and captains serving under that worthy commander. earl elgin, and mr. spencer smith, both now at constantinople, were likewise most respectfully addressed by his lordship. to the former, he modestly writes--"having yesterday received such a mark of the grand signior's favour, i have been puzzled how to express myself properly. i must, therefore, trust to your excellency's goodness for supplying my deficiency of language." to the latter, he returns thanks for all his goodness to his lordship, both public and private; sends him some sherry and sugar, but can neither get a drop of madeira nor claret in the island, or even in all italy: and concludes with desiring affectionate remembrances to his brother, sir sidney, whenever he writes; for whom, his lordship observes, he has just sent "a large cargo of good things." the pleasure, however, of this unexpected honour from the grand signior, was insufficient to preserve the susceptible heart which it covered, from corroding cares, and painful anxieties, for his country and his friends. he wanted not, indeed, for personal and private causes of vexation and regret: but these, though they were perpetually preying on his constitution, seldom called forth his complaint; and scarcely ever were even mentioned, except to a very few of his most select friends. one of the first disappointments, after this recent honour, was the arrival of captain stephenson, to take the command of the princess charlotte; by which, his lordship feelingly observes, in a letter of the 7th, to captain ball, "poor hardy was consequently turned adrift." he had, at this time, too, received a mortifying letter from general sir james st. clair erskine: mentioning, that the twenty-eighth regiment was ordered to england; and that he was sure general fox, who was every moment expected, would not, on any consideration, break his orders, for any object. with this disagreeable information, his lordship could not bring his mind yet to acquaint captain ball. on the contrary, he affects to anticipate, in the letter above mentioned, that he expects the answer from minorca will be unfavourable to both their wishes; and expresses his intention of going to naples, for assistance from the russians and his sicilian majesty. he then, with exquisite kindness and address, introduces the extract of a letter from earl spencer; which liberally states, that captain ball, by his unparalleled vigilance and exertion, had indeed shewn himself worthy of the friendship with which lord nelson had honoured him. "i only send this, my dear ball," says his lordship, "to shew that i do not forget my friends: as to honouring you, that is not in my power; but to render you justice, is my duty." in the mean time, his lordship had, on the preceding day, thus expressed himself to earl spencer, on the subject of attention to orders, in consequence of this refusal of troops from minorca--"much, my dear lord, as i approve of strict obedience to orders--even to a court-martial, to enquire whether the object justified the measure--yet, to say that an officer is never, for any object, to alter his orders, is what i cannot comprehend. the circumstances of this war so often vary, that an officer has almost every moment to consider--what would my superiors direct, did they know what is passing under my nose? the great object of the war is--_down, down, with the french!_ to accomplish this, every nerve, and by both services, ought to be strained. my heart is," says this excellent man and true hero, "i assure you, almost broke, with that and other things." then, speaking of the state of the blockade, he says--"if the enemy get supplies in, we may bid adieu to malta. this would compleat my misery; for, i am afraid, i take all services too much to heart. the accomplishing of them is my study, night and day." it is a singular circumstance, and merits high consideration, that while lord nelson thus strongly urges the necessity for both services to be equally strained; sir sidney smith was most feelingly complaining, in letters dated off rhodes, 29th september 1799, of the want of a cordial co-operation in general koehler: who seems to have regarded sir sidney's gallant exploits on land as an improper interference with the military department; and to have made the subject of a long and formal complaint, what all the world has agreed to consider as fairly entitling him to immortal honour. on the receipt of these letters, which are written with a noble confidence in the kind and generous sanction of his lordship, lord nelson immediately wrote the following excellent letter to the duke of clarence. it certainly has, being addressed to a brother sailor, some strong professionalism; but it delicately claims, nevertheless, for sir sidney's conduct, the most decided approbation and applause, from a very competent judge of the duties of the profession. "palermo, 9th nov. 1799. "sir, "i beg leave to present to your royal highness, captain hardy, late of the foudroyant: an officer of the most distinguished merit; and, therefore, highly worthy of your notice. he will tell you of all my arduous work in this country; and, that all my anxiety is, at present, taken up with the desire of possessing malta. but, i fear, notwithstanding all my exertions, that i shall not get any british troops from minorca: without which, the business will be prolonged, perhaps, till it is relieved; when all the force which we could collect would be of little use, against the strongest place in europe. i am anxiously waiting the arrival of general fox; and hope he will not consider the order for the removal of one or two regiments, of such great consequence as the reduction of malta, by keeping them for two months longer in the mediterranean. on the one hand, they must, in england, or on the continent, be like a drop of water in the ocean. by staying here, and employed, they would liberate us from our enemy close to our door; gratify the emperor of russia; protect our levant trade; and relieve a squadron of our ships from the service: besides giving us one eighty-gun ship, two forty-gun frigates, a maltese new ship of the line ready for sea, and two frigates. with these in the scale, i cannot comprehend that a moment can be lost in deciding. but, sir, i find, few think, as i do--that, to obey orders, all perfection. to serve my king, and to destroy the french, i consider as the great order of all, from which little ones spring; and, if one of these little ones militates against it--(for, who can tell exactly, at a distance?)--i go back to obey the great order, and object; to _down_, _down_, with the damned french villains! excuse my warmth; but my blood boils at the name of a frenchman. i hate them _all_; royalists and republicans. "my late letters from egypt are, that sir sidney smith is hurt at the notorious cowardice and want of discipline in the turkish army; and i find, that general koehler does _not approve_ of such irregular proceedings, as naval officers attacking and defending fortifications. we have but one idea; to get close along-side. none but a sailor, would have placed a battery only a hundred and eighty yards from the castle of st. elmo: a soldier must have gone according to art, and the zig-zag way; my brave sir thomas troubridge went straight, for we had no time to spare. your royal highness will not believe, that i mean to lessen the conduct of the army. i have the highest respect for them all. but general koehler should not have wrote such a paragraph in his letter. it conveyed a jealousy which, i dare say, is not in his disposition. "may health and every blessing, attend your royal highness, is the constant prayer of your attached and obliged servant, "bronte nelson." lord nelson had, as it may be seen, signed his letters to foreigners as duke of bronte, from the time of obtaining that honour; but this epistle to the duke of clarence was one of the first in which he ever prefixed the word bronte to his name when addressing any british subject. it is probable, therefore, that he had, about this time, received his sovereign's recognition of that sicilian title. though his lordship had hitherto been unsuccessful in his repeated applications for troops at minorca, he continued still to offer new reasons why they ought to be sent. with the most unwearied exertions, did this great man constantly labour for the promotion of whatever related to the honour or advantage of his king, his country, and his friends; and his assiduities never relaxed, till he had secured the accomplishment of his object. he tried, in particular, on this occasion, for the possession of malta, all the arts of that powerful eloquence which flowed so naturally from his pen; and he might well say, as he did, in a letter of the 10th of november, to mr. nepean, "it has been no fault of the navy, that malta has not been attacked by land; but we have neither the means ourselves, nor influence with those who have the power." in short, the history of this protracted siege, including all the military and political perplexities with which our hero's naval operations were entangled, would alone form a volume of no inconsiderable magnitude. it appears that, about this time, suspicions were entertained, by sir john acton, respecting our intentions with regard to malta; which first manifested themselves in a remark addressed to lord nelson, that the flag of the order was to be hoisted, instead of the three flags, when that island should be taken. this observation, he remarks, in a letter immediately written to sir john, dated at palermo, 18th november 1799, seems to convey, that his sentiments of respect for his sicilian majesty's flag were lessened. "i send you," says his lordship, with that noble frankness, and prompt decision, for which he was ever remarkable, "two papers, on which my order to good captain ball was founded. if i have erred, it is not too late to call back my order; and, if you think so, i shall be happy to meet your excellency, and the minister of england and russia, on this subject. there is not, i can assure you, that man on earth, who would so strongly unite the two monarchs whom we serve as myself; and may perdition seize the wretch who would do the least thing towards lessening that harmony! and could it ever happen, that any english minister wanted to make me an instrument of hurting the feelings of his sicilian majesty, i would give up my commission sooner than do it. i am open to your excellency; and, i think, you are so to me. the interests of our sovereigns require it; and, i am sure, that we both only think of uniting the courts of london and naples still closer together. i am placed in such a situation--a subject of one king, by birth; and, as far as is consistent with my allegiance to that king, a voluntary subject of his sicilian majesty--that, if any man attempted to separate my two kings, by all that is sacred, i should consider even putting that man to death as a meritorious act! therefore, my dear sir john, never, never, for a moment, think that i am capable of doing any thing but endeavouring to exalt the glory of their sicilian majesties." nor was this the only prejudice which malevolence seems now to have been secretly exciting against our hero. though it has been sufficiently seen, that his lordship's indefatigable endeavours for the possession of malta, which were never surpassed, either in activity or address, had constantly in view the merited aggrandizement of his persevering, brave, and conciliating friend, captain ball--for whom he had implored both emoluments and honours, which no consideration on earth could ever have induced him to solicit for himself--some apprehensions of our hero's diminished regard had been malignantly insinuated into the bosom of that worthy commander: as appears from the following expressions, which occur in a letter written to him by lord nelson on the 24th of november 1799. "my dear ball, i love, honour, and respect you; and no persons ever have, nor could they, were they so disposed, lessen you in my esteem, both as a public officer and a private man: therefore, never let such a thought come into your head; which was never more wanted to be clear from embroils, than at this moment." then, fortifying his perseverance with assurances that commodore troubridge is immediately coming with ships, and colonel graham with troops, he thus affectionately proceeds- "but, my dear friend, your holding your post so long as you have, is matter of the greatest credit to you;" and, with unexampled kindness, concludes with thus arming his friend against the worst--"if you are forced to quit the island, it cannot lessen your exertion or abilities; and do not let such an event, should it unfortunately happen, depress your spirits for a moment: and believe me, as ever, your obliged and affectionate friend, "bronte nelson." these unpleasant events did not fail momentarily to affect his lordship's sensibility, and with more permanency his health. in every excess of anxiety, or even of joy, his heart continued to suffer a renewal of that agony which it had first experienced during his search after the french fleet destined for egypt; and such were the ever-shifting scenes of his active life, that he was seldom, for many days together, exempted from the effects of it's influence, by the occurrence of one or other of these causes. as if it were not enough, that his mind was perpetually harrassed with professional cares, he had private and domestic sources of inquietude the former, he could freely impart to his numerous friends and in some degree fellow-sufferers; but the latter was scarcely communicable to any, and no one could be implicated in the same identical cause of distress. even the very quality in which he surpassed, perhaps, every commander, even by sea or land, that of keeping up a punctual and widely-extended correspondence, did not, at this oppressive period, entirely preserve him from censure. he received, what he calls, in a familiar letter to his friend rear-admiral duckworth, of the 27th november 1799, "a severe set-down from the admiralty, for not having written, by the charon, attached to a convoy; although," adds his lordship, "i wrote, both by a courier and cutter, the same day. but i see, clearly, that they wish to shew i am unfit for the command. i will readily acknowledge it; and, therefore, they need have no scruples about sending out a commander in chief." in this letter, his lordship tells rear-admiral duckworth, that he approves very much of his calling at algiers. "i am aware," says he, "that the first moment any insult is offered to the british flag, is to get as large a force as possible off algiers, and seize all his cruizers; but if, in such a contest, any english vessel is taken, i know what will be said against me, and how little support i shall experience. but, my dear admiral, where the object of the actor is only to serve faithfully, i feel superior to the smiles or frowns of any board." his lordship afterwards concludes--"sir william and lady hamilton desire their kindest regards. i am nearly blind; but things go so contrary to my mind, _out_ of our profession, that truly i care not how soon i am off the stage." in a postscript, his lordship does not forget to add--"pray, do not let the admiralty want for letters of every occurrence." his lordship wrote, on the same day, a serious and respectable justification of his conduct, to mr. nepean; in which he observes, how perfectly conscious he is, that want of communicating where and when it is necessary, cannot be laid to his charge. after stating, that he actually wrote to mr. nepean, as well as to earl spencer, by a neapolitan courier, who left palermo on the very day the charon sailed, he spiritedly says--"i own, i do not feel that, if cutters and couriers go off the same day, that it is necessary to write by a convoy. i know the absolute necessity of the board's being exactly acquainted with every thing which passes; and they, i beg, will give me credit for attention to my duty. as a junior flag-officer," he observes, "of course, without those about me--secretaries, interpreters, &c.--i have been thrown into a more extensive correspondence than ever, perhaps, fell to the lot of any admiral; and into a political situation, i own, out of my sphere. it is a fact, which it would not become me to boast of, but on the present occasion--i have never, but three times, put my feet on the ground, since december 1798; and, except to the court, that till after eight o'clock at night i never relax from business. i have had, hitherto," concludes his lordship, "the board knows, no one emolument, no one advantage, of a commander in chief." in a letter written to earl spencer next day, the 28th, this exalted man, after observing that general fox orders colonel graham not to incur any expence for stores, or any other articles but provisions, asks--"what can this mean? but i have told troubridge, that the cause cannot stand still for want of a little money. this would be, what we call--penny wise, and pound foolish. if nobody will pay it," nobly adds our hero, "i shall sell bronte, and the emperor of russia's box; for i feel myself above every consideration, but that of serving faithfully. do not, my dear lord," he most pathetically concludes, "let the admiralty write harshly to me; my generous soul cannot bear it, being conscious it is entirely unmerited!" the reader of sensibility will not fail to feel this very affecting deprecation; and to lament, that it should ever have been necessary. on the day following, however, lord nelson had the satisfaction of receiving eight thousand ounces from his sicilian majesty, for the relief of the poor maltese; which his lordship immediately sent to captain ball, by the perseus bomb; and, determined that nothing in his power should be wanted, he not only took on himself, from the discouraging circumstance of general fox's orders to colonel graham, to augment his numerous other occupations, by becoming a commissary for these troops, but actually pledged bronte for twelve thousand ounces--six thousand six hundred pounds--should any difficulty arise in the payments. on the 19th, lord nelson having been informed, by his friend sir william hamilton, that the principal inhabitants of rome, and other professors and admirers of the fine arts, were about to erect, in that city, a grand monumental testimony of their gratitude to his lordship, for having delivered the country, as well as those valuable treasures of art and antiquity which had for ages formed it's proudest boast, from the tyranny and rapacity of french cruelty and barbarism, he immediately addressed the following letter to mr. fagan, an ingenious artist at rome, who had so handsomely made the communication of this pleasing intelligence, through sir william, and with whom the design of that honourable intention appears to have chiefly originated. palermo, 19th dec. 1799. "dear sir, "sir william hamilton has been so kind as to communicate to me the distinguished honour intended me by the inhabitants, by you, and other professors and admirers of the fine arts at rome, to erect a monument. i have not words sufficient to express my feelings, on hearing that my actions have contributed to preserve the works which form the school of fine arts in italy, which the modern goths wanted to carry off and destroy. that they may always remain in the only place worthy of them, rome, are and will be my fervent wishes; together with the esteem of, dear sir, your most obliged servant, "bronte nelson." had the several powers of the continent taken the constant advice of his lordship, cordially to unite, in resolutely opposing the french pillagers of principle as well as property, these rare productions of the greek and roman schools of art would not since have found their way to paris, nor the projected grand rostral column have finally failed equally to honour rome and our immortal hero. on the 17th of december, the phaeton, captain morris, arrived from constantinople; having, by desire of the ottoman ministry, brought two turkish ministers, one for tunis, and the other for algiers, to be landed by captain morris, in his way down the mediterranean. these turkish gentlemen brought lord nelson a very elegant letter from the grand signior; accompanied by a drawing of the battle of the nile, and another of the hero himself: "a curious present," pointedly says his lordship, in writing next day to earl spencer; "but highly flattering to me, as it marks that i am not in the least forgotten." at this time, too, lord nelson received, from the inhabitants of zante, through the hands of mr. speridion forresti, the very elegant and flattering presents of a sword and cane; accompanied by a most kind and respectful letter, in which they express their grateful acknowledgments to his lordship, for having been the first cause of their liberation from french tyranny. this, though true, his lordship observed, in a very affectionate answer, was such an example of gratitude as must for ever do them the highest honour; and begs that mr. speridion forresti, by whom he transmits it to them, will have the goodness to express, in fuller terms than any words which his lordship can find, his sense of their kindness, and of the wish to prove himself farther useful to them. the cane was mounted in gold, with a single circle of diamonds; the value of which was rendered incalculable, by the circumstance of the inhabitants having declared that it was their wish to have added another circle, but that they had no more diamonds in the island. his lordship's letter to the grand vizier, in return for the presents and epistle from the grand signior, was as follows. "palermo, 22d dec 1799. "sir were i to attempt, by words, to express what i felt on receiving the imperial present of the drawing of the battle of aboukir, and the highly flattering letter wrote by your excellency in obedience to the imperial command, i should feel myself unequal to the task. therefore, i can only beg your excellency to express, in words most adapted to convey my gratitude to his imperial majesty, my sense of the extraordinary high honour conferred upon me, by a present more valuable than gold or jewels; as they may come only from the hand of a great monarch, while this can only flow from the benevolent heart of a good man. that the almighty may pour down his choicest blessings on the imperial head, and ever give his arms victory over all his enemies, is the fervent prayer, and shall ever be, as far as my abilities will allow me, the constant exertion, of your excellency's obliged servant, "bronte nelson." in a letter to earl elgin, then ambassador at constantinople, his lordship thus expresses his grateful attachment to the turks. "they," says he, "do me but justice, in believing that i am always alert to do them every kindness; for, as no man ever received greater favours from the sublime porte, so no one shall be more grateful." his lordship sincerely regrets the escape of bonaparte; and remarks, that those ships which he had destined for the two places where bonaparte would certainly have been intercepted, were--from the admiralty's thinking, doubtless, that the russians would do something at sea--obliged to be at malta and on other services, in which he also thought the russian admiral would have assisted: "therefore," he adds, "no blame lays at my door." the vincejo sloop, however, his lordship says, had a few days before taken a vessel from egypt, with general voix, and seventy-five officers; and that captain long was happy enough to save the dispatches, which had been thrown overboard with a weight insufficient to instantly sink them. these dispatches represented the extreme distress of the french army in egypt; and he expresses his hope, that the sublime porte will never permit a single frenchman to quit egypt. "i own myself," says his lordship, in that severe spirit of antigallicanism for which he was ever so remarkable, "wicked enough, to wish them all to die in that country they chose to invade. we have scoundrels of french enough in europe, without them." it is contrary to his opinion, he repeats, to allow a single frenchman, from egypt, to return to france, during the war; nor would he subscribe any paper giving such permission. "but," concludes his lordship, "i submit to the better judgment of men." to spencer smith, esq. now secretary of the embassy, his lordship writes in a similar strain--"i have read, with pleasure, all that has passed in egypt, between bonaparte, kleber, and the grand vizier; and i send lord elgin some very important papers, which will shew their very deplorable situation: but i cannot bring myself to believe they would entirely quit egypt; and, if they would, i never would consent to one of them returning to the continent of europe during the war. i wish them to perish in egypt; and give a great lesson to the world, of the justice of the almighty." on the 23d of december, his lordship received information from sir thomas troubridge, that the culloden, in going into the bay of marsa scirocco, in the island of malta, to land cannon, ammunition, &c. from messina, for the siege, had struck on a rock, and was greatly damaged. the rudder, and great part of the false keel, were carried away; and the rudder would have been lost, but for sir thomas's timely exertion in getting a hawser reeved through it. the pintles were all broken; and the ship was steered to the anchorage, with the sails, in a safe but leaky state. in answer to his friend troubridge, respecting this unfortunate accident, lord nelson says--"your resources never fail; and you would contrive something, i dare say, if the ship's bottom was knocked out." in another letter of the 2d of january 1800, his lordship, who is incessantly labouring, at all points, to obtain every requisite for the reduction of malta, and for the relief of the distressed natives, writes thus--"i cannot get the frigate out of the mole; therefore, i must learn to be a hard-hearted wretch, and fancy the cries of hunger in my ears. i send you orders for the different governors: you will see, they are for the supply of the army and navy; therefore, whatever graham and you send for will, if possible, be granted. i hope the russians will sail, this north-east wind; and it is my intention to give you all a meeting, the moment the foudroyant arrives." on this day, too, his lordship wrote letters to portugal: containing the kindest praises of the marquis de niza, and the several officers and men of the portuguese squadron under his command; which were, at length, returning home, in obedience to orders, on being relieved by sir thomas troubridge's arrival at malta. one of these letters contained particular recommendations of promotion for captains thompson, welch, and de pinto. "when," says his lordship, "i mention my brother, and friend, niza, i must say, that i never knew so indefatigable an officer. during the whole time i have had the happiness of having him under my command, i have never expressed a wish that niza did not fly to execute." on the 6th of january, his lordship learned that his prediction to rear-admiral duckworth, of what had been intended respecting the command of the mediterranean fleet, was completely verified, by the approach of lord keith; who now signified, in a letter to lord nelson, that he was coming to sicily. the effect which this event, though not unsuspected, must have produced on his lordship's mind, is less difficult to be conceived, than expressed. he had already met with sufficient impediments to the execution of his designs, most of which were just happily surmounted; but a paramount difficulty seemed now arising, against which he might be disarmed of all power to perform any thing efficient. the general aspect of his public situation, at this period, is concentrated by his own skilful hand, in the following professional letter, which he immediately wrote to lord keith; but his exalted and superior mind disdained to discover, in such a communication, the state of his own private feelings. "palermo, 7th jan. 1800. "my dear lord, last night, i received your letters, and orders, to december 14th, from november 30th; all of which, i shall endeavour to obey: and, with the greatest pleasure, to give you the state of the squadron, and of affairs on this side of minorca. i shall begin in the east. my last accounts from thence were by the phaeton, captain morris; and, as your lordship will probably see him, i shall only say, that i have not heard immediately from sir sidney smith since september the 7th. at constantinople, they heard he was communicating with the grand vizier, at gaza, respecting the french army. the ships with him are, theseus and cameleon; but the bulldog is directed to go to him, till the smyrna convoy is ready to return. i have lately sent provisions, and some few stores, all we had, for those ships; and i have written to duckworth, and inglefield, to send particularly for those ships. what turkish ships of war sir sidney smith has under him, i know not; but, i am told, there are several. the turkish admiral, captain morris tells me, who served under him, had his head taken off, for leaving the port of alexandria open, and permitting the escape of bonaparte. i would have kept up a more constant communication with egypt; but, i have never had the benefit of small vessels. at corfu, general villete is arrived, and raising two regiments of albanians. our consul there, mr. speridion forresti, is a very able man; and, from thence, the passage of an express, by land, to constantinople, is twelve days. to get to malta--which has kept, for sixteen months, every ship i could lay my hands on fully employed; and has, in truth, broke my spirits for ever--i have been begging, of his sicilian majesty, small supplies of money and corn, to keep the maltese in arms, and barely to keep from starving the poor inhabitants. sicily has, this year, a very bad crop, and the exportation of corn is prohibited. both graham and troubridge are in desperation, at the prospect of a famine. vessels are here, loading with corn for malta; but i can neither get the neapolitan men of war, nor merchant vessels, to move. you will see, by the report of the disposition of the ships, what a wretched state we are in. in truth, only the foudroyant and northumberland are fit to keep the sea. the russians are, on the 4th, arrived at messina; six sail of the line, frigates, &c. with two thousand five hundred troops. it is not to be expected, that any one russian man of war can, or will, keep the sea; therefore, the blockade by sea can only be kept up by our ships: and it is my intention, if the foudroyant, or even a frigate, comes soon, to go for two days to malta, to give the russian admiral and general, graham, troubridge, and governor ball, a meeting; not only, on the most probable means of getting the french out, but also, of arranging various matters, if it should fall to our exertions. the maltese have, graham says, two thousand excellent troops; we have, soldiers and sailors, fifteen hundred; the russians will land full three thousand. i hope, the ricasoli may be carried; and, if it is, i think the french general will no longer hold out. what a relief this would be to us! if i cannot get to malta very soon, i shall, from your letter, remain here, to give you a meeting and receive your orders. it is impossible to send, from mahon, too many supplies of stores to malta; sails, rope, plank, nails, &c. you can form no idea of our deplorable state, for the last year. in sicily, we are all quiet. i have been trying, with sir william hamilton, in which the queen joins, to induce the king to return to naples; but, hitherto, without effect. i must suppose, his majesty has reasons which i am unacquainted with. it has long been my wish, to send a small squadron on the coast of genoa; for the russian ships are of no use, to co-operate with the germans: but, i have not them to send. la mutine, i have directed to protect our trade about leghorn; and to assist, as far as she is able, in giving convoy to vessels carrying provisions to the austrian army. the report of the combined fleets being ready for sea, induced me to direct the phaeton and penelope to cruize between cape spartel and cape st. vincent; that i may have timely notice of their approach, if bound this way--_which i believe_. i have run over our present state; perhaps, too hastily: but, i am anxious not to keep the brig one moment longer than my writing this letter. with every sentiment of respect, believe me, my dear lord, your most obedient servant, "bronte nelson." to his excellency, the honourable lieutenant-general fox, at minorca, his lordship on the same day wrote, that he would not suffer general graham to want, if he could "beg, borrow, or steal, to supply him. lord keith," he adds, "is, i dare say, with you, at this moment; and, i am sure, all matters will be much better arranged with him than i have ability of doing. i have only the disposition to do what is right, and the desire of meriting your esteem." to colonel graham, at malta, he also wrote, this day, as follows--"i hope to soon pay you a visit, and i only wish that i could always do all you ask me. it is certain, that you cannot go on at malta, without money; therefore, i declare, sooner than you should want, i would sell bronte. but, i trust, from general fox's letter to me, that you will have his consent for ordering what money may be necessary. i send you all the egyptian papers, for you, ball, and troubridge; and, if you like, in confidence, italinskoy. suwarrow is at prague, with his whole army: ready to act with the austrians, if they come to their senses; or, perhaps, against them. _moreau_ is at vienna, treating for peace. what a state the allies bring us into! but, it is in vain to cry out; john bull was always ill-treated. may a speedy success attend you!" on the 14th, a new mortification occurred to his lordship. the russian admiral, who had so long lingered at naples, and recently arrived at messina, with the intent, as was supposed, of at length going to malta, sent notice that he was proceeding with his ships and troops to corfu, and could not go to malta. lord keith was, at this time, gone to station a squadron for the blockade of the port and coast of genoa; and lord nelson, after arranging, with general acton, a plan for sending two thousand six hundred troops, and encouraging his respective friends at malta to persevere in their labours, under these and other comforting assurances, sailed in the foudroyant, on the 16th, to concert measures for future operations with the commander in chief. on the 23d, his lordship writes to earl spencer, from leghorn, that he came thither to meet lord keith; and that they are going, together, to palermo and malta. "if," says his lordship, "sir james st. clair, or general fox, had felt themselves authorized to have given us two thousand troops, i think that malta, by this time, would have fallen; and our poor ships been released from the hardest service i have ever seen. the going away of the russians, has almost done me up; but the king of naples has ordered two thousand six hundred troops from sicily, to assist graham, and they are to be under our command. it is true, they are not good soldiers; but, they will ease our's in the fatigues of duty. the feeding the inhabitants of malta, and paying two thousand of the people who bear arms, has been a continual source of uneasiness to my mind. his sicilian majesty has done more than it was possible to expect he had the ability of performing; for the resources of his kingdom are hardly yet come round, and his demands are excessive from all quarters of his dominions. lord keith will now be able to judge, with his own eyes and ears, and your lordship will see his report. the loyalty and attachment of their sicilian majesties to our king and country is such, that i would venture to lay down my head to be cut off, if they would not rather lose their kingdom of naples, than hold it on terms from austria and the french, by a separation from their alliance with england. there is not a thing which his majesty can desire, that their majesties of the two sicilies will not have the greatest pleasure in complying with. i have, before, ventured on the character of their sicilian majesties. the king is a real good man, but inclined to be positive in his opinion; the queen is certainly a great monarch, and a true daughter of maria theresa. i am just favoured with your letter of december 12th; which, although so entirely contrary to my expectations, cannot alter my respect for all your kindness. i am in debt, from my situation; but, time and care will get me out of it. since may 1798, i have had all the expence of a commander in chief, without even the smallest advantage. lord keith," concludes his lordship, "shall find, in me, an officer ever ready to anticipate his wishes, so long as my health permits." though lord nelson does not absolutely complain of his then ill health, he was certainly much indisposed; and, but a few weeks before, had undergone a painful course of electricity, at palermo, from which he entertained hopes of recovering the sight of his left eye. on the 26th, his lordship sailed from leghorn, and arrived safely at palermo; from whence, in a few days, he proceeded to malta, for the purpose of arranging the business of that important siege. on the 12th of february, at sea, his lordship received the report of a survey held on the warrant-officers stores found onboard the leander at the time, of it's being delivered up, with an account of those said to be supplied by the russians while this ship was in their possession, which he inclosed to lord keith, as commander in chief; and, only six days after, being in company with the northumberland, audacious, and el corso brig, fortunately captured le genereux, by which the leander had been originally taken. the particulars of this pleasing event will be best described in his lordship's own words. "foudroyant, at sea, 10th feb. 1800. off cape di corso, eight leagues west of cape passaro; off shore, four miles. "my lord, this morning, at day-light, being in company with the ships named in the margin, i saw the alexander in chase of a line of battle ship, three frigates, and a corvette: and, about eight o'clock, she fired several shot at one of the enemy's frigates, which struck her colours; and, leaving her to be secured by the ships astern, continued the chase. i directed captain gould of the audacious, and the el corso brig, to take charge of this prize. at half past one p.m. the frigates and corvette tacked to the westward; but the line of battle ship, not being able to tack without coming to action with the alexander, bore up. the success being to leeward, captain peard, with great judgment and gallantry, lay across his hawser, and raked him with several broadsides. in passing the french ship's broadside, several shot struck the success; by which, one man was killed, and the master and seven men wounded. at half past four, the foudroyant and northumberland coming up, the former fired two shot; when the french ship fired her broadside, and struck her colours. she proved to be le genereux, of seventy-four guns, bearing the flag of rear-admiral perrée, commander in chief of the french naval force in the mediterranean; having a number of troops on board, from toulon, bound for the relief of malta. i attribute our success, this day, to be principally owing to the extreme good management of lieutenant william harrington, who commands the alexander in the absence of captain ball: and i am much pleased with the gallant behaviour of captain peard, of the success; as, also, with the alacrity and good conduct of captain martin, and sir edward berry. i have sent lieutenant andrew thomson, first lieutenant of the foudroyant, to take charge of le genereux; whom i beg leave to recommend to your lordship, for promotion: and send her, under care of the northumberland, and alexander, to syracuse, to wait your lordship's orders. i have the honour to be, my lord, your lordship's most obedient and most humble servant, bronte nelson the right honourable lord keith, k.b. &c." his lordship, the next day, directed captain gould, of the audacious, to proceed with the french prisoners for the harbour of st. paul, in the island of malta; and, putting them on board any ship of war, or empty transport, he might find there, to return to the westward of goza, where he was to cruize till farther orders. though lord nelson was much gratified by this capture, which reduced the number of french ships that had escaped at the battle off the nile to the single one of le guillaume tell, then blocked up at malta, his health appeared daily on the decline. still, however, his spirits seem to have remained lively; for, in writing on the occasion, to palermo, he desires prince leopold will tell his august father, that he is, he believes, the first duke of bronte who ever took a french seventy-four. besides the french prisoners sent to malta for the sake of compelling their countrymen to maintain them, and consequently to assist in the consumption of the provisions of the garrison, and thus accelerate it's surrender; there were a number of moorish prisoners on board le genereux, subjects of the bashaw of tripoli. these lord nelson sent back to their own country; with letters to the bashaw, as well as to the british consul: the former of whom he assures, that he is happy in the opportunity of saving so many of his subjects from a french prison; and the latter, he requests, will not fail to impress on the bashaw's mind, that nelson is never unmindful of his friends. "the bashaw," he adds, "was very good in supplying the el corso with some rope, which was duly reported to me; and, for which, i beg, you will thank his excellency in my name." on the 24th of february, off malta, where his lordship found his health much affected, he wrote to lord keith, that it was impossible he could remain much longer there. "without some rest," says his lordship, "i am gone. i must, therefore, whenever i find the service will admit of it, request your permission to go to my friends at palermo, for a few weeks, and leave the command here to commodore troubridge. nothing but necessity obliges me to write this letter." finding, however, on the 28th, from the report of his friend captain ball, that the french ships were perfectly ready for sea, and would probably attempt to escape the first fair wind, he writes thus to lord keith--"my state of health is very precarious. two days ago, i dropped with a pain in my heart, and i am always in a fever; but the hopes of these gentry coming out, shall support me a few days longer. i really desire to see this malta business finished." the following passage, which occurs in another part of this letter, is highly characteristic--"the intended movements of their ships, is a convincing proof, to me, that the garrison has lost all hopes of a successful resistance, and i wish general graham would make false attacks. i am no soldier; therefore, ought not to hazard an opinion: but, if i commanded, i would torment the scoundrels night and day." having waited till the 8th of march, with the vain expectation that the french ships would venture out, his lordship wrote to lord keith, that his health continued so bad, he was obliged, in justice to himself, to retire to palermo for a few weeks, directing commodore troubridge to carry on the service during his necessary absence: and, in a day or two after, sailed for palermo; where he did not arrive, having had a tedious passage, till the 16th. on the 20th, his lordship writes to lord keith--"it is too soon to form any judgment of what effect it may have on my health; but, on the 18th, i had near died, with the swelling of some of the vessels of the heart. i know, the anxiety of my mind, on coming back to syracuse in 1798, was the first cause; and more people, perhaps, die of broken hearts, than we are aware of." to commodore troubridge he writes, also, on this day, much in the same strain--"it is too soon to form an opinion whether i can ever be cured of my complaint. at present, i see but glimmering hopes; and, probably, my career of service is at an end: unless the french fleet should come into the mediterranean, when nothing shall prevent my dying at my post. i hope, my dear friend, that your complaints are better. pray, do not fret at any thing; i wish i never had: but my return to syracuse, in 1798, broke my heart; which, on any extraordinary anxiety, now shews itself, be that feeling _pain_ or _pleasure_." his lordship remarks, however, that he is an infidel about the brest fleet again trusting themselves in the mediterranean. the russians, he observes, are certainly going to malta; under commanders, both at sea and land, with whom all will be harmony. "you will have heard," continues his lordship, "that mr. arthur paget is daily expected, to replace, for the present, sir william; comte pouskin is also superseded by italinskoy. in short, great changes are going on; and none, that i can see, for the better. i have not yet seen general acton; but i am led to believe, that the king's not returning to naples, _has_ been entirely owing to the general. at present, perhaps, he has so much frightened him, that the act appears his own. _we, of the nile_, are not equal to lord keith, in his estimation; and ought to think it an honour to serve under such a _clever man_." in concluding this letter, his lordship says--"acton has, i am almost convinced, played us _false_." in another letter to sir thomas troubridge, dated on the 28th, his lordship says, that if the ships get away, he is certain the garrison will not hold out; and expresses his intention again to visit malta, before he retires from the station. a courier, from constantinople, he says, is just arrived: bringing intelligence, that the french treaty for quitting egypt is ratified by the porte; and, that the ministers of england and russia have acquainted the porte of the determination of the allies not to suffer the french army to return to europe. his lordship then directs him to repeat the orders already given, for making the french from egypt, under whatever protection they may be, come into some of the ports of the allies; for, on no consideration, must they be allowed to return to france. "i now," adds his lordship, "come to the most painful part of my letter, the loss of the queen charlotte, by fire. lord keith is safe; and, i hope, most of the officers and crew. she sailed from leghorn at daylight of the 17th, with a strong land wind. she was, when five miles distant, discovered to be on fire; and, at noon, she blew up, about twelve miles from the light-house. this is the whole we know. vessels were fearful, till after some time, to approach her; therefore, many poor fellows must be gone!" in a very few days after this melancholy accident, lord nelson experienced one of the highest gratifications of his life, by the capture of le guillaume tell. the first information of that important event was conveyed in the following note from sir edward berry. "foudroyant, 30th march 1800. "my dear lord, "i had but one wish, this morning; it was for you. after a most gallant defence, le guillaume tell surrendered, and she is compleatly dismasted. the foudroyant's lower masts, and main topmast, are standing; but, every roll, i expect them to go over the side, they are so much shattered. i was slightly hurt in the foot; and, i fear, about forty men are badly wounded, besides the killed, which you shall know hereafter. all hands behaved as you would have wished. how we prayed for you, god knows, and your sincere and faithful friend, "e. berry." on the 4th of april, his lordship having received farther particulars from sir thomas troubridge, wrote thus to mr. nepean. "palermo, 4th april 1800. "sir, "i have received no official reports, but i have letters from commodore troubridge, captain dixon, and sir edward berry, telling me of the capture of the william tell, on the morning of the 30th of march, after a gallant defence of three hours. the lion and foudroyant lost each about forty killed and wounded. the french ship is dismasted; the french admiral, decres, wounded; and the foudroyant much shattered. i send sir edward berry's hasty note. thus, owing to my brave friends, is the entire destruction of the french mediterranean fleet to be attributed, and my orders from the great earl of st. vincent are fulfilled. captain blackwood, of the penelope, and captain long, of the vincejo, have the greatest merit. my task is done; my health is finished; and, probably, my retreat for ever fixed--unless another french fleet should be placed for me to look after. ever your most obedient humble servant, "bronte nelson of the nile." "evan nepean, esq." the letter of commodore troubridge, above mentioned, contains the following particulars. "culloden, marsa scirocco, 1st april 1800. "my lord, "i most sincerely congratulate your lordship on the capture of le guillaume tell, the thirteenth and last of the line of battle ships of the famous egyptian squadron. i would have given one thousand guineas your health had permitted your being in the foudroyant. i hear le guillaume tell is dismasted, and foudroyant little better. i have sent three top-masts, spare-sails, lower and top-gallant caps, spars, &c. to refit, and make jury-masts. as i do not feel authorized to send any of these prisoners away until i hear from your lordship, i have sent two transports to take them in. the maltese seamen i shall divide; the miserable wretches that vaubois was sending away as lumber, i mean to _return to him_, in his own way--put them on the glacis, and fire on them if they attempt to come away. i really think, the officers should not be permitted to go to france for some time. their business was, to have returned with men and provisions. suppose we could get them to mahon, with orders to carry them to england in the convoy. as i shall see your lordship here soon, you can settle that then. the french wounded, i have ordered to be landed at syracuse. if the foudroyant is not ready, or in a state to fetch your lordship, what are your wishes? the other three ships are preparing to sail from valette the first wind. northumberland goes out, with my men, to-day. if the foudroyant had not come as she did, le guillaume tell would have beat all we had. the penelope is the only effective ship; if she goes, we shall be badly off. much credit is due to captains blackwood and long; the latter, i beg your lordship to recommend to the commander in chief. every thing shall be done, in my power. if the ships were here, i could soon refit them. my people begin to droop, from hard work; the prize still sticks to us. i long to get diana and justice to compleat the gang. in my former letter, i acquainted your lordship, that i every night placed a lieutenant, and three trusty men, with a night-glass, in a house close to the enemy's works, to watch the ships. the signals from them apprized the ships she was moving; and answered, fully, my expectations. rely on all and every exertion in my power. i am so busy, i have not time to write you more at present. i have the honour to be, my lord, your lordship's most obedient humble servant, "t. troubridge." "right hon. lord nelson, k.b. &c." the following is captain dixon's official account of the action, transmitted to sir thomas troubridge; and, as it contains much fuller particulars than his hasty private letter, which had been inclosed to lord nelson, it is here inserted instead of that communication. "lion, at sea, off cape passaro, 31st march 1800. "sir, "i have the honour to inform you that, yesterday morning, at nine o'clock, cape passaro bearing north half east, distant seven leagues, the french ship of war le guillaume tell, of eighty-six guns, and one thousand men, bearing the flag of contre-admiral decres, surrendered, after a most gallant and obstinate defence of three hours and a half, to his majesty's ships foudroyant, lion, and penelope. to declare the particulars of this very important capture, i have to inform you, that the signal rockets and cannonading from our batteries at malta, the midnight preceding, with the favourable strong southerly gale, together with the darkness which succeeded the setting of the moon, convinced me the enemy's ships of war were attempting to effect an escape: and which was immediately ascertained, by that judicious and truly valuable officer, captain blackwood of the penelope; who had been stationed, a few hours before, between the lion and valette, for the purpose of observing closely the motions of the enemy. nearly at midnight, an enemy's ship was descried by him; when the minorca was sent to inform me of it, giving chase himself, and apprizing me, by signal, that the strange ships seen were hauled to the wind on the starboard tack. i lost not one moment, in making the signal for the squadron to cut, or slip; and directed captain miller of the minorca, to run down to the foudroyant and alexander with the intelligence, and to repeat the signal. under a press of canvass, i chased until five in the morning, solely guided by the cannonading of the penelope; and, as a direction to the squadron, a rocket and blue light were shewn every half hour from the lion. as the day broke, i found myself in gun-shot of the chase; and the penelope, within musket-shot, raking her; the effects of whose well-directed fire, during the night, had shot away the main and mizen top-masts and main-yard. the enemy appeared in great confusion, being reduced to his head-sails, going with the wind on the quarter. the lion was run close along-side, the yard-arms of both ships being just clear, when a destructive broadside, of three round shot in each gun, was poured in, luffing up across the bow, when the enemy's jib-boom passed between the main and mizen shrouds. after a short interval, i had the pleasure to see the boom carried away, and the ships disentangled; maintaining a position across the bow, and firing to great advantage. i was not the least solicitous, either to board or to be boarded: as the enemy appeared of immense bulk, and full of men, keeping up a prodigious fire of musketry; which, with the bow-chasers, she could, for a long time, only use. i found it absolutely necessary, if possible, to keep from the broadside of this ship. after being engaged about forty minutes, the foudroyant was seen under a press of canvass; and soon passed, hailing the enemy to strike: which being declined, a very heavy fire, from both ships, broadside to broadside, was most gallantly maintained, the lion and penelope being frequently in situations to do great execution. in short, sir, after an action, the hottest that probably was ever maintained by an enemy's; ship, opposed to those of his majesty, and being totally dismasted, the french admiral's flag and colours were struck. i have not language to express the high sense of obligation which i feel myself under to captain blackwood, for his prompt and able conduct, in leading the line of battle ships to the enemy, for the gallantry and spirit so highly conspicuous in him, and for his admirable management of the frigate. to your discriminating judgment, it is unnecessary to remark, of what real value and importance such an officer must ever be considered to his majesty's service. the termination of the battle must be attributed to the spirited fire of the foudroyant; whose captain, sir edward berry, has justly added another laurel to the many he has gathered during the war. captain blackwood speaks in very high terms of the active and gallant conduct of captain long of the vincejo, during the night; and i beg to mention the services of captains broughton and miller. the crippled condition of the lion and foudroyant, made it necessary for me to direct captain blackwood to take possession of the enemy, take him in tow, and proceed to syracuse. i received the greatest possible assistance from lieutenant joseph paty, senior officer of the lion; and from mr. spence, the master: who, together with the other officers, and ship's company, shewed the most determined gallantry. captains sir edward berry and blackwood have reported to me the same gallant and animated behaviour in the officers and crews of their respective ships. i am sorry to say, that the three ships have suffered much in killed and wounded; and the loss of the enemy is prodigious, being upwards of two hundred. i refer you to the inclosed reports for farther particulars as to the state of his majesty's ships, and have the honour to remain, sir, your's most truly, manly dixon. p.s. the guillaume tell is of the largest dimensions, and carries thirty-six pounders on the lower gun-deck, twenty-four pounders on the main-deck, twelve pounders on the quarter-deck, and thirty-two carronades on the poop." sir thomas troubridge." copious as the above account of this action may seem, the following affectionate letter of sir edward berry, to lord nelson, relates so many interesting particulars of the contest, not elsewhere mentioned, and is so characteristically amiable, that it would be unpardonable to omit such a valuable document. "foudroyant, at sea, cape passaro north by east eight or nine leagues. 30th march 1800. "my very dear lord, "had you been a partaker with me of the glory, every wish would have been gratified. how very often i went into your cabin, last night, to ask you if we were doing right; for, i had nothing to act upon! i thought one ship had got out of la valette, but i did not know which. the minorca hailed me, after i had slipped; and said, captain blackwood _believed_ an enemy's ship had passed on the starboard tack. the wind was south. i came aft, and considered for two minutes; which determined me to stand on the starboard tack, one point free. this was at three quarters past twelve. after hearing guns on shore, and seeing rockets thrown up, the night remarkably dark, could just carry single reefed topsails, top-gallant sails, gib, and maintopmast staysails. at one, heard guns to the eastward, saw false fires; then, some rockets. put the helm up; brought those rockets, and false fires, to bear two points on the weather-bow; could then carry royal and top-gallant stay-sails, and reefed fore top-mast studding-sail. got her to go ten and a half and eleven knots occasionally. every now and then, saw the flashes of guns; kept steering a steady course, east north-east; set the lower studding-sail occasionally: frequently obliged to take in the royal and top-gallant stay-sails. we gained rapidly on the firing and rockets. were convinced, at three o'clock, there was a running fight, of some sort. thought it never would be day-light. praying, earnestly, for you to fly on board. at last, day-light came. saw a ship, firing into a ship with the main and mizen-topmast gone; and a ship going athwart her, firing. she wore, and the lion was to leeward. at this time, her running rigging much cut, and appeared very ungovernable; firing, occasionally, at the william tell; which i was surprised to see was not returned by the enemy, as they were within gun-shot. but it was not long, ere i had good reason to know that a most tremendous broadside was reserved for me. began to shorten sail, hauled the main-sail up, and had every gun loaded with three round shot. she was on the larboard, i on the starboard, tack; i, therefore, steered as if meaning to go to windward of her: but, determined to go close to leeward, kept the weather leeches of the main and mizen topsail lifting; and, at six, backed the main topsail, running as close as possible, to avoid touching. i went on the gangway, and desired the french admiral, who i distinctly saw, to strike; which he answered, by brandishing his sword, and firing a musket at me; and fired a most tremendous broadside in, of round, grape, musketry, and langridge. the good effects of being so close, was manifest. it was only our sails and rigging that suffered considerably, as not one running rope was left. but, if what we received was tremendous, our return was furious; and not to be stood against, but by determined veterans. the obvious effects, silenced his musketry; but not the great guns: though we could distinctly hear the shot crash through and through her, and the mainmast began to totter. fortunately, i kept way on the foudroyant: and was, though with infinite difficulty, able to wear, and give him as compleat a dose from the larboard as we had done from the starboard side; and, down came his mainmast. the action then continued, with great obstinacy. a man, in the heat of the fire, nailed the french ensign on the stump of the mainmast. by this time, our fore topmast was over the side, main topsail down, yard shot away, mizen top-gallant mast and main-sail--indeed, every sail--in tatters. the enemy's mizen-mast was gone; which enabled him to wear, and draw ahead of us. his men were on deck, very active in clearing away the wreck, regardless of the fire; and they fixed a small french admiral's flag on the stump of the mizen mast, over another ensign nailed there, which seemed to bid defiance to us. at half past seven we had separated a little, our head to his stern. the lion gave him many broadsides; but he preferred firing at us, when a gun would bear. i threw out the penelope's pendants, who had just raked the enemy, and got her within hail; and begged that blackwood would take me in tow, and get me once more close along-side the william tell: which he was in the act of performing--for, when i watched a favourable moment to call the people from the main-deck guns, and filled the main-sail, and secured the mizen-mast; and, with a few rugs forward (the sprit-sail yard, jib-boom, &c. being all shot away) got her before the wind, and had the happiness to get once more close along-side of her, the action then began again, with more obstinacy than before. our guns were admirably well served, and well directed, crashing through and through her. at eight, i began to think they were _determined_ to sink, rather than surrender; as she began to settle in the water, till her fore-mast went over the side: when, in a few minutes after, the gallant decres struck, having four hundred killed and wounded--so the prisoners report. i felt my heart expand, when i took this brave man by the hand; happy to find, he had survived so much honour. when you consider the superiority of three ships--the lion, foudroyant, penelope, and the two brigs in company with the strombolo; though the latter, of course, did not act, but it carried the appearance of numbers: on the other hand, the lion was nothing to her, only three hundred men; but that, the french admiral did not know. in short, it seems as if he considered us his only _match_; and the happiness i have experienced, in proving it, on this occasion, is a circumstance that you, my friend, can participate in. they are feelings that are familiar to you; i, happily, caught them from your lordship: and let me beg of you, on this occasion, to accept my tribute of gratitude. it is to you, i owe my success; and, by a strict observance of your order, i arrived exactly in time. i sent lieutenant bolton to take possession of the prize; but, as i had great difficulty in floating one boat, captain blackwood's officer got there before him. the admiral, of course, he carried to the lion, being the commodore; but, i hope, our officers will get promoted for it. you will see, the letter i have written you on the subject, is with a view of your inclosing it to lord spencer, if you approve of it. you know how to distribute my best wishes and regards to all your party; and that i am, my very dear lord, your affectionate, and faithful, "e. berry. "no accident by powder, but one bad cartridge, which did not communicate with any other. performed divine service, at two, and returned thanks to almighty god for the victory. i only write about this ship; having nothing to say officially, from our idea it would be wrong." on the 8th, lord nelson wrote, officially, to lord keith, the following letter, relative to this happy event. "palermo, 8th april 1800. "my lord, "i have the happiness to send you a copy of captain dixon's letter to commodore sir thomas troubridge, informing him of the capture of the william tell. the circumstances attending this glorious finish to the whole french mediterranean fleet, are such as must ever reflect the highest honour to all concerned in it. the attention of the commodore, in placing officers and men to attend the movements of the french ships, and the exactness with which his orders were executed, are a proof that the same vigour of mind remains, although the body, i am truly sorry to say, is almost worn away. then come the alacrity of the vincejo, captain long, and other sloops of war. the gallantry and excellent management of captain blackwood, of the penelope frigate: who, by carrying away the enemy's main and mizen topmasts, enabled the lion to get up; when captain dixon shewed the greatest courage, and officer-like conduct, in placing his ship on the enemy's bow, as she had only three hundred men on board, and the enemy one thousand two hundred and twenty. the conduct of these excellent officers enabled sir edward berry to place the foudroyant where she ought, and is the fittest ship in the world, to be--close along-side the william tell; one of the largest and finest two-decked ships in the world: where he shewed that matchless intrepidity, and able conduct, as a seaman and officer, which i have often had the happiness to experience, in many trying situations. i thank god, i was not present; for it would finish me, could i have taken a sprig of these brave men's laurels. they are, and i glory in them, my darling children; served in my school; and all of us caught our professional zeal and fire, from the great and good earl of st. vincent! "i am confident, your lordship will bestow the promotion in the properest manner; therefore, i have done nothing in that respect: and, on this occasion, i only beg leave to mention, that governor ball would be much flattered by the command of the william tell; and captain ormsby, a volunteer in the penelope, would be happy in filling her for him, during his very necessary attendance at malta; and, in complying with their request, your lordship will highly oblige your most obedient servant, "bronte nelson of the nile. "right honourable lord keith, k.b. &c." his lordship also wrote, this day, to earl spencer, the following very feeling letter. "palermo, 8th april 1800. "my dear lord, "i send you sir edward berry's letter, and am sure your lordship will not be sparing of promotion to the deserving. my friends wished me to be present. i have no such wish; for a something might have been given me, which now cannot. not for all the world, would i rob any man of a sprig of laurel; much less, my children of the foudroyant! i love her, as a fond father a darling child, and glory in her deeds. i am vain enough to feel the effects of my school. lord keith sending me nothing, i have not, of course, a free communication. i have wrote to him, for permission to return to england, when you will see a brokenhearted man! my spirit cannot submit, patiently. my complaint, which is principally a swelling of the heart, is at times alarming to my friends; but not to, my dear lord, your obliged and faithful bronte nelson of the nile. "if i may again say it--what would i feel, if my brother was a commissioner of the navy; for ever, grateful!" "earl spencer." the effect of this agreeable event on lord nelson's spirits, had it been followed by other pleasing circumstances, might possibly have recruited his lordship's health; but a long succession of felicity, was what he never on earth enjoyed. in a few days, without any previous notice, his friend sir william hamilton was suddenly superseded by the arrival of mr. arthur paget, as himself had recently been by lord keith. this circumstance effectually determined him immediately to quit the station. resolved not to begin either with new men, or new measures, mr. paget had no sooner delivered his credentials, than his lordship, though still much indisposed, immediately sailed for malta; with hopes of getting that business also brought to a conclusion before his return home. sir william and lady hamilton accompanied his lordship on this occasion; having agreed, that they would afterwards proceed to england together. the queen of naples, it may be presumed, was greatly affected at thus beholding the cherished friends of herself, her family, and country, suddenly torn away from situations which they had filled with so much honour to themselves, and with such advantage to the interests of the two allied sovereigns. nor could the good sense of the king fail to feel some apprehensions, that a change might prove for the worst, which was not possible to be for the better; though his envious ministers are supposed to have inspired him with flattering hopes, which he was never afterwards happy enough to see realized. her majesty, indeed, felt such alarm, even for the safety of the country, under any other protectors than those whose abilities, zeal, and fidelity, had been so long and so beneficially experienced, that she determined to take her three daughters, with her son prince leopold, to their sister, the empress, at vienna; and, accordingly, while her estimable friends were gone to malta, the queen was making preparations for accompanying them, in their way to england, as far as that imperial city. at the time of lord nelson's first conveying the king and queen of naples to palermo, three spanish ships had taken refuge in that port; two of them most immensely rich, being laden with quicksilver for the use of the south american mines, and the third a man of war to protect them. there, however, from the period of his lordship's arrival, they had continued snugly to remain; appearing rather disposed to rot in the mole, than venture out to sea with a certainty of being captured. the spanish commander was no stranger to lord nelson's circumspection; who, it will be readily imagined, was often observed to cast a longing eye on such desirable booty: and his lordship's good-humoured remarks on the excessive politeness of the fearful spaniard, whenever they met, were highly diverting to his friends. about the 20th of april, however, just before his lordship sailed for palermo, some strong indications had been manifested, of a design in these ships to attempt getting off. he had, therefore, instantly, sent judicious instructions for intercepting them to the squadron at minorca, as well as ordered express-boats on the spot to be sent in all directions with the necessary information for their being pursued, and had consequently little doubt that they must be immediately captured, should they happily venture to depart. lord nelson, and his friends, on arriving at malta, were received with the most rapturous joy. the flag of le guillaume tell was presented to his lordship, by the gallant captors; with a kindly affectionate address, on thus delivering the trophy which marked the completion of his glorious triumph over every french ship which had been encountered at the battle off the nile: and the grand illuminations which took place, on visiting governor ball's villa at st. antonia, where his lordship and friends remained two days, so greatly alarmed the french, who were unable to penetrate the cause, that they attempted to make a sortie, but were instantly driven back. about the 8th of may, amidst these pleasing attentions of his gallant brethren in arms, and the grateful inhabitants who owed so much to his lordship's protecting influence, he received letters from england which filled him with extreme concern. he learned, by these, that his noble friend, the earl of st. vincent--who had accepted a challenge sent by sir john orde, immediately after his return home, for having appointed his lordship, instead of himself, the senior officer, to the command of the squadron which had so successfully destroyed the french fleet; an intended duel, happily prevented by the interposition of the law, and the still stronger efficacy, it is said, of a positive royal injunction--now made a claim to prize-money, as commander in chief, after having quitted the mediterranean station on account of ill health. his lordship, who always felt warmly, vehemently protested against the admission of this claim, in a powerful protest, addressed to his confidential friend, mr. davison. it is to be lamented that this unfortunate affair, which was afterwards litigated, and finally decided against the earl, should have in any degree abated that ardent friendship which had, so much to their reciprocal honour and advantage, as well as to the benefit and glory of their country, heretofore subsisted between the two first naval heroes in the world! information, it appears, had reached lord keith, so long since as the beginning of april, respecting the intention of these spanish ships at palermo: for lord nelson, in a letter dated on board the foudroyant, at malta, 10th may 1800, observes that he has received his lordship's intelligence from mahon, of the 3d of april, on that subject, which is perfectly correct; and had already ordered that, in case of their preparing to leave the port, express-boats should be sent in all directions with the necessary information for their being pursued, as well as written to mahon on the occasion. these ships, however, it may be proper here to remark, though they could not elude the vigilance of lord nelson, who had narrowly watched them for upwards of seventeen months, certainly effected their escape from palermo, very shortly after his departure; and, to his lordship's infinite mortification and regret, arrived safely in spain, long before he reached england. after remaining about a month at malta, and being fully convinced, from the arrangements then made, that it must soon fall, his lordship returned to palermo; as, notwithstanding his earnest wishes for the possession of that important island, he did not chuse to be present at the time of it's actual surrender, lest his friend ball should thus lose the chief honour of the conquest. besides concerting plans for the speedy reduction of this island, his lordship, during his stay there, was busily engaged in politely closing his numerous public correspondences with the allied powers, the barbary states, and the respective british envoys, &c. at the various courts. on arriving at palermo, the latter end of may, every preparation was made, by his lordship, and sir william and lady hamilton, for immediately going to england. one of the chief objects of his lordship's attention, had been to promote, by all possible means, the general and individual prosperity of bronte; by enriching the country with the improvements of agriculture, and preserving the people from oppression. he selected, with this view, a governor, of unimpeachable honour, and of uncommon abilities in directing agricultural operations. the name of this gentleman was graffer; and he had, already, for some time, acted in that capacity, highly to the satisfaction of his lordship. the following letter to sir john acton, occasioned by some interesting communications from mr. graffer, not only affords a satisfactory proof of that gentleman's integrity, but a fine picture of his lordship's ever anxious regard to the comfort of those who had claims on his powerful and benign protection. "palermo, 2d june 1800. "sir, my object, at bronte, is to make the people happy, by not suffering them to be oppressed; and to enrich the country, by the improvements of agriculture. for these reasons, i selected mr. graffer, as a proper person for governor; as his character for honesty is unimpeachable, and his abilities as an agriculturist undeniable: and yet, it would appear, that there are persons who wish, for certain reasons, to lessen the king's most magnificent gift to me; and, also, to make the inhabitants of that country more miserable than they were before the estate came into my possession. several people who have hired farms, on the contract of not letting them to what we in england call middle-men, have already done so; and i am told, that i either have been, or am to be, induced to consent that a superior, or rather that all bronte causes, should be tried at palermo. now, as this is a measure so repugnant to justice, and which must heap ruin on those it is my wish to render happy, i intreat that, except such causes as the present laws of sicily oblige to resort to some superior court, it may never be imagined that i will consent to do an unjust act. it is possible, from my not reading italian, that i may sign a very improper paper--(which god forbid!)--if men in whom i place confidence lay it before me for my signature. in his majesty's most gracious gift of bronte, has been omitted the word fragilé a farm belonging to me. the reasons of this omission are, i fear, too clear; and, at a future day, i may lose it, and his majesty not retain it. these are, in brief, the letters of mr. graffer. i have, therefore, by his desire, to request his majesty to grant me the following favours--first, that the farm of fragilé may be inserted in the patent; secondly, that a billet-royale may be granted, to annul the present contract of the feuds of st. andrea and porticella. i send your excellency copies and extracts of mr. graffer's letters, which prove him an honest and upright man. in arranging these matters for me, it will be an additional obligation conferred upon your excellency's most obedient and obliged "bronte nelson of the nile." these requests were readily granted by his sicilian majesty; who had, this morning, transmitted his lordship the statutes of the order of st. ferdinando, accompanied by such expressions of kindness as made the most sensible impression on his lordship's mind, and filled his heart--to use his own phrase--with affection, pleasure, and gratitude. under these impressions, our hero was desirous of presenting a gold medal to the king, as a small but sincere testimonial of his esteem and regard; he sent one, therefore, accompanied by the following letter. palermo, 2d june 1800. "sire, "the almighty, who granted to my legitimate sovereign's arms the battle of the nile, impressed your majesty with a favourable opinion of me; which has led your royal heart to grant me the most distinguished honours, and a fortune which i never had an idea of expecting. i presume, therefore, to request that your majesty will permit to lay on your table a gold medal, highly flattering to your majesty's devoted and faithful "bronte nelson of the nile." "his sacred majesty, the king of the two sicilies." his lordship had intended to quit palermo on the 4th of june; but, owing to disagreeable news from vienna, respecting the successes of the french, the queen waited a few days longer. on the 8th, however, her majesty, with the three princesses, and prince leopold; sir william and lady hamilton; prince castelcicala, who was going to england on a special mission; and a numerous train of royal attendants, &c. were embarked on board the foudroyant and alexander, which immediately proceeded to leghorn. after a quick but tempestuous passage, during which his lordship was so extremely ill as to be at one time considered in a very dangerous state, they arrived in leghorn roads on saturday evening, the 14th of june; with so fresh a gale from the west, that the ships had sometimes gone more than eleven miles an hour. the weather continuing bad, they were unable to land till the 16th; when lord nelson steered his launch, which conveyed the queen and royal family on shore, where they were received with all possible honours. the governor of leghorn first conducted his illustrious guests to the cadethral; and afterwards to the palace, where the queen and royal family took up their temporary residence, while lord nelson and his friends were accommodated at the british consul's. intelligence of the unfortunate defeat of the austrians having just arrived, the queen was prevented from pursuing her journey by land, as had been originally intended; and lord nelson, and his friends sir william and lady hamilton, were pledged not to quit the royal family till they should be in perfect security. the queen of naples, on landing safely at leghorn, presented our hero with a rich picture of the king; at the back of which were the initials of her own name in diamonds, inclosed with branches of oak and laurel intertwining each other, composed of diamonds and emeralds. sir william hamilton, at the same time, received the gift of a gold snuff-box, with a picture of the king and queen set round with diamonds; and lady hamilton a most superb diamond necklace, with cyphers of all the royal children's names, ornamented by their respective hair: the queen observing, that she considered herself as indebted to her ladyship for the safety of them all, by having been the means of enabling lord nelson to fight the glorious battle off the nile, and thus become their protector. in writing to sir john acton, from leghorn, his lordship says, after mentioning the queen's agitation, on account of the unfavourable news--"your excellency will assure his majesty, in which join sir william and lady hamilton, that nothing shall make us quit the queen and royal family, until _all is safe_. and their future plans are _perfectly_ and securely settled. on every occasion," adds his lordship, "i only wish for opportunities of proving to their majesties my desire to shew my gratitude for the numerous favours, honours, and magnificent presents, they have heaped upon me." lord nelson now first heard of the attempt on our sovereign's life, by hatfield, the lunatic, who fired a pistol at the king from the pit of drury lane theatre, on the 15th of may 1800. "the queen of naples," says his lordship, writing to lord keith, on the 18th of june, "waits here, with impatience, news from the armies; for, if the french beat, i have only to return with my sacred charge: but, a very few days must decide the question. what a sad thing," feelingly exclaims our hero, "was the attempt on our good king's life! but, from what i hear, it was not a plan of any jacobin party, but the affair of a madman." after remaining about a month at leghorn, his lordship was called early out of bed, one morning, by a message from the palace, informing him of an insurrection of the people. the french army being then at lucca, only twenty-four miles distant, the populace had assembled in great force, with arms snatched from the arsenal, and expressed their determination to secure the queen and royal family, for the purpose of detaining lord nelson also; as they knew, they said, that he would not depart without her majesty, and they wanted him to lead them against the french, whom they were resolved to attack under the command of the invincible hero. it was with the utmost difficulty, that his lordship, with sir william and lady hamilton, could force their way to the palace, through the assembled multitude; where the queen, and royal offspring, appeared in a balcony, anxious for the approach of their friends and protectors. lady hamilton, however, had the address to gain over one of the ringleaders; by assuring him that lord nelson was their friend, and wished to deliver his sentiments as soon as he could reach the palace, where the queen waited his arrival. having, at length, by this man's assistance, penetrated to the balcony of the palace, lady hamilton, at the request of lord nelson, who was unable to speak the italian language, addressed the populace in his lordship's name. her ladyship began, accordingly, by remonstrating on the impropriety of thus violently surrounding an amiable and illustrious queen, and her royal offspring, whose powerful and sovereign protector was in a distant country, with weapons of war in their hands; and positively declared, that his lordship would not hold the smallest communication with them, unless every man demonstrated the rectitude of his intentions, by immediately returning his arms to the public arsenal. this was attended with all the desired effect: the insurgents signified their acquiescence, by repeated shouts of approbation; and instantly proceeded to deposit their arms in the place from whence they had been so indiscreetly taken. the queen, and royal family, in the mean time, being exceedingly terrified, retreated on board the alexander; from whence they landed in the night, and set off for florence, distant sixty-two miles, in their way to ancona. his lordship, and friends, followed next morning; the whole forming a train of fourteen carriages, and three large baggage-waggons. after remaining two days at florence, where they also received the most respectful attentions, they proceeded to ancona, a journey of about four days. here they continued nearly a fortnight; and then embarked, in two russian frigates, for trieste. after a voyage of four or five days, in very boisterous weather, they arrived there on the 1st of august 1800; being the second anniversary of his lordship's glorious victory off the nile. at this, as well as every other place, they were received with universal rejoicings, and experienced every mark of honour; but the queen and sir william hamilton had both caught violent colds on board the russian ship, followed by a dangerous degree of fever, which confined them upwards of a fortnight, and considerably alarmed their friends. from trieste, the queen, immediately on her recovery, departed for vienna: and lord nelson, with sir william and lady hamilton, two days afterwards; accompanied by mr. anderson, the british vice-consul, who offered his services in conducting them thither, being perfectly familiar with that particular route, through the provinces of carniola, carinthia, stiria, and into austria. his lordship, and friends, having travelled to vienna, in about a week from the time of leaving trieste, were privately introduced to their imperial majesties, by the queen of naples, who had arrived two days before them. the empress afterwards held a grand circle, to receive her royal mother publicly: when lord nelson, and sir william hamilton, were also publicly presented by their friend lord minto, the british ambassador; and lady hamilton, by lady minto. on the day after lord nelson's arrival, the party having intended to quit vienna almost immediately, and none of them understanding the german language, mr. oliver, an english linguist residing in that city, was engaged by his lordship, to act as confidential secretary and interpreter, and accompany them to england; this gentleman having been long known to sir william hamilton, who had many years before recommended him to be employed, occasionally, by the king of naples, in procuring carriages, horses, curious animals, and various other articles of pleasure and amusement, from london. the very flattering attentions universally paid to lord nelson and his friends, added to the slow recovery of sir william from the consequences of his recent indisposition, and the unwillingness which they all felt to accelerate their affecting separation from the good queen, detained them in the fascinations of this charming city six weeks. so attractive was our hero, wherever he went, that his presence drew all the best company thither: and the proprietors of the several theatres, alarmed at his lordship's confining himself, for a few nights, to one of them in particular, protested all the rest were deserted; and that they should be entirely ruined, unless he kindly condescended to visit them by turns, which he accordingly promised, and faithfully performed. the journey, which had proved too fatiguing for his friend, sir william hamilton, seems to have nearly restored our hero to perfect health; who, on his first arrival at leghorn, had been so extremely indisposed, as to be four days out of seven confined to his bed. in truth, besides the salutary changes of air, in the different climates thus rapidly passed, from the excessive enervating heats and sultry breezes of italy, to the corroborating cool temperature of the austrian refreshing gales; his lordship's ever active mind felt now not only delivered from the thraldom of a controuled and perplexed command, but was invigorated by the boundless admiration he beheld, at each stage of his progress, and through every varying country which he travelled, affectionately and respectfully tendered to it's indubitable and transcendent worth: even the barriers, like our turnpikes, were all thrown open on his approach, and the whole company, sanctioned by the hero's presence, permitted gratuitously to pass. such public testimonies of universal esteem, could not fail to exhilarate his heart, and fortify it against the depressive influence of any deficient kindness where he felt himself still more entitled to receive it. to enumerate all the instances of affectionate respect which his lordship and friends experienced while at vienna, would be quite an impracticable task. some of them, however, must by no means be omitted. the prince and princess of esterhazy invited them to their delightful palace at eisenstadt, one of the frontier towns of hungary, about forty miles from vienna. here they were entertained, for four days, with the most magnificent and even sovereign state. a hundred grenadiers, none of them under six feet in height, constantly waited at table, where every delicacy was sumptuously served up in profusion: a grand concert, too, was given in the chapel-royal, under the direction of the chief musician, the celebrated haydn; whose famous piece, called the creation, was performed on this occasion, in a stile worthy of that admirable composer, and particularly gratifying to those distinguished amateurs of musical science, sir william hamilton and his most accomplished lady. the prince and princess had, a few years before, during a residence of several months at naples, received such polite attentions from, and been so splendidly entertained by, sir william and his lady, that they repeatedly promised to evince their gratitude, should the opportunity ever offer; which now happily occurred, and was nobly embraced, to the extreme gratification of all parties. the archduke albert, the emperors uncle, formerly governor of the low countries, gave a grand dinner to his lordship and friends, at the au gardens, near vienna: which was likewise honoured with the presence of the elector of cologne, another uncle of his imperial majesty; the prince of wirtemberg; his brother, the governor of vienna; all the foreign ministers; and about fifty other persons of the first nobility. an aquatic fête was also given by the count bathiani, on the danube, within a mile of vienna; where lord nelson was particularly invited to see some experiments made with a very large vessel, which had been projected and constructed by the count, having machinery for working it up against the powerful stream of that rapid torrent. this vessel had been so splendidly prepared for the reception of the illustrious guests, that it would not have disgraced a congress of sovereigns. the party were served with coffee, fruits, cakes, ices, &c. in the utmost profusion, and were much pleased with their entertainment; but his lordship did not appear to consider the count's plan, though prodigiously ingenious, as likely to answer the intended purpose. the pleasure of the day was considerably enhanced, by their having previously formed a fishing-party, and dined on what they caught by angling, which was sir william hamilton's favourite diversion, at bridgid au, near the au gardens; two long-boats having conveyed the company to that charming place, with an excellent band of music. arnstein, too, the banker, at vienna, a most opulent, liberal, munificent, and benevolent jew, whose family may be considered as the goldsmids of germany, gave a grand concert, and splendid supper, to his lordship and friends; at which all the foreign ministers and principal nobility were present. though the queen of naples insisted on defraying all sorts of expences incurred by his lordship and friends during their stay at vienna, whither they had so handsomely escorted her--and who had, accordingly, every thing prepared for them at the palace, and regularly sent--they constantly purchased, without her majesty's knowledge, whatever they might happen to want. mr. oliver, being one day informed that the champagne was nearly exhausted, went immediately in search of a fresh stock. it being a prohibited article at vienna, the merchant whom he applied to, observed that he did not sell it. mr. oliver then asked, where he could procure some, as he feared his lordship would have none at table. "what!" said the merchant, "do you want it for the great lord nelson?" on being answered in the affirmative, he immediately replied--"then you shall take as much as you like; for, no man on earth is more welcome to any thing i have." mr. oliver took only two bottles, as the owner positively refused to receive any money from his lordship; who, with his usual benignity of heart, on being informed of this generous act, immediately invited the merchant to dine with him next day. at the earnest request of the queen of naples, their departure from vienna had been put off for several days; when it could no longer be protracted, this dreaded separation took place at the imperial palace of schoenbrun, situated on the river wien, which gives name to the city of vienna, from whence the palace is only two miles distant. the queen was prodigiously affected, and earnestly intreated lady hamilton to return with her to naples. sir william, too, her majesty remarked, when he had transacted his business in england, whither he was for that purpose accompanying his illustrious friend, would find the soft climate of italy far more congenial to his constitution than the damp atmosphere of his own native country. neither sir william, nor his lady, however, could listen to any arrangement which must subject them to even a temporary separation from each other. their domestic happiness, notwithstanding the very considerable disparity of age, was ever most exemplary; and it seems probable, that the amiable demeanour of lady hamilton, whose tender regard for sir william could not fail to excite the admiration of every virtuous visitor, first gave birth to that ardent friendship by which lord nelson unquestionably felt himself attached to her ladyship. when the queen of naples found, that nothing could induce sir william to leave his lady behind, her majesty immediately wrote an instrument, appointing lady hamilton to receive, for her eminent services, an annuity of one thousand pounds a year. this, however, sir william positively objected to her ladyship's accepting. he maintained, that he could not suffer his lady to take it, without subjecting them both to unmerited suspicions at home; and her ladyship, impressed with similar sentiments, instantly tore the paper in pieces. the queen of naples, however, persisting in her desire to promote, if possible, the interests of her estimable and beloved friends, now penned an elegant epistle to her britannic majesty, in which she is said to have recommended sir william and lady hamilton as worthy of receiving every possible honour. the travelling party, who proceeded from vienna, on the 26th of september 1800, with lord nelson, and sir william and lady hamilton, including domestics, consisted of seventeen persons. the archduke charles had written to his aunt, the queen of naples, soon after her arrival, intreating that lord nelson might be requested to visit him at prague, in the way to dresden; being himself so extremely ill, that he was unable to pay the british hero his respects at vienna, as had been his most earnest wish. his lordship, accordingly, on arriving at prague, the capital of bohemia, had an immediate interview with that great military hero. he was accompanied, as usual, by his friends sir william and lady hamilton, to the palace; and was so delighted with the archduke, that he said, when he got into the carriage, returning to their hotel--"this is a man after my own heart!" the next day, being the anniversary of our hero's birth, michaelmas-day 1800, the archduke charles gave a grand entertainment; verses written for the occasion were published in the newspapers; and the whole city was illuminated. sir william hamilton politely remarked, at this festival, with one of these two renowned heroes on each side of him, that he had then the honour to be between the greatest naval and the greatest military character in europe. on the following day, lord nelson departed for dresden, the capital of saxony; and, after a few stages, quitting the direct road, turned off towards the upper elbe, for the purpose of embarking at leitmeritz, and proceeding down that celebrated river: a circuitous but agreeable route, to which his lordship had been recommended, that he might escape the rough and dangerous passes, and stoney roads, of the dreadful mountain and limitropic barrier of peterswald, which extends to within two stages of dresden. his lordship was much amused by this freshwater voyage; and viewed with delight the stupendous rocks of basaltes through which the elbe here securely wound it's way, amidst scenes of such impressive grandeur. in two days they reached dresden, and took up their residence at the great hotel: where they were immediately visited by mr. elliot, the british minister; who is a brother of lord minto, our hero's early, great, and invariable, friend. prince xavier, the elector of saxony's brother, came also, the same day, to pay his grateful respects to sir william and lady hamilton, in return for their polite attentions to his highness while at naples, where he had been for two months entertained by their excellencies; as well as to be introduced to our immortal hero, whom he was induced emphatically to denominate, on this occasion, "_the glory of the world_." a message having been sent, from the elector, that the celebrated dresden gallery would be open for the inspection of his lordship and friends, sir william's love of the arts soon led them thither; and the ladies of the electoral court, who had given orders to be informed when they should arrive, contrived to gratify their curiosity, by thus gaining a sight of our hero, previously to his public introduction. the party remained eight days at dresden, while two gondolas were fitted up with chambers, and other conveniences, to convey them to hamburgh; having a small boat attached to one of them, for the purpose of sending occasionally on shore. during the time of making these preparations, there was a grand entertainment given to them at court; they visited all public places; and accepted invitations to dine with the different foreign ministers. the company having embarked with the english coach, baggage, and eleven male and female servants, they quitted dresden, and proceeded to magdeburg. at every place where they touched, assembled crowds lined the shore; all so anxious to see the british hero, that they are said to have remained, in many different stations, two or three days and nights, purposely to behold him pass. at magdeburg, where they landed, and remained one whole day, the king of prussia had ordered a guard of honour to attend his lordship. the curiosity of the crowd was here so great, that the master of the hotel where the party were entertained, gained no inconsiderable sum of money, by permitting the people to mount a ladder, which enabled them to view the hero and his friends through a small window. on leaving magdeburg, in the evening, they were still more numerously attended than they had been at landing, in the morning; and the multitude testified their delight, by every customary expression of joy. lord nelson, who had never, till this journey, experienced the pleasures of travelling by any inland navigation, was anxious to behold, and inquisitive to know, every thing. when night came on, his lordship and sir william hamilton often amused themselves, by playing together their favourite game of cribbage: and, not unfrequently, while passing down this river, was the hero's busy mind actively employed in forming new plans for future naval attacks; the operations of which, he fully demonstrated to his admiring friends, by instantaneously sketching rough and hasty illustrations of his ideas, must necessarily prove so decisively successful, that the affair off the nile, the hero maintained, would hereafter be considered as nothing. mr. oliver, his lordship's confidential secretary and interpreter, who had, during the whole of this voyage, been occasionally dispatched on shore with a servant, in the small boat rowed by two men, was landed within two stages of hamburgh, to take a post-carriage; announce their approach; and prepare the apartments for their reception, which had been hired by the british consul: and, on the twelfth day after quitting dresden, the party arrived safely at hamburgh, where they were greeted with the most rapturous rejoicings. the people of all descriptions, in this motley city, hailed our hero with the most perfect unity of sentiment; and, at the theatres, and other public places, even the hat with the gallic tri-coloured cockade of republicanism was waved with exultation and applause, on beholding the chief champion of royalty and prime protector of kings. such was the acknowledged glory of all his public actions, and such the universal sense of respect for the various known virtues of his private character, that every good and great mind aspired to claim for itself the privilege of regarding him as a brother. the honours which his lordship here received were greater, perhaps, than had ever been before paid to any individual by the joyful inhabitants of this then free commercial city. the grand governing bodies, every illustrious personage, and all the most opulent merchants, vied with each other in testifying the happiness they felt on thus having the first hero of the world among them. at a grand fête given by the english merchants to lord nelson and his friends, his lordship, after dinner, addressed the company, consisting of all the principal people of hamburgh, in a very admirable speech, expressive of the high sense which he entertained of their indulgent regards: and having, a few days before, been to visit the british consul at altona, who was a brother of his friend captain. cockburne, from whence his lordship, with sir william and lady hamilton, had not returned to hamburgh till after the gates had been long closed, and were consequently under the necessity, of waiting a considerable time before permission could be obtained for admitting them into the city; his lordship, ingeniously adverting to the circumstance, remarked that he had happily experienced a specimen of the difficulties which the french were likely to encounter, should they ever approach the gates of hamburgh; and trusted that the worthy inhabitants would always be found ready as obstinately to defend them against their worst enemies, as they had recently done against their most sincere friend. lord nelson, at this fête, lost one of the large diamonds from the grand sword given to him by the king of naples; which, notwithstanding the greatly boasted security of property, from the depredations of theft, in this well-governed city, was never afterwards recovered by his lordship. the merchants, however, much to their honour, would have replaced it by another of equal value, at the expence of eight hundred pounds, but his lordship could not be induced to accept any gift on such an occasion. among the numerous interesting occurrences while lord nelson and his friends remained at hamburgh, there are some which seem to merit particular notice, as highly illustrative of amiable characteristics both in our hero himself and the generality of the different persons to whom they also relate. a venerable clergyman, apparently between seventy and eighty years of age, was perceived one morning by his lordship, with a large book under his arm, anxiously looking towards the door of his apartment, with the most expressive solicitude depicted in his countenance. his lordship, immediately, with his ever prompt kindness and humanity, desired mr. oliver to enquire what was the object of his wish. having learned, that he was the pastor of a place forty miles distant, who had travelled thus far with his parochial bible, in the first leaf of which he wanted the immortal hero to inscribe his name, his lordship instantly admitted him into his presence; readily complied with his request; and then, taking him kindly by the hand, heartily wished the patriarchal and spiritual shepherd a safe return to his rural flock. the aged and pious minister suddenly dropped on his knee: fervently imploring heaven to bless his lordship, for so generously condescending to indulge his wish; and solemnly declaring that he should now be happy till it pleased god to call him, when he would die contented, having thus done homage to, and obtained favour from, "_the saviour of the christian world_." another circumstance, of still greater singularity, occurred at hamburgh, relative to a wine-merchant. this gentleman, who was likewise more than seventy years of age, and of a very respectable appearance, had requested to speak with lady hamilton. her ladyship, accordingly, condescendingly admitted him to a private audience; when he informed her, through the medium of mr. oliver, who interpreted for both parties, that he had some excellent old rhenish wine, of the vintage of 1625, and which had been in his own possession more than fifty years. this, he said, had been preserved for some very extraordinary occasion; and one had now arrived, far beyond any he could ever have expected. in short, he flattered himself that, by the kind recommendation of her ladyship, the great and glorious lord nelson might be prevailed onto accept six dozen bottles of this incomparable wine: part of which, he observed, would then have the honour to flow with the heart's blood of that immortal hero; a reflection which could not fail to render himself the most fortunate man in existence, during the remainder of his days. his lordship being informed of these curious particulars, immediately came into the apartment, and took the old gentleman kindly by the hand, but politely declined his present. he was, however, finally persuaded to accept of six bottles, on condition that the worthy wine-merchant should dine with him next day. this being readily agreed, a dozen bottles were sent; and his lordship, jocosely remarking that he yet hoped to have half a dozen more great victories, protested he would keep six bottles of his hamburgh friend's wine, purposely to drink a bottle after each. this his lordship did not fail to remember, on coming home, after the battle of copenhagen; when he "_devoutly drank the donor_." it is said, that this winemerchant, soon after lord nelson had first taken him by the hand, happening to meet with an old friend, who was about to salute him in a similar way, immediately declined the intended kindness, and said he could not suffer any person to touch the hand which had been so highly honoured by receiving that of lord nelson. certain it is, that this man felt so overcome by his excessive sensibility, that he literally shed tears of joy during the whole time he was in our hero's presence. at a grand public breakfast, given to lord nelson and his friends, by baron berteuil, formerly the french ambassador at the court of naples, the celebrated general dumourier was introduced to his lordship. lord nelson, notwithstanding his general aversion to frenchmen, had a favourable opinion of this able and intelligent officer; and said to him, that he hoped they should both, in future, fight hand in hand for the good cause: adding, as there was then some prospect of general dumourier's being employed in the british service, that there was no person, if we were to have joint operations by sea and land, with whom he would sooner act. the general was so overpowered by this generosity and grandeur of soul in our hero, that he could only articulate--"great nelson! brave nelson! i am unable to speak. i cannot make any reply to your goodness!" his lordship, finding the circumstances of general dumourier very humble, for a man of his merits, kindly sent him a weighty purse, next day, by mr. oliver, to whom the general feelingly expressed the utmost thankfulness. while lord nelson remained at hamburgh, he received, one morning, a very extraordinary visit. an englishman, of gentlemanly address, called on his lordship, and requested to speak with him in private. sir william hamilton, conceiving the stranger's appearance to be suspicious, particularly as he held one hand under his coat, advised his lordship not to withdraw. our hero replied that, though he had never before differed with sir william in opinion, he must decidedly do so now. he felt conscious, be said, that he had done no ill; and, therefore, dreaded none. he then, with firmness, bade the stranger follow him into another apartment; who soon gave his lordship to understand, that he was no less a personage, than the famous major semple, of swindling notoriety. with a considerable degree of feeling, he detailed his miserable situation: an outcast from society; in the deepest distress; avoided, and despised, by every body. lord nelson protested, that he had not expected the honour of such a visit; but, nevertheless, returning to sir william and lady hamilton, and mentioning who it was, kindly asked--"what shall we do for the poor devil?" they accordingly gave him, between them, a purse of twenty guineas: his lordship tenderly remarking, that he seemed a man of talents; who had, probably, from some first error of early life, unchecked by friendly advice or assistance, finally sunk into a state of, perhaps, irrecoverable ignominy. his lordship, on arriving at hamburgh, had written for a frigate, to convey him and his friends to england; but, as it was not sent, he hired a packet at cuxhaven, which was sent up the river, as far as the villa of mr. power, about five miles from hamburgh: where the party embarked; and, after a voyage of five days, in very stormy weather, arrived off yarmouth, on thursday the 6th of november. a pilot immediately came out, on beholding them in the offing; but, awed by his sense of danger, and the consideration of who and what were on board, he was afraid to undertake getting the vessel in. lord nelson, who thought a seaman ought not to fear any thing, asked him if it were not his trade; and, immediately ordering him a glass of liquor, said it would inspirit him to take the ship over the bar, where the pilot had expressed his opinion there was by no means a sufficient depth of water. his lordship, however, was resolved that the experiment should be tried: and, accordingly, they got safely into the harbour; though not without a considerable degree of that horrible grating of the ship's bottom, while forcing it's way through the sands, which so often thrills those who navigate this perilous road. the weather being bad, his lordship and friends, on landing, went into a carriage; from which the shouting multitude, who had hailed his arrival, instantly detached the horses, and drew them to the wrestlers inn. all the ships in the harbour hoisted their colours, and every honour was paid to his lordship by admiral dickson, the then commander of the fleet. the mayor and corporation of yarmouth immediately waited on his lordship with the freedom of the town; which, in consequence of his eminent services, had been previously voted. with the blundering fatality, however, that seldom fails to mark some member in almost every town-corporate, on any extraordinary occasion, when the usual oath was tendered to his lordship, who placed his left and only hand on the book, the officer who administered it incautiously exclaimed--"your right hand, my lord!" his lordship, with a good-humoured smile, mildly reminded him that he had no right hand. the surrounding company, however, were less merciful; and not only indulged an immediate hearty laugh at his expence, but sarcastically fastened on him, for ever after, the unfortunate phrase--_"your right hand, my lord_!" in the mean time, all the troops quartered in the town paraded before the inn, with their regimental band; paying every military honour to his lordship, and firing _feux de joie_. the corporation, after presenting lord nelson with the freedom, went in procession, with his lordship, to church; whither he was also attended by all the naval officers on shore, as well as the principal inhabitants, who joined his lordship in this public thanksgiving to the almighty, on thus landing in his native country. at night, the whole town was illuminated, bonfires were kindled, and discharges of musketry and ordnance continued till midnight. on quitting the town, next day, the corps of volunteer cavalry, commanded by william palgrave, jun. esq. now collector of the customs at the port of yarmouth, and who had paid his lordship and friends the most polite attentions, unexpectedly drew up, saluted, and followed the carriage; not only to the town's end, but as far as the extreme boundary of the county of norfolk: a mark of respect, which too sensibly impressed his lordship, ever to be forgotten; and, accordingly, he never afterwards went to yarmouth, without making his first visit to mr. palgrave. in suffolk, his lordship was no less honoured than in his native county. the people of ipswich came out to meet him, and dragged the carriage a mile into town; and, on his leaving it, drew it three miles out. when his lordship was captain of the agamemnon, he had felt desirous to be returned member for this town, and some leading men of the then corporation had been consulted by a friend. the terms, however, were such as could not be listened to; and his lordship, shrewdly observing that he would endeavour to find a preferable path into parliament--meaning, no doubt, that which so honourably conducted him into the house of peers, instead of the house of commons--wrote to his sister, mrs. bolton, that there might a time come, when the people of ipswich would think it an honour for him to have ever represented them; a time which, most certainly, had now long since arrived. at colchester, in essex, and every other place through which his lordship passed, he was received with similar demonstrations of joy, and experienced every respectful attention. on sunday, the 9th, his lordship arrived in london; and immediately proceeded to nerot's hotel, king street, st. james's; where lady nelson, and his lordship's venerable father, who were just arrived from norfolk, had taken up their residence. his lordship, who was dressed in a full uniform, with three stars on his breast, and two gold medals, was welcomed by repeated huzzas from a prodigious crowd, who had followed the carriage from the moment they knew who was arrived. these affectionate testimonies of public regard, were most courteously returned by his lordship, who bowed continually to the enraptured multitude. every eye beamed with pleasure to behold him; every heart exulted in the possession of such a hero; every tongue implored blessings from heaven on the honoured protector of his country. if these were the obvious feelings of those who could boast no nearer affinity than that of being the fellow-subjects of this exalted man, what was not to be expected from such as were closely allied to him by the ties of blood: the father, from whom he derived his existence; the wife, whom he had so disinterestedly selected from society, to participate in all his earthly honours and enjoyments? that his worthy father did, indeed, receive him with a heart which overflowed with paternal love, is not to be doubted: to the christian and the father, however, was he indebted for the ardent and sincere embrace; while the tear of rapture was blended with that of regret, drawn by imputations of apprehended private guilt dreadfully detracting from the honourable list of his son's known public virtues. the duteous hero, unconscious of crime, happily perceived not, in his beloved father, any symptoms of suspicion. at the obvious coldness of her ladyship, however, the warmth of his affectionate heart felt a petrifying chill, which froze for ever the genial current of supreme regard that had hitherto flowed with purity through the inmost recesses of his soul. this is a topic which must, for evident reasons, be touched with a tender hand. woe to the woman who, wedded to a man with superlative merits, whatever they may be, which are acknowledged and admired by all the world, feels alone insensible of her husband's transcendent worth! where there is genius, the warmth of affection is seldom wanting; if it be not returned with ardour, it kindles into a fierce and dangerous flame. lady nelson's ideas were so little congenial with those of his lordship, that she is said never to have asked him a single question relative to that glorious victory which had so astonished the world. on the contrary, all the scandalous insinuations, and licentious remarks, with which the jacobinical foreign journalists had filled their pestiferous pages, relative to our hero and his friends in italy, and which had found their way into the most thoughtless and depraved of our own newspapers, were preserved for his lordship's immediate amusement. without introducing the reader behind the sacred veil of the connubial curtain, let it suffice to say, that lord nelson rose at an early hour, and went to visit sir william and lady hamilton; where, at least, he was always sure to behold the actual existence of conjugal happiness. he related, in a few words, the nature of his situation; and assured sir william that, such was his misery, it would be mercy to dispatch him. these amiable friends did all they could to tranquilize his perturbed spirits; and their soothing consolations succeeded, at length, in calming the tempest by which his feeling bosom was so cruelly agitated. a temporary reconciliation was soon effected; the contrariety of sentiment, however, between the parties, gave but little hope of it's ever proving permanent. in the mean time, as the 9th of november happened this year to be sunday, the lord-mayor's day, in london, was kept on monday the 10th; and lord nelson, being particularly invited to the civic festivity, joined the procession in it's return. his lordship was accompanied by his inseparable friend, sir william hamilton; it having been long mutually agreed, between them, that they would never visit any place where both were not equally welcome. the carriage had no sooner reached the top of ludgate hill, than the citizens took out the horses, and drew him to guildhall; the ladies, from the windows, all the way round st. paul's church-yard, along cheapside, and down king street, waving their handkerchiefs as the hero passed, and using every other expression of admiration and applause. after a most sumptuous dinner, to which the company sat down at six o'clock, had been succeeded by the usual toasts, a very elegant sword, richly ornamented--the handle being of solid gold, covered with blue enamel, and studded with diamonds, the guard supported by anchors, with the figure of a crocodile, as emblematical of the battle off the nile--and which had been voted, as formerly mentioned, immediately after receiving information of that glorioas victory, was presented to his lordship by richard clarke, esq. chamberlain of the city of london; who, at the same time, delivered the following address. "lord nelson! "in chearful obedience to a unanimous resolution of the right honourable the lord-mayor, aldermen, and commons, of the city of london, in common-council assembled, i present your lordship with the thanks of the court, for the very important victory obtained by a squadron of his majesty's ships under your command, over a superior french fleet, off the mouth of the nile, on the 1st of august 1798: a victory, splendid and decisive; unexampled in naval history; and reflecting the highest honour on the courage and abilities of your lordship, and your officers, and the discipline and irresistible bravery of british seamen; and which must be productive of the greatest advantages to this country, and to every part of the civilized world, by tending to frustrate the designs of our implacable enemy, and by rouzing other nations to unite and resist their unprincipled ambition. "as a farther testimony of the high esteem which the court entertains of your lordship's public services, and of the eminent advantages which you have rendered your country, i have the honour to present your lordship this sword. "the consequences of the action i am thus called upon to applaud, are perhaps unequalled in the history of mankind. a numerous army, which had triumphed in europe over brave and veteran troops, commanded by officers of the most established reputation, landed in egypt, under the command of him who now sways the gallic sceptre, with designs of the most ambitious and extensive nature. one of their objects, as acknowledged by themselves, was to annihilate, by degrees, the english east-india trade; and, finally, to get into their possession the whole commerce of africa and asia. such were the gigantic views of our implacable foe; and such confidence had they in the fleet which conveyed them, and in the station which it took on the coast of the devoted country, that it bade defiance to the whole navy of britain: but, at this momentous period, the almighty directed your lordship, as his chosen instrument, to check their pride, and crush their force as a maritime power during the present contest. the circumstances attending this grand display of providential interposition and british prowess, must interest the feelings of every englishman. had a space been chosen, to exhibit to the world a struggle for superiority in nautical skill, and personal valour, between the two greatest naval powers of the globe, none could have been more happily selected. the three grand divisions of the ancient world were witnesses; and the shores which had beheld the destruction of the persian navy by the greeks, and the heroic acts of sesostris, now resounded with the echo of british thunder. to your lordship belongs the praise of having added glory to such a scene: the heroes we applaud, would themselves have applauded us; and he who, ages since, led his three hundred against an almost countless host, might on that proud day have wished himself a briton. "the thanks of your country, my lord, attend you; it's honours await you: but, a higher praise than even these imply, is your's--in the moment of unexampled victory, you saved your country: in the next moment, you did still more--you exemplified that virtue which the heathen world could not emulate; and, in the pious--"_non nobis domine_!" of your modest dispatches, you have enforced a most important truth--that the most independant conqueror felt, in the most intoxicating point of time, the influence and protection of him whom our enemies, to their shame and ruin, had foolishly and impiously defied. may that same power, my lord, ever protect and reward you! may it long, very long, spare to this empire so illustrious a teacher, and so potent a champion!" to this highly respectable address, lord nelson instantly replied- "sir, "it is with the greatest pride, and satisfaction, that i receive, from the honourable court, this testimony of their approbation of my conduct: and, with this very sword,"[_holding it up, in his only hand_] "i hope soon to aid in reducing our implacable and inveterate enemy to proper and due limits; without which, this country can neither hope for, nor expect, a solid, honourable, and permanent peace." his lordship was highly gratified with his city reception, on this day of annual festivity. he was ever a great friend to the grand display of a london lord-mayor's shew: not on account of the pageantry and parade of such a public spectacle; but, as he expressed himself to his friends, for the sake of it's beneficial effects on youthful minds. it was, he contended, a holiday without loss of time: since the hope of one day riding in the gilt coach of the lord mayor, excited a laudable emulation in the breast of every ingenuous city apprentice, which made them afterwards apply themselves, with redoubled diligence, to the business of their respective masters; and, by thus fixing them in industrious habits, could not fail of proving finally advantageous to themselves. not only the city of london, but the whole nation, through every gradation of rank, from the sovereign on the throne to the occupier of the humblest hut gratefully regarded the hero of the nile as the person to whom they were chiefly indebted for the security and comfort they enjoyed; and there was, perhaps, scarcely a house which his lordship could enter, in the british dominions, or even those of our allies, where he would have been welcomed with a less affectionate aspect than his own. having taken up his residence in dover street, he naturally wished to enjoy the society of his nearest and dearest relatives; from whom he had, in the discharge of his professional duties, been so long divided. few of these, however, had, during his lordship's absence, met with any excess of respectful civilities from her ladyship; and, of course, though now affectionately invited, their visits by no means appeared to augment her felicity. lady nelson's nerves could not bear the constant presence of his lordship's young nephews and nieces; while his lordship, fond of virtue in every shape, never felt happier than when surrounded by the amiable children of his brother and sisters. here was another want of unison in sentiment; and, consequently, a considerable source of discord. it will be sufficient, to hint a few such unhappy incongruities of disposition, to account for that extreme deficiency of harmony between the parties which afterwards led to a separation by mutual consent. the present earl and countess nelson, there can be no doubt, will long remember the mortifying _hauteur_ which they so often experienced from her ladyship, even at their brother's table, as well as on other occasions, where they were then deemed of insufficient consequence to appear in company with so lofty a personage as their elevated sister-in-law, over whom they now triumph in rank: such are the fluctuations of fortune; such, not unfrequently, the salutary checks to the career of a vain ambition. lady nelson unfortunately regarded all his lordship's relations as the natural enemies of her son; whom she seems, unaccountably, to have considered as the rightful heir of her husband's honours. this improvident young man, however, far from conciliating his father-in-law's esteem, had insulted him with more grossness than his lordship ever experienced from any other person; and, consequently, estranged himself, as much as possible, from his heart. had any other human being acted exactly in the same manner, it is not improbable that his life might have paid the forfeiture. what a source was this, too, for domestic inquietude! in short, without any charge of criminality against her ladyship, the unfortunate tempers of herself and son, so little accordant with that of his lordship, conduced to render our hero, amidst all the honours he was every where deservedly receiving, the most miserable mortal in existence. after one of those too frequent domestic broils, by which his life was embittered, this exalted man, of whom the world was scarcely worthy, had wandered all night, through the streets of london, in a state of absolute despair and distraction. he rambled as far as the city; perambulated fleet market, blackfriars bridge, &c. and, exhausted with fatigue, as well as overpowered by mental suffering, reached the house of sir william hamilton, in grosvenor square, about four in the morning; where, having obtained admittance, he threw himself on the bed of his alarmed friends, in an agony of grief much too poignant for expression. the soothing voice of friendship; the sympathetic tenderness of such congenial minds; and the manifest interest which they felt in the affecting recital which his lordship ventured to unbosom; all assisted, by degrees, to calm the tremendous hurricane in his perturbed breast. after his lordship was refreshed, and had taken a little rest, his friend, sir william, persuaded him to seek that happiness in his professional pursuits, which it seemed unlikely be would ever find at home; and, that very day, it is said, his lordship offered his services at the admiralty, where they were gladly accepted. on the 1st of january 1801, he was elevated to the rank of vice-admiral of the blue: and, on the 9th, ordered to hoist his flag on board the san josef, of a hundred and twelve guns, one of the spanish prizes taken by himself in the battle off cape st. vincent, and then lying at plymouth dock; which he accordingly did, on the 17th of the same month. on the 28th, his lordship received orders to put himself under the command of his old friend, the earl of st. vincent; and, as soon as the san josef should be in all respects ready for sea, to proceed with that ship to torbay. in the mean time, the memorable quixottical insanity of the russian emperor paul, having operated, with the intrigues of france, to produce an intended naval confederacy of the northern nations against the maritime power of great britain, it was wisely determined, by the then british government, instantly to crush a design pregnant with such alarming consequences. for this purpose, a powerful fleet was now fitting out, under admiral sir hyde parker; which, while it conveyed to the triple league of the danes, the swedes, and the russians, the most unequivocal desire of preserving peace, on the part of great britain, should carry with it the fearless front of a decided readiness to commence, if necessary, immediate hostilities. lord nelson having consented to go out second in command, on this grand and most important expedition, came to london, for a few days, previously to his departure: when his lordship learned, with no small degree of surprise, that lady nelson had given up the house, and was retired to brighthelmstone. his astonishment, at thus finding himself without a house or home, is not easy to be described. he hastened to his friend sir william hamilton, and most pathetically represented his situation. sir william embraced him--"my dear friend! while i have a house, you can never want one." then, conducting him to his lady--"emma," exclaimed sir william, "lord nelson says, he has no home. i say, he has, while i have one; what say you?" her ladyship replied, that she was exactly of the same opinion. lord nelson opposed this arrangement, on account of the slanders of the world: but sir william hamilton, with a noble disdain of malevolence, felt sufficiently satisfied of the virtue in which he confided; and lady hamilton, who never opposed sir william in any thing, without affecting to raise squeamish objections, readily signified her acquiescence. lord nelson then dropped on his knee, and piously appealed to heaven, as witness of the purity of his attachment; and, with similar solemnity, they each, reciprocally, vowed an equally disinterested and indissoluble friendship. such was the bond of that sincere amity which, whatever may be said, the individuals who compose the world will generally be inclined to estimate, as they always do on such occasions, according to the larger or lesser degree of vice or virtue which they respectively find in their own hearts. from this moment, it was agreed that, while his lordship should be in england, they would constantly reside together: and, as no power on earth could have now prevailed on lord nelson again to live with his lady, who had carried her resentments much farther, in several respects, than it is thought necessary on this occasion to particularize, deeds of separation were soon after prepared and executed by mutual consent; the negociation of which was kindly undertaken by alexander davison, esq. his lordship's confidential friend. while lord nelson, the second in command, was thus seeking to escape infelicity, by a separation from his lady, which he had fully resolved should be brought to a conclusion previously to his return from this expedition; his old friend, sir hyde parker, the commander in chief, was equally desirous of securing happiness, prior to his departure, by the immediate possession of a young wife. this difference in the state of their respective domesticities by no means operated to disturb their harmony; though, doubtless, his lordship was rather in the greatest hurry to be gone. the few days while lord nelson remained in london were chiefly engaged at the admiralty; where, happily, his mind was so much absorbed by the consideration of public affairs, and the formation of due professional arrangements, that his domestic concerns found fewer intervals for their unwelcome intrusion. even while at the house of his friend alexander davison esq. in st. james's square, transacting his own private business, so intent was his lordship on the public service that, when he mentioned, at the first proposal of the copenhagen expedition, his intended going under sir hyde parker--"if," added his lordship, "i had the chief command, i know well enough what i would do." then, observing that his knowledge of the cattegat was rather imperfect, and that he should therefore wish to see a correct chart, he requested mr. davison would immediately send for one to mr. faden's shop at charing cross. this being done, he said that government could spare only twelve ships for the purpose; and, after examining the chart a very few minutes, he positively marked on it the situations of those twelve ships exactly as they were afterwards placed on that memorable occasion. this extraordinary anecdote of lord nelson, his biographer had the honour to receive from mr. davison's own lips, in the very parlour where the circumstance occurred; and it affords an admirable proof of our hero's wonderful promptness and decision, as well as of his ardent zeal for the service of his country. his lordship's flag had been shifted to the st. george, a second rate of ninety-eight guns; the san josef, which he left at torbay, being unfit for the intended service in the north seas. after joining part of the squadron at spithead, they proceeded to yarmouth, where the whole armament, consisting of fifty-two sail of various descriptions, unfortunately lessened by the loss of the invincible of seventy-four guns, which struck on a shoal off winterton, having been assembled, and fully prepared, took their departure on the 12th of march 1801. early in the morning of the 18th, land was discovered; and next day, about noon, the british fleet made the scaw, or scagen, the first general rendezvous. this low point of sandy and apparently barren land, which is the most northernly part of the peninsula of north jutland, is eleven or twelve leagues distant from marstrand island on the swedish shore. at both these points, the danes and swedes have respectively erected light-houses; for the support of which, all vessels passing the sound, or entering the swedish ports, are required to contribute: the entrance between the scaw lights and the cattegat being considered as the entrance to the cattegat. as it was well known, that the danes were making every possible effort to obstruct the passage of the sound, and render copenhagen inaccessible to the approach of gun-vessels, much surprise was expressed, at the fleet's not being ordered to pass the cattegat, with a strong north north-west wind, so highly favourable to such a design. the commander in chief, however, was probably deterred, by the nature of his instructions, from committing the country, by a forcible passage of the sound, till the effect of mr. vansittart's pacific propositions, who had preceded the fleet, on board a frigate with a flag of truce, should be first fairly ascertained. this gentleman having reached elsineur the 20th of march, proposed to the danish court, in conjunction with mr. drummond, the british minister at copenhagen, the secession of denmark from the northern alliance; the allowance of a free passage to the british fleet through the sound; and an abandonment of the system of sending convoys for the protection of danish merchant vessels. these proposals being instantly rejected, the two british plenipotentiaries received passports for their return. in the mean time, the officers and crew of the fleet, by foul winds, with heavy falls of sleet, snow, and rain, added to a chilling cold, which they particularly experienced from the 21st to the 24th, suffered considerable fatigue. this, with the delay, had a tendency to damp the ardour of the enterprise; and lord nelson, aware of all the consequences, would gladly have discarded much of that diplomatic etiquette which finally proved, as he had from the first supposed it would do, quite unimpressive with the danes. still less did he regard the discouraging suggestions of ignorant and designing pilots, whose exaggerated accounts of the difficulties to be surmounted, when the commander in chief had resolved on forcing the passage of the sound, represented the enterprise as more practicable, and less hazardous, by the circuitous passage of the great belt. though lord nelson's mind could not be thus induced to fluctuate, and was decidedly for the immediate passage of the sound, when the great belt appeared to be preferred--"let us, then, go by the great belt!" said the hero. impatient for action, he was desirous of proceeding by any way which might soonest lead to the object. on the 26th, at day-break, the fleet got under weigh, and stood to the westward; for the purpose, as was generally imagined, of passing the great belt; and captain murray, of the edgar, who had, the preceding summer, surveyed that entrance to the baltic with a degree of precision hitherto unknown, tendered his services for the purpose. the facility with which this passage might be effected, by the aid of so active and intelligent an officer, where the danes had only a single guard-ship, left little room to doubt that it would be adopted. this, however, was not done. several vessels from the baltic, on this and the following day, passed the sound, under prussian colours; and they were permitted to proceed, notwithstanding it was then sufficiently ascertained that prussia had also acceded to this confederacy against great britain. on the 27th, sir hyde parker, acting under his instructions, dispatched a flag of truce, with the following note, to the governor of cronenberg castle, "from the hostile transactions of the court of denmark, and sending away his britannic majesty's charge d'affaires, the commander in chief of his majesty's fleet is anxious to know what the determination of the danish court is--and whether the commanding officer of cronenberg castle has received orders to fire on the british fleet as they pass into the sound?--as he must deem the firing; of the first gun a declaration of war on the part of denmark. "hyde parker." to these enquiries, this answer was returned by the danish governor. "i have the honour to inform your excellency, that his majesty, the king of denmark, did not send away the charge d'affaires; but that, on his own demand, he obtained a passport. as a soldier, i cannot meddle with politics; but, i am not at liberty to suffer a fleet, whose intention is not yet known, to approach the guns of the castle which i have the honour to command. in case your excellency should think proper to make any proposals to the king of denmark, i wish to be informed thereof before the fleet approaches nearer to the castle. "heer stricker." after receiving the above reply, the british commander in chief immediately sent notice to the danish governor--that, finding the intentions of the court of denmark to be hostile against his britannic majesty, he regarded his excellency's answer as a declaration of war; and, therefore, agreeable to his instructions, could no longer refrain from hostilities, however repugnant it might be to his feelings: but that, at the same time, the admiral would be ready to attend to any proposals of the court of denmark, for restoring the former amity and friendship, which had for so many years subsisted between the two courts. during these negociations, an officer of distinction, high in favour with the crown prince, coming on board the admiral, with a verbal answer to one of our proposals, and finding some difficulty in expressing, with sufficient accuracy, the sentiments of his court, was requested to communicate them in writing; when, a pen being brought for this purpose, which happened to be ill pointed, he held it up, and remarked, with a sarcastic smile--"if your guns are not better pointed than your pens, you will make little impression on copenhagen." certain it is, that the danes, who were conscious of having taken every precaution which science could suggest for the defence of their country, entertained very little doubt that the british fleet would be compelled to retire, should it even venture to make an attack. the sound was protected, on the swedish side, by the fort of helsingberg; and, on that of denmark, by the castle of cronenberg: each of them garrisoned with forces very sufficient to withstand any attack. besides this formidable opposition, numerous strong batteries were erected on the danish shore, through the tremendous fire of which it was thought quite impracticable for any hostile fleet to pass. as for copenhagen, it was, from the excellent state of it's ancient fortresses, the different batteries recently constructed, and the numerous well-disciplined troops by which they were manned, considered as absolutely impregnable. on the 28th, the order to prepare for battle was received, as usual, by the british tars, with the loudest acclamations of joy; and they were soon convinced, that the passage of the sound had been at length decided on. nothing was now wanting to their felicity, but the appointment of a popular leader: and, happily for their country, and even for those who opposed them, this service was allotted to lord nelson; who, for that purpose, had judged it advisable to shift his flag on board the elephant, commanded by his gallant and judicious friend, the honourable captain thomas foley. the ships were now cleared for action, with an alacrity and expedition almost incredible: and, on the 30th, the wind having become favourable, the british fleet weighed, and formed the order of battle, lord nelson leading the van-division; and all safely passed the sound, the celebrated key of the baltic, in about four hours, without having received the smallest damage from any of the danish artillery. the only casualty, indeed, of this day, happened on board the isis; where six or seven men were killed or wounded, by the bursting of a lower-deck gun. it is to be observed, however, that the swedish batteries were very prudently silent, which afforded our ships an opportunity of keeping at a sufficient distance from the shore of denmark; where a heavy and well-supported fire had commenced, from the whole line of their positions, at half-past six in the morning, when the monarch, which had the honour of leading the fleet, appeared sufficiently advanced to be nearly within their range: a compliment which was soon returned, and with far better effect, on the town of elsineur, by the leading ships, as well as by some of those which composed the centre and rear divisions. the danes, from a long received opinion in europe, that the possession of cronenberg castle gave them an uncontrouled command of the passage of the sound, have exacted, for more than a century, the undisputed right of levying contributions on all vessels trading to and from the baltic, in proportion to the value of the cargoes: an imposition so sanctioned by time, that they considered any augmentation to the works as superfluous; and, relying on the co-operation of the swedes, had fortunately neglected to render the approach more difficult, by forming a line of floating-batteries. the channel of the sound offers a prospect of very singular interest. on the right, appear the territories of denmark; the islands of saltholm and amak, with part of zealand; and copenhagen, the capital of the kingdom, nearly in the front. the shore of denmark presents a continued succession of fertile plains, umbrageous woods, rich meadows, rural mansions, neat villas, and embellished gardens; while the swedish side chiefly exhibits, with much excellent pasture, a mountainous and picturesque coast. the island of nuen, too, famous for the observatory of the celebrated tycho brahe, fails not to attract the attention of every curious voyager: from whence the eye, looking back, perceives the fortresses of elsineur, cronenberg, and helsingberg, apparently unite, bounding a vast lake to the north; but, on advancing, immediately descries the ocean, and the whole extent of the plain of copenhagen, with it's capacious port crouded by vessels, and it's highly cultivated environs. on the side next the sea, this city, which is visible at the distance of several miles, presents itself in all it's magnificence; and the gothic towers, with which it abounds, greatly engage the attention of every spectator, as well by the loftiness of their spires, as by the variety of their pleasingly grotesque decorations. the fortresss of fredericstadt, supported on one side by the batteries of one of the arsenals, defends the entrance of the harbour: where there is, also, another battery; and where, as at this period, in case of necessity, a number of flat-bottomed boats, and floating-batteries, may likewise be stationed. it appears that sir hyde parker had, with the soundest discretion, now left every thing, but the nominal chief command, to our hero; who, with his usual alertness on all important occasions, lost not a single moment in preparing for the grand attack of the danish capital. "the attempt," observes an ingenious eye-witness, said to be mr. fergusson, surgeon of the elephant, "was arduous in the extreme; no common mind durst have conceived it, but it was suited to the exalted heroism of his. as his was the invigorating spirit of the counsel that planned the attack; so, in the execution, he only could have commanded success." during the interval which preceded the battle, the passage to the scene of action being very little known, and extremely intricate, his lordship had the soundings accurately made under his own eye and observation, and the several buoys laid which were to direct the passage of the fleet; the vast fatigue of this employ was too much for his tender constitution, and had nearly proved fatal, but he was happily re-invigorated by his excessive zeal. with the most indefatigable attention, did he prescribe every measure to be adopted by all ranks and degrees under his command; and there was no possible position that could have been contrived by the enemy, for which he was not effectually prepared, "i could only admire," says mr. fergusson, modestly disclaiming nautical science, "when i saw the first man in all the world spend the hours of the day and the night in boats; and wonder, when the light shewed me a path, marked by buoys, which was trackless the preceding evening." it had been agreed, with sir hyde parker, that his lordship should proceed with twelve ships of the line, and all the frigates, bomb-ketches, fire-ships, and other vessels, to draco point, a short distance from copenhagen, for the purpose of making his final dispositions for the attack; waiting, there, the favourable effect of a wind to the southward: and the commander in chief was to weigh anchor, with his division, whenever his lordship should proceed to the immediate scene of action; thus menacing, by his advance, the crown batteries, together with four ships or hulks which lay near for the protection of the arsenal, as well as covering any vessels which might happen to be disabled in an attack where they must necessarily be so prodigiously exposed. being now fully prepared, his lordship, with that truly christian spirit which, in direct opposition to the puritanic cant of piety, was ever far more manifested by his actions than expressed by his lips, devoutly exclaimed--"thank god, for having enabled me to get through this difficult and fatiguing part of my duty: which has, really, worn me down; and is infinitely more grievous to me, than any resistance i can experience from an enemy!" the subsequent circumstances, as described by mr. fergusson, are so very characteristically detailed, that they cannot fail highly to interest every reader--"on the 1st of april, in the afternoon," says this ingenious gentleman, "we took our departure from the main body of the fleet, then lying about four miles below copenhagen; and coasted along the outer edge of the shoal called the middle ground, till we doubled it's farthest extremity, when the squadron cast anchor. this shoal, of the same extent as the sea-front of the town, lies exactly before it, at about three quarters of a mile in distance. the interval between it and the shore has deep water, and is called the king's channel. there the danes had arranged their line of defence, as near the town as possible. it consisted of nineteen ships and floating-batteries, flanked at the lower extremity by two artificial islands in the mouth of the harbour, called the crown batteries, and extended for about a mile along the whole extent of the town, leaving intervals for the batteries on shore to play. as our anchor dropped, at eight in the evening, lord nelson emphatically called out, that he would fight them the moment he had a fair wind. it came with the morning; and the signal to prepare for battle, floated from our mast-head. he had spent the whole night in consultation. the gallant and ever to be lamented captain riou never left him. captain hardy, too, was there, of course; and the brave and the good captain foley. to mark the spirit which the presence and example of lord nelson never failed to inspire, captain hardy, as soon as it became dark, had ventured along the enemy's line, in the smallest sized boat; and, as he went so near that the noise of throwing the lead might have discovered him, he used a long pole, or rod, on which he marked the depth of the water. about half past nine in the morning, the signals of the different ships having been made, repeated, and answered, we had the mortification to see the agamemnon get upon the edge of the shoal, on the first attempt to leave her anchorage, where she remained immovable. a similar misfortune followed, in succession, to the russell and polyphemus; and the jamaica frigate, with a convoy of gun-boats and small craft, having fallen in with a counter-current, made the signal of inability to come forward. a mind less invincible than lord nelson's, might have been discouraged. though the battle was not began, yet he had approached the enemy; and he felt that he could not retreat, to wait for reinforcements, without compromising the glory of his country. his soul, too, was ever superior to common discouragements; and, the signal to bear down still kept it's place. his agitation, during these moments, was extreme. i never shall forget the impression that it made upon me! it was not, however, the agitation of indecision; but of ardent, animated patriotism, panting for glory, which had appeared within his reach, and was vanishing from his grasp. the edgar, at last, led in. i shall not attempt to describe the scene that ensued, for language has not the power. we were received with the fire of more than a thousand guns! no sooner had all the ships got into their stations, than the countenance of our chief brightened, and his good-humour flowed. as the fire rolled, his conversation became joyous, animated, elevated, and delightful; for, confident of victory, he knew that his deck was, at that moment, the most glorious theatre of human nature. for an hour, the battle raged. our fire was regular, distinctive, and terrible; that of the enemy was becoming desultory and ill-directed. when the signal-lieutenant called out, that number 39, (to discontinue the action) was thrown out by the commander in chief, then about four miles off, lord nelson refused to believe it: but, when he was again assured, he exclaimed--"then, damn the signal; take no notice of it, and hoist mine for closer battle: that is the way i answer such signals!" it flew, at the word; and every ship engaged respected it as soon as seen. he again exclaimed--"now, nail mine to the mast!" and, turning to captain foley, with admirable good-humour said--"foley, you know i have lost an eye, and have a right to be blind when i like; and, damn me, if i'll see that signal!"--pointing to sir hyde parker's ship. at a quarter before three in the afternoon, the victory was compleat; the whole danish line, that was drawn up before the town, having struck their colours, after a dreadful defence, and their ships becoming untenable. the elephant, the flag-ship, about an hour before, in veering away cable, to get opposite the crown batteries, had stuck on a small middle shoal, and remained fast: the same misfortune had happened to the defiance; and, i believe, one more besides. to board the prizes was difficult; or, rather, impossible: for, being under the batteries of the town, no boat could approach them. lord nelson, therefore, sent a flag of truce, with the following letter- "lord nelson has directions to spare denmark, when no longer resisting; but, if the firing is continued on the part of denmark, lord nelson will be obliged to set on fire all the floating-batteries he has taken, without having the power of saving the brave danes who have defended them. "nelson and bronte, "vice-admiral, under the command of "admiral sir hyde parker. "dated on board his majesty's ship elephant, copenhagen roads, "april 2, 1801. "to the brothers of englishmen, the danes." "it may be farther characteristic of his lordship, to mention that, when a wafer was brought for the above letter, he said--"no; bring me wax, and a match: this is no time to appear hurried and informal." an unfounded idea has prevailed, that the flag of truce was sent to cover his own ships, which would inevitably have been destroyed if the danes had not been cajoled into an armistice; and the victory is, thereby, converted into a defeat: but the victory was too decisive, to be thus ravished from his grasp. the enemy were compleatly horrified and dismayed, at the carnage and ruin which a dreadful contest of five hours had involved them in. the batteries of the town were too far distant, to have much effect even upon the ships aground; sir hyde parker, with the rest of the fleet, could soon have approached; and, as to the crown batteries, which alone were to be dreaded, the following disposition was made for carrying them--as the flag of truce left the admiral's ship, fifteen hundred of the choicest boarders, who had been selected from the whole fleet previously to the action, descended into fifty boats, thirty men in each boat. these boats were to be commanded by the honourable colonel stewart, and captain freemantle. the moment it could be known, that the flag of truce was refused, the boats were to have pushed for the batteries. the fire of every gun in the fleet would have covered their approach; a few minutes would have carried them there; and let any one ask himself, what defence was to be expected from five hundred raw danish soldiers, on an ill-built battery, that gave no cover--fatigued, besides, by the carnage of a terrible battle--against such assailants, flushed with victory, and irresistible in courage." it may, however, be proper to remark, that we could have done little more than spiked the guns; as these batteries, being within the range of the fire of the citadel, were not possible to have been long retained. the following note, in answer to that sent on shore by lord nelson, was brought in a flag of truce from copenhagen, by general-adjutant lindholm. "his royal highness, the crown prince, has sent me, general-adjutant lindholm, on board, to his britannic majesty's vice-admiral, the right honourable lord nelson, to ask the particular object of sending the flag of truce?" though sir frederic thesiger, formerly a commander in the russian service, and who had been recommended, by earl spencer, to accompany lord nelson as what is absurdly denominated, with a very reprehensible spirit of gallicism to introduce into the british navy, the admiral's aide-de-camp, had carried the flag of truce, with lord nelson's note, and was authorized verbally to enlarge on the humanity of it's import, some suspicions appear to have been entertained as to the true nature and extent of his lordship's object; and, therefore, general-adjutant lindholm was thus commissioned to procure a farther explanation in writing. his lordship, accordingly, addressed to the government of denmark the following reply. "lord nelson's object in sending the flag of truce, is humanity. he, therefore, consents that hostilities shall cease, till lord nelson can take his prisoners out of the prizes; and he consents to land all the wounded danes, and to burn or remove his prizes. "lord nelson, with humble duty to his royal highness, begs leave to say, that he will ever esteem it the greatest victory he ever gained, if this flag of truce may be the happy forerunner of a lasting and happy union, between his own most gracious sovereign and his majesty the king of denmark. "nelson and bronte. "elephant, 2d april 1801." the danish government, now wisely satisfied of lord nelson's sincerity, immediately invited him on shore, that a conference might be held with the king of denmark, for arranging the preliminaries of an amicable treaty; and his lordship, without hesitation, visited copenhagen in the afternoon of this very day. on landing at the quay, the carriage of a respectable merchant, by whom it had been purposely sent, was respectfully offered to his lordship: the royal carriage, intended for our hero's conveyance, not having arrived sufficiently soon; owing to the suddenness of his arrival, and the vast press of people who had assembled to behold him. much has been said, respecting the temper of this prodigious multitude, on first seeing the british hero among them: some protesting, that the conqueror of their country in the morning, was hailed, in the afternoon, as their guardian angel--which, all things considered, he perhaps well deserved to have been; while others maintain, that the people's fury was so excessive, and their knowledge of his lordship's views so imperfect, that they were with difficulty restrained from absolutely tearing in pieces the pacific hero who had thus, inspired by the most humane and generous sentiments, fearlessly ventured his person among them. it may be very difficult, and cannot on this occasion prove of much importance, to ascertain the exact truth; which seldom resides in extremes, and is not always found precisely in the centre, where dull and formal gravity is ever induced alone to seek it. whatever might seem the momentary bias of the mob, they unquestionably proceeded to no actual outrage; and it is universally agreed, that the danes, of all ranks, were no sooner made acquainted with our hero's humane and generous motives, than they greeted him with every testimony of the truest admiration and regard. lord nelson having walked to the royal palace of the octagon, the crown prince received him in the hall; conducted him up stairs; and presented him to the king, whose very infirm state is said to have greatly affected our hero's sensibility. the preliminary objects of this impressive interview having been arranged, with every appearance of reciprocal sincerity, his lordship readily accepted an invitation to partake of some refreshment with the crown prince. during the repast, lord nelson spoke in raptures of the valour of the danes; and he is asserted to have declared that, though the french fought bravely, they could not have stood one hour the fight which the danes had maintained for four. "i have been," observed his lordship, "in one hundred and five engagements, in the course of my life, but that of to-day was the most terrible of all." it is added, that he particularly requested the crown prince would introduce him to a very young officer, whom he described as having performed wonders during the battle, by attacking the elephant immediately under the lower guns. this proved to be a youth of seventeen, named villemoes: whom the hero, on his being presented, immediately embraced with the affection of a brother; and delicately intimated, that he ought to be made an admiral. the crown prince, with peculiar felicity, instantly replied--"if, my lord, i were to make all my brave officers admirals, i should have no captains or lieutenants in my service." this heroic stripling had volunteered the command of a sort of raft, called a praam, carrying twenty-four guns, and a hundred and twenty men; on which, having pushed off from shore, in the fury of battle, he got under the stern of his lordship's ship, below the reach of the stern-chasers, and fired with considerable effect. the british marines, however, made terrible slaughter among these brave fellows; many of whom were soon killed, but their young commander still remained at his post, surrounded by the slain, till the announcement of the truce. the crown prince has since presented this youth with a medallion commemorative of his gallantry, and appointed him to the command of the royal yacht in which his royal highness makes his annual visit to holstein. on the day following, lord nelson addressed the official account of this great victory to sir hyde parker, his commander in chief. "elephant, off copenhagen, 3d april 1801. "sir, "in obedience to your directions, to report the proceedings of the squadron named in the margin--[the elephant, defiance, monarch, bellona, edgar, russell, ganges, glatton, isis, agamemnon, polyphemus, and ardent, ships of the line; the amazon, desirée, blanche, and alcmene, frigates; the dart, arrow, cruiser, and harpy, sloops; the zephyr, and otter, fire-ships; the discovery, sulphur, hecla, explosion, zebra, terror, and volcano, bombs; with eight gun-brigs]--which you did me the honour to place under my command, i beg leave to inform you that, having by the assistance of that able officer captain riou, and the unremitting exertions of captain brisbane and the masters of the amazon and cruiser in particular, buoyed the channel of the outer deep and the position of the middle ground, the squadron passed in safety, and anchored off draco the evening of the 1st: and that, yesterday morning, i made the signal for the squadron to weigh; and to engage the danish line, consisting of seven sail of the line, ten floating-batteries mounting from twenty-six twenty-four pounders, to eighteen eighteen pounders, and one bomb-ship, besides schooner gun-vessels. these were supported by the crown islands, mounting eighty-eight cannon; four sail of the line, moored in the harbour's mouth; and some batteries on the island of amak. "the bomb-ship, and schooner gun-vessels, made their escape; the other seventeen sail are sunk, burnt, or taken, being the whole of the danish line to the southward of the crown islands, after a battle of four hours. "from the very intricate navigation, the bellona and russell unfortunately grounded: but, although not in the situation assigned them, yet so placed as to be of great service. the agamemnon could not weather the shoal of the middle ground, and was obliged to anchor: but not the smallest blame can be attached to captain fancourt; it was an event to which all the ships were liable. these accidents prevented the extension of our line by the three ships before mentioned: who would, i am confident, have silenced the crown islands, the two outer ships in the harbour's mouth, and prevented the heavy loss in the defiance and monarch; and which unhappily threw the gallant and good captain riou (to whom i had given the command of the frigates and sloops named in the margin--[the blanche, alcmene, dart, arrow, zephyr, and otter]--to assist the attack of the ships at the harbour's mouth) under a very heavy fire. the consequence has been, the death of captain riou, and many brave officers and men in the frigates and sloops. the bombs were directed, and took their stations, abreast of the elephant, and threw some shells into the arsenal. captain rose, who volunteered his services to direct the gun-brigs, did every thing that was possible to get them forward, but the current was too strong for them to be of service during the action; but not the less merit was due to captain rose, and--i believe--all the officers and crews of the gun-vessels, for their exertions. "the boats of those ships of the fleet who were not ordered on the attack, afforded us every assistance; and the officers and men who were in them, merit my warmest approbation. "the desirée took her station in raking the southernmost danish ship of the line, and performed the greatest service. "the action began at five minutes past ten. the van led by captain george murray of the edgar, who set a noble example of intrepidity, which was as well followed up by every captain, officer, and man, in the squadron. it is my duty to state to you, the high and distinguished merit and gallantry of rear-admiral graves. "to captain foley, who permitted me the honour of hoisting my flag in the elephant, i feel under the greatest obligations; his advice was necessary, on many important occasions, during the battle. i beg leave to express how much i feel indebted to every captain, officer, and man, for their zeal and distinguished bravery on this occasion. colonel stewart did me the favour to be on board the elephant; and himself, with every officer and soldier under his orders, shared with pleasure the toils and dangers of the day. "the loss, in such a battle, has naturally been very heavy. amongst many other brave officers and men who were killed, i have, with sorrow, to place the name of captain moss, of the monarch, who has left a wife and six children to lament his loss; and, among the wounded, that of captain sir thomas boulden thompson, of the bellona. "i have the honour to be, with the greatest respect, sir, your most obedient humble servant, "nelson and bronte." the above letter being transmitted to england by sir hyde parker, inclosed in his dispatches to government, was afterwards published in the london gazette, preceded by the following public letter from the commander in chief. "copenhagen roads, 6th april 1801. "sir, "you will be pleased to acquaint the lords commissioners of the admiralty, that since my letter of the 23d of march, no opportunity of wind offered for going up the sound, until the 25th; when the wind shifted, in a most violent squall, from the south-west to the north-west and north, and blew with such violence, and so great a sea, as to render it impossible for any ship to have weighed her anchor. the wind and sea were even so violent, as to oblige many ships to let go a second anchor to prevent them from driving, notwithstanding they were riding with two cables an end; and, by the morning, the wind veered again to the southward of the west. on the 30th of last month, the wind having come to the northward, we passed into the sound with the fleet; but not before i had assured myself of the hostile intention of the danes to oppose our passage. after anchoring about five or six miles from the island of huen, i reconnoitred, with vice-admiral lord nelson and rear-admiral graves, the formidable line of ships, radeaus, pontoons, galleys, fireships, and gun-boats, flanked and supported by extensive batteries on the two islands called the crown; the largest of which was mounted with from fifty to seventy pieces of cannon. these were again commanded by two ships of seventy guns, and a large frigate, in the inner road of copenhagen; and two sixty-four gun ships, without masts, were moored on the flat on the starboard side of the entrance into the arsenal. the day after, the wind being southerly, we again examined their position, and came to the resolution of attacking them from the southward. vice-admiral lord nelson having offered his services for conducting the attack, had some days before we entered the sound shifted his flag to the elephant; and, after having examined and buoyed the outer channel of the middle ground, his lordship proceeded, with the twelve ships of the line named in the margin--[elephant, defiance, monarch, bellona, edgar, russell, ganges, glatton, isis, agamemnon, polyphemus, and ardent]--all the frigates, bombs, fire-ships, and all the small vessels; and, that evening, anchored off draco point, to make his disposition for the attack, and wait for the wind to the southward. it was agreed, between us, that the remaining ships with me, should weigh at the same moment his lordship did, and menace the crown batteries and the four ships of the line that lay at the entrance of the arsenal; as, also, to cover our disabled ships, as they came out of action. "i have, now, the honour to inclose a copy of vice-admiral lord nelson's report to me of the action on the 2d instant. his lordship has stated so fully the whole of his proceedings on that day, as only to leave me the opportunity to testify my entire acquiescence and testimony of the bravery and intrepidity with which the action was supported throughout the line. was it possible for me to add anything to the well-earned renown of lord nelson, it would be by asserting that his exertions, great as they have heretofore been, never were carried to a higher pitch of zeal for his country's service. i have only to lament, that the sort of attack, confined within an intricate and narrow passage, excluded the ships particularly under my command from the opportunity of exhibiting their valour: but i can with great truth assert, that the same spirit and zeal animated the whole of the fleet; and i trust, that the contest in which we are engaged will, on some future day, afford them an occasion of shewing that the whole were inspired with the same spirit, had the field been sufficiently extensive to have brought it into action. "it is with the deepest concern, i mention the loss of captains moss and riou; two very brave and gallant officers, whose loss, as i am well informed, will be sensibly felt by the families they have left behind them: the former, a wife and children; the latter, an aged mother. from the known gallantry of sir thomas thompson, on former occasions, the naval service will have to regret the loss of the future exertions of that brave officer, whose leg was shot off. for all other particulars, i beg leave to refer their lordships to captain otway; who was with lord nelson in the latter part of the action, and is able to answer any questions that may be thought necessary to put to him. a return of the killed and wounded you will receive herewith." killed. officers 20 seamen, marines, and soldiers 234--254 wounded. officers 48 seamen, marines, and soldiers 651-699 -- total killed and wounded 953 --after a week's negotiation, during which lord nelson daily went on shore, and greatly endeared himself to the virtuous of all ranks, for his amiable frankness, generosity, and honour, the following treaty was signed and sealed, as the basis of returning amity between great britain and denmark. "the danish government on the one hand--and admiral sir hyde parker, knight, commander in chief of his britannic majesty's forces in the road of copenhagen, on the other--being, from motives of humanity, equally anxious to put a stop to the farther effusion of blood, and to save the city of copenhagen from the disastrous consequences which may attend a farther prosecution of hostilities against that city, have mutually agreed upon a military armistice, or suspension of arms. his danish majesty having, for that purpose, appointed major-general ernest frederic walterstorff, chamberlain to his danish majesty, and colonel to a regiment; and adjutant-general hans lindholm, captain in his danish majesty's navy; his commissioners for agreeing about the terms of the said armistice--and admiral sir hyde parker, knight, having, with the same view, duly authorized the right honourable horatio lord nelson of the nile, knight of the most honourable order of the bath, duke of bronte in sicily, knight of the grand cross of the order of st. ferdinand and of merit, and of the imperial order of the ottoman crescent, vice-admiral in the fleet of his britannic majesty; and the right honourable william stewart, lieutenant-colonel in his britannic majesty's service, and commanding a detachment of his britannic majesty's forces embarked--the said commissioners have met this day; and, having exchanged their respective powers, have agreed upon the following terms- "article i. "from the moment of the signature of this armistice, all hostilities shall immediately cease, between the fleet under the command of admiral sir hyde parker, and the city of copenhagen, and all the armed ships and vessels of his danish majesty in the road or harbour of that city; as, likewise, between the different islands and provinces of denmark, jutland included. "article ii. "the armed ships and vessels belonging to his danish majesty shall remain in their present actual situation, as to armament, equipment, and hostile position; and the treaty, commonly understood as the treaty of armed neutrality, shall, as far as relates to the co-operation of denmark, be suspended while the armistice remains in force. "on the other side, the armed ships and vessels under the command of admiral sir hyde parker, shall in no manner whatsoever molest the city of copenhagen, or his danish majesty's armed ships and vessels on the coasts of the different islands and provinces of denmark, jutland included; and, in order to avoid every thing which might otherwise create uneasiness or jealousy, sir hyde parker shall not suffer any of the ships or vessels under his command to approach within gun-shot of the armed ships or forts of his danish majesty, in the road of copenhagen. this restriction shall not, however, extend to vessels necessarily passing and repassing through the casper or king's channel. "article iii. "this armistice is to protect the city of copenhagen, as also the coast of denmark, of jutland, and islands included, against the attack of any other naval force which his britannic majesty may now, or hereafter, during it's remaining in force, have in those seas. "article iv. "the fleet of admiral sir hyde parker shall be permitted to provide itself at copenhagen, and along the coasts of the different islands and provinces of denmark, jutland included, with every thing which it may require for the health and comfort of it's crews. "article v. "admiral sir hyde parker shall send on shore all such subjects of his danish majesty as are now on board the british fleet under his command; the danish government engaging to give an acknowledgment for them, as also for all such wounded as were permitted to be landed after the action of the 2d instant, in order that they may be accounted for in favour of great britain, in the unfortunate event of the renewal of hostilities. "article vi. "the coasting trade carried on by denmark along all such parts of her coast as are included in the operation of this armistice, shall be unmolested by any british ships or vessels whatever, and instructions given accordingly by admiral sir hyde parker. "article vii. "this armistice is to continue, uninterrupted by the contracting parties, for the space of fourteen weeks from the signature hereof; at the expiration of which time, it shall be in the power of either of the said parties to declare a cessation of the same, and to recommence hostilities, upon giving fourteen days previous notice. "the conditions of this armistice are, upon all occasions, to be explained in the most liberal and loyal manner, so as to remove all ground for farther dispute, and facilitate the means of bringing about the restoration of harmony and good understanding between the two kingdoms. "in faith whereof, we, the undersigned commissioners, in virtue of our full powers, have signed the present armistice, and have affixed to it the seal of our arms. "done on board his britannic majesty's ship the london, in copenhagen roads, april 9, 1801. "nelson and bronte. "william stewart. "ernest frederic walterstorff. "hans lindholm. "in pursuance of my abovementioned authority, i ratify this document with my hand- "frederic. "ratified by me- "hyde parker, admiral and commander in chief of his britannic majesty's fleet." the danes had great reason to be satisfied with the liberality of this armistice; the conditions of which certainly were, on our part, most strictly performed. it will appear that, on the part of denmark, this was not precisely the case. lord nelson's conduct, however, at once firm and conciliating, procured justice to his country without again resorting to arms. the first blow had been struck by denmark, and she had suffered for her rashness and temerity. even in passing the sound, her guns evinced the disposition, but happily possessed not the power, to injure the british fleet. a very heavy fire was kept up by the danes, but none of our ships received a shot. in the mean time, we had several bomb-ships firing on the town of elsineur, the shells from which killed upwards of a hundred and fifty people on shore. at copenhagen, still more confident in their strength, they had made every arrangement for the destruction of our fleet, but no preparation for the defeat of their own. shielded by nature with dangerous shoals, and fortified by art with powerful batteries, they seemed rather to invite, than to dread, any hostile attack. they reflected not, that the hero coming against them was no less expert as a navigator than as a warrior, and scarcely more a seaman than a soldier. happily his heroic heart was replete with humanity, and his dreadful ability to shed human blood only surpassed by his ardent desire to spare it's unnecessary effusion. the danes, trusting to the strength of their grand line of defence, composed of eighteen ships, block-ships, floating-batteries, &c. which were all, in a few hours, sunk, burnt, or taken, had neglected to engage surgeons for their wounded defenders; who were found bleeding to death, on boarding the different captured vessels, in prodigious numbers, and afforded a shocking spectacle of horror to our brave but humane seamen. to preserve his fellow creatures from wanton destruction, the hero's flag of truce unfurled; a pause was thus obtained; reason had time to operate; and the basis was immediately laid for a renewal of that amity which had happily prevailed, for a long series of years, between the two nations, though anciently the fiercest foes. the news of this victory was received in england with the utmost rejoicing; nor did the temper of the people fail to participate in their favourite hero's generous sentiments towards the brave but vanquished danes. they considered denmark as having been unwillingly dragged into the confederacy; they admired the patriotic courage of her misdirected sons; and generously lamented the cruel necessity of thus compelling them to relinquish a league, which had for it's object, beneath the artful veil of a generous love of liberty, that has sufficiently deluged the earth with blood, the unjust and absurd view of destroying the maritime power of great britain, by which the freedom of the, seas is alone preserved to the honourable commerce of all civilized nations. on the 16th of april, the earl of st. vincent, then first lord of the admiralty, made a motion in the house of peers--and mr. addington, now lord sidmouth, then chancellor of the exchequer, in the house of commons--of thanks to sir hyde parker, lord nelson, rear admiral graves, and the rest of the officers, seamen, and marines, for their very exemplary bravery displayed in the great and glorious victory atchieved at copenhagen; which were carried, in both houses, with acclamations of unanimous applause. the duke of clarence observed, of his old friend, lord nelson, whom he ever loved and revered, that fortune seemed to back his courage and intrepidity, in every enterprise he engaged; and acknowledged his own obligations, as a prince of the blood, to the gallant commanders, and to the whole fleet, for the accomplishment of a victory which, probably, in it's effects, would restore the possessions on the continent to his family, together with the peace and security of the british empire, and of europe. about a month afterwards, lord nelson was elevated to the rank of viscount of the united kingdom of great britain and ireland, by the name, stile, and title, of viscount nelson of the nile, and of burnham-thorpe in the county of norfolk; an additional honour which was generally and justly considered, at the time, and must ever be regarded by posterity, as by no means equal to his high deserts. in the mean time, immediately after signing the convention with denmark, russia and sweden remaining still unattacked, sir hyde parker had proceeded to the eastward, with such ships as were in a condition for service: leaving lord nelson at copenhagen, with orders to repair his damaged ships, and dispose of the prizes; after which, he was to follow the commander in chief, and assist in accomplishing the other designs of this very important expedition. the repairs were not long compleating, and the prizes were soon disposed of; of the latter, all but one--the holstein of sixty-four guns--were found entirely unfit for service, and immediately destroyed. even this solitary remain of the danish formidable line of defence, was only judged worthy of being commissioned as an hospital-ship in the british fleet; yet villainy and weakness united to wrest from our hero the honour of a compleat victory, even on the spot where it had been felt as well as witnessed. lord nelson, after the battle of the 2d of april, had returned with his flag to the st. george; and, on the 16th, was ready to proceed after the commander in chief, who had entered the baltic, and greatly alarmed the russians, prussians, and swedes. most of the squadron of his lordship, however, touched the ground, in their passage through the narrow and shallow channel which divides the islands of amak and saltholm, and two or three of them actually sticking fast for a short time, he was detained, even after they did pass, to have the st. george lightened, which drew still more water than the rest, by taking out the guns, and putting them on board an american ship. while this was effecting, the report of the swedish fleet being out, with an intention to join that of russia, then lying at revel, reached his lordship. the instant he received this intelligence, though it was then a very cold evening of that climate, he descended into his gig, or smallest boat; and, after being so exposed on the water several hours, got again on board the elephant, the former bearer of his flag and triumph. lord nelson, in his extreme haste to quit the st. george, had neglected to take his boat-cloak; but he would not lose a moment in returning for it, notwithstanding the inclemency of the weather and the great distance he had necessarily to go. a master of one of the ships, who was ordered to attend, earnestly pressed his lordship's acceptance of a great coat which he had brought for himself. this, however, was as kindly refused, as it had been affectionately tendered--"i thank you," said the hero, "very much; but, to tell you the truth, my anxiety, at present, keeps me sufficiently warm." soon afterwards, his lordship asked--"think you, that the british fleet has quitted bornholm? if it has," continued he, without waiting for a reply, "we must follow it to carlscrona." his lordship had arrived about midnight; and, the next day, saw the swedish armament safely sheltered under the numerous forts and batteries erected on the island at the entrance of carlscrona; where, as he suspected, it had taken timely refuge from the british fleet. sir hyde parker, while on his voyage to revel, having gained intelligence of the intended junction of the swedish fleet with that of the russians against which he was proceeding, had immediately steered his course for the island of bornholm, with the hope of intercepting the swedes; but the commander, warned by the danish disaster, wisely retreated from the danger of a similar encounter, by returning into port with the utmost precipitation. scarcely had lord nelson quitted copenhagen, where he could not but have endeared himself to every virtuous heart, by his amiable liberality of disposition--bountifully rewarding youth of promise in the national military schools of the danes, as if he had been dealing honours among the deserving of his own country, and every way displaying the superior cast of his dignified soul--when he learned that olfert fischer, the danish commander in chief, had officially published the following shamefully partial account of this indisputably great and glorious victory, as transmitted to his royal highness the crown prince. danish official account of the battle of copenhagen. "on the 1st of april, at half past three in the afternoon, two divisions of the english fleet, under the command of vice-admiral lord nelson, and a rear-admiral, weighed anchor, and stood eastward, and by the south of the middle passage of the road, where they anchored. this force consisted of twelve ships of the line; and several large frigates, gun-boats, and other smaller vessels; in all, thirty-one sail. "on the 2d of april, at three-quarters past nine in the morning, the wind south-east, both the vessels to the south and the vessels to the north of the middle road, weighed anchor. the ships of the line, and heavy frigates, under lord nelson, steered for the konigstiefe, to take their stations, in order, along the line of defence confided to me. the gunboats, and small vessels, took their stations near the town; and the division of admiral parker, consisting of eight ships of the line, and some small vessels, steered with a press of sail southwards, to the right wing of defence. "at half past ten, the foremost ship of admiral nelson's division passed the southernmost ship of the line of defence. i gave those ships that were within shot the signal for battle. the block-ships, provesteen, and wagner, and immediately after these the jutland, between which and the block-ship dannebrog, the leading english ship of seventy-four guns fixed her station, by throwing out one of her rear-anchors, obeyed the signal, by a well directed and well supported fire. by degrees, the rest of the ships came up; and, as they sailed past, on both sides of the ships already at anchor, they formed a thick line: which, as it stretched northward to the ship of the line the zealand, engaged not more than two-thirds of the line of defence committed to me; while the trekroner--or three crowns battery--and the block-ships elephanten and mars, with the frigate hielperen, did not come at all into the action. "in half an hour, the battle was general. ten ships of the line, among which was one of eighty guns, the rest chiefly seventy-fours, and from six to eight frigates, on the one side: on the other, seven block-ships; of which, only one of seventy-four, the rest of sixty-four and under; two frigates; and six smaller vessels. _this was the respective strength of the two parties_. the enemy had, on the whole, _two ships to one_: and the block-ship provesteen had, besides a ship of the line and the rear-admiral, two frigates against her; by which she was raked the whole time, without being able to return a shot. "if i only recapitulate, _historically_, what your highness, and along with you a great portion of the citizens of denmark and europe, have seen, i may venture to call that an unequal combat, which was maintained, and supported, for four hours and a half, with unexampled courage and effect--in which the fire of the superior force was so much weakened, for an hour before the end of the battle, that several of the english ships, and particularly lord nelson's, were obliged to fire only single shots--that this hero, himself, in the middle and very heat of the battle, sent a flag of truce on shore to propose a cessation of hostilities--if i also add, that _it was announced to me, that two english ships of the line had struck_; but, being supported by fresh ships, again hoisted their flags--i may, in such circumstances, be permitted to say, and i believe _i may appeal to the enemy's own confession_, that in this engagement denmark's ancient naval reputation blazed forth with such incredible splendor, that i thank heaven all europe are the witnesses of it! "yet the scale, if not equal, did not decline far to the disadvantage of denmark. the ships that were first and most obstinately attacked, even surrounded by the enemy, the incomparable provesteen, wagner, and jutland, fought till almost all their guns were dismounted; but these vessels were obliged to give way to superior force, _and the danish fire ceased along the whole line from north to south_. "at half past eleven, the dannebrog ship of the line, which, lay along-side admiral nelson, was set on fire. i repaired, with my flag, on board the holstein, of the line, belonging to the north wing; _but the dannebrog long kept her flag flying, in spite of this disaster_. at the end of the battle, she had two hundred and seventy men killed and wounded. "at half past two, the holstein was so shattered, and had so many killed and wounded, and so many guns dismounted, that i _then carried the pendant to be hoisted instead of my flag, and went on shore, to the battery of the three crowns_, from whence i commanded the north wing; _which was slightly engaged with the division of admiral parker_, till about four o'clock, when i received orders from your royal highness to put an end to the engagement. "thus, the quarter of the line of defence, from the three crowns to the frigate hielperen, was in the power of the enemy; and the hielperen, finding herself alone, slipped her cables, and steered to stirbfeir. the ship elven, after she had received many shots in the hull, and had her masts and rigging shot away, and a great number killed and wounded, retreated within the crowns. the gunboats, nyebrog and aggershuus--which last towed the former away, when near sinking--ran ashore, and the gurnarshe floating-battery, which had suffered much, together with the block-ship dannebrog, shortly after the battle, blew up. "besides the visible loss the enemy have suffered, i am convinced, their loss in killed and wounded is considerable. the advantage the enemy have gained by their victory, too, _consists merely in ships which are not fit for use, in spiked cannon, and gunpowder damaged by sea-water_. "the number killed and wounded cannot yet be exactly ascertained; but i calculate it, from sixteen to eighteen hundred men. among the former, it is with grief that i mention the captains of the block-ship infoedstratten and the frigate kronbrog, captain thura and first-lieutenant hauch, with several other brave officers: among the wounded, the commander of the dannebrog; who, besides other wounds, has lost his right hand. "i want expression, to do justice to the unexampled courage of the officers and crews. the battle itself can only enable you to form an idea of it. "olfert fischer." the honourable mind of lord nelson indignantly revolted at the meanness conspicuous in this account; and he was resolved to chastise the pusillanimous malignity which it was so clumsily adapted to cover, by addressing the following letter, through general-adjutant lindholm, to the crown prince of denmark, that his royal highness might see his lordship's sense of such a wretched attempt to deprive our hero of the honour of a victory, and screen the danish commander in chief, himself, from the dreaded shame of a defeat not in itself by any means disgraceful. "st. george, at sea, 22d april 1801. "my dear sir, "commodore fischer having, in a public letter, given an account to the world of the battle of the 2d, called upon his royal highness as a witness to the truth of it. i, therefore, think it right to address myself to you, for the information of his royal highness; as, i assure you, had this officer confined himself to his own veracity, i should have treated his official letter with the contempt it deserved, and allowed the world to appreciate the merits of the two contending officers. i shall make a few, and very few, observations on this letter. he asserts the superiority of numbers on the part of the british; it will turn out, if that is of any consequence, that the danish line of defence, to the southward of the crown islands, was much stronger, and more numerous, than the british. we had only five sail of seventy-fours, two sixty-fours, two fifties, and one frigate, engaged; a bomb vessel, towards the latter end, threw some shells into the arsenal. two seventy-fours, and one sixty-four, by an accident, grounded; or the crown islands, and the elephanten and mars, would have had full employment: and, by the assistance of the frigates--who went to try, alone, what i had directed the three sail of the line who grounded to assist them in--i have reason to hope, they would have been equally successful as that part of the british line engaged. i am ready to admit, that many of the danish officers and men behaved as well as men could do, and deserved not to be abandoned by their commander. i am justified in saying this, from commodore fischer's own declaration. in his own letter, he states that, after he quitted the dannebrog, she long contested the battle. if so, more shame for him to quit so many brave fellows! _here_ was no manoeuvering, it was downright fighting; and it was his duty to have shewn an example of firmness becoming the high trust reposed in him. he went in such a hurry, if he went before she struck--which, but for his own declaration, i can hardly believe--that he forgot to take his broad pendant with him, for both pendant and ensign were struck together; and it is from this circumstance, that i claimed the commodore as a prisoner of war. he then went, as he says, on board the holstein--the brave captain of which did not want him--where he did not hoist his pendant. from this ship, he went on shore, either before or after she struck, or he would have been again a prisoner. as to his nonsense about victory, his royal highness will not much credit him. i sunk, burnt, captured, or drove into the harbour, the whole line of defence to the southward of the crown islands. he says, he is told that two british ships struck. why did he not take possession of them? i took possession of his as fast as they struck. the reason is clear, that he did not believe it. he must have known the falsity of the report, and that no fresh british ships did come near the ships engaged. he states, that the ship in which i had the honour to hoist my flag fired, latterly, only single guns. it is true; for steady and cool were my brave fellows, and did not wish to throw away a single shot. he seems to exult, that i sent on shore a flag of truce. men of his description, if they ever are victorious, know not the feel of humanity. you know, and his royal highness knows, that the guns fired from the shore could only fire through the danish ships which had surrendered; and that, if i fired at the shore, it could only be in the same manner. god forbid, that i should destroy an unresisting dane! _when they became my prisoners, i became their protector_. humanity alone, could have been my object; but mr. fischer's carcase was safe, and he regarded not the sacred call of humanity. his royal highness thought as i did. it has brought about an armistice; which, i pray the almighty, may bring about a happy reconciliation between the two kingdoms. as i have not the names of all the ships correct--only of the thirteen, including the seven sail of the line which struck, remained at anchor, and fell into my possession after the battle--i shall, therefore, be very much obliged to you, for a correct list of their names; and the number of men, if possible to be obtained, on board each, and the numbers sent from the shore during the action. my earnest wish is, to be correct; and believe me, dear sir, with great esteem, your most obedient servant, "nelson and bronte." "general-adjutant lindholm." whatever severity may appear in this retort, it's, justice would be with difficulty refuted. the answer of general-adjutant lindholm apologizes, with very considerable address, for the commander in chief; but that honourable officer's reasoning is also tinctured with as much national partiality as is consistent with a due regard to truth. this is no uncommon effect of patriotic zeal in the best minds, and may be traced even in that of our hero. "copenhagen, 2d may 1801. "my lord! "your lordship has imposed upon me a very painful task, by desiring me to communicate to his royal highness the crown prince the contents of that letter with which your lordship has favoured me the 22d of april; and in which you have treated commodore fischer with a severity which, as a brother officer, i cannot but think too great, indeed, i conceive, that your lordship has felt a certain degree of displeasure at that incorrectness which you have thought to find in commodore fischer's official report; but your lordship did not fully consider, at that moment, that he himself might have received incorrect reports: a fatality to which every commander in chief is exposed. i flatter myself, from your lordship's well-known candour and indulgence, that you will not think it presuming in me, or contrary to the respect i feel for your lordship, if i take the liberty of offering you some few observations in vindication of the conduct of commodore fischer. but, first, let me have the honour to assure your lordship, that i have not communicated to that officer your letter of the 22d of april; and that, what i take the liberty of offering your lordship, is absolutely my private and individual opinion. "your lordship thinks, that commodore fischer has over-rated the forces by which he was attacked, and under-rated his own; or, that he wrongly asserts the superiority of numbers on the part of the british. i must confess, that i am now, as i have always been, of opinion, that the squadron with which your lordship attacked our southern line of defence, say all those ships and vessels lying to the southward of the crown battery, was stronger then than that line. i will say nothing about our not having time sufficient to man our ships in the manner it was intended: they being badly manned, both as to number and as to quality of their crews, the greatest part of which were landmen; people that had been pressed, and who never before had been on board a ship or used to the exercise of guns. i will not mention our ships being old and rotten, and not having one-third of our usual complement of officers; i will confine myself to the number of guns, and from the ships named in your lordship's official report: and there i find, that your squadron carried one thousand and fifty-eight guns, of much greater calibre than our's; exclusive of carronnades, which did our ships so much injury; also, exclusive of your gun-brigs and bomb-vessels. "now, i can assure your lordship, upon my honour, that to my certain knowledge the number of guns on board of those eighteen ships and vessels of our's which were engaged (including the small ship the elbe, which came into the harbour towards the end of the action) amount to six hundred and thirty-four, i have not included our eleven gun-boats, carrying each two guns, as a couple of them only had an opportunity of firing a few shot. nor need i to mention the crown battery, on which sixty-six guns were mounted, as that battery did not fairly get into action, and only fired a few random shot. "when commodore fischer left the dannebrog, that ship was on fire, had many killed, several of it's officers wounded, and otherwise suffered much. it was, i conceive, the duty of the commander, to remove his broad pendant to another ship; and he went on board the holstein, from whence he commanded the line of defence; and where he remained two hours, his broad pendant flying on board the said ship. when this ship was mostly disabled, the commodore went to the crown battery, which also was under his command. he would, in my humble opinion, have been justified, from the wound he received on his head, to quit the command altogether, when he left the dannebrog; and no blame could ever have attached, for it, to his character as a soldier. i have given myself every possible pain, to be informed whether commodore fischer's pendant has been removed before or after the ship struck; and the officers all agree, in declaring, that the broad pendant has been replaced by a captain's pendant, both on board the dannebrog and the holstein, previous to those ships hauling down their ensign. it is even remarkable that, on board the dannebrog, the man who had taken down the broad pendant, and hoisted the captain's pendant, was killed when coming down the shrouds, and fell upon deck with the commodore's pendant in his hand. "i do not conceive that commodore fischer had the least idea of claiming as a victory what to every intent and purpose was a defeat: he has only thought, that this defeat was not an inglorious one; and, that our officers and men displayed much bravery and firmness, against force so superior in every respect. your lordship's report, and your letter to me, proves it. i confess, that your lordship took all the vessels opposed to you; except five, carrying together eighty-six guns. i am of opinion, with your lordship, that three ships of seventy-four guns each would have been a hard match for the three crowns battery; but, they certainly would have been forced to go away. "as to your lordship's motive for sending a flag of truce to our government, it can never be misconstrued; and your subsequent conduct has sufficiently shewn, that humanity is always the companion of true valour. you have done more; you have shewn yourself a friend of the re-establishment of peace, and good harmony, between this country and great britain. it is, therefore, with the sincerest esteem, i shall always feel myself attached to your lordship; and it is with the greatest respect i have the honour to subscribe myself, my lord, your lordship's most obedient and most humble servant, "h. lindholm." on these respective letters, the judicious part of mankind will judge for themselves. we need not have blushed for a lindholm, but we have reason to glory in our nelson. olfert fischer, notwithstanding the arguments of his able apologist, must always be considered as having been superabundantly solicitous for the safety of his own person: in leaving two different ships, by his own confession, while the respective crews continued fighting; and finally retiring, to continue his command, under cover of a powerful battery on shore. his roundly asserting, that we had two ships for one, and that he was told two english ships had struck; his ungenerous and distorted application of lord nelson's noble acknowledgment of the general bravery of the danes; and the low source of solace that he finds in disingenuously limiting the advantage gained by the victory to the possession of a few wretched wrecks, without at all appreciating the grand political consequences which it so fully accomplished; exhibit, in the whole, a disposition meanly selfish, conspicuously sordid, and deplorably deficient in all the most lofty qualities of mind. what a contrast to our immortal nelson! whose single sentence, in his letter of rebuke for this man--"_god forbid that i should destroy an unresisting dane!_ when they became my prisoners, i became their protector!"--deserves to be charactered with letters of diamonds on the shrine destined to cover the hero's hallowed remains. lord nelson did not think it necessary to differ with his friend lindholm, an undoubted man of honour, about punctilious particulars. to his own mind, however, or that of an enemy, he would not abate a particle of what he had asserted. the following statement is copied from a private memorandum of his lordship's, in which he acutely turns the scale of superior force against the danes. "lindholm ought to have omitted the guns of the russell, bellona, agamemnon, amazon, alcmene, blanche, dart, and arrow; as the two first were aground; and, although within random shot, yet unable to do that service expected from seventy-four gun ships. the agamemnon was not within three miles; the others, frigates and sloops, were exposed to a part of the crown battery and the ships in the other channel, but not fired upon by the eighteen sail drawn up to the southward of the crown islands. therefore, sixty-six guns are to be taken from the british, and a hundred and sixty-six guns added to the danes: viz. sixty-six, crown batteries--(i think, there were eighty-eight)--and a hundred for the batteries on amack; besides random shot from the ships in the other channel, citadel, &c. therefore, the account ought to stand thus- guns, by lindholm's account 1058 deduct, as above 366 --- british force in action 692 --- danish force, by lindholm's account 634 add, i say, at least 166 danish force 800 british force 692 superiority of the danes 108" though lord nelson could not have rested without satisfying himself of the precise fact, he saw no necessity for entering into any altercation, on so trivial a topic, with general-adjutant lindholm. he contented himself, therefore, with immediately closing the subject, by the following very liberal reply. st. george, may 3d, 1801. "my dear lord, "i was yesterday evening favoured with your reply to my letter of the 22d of april; and i have no scruple in assuring you, that if commodore fischer's letter had been couched in the same manly and honourable manner, i should have been the last man to have noticed any little inaccuracies which might get into a commander in chief's public letter; and if the commodore had not called upon his royal highness for the truth of his assertions, i never should have noticed his letter. you have stated, truly, the force which would have been brought into action, but for the accidents of their getting aground; and, except the desirée frigate, no other frigate or sloop fired a gun to the southward of the crown islands. i have done ample justice to the bravery of nearly all your officers and men; and, as it is not my intention to hurt your feelings, or those of his royal highness--but, on the contrary, to try and merit your esteem--i will only say, that i am confident you would not have wrote such a letter. nothing, i flatter myself, in my conduct, ought to have drawn ridicule on my character from the commodore's pen; and you have borne the handsomest testimony of it, in contradiction to his. i thought then, as i did before the action, and do now, that it is not the interest of our countries to injure each other. i am sorry that i was forced to write you so unpleasant a letter; but, for the future, i trust that none but pleasant ones will pass between us: for, i assure you, that i hope to merit the continuation of your esteem, and of having frequent opportunities of assuring you how i feel interested in being your sincere and faithful friend, "nelson and bronte." "adjutant-general lindholm." after a correspondence between vice-admiral cronstadt, adjutant-general for the swedish fleet and commander in chief at carlscrona, with sir hyde parker, which terminated in assurances of a pacific tendency, russia remained the only object now worthy of any serious regard. the baltic fleet wintering in two divisions, at the two great naval arsenals of revel and cronstadt, and the ships in the former station being locked in by the ice several weeks longer than at the latter, it was then about the time when it might be possible to get into revel. for that port, therefore, the british fleet immediately steered: but was met by a dispatch-boat, on the 22d of april, from the russian ambassador at copenhagen, announcing the death of the emperor paul; and bearing conciliatory propositions from alexander the first, who had succeeded to the imperial dignities of all the russian empire. sir hyde parker, on receiving this intelligence, immediately returned into anchorage near copenhagen: a measure which by no means met the approbation of lord nelson; who well knew that, in order to negociate with effect, at critical periods, force should always be at hand, and in a situation to act. the british fleets, he conceived, ought to have held a position between the two russian squadrons; so as to have prevented the possibility of their effecting a junction, should their pacific dispositions prove otherwise than sincere. on the 5th of may, sir hyde parker having been recalled, lord nelson was appointed to be commander in chief; but his health was now so greatly impaired, and his spirits were so much depressed, that he received it with little hope of being able long to enjoy it's advantages. however, not another moment was lost: for, after requiring an explicit declaration that the british trade should not be molested by sweden, in his absence, nine sail of the line immediately weighed anchor; and proceeded, with his lordship, towards revel. he wished for farther satisfaction respecting the friendly disposition of the russians; and thought the best method of putting it to proof, was that of trying how he should be received in one of their ports. on the passage, every possible opportunity was embraced for arranging, with the different commanders, plans of conduct to be adopted in the event of either finding the russians friendly or hostile. there was a sincere desire for peace, but not the smallest dread of war. his lordship, however, no sooner approached the port of revel, which he had determined to enter, than he learned, to his extreme mortification, that the state of the ice had permitted the escape of the russian fleet to cronstadt, on the 10th of may, being three days prior to his arrival. lord nelson was disappointed, but not disconcerted. an amicable correspondence was commenced; the governor and forts were saluted; he was permitted to anchor in the outer port; and, an invitation from shore being readily accepted by our hero, he was entertained with the greatest respect and attention by the governor, admiral, and all the russian officers, at revel. it appears, however, that the suspicions of some less honourable minds had been excited, on the occasion, to a height of considerable alarm; and, a letter having been received, on the 16th, from the comte de pahlen, censuring his lordship for thus visiting the gulph of finland, he was resolved immediately to prevent the effect of all malevolent misrepresentations, by returning to join the squadron off bornholm, where he had left captain murray with seven sail of the line. in a letter to his excellency earl carysfort, dated on board the st. george, off gothland, may 19th, 1801, in which his lordship incloses a copy of his correspondence with the comte de pahlen, he says--"you will have your opinion, as i have mine, that he never would have wrote such a letter, if the fleet had been at revel in april. mine was a desire to mark a particular civility; which, as it was not treated in the way i think handsome, i left revel on sunday the 17th, and here i am. from all the russian officers at revel, i received the most attentive behaviour; and, i believe, they are as much surprised at the answer as i was. sir hyde parker's letter on the release of the british merchant ships has not been answered. i hope, all is right: but seamen are but bad negociators; for, we put to issue in five minutes, what diplomatic forms would be five months doing." he observes that, though he feels sensible all which he sends in this letter is of no consequence; still he knows, from experience, that to be informed there is nothing particular passing, is comfortable. "our fleet," he adds, "is twenty-two sail of the line, and forty-six frigates, bombs, fire-ships, and gun-vessels; and, in the fleet, not one man in the hospital-ship. a finer fleet," his lordship exultingly concludes, "never graced the ocean!" such, however, was his lordship's ill state of health, that he had, on the day of quitting revel, written home for permission to relinquish the command, that he might try and re-establish it, by immediately returning to england; being unable, at present, as his lordship stated, to execute the high trust reposed in him, with either comfort to himself, or benefit to the state. captain murray, having been relieved from his station, by a squadron under rear-admiral totty, met lord nelson, with four sail of the line, off the north end of gothland; and, on the 23d, at three in the morning, his lordship joined the rear-admiral off gothland. he left him, however, the same evening; and, having sent the ganges, defence, and veteran, to water in kioge bay, anchored next day off rostock. his lordship had now not only received letters from the russian government of an indisputably amicable tendency, but his imperial majesty, alexander the first, with a wisdom and candour which do him the highest honour, absolutely sent admiral tchitchagoff for the purpose of holding a confidential communication with the british commander in chief. his lordship, accordingly, in a conference with this brave and worthy russian admiral, soon became satisfied that the emperor, like his own most gracious sovereign, was sincerely disposed to enter into an amicable arrangement, and they respectively exchanged written documents to that effect; thus proving, that two honest and wise seamen are by no means such bad pacific negociators as might be imagined. nor was this all; for, on the 26th, lord nelson received an invitation to visit the emperor alexander, in a letter from the comte de pahlen, which also apprised his lordship that the british merchant ships, unjustly detained by his imperial majesty's late predecessor, were now ordered to be liberated. to this pleasing communication, his lordship instantly returned the following answer, by the russian lugger which brought his letter from the count. "st. george, rostock bay, 10 o'clock at night, 26th may 1801. "sir, "i am this moment honoured with your excellency's flattering letter of may 6, o.s. and i assure you, that his imperial majesty's justice has filled the idea i had formed of his excellent heart and head; and, i am sure, the handsome manner in which the embargo has been taken off the british shipping, will give the greatest pleasure to my good and gracious sovereign. i am truly sensible of the great honour done me, by the invitation of his imperial majesty; and, at a future time, i hope to have the pleasure of presenting my humble duty. i have now only to pray that a permanent (which must be honourable) peace, may be re-established between our gracious sovereigns; and, that our august masters reigns may be blessed with every happiness which this world can afford: and i beg that your excellency will believe, that i am, with the highest respect, your most obedient and very humble servant, nelson and bronte. his excellency the comte de pahlen." there could now be no sort of doubt, that a peace with the northern powers must soon be concluded on terms honourable to all parties. the danes, however, though so liberally treated, appear to have been somewhat sore from the wounds which their temerity had invited. sweden, through the whole business, sagaciously kept as much as possible aloof: ready to meet the evils of war, if necessary; but prudently prefering to avoid them, while this might be effected without dishonour. such, happily, was also the disposition of russia, from the moment of the frantic paul's demise; as well as that of the british government, which had been forced into a state of hostility with those whom they were ever desirous of considering only as friends. nations sincerely so disposed, have only thoroughly to understand each other, and the sword need seldom quit it's scabbard. with respect to denmark, however, though a positive peace was every hour expected by his lordship, he found it necessary, at the beginning of june, to remind some of her governors of the conditions of the armistice. in a letter of june 11th, to rear-admiral totty, his lordship writes--"a week, from this date, all must be settled, one way or the other. reports say, that victuallers are laying at yarmouth, ready to sail; probably, they are waiting the issue of lord st. helen's negociation at st. petersburgh. in denmark, we shall no longer find an enemy; they have too much to lose, by the renewal of hostilities. at this moment, generally speaking, they hate us; but they are determined not to give up their colonies, ships, &c. in this nation, we shall not be forgiven our having the upper hand of them. i only thank god we have, or they would try and humble us to the dust." in this letter, his lordship says, to the worthy rear-admiral--"i feel much flattered at your kind wishes for my remaining with the fleet: but, although my health is perfectly re-established; yet, as the admiralty cannot know it, i trust that they have had consideration to my situation, and directed another admiral to supersede me. sir thomas graves is represented to be getting better; but, as yet, is unable to get out of his cabin." in a preceding letter to admiral totty, speaking of the indisposition of his worthy friend, is the following interesting passage, admirably illustrative of the characteristically affectionate regards of these most brave and excellent men. "sir thomas graves is still very ill: so much so, that he begged _i would not_ go and see him; as the pleasure he had in seeing me, did him harm when he was left." the pain, too, which he knew could not fail to be felt by his sympathetically susceptible friend, doubtless formed an equally strong reason for dreading those visits, in the breast of the rear-admiral, though he had the kind precaution to conceal that cause. can we wonder, that such men should be invincible! on the 13th of june, lord nelson received permission for his return to england; and immediately thanked the lords of the admiralty, in an answer addressed to mr. nepean, for the very flattering and handsome manner in which their lordships had expressed their acquiescence with his request of the 17th of may. having received, at the same time, a commission from his majesty, to invest his friend rear-admiral graves with the military order of the bath, his lordship performed that ceremony, on board the st george, next day, in the following manner. "his majesty's ship st. george, kioge bay, june 14, 1801. "a chair was placed on the gratings of the skylight, on the quarter-deck, with the royal standard suspended over it, shewing the king's arms. the chair was covered with the union flag; a guard was ranged on each side the quarter-deck, consisting of the marines, and a detachment of the rifle corps; and the captains of the fleet attended in their full-dress uniforms. the royal standard was hoisted the moment of the procession's beginning, which took place in the following order--lord nelson came up the ladder in the forepart of the quarter-deck, and made three reverences to the throne; he then placed himself on the right-hand side of it. captain parker, bearing the sword of state, being that which was presented to lord nelson by the captains of his majesty's fleet who fought under his command at the battle of the nile, followed lord nelson, and placed himself on his right side, a little in advance; making three reverences to the throne, and one to lord nelson. his lordship's secretary, mr. wallis, then followed, bearing in his hand, on a sattin cushion, the ensigns of the order, and making similar reverences to the throne and to lord nelson. captain parker then read the duke of portland's order to lord nelson; which being ended, rear-admiral graves was introduced between captains hardy and retalick, making three reverences to the throne, and one to lord nelson. the rear-admiral then kneeled down; and lord nelson, in the name of his majesty, laid the sword on the shoulders of the rear-admiral. the knight-elect then arose; and, bending his body a little forward, lord nelson, with the assistance of captains hardy and retalick, put the ribbon over the new knight's right shoulder, and placed the star on his left breast. his lordship then pronounced the following speech on the occasion- "sir thomas graves! having fulfilled the commands of his majesty, by investing you with the ensigns of the most honourable and military order of the bath, i cannot but express how much i feel gratified that it should have fallen to my lot to be directed to confer this justly merited honour and special mark of royal favour upon you; for i cannot but reflect, that i was an eye-witness of your high merit, and distinguished gallantry, on the memorable 2d of april, and for which you are now so honourably rewarded. i hope that these honours conferred upon you, will prove to the officers in the service, that a strict perseverance in the pursuit of glorious actions, and the imitation of your brave and laudable conduct, will ever ensure them the favours and rewards of our most gracious sovereign, and the thanks and gratitude of our country." "at the conclusion of this speech, the procession retired in the same manner as it came; except that the new knight went first, making one reverence to lord nelson, and three to the throne. "the moment the ribbon had been placed over sir thomas graves's shoulder, the signal being made preparative, the whole fleet fired a salute of twenty-one guns; when the ceremony was finished, the standard was hauled down. the troops and marines, on hoisting it, had presented their arms, and the drums beat a march. the troops kept their arms presented during the ceremony; and, on the standard's being hauled down, a march was likewise beat." a few days after, having concluded his epistolary correspondences, and arranged other requisites, both with the fleet and on shore, his lordship resigned the command to admiral sir charles morice pole, who had been sent out to relieve him, and immediately sailed for england. on the day preceding his departure, however, lord nelson took leave of the fleet, by issuing the following public orders- "st. george, in kioge bay, 18th june 1801. "lord nelson has been obliged, from the late very bad state of his health, to apply to the lords commissioners of the admiralty for leave to return to england, which their lordships have been pleased to comply with. but lord nelson cannot allow himself to leave the fleet, without expressing to the admirals, captains, officers, and men, how sensibly he has felt, and does feel, all their kindnesses to him: and, also, how nobly and honourably they have supported him in the hour of battle, and the readiness which they have shewn to maintain the honour of their king and country on many occasions which have offered; and, had more opportunities presented themselves, lord nelson is firmly persuaded they would have added more glory to their country. lord nelson cannot but observe, with the highest satisfaction which can fill the breast of a british admiral, that--with the exception of the glaring misconduct of the officers of the tygress and cracker gun-brigs, and the charges alledged against the lieutenant of the terror bomb---out of eighteen thousand men, of which the fleet is composed, not a complaint has been made of any officer or man in it; and he cannot but remark, that the extraordinary health of this fleet, under the blessing of almighty god, is to be attributed to the great regularity, exact discipline, and chearful obedience, of every individual in the fleet. the vice-admiral assures them, that he will not fail to represent to the lords commissioners of the admiralty their highly praise-worthy conduct; and, if it please god that the vice-admiral recovers his health, he will feel proud, on some future day, to go with them in pursuit of farther glory; and to assist in making the name of our king and country beloved and respected by all the world." on the 1st of july, his lordship landed at yarmouth, where he was received with universal joy. he had no sooner arrived, than his humane heart led him to visit the hospitals which contained such of his brave fellows as had been wounded in the late battle. he enquired, with parental solicitude, into the state of their health, tenderly soothed their sufferings, generously relieved their necessities, and kindly encouraged their hopes. on his leaving the town, the volunteer cavalry assembled; and escorted his lordship to lowestoffe, a distance of eleven miles. lord nelson being much indisposed when he reached sir william hamilton's house in piccadilly, where his friends had assembled to meet him, a party was formed, consisting of sir william and lady hamilton, the present earl and countess nelson, with their son and daughter, now lord merton and lady charlotte, and captain parker, to go with his lordship, for change of air, and variety of scene, as far as box hill, near dorking, in surry, where they remained a few days; and then accompanied him to the bush inn, at staines, in middlesex. here they continued about a week; and afterwards visited mrs. maurice nelson, at laleham, only two miles distant from staines. this unfortunate lady, relict of his lordship's then recently deceased elder brother, has for many years been afflicted with total blindness. lord nelson now kindly condoled with her; and generously made up the small pittance left by his brother, whom he most tenderly loved, a regular annuity of two hundred pounds, besides providing for immediate exigences. it is greatly to be regretted, that his lordship's repeated solicitations for mr. maurice nelson's advancement had been so little regarded, that this worthy gentleman, though almost his whole life in the navy office, was only elevated to the situation of a principal clerk about four months prior to his decease. with his health considerably improved by this rural excursion, lord nelson returned to london; and, on dining with mr. addington, then chancellor of the exchequer, was informed, by the minister, that nothing could satisfy the people, who were in a state of continual alarm at bonaparte's immense preparations for the threatened invasion of our country, but his lordship's immediately taking the home command. though the nature of the french armament, which consisted chiefly of innumerable gun-boats, rendered the attack of their flotilla a species of petty warfare apparently too trivial for the attention of our heroic admiral, it was sufficient for him to be assured that his services were requisite for the safety or welfare of his country, to obtain an immediate acquiescence; however humble, hazardous, or unprofitable, the nature of the proposed employ. his friends, however, were desirous that he should receive, on the occasion, some positive benefit. his lordship alledged, with great truth, that he was one of the worst negociators on earth for himself, and seemed disinclined to tender any conditions; but lady hamilton urging him to obtain, at least, an entailment of his titles on the family, which would take nothing out of the national purse, and yet preserve his merited honours to the most remote posterity, he ventured, at length, to solicit that small favour, which was very readily granted. in consequence of this arrangement, lord nelson was appointed commander in chief of a powerful squadron, employed between orfordness and beachy-head: together with the entire flotilla of gun-brigs, fire-ships, bomb-ketches, and vessels of every other description; and all the sea-fencibles embodied within the same district, with all the boats, vessels, and other floating defences, on board of which they might be required to act. his lordship, accordingly, hastened to sheerness, and hoisted his flag on board l'unité frigate of thirty-two guns. having, with his accustomed activity, directed the respective stations of the several ships there under his command; he sailed, in a very few days, for the downs: and it is remarkable that, on his passage from the nore, instead of pursuing the usual course, and proceeding through the king's channel, he resolved on attempting a passage hitherto deemed impracticable for ships of war--an experiment which he judiciously considered, at this particular period, as well worthy of trial--and, having compleatly succeeded, it has ever since been properly called nelson's channel. on the 29th of july, at night, lord nelson arrived in the downs, and immediately hoisted his flag on board the leyden of sixty-four guns; but shifted it, two days after, to the medusa frigate of thirty-two. not a moment was now lost in making every preparation for a formidable attack on the french flotilla, by the assistance of which we were menaced with the invasion of the myriads of troops that lined the shore of the enemy from brest to the texel. fearful, however, of our approach, they had been particularly careful to fortify their coast swarming with soldiers, by the erection of innumerable strong batteries, having furnaces for preparing red-hot shot, and adapting every other contrivance to annoy their dreaded assailants and protect themselves. from the moment it was known that lord nelson had undertaken the home command, every apprehension of a french invasion was changed into the wish that such an attempt might instantly be made, and there was, perhaps, scarcely a man, woman, or child, in the united kingdom, who now longer felt the smallest fear of an event which had lately excited so much general alarm. with a promptness inconceivable, his lordship planned every species of precautionary defence, while engaged in executing his offensive operations: and it is anxiously hoped, that his excellent defensive arrangements, made on this occasion, though happily not then needed, will be carefully treasured in the archives of the admiralty, for immediate adoption, should any attempt ever be made, by a rash and powerful enemy, to approach the british shores; who may thus be vanquished, by our immortal hero, in a future and even distant age. the french flotilla prepared at boulogne had of late been considerably increased by reinforcements from calais; and it was found difficult for the british cruizers to prevent, with certainty, or even safety, such small vessels as these gun-boats from stealing along the shore. they were, therefore, become extremely numerous, and it was judged prudent to attempt lessening their number by capture or demolition. every thing being prepared with these intentions, his lordship, on the 1st of august 1801, being the third anniversary of his glorious victory off the nile, sailed from the downs, and stood over to the coast of france. on the 2d, having arrived off boulogne, twenty four armed vessels were perceived at anchor outside the port; the boasted gun-boats seemed, to his lordship, incapable of being rowed, in the smoothest water, more than a mile and a half an hour. the enemy, alarmed at the approach of the british armament, were labouring hard to erect new batteries; but the wind being too far to the northward for our bombs to go on the lee-shore, this attack, by way of experiment, did not commence till the 4th. the following official account of it's success was immediately transmitted to england, by his lordship. "medusa, off boulogne, 4th august 1801. "sir, the enemy's vessels, brigs, and flats (lugger-rigged) and a schooner, twenty-four in number, were this morning, at day-light, anchored in a line, in front of the town of boulogne. the wind being favourable for the bombs to act, i made the signal for them to weigh; and throw shells at the vessels, but as little as possible to annoy the town. the captains placed their ships in the best possible position; and, in a few hours, three of the flats, and a brig, were sunk: and, in the course of the morning, six were on shore, evidently much damaged. at six this evening, being high water, five of the vessels which had been aground hauled with difficulty into the mole, the others remained under water. i believe, the whole of the vessels would have gone inside the pier, but for want of water. what damage the enemy may have sustained, beyond what we see, is impossible to tell. the whole of this affair is of no farther consequence, than to shew the enemy that they cannot, with impunity, come outside their ports. the officers of the artillery threw the shells with great skill: and i am sorry to say, that captain fyers, of the royal artillery, is slightly wounded in the thigh by the bursting of an enemy's shell; and that three seamen are also wounded. one more of the enemy's flats is this moment sunk. i am, sir, &c. "nelson and bronte." "evan nepean, esq." this attack seems to have been chiefly intended to ascertain what might be hereafter effected with a force particularly adapted to the nature of the service, founded on some degree of actual experience. his lordship was, therefore, far less disappointed by the event, than might generally be imagined. to prevent the commanders of the bomb-vessels from being discouraged, who had really deserved better success, his lordship thus complimented them on the occasion. "medusa, off boulogne, aug. 5th, 1801. "lord nelson has reason to be very much satisfied with the captains of the bombs, for the placing of their vessels yesterday. it was impossible they could have been better situated; and the artillery officers have shewn great skill in entirely disabling ten of the armed vessels out of twenty-four opposed to them; and many others, lord nelson believes, are much damaged. the commander in chief cannot avoid noticing the great zeal and desire to attack the enemy in a closer combat, which manifested itself in all ranks of persons; and which lord nelson would gladly have given full scope to, had the attempt at this moment been proper; but the officers, and others, may rely that an early opportunity shall be given them for shewing their judgment, zeal, and bravery. the hired and revenue cutters kept under sail, and performed the duty entrusted to them with, a great deal of skill. "nelson and bronte." on the day following, lord nelson quitted the french coast, and repaired to margate roads; leaving, however, a sufficient force off boulogne to watch the motions of the enemy, and the gun-boats and smaller vessels of his fleet in the downs. while every possible effort was making to prepare for a most vigorous attempt on the flotilla at boulogne, his lordship, by visiting harwich for a few days, endeavoured to divert the attention of the enemy, and induce them to suppose that he was now going against flushing, really meant to be the next object of attack. by this stratagem, both services were actually, at the same time, in a state of constant preparation. having arranged matters at harwich, his lordship returned to the downs; from whence, on the 15th, he again stood over to boulogne, with a force now augmented to seventy sail, including vessels of all descriptions. the french, however, had been equally alert in guarding against an expected second blow; and, to the total discomfiture of the enterprize, as well as the loss of many of our brave men, though to their own eternal ignominy, it was discovered, when too late, that these threatening invaders had literally chained down all the vessels of this boasted flotilla to the shore, in dread of their being carried off by the british assailants. of this unfortunate affair, which failed from a cause that could scarcely have been suspected, by a brave man, in even the most pusillanimous enemy, the following copious dispatches from lord nelson to the admiralty, including the reports of the several commanders of divisions as transmitted through mr. nepean, will afford a very full and particular description. "medusa, off boulogne, 16th aug. 1801. "sir, "having judged it proper to attempt bringing off all the enemy's flotilla moored in the front of boulogne, i directed the attack to be made in four divisions of boats for boarding, under the command of captains somerville, parker, cotgrave, and jones, and a division of howitzer-boats under the command of captain conor, of his majesty's ship discovery. the boats put off from the medusa, at half past eleven last night, in the best possible order; and, before one o'clock this morning, the firing began: and i had, from the judgment of the officers, and the zeal and gallantry of every man, the most perfect confidence of compleat success--and which i have no doubt would have been according to my expectations--but owing to the darkness of the night, with the tide and half tide, which must always make the attacks in the night, on the coasts of the channel, very uncertain, the divisions separated; and from all not arriving at the same happy moment with captain parker, is to be attributed the failure of success. but i beg to be perfectly understood, that not the smallest blame attaches itself any where; for, although the divisions did not arrive together, yet each (except the fourth, which could not be got up before day) made a successful attack on that part of the enemy they fell in with, and actually took possession of many brigs and flats--particularly, the commodore. _but the vessels being, as i am informed, chained to the, shore, but certainly hauled on shore_, as the commodore's brig had less under her bottom than could support her, the moment the battle ceased on board, such vollies upon vollies of musketry were fired, directed on their decks, the enemy being perfectly regardless of their own men, who must have suffered equally with us, that it was impossible even to remain on board to burn them. but allow me, who have seen much service this war, to say, that more determined, persevering courage, i never witnessed; and, that nothing but the impossibility of being successful, from the causes i have mentioned, could have prevented my having to congratulate their lordships on bringing off the enemy's flotilla: and, although, in value, the loss of such gallant and good men is incalculable; yet, in point of numbers, it has fell short of my expectations. i must also state, that greater zeal, and ardent desire, in the whole of the officers and crews, in the numerous vessels under my command, to distinguish themselves by an attack on the enemy, were never shewn: and the commanders and crews of the hired and revenue cutters vie with their brethren of the navy; the whole of whose boats were employed, and the commanders of the hunter and greyhound cutters volunteered their services. "among the many gallant men wounded, i have, with the deepest regret, to state the heavy loss i have sustained, by the grievous wounds of my gallant good friend, and able assistant, captain edward thomas parker, my aid-de-camp; also of lieutenant frederic langford, my flag-lieutenant, who has served with me many years; and who were both wounded, in attempting to board the french commodore. to captain gore, of the medusa, i feel the highest obligations; and, when their lordships look at the loss of the medusa on this occasion, they will agree with me, that the honour of my flag, and the cause of their king and country, could never have been placed in more gallant hands. captain bedford, of the leyden, with captain gore, very handsomely volunteered their services to serve under masters and commanders: but, it would not have been fair to the latter; and i only mention it, to mark the zeal of those officers. from the nature of the attack, only a few prisoners were made; a lieutenant, eight seamen, and eight soldiers, are all which were brought off. herewith, i send you the report of the several commanders of divisions, and also a return of killed and wounded, &c. i have the honour to be, &c. "nelson and bronte." "p.s. captain somerville was the senior master and commander employed. "evan nepean, esq." the letters received by his lordship from the several commanders of divisions, and transmitted by him to england, with his own public letter, were as follow. first division. "eugenie, off boulogne, 16th aug. 1801. "my lord, "in obedience to your lordship's directions to state the proceedings of the first division of boats which you did me the honour to place under my command, for the purpose of attacking the enemy's flotilla in the bay of boulogne, i beg leave to acquaint you that, after leaving the medusa last night, i found myself, in getting ashore, carried considerably, by the rapidity of the tide, to the eastward of the abovementioned place; and, finding that i was not likely to reach it in the order prescribed, i gave directions to the boats to cast each other off. by so doing, i was enabled to get to the enemy's flotilla a little before the dawn of day: and, in the best order possible, attacked, close to the pier-head, a brig; which, after a short contest, i carried. previous to so doing, her cables were cut; but i was prevented from towing her out, by her being secured with a chain: and, in consequence of a very heavy fire of musketry and grape-shot, that was directed at us from the shore, three luggers, and another brig, within half pistol shot, and not seeing the least prospect of being able to get her off, i was obliged to abandon her, and push out of the bay, as it was then compleatly day-light. the undaunted and resolute behaviour of the officers, seamen, and marines, was unparalleled; and i have to lament the loss of several of those brave men, a list of whom i inclose herewith. i have the honour to be, &c. p. somerville." second division. "medusa, off boulogne, 16th aug. 1801. "my lord, "after the compleat arrangement which was made, the perfect good understanding and regularity with which the boats you did me the honour to put under my command left the medusa, i have an anxious feeling to explain to your lordship the failure of our enterprize, that on it's outset promised every success. agreeable to your lordship's instructions, i proceeded, with the second division of the boats under my direction, the half of which was under the direction of lieutenant williams, senior of the medusa, to attack the part of the enemy's flotilla appointed for me: and, at half past twelve, had the good fortune to find myself close to them; when i ordered lieutenant williams, with his subdivision, to push on to attack the vessels to the northward of me; while i, with the others, run alongside a large brig off the mole head, wearing the commodore's pendant. it is at this moment, that i feel myself at a loss for words to do justice to the officers and crew of the medusa, who were in the boat with me; and to lieutenant langford, the officers and crew of the same ship, who nobly seconded us in the barge until all her crew were killed or wounded: and to the honourable william cathcart, who commanded the medusa's cutter, and sustained the attack with the greatest intrepidity, until the desperate situation i was left in obliged me to call him to the assistance of the sufferers in my boat. the boats were no sooner alongside, than we attempted to board: but a very strong netting, traced up to her lower yards, baffled all our endeavours; and an instantaneous discharge of her guns, and small arms from about two hundred soldiers on her gun-wale, knocked myself, mr. kirby the master of the medusa, and mr. gore a midshipman, with two thirds of the crew, upon our backs, into the boat; all, either killed or desperately wounded. the barge, and cutter, being on the outside, sheered off with the tide: but the flat-boat, in which i was, hung alongside; and, as there was not an officer or man left to govern her, must have fallen into the hands of the enemy, had not mr. cathcart taken her in tow, and carried her off. "mr. williams led his subdivision up to the enemy with the most intrepid gallantry, took one lugger, and attacked a brig; while his crew, i am concerned to say, suffered equally with ourselves: nearly the whole of his boat's crew were killed or wounded. lieutenant paley, who commanded the medusa's launch, and the honourable mr. maitland, midshipman, were severely wounded; and mr. william bristow, master's mate in the medusa's cutter under lieutenant steward, was killed. "i now feel it my duty to assure your lordship, that nothing could surpass the zeal, courage, and readiness, of every description of officers and men under my command; and i am sorry that my words fall short of their merit, though we could not accomplish the object we were ordered to. i have the honour to be, &c. "edward t. parker." third division. gannet, 16th aug. 1801. "my lord, "on the night of the 15th inst. the third division of boats, which i had the honour to command, assembled on board his majesty's ship york, agreeable to your lordship's directions; and, at eleven, p.m. by signal from the medusa, proceeded, without loss of time, to attack the enemy's flotilla off boulogne, as directed by your lordship. as i thought it most advisable to endeavour to reduce the largest vessel first, i lost no time in making the attack; but, in consequence of my leading the division, and the enemy opening a heavy fire from several of the batteries, thought it advisable to give the enemy as little time as possible, cut the tow-rope, and did not wait for the other boats, so that it was some little time before the heavy boats could get up. i received so many shots through the boat's bottom, that i soon found her in a sinking state; and, as it was not possible to stop so many shot-holes, was obliged, with the men, to take to another boat; and have the pleasure to acquaint your lordship that i received particular support from the boats of his majesty's ship york, which soon came up with the rest of the division i had the honour to command. but, finding no prospect of success, and the number of men killed and wounded in the different boats, with the constant fire from the shore of grape and small-arms, thought it for the good of his majesty's service to withdraw the boats between two and three in the morning; as we could not board her, although every effort was made. i have the honour to be, &c. isaac cotgrave." fourth division. "his majesty's ship isis, 16th aug. 1801. "my lord, "in consequence of directions received from your lordship, i last night, on the signal being made on board the medusa, left this ship, with the boats of the fourth division, formed with two close lines, and immediately joined the other divisions under the stern of the medusa; and, from thence, proceeded to put your lordship's orders into execution, by attacking the westernmost part of the enemy's flotilla. but, notwithstanding every exertion made, owing to the rapidity of the tide, we could not, until near day-light, get to the westward of any part of the enemy's line; on approaching the eastern part of which, in order to assist the first division then engaged, we met them returning. under these circumstances, and the day breaking apace, i judged it prudent to direct the officers commanding the different boats to return to their respective ships. "i have the honour to be, &c. robert jones. "p.s. none killed or wounded on board any of the fourth division." division of howitzer-boats. discovery, off boulogne, aug. 6, 1801. "my lord, "i beg leave to make the report to your lordship of the four howitzer-boats that i had the honour to command in the attack of the enemy last night. having led in, to support captain parker's division, keeping between his lines until the enemy opened their fire on him: we keeping on towards the pier, until i was aground in the headmost boat; then opened our fire, and threw about eight shells into it. but, from the strength of the tide coming out of the harbour, was not able to keep off the pier-head; but continued our fire on the camp until the enemy's fire had totally slackened, and captain parker's division had passed without me. i beg leave to mention to your lordship, that i was ably supported by the other boats. captain broome, and lieutenant beem, of the royal artillery, did every thing in their power to annoy the enemy. the other officers of artillery were detached in the other four howitzer-boats. "i have the honour to be, &c. john conn." * * * * * _return of killed and wounded in the boats of his majesty's ships and vessels, on the attack of the french flotilla, moored before boulogne, 16th of august 1801_. killed 4 officers. 33 seamen. 7 marines. wounded 14 84 30 --- --- --- total 18 117 37 --- --- --- total, killed and wounded, 172. the circumstances unfolded in the above letters very sufficiently account for the failure of success, while they demonstrate how well it had been merited. lord nelson was, doubtless, in some degree disappointed, for he had hoped to destroy or bring off all their boasted flotilla. he consoled himself, however, with reflecting that, if little advantage had been gained, there was, on his part, no loss of honour; while the enemy owed their security to the disgraceful resource of being constrained to chain their vaunted vessels for invading our country to the shores of their own. his lordship was scarcely returned to the downs, from this expedition, when he had the honour of receiving, from the first lord of the admiralty, his old friend the earl of st. vincent, a most kind and affectionate letter, dated the 17th of august 1801, from which the following is an extract- "it is not given us, to command success; your lordship, and the gallant men under your orders, certainly deserve it: and i cannot sufficiently express my admiration of the zeal and persevering courage with which this gallant enterprize was followed up; lamenting, most sincerely, the loss sustained in it. the manner in which the enemy's flotilla was fastened to the ground, could not have been foreseen. the highest praise is due to your lordship; and all, under your command, who were actors in this gallant attempt." lord nelson immediately issued the following general orders to all who had fought under his command on this occasion. "medusa, downs, 18th aug. 1801. "vice-admiral lord nelson has the greatest satisfaction in sending to the captains, officers, and men, under his command, that were employed in the late attempt on the enemy's flotilla off boulogne, an extract of a letter which he has received from the first lord of the admiralty; not only approving of their zeal and persevering courage, but bestowing the highest praise on them. the vice-admiral begs to assure them, that the enemy will not have long reason to boast of their security; for he trusts, ere long, to assist them in person, in a way which will compleatly annihilate the whole of them. lord nelson is convinced that, if it had been possible for men to have brought the enemy's flotilla out, the men that were employed to do so would have accomplished it. the moment the enemy have the audacity to cast off the chains which fix their vessels to the ground, that moment, lord nelson is well persuaded, they will be conducted, by his brave followers, to a british port, or sent to the bottom. "nelson and bronte." such were the consolations of these great and congenial minds. they had nothing with which to upbraid themselves; no cause of censure in any of the brave men employed on the occasion; nor the smallest doubt of success, with the same measures, and the same men, wherever success might be possible. the chief source of sorrow which afflicted the breast of our hero, was commiseration for the sufferings of the many gallant men who were now languishing, on the bed of anguish, with dreadful and dangerous wounds received in the action. at the hospital, his lordship was a constant attendant; this, indeed, had ever been his humane practice. he tenderly enquired into the state of their wounds, and poured the balm of sympathetic solace into their agonized minds. on beholding a brave fellow, whom he particularly recollected, and kindly asking what injury he had received, his lordship was informed that he had lost an arm. "never mind that," said the hero; "i have lost an arm, too; and, perhaps, shall shortly lose a leg: but, my good fellow, they can never be lost in a better cause, than in the defence of our country." this had a wonderful effect, not only on the man particularly addressed, but all his fellow-sufferers around; several of whom exclaimed, that they should disregard their being wounded, if they were not thus prevented from accompanying his lordship in another attack on the enemy. while lord nelson was engaged in these services off boulogne, the new concessions of his majesty, with regard to the extensions of his lordship's titles and honours, had been published in the london gazette, on the 4th and 12th of august 1801. the first, announcing his creation to the dignity of baron of the united kingdom of great britain and ireland, by the name, stile, and title, of baron nelson of the nile, and of hilborough in the county of norfolk, with remainders: and the second, that lord viscount nelson had been permitted, by his majesty's warrant, dated 7th january 1801, to adopt, for himself and heirs, the title of duke of bronte, with the fief of the dutchy annexed thereto; and, also, to receive the great cross of the order of st. ferdinand and of merit, all conferred on him by ferdinand iv. king of the two sicilies. the original of the creation of lord viscount nelson, before baron of burnham thorpe in the county of norfolk, to the barony of hilborough in the same county, is expressed in terms at once so highly honourable to the sovereign from whom they proceeded, and to his lordship, in whose just praise they are thus publicly addressed by his majesty to the whole world as well as to posterity, that it is judged proper to give a complete and correct copy of this curious and interesting document to the reader, as obtained from the office of the royal signet. creation of viscount nelson, baron hilborough, with remainders. "his majesty is graciously pleased, _in consideration of the great and important services that renowned man, horatio viscount nelson, hath rendered to his king and country, and in order to perpetuate to the latest posterity the remembrance of his glorious actions, and to incite others to imitate his example_, to grant the dignity of a baron of his united kingdom of great britain and ireland to the said horatio viscount nelson, knight of the most honourable order of the bath, and vice-admiral of the blue squadron of his majesty's fleet--duke of bronte in sicily, knight of the grand cross of the order of st. ferdinand and of merit, and of the imperial order of the crescent--by the name, stile, and title, of baron nelson of the nile, and of hilborough in his county of norfolk: to hold, to him, and the heirs male of his body lawfully begotten; and, in default of such issue, to his trusty and well-beloved edmund nelson, clerk, rector of burnham thorpe in his county of norfolk, father of the said horatio viscount nelson, and the heirs male of his body lawfully begotten; and, in default of such issue, to the heirs male of the body of susannah, the wife of thomas bolton, esq. and sister of the said horatio viscount nelson, lawfully begotten and to be begotten, severally and successively, one after another, as they shall be in seniority of age and priority of birth; and, in default of such issue, to the heirs male of the body of catharine, the wife of george matcham, esq. another sister of the said horatio viscount nelson, lawfully begotten and to be begotten, severally and successively, one after another, as they shall be in seniority of age and priority of birth; with all rights, privileges, pre-eminences, immunities, and advantages, thereunto belonging. _and a clause is inserted, declaring it to be his majesty's royal will and pleasure, that the persons who shall hereafter succeed to the said title and dignity of baron nelson of the nile, and of hilborough aforesaid, shall take and use the surname of nelson only_." in a note accompanying the above copy of this creation with remainders, it is observed, that the words therein scored under with red, and which are here printed in italic characters, appear to be new, and are not inserted in common creations. immediately on lord nelson's arrival in the downs, from off boulogne, he had sent to request that sir william and lady hamilton, with the present earl and countess nelson, would hasten to deal, for the purpose of attending on their esteemed friend captain parker, whose dreadful wounds afforded but little hope of his recovery, and tendering their kind offices to the rest of the brave sufferers. in the mean time, his lordship had again sailed from the downs, on sunday the 23d of august; and was joined off the north foreland, by the squadron from margate, with a view of trying what might be effected against flushing. the whole of this fleet, when united off west capel, consisted of thirty-four sail, from sixty-four guns to fourteen, including three bombs and three fire-vessels; and, after consulting pilots, "who made use," his lordship observed, in his letter to mr. nepean, "of many _ifs_," with regard to being able to approach the enemy, or even get the ships safely back again, he was determined to satisfy his own mind, by going on board the king george hired cutter, mr. yawkins master, the 25th in the morning; who carried his lordship up the welling channel four or five leagues from his ships, and within about three of the enemy. from this distant observation, by himself and captain gore, joined to the local knowledge of mr. yawkins, he could not think himself justifiable in proceeding farther with the business; though he liberally acknowledged the admiration which he felt of the zeal of captain owen, in the anxious desire of that able officer to get at the enemy. the hazard, it appeared, was far greater, and the object, from the few ships there, considerably less, than had been imagined. on the 27th, lord nelson returned to the downs, in the medusa; and, next day, hoisted his flag on board the amazon. his worthy old friend, admiral lutwidge, being port-admiral at deal, and residing there with his excellent and truly amiable lady, an indissoluble friendship was formed between them and sir william and lady hamilton. the gallant and good captain parker, having been under the necessity of submitting to an amputation of his thigh, suffered the most excruciating tortures for about a month; and then died, with the most magnanimous and pious resignation, surrounded by these estimable friends, who had contributed to afford him every solace of which his dreadful state was susceptible. as the french, now attacked on their own shores, seemed likely soon to accept propositions of peace, lord nelson thought it advisable to purchase a pleasant rural retreat, where he might enjoy the benefit of good air, and yet be "within hail of the admiralty." sir william hamilton, therefore, was requested to search out a spot adapted to their joint establishment: and, shortly after his return to london, learning that merton place, in surry, about eight miles distant from westminster bridge, was to be disposed of, he immediately bought this estate; which was expeditiously prepared for their mutual reception, under the guidance of that classical and elegant taste for which sir william and lady hamilton were both so peculiarly distinguished. the site of this house and grounds is said to have been part of the ancient abbey lands of merton, situated within about two hundred and fifty yards of the present remaining abbey wall; and, in digging to effect the various improvements, many old coins, and other antiquities, have been occasionally dug up. though this place was familiarly denominated a farm, by our hero and his friends, it had been, for many years before, the respectable seat of sir richard hotham. the ground, however, was certainly very contracted on one side of the house, being there little more than sufficient to bound the moat by which it was unpleasantly surrounded. whatever could be effected, in such limits, was soon arranged; and, as the autumnal season's advancement probably reminded them of the spoliage which must speedily be expected to ensue in the general verdure of the scene, innumerable evergreens were most judiciously planted throughout the grounds; including a modest portion of those laurels, beneath the shade of which the transcendent merits of the heroic possessor so abundantly entitled him to repose. by pursuing this excellent management, the charming gardens of merton, in their enlarged state, preserve a considerable degree of comfort and beauty throughout the rigours of the severest winter. lord nelson heard, daily, the progress which was making at the farm, and it afforded him a pleasure of which he stood greatly in need. his health was, at this time, very indifferent, and he suffered severely from the cold winds of the autumnal equinox. though, however, the preliminaries of peace were now signed, he could not obtain leave of absence from the admiralty, to try the good effects of a little retirement at his new dwelling, till the 22d of october, and then only for ten days. as if this were not sufficient, he was agitated by the estrangement of his father's affections, in consequence of the recent separation from lady nelson; and pestered with anonymous threatening letters, in a way very similar to those supposed to have been written by mr. barnard to the great duke of marlborough. every means were tried, by the friends of his lordship, to detect the writer of these infamous incendiary epistles, but without the desired effect. they, however, gave the hero himself very little anxiety: he considered them, probably, as nefarious attacks on his purse, through the medium of his character, and treated every menace they contained with the most sovereign contempt. such, however, was our hero's filial reverence of parental authority, that he could by no means regard his father's censure as a matter of light importance, though he felt conscious of his own innocence and integrity. this, indeed, was truly a source of sorrow; and he resolved fully to satisfy his venerable parent's every scruple, and convince him how cruelly he had been wronged by false and scandalous reports. early on the 22d of october, lord nelson quitted the amazon, in the downs; and, immediately landing at deal, set off post for merton. on arriving at this small village, it is a singular fact that, being asked by the post-boy, which was the house; his lordship could only reply, that he knew no more than himself. it was, however, soon found; and never was man more delighted, than our hero, at beholding his new residence. every glowing feature of his amiable friends spoke the welcome which was felt by each heart, as the various beauties of this little spot were pointed out to his inquisitive eye. he viewed all with admiration and astonishment, so greatly did it surpass every idea which he had formed. "is this, too, mine?" he repeatedly asked, as he was shewn the different parts of his estate; the house, the gardens, the dairy, &c. he was particularly charmed with the admirable contrivance of a commodious subterranean passage, formed beneath the high road, and leading to the beautiful and extensive plantation walks with which the fields and kitchen gardens, on that side, are so agreeably environed; this estate, among others in that neighbourhood, having been formerly severed, in consequence of an act of parliament for intersecting it by a new road to epsom. "oh, sir william!" exclaimed his lordship, embracing his most worthy friend, when he had seen the whole, "the longest liver shall possess it all!" lord nelson was never a man of words; the memory of this engagement, when he afterwards made his will, has conveyed the beautiful villa of merton place to lady hamilton. the peace that at this period ensued, happily prevented any necessity for his lordship's return to the fleet, which was soon after paid off. in the attainment of this peace, it will be the province of every historian who duly considers the entire combination of causes and effects, justly to appreciate the merits of our hero; who, however, was, by no means of opinion that it could prove of any very long duration, till the restless ambition of bonaparte should be still more efficaciously checked. his lordship was ever affectionately attached to his royal highness the prince of wales; as well as to the duke of clarence, and all the other royal brothers: he was fully sensible, too, of the brilliant political abilities of some of the chief members of the opposition, and felt sincerely desirous of seeing them fairly devoted to the service of the country. he regarded, however, what was universally deemed "the honest administration of mr. addington," the present lord sidmouth, as entitled to all the support which he could render men who not unworthily enjoyed a high degree of their sovereign's confidence and favour. no considerations of private friendship could ever induce him to unite in any systematic opposition of his majesty's ministers. he was, he said, the king's servant; and would, in every way, defend him with his best abilities. his lordship joined not in any condemnation of the peace; which he regarded, with many other intelligent persons, as an experiment worthy the trial. of national honour, he conceived, nothing was sacrificed; and, except malta, little was given up, which could be any just subject of regret. even malta itself, of which he so well knew all the value, and which could probably never have been wrested from france without his lordship's wonderful address and perseverance in obtaining aids for effecting it's reduction, he declared was, in his estimation, scarcely worth the trouble and expence of preserving, could we be certain that it might never fall into the hands of our enemies. the speeches of lord nelson, in parliament, on this and other popular topics, demonstrate great senatorial ability, with a profound knowledge of our political and even commercial interests. such a potent coadjutor was well worth cherishing, and mr. addington appears to have been very properly of that opinion. lord nelson, on surveying his new domains, felt vastly desirous of filling up the moat, and extending the grounds on that side of the house where the space was so exceedingly contracted. he had, accordingly, applied by letter, dated the 25th of october 1801, to william axe, esq. of birchin lane, london, who was proprietor of the small intervening field which alone separated merton place from the narrow lane at the end of the abbey wall, to be favoured with the purchase of it, on equitable terms; and though that worthy gentleman, in the handsomest manner, for which lord nelson ever after highly respected him, paid all possible attention to the wish of his lordship; a churlish farmer, who was mr. axe's tenant, on lease, of the whole adjoining estate, where he had acquired a considerable fortune, opposed so many objections, and evinced so rude and unaccommodating a disposition, notwithstanding his lordship had condescendingly treated him with every courtesy, that the object was not accomplished till his lordship, about a year and half afterwards, purchased the whole farm, consisting of a hundred and fifteen acres; which mr. axe liberally consented to sell for the very moderate sum of eight thousand pounds. in november, the reverend mr. nelson came to merton, on the pressing invitation of his ever duteous son. the meeting was truly affecting; and terminated, as it ought, in a thorough conviction, that his lordship had been most shamefully slandered. indeed, on an entire eclaircissement, it became manifest that the grossest part of the slander which had been cruelly levelled against our hero was so self-evidently false, and really impracticable, that a very small degree of consideration made the worthy and venerable father blush for the credulity which had contributed to criminate our hero; whose private life, all circumstances duly considered, was to the full as unsullied as his public character. he saw the happy family with whom his heroic son was so agreeably domesticated; and witnessed the pure felicity of those amiable friends, with a rapture which conveyed the highest satisfaction to his heart. he perceived the kindest attentions to his son's happiness in every act of all around him: and their success, in the joy now constantly diffused over his countenance; beaming in every glance of his eye, and speaking in every accent of his tongue. he beheld his great and good son happy, and blessed and loved the friends who made him so. "merton," he said, "is the _mansion of peace_, and i must become one of the inhabitants. sir william and myself are both old men, and we will witness the hero's felicity in retirement." such was the intention of this virtuous and pious parent; who had, however, been long so habituated to passing his winters at bath, that he could not, at once, wean himself of the custom: but he never resided with lady nelson, as has been falsely reported, from the moment he was convinced of his illustrious son's having been so egregiously misrepresented. apartments, in the mean time, were actually prepared for him at merton place; and it was agreed that, after wintering at bath, he should, in may, come to reside wholly with his son and sir william and lady hamilton: but, unfortunately, the salubrity of bath proved insufficient to prolong his valuable life even till that period, for he died at his own apartments in that city, on the 26th of april 1802, in the seventy-ninth year of his age: lamented by every person who had ever known him, with the deepest veneration and regret, for the blameless sanctity of his amiable manners, the agreeable cheerfulness of his admirable disposition, and the warm benevolence of his excellent heart. the loss of such a father, though at an age when it was to be expected, could not but be sensibly felt by the amiable offspring whom he left behind. lord nelson, ever tender as an infant in all that regards the soft affections, lamented his father's death with a grief so poignant, that its effect had nearly proved fatal to himself. about the middle of july, sir william hamilton being desirous that lord nelson should accompany him into wales, for the purpose of viewing milford haven, and the improvements at milford, which the honourable mr. greville had made on his uncle sir william's estate, under the powers of an act of parliament passed in 1790, a party was formed, consisting of his lordship, sir william and lady hamilton, and dr. nelson, the present earl, with his lady and son. in compliment to his heroic friend, sir william had resolved to establish, at milford, a fair, or annual festival, on the 1st of august; and his nephew, the honourable mr. greville, kindly undertook to make every requisite preparation for receiving them on the joyous occasion. the party reached oxford the first day, being wednesday, the 21st of july; where, by appointment, they were met by mr. and mrs. matcham, with their eldest son, george matcham, jun. esq. the oxonians received his lordship with great joy; and, on thursday, the freedom of the corporation was presented to lord nelson in a gold box, by richard weston, esq. mayor of that city, who addressed his lordship, on the occasion, in a very respectful speech; and lord nelson expressed, in the warmest and strongest terms, his high sense of the honour, and his earnest wishes for the happiness of the city, and the prosperity of the public service. on friday morning, in full convocation, the university not only complimented lord nelson, and his friend sir william hamilton, with the honorary degree of ll.d. but liberally admitted his lordship's brother, the present earl, who had already taken his degree of d.d. at cambridge, _ad eundem_--that is, to the same honour in oxford. lord nelson, and sir william hamilton, were severally presented by dr. blackstone, vinerian professor of law; and the reverend william nelson, of christ's college, and doctor of divinity in the university of cambridge, by dr. collinson, lady margaret's professor of divinity. nothing, in short, could surpass the respect experienced by his lordship and friends at oxford; from whence, highly gratified, they the same day proceeded to woodstock, with an intention of viewing blenheim. it might have been expected, that his grace the duke of marlborough, himself descended from a british hero of the first class, and inhabiting a magnificent palace, the honourable boon of his country, would have joyfully availed himself of the opportunity thus afforded by the presence of a man certainly not inferior to his own heroic ancestor, so near as even at oxford, and politely requested the honour of entertaining such a guest. this, however, had not been done; and lord nelson, with his friends, put up at an inn in woodstock; from whence they went to blenheim, as strangers, for the purpose of viewing the internal attractions of art, in that grand but ponderous national pile. the family never made their appearance; but sent a servant with refreshments, which lord nelson proudly refused. as the duke was at home, his lordship thought, no doubt, that he ought, at least, to have come forward. sir william hamilton said that, if the shade of the great marlborough could arise, he would have done the honours to the victor of aboukir, a greater victor than himself! lady hamilton finely remarked--with a spirit and energy forcibly depicting the grand character of that superlative mind which renders her, at once, the idol and idoliser of transcendent genius and valour--that "the splendid reward of marlborough's services, was because a woman reigned, and women had great souls: and i," says her ladyship, for these are her own matchless words, "told nelson that, if i had been a queen, after the battle of aboukir, he should have had a principality, so that blenheim park should have been only as a kitchen garden to it! the tears came into his eyes, and he shook sir william and me by the hand; saying, that he was content to have done his duty by the country, and the people, that he loved, and he hoped we should ever approve his conduct; but that, yet, he had not half done, for there were two or three beds of laurels in the mediterranean to be gathered." it was in this way, that these exalted friends of their country, and of each other, consoled themselves on all occasions, where they met with any of that incivility or ingratitude, which few persons of eminent worth fail to experience in the world. that the duke of marlborough should have come forward, and welcomed the hero to blenheim, cannot well be disputed; but his grace, who is said to be of a shy and retiring disposition, could not, it seems probable, prevail on himself to forego the ceremonials of introductory etiquette, and might thus give considerable offence to his lordship and friends, without intending them the smallest personal disrespect. the party, next morning, set off for gloucester, where they were received with the usual demonstrations of joy, by all ranks of the inhabitants. the bells were immediately rung; and multitudes eagerly crouded before the king's head inn, to view the hero who had atchieved so much for his country. during the party's short stay, they visited the cathedral, and the county prison, with both of which his lordship expressed himself highly pleased; particularly, with the extent and convenience of the latter, and the described system of it's internal regulations. on sunday morning, mr. and mrs. matcham, with their son, returned to bath; while his lordship, and the remainder of his party, proceeded to ross. they entered this town amidst bell-ringing, and the acclamations of the people; and, after breakfasting at the swan inn, where horses had been ordered to convey them to monmouth, finding they might be accommodated with boats, and preferring the excursion by water, for the sake of viewing the beautiful scenery on the banks of the wye, they walked through the beautiful gardens belonging to walter hill, esq. to the banks of that river, attended by a vast number of people, who decorated the boat provided for his lordship and friends with laurels, and exhibited every other demonstration of respect and joy. it was no sooner known at monmouth, that the party were making this excursion down the wye, than its shores were lined with spectators, and the river covered with boats; and, when those accompanying his lordship appeared, shouts of joy burst forth, and the guns on the celebrated kymin were fired. at landing, they were received by the corporation, who had come out to meet them, and by whom the hero was complimented in an appropriate address; for which, as well as for the recent honours conferred on him, in making him a burgess of their ancient borough, together with his friend, sir william hamilton, and enrolling his name among the illustrious chiefs in the kymin naval temple, he returned his most heartfelt acknowledgments. they were preceded, on their way into town, by the bands of the monmouth and brecon militia, playing "god save the king!"--"rule, britannia!" and other popular tunes. after dinner, his lordship paid his respects to thomas hollings, esq. the mayor; and then walked out in the town, for the purpose of viewing whatever seemed worthy of notice, constantly surrounded by innumerable spectators, all anxious to behold the hero, and pay him their tributary acknowledgments. his lordship being engaged, for next day, at crickhowell, with his friend admiral gell, was under the necessity of declining the kind invitation of the mayor and corporation, to dine with them on monday; but promised to pass a day at monmouth on his return, of which they should have previous notice. after spending the day with admiral gell, they went on to brecon, where the joy of the people surpassed all description. the deputation of farmers was affecting. they said, addressing the hero---"my lord, you have saved us. while you was losing your limbs, and shedding your blood, for us, we slept soundly with our wives; and our lands, and children, were protected by your brave vigilance. accept our thanks; these tears will tell you that we feel!" and the men wept like children. the town was illuminated; and one man exclaimed--"now, i could die in peace; i have seen our saviour, and brave defender!" nothing particular occurred to the party, after leaving brecon, till they arrived at milford; where the hero of the nile, and his friends, were received with enthusiastic rapture. sir william hamilton had not, for many years, visited his numerous tenants; and they were proud to behold their paternal friend leagued in so strict an amity with the first hero in the world. sir william was delighted to see his dear friend at milford, and to shew him off to every body; and every body was charmed with the pleasing affability of the illustrious hero. lord nelson often mentioned his progress through south wales to milford, as an affecting contrast of the genuine enthusiasm of natural character, to the cold expression of ministerial approbation by which his reception had been marked on his return from the mediterranean, when lord keith was sent to take the chief command of the fleet in those seas. the corporate towns, villages, nobility, and gentry, on the line through which his route was directed, vied with each other to detain him, that their neighbours might participate in the joy they felt on the arrival of the hero. in many places, it was not possible to avoid their generous importunity; and these kind attentions, which so honourably testified national gratitude, were accepted, by his lordship, as the most gratifying recompences of his public service. the 1st of august being made the great day at milford, the honourable mr. greville had invited all the nobility and gentry of the county of pembroke to welcome the hero and his friends at this intended annual festival. a rowing match, fair day, and shew of cattle, were established for ever at milford, in honour of the victory off the nile. all the most respectable families twenty miles round, with a prodigious concourse of the humbler classes, came to see their beloved hero. mr. bolton, his lordship's brother-in-law, too, determined to be present on the occasion, arrived at milford, that very morning, from norfolk. it proved, all together a most interesting scene. after dinner, lord nelson, with admirable address, gave "captain foley!" as his toast: a friend and brother officer, he said, than whom there was not a braver or a better man in his majesty's service. he had been with him in all his chief battles; deserved to participate in every honour; and was, his lordship had the pleasure to add, in that respectable company, not only a welshman, but a native of the county of pembroke. it need scarcely be added, that this toast, so honourable both to his lordship and captain foley, and so gratifying to the principality and county, was received, and drank, with the most rapturous delight. at this public meeting, they had also the high satisfaction to hear, from his lordship's lips, the result of his judicious observations on the matchless harbour which that county embosoms. lord nelson had fully examined it's entrance, and its qualities; and now declared, that he considered milford haven, and trincomale in the east indies, as the two finest harbours he had ever beheld. the obstacles which had hitherto impeded the employment of so important an appendage as this to the empire, appeared merely artificial, and would speedily be removed when once fully known. the rapid results of individual exertion had already, in fact, proved this, by bringing the mails to the water-side, rendering the custom-house shore accessible to ships of burden, and establishing daily packets to and from ireland; so that nothing more was now wanting, to render milford haven, projecting into and separating the st. george's and the bristol channels, the only safe sea-port on the west coast of great britain for commerce, as well as a port of refuge and of call: but, when viewed in relation to ireland, it became the central port of the empire; particularly, as a bonding port. the american settlers, by their character and ability, had been enabled to send eight ships to the south seas, and thus established the whale fishery. he had, himself, he acknowledged, supposed that the danger and natural defects of this port justified the official prejudice which, since the year 1757, has been attached to milford haven; but, the fortifications being now properly abandoned, as incapable of defending the harbour, the qualities of the port, stated in the petition of british merchants, and in the report of the committee of the house of commons, he had, on his own view, ascertained to be correct. he applauded the wise measure of earl spencer, to improve naval architecture at milford; and was of opinion that, to apply, with oeconomy, the supply of timber on the sides of the severn, for the purpose of building ships on the draughts of mr. barralleer at milford, would do honour to the earl's views, and benefit to the service. he had critically examined the ships on the slips; and declared, that they ought to be models, of their class, for the british navy. mr. barralleer, an ingenious french ship-builder, who quitted toulon, on it's evacuation by our forces, was well known to lord nelson. he had been fourteen months on board admiral goodall's ship; and his observations, during all that time, in british practice, had perfected mr. barralleer's principles of construction. at his lordship's suggestion, this ingenious naval architect has since prepared draughts for the largest classes of ships, the usual defects of which had been pointed out by lord nelson, and are there effectually remedied. the high tides of milford haven, it's vicinity to the forest of dean, and the dock-yard being exempt from those interruptions by repairs to which portsmouth and plymouth must ever be devoted during war, are circumstances which, his lordship remarked, ought to render milford haven of the greatest use. earl spencer, indeed, had established the utility of the situation; and mr. barralleer, aware of prejudices among workmen who are required to deviate from their accustomed methods, had the precaution to initiate young natives of south wales in his own modes of construction, and thus contrived to raise a sufficient number of able artificers. as to the practical use of milford haven, for the king's service, it was only requisite that it should be known; and for the commander of the channel fleet to give notice, that he considered milford haven as a port where he would detach some of his ships to victual and water: for, as his lordship observed, before earl spencer ordered ships to be built at milford, not the smallest assistance could be obtained; and, indeed, what ship would go thither, while the agent-victualler resided in bristol, and had no store for salt provisions at milford?--which was, then, actually the case. such obstacles, once noticed, must immediately vanish; and he would himself recommend the trial, if in command. it had been said, there were not sufficient pilots; but, his lordship observed, there soon would be, if the arrival of ships sufficient to maintain them might be reasonably expected. in short, the port of milford was adapted to become of the greatest importance to great britain, not only in a naval and commercial view, but as an excellent position for packets to the westward. it would be particularly convenient, his lordship remarked, for single ships to go down channel, and rendezvous at milford haven, from whence they might at any time put to sea; either for the purpose of going off brest, or stretching for the west indies, when it was impossible for whole fleets to clear the channel, where they were now not unfrequently detained as long a time as would be requisite to make the whole voyage. adverting to the example of his esteemed friend, captain foley, as a native of pembrokeshire, his lordship remarked that, if government would only continue a fair encouragement to the port, the officers, the seamen, and the artificers, of the county of pembroke, it could not fail to effect important services for the nation. his lordship concluded with observing, that he felt so happy at beholding such public benefits combined with the objects established on his friend sir william hamilton's estate, by prudence of plan, unremitted perseverance, and with small means, under the judicious arrangements of the honourable mr. greville, that he would, if not on service, promise to return, as often as it should be in his power, to join them in celebrating the annual festivity thus established: and hoped that what he now publicly said, or had previously stated in private to his friends while surveying the port, would be remembered, for they were genuine truths; and he had already actually written to the minister, that he was in perfect admiration of this fine neglected port. such is the substance of lord nelson's observations with regard to milford haven; the remembrance of which will, no doubt, long be cherished in the grateful bosoms of all who had the honour to hear him. sir william hamilton left a fine whole-length picture of lord nelson, which had been painted at vienna, to be preserved, for the perpetual gratification of visitors, by the occupier of the new hotel, where his lordship and friends resided while at milford. after visiting lord cawdor, at stackpoole court; lord milford, at picton castle; lord kensington; mr. foley, brother of captain foley; and other noblemen and gentlemen in that part of the country, by all of whom they were sumptuously entertained; the party set out on their return from this highly satisfactory tour. at haverfordwest, on going to visit mr. foley, the horses had been taken from lord nelson's carriage, and he was drawn through the streets by the populace; preceded by the pembrokeshire militia, a troop of the haverfordwest cavalry, and the flags of the different companies and societies, &c. while they were at mr. foley's, the mayor and corporation waited on his lordship, and presented him with the freedom of that ancient town. at swansea, too, where he minutely examined the pier, pottery, and other places, while on a visit to glasmont, the seat of john morris, esq. the carriage had been drawn through the town by a choice body of exulting tars; and, after being regaled with his friends, by the portreeve, his lordship, and sir william hamilton, were both presented with the freedom of swansea. on wednesday evening, the 18th of august, after passing the day with mr. wells, owner of the celebrated piersfield estate, the returning party arrived at the beaufort arms, monmouth; lord nelson, on his way to milford, having promised the mayor and corporation that he would again visit them. next morning, amidst the ringing of bells, and preceded by a band of music, they set out, in a carriage with four horses, for the famous kymin pavillion; where they were not only received with enthusiasm by the company, but saluted by a discharge of cannon; the militia band playing--"god save the king!"--"rule, britannia!" &c. after taking breakfast in the banqueting-room, they proceeded to the naval temple, which his lordship surveyed with great attention. they then walked through the beaulieu grove: and, when they had sufficiently surveyed this delightful scene, in order to gratify the public curiosity, they walked back to monmouth; receiving, as they passed, the grateful applauses of all ranks of people. at four o'clock, they sat down to an elegant dinner, at the beaufort arms, with the mayor, corporation, and most of the principal inhabitants. on the health of--"the hero of the nile!" being drank, his lordship arose; and, in an admirable speech, expressed his gratitude for their kind attentions. lady hamilton sung two songs, with her usual scientific taste, and superior vocal excellence, which quite enraptured the whole company. "words, indeed," says a writer in one of the provincial journals, on this occasion, would "but ill convey an idea of the life and spirit which this deservedly admired lady gave to the festive board! in short, the polite and engaging behaviour of lord nelson, as well as of sir william and lady hamilton, impressed on the minds of the visitors the most unqualified respect and admiration of their characters." the meeting broke up at eight o'clock; his lordship and friends being engaged to pass the evening at the honourable colonel lindsay's. on friday, after walking in the town, viewing the public buildings, &c. they set out for ross; where a triumphal arch, ornamented with laurel and oak, and bearing an appropriate inscription, had been erected for the hero to pass through. from hence, they paid a visit to rudhall, the seat of thomas westfaling, esq. where, in the evening, there was a splendid ball and supper, to which all the principal families, for some miles round, were invited. a deputation from the mayor and corporation of hereford, having waited on lord nelson, at rudhall, requesting he would honour that city with his presence, his lordship obligingly consented; and, on monday morning, proceeded thither. being met by the populace, near the city, about twelve o'clock, they took the horses from his carriage, and drew the hero and his friends to the hotel; where they were received by his grace the duke of norfolk, recorder of hereford. shortly after, they proceeded to the town-hall; the militia band playing--"see, the conquering hero comes!" being introduced, by the duke of norfolk, to the corporation, who were waiting to receive his lordship, he was immediately addressed, by lacon lambe, esq. town-clerk, in an appropriate speech, complimentary of the hero's splendid achievements during the war; and soliciting his acceptance of the freedom of the city, presented in a box cut from the _apple-tree_--"the pride of the country; and of whose noble juice," concluded mr. lambe, "many libations will not fail to be offered to the long health, prosperity, and happiness, of the great and glorious conqueror of the nile!" lord nelson, respectfully putting the box to his lips, returned his sincere thanks, for an honour which, he said, he should never forget--that of having his name enrolled among the freemen of hereford. it was true, he had stood forward in the defence of his king and country, in many engagements: yet the honour and renown, for the brilliant victories which the fleets under him had obtained, were not attributable to himself, but must be ascribed, first, to the deity; and, next, to the undaunted courage, skill, and discipline, of those officers and seamen whom it had been his good fortune to command--not one of whom, he was proud to say, had ever in the least swerved from his duty. "should this nation," concluded his lordship, "ever experience a state similar to that from which it has been recently extricated, i have not the slightest doubt, from the result of my observations during this tour, that the native, the inbred spirit of britons, whilst it continues as firmly united as at present, is fully adequate successfully to repel any attack, either foreign or domestic, which our enemies may dare to make. you have but to say, to your fleets and armies--go ye forth, and fight our battles; whilst we, true to ourselves, protect and support your wives and little ones at home." the impression made by this speech is inconceivable. the reverend mr. morgan, canon-residentiary, also addressed his lordship, on the part of the bishop and clergy of the diocese; and, being charged, by the venerable bishop, to express his regret at being deprived, by extreme age and infirmity, of the honour of paying his personal respects to lord nelson in the town-hall, his lordship immediately replied that, as the son of a clergyman, and from having been bred up in a sense of the highest veneration for the church and it's able ministers, while he sincerely lamented the cause of absence, he conceived it a duty, which he would perform with the utmost willingness, to wait on his lordship at the episcopal palace. this, on returning from the hall, he accordingly did; and, soon after, the party proceeded to downton castle, near ludlow, the seat of richard payne knight, esq. on approaching near ludlow, the populace took the horses from his lordship's carriage, and drew it into the town; and, at his departure, drew him out of town, in the same manner, on the road to downton castle. after passing a few days with mr. knight, at his beautiful seat, and receiving the honorary freedom of the ancient borough of ludlow, his lordship, on sunday evening, the 29th of august, while on the road to worcester, was met by a prodigious concourse of people, who hailed his approach with heart-felt acclamations; and, taking the horses from his carriage, drew it to the hop-pole inn. the hero was greeted, as he entered the city, by lively peals from the different church bells, and many discharges of cannon; and joyfully saluted by innumerable spectators, in the streets, at the windows, and on the tops of houses, where they crouded to see him pass. in the course of the evening, his lordship frequently appeared at a window; and courteously bowed to the exulting crowd, with the most grateful condescension. next morning, the illustrious guest, and his friends, preceded by a band of music, visited the famous worcester china manufactory of messrs. chamberlains; and they demonstrated their approbation of it's beauty, by making considerable purchases. his lordship, in particular, left a large order for china, to be decorated in the most splendid stile, with his arms, insignia, &c. on returning to the inn, lord nelson was attended by the city officers, in all their formalities, for conducting his lordship and friends to the council-room in the town-hall; where the mayor and corporation were assembled, and had prepared an elegant collation. at the conclusion of this repast, the right honourable the earl of coventry, as recorder of worcester, on presenting his lordship with the freedom of that city, in an elegant china vase from messrs. chamberlains manufactory, thus addressed him--"my lord! as recorder of the ancient and loyal city of worcester, an office of the most pleasing nature to myself, and honourable to your lordship, is now imposed upon me. i am requested, by that respectable and patriotic body which i have the honour to represent on this occasion, the corporation of this city, to solicit your lordship's acceptance, as a testimony of their high and grateful sense of your distinguished services, in defence of the people, liberty, and constitution, of this kingdom, and our most gracious sovereign, with the freedom of the city of worcester." lord nelson, in a very masterly speech, complimented the corporate body, on the polite manner in which they had received him; and delicately expressed the pleasure which he felt from the sentiments entertained of him by the civil power of so ancient, so loyal, and so respectable a city, as that of worcester. for loyalty, his lordship remarked, they had always stood in the foremost rank; and, to that patriotic spirit, he conceived, was to be ascribed the high estimation in which they held his public and personal services. he considered himself fortunate, that his exertions had been called forth in such perilous and disastrous times; as, he flattered himself, he had contributed to the protection of the best of constitutions, and the best of kings. at the same time, he was bound to acknowledge that, whatever honour might arise to himself, from his conduct in those trying scenes in which he had been engaged, he had certainly been supported by the most able, intrepid, and active officers, and by men of the most undaunted and enterprising courage. the merit ascribed to him, was more particularly due to the brave men who had been put under his orders; it was to them that the country was indebted, he only had the good fortune to command the heroes who had obtained those important successes. with such assistance, aided by that providence who watches over righteous kings and states with paternal care, he did not hesitate to say, that this kingdom rested on a safe and solid basis; that nothing could shake it's foundation, but internal discord and divisions; that, as those whom he had now the honour of addressing, on to him so pleasing and flattering an occasion, had always, with such zeal and promptitude, expressed their attachment to their sovereign, they would, he hoped, persevere in that unanimity and order, which tend, as the best and most solid security, to the preservation of all kings and states. he had now, he said, the honour of being one of that body, as a public acknowledgment of the approbation with which they regarded his former services; and, should the exigence of the times, at any future period, call them again into action, the remembrance of that attention for which he had to thank them on the present occasion, would act as a stimulus to the exercise, if possible, of more ardent zeal and exertion, in the old and favourite cause, the defence of his king, and the protection of the constitution. his future conduct, his lordship concluded, would best evince his gratitude for the distinguished honours which had been conferred on him. the remainder of his life should be devoted to the service of his king and country; and, while he had a limb left, that limb should, if necessary, be cheerfully sacrificed in their defence. after this noble and impressive speech, which was much and most deservedly admired, his lordship and friends quitted the hall, and went to see the cathedral; where they were received, and congratulated, by the reverend dr. arthur onslow, the dean, and clergy. lord nelson viewed the choir, monuments, &c. of this elegant structure, with evident marks of satisfaction; and expressed himself much flattered by the polite attentions which he had experienced at worcester. having received an express invitation from the high and low bailiffs of birmingham, his lordship and friends, soon after one o'clock, departed for that celebrated place, in two post-coaches and four, with the drivers in bluejackets, and wearing ribbons of the same colour in their hats. apprehensive of accidents, from the curiosity of so crouded a population as that of birmingham, his lordship contrived to reach this town two hours sooner than expected. accordingly, he was met with by but few people on the road; and arrived, without any tumult, at styles's hotel. the intelligence, however, soon became general; the bells merrily rung; and a prodigious concourse of people assembled, all desirous of beholding the hero who had, they exclaimed, saved them and their little ones from destruction. his lordship kindly gratified them as much as possible, with a sight of his person, by repeatedly presenting himself at the window; and was as repeatedly greeted by the grateful and applausive shouts of the surrounding multitude, invoking heaven's best blessings on the noble champion of his country. his lordship was immediately waited on, at the hotel, by james woolley, esq. the high bailiff; and timothy smith, esq. the low bailiff: who politely thanked him, for the honour of accepting their invitation to "the toy-shop of europe." his lordship, and friends, in the evening, went to the theatre, drawn by the shouting populace; and the house was so crouded, that many hundred persons were unable to obtain admission. on their entrance, "rule, britannia!" was played in full orchestra; and the whole audience, respectfully standing up, instantly testified, by their unanimously loud and long continued plaudits, the happiness which they experienced at thus seeing among them the renowned hero of the nile. on returning, at midnight, his lordship and friends were drawn back, by the people, through new street, high street, and bull street, to styles's hotel, amidst a blaze of several hundred lighted torches. next morning, his lordship and friends, accompanied by the high and low bailiffs, walked to view the manufactory of mr. clay, japanner in ordinary to his majesty and his royal highness the prince of wales; the sword manufactory of messrs. woolley and deakin; the button manufactory of messrs. w. and r. smith; the buckle and ring manufactory of messrs. simcox and timmins; and the patent-sash manufactory of messrs. timmins and jordan. they then went, drawn in their carriage by the populace, a prodigious multitude constantly attending, to mr. egerton's stained-glass manufactory, at handsworth, where they were received by a party of beautiful young ladies, dressed in white, and who literally strewed the hero's ways with flowers. here his lordship particularly admired a large window intended for lady masterman sykes, and some works for fonthill and arundel. the party then proceeded to mr. boulton's matchless manufactory at soho; and visited that ingenious gentleman, who was slowly recovering from a dangerous illness, in his bed-chamber. they then viewed the extensive coining apparatus; and were presented with several appropriate medals struck in their presence. on returning to the hotel, they found an elegant dinner, consisting of every delicacy the season could afford, provided by the high and low bailiffs: at which they were met by heneage legge, esq. the high-sheriff; dugdale stratford dugdale, esq. one of the members for the county of stafford; his lordship's esteemed friend captain digby, who had the honour of being selected to bring intelligence of his lordship's glorious victory off the nile; with other naval and military officers, clergy, magistrates, &c. lady hamilton very condescendingly gratified the company with some charming songs. the bells rung most of the day: and, in the evening, his lordship and friends again visited the theatre; which was crouded with all the beauty and fashion of the neighbourhood, who gave them the most rapturous welcome. a respectable song, written for the occasion by mr. collins, was sung to the good old tune of "hearts of oak;" and his lordship and party were conveyed to and from the theatre, by the populace, in the same stile as they had been the preceding night. on wednesday morning, again attended by the high and low bailiff, they proceeded, on foot, to inspect mr. radenhurst's whip manufactory, the extensive toy warehouse of messrs. richards, mr. phipson's pin manufactory, and mr. bissett's museum. they concluded, by visiting the famous blue-coat charity school, and were much pleased with the appearance of the children; they then returned to their hotel, and set out for warwick, where they arrived the same evening. the inhabitants of warwick received his lordship and friends with every possible demonstration of joy. they were waited on by the mayor and corporation; and, after remaining till friday morning, chiefly occupied in viewing warwick castle, the county-hall, churches, and other public buildings, went on to coventry. on arriving in the city of coventry, where they were greeted with the usual public rejoicings, they were immediately attended by the mayor and corporation: and, after taking some refreshment, his lordship proceeded to pay his respects to earl spencer, at althorpe park, near northampton; from whence, on sunday, the 5th of september, the party returned to merton. this journey to milford proved eminently beneficial to lord nelson. it had not only established his health; but exhilarated his feeling mind, and freed it from every depression. the affectionate sentiments of a grateful and virtuous people, spontaneously bursting from their hearts, communicated a glow to his heroic bosom, which inspired him with renovated vigour, and fortified him against all the lurking malignancy of mean envy and disappointed ambition. when lord nelson came to town, from merton, which he did almost daily during the sittings of parliament, sir william hamilton usually accompanied his noble friend for the transaction of his own private business, and they always returned together in the evening. these inseparable friends would visit no where without each other; and they often declared, that nothing but death should ever divide them. his lordship, fond of retirement, visited very few of his opulent neighbours: but there was scarcely a poor inhabitant of merton, whose house he did not occasionally enter; where he would converse familiarly with the humble tenants, take the kindest notices of their little ones, and bountifully relieve their necessities. among his select wealthy neighbours, the celebrated abraham goldsmid, esq. of morden, and his amiable family, ranked high in his lordship's estimation, as well as in that of sir william and lady hamilton, and their reciprocal visits were frequent. a most liberal and unsolicited tender of pecuniary accommodation to lord nelson, by that worthy and disinterested gentleman, in the very origin of their acquaintance, bound his generous heart for ever to mr. goldsmid; whose mutually ardent amity, shining with undiminished lustre, still survives for all who were dear to his lordship. on the 21st of december, when the famous bill of his noble friend, the earl of st. vincent, then first lord of the admiralty, for a commission of naval enquiry, which brought on such a train of important but unexpected consequences, and was pregnant with so many beneficial effects to the service, underwent a discussion in the house of lords, at it's second reading, lord nelson made the following exquisite speech, in support of it's proposed objects- "my lords! "in the absence of my noble friend, who is at the head of the admiralty, i think it my duty to say a few words to your lordships, in regard to a bill of which the objects have an express reference to the interests of my profession as a seaman. it undoubtedly originates in the feelings of the admiralty; that they have not the power to remedy certain abuses, which they perceive to be most injurious to the public service. every man knows, that there are such abuses; and, i hope, there is none among us who would not gladly do all that could be constitutionally effected to correct them. yet, if i had heard of any objection, of weight, urged against the measures in the present bill, i should certainly have hesitated to do any thing to promote it's progress through the forms of this house. but, i can recollect only one thing with which i have been struck as possibly exceptionable in it's tenor. it authorizes the commissioners to call for, and inspect, the books of merchants, who may have had transactions of business with any of the boards, or prize agents, into whose conduct they are to enquire. but, the credit of the british merchant is the support of the commerce of the world; his books are not, lightly, nor for any ordinary purpose, to be taken out of his own hands. the secrets of his business are not to be too curiously pryed into. the books of a single merchant may betray the secrets, not only of his own affairs, but of those with whom he is principally connected in business; and the reciprocal confidence of the whole commercial world may, by the authoritative enquiry of these commissioners, be shaken. all this, at least, i should have feared, as liable to happen, if the persons who are named in the bill had not been men whose characters are above all suspicion of indiscretion or malice. i may presume it to be the common conviction of the merchants, that in such hands they will be safe: since they have made no opposition to the bill, in it's progress; and since they have offered no appearance against it, by counsel at your lordships bar. and, truly, my lords, if the bill be, thus, superior to all objection; i can affirm, that the necessities, the wrongs, of those who are employed in the naval service of their country, most loudly call for the redress which it proposes! from the highest admiral in the service, to the poorest cabin-boy that walks the street, there is not a man but may be in distress, with large sums of wages due to him, of which he shall, by no diligence of request be able to obtain payment; not a man, whose intreaties will be readily answered, with aught but insult, at the proper places for his application, if he come not with particular recommendations to a preference. from the highest admiral, to the meanest seaman, whatever may be the sums of prize-money due to him, no man can tell when he may securely call any part of it his own. a man may have forty thousand pounds due to him, in prize-money; and yet may be dismissed, without a shilling, if he ask for it at the proper office without particular recommendation. are these things to be tolerated? is it for the interest, is it for the honour, of the country, that they should not as speedily as possible be redressed? i should be as unwilling as any man, to give an overweening preference to the interests of my own profession; but i cannot help thinking that, under all the circumstances of the business, your lordships will be strongly disposed to advance this bill into a law, as speedily as may be consistent with the order of your proceedings, and with due preference of deliberation!" next day, in a committee of the whole house, on the third reading of this celebrated bill, the duke of clarence having suggested the propriety of instituting a distinct enquiry, under a particular act, into the abuses of prize-money, lord nelson expressed himself to be of the same opinion; but, though severely animadverting on the flagrant enormities of prize-agents, his lordship, nevertheless, candidly acknowledged, that there might be instances where the delays of the payment of prize-money resulted, not from the villainy of the agents, but from accidents by no means easily avoidable in the common course of human affairs. in regarding the naval interests of his country, lord nelson was not unmindful of it's commercial prosperity; in censuring criminal abuses, he was careful not to involve innocence with guilt. lord nelson's love of humanity led him, in february 1805, on the trial of colonel marcus despard, for high-treason, to bear the most honourable testimony to that officer's character: they had, his lordship said, formerly served together on the spanish main; together been in the enemy's trenches, and slept in the same tent; and he had every reason to believe him a loyal man, and a brave officer. his lordship, however, was fully satisfied, in the end, that colonel despard had been guilty of the crime for which he was executed in horsemonger lane, southwark, on the 21st of the same month. lord ellenborough, the learned judge before whom colonel despard was tried and convicted, on noticing, in his address to the jury, the circumstances of lord nelson's testimony, from the seat of justice which he so worthily fills, delivered this fine panegyric on our illustrious hero--"you have heard," said that manly, wise, and virtuous judge, "the high character given of the prisoner, by a man _on whom to pronounce an eulogy were to waste words!_ but, you are to consider whether a change has not taken place, since the period of which he speaks. happy, indeed, would it have been for him, if he had preserved that character down to this moment of peril!" had there been a gleam of doubt, as to the guilt of the culprit, the jury would certainly have acquitted him in consequence of our hero's testimony as to his character; and such was, after all, it's influence on their minds, that when, in the usual form, they were asked whether he was "guilty, or not guilty?" the foreman, though he replied--"guilty;" immediately added--"but we earnestly recommend him to mercy, on account of his former good character, and the services he has rendered his country." no recommendation, however, the crime being so atrocious, and the guilt so manifest, could reasonably be expected to avail. it is said, though such disabolism can scarcely be credited, that attempts were made, on this occasion, by secret enemies of his lordship in very high rank, to prejudice characters still more elevated against him; and thus, as in some other respects, vilely insinuating that his most honourable and virtuous heart was tainted with the very vice which he ever held in the greatest abhorrence. among the various gross imputations against his lordship, which the future historian may find registered in some of the preserved licentious public journals of blended facts and falshoods, and inconsiderately adopt, is that of the hero of the nile's having been so addicted to gaming, that he lost, at a single sitting, the whole he had gained, both pay and prize-money, during the year of that memorable victory: whereas, in truth, his lordship was so extremely adverse to this vice, that he had scarcely ever, in his life, entered any one of the fashionable gaming-houses; nor ever, as he repeatedly assured his friends, whom these base reports induced particularly to ask the question, won or lost even the trifling sum of twenty guineas! notwithstanding this undoubted verity; there will, probably, always be found weak heads firmly believing, and vicious hearts basely pretending to believe, that this exalted man was actually of a gambling spirit. so difficult is it entirely to eradicate the rank but fertile growth of once disseminated calumny; which, sown in darkness, by the arch-enemy of mankind, springs up, and spreads it's pernicious influence, to check the fairer growth, and defeat the just hopes of the meritorious husbandman. it has been already observed that, owing to the unaccommodating disposition of a neighbouring farmer, lord nelson had been unable to enlarge the grounds of his retirement at merton, till he agreed to purchase the whole of mr. axe's estate. this, however, had been so far effected, at the latter end of the year 1802, that there wanted nothing, but certain legal formalities, for the conclusion of that business. his lordship and friends had already rendered merton place a little paradise, by their tasteful arrangements. they jointly directed the disposition of the most beautiful shrubs; and not unfrequently placed them in the earth, sir william or lady hamilton assisting his lordship to plant them with his single hand. a small mulberry-tree, now only a few feet high, and standing in front of the house, not far distant from the canal, where it was fixed by lord nelson's own hand, may hereafter rival the celebrated mulberry-tree at stratford upon avon, planted by the immortal shakspeare; the first dramatic bard, and naval hero, "take them for all in all," the world is ever likely to know. the prospect of immediately executing the desirable additional improvements in his lordship's estate, the plan of which had already been long contrived, was a source of considerable satisfaction to their anticipatory minds, as the spring season advanced. the purchase, indeed, was compleated the beginning of may 1803; but, events were now destined to occur, in the few intervening days, which rendered the possession of what had been so eagerly sought, of little value to either of the persons by whom it had been regarded as so sure a source of increased enjoyments. towards the latter end of march, sir william hamilton, then in his seventy-fourth year, suddenly felt himself more than usually indisposed. he was a gentleman of the most exalted understanding; and knew, perfectly well, from the nature of his sensations, that the period had arrived, when his corporeal dissolution must hourly be expected. this circumstance conveyed, to his excellent heart, no uncommon alarm: the serious contemplation of death, had not been deferred to the last moment of his existence; and he therefore beheld, without dismay, every step of it's awful approach. with a calmness which he was unable to communicate to his lady, he announced the solemn certainty; and declared his resolution immediately to leave merton place, lest he should, by dying there, render it an insupportable future abode to the feelings of his tender and illustrious friend. sir william, on arriving at his house in piccadilly, the 29th of march, instantly annexed the following remarkable codicil to his will- "march 29,1803. "the copy of madame le brun's picture of emma, in enamel, by bone, i give to my dearest friend, lord nelson, duke of bronte: a small token of the great regard i have for his lordship; the most virtuous, loyal, and truly brave character, i have ever met with. god bless him! and shame fall on those who do not say--_amen_." the moment his lordship learned that sir william hamilton's physicians declared him to be in danger, he never once quitted him: but, during six nights, constantly sat up with his friend; who died, in the arms of lady hamilton, and with lord nelson's hand in his, on the 6th of april 1803. a few moments before sir william's decease, he said to his lordship--"brave and great nelson, our friendship has been long, and i glory in my friend. i hope you will see justice done to emma, by ministers; for you know how great her services have been, and what she has done for her country. protect my dear wife; and may god bless you, and give you victory, and protect you in battle!" then, turning to his lady--"my incomparable emma," said he, "you have never, in thought, word, or deed, offended me; and let me thank you, again and again, for your affectionate kindness to me, all the time of our ten years happy union." lord nelson could scarcely be torn from the body of his friend. he requested mrs. nelson, now the countess nelson, immediately to take apartments for him: and begged her to tell lady hamilton, that it would not be right, now his friend was dead, to be an inmate of her ladyship's house; for it was a bad world, and her grief for the loss of her husband might not let her think of the impropriety of his continuing there. his lordship, accordingly, removed that evening to lodgings in piccadilly. it is remarkable that, the very day of sir william's death, captain macnamara, lord nelson's old fellow-traveller when he visited france the latter end of the year 1783, killed colonel montgomery, and was himself shot through the left side by his antagonist, in a duel near primrose hill, hampstead. they had been riding in hyde park, that morning, with each a newfoundland dog; in whose first quarrelling and fighting, originated the dispute which so fatally terminated in the evening. captain macnamara was tried at the old bailey, on the 22d of the same month; but lord nelson, as well as his friends lord minto, lord hood, and lord hotham, giving him a most excellent character, though judge heath directed the jury to find a verdict of manslaughter, both from the evidence and the captain's own admission, they resolutely pronounced him--"not guilty!" lord nelson had not, now, been quite eighteen months at home; and, within less than the twelve last, his ardent hopes of a tranquil retirement with the friends he loved, had been twice cruelly chilled by the hand of death. having lost the best of fathers, and the best of friends, with whom he was solicitous to have enjoyed his enlarged domains at merton, before the incivility of a rude rustic, and the procrastinating formalities of legal conveyance, would permit him to possess the requisite additions for it's improvement. indeed, without the aid of sir william's income, the establishment at merton place, was already too great for lord nelson's slender fortune. it suited well enough their joint means, but was not adapted, individually, for either. however, even the possession of the whole had scarcely been obtained, and not at all occupied, when it was rendered useless to the hero; for, a renewal of the war being now inevitable, his transcendent abilities were instantly called for by the united voice of the nation. on the 16th of may, little more than five weeks after the decease of his revered and regretted friend sir william hamilton, a message from his majesty announced to both houses of parliament the necessity for immediate war with france: and, the very next day, lord nelson, who had accepted the command of the mediterranean fleet, departed for portsmouth; from whence he sailed for gibraltar, the day following, in the amphion frigate, accompanied by the victory of a hundred and ten guns, his lordship's flag-ship. previous to his departure, however, lord nelson, not unmindful of his dying friend's last request, had both written to, and waited on, mr. addington, respecting lady hamilton's pension; and this most honourable minister, as he has ever been generally esteemed, frankly told his lordship, that it certainly ought to be granted. indeed, when it is duly considered, that sir william hamilton was the foster-brother of his present majesty, who always entertained for him the most affectionate regard; that he had, for thirty-six years, filled the character of british minister at the court of naples, with a zeal and ability not to be surpassed, and with a munificent and splendid hospitality very rarely exercised; that his surviving lady, who constituted the chief felicity of his latter years, so contributed to promote all the best interests of her country, and all the dignity of a beloved husband who there held the honour of representing his sovereign, that the queen of naples, in a letter to his british majesty, dictated by the grateful feelings of her heart, expressly stated lady hamilton to have been--"her best friend and preserver! to whom she was indebted, certainly, for her life; and, probably, for the crown!" and that the pension of twelve hundred pounds a year, conferred on sir william for his long diplomatic services, ceased at his death; added to the solicitations of such a man as lord nelson, and the avowal of so upright a minister as mr. addington: it must, certainly, appear evident that, if there had not been some very unaccountable neglect, or some most scandalous impediment, the just expectations of so many great and estimable characters, would long since have been satisfied by the grant of a liberal pension to lady hamilton; not only as the relict of such an honourable envoy, but for her ladyship's own individual public services to the country. what lord nelson thought on this subject, to the last hour of his most invaluable life, will necessarily be hereafter more particularly noticed. soon after his lordship's arrival at gibraltar, while he was going up to malta, in the month of june, for the purpose of collecting his ships, he wrote to lady hamilton that, when he was in sight of vesuvius, his thoughts of his dear friend, sir william, were so severe, that he had nearly fainted. thus delicately tender were all the virtuous affections, in the bosom of this truly heroic man. though lord nelson was, now, established commander in chief, in some sense for the first time, the dread with which his name inspired the enemy rendered the service far too inactive for his lordship's taste. to watch the motions of a timid enemy, and wait the tedious periods of their venturing out, was to him a most irksome task. he disdained, however, any strict blockade of toulon: but encouraged the boastful fleet, ignominiously skulking there, to come fairly forward; by always leaving them sufficient sea room; though he endeavoured to preserve over all their motions a constantly watchful eye. month, after month, seemed sluggishly to pass away, in wearisome succession; though his lordship, whose mind was ever too alert for a state of actual supineness, kept continually cruizing about. he hoped that, at least, they might thus be encouraged secretly to detach a small squadron, which he had little doubt some of his brave fellows would soon contrive to pick up. in these cruizes, too, his lordship, at least, was certain of securing one object, ever the first regard of his heart, that of preserving the health of the men, without which no victory could be expected. his care, in this respect, was most unremittingly employed; and the following letter, written by lord nelson, at that period, to his friend and physician, the celebrated dr. moseley, of chelsea hospital, who has purposely favoured the biographer with a correct copy, will not only evince his lordship's indefatigable attention, and his very great skill and success, but prove otherwise considerably interesting. "victory, 11th of march 1804. "my dear dr. moseley, yesterday, i received the favour of the 4th edition of your invaluable work on tropical diseases, &c. and, with it, your most kind letter: and, though i know myself not equal to your praises, yet i feel that my honest intentions for the good of the service have ever been the same; and, as i rise in rank, so do my exertions. the great thing, in all military service, is health; and you will agree with me, that it is easier for an officer to keep men healthy, than for a physician to cure them. situated as this fleet has been, without a friendly port, where we could get all the things so necessary for us; yet i have, by changing the cruizing ground, not allowed the sameness of prospect to satiate the mind. sometimes, by looking at toulon, ville tranche, barcelona, and roses; then running round minorca, majorca, sardinia, and corsica; and, two or three times, anchoring for a few days, and sending a ship to the last place for _onions_--which i find the best thing that can be given to seamen: having, always, good mutton for the sick; cattle, when we can get them; and plenty of fresh water. in the winter, it is the best plan to give half the allowance of grog instead of all wine. "these things are for the commander in chief to look to; but, shut very nearly out from spain, and only getting refreshments by stealth from other places, my command has been an arduous one. "cornwallis has great merit for his persevering cruize; but he has every thing sent him, we have nothing. we seem forgotten, by the great folks at home. our men's minds, however, are always kept up, with the daily hopes of meeting the enemy. i send you, as a curiosity, an account of our deaths, and sent to the hospital, out of 6000 men. the fleet put to sea on the 18th of may 1803, and is still at sea; not a ship has been refitted, or recruited, excepting what has been done at sea, you will readily believe, that all this must have shaken me. my sight is getting very bad; but _i_ must not be sick, until after the french fleet is taken, then, i shall soon hope to take you by the hand, and have farther recourse to your skill for my eye. "i am always glad to hear good accounts of our dear lady hamilton. that she is beloved, wherever she is known, does not surprise me; the contrary would, very much. i am sure, she feels most sincerely all your kindness. "believe me, for ever, my dear doctor, your much obliged friend, nelson and bronte dr. moseley, chelsea hospital." the account of the very few persons who had died, or been on the sick list, transmitted as a curiosity in the above letter, having been unfortunately lost by dr. moseley, their exact number cannot be ascertained. notwithstanding the opportunities given by lord nelson for the french fleet to depart from toulon, either in the aggregate, by detached squadrons, or even single ships, more than a year elapsed without any of them daring to quit the port. a solitary frigate, indeed, had occasionally appeared, but was soon chased back, and no stratagem seemed capable of inducing them to move. among other contrivances to put them in motion, was that of sending two or three ships of the line, with a single frigate, off the harbour, while the main body of the fleet remained at a considerable distance out of sight. on the 23d of may 1804, admiral campbell in the canopus, accompanied by sir richard strachan in the donegal, and the amazon frigate, were detached by lord nelson thus to reconnoitre the enemy; and, after being some hours as near the mouth of the harbour as their batteries would allow, had the pleasure to behold three line of battle ships, and three frigates, come out. our ships immediately tacked, in order to draw them from the land; but only went under an easy sail, so that they soon came within random-shot. when the enemy began to fire, the people of the canopus were just sat down to dinner; which they quietly took, and then returned their fire: meaning, now, to bring them to close action, though so far superior. at this moment, however, two more ships of the line, with another frigate, were perceived coming up fast to their assistance. this was too great odds, so near their own batteries, and our small squadron were obliged to sheer off, under a press of sail. the french pursued them, for some time, still keeping the advantage of sailing; but, fearful of following too far, by the time they were five leagues from toulon, they were recalled, about three quarters of an hour past three, by their signal-post from the hill, and all stood in again. at six, the rear-admiral saw our fleet to leeward, and joined them at half-past nine. they had heard, indistinctly, the firing: and the leviathan was, in consequence, detached toward toulon; but had not proceeded far, before our ships were perceived on their return. this trivial affair was magnified, by the french admiral, latouche treville, who had so manfully ventured to pursue, a little way, with two eighty-fours, three seventy-fours, three forty-four frigates, and a corvette, our two eighty-fours and a single frigate, into a compleat discomfiture of the whole british fleet! in the mean time, though lord nelson could in no way contrive effectually to decoy out the wary gallic boasters, their commerce was not only distressed, but nearly annihilated; their privateers were taken; and the british flag waved, with proud defiance, throughout the mediterranean, and was unopposed even on the coast of france. the city of london, sensible of what the experienced security of the british commerce owed to his lordship's services, though uninformed as to the precise mode in which the hero's operations were conducted, now transmitted to him, through the lord-mayor, their public thanks, voted on the 9th of april 1804, for his skill and perseverance in blockading the port of toulon, so as to prevent the enemy's fleet in that quarter from putting to sea. this panegyric, however intended, was not at all relished by his lordship, who had never approved of the blockading system. "praise undeserved," the hero probably thought, as well as the poet, "is censure most severe." under some such impression, therefore, instantly on receiving the lord-mayor's letter, which unfortunately arrived the famous 1st of august, he wrote the following animated answer; spiritedly declining any acceptance of thanks from his fellow-citizens, in which his own services seemed so imperfectly recognized, and from which his brave coadjutors were unjustly excluded. "victory, august 1, 1804. "my lord, "this day, i am honoured with your lordship's letter of april 9th; transmitting me the resolutions of the corporation of london, thanking me as commanding the fleet blockading toulon. i do assure your lordship, that there is not that man breathing, who sets a higher value upon the thanks of his fellow-citizens of london than myself; but i should feel as much ashamed to receive them, for a particular service marked in the resolution, if i felt that i did not come within that line of service, as i should feel hurt at having a great victory passed over without notice. "i beg to inform your lordship, that the port of toulon has never been blockaded by me; quite the reverse. every opportunity has been offered the enemy to put to sea: for, it is there that we hope to realize the hopes and expectations of our country; and, i trust that they will not be disappointed. "your lordship will judge of my feelings, upon seeing that all the junior flag-officers of other fleets, and even some of the captains, have received the thanks of the corporation of london, whilst the junior flag-officers of the mediterranean fleet are entirely omitted. i own, that it has struck me very forcibly; for, where the information of the junior flag-officers and captains of other fleets was obtained, the same information could have been given of the flag-officers of this fleet and the captains; and it was my duty to state, that more able and zealous flag-officers and captains do not grace the british navy, than those i have the honour and happiness to command. it likewise appears, my lord, a most extraordinary circumstance, that rear-admiral sir richard bickerton should have been, as second in command in the mediterranean fleet, twice passed over by the corporation of london: once, after the egyptian expedition, when the first and third in command were thanked; and, now, again. consciousness of high desert, instead of neglect, made the rear-admiral resolve to let the matter rest, until he could have an opportunity personally to call upon the lord-mayor to account for such an extraordinary omission; but, from this second omission, i owe it to that excellent officer, not to pass it by: and i do assure your lordship, that the constant, zealous, and cordial support, i have had, in my command, from both rear-admiral sir richard bickerton and rear-admiral campbell, has been such as calls forth all my thanks and admiration. we have shared together the constant attention of being more than fourteen months at sea, and are ready to share the dangers and glory of a day of battle; therefore, it is impossible that i can ever allow myself to be separated, in thanks, from such supporters. "i have the honour to remain, with the very highest respect, your lordship's most faithful and obedient servant, "nelson and bronte." "to the right honourable the lord mayor." during the remainder of the year, though there was scarcely a day which his lordship did not employ in endeavours to improve the natural supineness of his situation, very little occurred that calls for particular notice. a tedious detail of so many days of languid expectation, would be comparatively as oppressive to the reader, as the time thus passed proved to the hero himself and the many brave men under his command. the destruction, however, of a number of vessels at la vandour, in hieres bay, was performed with such a display of hardihood and address, that it should, at least, receive honourable mention. this can be in no way so well effected, as by transcribing lord nelson's own words on the occasion--"the importance of the service," says his lordship, "may be but little; but, the determined bravery of lieutenants thompson, parker, lumley, and moore, and the petty officers, seamen, and marines, employed under them, could not be exceeded." nor must a small anecdote, highly honourable to our hero himself, fail also to be recorded. a seaman of his lordship's flag-ship, the victory, on the 11th of september, fell from the forecastle into the sea; when mr. edward flin, a volunteer, hearing the cry of a man overboard, instantly leaped from the quarter-deck, and had the good fortune to save him, notwithstanding the extreme darkness of the night, and the ship's being under sail. next morning, lord nelson sent for mr. flin; and, presenting him with a lieutenant's commission, appointed him to the bittern sloop of war, and afterwards procured the admiralty's confirmation of his appointment. the year 1805, rendered for ever too fatally memorable, commenced with presages of sufficiently active employ. the vast exertions of france for the augmentation of her navy, seemed to inspire a hope of being able, with the assistance of spain, now forced into a war which that unfortunate court had so much reason to dread, at length, in the confidence of superior numbers, to hazard an encounter with the british fleet. this, however, was by no means to be rashly ventured: it would be necessary, they well knew, first to effect a junction of their united force; which was not easily accomplishable, while they were watched with such diligent circumspection by our indefatigable hero. the first operation, by which they sought to elude his vigilance, was that of risking a small squadron from rochfort, under rear-admiral missiessi; which, having got out unobserved by our cruisers, arrived safely in the west indies, with the double view of pillaging our colonies, and assisting to relieve st. domingo. in the mean time, another, but far more powerful squadron, was ready to seize the first convenient opportunity of slipping out from toulon. on the 15th of january, while lord nelson, who had no desire to restrain the enemy from putting to sea, was busily engaged in observing the whole line of the italian, french, and spanish coasts, from palermo, leghorn, toulon, and barcelona, to the straits of gibraltar, and picking up all the french and spanish vessels which his cruisers could meet with in that wide extent of ocean, admiral villeneuve, with a formidable squadron, consisting of eleven sail of the line and two frigates, suddenly pushed out of toulon harbour. the seahorse, lord nelson's look-out frigate, accordingly, narrowly escaped being taken: and the venus sloop of ten guns, with his lordship's dispatches, was actually captured; having, however, previously thrown the dispatches overboard. the seahorse, instead of watching, at a safe distance, the course of the enemy's fleet, till their destination should have been in some degree ascertained, hastened to acquaint his lordship that they had sailed, without being able to afford the smallest additional information. this, indeed, was sufficient to call forth our hero's energies; but he was, at the same time, checked by the dread of proceeding in a wrong direction. strong circumstances induced his lordship to suppose, that another attack on egypt might possibly be intended by this armament; which, indeed, was the current report. he deemed it likely, however, that they might first, as they formerly did at malta, make an insiduous attempt on sicily, in their way to the grand scene of their perfidious operations. actuated by the force of these reflections, lord nelson sent to apprize the ottoman porte, as well as the commandant of coron, that the toulon fleet had sailed, having a considerable number of troops on board, with the probable intention of making a descent either on the morea or on egypt. he also dispatched, on the 25th, the seahorse to naples, and le tigre to palermo, with similar intimations. next day, the phoebe joined the fleet; who had, on the l9th, seen a french eighty-gun ship get into ajaccio, in corsica, having lost all her topmasts, and being otherwise much crippled. this, it should seem, was the effect of that storm which, as it was afterwards found, had almost immediately occasioned the french armament's return to toulon. his lordship, however, unaware of any such consequence, and deceived by the artful promulgation of false reports, kept running for sicily; and, when in sight of maritimo, sent le tigre, captain hallowell, to communicate with sir john acton at palermo. le tigre joined next day, without any news whatever of the french. in the evening, the fleet passed round strombolo, which burnt very strongly all night; and, having left the sophia to cruize three days off strombolo for information, and sent the bittern to tunis, proceeded for the faro of messina. on the 30th, off the faro, his lordship was joined by the seahorse from naples; where, also, nothing had been heard of the french. at noon, on the 31st, having sent the seahorse off toulon, round cape corse, and morgiana, to look into elba, st. fiorenzo, and ajaccio, the fleet got through the faro of messina without any accident. on the 2d of february, they passed candia; being unable, from the state of the wind and weather, to make that island: and, on the 5th, sent forward the anson, with letters to the governor of alexandria; to the british resident, major bissett; and to the pro-consul, mr. briggs. next day, his lordship saw the arab's tower; and, on the 7th, at seven in the morning, came within sight of alexandria, but there were no ships in the port. his lordship immediately sent captain hallowell ashore, with duplicates of his letters, the anson being unable to get up. at three o'clock, captain hallowell returned. the turks, who were very much alarmed at the appearance of the fleet, had heard nothing of the french; and were in no condition to defend this most important place from an attack, by surprise, of even five hundred men. such is the shocking supineness of these people! the turks and mamelukes were, however, at war; the former being in possession of grand cairo, and the latter of upper egypt. immediately on the receipt of this intelligence, by captain hallowell, the fleet bore up, and made sail for malta. on the 11th, the phoebe having joined off candia, was dispatched to malta with orders. at daylight, on the 19th, his lordship saw malta; and, at eight in the morning, communicated with vallette. the phoebe made the signal for no information; and, at nine, the fleet bore away for maritimo. the superb picked up a boat, and made the signal for intelligence from malta: but his lordship would not stop; for he wanted, he said, no intelligence, but where to find the french fleet. his anxiety, therefore, may be easily imagined. it was little less, in fact, than what he had formerly suffered, on his first vain pursuit to alexandria. by a vessel met with, in the afternoon, eight days from barcelona, his lordship now learned that the french fleet had returned to toulon; wanting, however, at that time, three sail of the line and a frigate. on the 28th, while employed in watering the fleet, at palla, in sardinia, a letter arrived from captain munday of the hydra, dated february 17th, who had reconnoitred the french fleet in toulon on the 12th, when it consisted of seventeen sail. on thursday, the 7th of march, a cartel ship came into the fleet, then at anchor under tolaro in the isle of rouse, with captain layman, the officers, and crew, of the raven brig, which was wrecked off cadiz, on the night of january the 29th. the captain general of andalusia, lord nelson was told, had treated them with the greatest kindness--"which," generously exclaimed his lordship, "i will return, whenever fortune may put it in my power!" having weighed, in the morning of the 8th, the fleet, at six in the evening, anchored in the gulph of palma; where a court-martial was held on the officers and crew of the late raven brig, which passed a slight censure on the captain for not having approached the shore with greater caution. in the evening, the fleet beat out of palma, and steered between vache and the reef off antioch. on the 12th, in the gulph of lyons, they were joined by the active, seahorse, and juno; who had, the day before, seen the french fleet perfectly ready for sea. the renown also joined that evening; on board of which, invalids, &c. were next day sent. it was a calm, all day; but, in the evening, light breezes springing up, the fleet stood out for st. sebastian's. on the 16th, the renown was dispatched for gibraltar and england; on the 17th, the fleet was beating to the eastward, off tarragona; and, on the 20th, in the afternoon, passed minorca, standing for sardinia, which they saw on the 23d in the evening, when his lordship sent the juno with orders for the transports to join him. at sunset, on the 26th, the fleet anchored in the gulph of palma; where lord nelson found his old friend, admiral louis, in the ambuscade, who had sailed from england the 16th of february. the whole of this night, and the three following days, were employed in clearing transports. on the 29th, the seahorse brought intelligence that the french fleet were safe in port on sunday the 24th. the day following, the signal was made to prepare for sea; and, our fleet having sailed from palma, anchored at palla, on the 31st in the evening. next morning, april 1, at day-light, they commenced watering; and, at sun-set, every ship was compleat, and the fleet moved farther off shore. their activity, his lordship remarked, was never exceeded. on the 3d, at day-light, they sailed from palla; and, next morning, were joined by the phoebe, with the signal that the enemy's fleet was at sea. at nine, captain capel went on board the victory; and reported to his lordship, that he had seen the french fleet on sunday morning at eight o'clock, and kept with them till sun-set, but lost sight of them during the night. lord nelson immediately sent the ambuscade to gaieta, and the active to the coast of africa, for intelligence respecting them. next day, the amazon and transports joined from malta; and a turkish corvette also arrived from constantinople, with letters of gratitude from the grand vizier and the capitan pacha, to which his lordship immediately returned respectful answers. the moucheron brig, too, having this day joined, from malta, was sent to cruize seven days between gaieta and africa, and to call at tunis for information. after clearing transports next day, and sending the bittern to gibraltar with dispatches, his lordship stood to the northward in the evening: and, the following morning, sent the active to cagliari, the amazon to naples, the seahorse to maritimo, and le tigre to palermo, for information. the active brought no news from the coast of africa; but the seahorse, returned from maritimo with intelligence from the officer at the port, that fourteen ships of war had passed the island on the 28th of march, steering to the southward; and that two frigates had, on the 4th of april, also passed, steering to the northward: neither of which reports his lordship believed; and, in fact, they appear to have been totally false. in the evening, steering for palermo, they were joined by the ambuscade and astrea, neither of whom had obtained any information of the enemy's fleet, though they had seen many vessels. on the 9th, having cleared transports, which arrived the preceding evening, they compleated the fleet to four months provisions and sixty days wine and spirits. le tigre joined next day, from palermo: where they knew nothing of the french fleet's having sailed; but sent information that an expedition had left england, and that a russian squadron was expected in the mediterranean. this information led his lordship to suppose that the french fleet might, probably, with a view of intercepting them, be somewhere about minorca; he stood, therefore, to the westward of sardinia, in the hope of falling in with the enemy. the hydra and childers joined, this day, from magdalena, but brought no intelligence. at sunset, seven leagues south of maritimo, the active also joined, from cagliari; and informed his lordship, that the ragusan consul had received a letter from st. pierre's, giving him an account, brought by a ragusan brig, which had arrived there from marseilles, that the french fleet sailed from toulon the 30th of march, having a great number of troops on board. this intelligence turned out to be the fact. admiral villeneuve having succeeded in leading his dreaded antagonist to a safe distance, and compleated all his preparations for the grand design, which was that of forming a junction with the spanish fleets, and then proceeding to the west indies, had in truth left toulon, on the 30th, with eleven sail of the line, a frigate, and two corvettes, in which were embarked ten thousand select troops under the command of general lauriston. this armament first sailed to carthagena; where the six ships expected to be ready, under admiral salcedo, not being quite prepared to join, and fearful of losing a moment's time, during the absence of lord nelson, admiral villeneuve pursued his course to cadiz. there he had, for some time, been expected by admiral gravina, who was waiting his arrival with six spanish sail of the line, and two thousand two hundred and eighty troops. on the approach of the french fleet off cadiz, the 9th of april, sir john orde, who was blockading that port with five ships of the line, incapable of preventing their junction with the spaniards, retired from his station; unpursued by the french fleet, which might easily have forced him into action. l'aigle, a french ship of the line, which had been some time at cadiz, immediately came out of the harbour; and was soon after followed by six spanish sail of the line, and five frigates, under admiral gravina: when, having compleatly effected their junction, a strong easterly wind expeditiously carried them out of sight. at this period, it has been seen, lord nelson had, from circumstances, supposed the toulon fleet likely to be met with in the sicilian seas. having sent frigates, in all directions, to gain intelligence of the enemy, the moment it was ascertained that they had actually sailed, he was beating to windward, off the coast of sardinia, on the 16th of april, when he was informed, by an austrian vessel from lisbon, that sixteen ships of war had been seen, the 7th inst. standing to the westward. his lordship, now, justly apprehensive that this must have been the french fleet, felt extremely uneasy, that they had thus eluded all his vigilance. his agony is not to be described; and he was only consoled, at length, by reflections that, in assuring himself of the safety of naples, sicily, the morea, egypt, and sardinia, before he proceeded to the westward, he had certainly done what was perfectly right. "i must ever regret, however," writes his lordship, "my want of frigates which i could have sent to the westward; and i must also regret, that captain mowbray did not cruize until he heard something of the french fleet. i am unlucky, but i cannot exert myself more than i have done for the public service!" in fact, the exertions of lord nelson, during the whole of this arduous and perplexing service, were inconceivably great. he had, besides the usual cares of a commander in chief, the very difficult task of conciliating a variety of discordant states, from whom he was under the necessity of drawing constant supplies of fresh provisions and other requisites, which they were deterred from affording by the dread of a powerful and unprincipled enemy, perpetually menacing them with destruction, whatever degrees of amity they might either possess, or profess, for this country. the address of our hero, in counteracting the enemy's designs, with what may be denominated diplomatic combat, and thus obtaining needful supplies as well as useful intelligence, has scarcely ever been equalled. in corresponding with the various powers with whom it was necessary thus to communicate, the abilities of the reverend mr. alexander scott, now dr. scott, from his acquaintance with most of the modern languages, proved eminently favourable to his lordship's views. this gentleman was not only chaplain of the victory, but private and foreign secretary to lord nelson, who also often employed him in confidential communications on shore. they had known each other ever since the year 1793; when mr. scott was chaplain to sir john collins in the mediterranean, and lord nelson captain of the agamemnon. on the death of sir john collins, captain nelson asked mr. scott to go with him as his chaplain; which he was under the necessity of declining, having previously engaged to go with sir hyde parker in the st. george. during the expedition to copenhagen, lord nelson, not having his chaplain, mr. comyns, with him, borrowed mr. scott, then sir hyde parker's chaplain and foreign secretary, to read prayers in his ship; and, on his lordship's going ashore, he chose mr. scott to accompany him, as secretary to the commission for arranging the convention: the articles of which were, in fact, penned by this gentleman. lord nelson kindly advised mr. scott to subscribe the convention with his name, as secretary; but he diffidently declined the honour: for which lord nelson greatly blamed him; and he has since often blamed himself, as his lordship predicted would one day be the case. from this period, lord nelson was always greatly attached to mr. scott, and constantly kept up a correspondence with him. he had then first asked this gentleman if he would attend him as his confidential foreign secretary, in case of his ever getting the mediterranean command; which mr. scott readily promised to do, should his old friend, sir hyde parker, "be laid on the shelf." had the then war continued, that arrangement would have taken place. on the peace, mr. scott went to the west indies: from whence he returned, just before the present war broke out, in a very deplorable state of health; having been struck by lightning, and severely wounded. he had, however, no sooner arrived in london, than lord nelson was at his bed-side: where the generously humane hero continually visited him, during his confinement; and, soon after, took him, in the amphion, to the mediterranean, on this expedition. it is somewhat remarkable, that his lordship's regular secretary, though no relation of this gentleman, should also be a scott: the former, the rev. mr. alexander scott; and the latter, john scott, esq. so numerous were his lordship's correspondences, that both secretaries were often fully employed: his lordship, from the time of his having engaged dr. scott, constantly accompanying his original letters to foreign courts, by translations into the respective languages; a point of etiquette always highly gratifying to the power addressed, and frequently attended with other beneficial consequences. there was, in short, no point of probable advantage to his country, however minute it might appear, which lord nelson ever thought unworthy of his strict regard. on the 17th of april, in the evening, the amazon brought a confirmation of the intelligence respecting the french fleet, from a vessel which had seen, on the 8th at noon, eleven sail of the line, four frigates, and three brigs, pass gibraltar with their colours flying. to add to the mortification, westerly winds, and a heavy sea, prevented the british fleet's gaining any ground, either this or the following day. a vessel five days from cadiz, still to augment his lordship's distress, now also informed the amazon, that the spanish squadron had joined the french, and were gone with them to the westward. having appointed the general rendezvous at gibraltar, his lordship sent every where to procure additional frigates. he also dispatched the active to ireland, the channel fleet, and england, with an account of his intended pursuit of the enemy. his passage to gibraltar was prodigiously impeded by continual foul winds, and heavy swells. "nothing," writes his lordship, at this anxious period, "can be more unfortunate, than we are in our winds; but, god's will be done! i submit. human exertions are absolutely unavailing. what man could do, i have done. i hope that the wind will come to the eastward. what ill fortune! but, i cannot help myself." thus did the hero complain, and thus did he console himself. on the 1st of may, near the coast of barbary, he was joined by the martin sloop, which sailed from plymouth the 17th of april; and brought his lordship a letter from the admiralty, dated the 15th, which informed him that five thousand troops were coming to the mediterranean. on the 30th, at ten in the morning, the fleet anchored in tetuan bay; or, rather, in the little bay to the eastward of tetuan, where there is a very fine river of fresh water. the day was chiefly employed in watering the fleet; and clearing a transport with wine, which had been brought out from gibraltar. no information of the combined fleet was, however, obtained from thence, nor in letters dated at lisbon the 27th; but it seemed generally credited, that they were gone to the west indies. "surely," exclaimed his lordship, "i shall hear something of them from sir john orde's cruizers; which he must, naturally, have sent after them!" sir john, however, very unaccountably, had not taken any measures for ascertaining their course. on sunday, the 5th, at eight in the morning, light easterly breezes springing up, the fleet weighed at ten; but, in the evening, the wind, having first shifted northerly, unfortunately came again fresh from the westward. at two in the afternoon, next day, the fleet anchored in gibraltar bay. at four o'clock, a levanter came on: at six, the fleet again weighed; and, by midnight, they were abreast of cape spartel, where nothing had been heard of the enemy. in the evening of the 7th, having steered for cape st. vincent, le tigre was sent to call the transports left by sir john orde, who had sailed for england, out of lagos bay. on the 9th, le tigre returned with the transports; and the amazon, arriving from lisbon, brought intelligence, communicated by admiral knight, that sir john orde had joined the channel fleet. at nine, in the evening, the fleet anchored between cape st. vincent and lagos bay. the next day, and succeeding night, were busily occupied in clearing the transports, and compleating the fleet to five months. early on the 11th, his lordship sent the wasp, and the doris transport, to england, with dispatches: at ten o'clock, the fleet weighed; at noon, were off cape st. vincent; and, at one, saw the convoy under admiral knight. they joined at four; and at six, parted company: lord nelson having given admiral knight the royal sovereign; which, he observed, would make him superior in force to any thing ready, either in carthagena or at cadiz. at seven o'clock, the martin sloop was dispatched to barbadoes; and, at the same time, his lordship likewise made all sail to the westward with his comparatively small fleet. the french had twelve ships of the line, a frigate, and two corvettes; the spaniards, six sail of the line and five frigates; to say nothing of the rochfort squadron: while the whole fleet under lord nelson consisted only of ten ships of the line and three frigates. the french had, also, upwards of ten thousand troops, and the spaniards more than two. notwithstanding this inferior strength, which would have deterred many a brave man from risking the responsibility of so hazardous an undertaking, lord nelson had resolved that he would follow them, as he emphatically expressed himself, "even to the antipodes." the ships he had were well equipped, and his confidence in all the officers and men was precisely the same as they themselves felt in their adored commander--he believed them to be absolutely invincible. the ships which accompanied his lordship in this memorable pursuit, were--the victory of a hundred and ten guns, vice-admiral lord viscount nelson, rear-admiral murray, and captain hardy; the canopus of eighty, rear-admiral louis, and captain austin; le tigre of eighty, captain hallowell; the donegal of eighty, captain malcolm; the spencer of seventy-four, the honourable captain stopford; the conqueror of seventy-four, captain pellew; the superb of seventy-four, captain keates; the belleisle of seventy-four, captain hargood; the leviathan of seventy-four, captain bayntun; the swiftsure of seventy-four, captain rutherford; the decade frigate of thirty-six, captain stuart; the amazon of thirty-eight, captain parker; and the amphion of thirty-two, captain sutton. his lordship, now in high spirits, since the destination of the enemy seemed evident, and the wind had shifted in his favour, jocosely remarked to his assembled captains--"there is just a frenchman apiece for each english ship, leaving me out of the question to fight the spaniards: and, when i haul down my colours, i expect every captain of the fleet to do the same; but, not till then." having got fairly into the trade winds, they run, on the 21st of may, in the last twenty-four hours, a hundred and ninety miles. the next day, they passed the tropic, vulgarly called crossing the line; when neptune performed the usual ceremony, to the no small diversion of the fleet. there were, in the victory alone, his lordship remarks, who highly enjoyed the scene, no less than five hundred persons by whom the tropic had never before been crossed. on the 31st, at six in the evening, being within two hundred leagues of barbadoes, the amazon was sent forward for information. on the 3d of june, at day-light, two guinea ships, bound from surinam to america, were seen to the westward; from whom intelligence was obtained, that they were told, the day before, by the beaulieu frigate, that the french and spanish squadrons had arrived at martinico, but the african ships did not know the time of their arrival there. in the evening, a sloop of war was perceived, with the signal of intelligence to communicate; but, missing the victory, his lordship would not shorten sail, as he knew nothing more could be communicated, than when the enemy's fleet had arrived at martinico. next morning, at day-light, barbadoes was seen by the fleet, distant about ten leagues to the west; and, at eleven in the forenoon, his lordship received the salutes of rear-admiral cochrane, and charles fort. the enemy's fleet, lord nelson was now informed, had arrived at martinico on the 14th of may, with their men sickly: and, on the 28th, were seen to the windward of st. lucia, standing to the southward; with the view, as was supposed, of attacking tobago and trinidada. general sir william myers, at barbadoes, having very handsomely offered his lordship to embark with two thousand troops for the relief of those islands, the fleet anchored in carlisle bay; and, though very rainy, with squalls of wind, the embarkment immediately commenced, and was continued all night. in the morning, le curieux brig was sent forward, to look into tobago; and sir william myers dispatched another vessel to general prevost, at dominica, to acquaint him with lord nelson's arrival. the happy tidings of his lordship's approach expeditiously spread through all the west india islands. the enemy were not the last who heard this intelligence, which acted with double force against these marauders: it armed with resolution the defenceless inhabitants of even the least tenable situations, by inspiring them with hopes of a speedy and effectual aid to their own manly exertions; and filled with dread and horror those pusillanimous pillagers who had alone confided in their vast superiority of numbers, for the success of their plundering exploits, and now feared the avenging hand of our pursuing hero. villeneuve, the gallic fugitive from the nile, no sooner gained intelligence that the victor on that occasion was likely soon to be once more at his heels, than he again made the most expeditious use of them in returning back from the scene of his paltry depredations; and, with his former good fortune, escaped the chastising hand of our hero, who continued every where seeking him in vain. his lordship, indeed, however aware of the dastardly disposition of the enemy, could scarcely think it possible for such a very superior force as the combined fleet thus timidly to fly before him. lord nelson, in the mean time, having weighed; at eight in the evening, the fleet stood to the southward: and, at eight in the morning of the 6th of june, they saw tobago. at two in the afternoon, abreast of man of war bay, le curieux joined; with information that an american had arrived at scarborough the preceding day, the master of which said that he had been boarded, three days prior to his arrival, by the french fleet, then standing to the southward, and that they would, he supposed, pass tobago as last night. this account, his lordship considered as a mere fabrication of the american: but, gaining no intelligence on which he could rely, he bore away to trinidada; and, at midnight, bringing to off that island, sent the pheasant to toko for information. at four, next morning, his lordship bore up for the bogasses; and, at sunset, anchored in the gulf of paria, but found that the enemy had not been heard of in the island. at day-light, an advice-boat brought letters from captain morrice at barbadoes, giving an account of the capture of the diamond rock, with the little garrison by which it was defended: and stating, also, that the french and spanish squadrons had not sailed from martinico; but that, as the french commodore told him, the ferrol squadron, of six sail of french, and eight of spanish, arrived in fort royal on the 4th of june. this intelligence determined his lordship: who, at seven o'clock, sailed from trinidada; and was at noon well out, clear of the bogasses. while his lordship was off trinidad, with his usual gaiety and goodness of heart, he wrote to the governor, that he would rather he sent him a hogshead of _limes_, than a hogshead of _joes_. with him, the health of his people was always the first object; his own individual wealth, ever the last. at six in the morning of the 9th, he got within sight of grenada; and, at noon, arrived off st. george's bay in that island. a letter from general prevost now informed his lordship, that the combined squadron had passed dominica on the 6th of june; and, having gone to guadaloupe, for the purpose of landing the troops and stores taken from thence, had been seen standing to the northward. lord nelson, on receiving this intelligence, having dispatched the nelly to antigua, and the jason to montserrat, for farther information, immediately stood to the northward, under a press of sail. the next day, at noon, between st. lucia and martinique, he sent a schooner to general prevost: and, at eight the following morning, tuesday, june 11, saw guadaloupe; and spoke an american, from boston, who gave no intelligence. at noon, the fleet got within sight of montserrat; and, at two o'clock, saw the jason, at anchor. the news from montserrat was, that they had, on saturday morning, the 8th, being only three days before, seen sixteen sail under guadaloupe, beating to windward. his lordship, now, also beating up to windward, all night and the following day, anchored in st. john's bay, antigua, at sunset; which island, he learned, had been passed, on the 8th, by the french fleet standing to the north. having, in the evening, sent le curieux, with dispatches, to england, his lordship, next morning, at day-light, landed the troops for the protection of the islands; got ready for sea; and sailed, at noon, with eleven ships of the line, three frigates, and a sloop of war: when the kitty schooner joined, with the unpleasing information, that the french fleet had, on the 8th instant, captured it's whole convoy, consisting of fourteen sail. from four in the afternoon, till sunset, his lordship was within sight of barbuda, still standing to the northward. "if," writes his lordship, this day, "i should ask an opinion where the enemy's fleet are gone, i should have as many opinions as there were persons. porto-rico, barbadoes, newfoundland, europe. my opinion, from all the circumstances drawn into one point of view, with the best judgment i can form, is this--i think, that the whole or part of the spaniards will go to the havannah; and the rest of the fleet, to cadiz and toulon: and, upon this opinion, i am going to the straits mouth; unless i should alter it, from information gained." thus determined, every exertion was used, though with little hope, to overtake them, if possible, on their return; and, on the 14th, at noon, the fleet had run a hundred and thirteen miles from the island of barbuda, and a hundred and thirty from st. john's bay, antigua. on the 18th, the amazon communicated with a schooner; which had, on the 15th, at sunset, seen a fleet of twenty-two ships of war steering to the northward. on a computation formed from an examination of the schooner's then latitude and longitude, it appeared that the french fleet were, the night before, about eighty-seven leagues distant. his lordship, next day, forwarded the martin to gibraltar, and the decade to lisbon, with information of the enemy's return to europe. at midnight, on the 21st, lord nelson saw three planks floating; which, he thought, came from the french ships: and, on the 23d, at dusk, a piece of a large ship's topmast had also passed by the victory, but was not observed till too late to be picked up. sir john laforey, next morning, informed his lordship that, three days after they left antigua, he had passed close by a bucket; which he supposed, by the make and wooden handle, to be french: also, a large chest, painted red. from this period, till the 5th of june, the wind proved tolerably favourable; but they now, to use his lordship's expression, barely "crawled" about thirty miles every twenty-four hours. "my only hope is," writes the hero, "that the enemy's fleet are near us, and in the same situation." by a spanish log and chart, taken out of a small bark from la guira to cadiz, his lordship found that the combined fleets went in sight of cape blanco, and passed over to the salvages. on the 9th, light breezes springing up, the fleet run eighty-eight miles; in the succeeding twenty-four hours, a hundred; and, the day after, a hundred and nineteen. the wind, however, now coming foul, his lordship expressed himself dreadfully apprehensive that the enemy would have too greatly the start of him. the amazon, on the 13th, was detached to gibraltar; and, the fleet having got into the portuguese trade-winds, they run, next day, a hundred and forty-six miles. on wednesday, the 17th of july, at ten o'clock in the forenoon, they saw cape st. vincent, distant about nine leagues. by a friendly vessel from rochfort, his lordship learned that the french squadron, of five sail of the line and four frigates, which had sailed from thence the 18th of january, returned from the west indies on the 21st of may: having left martinico about the middle of april; after taking several ships, and levying contributions at dominica, st. kitt's, nevis, and montserrat. the last twenty-four hours, the fleet went a hundred and twenty miles; making the whole run, from barbuda, three thousand four hundred and fifty-nine miles. the run from cape st. vincent to barbadoes, was three thousand two hundred and twenty-seven; making the run back only two hundred and thirty-two miles more than the run out: allowance to be made, however, for the difference of latitude and longitude between barbadoes and bermuda. the average of way daily made, on this almost unparalleled pursuit, was thirty-four leagues; wanting nine miles, only, in the whole. at noon, the 18th, steering for the straits mouth, admiral collingwood passed to the northward, with three sail of the line and two or three frigates. cape spartel was then in sight; but no french fleet, or any information about them. "how sorrowful this makes me!" writes his lordship; "but, i cannot help myself." next morning, at day-light, the fleet bore up for gibraltar bay; where, at eight o'clock, they securely anchored, but could gain no information of the enemy. on saturday, july the 20th, 1805, while the fleet were employed in compleating provisions and stores--"i went on shore," writes his lordship, "for the first time, since june 16, 1803; and, from having my foot out of the victory, two years wanting ten days." having sent dispatches to england, and finished getting ready for sea, next day, lord nelson, on the following morning, ordered the amphion to sir richard bickerton, off carthagena, and proceeded with the fleet to tetuan; or, rather, to mazin bay, about eight miles to the south-east of tetuan customhouse, where the river is very fine, and the situation peculiarly convenient for watering. many of the ships got two hundred tons on board in a single day. several bullocks were here purchased, and a considerable quantity of onions. at noon, on the 24th, having gained no intelligence, the fleet again weighed, and stood for ceuta; but variable winds, and a thick fog, kept them all night in gibraltar gut. about four o'clock, next morning, the termagant joined, with an account of the combined fleet's having been seen, the 19th of june, by the curieux brig, standing to the northward. at eight, the spaniards fired a few shot, from tariffa, at the victory; which, however, took no effect. at noon, they saw admiral collingwood's squadron; and lord nelson sent letters to the admiral, with arrangements for preventing the combined fleet from entering cadiz, while his lordship proceeded to seek them nearer home. on the 26th, the spartiate got on board the victory; but, fortunately, neither ship suffered any material damage. having traversed the bay of biscay, without discovering any thing of the enemy, his lordship, on the 28th, at day-light, came abreast of cape st. vincent; from whence, with faint hopes of finding them, he pursued his northerly course toward the north-west of ireland, by foul winds, and very unfavourable weather, this proved a most tediously vexatious voyage. unable, after all, to fetch ireland, on account of the northerly winds, his lordship, in the afternoon of august 12, was informed by the niobe, captain scott, three weeks from the channel fleet, that there had not, at that time, been the smallest intelligence of the enemy's arrival in any of the ports. he also learned, that they had not been heard of on the irish coast. having exhausted every rational conjecture with regard to their situation, he resolved on reinforcing admiral cornwallis with his squadron; lest the combined fleet of france and spain should, by approaching brest, either facilitate the escape of the squadron so long confined by this commander's blockade of that port, or place him aukwardly between two fires. accordingly, on the 15th, at six in the morning, lord nelson got within eighteen leagues of ushant; and, at half past eleven, saw a fleet. at two in the afternoon, they exchanged private signals with the channel fleet; and, in the evening, his lordship, having detached the rest of his fleet, received orders from admiral cornwallis, as commander in chief, to proceed with the victory and superb to portsmouth. his lordship now first gained information of sir robert calder's having defeated the combined fleet from the west indies, on the 22d of july, sixty leagues west of cape finisterre; which, at length, relieved him from the anxiety of suspence, though the action had been too indecisive compleatly to satisfy his lordship's mind. he regretted, exceedingly, that it had not been his own good fortune to encounter them; and felt less comforted, than he ought to have done, by the consideration, that this squadron, under sir robert calder, had been sent out to intercept their return, in consequence of his, lordship's suggestions, judiciously transmitted to the admiralty for that purpose, the moment he was satisfied that the combined french and spanish fleet were on their return from the west indies. on the 17th, at day-light, his lordship was abreast of portland; at noon, saw the isle of wight; and, at eleven at night, anchored off the princesses shoal. having weighed next morning at day-light, they worked up to spithead; and, at nine o'clock, anchored: just two years and three months from his lordship's arrival at portsmouth. a contagious fever having recently made dreadful havoc at gibraltar, where the ships touched, his lordship became subject to the quarantine regulations. however, after communicating, by signal, with the port-admiral, he addressed the following satisfactory declaration to the collector of the customs- "victory, spithead, august 18, 1805. "the victory, with the fleet under my command, left gibraltar twenty-seven days ago: at which time, there was not a fever in the garrison; nor, as dr. fellows told me, any apprehension of one. the fleet lately under my command, i left with admiral cornwallis on the 15th of august; at which time, they were in the most perfect health. neither the victory, nor the superb, have on board even an object for the hospital; to the truth of which, i pledge my word of honour. "nelson and bronte." "to the collector of the customs, or those whom it may concern." in consequence of these positive assurances, lord nelson was, at length, permitted to land; and, during the approach of his barge, a vast concourse of people, who had been assembling on the rampart from the moment his flag was first discovered, hailed the hero's approach with their loudest acclamations. intelligence of lord nelson's arrival in england had no sooner been received by lady hamilton and his nearest relatives, who were then passing a few weeks together at south end, than they hastened to merton place, where his lordship appointed to meet them. the delay in landing, made it late that afternoon before he could proceed thither: but, by travelling all night, he got to merton at six o'clock in the morning of the 19th; where his friends had already assembled, in anxious expectation of beholding the beloved hero whose presence gladdened every virtuous heart. his lordship, on undertaking this command, had quitted england so very expeditiously, that he could not be present at the grand installation of the knights of the bath, which took place in westminster abbey, on the 19th of may 1803, the day after his arrival at portsmouth; and, consequently, was obliged to be installed by proxy. on this occasion, lord nelson had been represented by captain sir william bolton, son of the reverend william bolton, brother of thomas bolton, esq. the husband of his lordship's eldest sister; to whose amiable daughter, now lady bolton, sir william had the preceding evening been married, by special licence, at lady hamilton's house in piccadilly. the happy party now assembled at merton place, where the hero ever delighted to see his family around him, consisted of the present earl and countess nelson, with lord merton and lady charlotte nelson, their son and daughter; mr. and mrs. bolton, with thomas bolton, junior, esq. and miss ann and miss eliza bolton, their son and daughters; and mr. and mrs. matcham, with their son george matcham, junior, esq. on the 20th, in the morning, lord nelson came to london; where he had the happiness to obtain that general approbation of his conduct, from persons of all ranks, which those who have not been eminently successful can rarely hope to experience. indeed, the country seemed generally to participate in his lordship's disappointments, with a sympathy as honourable to the national character as to the hero so worthily applauded. it was felt, that he had exerted himself to the utmost; and that, notwithstanding he had been unable to meet with the enemy, his pursuit had relieved every anxiety from the consequences of their depredations, by forcing to fly before him a combined fleet of force nearly doubling his own. all apprehensions for our colonial settlements were quieted; and, though the small advantage gained by sir robert calder had not much diminished their naval strength, or greatly augmented our own, this was no fault of his lordship, whose superior worth ever became more abundantly manifest on the intrusion of such comparisons. what his lordship would have done, with the same force, similarly situated, according to the general opinion, every where freely expresed, made the nation at large, as well as our hero himself, sincerely regret that he had not been fortunate enough to encounter them. in justice to sir robert calder, however, it must be admitted, there are few naval actions so brilliant, that they might not have been rendered still more so by the presence of such a commander as lord nelson. immediately after his lordship's arrival in town, a meeting of the west india merchants was convened at the london tavern; who, having met on the 23d, sir richard neave, bart, in the chair, unanimously and expressly agreed--"that the prompt determination of lord nelson to quit the mediterranean, in search of the french fleet; his sagacity in judging of, and ascertaining, their course; and his bold and unwearied pursuit of the combined french and spanish squadrons to the west indies, and back again to europe; have been very instrumental to the safety of the west india islands in general, and well deserve the grateful acknowledgments of every individual connected with those colonies: and, that a deputation from the committee of merchants of london trading to the west indies, be appointed to wait upon vice-admiral lord viscount nelson, to express these their sentiments, and to offer him their unfeigned thanks." the deputation, accordingly, having waited on lord nelson, at gordon's hotel, albemarle street, where his lordship had taken up his temporary town-residence, with a copy of the above resolutions, he immediately returned the following answer. "london, august 28, 1805. "sir "i beg leave to express, to you and the committee of west india merchants, the great satisfaction which i feel in their approbation of my conduct. it was, i conceived, perfectly clear, that the combined squadrons were gone to the west indies, and therefore it became my duty to follow them. but, i assure you, from the state of defence in which our large islands are placed, with the number of regular troops, and numerous well-disciplined and zealous militia, i was confident, not any troops which their combined squadron could carry, would make an impression upon any of our large islands, before a very superior force would arrive, for their relief. "i have the honour to remain, sir, and gentlemen, your most obliged and obedient servant, "nelson and bronte. "sir richard neave, bart. and the committee of west india merchants." lord nelson had, at this period, no intention of again going speedily to sea. all his stores had been brought up from the victory; and he was, he said, resolved to enjoy a little leisure, with his family and friends, in the delightful shades of merton. the honourable captain blackwood, a few days afterward, brought intelligence that the combined fleets, reinforced by two more spanish squadrons, and now amounting to thirty-four sail of the line, had left ferrol, and got safely into cadiz. all this, however, was nothing to him; "let the man trudge it, who has lost his budget!" gaily repeated his lordship. but, amid all this _allegro_ of the tongue, to his friends at merton place, lady hamilton observed that his countenance, from that moment, wore occasional marks of the _penseroso_ in his bosom. in this state of mind, he was pacing one of the walks of merton garden, which he always called the quarter-deck, when lady hamilton told him, that she perceived he was low and uneasy. he smiled, and said--"no! i am as happy as possible." adding, that he saw himself surrounded by his family; that he found his health better since he had been at merton; and, that he would not give a sixpence to call the king his uncle. her ladyship replied, that she did not believe what he said; and, that she would tell him what was the matter with him. that he was longing to get at these french and spanish fleets; that he considered them as his own property, and would be miserable if any other man but himself did the business; that he must have them, as the price and reward of his long watching, and two years uncomfortable situation in the mediterranean: and finished, by saying--"nelson, however we may lament your absence, and your so speedily leaving us, offer your services, immediately, to go off cadiz; they will be accepted, and you will gain a quiet heart by it. you will have a glorious victory; and, then, you may come here, have your _otium cum dignitate_, and be happy." he looked at her ladyship for some moments; and, with tears in his eyes, exclaimed--"brave emma! good emma! if there were more emmas, there would be more nelsons. you have penetrated my thoughts. i wish all you say, but was afraid to trust even myself with reflecting on the subject. however, i will go to town." he went, accordingly, next morning, accompanied by her ladyship and his sisters. they left him at the admiralty, on the way to lady hamilton's house in clarges street; and, soon after, received a note, informing them that the victory was telegraphed not to go into port, and begging they would prepare every thing for his departure. this is the true history of that affecting affair. her ladyship feels, most severely, that she was the cause of his going; but, as she loved his glory, she could not resist giving him such advice. it is, however, the general opinion of those who best knew his lordship, that he would, in all probability, have fretted himself to death had he not undertaken this expedition. his lordship's services were "not only accepted at the admiralty, but he was vested with powers less limited than had, perhaps, ever before been confided to any naval commander. he was to send home sir robert calder, who had joined admiral collingwood in blocking up the enemy off cadiz harbour with twenty-six sail of the line, and to take on himself the chief command of all his majesty's ships and vessels throughout the whole extent of the mediterranean sea; having full liberty to use his own discretion in following the enemy wherever he should think proper, without the slightest degree of censure or controul. during the few days which he continued in england after being appointed to this important command, he so devoted the little leisure which his professional preparations allowed, to his beloved family and friends, that he refused all public visits, and dined only twice from merton place: once, with his grace the duke of queensberry, who is a near relation of the late sir william hamilton; and once with his esteemed friend abraham goldsmid, esq. and family, at morden. on both these occasions, too, he was accompanied by lady hamilton and some of his own relations. the duke of clarence, previously to lord nelson's departure, took a dinner with him at merton; when his lordship, pointing to his nephews, nieces, &c. who were seated at a separate table, observed: to his royal highness, that the sight of these young persons associated under his roof constituted the chief bliss of his life. among this amiable and interesting group, was miss horatia nelson thompson, lord nelson's adopted daughter, then an infant about five years of age. what real affinity, if any, that charming child may bear to his lordship, is a secret at present known by few; and, as it should seem, by none who feel at liberty to divulge it. she was, certainly, an object of his constant and most tender regard; and, though the family in general appear disinclined to believe her his daughter, it seems highly probable that she is so. should this prove to be the fact, it cannot greatly affect his lordship's reputation; who, it is not to be dissembled, though by no means ever an unprincipled seducer of the wives and daughters of his friends, was always well known to entertain rather more partiality for the fair-sex than is quite consistent with the highest degree of christian purity. such improper indulgences, with some slight addiction to that other vicious habit of british seamen, the occasional use of a few thoughtlessly profane expletives in speech, form the only dark specks ever yet discovered in the bright blaze of his moral character. truth must not be denied, nor vice advocated; but, surely, the candid admission of these disagreeable verities, can never induce a single virtuous mind unjustly to criminate the hero in any higher degree. could the biographer believe, that lord nelson had ever indulged even an idea of dishonouring the wife of his bosom friend, which no one worthy and intelligent person intimately acquainted with all the parties ever yet did believe, he would that moment indignantly throw up his brief. with respect to the mysterious child, whose unfortunate mother may, most probably, now be no more, it is only certain that lady hamilton was induced to receive her, at a very tender age, as his lordship's adopted daughter. they had been godfather, and godmother, in the baptismal ceremony; and her ladyship, at lord nelsons request, kindly undertook the care of miss horatia's education: as she had already done, for some years, that of the present highly accomplished lady charlotte nelson; and, since, of the amiable miss ann bolton. those who have had the pleasure of beholding with what incomparable skill, indefatigable zeal, and ardent affection, lady hamilton discharges the difficult and important duty of cultivating such comprehensive minds to the full extent of their faculties, will agree that lord nelson could not possibly have confided the guardianship of his adopted daughter to any person so well qualified, in all respects, for the due performance of such a task. when his lordship, on the 10th of may 1803, immediately after compleating his purchase of mr. axe's estate at merton, executed his last will and testament, it does not appear that he made any sort of provision for this infant; nor is she mentioned in the first codicil thereto annexed, the 13th of the same month: yet, on this last day, it seems somewhat remarkable, the child was baptized in the parish of st. marylebone, though then more than two years of age; and, a very few days after, his lordship first sailed to take the mediterranean command. on the 6th day of the september following, however, lord nelson added a second and secret codicil to his will, in which he gives and bequeaths to his adopted daughter, miss horatia, the sum of four thousand pounds; appointing lady hamilton her sole guardian, until she shall have arrived at the age of eighteen years: the interest of the said four thousand pounds to be paid to lady hamilton for her education and maintenance. "this request of guardianship," his lordship expressly says, "i earnestly make of lady hamilton; knowing that she will educate my adopted child in the paths of religion and virtue, and give her those accomplishments which so touch adorn herself: and, i hope, make her a fit wife for my dear nephew, horatio nelson; who i wish to marry her, if he proves worthy, in lady hamilton's estimation, of such a treasure as i am sure she will be." in another codicil, dated on board the victory, at sea, the 19th of february 1804, his lordship gives and bequeaths to lady hamilton five hundred pounds a year, charged on the bronte estate; and, the 7th of april following, leaves an annuity of one hundred pounds, payable quarterly, to poor blind mrs. nelson, the relict of his late brother maurice: without noticing, in either of these codicils, his adopted daughter, miss horatia. on the 19th of december, however, in the same year, by a fifth codicil, executed on board the victory, in the gulph of palma, sardinia, his lordship confirms anew his legacy to lady hamilton, and to his adopted daughter: and farther gives to her ladyship two thousand pounds; to his secretary, john scott, esq. one hundred pounds, to buy a ring, or some token of his remembrance; and two hundred pounds to his friend, the reverend alexander scott, then commonly called dr. scott, by way of distinction from john scott, esq. his lordship's secretary, and who has since taken his doctor's degree in the university of cambridge. this distinguished legacy, and the still more distinguished words in which it is bequeathed--not my foreign secretary, chaplain, &c. but "my friend, the reverend alexander scott,"--must ever bear ample testimony of a regard, even at that period, which does dr. scott so much substantial honour. the foundation of this amity, like all lord nelson's strongest attachments, was not merely private friendship, and personal regard, but esteem and affection arising from the ability and zeal of the party to assist the grand object ever uppermost in his mind, that of accomplishing, in every possible way, by artifice opposed to artifice, as well as arms to arms, the happiness and glory of his king and country. dr. scott's secret services, though very properly concealed from the public, are well known to, and liberally acknowledged by, several of the ablest and bravest commanders in the navy; and it was thus, still more than by his unaffected and agreeable manners in private life, that he endeared himself to our incomparable hero, who constantly possessed the most exalted degree of genuine patriotism combined with the truest and most unbounded loyalty. this sentiment must not be overlooked in the contemplation of lord nelson's character. there cannot, perhaps, be a single proof adduced of the hero's violently strong attachment to any individual whatever, though he was a friend to the whole human race, and to every description of worth, if he did not, at the period of expressing his admiration and esteem, sincerely believe the person a valuable coadjutor in some way assisting the prosperity of his king and country. to this noble and virtuous source may be traced the origin of all the friendships which he greatly cherished out of his family; and even his family would have possessed less of his love, had any of them ever been found deficient in loyalty. this was the great bond of affectionate union which bound together so many brave hearts, and rendered the whole fleet one uniformly compact and invincible body. there was scarcely, perhaps, any single individual, among either officers or men, of a truly valorous and loyal spirit, who would not freely have yielded his own life, if necessary, to save that of the adored commander. few were the hours which this exalted man was permitted to enjoy the society of his beloved family and friends in his retreat at merton. the improvement of his house and grounds, though the latter had been rendered delightful since the enlargement, were by no means even yet compleated; and his lordship, who was ever generous to the full extent of his ability, found it necessary, before he quitted england, to dispose of many jewels, and other valuable presents, which were purchased by messrs. rundell, bridge, and rundell, on ludgate hill, for the purpose of paying debts, and providing the various requisites of his present equipment. even this was a state to which such a man should not have been subjected. his income had been rendered considerable, it is true: but the grandeur of his character had rendered him too great for his income; it ought, therefore, to have been sufficiently enlarged. the nation will never be ruined by rewarding such men! numerous public services, it is well known, were in a great degree assisted by the influence of his own private purse; which was never closed against any claims of conceived duty, either professional or moral. ever bountiful to indigent merit, his private benevolences were by no means small; and he was liberal and hospitable, both at sea and on shore, to a very unusual excess. after all, he had not been able conveniently to repay mr. matcham, his worthy and esteemed brother-in-law, four thousand pounds borrowed towards the purchase of merton place. who, then, shall say, on a just consideration of these indisputable facts, that this great man was amply rewarded by his country? the truth is, that he could scarcely effect any thing which he wished, for the due support of that dignity and rank which he had himself acquired; or obtain, for his meritorious family and friends, the proportionate advancements which he was solicitous to see them possess. mr. matcham, it is true, was a man of fortune; but he had a very large family, with abilities which would not have discredited rank. mr. bolton, his other sister's husband, though a gentleman of great abilities also, and with a considerable family, had a very inadequate fortune; and his lordship was particularly desirous to have beheld him, at least, a commissioner of the excise or customs. this, in fact, was what had been repeatedly promised; but his lordship experienced not the happiness of seeing it performed. the present earl nelson, indeed, his lordship's only surviving brother, had been presented to a prebendal stall at canterbury; but, with this not over splendid exception, nothing had been given by government to his lordship's relatives, and very little to any of his chief friends. the claim of lady hamilton's pension, too, which he had so earnestly solicited, though it had been candidly acknowledged, remained still unnoticed: and, during the few days he continued in england, it does not appear to have been revived; probably, on account of the changes in administration which had taken place while his lordship was abroad, as well as the necessity of now confining himself to the requisite arrangements for undertaking his newly extended command. as the day approached when lord nelson must take his departure from merton place, lady hamilton began severely to suffer for having advised the tender of his services. her mind, no doubt, anticipated all the terrible consequences to be dreaded from his excess of valour, and his heroic disdain of death; nor is it at all improbable, that she now most sincerely regretted her enthusiastic zeal for the hero's glory. the consideration of that other impelling principle, the fearful apprehension of seeing him fall a prey to disappointment, should the desired victory be atchieved by any other hand, brought no solace to her bosom, for it scarcely entered her mind. even the spirit and magnanimity of his lordship, were unable entirely to preserve his feeling breast from painful intrusions. though commonly gay, he was sometimes thoughtful. he could not be insensible, that his post was that of danger; and, though he scorned all personal apprehension, he well knew what must ever be expected by a commander resolved never to yield. before lord nelson quitted london, he called at mr. peddieson's, his upholsterer, in brewer street, where the coffin presented him by captain hallowell had been sent; and, with his usual gaiety and good-humour, desired him to get the attestation of it's identity engraved on the lid--"for," added his lordship, "i think it highly probable, that i may want it on my return." that he wished to live, however, is as certain, as that he feared not to die. of a social, tender, and affectionate heart, amid all the corporeal agonies he had suffered, and was doomed during life to suffer, in consequence of his various wounds, added to the still severer and more numerous inflictions on his mental tranquillity, he preserved a chearfulness of disposition which commonly diffused joy and gladness to all around him. if he saw, or suspected, any difficulty or distress, his mind was that moment occupied in endeavouring to afford some adequate remedy. "what will be of service! how shall i obtain it!" he would frequently exclaim to his friends, when he beheld any one unprovided for, of whom he had a good opinion, however slight the acquaintance: and these exclamations were generally followed up by naming some situation suitable for the party, and immediately using all his interest to obtain it. innumerable are the persons whom he thus comfortably fixed, with their families, for life. where he could not succeed, he felt more than the party disappointed; and, on such occasions only, lamented his limited powers. never did man live less for himself. to his king and his country, his family and his friends, his life was entirely devoted; the promotion of their felicity and glory, was the chief source of his own. for himself, he had wealth more than sufficient; but he was too poor, satisfactorily to assist those who were most dear to him. had his remunerations, and his honours, been as largely proportioned to those of the great duke of marlborough, as his merits, and his services, he would not only have aggrandized his own family and friends, but proved a most munificent patron of genius, and a bountiful dispenser of relief to every species of human misery. posterity will say, and it cannot be denied, that our first naval hero was rewarded with too parsimonious a hand. should we ever see his equal, in all respects--which seems no more likely than that we shall behold another shakspeare--it will probably be thought, that he is not unworthy of a dukedom. the king of naples, as the ally of his british majesty, restored to his throne by lord nelson, deemed our hero entitled to the honour of a ducal coronet, with the princely revenue of a dutchy; and it can never be enough lamented, that any official etiquette, in his own country, should have prevented the gracious sovereign who so sincerely loved him, and who was so sincerely beloved by the hero, from bestowing on him, at least, an equal degree of dignity, with the correspondent domains and emoluments for it's due support. how many naval commanders have enriched themselves, by fortunate captures of unopposing treasure-ships, or on long preserved snug stations, without the smallest personal hazard, to a degree far beyond what his lordship ever acquired, who was continually engaged in scenes of the utmost fatigue and peril! all the prize-money he got, was by hard fighting; and it was, in general, only derived from the capture of those ships which his tremendous valour had frequently rendered wrecks of little value. even then, but a small portion fell to his share; as he had, both at the nile and copenhagen, two of the greatest victories ever gained, a commander in chief who was regularly entitled to prodigiously more than himself. it is by no means pretended, that the captors of rich prizes, the possessors of advantageous stations, and commanders in chief, are not all of them justly and most honourably entitled to the vast wealth they have often the good fortune to acquire; it is only lamented, that our hero was, in these respects, constantly so peculiarly unfortunate. after the earl of st. vincent left the mediterranean command, lord nelson was soon superceded by the arrival of lord keith; and, when sir hyde parker returned home, after the battle of copenhagen, his lordship almost immediately followed. on neither of these occasions, nor in the subsequent affair of boulogne, so soon succeeded by peace, could he derive much advantage as a commander in chief: and, though he had now held the mediterranean command more than two years, the terror of his name, by confining the enemy to their ports, prevented it's being very profitable; while the peculiar nature of his situation, with regard to the difficulties of obtaining intelligence, as well as requisite supplies and refreshments, occasioned private expences which considerably abridged his emoluments. it is true that, as far as related to himself, he might have contrived to live in retirement on his pension and half-pay; but he could by no means make any suitable provision for those whom he conceived to have claims on his protection. this expedition, he trusted, would enable him, at length, to accomplish the wish of his heart, by placing all who were most dear to him in situations of easy independence. if he should survive, the brilliance of the glorious victory which he anticipated, might probably qualify himself sufficiently to exalt them; if he should fall, he would not permit himself to doubt, that the generous nation which he loved, and in whose just cause his last blood would be so freely shed, could ever hesitate a moment amply to provide for every beloved object of his anxious regard, with this confident hope bequeathed to the benign protection of his king and country. on friday, the 13th of september, the victory having been compleatly prepared, dropped down to st. helen's, ready for the hero's reception. to his lordship and friends, this was a terrible day. some of his relatives had previously left merton, that they might escape the dreaded agonies of so painful a separation. mr. and mrs. matcham continued to the last; and sustained, with their best fortitude, the severe shock of such a parting. his lordship, kindly affectionate to all, had repeatedly declared that, from the first prize-money which he should be fortunate enough to obtain, amounting to thirty thousand pounds, he would make a present of five thousand to his brother, and the same sum to each of his two sisters: and, on mr. matcham's expressing a wish that his lordship might retain mrs. matcham's share, he replied--"no; she has an equal claim with her other sister and my brother." so equally did they all participate in his fraternal regards. lord nelson had not, yet, been quite a month in england, and much of even that short period was occupied in preparations for his departure; yet he had, now, lived longer in the society of lady hamilton and his friends, than at any time since the death of sir william. the affection lord nelson and lady hamilton entertained for each other, is not to be doubted; but it was a pure and virtuous attachment, founded entirely on mental esteem. their loves were mutually the result of a most enthusiastic admiration of each other's heroic and magnanimous qualities. those know little of the human heart, who require to be told what this sentiment is capable of effecting; and how little it has to do with the more gross and less durable tie of mere sexual or personal regard. that they would have been united, if his lordship had survived lady nelson, is a fact sufficiently known. in the mean time, never did the most chivalrous knight of antiquity cherish in his heart a more extravagant degree of adoration for the peerless princess of his affections, than that which our hero manifested for this accomplished lady. it was with her image continually before him, that he combated the enemies of his country. her portrait was always placed in his cabin, which he familiarly denominated his guardian genius; and he constantly wore a fine miniature representation of her ladyship's charming features, suspended in his bosom. in short, he always thought, and freely said, that there was not her equal in the universe. the agonies of this parting are not to be described. his lordship, about ten at night, after visiting the chamber of his adopted daughter, and praying over the sleeping innocent, tore himself from her agonized ladyship, surrounded by his remaining relatives, and entered the chaise which conveyed him, by six o'clock next morning, to portsmouth. as a proof of lord nelson's ceaselessly ardent desire for the advancement of his beloved relatives, when his esteemed brother-in-law, george matcham, esq. attended him to the chaise door, his lordship feelingly lamented that it was not yet in his power substantially to serve mr. matcham; who immediately said--"my dear lord, i have no other wish than to see you return home in safety; as for myself, i am not in want of any thing."--"with your large family, my dear mr. matcham," affectionately replied his lordship, "you certainly require a very considerable addition to your fortune!" can any thing compensate, to his family, the loss of such a brother? "friday night," writes his lordship, "at half past ten, i drove from dear, dear merton; where i left all which i hold dear in this world, to go to serve my king and country. may the great god whom i adore, enable me to fulfil the expectations of my country; and, if it is his good pleasure that i should return, my thanks will never cease being offered up to the throne of his mercy! if it is his good providence, to cut short my days upon earth, i bow with the greatest submission; relying, that he will protect those so dear to me, that i may leave behind! his will be done. "amen! amen! amen!" in this, which is extracted from his lordship's own private journal, written at the moment, warm from the heart, as well as in almost every other action of his life, is manifested that exalted desire to promote the glory of his king and country, and that earnest wish to secure every comfort for his family and friends, which animated his heroic soul to perform any exploit, where there was a possibility of attaining either of those desirable objects. lord nelson, on arriving at portsmouth, immediately arranged all his business: and, having embarked at the bathing-machines, got on board the victory, about two o'clock; accompanied by his esteemed friends, the right honourable, george rose, and the right honourable george canning, who dined with the hero while he was preparing for sea. the next morning, sunday, september 15, at daylight, the victory weighed, with light airs, and immediately sailed. though five ships of the line, and a frigate, were then at portsmouth, almost ready for sea, and under orders to join his lordship, he was resolved not to lose a moment in waiting for them. he had sailed, therefore, from st. helen's, accompanied only by the honourable captain blackwood in the euryalus frigate: but, on the 17th, being off plymouth, they were joined by the ajax of seventy-four guns, captain brown; and the thunderer of the same force, captain lechmere. lord nelson, on the 26th of september, got round cape st. vincent; but it was late in the evening of the 28th, before he arrived off cadiz, and joined admiral collingwood. his lordship was received, by the whole fleet, with every demonstration of the most enthusiastic joy. being fully prepared to impart the particulars of the incomparable mode of attack which he had projected for the occasion, in all that force and vigour of genius which flashes irresistible conviction on the heart, and fills it, at once, with admiration, esteem, and astonishment, his lordship communicated, next morning, with the different commanders; whom he ordered on board the victory, to be made acquainted with the particulars of his intended plan. "i believe," writes his lordship, "my arrival was most welcome; not only to the commanders of the fleet, but also to every individual in it; and, when i came to explain to them the _nelson touch_, it was like an electric shock. some shed tears, all approved. it was new, it was singular, it was simple; and, from admirals downwards, it was repeated--"it must succeed, if ever they will allow us to get at them! you are, my lord, surrounded by friends whom you inspire with confidence."--"some," adds his lordship, "may be judas's, but the majority are certainly much pleased with my commanding them." the letter from which this is extracted, was dated the 1st of october; on which morning, about four o'clock, our hero had been suddenly seized with a violent fit of those dreadful spasms which often so alarmingly afflicted him, "it is," says his lordship, "very odd! i was hardly ever better, than yesterday. freemantle staid with me till eight o'clock; and i slept uncommonly well, but was awoke by this disorder. my opinion of it's effect, some one day, has never altered! however, it is entirely gone off, and i am only quite weak. the good people of england will not believe, that rest of body and mind is necessary for me! but, perhaps, this spasm may not come again these six months. i had been writing seven hours yesterday; perhaps, that had some hand in bringing it upon me." thus lightly does he speak of his own sufferings, thus good-humouredly notice the little consideration of the country for his individual ease. the euryalus had been immediately stationed close off the harbour of cadiz, for the purpose of watching every motion of the enemy, and instantly communicating whatever intelligence might be obtained; a service for which, lord nelson was persuaded, there could not possibly be a better officer than his friend the honourable captain blackwood. at a more remote distance, but still within sight of the port, a detachment of a few ships of the line was placed in constant readiness to act against any single ships, or small squadrons, which might attempt to push out for sea; between which, and the main body of the fleet, remaining off cape st. mary's, was posted a line of frigates, sufficiently close for the whole to communicate by signal: so that his lordship could always, in a few minutes, be informed of every movement of the enemy. there were now thirty-six sail of the line visible in cadiz, and they bore every appearance of being nearly ready for sea. the following excellent letter, developing the intended arrangements of his lordship; his full confidence of success; and the characteristic chearfulness of his friendly attachment to the honourable captain black wood, originally founded on admiration of that active able officer's professional abilities in assisting the capture of le guillaume tell at malta; cannot fail to gratify every intelligent reader. victory, oct. 4, 1805. "my dear sir, i have received, from rear-admiral louis, your information respecting the intended movements of the enemy. i am momentarily expecting the phoebe, sirius, naiad, and niger, from gibraltar; two of them shall be with you, directly as i can get hold of them: and, if you meet them, and there is any way of sending information, and their dispatches from gibraltar, keep naiad and phoebe. juno is a fixture between capes trafalgar and spartel. mars, colossus, and defence, will be stationed four leagues east from the fleet; and one of them advanced to the east, towards cadiz, and as near as possible in the latitude. the fleet will be from sixteen to eighteen leagues west of cadiz; therefore, if you throw a frigate west from you, most probably, in fine weather, we shall daily communicate. in fresh breezes easterly, i shall work up for cadiz, never getting to the northward of it; and, in the event of hearing they are standing out of cadiz, carry a press of sail to the southward, towards cape spartel and arache. i am writing out regular instructions for the guidance of the frigates: but, i am confident, these gentry will not slip through our fingers; and, that we shall give a good account of them, although they may be superior in numbers. the royal sovereign and defiance were to sail after the 24th. belleisle is ordered here. i send you two papers, _i have stole them for you_. ever, my dear blackwood, most faithfully your's, "nelson and bronte." "the honourable captain blackwood." on the 8th, his lordship sent the naiad to the honourable captain blackwood; with a promise of the phoebe and weazle, as soon as he could lay hands on them: informing him, also, that the defiance had joined, and the royal sovereign was then in sight. the next morning, at eight o'clock, his lordship, after thanking the honourable captain for intelligence respecting a livelihood of the enemy's sailing, and observing that he should wish never to be more than forty-eight hours without hearing from him, observes that- "agamemnon, belleisle, and superb, and very probably the london, are at this moment on their passage: therefore," he jocosely says, "if mr. decreés means to come forth, (if he would take my advice, which i dare say he will not) he had better come out directly. those," he adds, "who know more of cadiz than you or i do, say that, after these levanters, come several days of fine weather; westerly winds for sea-breezes, and a land wind at night: and that, if the enemy are bound into the mediterranean, they would come out in the night, which they have always done; placing lights on the porpoises and the diamond, and the shoal off cadiz; run to the southward, and catch the sea breeze off the mouth of the gut, and push through, whilst we might have little winds in the offing. in short, watch all points, and all winds and weathers. remember me to capel, parker, mundy, and captain prowse; and, be assured, i ever am your's most faithfully, nelson and bronte. the following short letter, written the following day, is too peculiarly characteristic, and impressive, to admit of any curtailment. oct. 10, 1805. victory. "my dear blackwood, keep your five frigates, weazle and pickle, and let me know every movement. i rely, we cannot miss getting hold of them, and i will give them such a shaking as they never yet experienced; at least, _i will lay down my life in the attempt!_ we are a very powerful fleet, and not to be held cheap. i have told parker, and do you direct, that ships bringing information of their coming out, are to fire guns every three minutes by the watch; and, in the night, to fire rockets, if they have them, from the mast-head. i have nothing more to say; they will, i hope, sail to-night. ever your's, faithfully, nelson and bronte. cadiz east thirteen leagues, 6 a.m. "the honourable captain blackwood." it was on this day, that lord nelson issued his celebrated instructions for attacking the combined fleet, of which the following is a correct copy. victory, off cadiz, oct. 10,1805. thinking it almost impossible to bring a fleet of forty sail of the line into battle, in variable winds, thick weather, and other circumstances which must occur, without such a loss of time that the opportunity would probably be lost of bringing the enemy to battle in such a manner as to make the business decisive; i have, therefore, made up my mind, to keep the fleet in that position of sailing, with the exception of the first and second in command, that the order of sailing is to be the order of the battle: placing the fleet in two lines, of sixteen ships each, with an advanced squadron of eight of the fastest sailing two-decked ships; which will always make, if wanted, a line of twenty-four sail on which ever line the commander in chief may direct. the second in command will, after my intentions are made known to him, have the entire direction of his line, to make the attack upon the enemy, and to follow up the blow, until they are captured or destroyed. if the enemy's fleet are seen to windward in line of battle, and that the two lines and advanced squadron could fetch them, they will probably be so extended that their van could not succour their rear. i should therefore, probably, make the second in command's signal to lead through about the twelfth ship from their rear; or wherever he could fetch, if not able to get so far advanced: my line would lead through about their centre, and the advanced squadron two, three, or four, ships a-head of their centre, so as to ensure getting at their commander in chief, whom every effort must be made to capture. the whole impression of the british fleet must be, to overpower from two or three ships a-head of their commander in chief, supposed to be their centre, to the rear of their fleet. i will suppose twenty sail of the line to be untouched; it must be some time before, they could perform a manoeuvre to bring their force compact to attack any part of the british fleet, or succour their own ships: which, indeed, would be impossible, without mixing with the ships engaged. the enemy's fleet is supposed to consist of forty-six sail of the line, british forty: if either is less, only a proportion of the enemy to be cut off. british to to be one-fourth superior to the enemy cut off. something must be left to chance. nothing is sure in a sea-fight, beyond all others; shots will carry away masts and yards of friends as well as foes. but i look with confidence to a victory, before the van of the enemy could succour the rear: and, then, that the british fleet would be ready to receive the twenty sail of the line; or to pursue them, should they endeavour to make off. if the van of the enemy tacks, the captured ships must run to leeward of the british fleet. if the enemy wear, the british fleet must place themselves between the enemy and the captured, and the disabled british ships; and, should the enemy close, i have no fear as to the result. the second in command will, in all possible things, direct the movements of his line, by keeping them as compact as the nature of the circumstances will admit. captains are to look to their particular line as their rallying point; but, in case signals cannot be seen, or clearly understood, _no captain can do wrong, if he places his ship alongside that of an enemy_. /advanced squadron 8\ british divisions { weather line ... 16 } 40. \lee line ... 16/ enemy ... 46. the divisions of the british fleet will be brought nearly within gunshot of the enemy's centre. the signal will, most probably, then be made for the lee line to bear up together; to set all their sails, even the steering sails, in order to get as quickly as possible to the enemy's line; and to cut through, begining at the twelfth ship from the enemy's rear. some ships may not get through their expected place, but they will always be at hand to assist their friends. if any are thrown in the rear of the enemy, they will compleat the business of twelve sail of the enemy. should the enemy wear together, or bear up and sail large, still the twelve ships composing in the first position the enemy's rear, are to be the object of attack of the lee line, unless otherwise directed by the commander in chief; which is scarcely to be expected, as the entire management of the lee line, after the intentions of the commander in chief are signified, is intended to be left to the admiral commanding that line. the remainder of the enemy's fleet, thirty-five, sail of the line, are to be left to the management of the commander in chief, who will endeavour to take care that the movements of the second in command are as little interrupted as possible. "nelson and bronte." about this period, the following admired extract of a letter to alexander davison, esq. his lordship's most confidential friend, appears also to have been written; which, though published in most of the newspapers, and other periodical journals, cannot be too often reprinted. "day by day, my dear friend, i am expecting the fleet to put to sea; every day, hour, and moment: and you may rely that, if it is in the power of man to get at them, it shall be done; and, i am sure, that all my brethren look to that day, as the finish of our laborious cruise. the event, no man can say exactly; but i must think,--or render great injustice to those under me, that let the battle be when it may, it will never have been surpassed! my shattered frame, if i survive that day, will require rest, and that is all i shall ask for. if i fall on such a glorious occasion, it shall be my pride to take care that my friends shall not blush for me. these things are in the hands of a good and wise providence; and, his will be done! i have got some trifle, thank god, to leave to those i hold most dear, and i have taken care not to neglect it. do not think i am low-spirited on this account, or fancy any thing is to happen to me; quite the contrary: my mind is calm, and i have only to think of destroying our inveterate foe. i have two frigates gone for more information, and we all hope for a meeting with the enemy. nothing can be finer than the fleet under my command. whatever be the event, believe me ever, my dear davison, your much obliged and sincere friend, "nelson and bronte." as, however, the combined fleet did not immediately come out, his lordship soon grew apprehensive that they were very little disposed speedily to venture from port; and, therefore, began to consider how he might annoy them even there. "if they do not come forth soon," writes his lordship, on the 14th, to the honourable captain blackwood, "i shall then rather incline to think they will detach squadrons: but, i hope, either in the whole, or in part, we shall get at them. i am confident in your look out upon them. i expect three stout fire-ships from england; then, with a good breeze, so that the gun-boats cannot move, and yet not so much but that a gig can with ease row out, i should hope that, at least, the gentry might be disturbed: and i should not be surprised if mr. francis and his catamarans were sent, and colonel congreve and his rockets. but, all this keep to yourself; for officers will talk, and there is no occasion to put the enemy upon their guard. when those things arrive, we will consult how to manage them, and i shall have the two bombs ready by that time." on lord nelson's arrival in the mediterranean, he had felt it his most difficult task to send home sir robert calder. "i had never," said his lordship, speaking on this subject to his confidential friends, "but two enemies in the profession, that i know of, sir robert calder, and sir john orde; nor do i feel conscious of having ever given either of them any just cause of offence. however," added this excellent and exalted man, "i will, at least, endeavour to make sir robert love me." accordingly, on communicating his orders to this unfortunate commander, he earnestly advised him not to return home immediately; but to serve with himself on the expected glorious occasion, after which, there could be nothing to apprehend from any trivial enquiry respecting what might previously have happened. sir robert, however, though he could not but feel sensible of his lordship's kindness, was resolved by no means to protract his justification; and lord nelson, finding him determined to go home, as a last proof of tenderness and respectful consideration for a brother officer thus disagreeably situated, insisted that, instead of sir robert's departing in a frigate, as directed, he should at least have the honour of returning in his own ninety-gun ship, ill as it could at this eventful crisis be spared from that station. thus did the hero willingly hazard a degree of censure from his country, through excess of feeling for sir robert calder; nor is it altogether an extravagant impossibility that, to this generous action, he owed even his own death, which the addition of a ship of such force might perhaps have prevented. in writing to the honourable captain blackwood a second letter, dated the, 14th, soon after sir robert calder's departure, his lordship feelingly says--"sir robert is gone. poor fellow! i hope he will get well over the enquiry." what a lesson is here of christian virtue, left by our incomparable hero for the contemplation and admiration of mankind. it is asserted, on no light authority, that sir. robert calder had formerly, rather rashly, advised a court-martial on our hero, for his departure from his commander in chief's orders on the memorable 14th of february; when the great earl of st. vincent, with a generous, noble, and dignified disdain, instantly replied--"you would, then, try a man for knowing better how to act than yourself." lord nelson, in the foregoing letter to the honourable captain blackwood, thanks him for some observations on the salvages, which he will get inserted in the charts; and tells him, that the defence and agamemnon will be this day placed seven to ten leagues distant from cadiz, and two or three ships between the fleet and them: "therefore," says his lordship, "you will be speedily supported, in case of an attempt to drive you off." characteristically adding--"_i should like, most amazingly, to see them try it_!" it has been said, that lord nelson, who was in hourly expectation of being reinforced by seven ships of the line from england, and impatient to encounter the enemy, purposely detached rear-admiral louis, with that number of ships, in the most public manner, by way of encouraging them to risk an action with his apparently so diminished force; and, that this stratagem actually induced admiral villeneuve immediately to sail from cadiz. that the expected reinforcement had arrived, and admiral louis had been thus detached to tetuan, for fresh provisions and water, is most certain; and it is equally certain that the combined fleet, greatly to our hero's wish, however it might be to his expectation, he had the pleasure to learn, next morning; sunday, october the 20th, on communicating with the phoebe, defence, and colossus, were the evening before seen by them outside of cadiz; but, the wind being southerly, the enemy, consisting of nearly forty sail, could not get to the mouth of the straits. "we were," writes his lordship, for this is transcribed from his own private memorandum of that day, "between trafalgar and cape spartel. the frigates made the signal, that they saw nine sail outside the harbour. i gave the frigates instructions for their guidance; and placed defenced colossus, and mars, between me and the frigates. at noon, fresh gales, and heavy rain. cadiz north-east nine leagues. in the afternoon, captain blackwood telegraphed, that the enemy seemed determined to go to the westward--_and that they shall not do, if in the power of nelson and bronte to prevent them_! at five, telegraphed captain blackwood, that i relied on his keeping sight of the enemy. at five o'clock, naiad made the signal for thirty-one sail of the enemy north north-east. the frigates and look-out ships kept sight of the enemy most admirably, all night; and told me, by signals, which tack they were upon. at eight, we wore, and stood to the south-west; and, at four a.m. wore, and stood to the north-east." to what an eventful period is the reader now conducted, by the hand of our immortal hero himself, in the forcible and unaffected language of his own manly and matchless heart; of that heart, which was, at this aweful moment, glowing with all the heroism of patriotic ardour for his king and country, and anxiously waiting the first dawn of light by which he might be enabled to discover the enemy! it came; and, with it, brought the welcome sight of those whom his whole soul burned to behold. few, and simple, are the words which immediately follow in his lordship's memorandum. "monday, october 21, 1805. at day-light, saw the enemy's combined fleet, from east to east south-east. bore away; made the signal for order of sailing, and to prepare for battle: the enemy with their heads to the southward." but now, at the very crisis when he is hastening into a battle for his king and country, which he feels confident must end in a glorious victory, though he might not himself survive it, with that potent patriotism and never-ceasing loyalty to his king and country, and that constantly tender regard for those who were nearest to his heart in the bonds of private affection, he thus piously invokes heaven's protection for his king and country; and the protection of his king and country, should he fall in their service, for those most dear to his heart who would thus be deprived of his own. to add to the solemnity, though thus introduced in his lordship's private journal, it has the form, and in some respects the substance, of a codicil of his last will and testament; and is, accordingly, thereto annexed, having been duly proved in doctors commons. "at seven," continues, and unfortunately concludes, his lordship--for these seem to have been the last words written by his own hand, which no man who deserves the name of a briton will ever cease to remember and to regard--"the enemy wearing in succession- "_may the great god whom i worship, grant to my country, and for the benefit of europe in general, a great and glorious victory! and may no misconduct in any one tarnish it! and may humanity, after victory, be the predominant feature in the british fleet! for myself, individually, i commend my life to him who made me; and may his blessing light upon my endeavours for serving my country faithfully! to him i resign myself, and the just cause which is entrusted to me to defend._ amen! amen! amen! "october the 21st, 1805, then in sight of the combined fleets of france and spain, distant about ten miles. "whereas the eminent services of emma hamilton, widow of the right honourable sir william hamilton, have been of the very greatest service to our king and country, to my knowledge, without her receiving any reward from either our king or country- "first, that she obtained the king of spain's letter, in 1796, to his brother the king of naples, acquainting him of his intention to declare war against england; from which letter the ministry sent out orders to the then sir john jervis, to strike a stroke, if opportunity offered, against either the arsenals of spain or her fleets: that neither of these was done, is not the fault of lady hamilton; the opportunity might have been offered. "secondly, the british fleet under my command could never have returned the second time to egypt, had not lady hamilton's influence with the queen of naples caused letters to be wrote to the governor of syracuse, that he was to encourage the fleet being supplied with every thing, should they put into any port in sicily. we put into syracuse, and received every supply; went to egypt, and destroyed the french fleet. "could i have rewarded these services, i would not now call upon my country! but, as that has not been in my power, i leave emma hamilton, therefore, a legacy to my king and country; that they will give her an ample provision, to maintain her rank in life. "i also leave to the beneficence of my country, my adopted daughter, horatia nelson thompson; and i desire she will use, in future, the name of nelson only. "these are the only favours i ask of my king and country, at this moment, when i am going to fight their battle. "may god bless my king and country, and all those i hold dear! my relations it is needless to mention; they will, of course, be amply provided for. "nelson and bronte." "witness, henry blackwood, t.m. hardy." this solemn call on his country can require no comment. woe to the nation, which could dare to neglect such strong claims on it's justice and beneficence! the proverbial generosity of britons will, no doubt, in due time, bountifully display it's accustomed munificence in favour of the parties. the honourable captain blackwood, who is a subscribing witness to the above codicil, after watching the enemy all night, had got on board the victory about seven in the morning: and, with captain, capel, of the phoebe; and captain prowse, of the sirius; remained several hours in consultation with lord nelson. when his lordship became convinced, that the enemy could not possibly avoid an engagement, he displayed the highest degree of animation. confident of victory, he said to captain hardy, and the other officers by whom he was surrounded--"they cannot now escape us! i think, we shall, at least, make sure of twenty of them. i may, probably, lose a leg; but that will be cheaply purchasing a victory." however, it is an undoubted fact, that when the honourable captain blackwood, in taking leave of his lordship, previous to the action, observed that, he hoped they should, in a few hours, meet again; the hero replied, in a firm tone--"my dear blackwood, i shall never again speak to you!" this was no sentiment of despondency, but a strong sense of the danger to be apprehended from so unequal a contest. the enemy's line consisting of thirty-three ships, eighteen of which were french, and fifteen spanish; and the british fleet only twenty-seven: and, by the advantage of size, as well as numbers, they had a superiority of about three hundred and fifty guns. ten thousand of their choicest troops were also distributed throughout the fleet, to ensure success by boarding; and their ships were furnished with fire-balls and combustibles of every description, in the hope of setting our's on fire. the french were commanded, in chief, by admiral villeneuve; and not by admiral decrées, as lord nelson had lately supposed would be the case; with rear-admirals dumanoir and magon: the spaniards, by admiral gravina, commander in chief; with admirals don ignacio morea d'alva, don domingo guadalharas, and commodore don baltazar. the structure of the enemy's line was somewhat new, as well as the intended mode of attacking them. it formed a crescent, convexing to leeward: every alternate ship being about a cable's length to windward of it's second a-head and a-stern, so as to seem a kind of double-line; leaving between them, when on their beam, a very small interval, and this without crouding their ships. admiral villeneuve, in the bucentaure, occupied the centre; and admiral gravina's flag was borne by the prince of asturias, in the rear: but the french and spanish ships appear to have been mixed, without any regard to national arrangement. the mode of attack having been long determined on by lord nelson, and recently communicated, as has been seen, on the 10th instant, to the flag officers and captains, few signals were necessary. on first discovering the combined fleet, his lordship had immediately made the signal to bear up in two columns, as formed in the order of sailing, to avoid the inconvenience and delay of forming a line of battle in the usual manner. lord nelson, as commander in chief, led the weather column, in the victory; and vice-admiral collingwood, as second in command, that of the lee, in the royal sovereign. the following are the respective ships of which the two british lines were composed- british van, or weather column. ships. guns. commanders. 1. victory 110 admiral lord nelson, and capt hardy. 2. temeraire 98 capt. harvey. 3. neptune 98 capt. freemantle. 4. conqueror 74 capt. pellew. 5. leviathan 74 capt. bayntun. 6. ajax 74 lieut. pilfold. 7. orion 74 capt. codrington. 8. agamemnon 64 capt. sir edward berry. 9. minotaur 74 capt. mansfield. 10. spartiate 74 capt. sir francis laforey. 11. britannia 100 rear-admiral northesk, and capt. bullen. 12. africa 64 capt. digby. rear, or lee column. 13. royal sovereign 100 admiral collingwood, and capt. rotheran. 14. mars 74 capt. duff. 15. belleisle 74 capt. hargood. 16. tonnant 80 capt. tyler. 17. bellerophon 74 capt. cooke. 18. colossus 74 capt. morris. 19. achille 74 capt. king. 20. polyphemus 64 capt. redmill. 21. revenge 74 capt. moorson. 22. swiftsure 74 capt. rutherford. 23. defence 74 capt. hope. 24. thunderer 74 lieut. stockham. 25. defiance 74 capt. durham. 26. prince 74 capt. grindall. 27. dreadnought 98 capt. conn. senior lieutenants pilfold and stockham commanded for captains brown and lechmere, who were called home to give evidence on the enquiry into the conduct of sir robert calder. frigates, &c. ships. guns. commanders. 1. euryalus 36 the honourable capt. blackwood. 2. sirius 36 capt. prowse. 3. phoebe 36 capt. capel. 4. naiad 36 capt. parker. 5. pickle schooner 10 lieut. lapenotiere. 6. entreprenante cutter 10 lieut. puyer. while they were approaching the enemy's line, lord nelson repeatedly declared, that it was the happiest day of his life; and that, from the plan of his intended attack, he entertained not the smallest doubt that, before night, he should gain possession of at least twenty of their ships. the last signal which preceded the battle, was an emanation from his great mind which will long be remembered; this was a private signal to the fleet, communicating by telegraph the following most emphatic sentiment-"england expects every man to do his duty." this took place exactly at twelve o'clock, and the battle instantly commenced by the leading ships of the columns attempting to break through the enemy's line: lord nelson, in the victory, about the tenth ship from the van; vice-admiral collingwood, in the royal sovereign, about the twelfth from the rear. when vice-admiral collingwood, at the head of the division under his orders, began the attack, and broke through the enemy's line, lord nelson, turning round to his officers, with the highest exultation, said--"look at that noble fellow! observe the stile in which he carries his ship into action!" the victory, at four minutes past twelve, opened it's fire on the enemy's van, while passing down their line; in about a quarter of an hour after which, finding it impossible to penetrate through, the victory fell on board the eleventh and twelfth ships. the temeraire, captain harvey, by which the victory was seconded, in consequence of the closeness of this part of the enemy's line, fell also on board one of them. these four ships were thus, for a considerable time, engaged together as in a single mass; so that the flash of almost every gun fired from the victory set fire to the redoutable, it's more immediate opponent. in this state, amidst the hottest fire of the enemy, was beheld a very singular spectacle; that of numerous british seamen employed, at intervals, in very coolly throwing buckets of water to extinguish the flames on board their enemy's ship, that both might not be involved in one common destruction. his lordship had been particularly desirous to have began the action, by passing a-head of the bucentaure, admiral villeneuve's ship, that the victory might be a-head of the french commander in chief, and a-stern of the spanish santissima trinidada of a hundred and thirty-six guns, the largest ship in the world. the bucentaure, however, shooting a-head, his lordship, who was thus obliged to go under that ship's stern, immediately raked it, and luffed up on the starboard side. the bucentaure fired four broadsides at the victory, before our hero ordered his ports to be opened; when the whole broadside, which was double shotted, being poured in, the discharge made such a tremendous crash, that the ship was instantly seen to heel. lord nelson now shot a-head to the santissima trinidada. in contending with this ship, on the celebrated 14th of february 1797, our hero had already acquired considerable renown. having got alongside his tremendous opponent, which he familiarly called his old acquaintance, he ordered the ships to be lashed together. the battle was now raging with a fury not to be described; and the enemy's ships being full of men, and many of them engaged muzzle to muzzle of the guns with our's, the carnage was most horrible. the crash, too, of the falling masts, yards, &c. incessantly mowed down, by the respective shots on both sides, with the almost general blaze, and incessantly tremendous roar, had an aweful grandeur which no verbal or graphic description or delineation can ever faithfully convey to the eye and ear. our hero, amidst this most terrific scene, appeared to be literally in his glory. he was quite enraptured with the bravery and skill of all under his command: he was not displeased to find, that the enemy, in general, fought like men worthy of being conquered; of being themselves conquerors, in a better cause. in a dress richly covered with the honours which he had acquired by his prowess in former battles, he stood a conspicuous object of emulative worth to all the heroic men who surrounded him in this. never had his aspiring and enraptured heart beheld a victory more brilliantly glorious awaiting their noble exertions. ineffable delight, blended with a divine benignity, beamed over the hero's countenance. he felt conscious of being engaged in contending for all that is dear to man; and, consequently, struggling in a cause which could by no means be displeasing to heaven. he doubted little the success of his country, for he knew in what he confided; but he was not presumptuous, for he had early been instructed, that "the battle is not always to the strong." his own personal fate was ever humbly resigned to the will of the great disposer; live, or die, he was alone solicitous that he should live or die in glory. while victory, however, from all observation, appeared within his grasp, he could not but be conscious that individual danger every where hovered around. the santissima trinidada carried full sixteen hundred men; including a corps of troops, among whom were several sharp-shooters. many other ships had, also, tyrolese riflemen on board. amidst the conflict of cannon, fired muzzle to muzzle, showers of bullets were directed on the quarter-deck; where the distinguished hero stood, fearlessly giving his orders, and chearfully abiding every peril. his heart was animated, and his spirits were gay. the stump of his right arm, which he always pleasantly denominated his fin, moved the shoulder of his sleeve up and down with the utmost rapidity, as was customary when he felt greatly pleased. captain hardy, apprehensive that lord nelson's peculiar attire pointed him out as too obvious a mark, advised the hero to change his dress, or cover himself with a great-coat; but he no otherwise regarded the precautionary advice, than by observing that he had not yet time to do so. it probably struck his great mind, that such an act might evince too much personal attention for a commander in chief to possess. in the mean while, the murderous desire of the enemy to single out the officers, continued growing more and more manifest. of a hundred and ten marines stationed on the poop and quarter-deck, upwards of eighty were either killed or wounded. mr. pascoe, first-lieutenant of the victory, received a very severe wound, while conversing with his lordship; and john scott, esq. his lordship's secretary, was shot through the head, by a musket-ball, at his side, captain adair of the marines, almost at the same instant, experienced a similar fate. this was about a quarter of an hour past one o'clock; and, a few minutes afterward, captain hardy, who was standing near his lordship, observed a marksman in the mizen-top of the bucentaure, which then lay on the victory's quarter, in the very act of taking a deliberate aim at his beloved commander. scarcely had he time to exclaim--"change your position, my lord! i see a rascal taking aim at you!" when the fatal bullet unhappily smote the hero; and, having entered near the top of his left shoulder, penetrated through his lungs, carrying with it part of the adhering epaulette, and lodged in the spinal marrow of his back. a shout of horrid joy, from the enemy, seemed to announce their sense of the cruel success. his lordship was prevented from falling, by captain hardy; to whom he said, with a smile--"they have done for me, at last!" as the officers were conducting him below, his lordship deliberately remarked that the tiller-rope was too slack, and requested that captain hardy might be told to get it tightened. in the mean time, mr. pollard, a young midshipman of the victory, not more than sixteen years of age, having levelled a musket at the man who shot his lordship, the fellow was seen instantly to fall. all the surgeons being busily engaged with the wounded, our hero, as usual, insisted on waiting till his turn. the surgeon who examined the wound soon clearly discovered what must be it's fatal effect. lord nelson had attentively regarded his countenance; and, on beholding him turn pale, calmly said--"it is, i perceive, mortal!" the reverend dr. scott, who was looking for his wounded friend, lieutenant pascoe, in the cockpit, to his utter astonishment and horror, discovered that his lordship had that moment been brought down. he immediately seated himself on the floor, and supported his pillow during the whole time of the surgeon's operations; indeed, except for a few moments, when he was sent to call captain hardy, he never left him. after enquiring about the state of the battle, which the dying hero far more regarded than that of his wound, his lordship, who was much agitated, and evidently suffering the most extreme agony, suddenly exclaimed, in a hurried manner--"doctor, remember me to lady hamilton, remember me to horatia! remember me to lady hamilton, remember me to horatia! tell her, i have made a will, and left her a legacy to my country." this was afterward repeated, in a calmer tone, to dr. scott; with whom he conversed, at intervals, in a low voice, but perfectly collected. at times, the pain seizing him more violently, he suddenly and loudly expressed a wish to die. then, again, he would grow calm and collected, and address himself to dr. scott; speaking in low, though broken and unconnected, sentences. at first, he expressed an eager desire for drink; saying--"drink! drink! drink, doctor!" and continually had lemonade given him. after each time of drinking, he was a short time calm and collected, and spoke a few sentences to dr. scott; then, the pain again seizing him, he would hastily call out--"drink! drink!" his lower extremities soon grew cold and insensible, and the copious effusion of blood from his lungs frequently threatened suffocation. his eyes, however, appeared to brighten, and his spirits to revive, on hearing the cheers given by the crew of the victory as the different ships of the enemy surrendered. he frequently expressed much desire to have his face wiped; repeating, to dr. scott--"wipe my face, doctor! doctor, wipe my face!" this being done, for a considerable time, he seemed to receive some comfort; but soon grew prodigiously anxious to see captain hardy. his lordship had several times sent for him; and, not finding him come, began to imagine that he was no more. it was found difficult to efface this idea; and dr. scott felt it necessary himself to call captain hardy, who had been unwilling to quit his post at such an interesting period. about half past four, however, captain hardy attended on his lordship; who eagerly enquired, how many ships were captured. on being informed, by the captain, that twelve, which he could see, had certainly struck; and that, probably, more might have surrendered, as the victory seemed nearly compleat: the dying hero hastily exclaimed--"what, only twelve! there should have been, at least, fifteen or sixteen, by my calculation! however," added he, after, a short pause, "twelve are pretty well!" he requested that captain hardy would bear his kindest remembrances to lady hamilton, and to horatia; and inform them that he had left them as a legacy to his king and country, in whose service he willingly yielded up his life. "will you, my dear hardy?" anxiously demanded his lordship. "kiss me, then!" captain hardy immediately kneeling, respectfully kissed the wan cheek of his adored commander. the dying hero now desired that his affectionate regards might be presented to his brave officers and men: and said, that he could have wished once more to have beheld his beloved relatives and friends, or even to have survived till he had seen the fleet in safety; but, as neither was possible, he felt resigned, and thanked god for having enabled him to do his duty to his king and country. his lordship had, latterly, most vehemently directed dr. scott to rub his breast and pit of the stomach; where, it seems probable, he now felt the blood beginning more painfully to flow, in a state of commencing congelation--"rub me, rub me, doctor!" he often and loudly repeated. this melancholy office was continued to be almost incessantly performed by dr. scott, till his lordship expired; and, indeed, for some time, afterward. the last words the immortal hero uttered, were- "thank god, i have done my duty!" he had, before, pronounced them in a lower tone of voice: saying--"doctor, i have not been a great sinner; and, thank god, i have done my duty!" then, as if asking the question, he repeated--"doctor, i have not been a great sinner?" doctor scott was too much affected immediately to answer. "have i?" he again eagerly interrogated. a paroxysm of pain now suddenly seizing him, he exclaimed, in a loud and most solemnly impressive tone--"_thank god, i have done my duty! thank god,_ _i have done my duty!_" after pronouncing these words, he had, apparently, suffered no pain; but gradually went off, as if asleep. indeed, every person who surrounded him, except dr. scott, who had long felt the current of life sensibly chilling beneath his hand, actually thought, for some time, that he was only in a state of somnolency. it was, however, the sleep of death, the blood having entirely choaked up his incomparable heart. thus died the greatest naval hero, "take him for all in all," that ever lived. this will probably be said, as long as the world endures. it is not likely that he can ever be equalled, it is impossible that he should be surpassed. the victory of this day, off trafalgar, was one of the most compleatly glorious ever atchieved by britons. about three o'clock, many of the enemy's ships having struck their colours, their line had every where given way, and as many as possible endeavoured to effect their escape. eighteen men of war were taken; and three flag-officers, with a general, made prisoners of war. among the ships captured, were the santissima trinidada of a hundred and thirty-six guns, the santa anna of a hundred and twenty, and the bucentaure of seventy-four: the last having admiral villeneuve, the french commander in chief, on board; as well as general contamin, who had four thousand select troops embarked under his command; and the two former, the spanish vice-admiral don ignatio morea d'alva, who died of his wounds, with rear-admiral don baltazar hidalgo de cisneros. the santissima trinidada, soon after the action, sunk; and l'achille, a french seventy-four, by some mismanagement of the crew, almost immediately on striking, took fire, and blew up. the number of killed, wounded, and taken prisoners, was most prodigious. the french admiral dumanoir, with three french ships, which had no share in the action, iniquitously fired, for some time, while making their ignominious retreat, on the santissima trinidada and other spanish prizes which had struck their colours to our fleet; thus wantonly massacreing their defenceless friends and allies. many of the ships taken or destroyed had upwards of four hundred men killed and wounded on board; and more than three thousand spanish prisoners were liberally sent back to their own country, by the generous conquerors. the bucentaure, it is said, had three hundred and sixty-five killed, and two hundred and nineteen wounded. our loss, too, in killed and wounded, was far from inconsiderable; and many of our ships were materially damaged. the royal sovereign, in particular, was so cut up, that vice-admiral collingwood, after the action, shifted his flag to the euryalus, the honourable captain blackwood, and towed his own ship out seaward. besides lord nelson, two other brave and estimable commanders lost their lives on this most memorably fatal day: captain duff, of the mars; and captain cooke, of the bellerophon. captain duff had two sons on board his own ship; one only twelve years of age, the other about fifteen: early in the engagement, a shot carried away both legs of the youngest; the elder soon afterwards fell; and, finally, their unfortunate father. not even these distressing circumstances were capable of exciting any great degree of generous commiseration for those worthy and gallant victims, so entirely was each heart occupied by agonizing reflections on the loss of him who had, in himself, ever been considered as alone a host. it was a victory the most compleatly brilliant, but never had a victory been gained which conveyed so little gladness to the hearts of the conquerors. every bosom felt oppressed with sorrow, on a day of such triumph to their country; and not an eye closed, in the whole fleet, on the sad night by which it was succeeded, without pouring an affectionate tribute of manly tears to the memory of the godlike hero by whose merits it had been so certainly obtained, and by whose death it had been so dearly purchased. "he will never again lead us to conquest!" sobbed many a bursting heart. "our commander, our master, our father, our friend, our companion, is no more, and when shall we behold his equal? never, never, never!" such was their love of the adored hero, that every virtuous individual in the fleet would gladly have lost his own life to have saved him. it is, indeed, stated as a positive fact, that a seaman of the victory, who was, a little before the fatal catastrophe, suffering the amputation of an arm, actually said to the surgeon--"well, this might, by some men, be considered as a sad misfortune; but i shall be proud of the accident, as it will make me the more resemble our brave commander in chief." before the operation was finished, the sad tidings arrived below, that lord nelson was wounded. the seaman, who had never once shrunk, amidst all the pain he endured, now suddenly started from his seat; and vehemently exclaimed--"good god! i would rather the shot had taken off my head, and spared his precious life!" vice-admiral collingwood, in his letter to the admiralty, describing this great victory, says--"i have not only to lament, in common with the british navy, and the british nation, in the fall of the commander in chief, the loss of a hero, whose name will be immortal, and his memory ever dear to his country; but my heart is rent with the most poignant grief for the death of a friend, to whom, by many years intimacy, and a perfect knowledge of the virtues of his mind, which inspired ideas superior to the common race of men, i was bound by the strongest ties of affection: a grief, to which even the glorious occasion on which he fell, does not bring the consolation which, perhaps, it ought!" when the dispatches, containing an account of the glorious victory off cape trafalgar, with the death of our chief hero, arrived in england, and were perused by his majesty, the king was greatly affected. tears flowed from the royal eyes; and his majesty pathetically exclaimed--"we have lost more than we have gained!" they were read, at windsor, by the queen, to the assembled princesses, and the whole royal group most affectionately wept the fall of the hero. his royal highness the prince of wales, with a dignified excess of grief, most acutely felt the loss of the heroic supporter of his father's house; and a private letter of condolence, which his royal highness wrote to alexander davison, esq. on the death of their inestimable friend, is replete with sentiments which augur highly for the probably future sovereign's adding new lustre to the brilliant throne of his most renowned ancestors. the duke of clarence, too, long united in friendship to the hero, whom he venerated with an almost paternal regard, lamented him with little less than the truest filial sorrow. in short, from the entire royal family, through every subordinate degree of rank and virtue, to the humblest class of existence, wherever the tidings came, tears overflowed every eye, and grief took entire possession of every heart. the glorious victory, though one of the greatest ever obtained by mortal, and though the last, as well as the most splendid, of the hero so beloved; was scarcely considered, by the nation, as an object worthy of those public rejoicings with which very inferior triumphs are constantly attended. cannon, indeed, as usual, announced the intelligence, but their sound conveyed a deep melancholy to the heart; the bells were rung, but their peals inspired no hilarity, and seemed little less than the mournful knells of death; nocturnal illuminations were displayed, but the transparencies which they discovered, amidst the gloom, presented only so many sad memorials of the universal loss, expressed by ingenious devices to the hero's memory, which the spectators beheld with sensations of augmented grief, and one general aspect of expressive but unutterable woe. if such was the state of the public feeling, what must have been that of the hero's dearest relatives and friends; of those who had to sustain all the superadded pangs of a loss so difficult to be supplied for the service of the country, so impossible for the felicities of themselves! several months elapsed, before lady hamilton quitted her bed; and mrs. bolton and mrs. matcham, for a long time, suffered similar anguish and affliction. indeed, even all the younger branches of this amiable and interesting family, as well as their respective parents, evinced the highest possible degree of sensibility and sorrow for their irretrievable calamity; a calamity which, to them, all the honours and emoluments a grateful nation may bestow, extending to his remotest kindred, at present as well as in future, can scarcely be considered as affording any adequate recompence. the great council of the country failed not to express solemnly their strong sense of the irreparable loss, by unanimously voting all the grand ceremonials of a public interment beneath the centre of the dome in st. paul's cathedral, and a monumental erection of commensurate grandeur to rise immediately above the hero's honoured remains. his majesty, on the 9th of november, was also graciously pleased to elevate his lordship's brother and heir, the reverend dr. william nelson, to the dignity of a viscount and earl of the united kingdom of great britain and ireland, by the names, stiles, and titles, of viscount merton and earl nelson, of trafalgar, and of merton in the county of surrey; the same to descend to his heirs male; and, in their default, to the heirs male, successively, of susannah, wife of thomas bolton, esq., and catharine, wife of george matcham, esq. sisters of the late lord viscount nelson. the city of london, the committee of merchants at lloyd's coffee-house, and the respective corporations of several cities and chief towns in different parts of the united kingdom, publicly expressed their sense of the national loss, by the death of it's principal hero; and proposed various plans for perpetuating the remembrance of his transcendent services, by monumental erections, &c. the body of the hero, which had been preserved in spirits, was brought to england in the victory; the crew having positively refused to part with the corpse of their adored commander, till it should be safely landed in their native country. they were resolved, they said, one and all, to accompany him, as it should please heaven, either to the bottom of the ocean, or see his sacred remains deposited in the honoured tomb which would, doubtless, be proudly prepared for them by a grateful nation; and could not suffer the corpse to be sent home in any ship subject to capture by the enemy. after laying in state, a few days, at greenwich hospital, the body was conveyed, with all possible aquatic grandeur and solemnity, to the admiralty; from whence, the next day, thursday, january 9, 1806, borne on a grand funeral car, and with a pomp of procession scarcely ever equalled the illustrious hero's hallowed remains were finally deposited beneath the dome of st. paul's cathedral. never, perhaps, were the mournful obsequies of any hero so numerously and so respectably attended; never was any human being deposited in the earth more universally and sincerely wept by every eye which beheld any part of the solemn ceremony. the tears of millions, on that melancholy day, bore testimony to his matchless worth; to the truth of that sentiment which he had piously pronounced, in his last moments--"thank god, i have been enabled to do my duty to my king and country!" may the same almighty power inspire the hearts of his king and country, to fulfil, in their utmost extent, every wish and expectation of the dying hero! and may each virtuous individual, in whom the blood of the nelsons shall flow, to the last drop which can be traced, for ever find friendly patronage among the rulers of a nation, which has certainly, at an eventful crisis, been powerfully exalted, and perhaps preserved, by the example and influence of the immortal hero, who so freely and fatally shed his own last drop in the faithful service of his king and country! the end. * * * * * printed by stanhope and tilling, ranelagh the life of nelson the embodiment of the sea power of great britain by captain a.t. mahan, d.c.l., ll.d. united states navy author of "the influence of sea power upon history, 1660-1783," "the influence of sea power upon the french revolution and empire," and of a "life of admiral farragut" in two volumes vol. ii. london sampson low, marston, & company, _limited_ 1897 contents of vol. ii. chapter xiv. nelson temporarily commander-in-chief in the mediterranean.--relieved by lord keith.--applies to return to england on account of ill health. august, 1799--june, 1800. nelson left in temporary command his disposition of the squadron made duke of bronté in sicily his hopes of remaining in command disappointed his discontent energy and tact in exercising command affairs in rome and naples nelson visits minorca his anxiety about malta portuguese squadron recalled to lisbon.--nelson's action characteristics of his intercourse with foreign officials urgency with army to support blockade of la valetta partial success in this successes on the continent of the coalition against france subsequent blunders and disasters nelson's mortification at bonaparte's escape to france the french defeat the turks at aboukir nelson peremptorily forbids sidney smith to allow any french to leave egypt smith nevertheless countenances the convention of el arish his action disallowed by keith and nelson nelson's vivid expressions of disapproval nelson joins keith at leghorn they visit palermo and malta together capture of "le généreux," 74, by nelson's division nelson's relations with keith, and bearing towards him keith orders nelson to take personal charge off malta nelson's annoyance and remonstrance his restiveness under keith's command he returns from malta to palermo the "guillaume tell," 80, captured in his absence displeasure of the admiralty at his quitting his station letters of the first lord nelson's soreness under them he applies for leave to return to england chapter xv. nelson leaves the mediterranean.--the journey overland through germany.--arrival in england.--separation from lady nelson.--hoists his flag in the channel fleet, under lord st. vincent. june, 1800--january, 1801. nelson escorts the queen of naples to leghorn with two british ships-of-the-line keith's displeasure nelson at leghorn austrians defeated at marengo nelson and the hamiltons leave leghorn for ancona journey to trieste and vienna enthusiasm shown towards nelson by the people mention of him and lady hamilton by eye-witnesses anecdotes of him his meeting with the archduke charles at prague mrs. st. george's account of him at dresden her disparaging mention of lady hamilton arrival of the party in england lady nelson's attitude at this time her letters to nelson his reception and conduct in london growing estrangement between him and lady nelson anecdote of his visit to fonthill final breach with lady nelson her blameless character, and subsequent life nelson's testimony to her conduct hoists his flag on board the "san josef" at plymouth birth of the child horatia nelson's care to conceal his relations with lady hamilton chapter xvi. the expedition to the baltic and battle of copenhagen.--nelson returns to england. february--june, 1801. origin of the trouble between great britain and denmark the entrance of the czar paul into the quarrel renewal of the armed neutrality of 1780 relations of bonaparte to this event nelson joins the fleet under sir hyde parker, at yarmouth relations between him and parker nelson's disapproval of the plans for the expedition evident change in his general disposition anecdote of nelson and the turbot the fleet collected off the skaw parker's slowness and nelson's impatience alarming reports of the danes' preparations nelson's attitude and counsels accuracy of his judgment of the conditions tact and discretion in his dealings with parker his letter to parker upon the general situation parker's indecision nelson's plans adopted the fleet passes the sound detail and discussion of nelson's plan of operations his feelings and speech in the council of war nelson's division anchors south of copenhagen nelson on the night before the battle the danish dispositions for defence nelson's plan of attack--detail and discussion the battle of copenhagen parker makes the signal to leave off action nelson refuses to repeat it discussion of this incident incidents of the battle nelson addresses a letter to the crown prince under a flag of truce characteristic anecdote discussion of the sending of the flag of truce the battle discontinued nelson removes his ships completeness of his success merit of his conduct throughout he is advanced in the peerage to be a viscount no other rewards, or medals, bestowed for this action negotiations intrusted to nelson by parker the murder of the czar paul armistice for fourteen weeks concluded with denmark qualified approval of the british government the british fleet enters the baltic nelson's ardor and personal recklessness.--anecdote parker's sluggishness of action.--nelson's impatience russia intimates her purpose to abstain from hostilities nelson's controversy with the danish commodore fischer parker ordered home, and nelson left in command dissatisfaction of the latter his longing to return to lady hamilton he insists upon being relieved, on account of his health he starts at once with the fleet for revel displeasure manifested by the czar alexander nelson withdraws from revel to rostock the czar thereupon raises the embargo on british merchant ships nelson's elation over this result of his conduct details of his life on board his avoidance of social relations outside the ship relieved by admiral pole, and returns to england chapter xvii. nelson commands the "squadron on a particular service," for the defence of the coast of england against invasion.--signature of preliminaries of peace with france. july-october, 1801. nelson's longing for repose his services immediately required again his reluctant consent bonaparte's threats of invasion inadequacy of british preparations for coast-defence nature of british apprehensions in 1801 nelson's memoranda for the defence of the thames analysis and discussion of this paper st. vincent's sagacious views on national defence apparent divergence between him and nelson nelson hoists his flag again his tact and courtesy towards others activity of his movements satisfied that there can be no invasion boat attack upon the vessels before boulogne its disastrous failure nelson's distress his exasperation at being kept afloat his alienation from troubridge annoyances of his situation death of commander parker.--nelson's grief his liberality in money matters pecuniary embarrassments signature of the preliminaries of peace nelson's satisfaction at the prospect of release his indignation at the excessive elation of others receives leave of absence and goes home chapter xviii. release from active service during the peace of amiens.--home life at merton.--public incidents. october, 1801--may, 1803. nelson makes his home with the hamiltons his letter of final severance to his wife his relations to his stepson, josiah nisbet desire to have a home of his own lady hamilton selects merton for him the purchase effected, and the hamiltons reside with him position of sir william and of lady hamilton in the house differences between them minto's account of the household at merton reminiscence of the same by nelson's nephew incident narrated by lieutenant layman recollections of nelson by the vicar's daughter nelson's strong religious sense of divine providence takes his place in the house of lords his controversy about rewards for the battle of copenhagen his action justified nelson's warm and avowed sympathy with his followers his consistent maintenance of the ground assumed his interest in public questions dissatisfaction with the general conduct of the admiralty his sense of neglect embarrassment in money matters inadequacy of his pension to his services his doubts as to the continuance of peace his antagonism to bonaparte illustrated speech in seconding the address to the throne designated for the mediterranean in case of war volunteers his services hoists his flag in the "victory," and sails breaks in his home-ties during this period death of his father death of sir william hamilton hamilton's expressed confidence in nelson relations of nelson's family to lady nelson and to lady hamilton chapter xix. commander-in-chief in the mediterranean.--the long watch off toulon.--occupations of a commander-in-chief. may, 1803--january, 1805. changed political conditions in the mediterranean attitude of the great powers situation of spain and portugal policy of the italian states nelson's sense of the importance of the mediterranean bonaparte's policy the course advocated by nelson accuracy of his general forecast impatience to reach his station unwilling detention off ushant quits the "victory," and proceeds in a frigate momentary stop in gibraltar arrival at malta extensive correspondence policy as regards the two sicilies his impatience with blind observance of orders departure from malta for toulon emotions at the sight of naples opinion on malta's value to england strategic importance of malta and gibraltar nelson joins the fleet before toulon bad condition of the ships his skilful administration of the fleet difficulty of obtaining supplies his attitude towards spain importance of sardinia in nelson's eyes the valuable anchorage at madalena station taken by him off toulon fears loss of sardinia, and serious consequences significance of napoleon's inactivity in the mediterranean the winter rendezvous of the fleet.--number seamanlike care of ships and spars preserves health of seamen by constant activity sanitary conditions of the fleet his personal health, and anxieties fears a break-down speculations as to french intentions characteristic distrust of frenchmen increasing perplexities firmness of his resolution the french manoeuvre outside toulon nelson's tactical conclusions and arrangements his care to impart his ideas to his officers methods of intercourse with them exasperation at a statement of latouche tréville endeavors to force or to lure the french to sea effect of worry upon his mind his last promotion.--vice-admiral of the white wearing effect of protracted monotony refuses to let lady hamilton join him the daily life on board account of nelson's health and habits occupations in business hours diplomatic ability and conciliatory temper sharp reply to remonstrance about blockades difficulties with algiers nelson's diligent pursuit of information interest in listening to conversations examination of foreign journals and captured letters kindliness in intercourse with others exercise of official patronage protection of british trade want of frigates and small cruisers collection and protection of convoys nelson applies for sick leave desire to return to the station afterwards leave is granted by the admiralty the mediterranean station divided sir john orde given the portion west of gibraltar nelson's dissatisfaction and complaints his change of mind about going home learns cornwallis's order to seize spanish treasure-ships directs captains under his orders not to obey letter illustrative of the characteristics of his orders adequacy of his measures to the requirements of the case determines not to use his leave of absence orde arrives off cadiz indications of the french fleet leaving toulon nelson receives word of the seizure of spanish ships promptness of his measures.--reasons therefor rumors of french departure annoyances caused nelson by orde the mission of the frigate "amazon" nelson's hope of meeting the french fleet opinions on general subjects sympathetic insight into bonaparte's purposes the french fleet sails from toulon chapter xx. the escape and pursuit of the toulon fleet.--nelson's return to england. january-august, 1805. object of napoleon's combinations in 1805 details of his plan nelson's share in thwarting it the difficulties of one dealing with napoleon nelson's guiding principle the sailing of the toulon fleet nelson's movements and perplexities goes to alexandria returns to gulf of palmas, sardinia british disasters in western mediterranean characteristic letter of nelson in behalf of an officer explanations to the admiralty about his own course makes a round off toulon and barcelona to deceive the enemy returns to the gulf of palmas the toulon fleet sails again its movements and those of nelson distress and misfortunes of the latter learns that the french fleet has passed the straits thoroughness and sagacity of his measures continued head winds and distress of mind the excitement in london gloom at the admiralty nelson's constancy against bad fortune hears that the french and spaniards are gone to the west indies determines to follow them there sails in pursuit incidents of the voyage arrives in barbadoes misled by false information rapid measures to retrieve the mis-step infers that the enemy have returned to europe he starts back immediately for gibraltar his judgments rapid, but not precipitate strength of his convictions relief from the anxiety previously felt movements of the allies and of nelson precautions of the latter his own explanation of his reasons discussion of this utterance indecisive engagement between the allies and sir robert calder alarm in london at the failure of the latter nelson's protracted pursuit and mental depression reaches the straits again appreciation of his action by others exchange of views between nelson and collingwood movements of villeneuve, calder, and nelson nelson's arrival in gibraltar subsequent rapid movements learns the news brought by the "curieux" starts at once for the northward joins the channel fleet off ushant leaves his squadron with cornwallis, and proceeds to england anchors at spithead his sympathy with calder tenacity of his opinions chapter xxi. nelson's last stay in england. august 19--september 15, 1805. nelson hauls down his flag and goes to merton interviews with the admiralty his one meeting with wellington interview with lord castlereagh popular demonstrations of affection home life at merton presentiments intimations of early summons into service news arrives that the combined fleets are in cadiz determination of the british government nelson's opinion on the license system his services requested by the government lady hamilton's part in his decision it is settled that he return to the mediterranean his health and spirits his insistence upon the need for numbers final departure from home flag re-hoisted on board the "victory" anecdote of nelson and the gypsy chapter xxii. the antecedents of trafalgar. september--october 19, 1805. popular demonstrations when nelson embarked the passage to cadiz precautions to deceive the enemy his reception by the officers of the fleet the "plan of attack" of may, 1805 the "nelson touch" discussion and comparison of these two papers comparison between the second and the battle of trafalgar, as fought nelson and sir robert calder nelson's concession to calder, and his own comments upon it his disposition of the fleet before cadiz his fear lest the enemy should evade him growing presentiments, and cheerful calmness anecdote showing his considerateness necessity for sending away a detachment numbers of the british, and of the allies in cadiz nelson's general intentions, made known to his subordinates the enemy begins to leave cadiz chapter xxiii. trafalgar.--the death of nelson. october 19-21, 1805. numbers and composition of the opposing fleets difficulties of the allies in leaving port respective movements of the two fleets nelson's last letter to lady hamilton his last letter to his child events and incidents of october 20 relative positions of the fleets at midnight conditions at daybreak of the 21st the manoeuvres of the two fleets nelson's intercourse with blackwood on the 21st he bequeaths lady hamilton and horatia to the care of his country the hostile fleets forming for battle nelson's impatience to close the enemy the anxiety of others for his personal safety the order of the allies while awaiting attack nelson's last prayer as entered in his journal the origin and development of his famous signal the battle opens the "victory" comes under fire nelson bids blackwood a final farewell exposure and loss of life on board the "victory" the "victory" breaks the enemy's line her duel with the "redoutable" nelson falls, mortally wounded the death-scene in the cockpit the decisive hour of the battle the second and closing phase of the battle nelson's anxiety about hardy hardy's first visit to his death-bed the final exchange of shots hardy's second visit and nelson's farewell the last moments the death of nelson the close of the fight the significance of nelson's life the perfect fulfilment of his life's work index chapter xiv. nelson temporarily commander-in-chief in the mediterranean.--relieved by lord keith.--applies to return to england on account of ill health. august, august 1799--june, 1800. age, 41. upon keith's departure, the command in the mediterranean devolved upon nelson, who for some time remained in doubt of the fact, but with his usual promptitude acted as if all depended upon himself. "i am venturing certainly out of my line of duty, but as the commander-in-chief may not even be on the station, i must do the best which my judgment points out during his temporary absence." six sail-of-the-line, under admiral duckworth, were sufficient for service at gibraltar and cadiz, if the latter port was deserted. four of the line were about minorca, constantly, though inefficiently, threatened from the adjacent coasts of spain. three were blockading malta, conjointly with the portuguese vessels. sidney smith with his division remained in the levant. troubridge was operating with a few ships on the coast of italy, against civita vecchia, still in the hands of the french. a small squadron was maintained on the riviera of genoa, disturbing the communications of the french, and keeping touch with the advance of the austro-russians; but it was expected that the russian fleet, as was natural and proper, would soon assume the duty of co-operating with their general, suwarrow. the smaller british cruisers were distributed among these various duties. the flagship "foudroyant" was at palermo, whither the king returned from naples on the 8th of august, and there the headquarters of the squadron remained during nelson's command. soon after this arrival in palermo the king conferred upon him the title of duke of bronté, with an estate of the same name in sicily, valued at £3,000 per annum. after this the admiral for a time signed his papers as bronté nelson,[1] changed subsequently to bronté nelson of the nile, and finally settled down to nelson and bronté, which was his form of signature for the last four years of his life. he placed upon his new estate an annual charge of £500 in favor of his father for the term of the latter's life. "receive this small tribute, my honoured father," he wrote, "as a mark of gratitude to the best of parents from his most dutiful son." on the 20th of september he received letters from the admiralty, investing him with the chief command, "till the return of lord keith or some other your superior officer." he was not, however, allowed the appointments of a commander-in-chief, and often complained of the inadequacy of his staff to the extent of his duties. nelson naturally hoped that his long and eminent services in that particular field, and the conspicuous ability he had shown on so many occasions, would lead to the station remaining permanently in his hands, and that lord keith, who was now in england, would succeed in due course to the channel fleet, whose commander, lord bridport, soon after retired. the mediterranean was naturally attributed to a vice-admiral, and one of some seniority; but nelson was now a rear-admiral of the red, the highest color, not far, therefore, from promotion, and it would not be an unreasonable conclusion that the same ministry which had been fortunate enough to choose him for the campaign of the nile, might now prefer to entrust to such able and enterprising hands the great interests of the mediterranean at large. it was not, however, to be so. whether moved only by routine considerations of rank, as afterwards at copenhagen, or whether his relations with the sicilian court, his conduct of affairs at naples, and his collisions with keith, had excited doubt of the normal balance of his mind, the admiralty decided to send keith back, and nelson, greatly to his mortification, was kept in charge only till the end of the year. as st. vincent had always left him practically independent, he had known no superior since he entered the straits, except during keith's brief period of succession, when leagues of sheltering distance left him free, as has been seen, to defy orders when not in accordance with his views; and he found it impossible now to bow his will to the second place on the very field of his glory. to this feeling, natural in any man, and doubly so to one of nelson's quick susceptibilities, at once stimulated and soothed by the lavish adulation of the past year, was added personal dislike to his new superior, aggravated, if not originated, by the clash of judgment over the relative importance of naples and minorca. "i have serious thoughts of giving up active service," he wrote to minto; "greenwich hospital seems a fit retreat for me after being _evidently_ thought unfit to command in the mediterranean." complaints of keith's lack of consideration then abound, nor does he seem to be conscious that there was anything in his mode of life, in current rumor, or in his past relations with his new commander-in-chief, which might make the latter unwilling to give him the loose rein st. vincent had done. from the time that keith left the mediterranean in july, 1799, to nelson's own departure a year later, there was little to be done in the naval way except to maintain and press existing advantages, and wait until the fruit was ready to drop. the absolute supremacy of the british squadrons, challenged for a moment by the incursion of admiral bruix, had reverted, in even greater degree than before, by the absence of the spanish ships which had accompanied him to brest. impeded by their own numbers, and paralyzed by the insufficiency of the resources of the port, they remained there a huge, inert mass, whose impotence was only partially understood by the british; a fact which conduced to prolong keith's presence in the channel. the year under consideration was therefore devoid of stirring events at sea. in the mediterranean, it is true, nelson's unwearying mental energy, and keen sense of the necessity of seizing opportunity, did not allow things to lapse into indolence. whether or not he was well advised to settle himself at palermo, aware as he must have been of the actual temptation, and of the serious injury that scandal was doing to his reputation, both professional and personal, may admit of doubt. with numerous detached and minor services carrying on at the same moment, there was much to be said for the commander-in-chief remaining in a fixed position, near the centre of affairs; and in his apprehension everything then revolved about the kingdom of naples. there can be no question, however, that all his faculties were constantly on the alert; and that his administration of the station until keith's return was characterized by the same zeal, sagacity, and politic tact that he had shown in earlier days. it is admirable to note the patience, courtesy, and adroit compliment, he brings into play, to kindle, in those over whom he has no direct control, the ardor for the general good, and the fearlessness of responsibility, which actuate himself; and at the same time to observe how severe the strain was upon his nervous and irritable temper, as betrayed in comments upon these very persons, made in private letters which he never expected would see the light. the points of principal importance were the consolidation of the royal power in the continental territory of the two sicilies, the reduction of malta, and the retention of the french army in egypt in entire isolation from france. for the first, nelson entirely failed in his efforts to induce the king to trust himself again in naples, as the hamiltons and he had expected when they came back to palermo. "my situation here is indeed an uncomfortable one," he said to earl spencer; "for plain common sense points out that the king should return to naples, but nothing can move him." "our joint exertions have been used to get the king to go to naples," he wrote to troubridge, "but of no avail; the austrians will be there before him." although the french had been expelled from all the neapolitan dominions, the presence of fifteen hundred in rome and civita vecchia served then as an excuse. nelson implored the commander of the british troops at minorca to spare twelve hundred of his men, to aid troubridge on the roman coast. "sir charles stuart," he tells him flatteringly, "by his timely exertion saved this kingdom [sicily] from anarchy and confusion, and perhaps from rebellion. so it is now, my dear sir, i trust, in your power (and i have assured the good king and queen of your readiness to serve them and the good cause as much as sir charles) to send for the taking possession of civita vecchia and rome; this done, and with my life, i will answer for the success of the expedition. all would be quiet and happy; and their sicilian majesties might return to their throne without any alarm from mobs.... i am sure i need not venture to say more on the subject. your excellency's judgment and heart will point out the necessity of the measure if it can be accomplished." "our king would be much gratified that _britain_ not _austria_ should reinstate the pope." sir james erskine, thus importuned, did not see his way to sending the troops. naturally, as a soldier, he did not rely as much upon the navy preventing a landing in his island, as upon his own powers of resistance after it was effected, and was therefore unwilling to spare from the latter. the point of view of a seaman was, and is, different. he complained, too, that duckworth had taken a great many ships to gibraltar. nelson admits the mistake, and expresses his regret, but no word of dissatisfaction with erskine transpires through his evident disappointment. he only says, "pardon what i am going to repeat, that either in malta or on the continent, a field of glory is open." "minorca," he wrote to spencer, "i have never yet considered in the smallest danger, but it has been a misfortune that others have thought differently from me on that point." towards the end of september, troubridge, without the aid of british troops, but supported by the arrival of a division sent by suwarrow, reported the evacuation of rome and civita vecchia. "how happy you have made us!" wrote nelson to him. "my pen will not say what i feel." the king, however, would not return to naples, now that this obstacle was withdrawn. "the queen has a noble generous disposition," said nelson two months later. "unfortunately the king and her majesty do not at this moment draw exactly the same way; therefore, his majesty will not go at this moment to naples, where his presence is much wanted." "we do but waste our breath," he avowed afterwards. in the beginning of october, a visit which he had intended making to minorca was hastened by a report that thirteen hostile ships-of-the-line had been seen off cape finisterre, and it was thought they might be destined for the mediterranean. nelson hoped to assemble ten to meet them; but the news proved to be false. he left palermo for this trip on the 5th of october, and returned again on the 22d, having remained five days in port mahon. the arrangements for the naval force, depending entirely upon himself, were soon settled; but he was disappointed in obtaining, as he had hoped to do from a personal interview with erskine, a detachment of two thousand troops for malta. about that island he was, to use his own words, almost in despair. for over a year la valetta had been blockaded by land and sea. for the latter he could with difficulty find ships; for the former he could obtain no men to aid the islanders, who, half starving, dependent for food chiefly upon sicily, were sustained in their resistance mainly by hatred of the invaders, and by the tactful appeals and encouragement of captain ball, who lived ashore among them. the barbary pirates, by virtue of their war with naples, captured many of the vessels laden with supplies, despite nelson's passports; while the sicilian court, though well disposed, lacked the energy and the propelling force necessary to compel the collection and despatch of the needed grain. on one occasion troubridge or ball, desperate at the sight of the famine around them, sent a ship of war into girgenti, a sicilian port, seized, and brought away two corn-laden vessels. "the measure was strong," said nelson, but he refrained from censuring; and, while apologizing to the government, added he hoped it "would not again force officers to so unpleasant an alternative." he feared that in their misery the maltese would abandon the struggle, particularly if they got wind of the purpose of great britain to restore the hated order of knights, in deference to the wishes of the czar. "the moment the french flag is struck," he had been obliged to write to ball, "the colours of the order must be hoisted and no other; when it was settled otherwise, the orders from england were not so strong." about this time came information that several ships were fitting out at toulon, with supplies for the besieged. this increased nelson's anxieties, and at the same time emphasized the necessity which he had always urged of using speedier and surer means to reduce the place, while the undisputed mastery of the sea gave the opportunity. "what might not bruix have done, had he done his duty?" was his own comment upon that recent incursion; and who could tell how soon as great a force might appear again under an abler man? he turned in every direction, and was instant in his appeals for aid. he wrote to acton that he had positive information that seven ships were loaded in toulon. "i therefore beg leave to propose to your excellency, whether under our present circumstances, it would not be right for his sicilian majesty to desire that the english garrison at messina should instantly go to malta, for i am clear, that if malta is relieved, that our forces got together could not take it, and the commencement of a new blockade would be useless. all the barbary cruisers would there have their rendezvous, and not a vessel of his sicilian majesty's could put to sea." he exhorts the minister also to apply to the russians for immediate help at malta. at the same time, to augment his embarrassments, orders came from lisbon recalling the portuguese squadron, which formed the larger part of the sea blockade. nelson forgot how often he had abused them as useless, and grappled with that part of the difficulty with characteristic boldness. he peremptorily forbade the admiral to obey his orders. "as the reduction of the island of malta is of the greatest consequence to the interests of the allied powers at war with france, and the withdrawing of the squadron under your command, at this time, from the blockade of that island, will be of the most ruinous consequences to their interests ... you are hereby required and directed, in consideration of the above circumstances, and notwithstanding the orders you may have received from your court to return to lisbon, not on any consideration whatsoever to withdraw one man from that island, which may have been landed from the squadron under your excellency's command, or detach one ship down the mediterranean, until further orders from me for that purpose." your orders, he tells niza in a private letter, were founded upon the belief that your presence was no longer necessary; "but the contrary is the fact--for your services were never more wanted than at this moment, when every exertion is wanting to get more troops of english and russians to malta." he is evidently thinking of his difference with keith; but now he is within the limits of his commission as commander-in-chief. doubting, however, whether his official authority will prevail with niza to disobey his recall, he plies him skilfully with appeals to those sentiments of honor which had received such illustration in his own noble career. "if you quit your most important station till i can get" reliefs for you, "depend upon it, your illustrious prince will disapprove of (in this instance) your punctilious execution of orders." "we shall soon get more troops from messina and minorca; and i am not a little anxious for the honour of portugal and your excellency, that you should be present at the surrender. i hold myself responsible." "you was the first at the blockade. your excellency's conduct has gained you the love and esteem of governor ball, all the british officers and men, and the whole maltese people; and give me leave to add the name of nelson as one of your warmest admirers, as an officer and a friend." as he dealt with the portuguese admiral, so, in due measure, he conducted his intercourse with all others who came within the scope of his widely ranging activities. already more neapolitan than the king, to the russian he became as a russian, to the turk as a turk, all things to all men, if he could by any means promote the interest of the allied cause and save malta. amid the diverse and conflicting motives of a coalition, nelson played a steady hand, his attention unified, and his sight cleared, by an unwavering regard to the single object which he compressed into the words, "down, down, with the french!" in that sense, he asserts truthfully enough to each and all of his correspondents that the advantage of their country and their monarch is as dear to him as that of great britain. he touches with artful skill upon the evident interests of each nation, appeals to the officer's sense of the cherished desires of his sovereign, and, while frankly setting forth the truths necessary to be spoken, as to the comparative claims upon himself of the various portions of the field, he insinuates, rather than suggests, what the person immediately addressed ought to be doing in furtherance of the one great aim. withal, despite the uneasiness to which he is constantly a prey on account of the failures of others, no lack of confidence in the one to whom he is writing is suffered to appear. each is not only exhorted and cheered, but patted on the back with an implied approbation, which in his own service constituted much of his well-deserved influence. he is as hearty and generous in his praises to sir sidney smith, whom he never fully trusted, for his services at acre, as he is to the valued friend, and pattern of all naval efficiency, troubridge. to the emperor of russia he paid the politic attention of sending a detailed report of all that had been done about malta, made to him as grand master of the order,--a delicate and adroit flattery at the moment, for the czar then valued himself more as the restorer of an ancient order of chivalry than as the inheritor of a great sovereignty; and his position was further recognized by asking of him the insignia of the order for captain ball and lady hamilton. this immense load of correspondence and anxiety was additional to the numerous unrecorded cares and interviews, relating to the routine work and maintenance of a great squadron, often left bare of resources from home, and to the support of the destitute population of malta,--sixty thousand souls; and all was carried on amid the constant going and coming of the ambassador's house, kept open to naval officers and others. this public sort of life and excitement involved considerable expense, and was little to the taste of either nelson or hamilton, the latter of whom was now approaching his seventieth year; but in it lady hamilton was in all her glory, overwhelmed with compliments, the victor of the nile at her feet, and "making a great figure in our political line," to use her husband's words. "except to the court," wrote nelson, replying to a censure from the admiralty for failing to send a letter by a certain channel, when he had sent duplicates by two other conveyances,--"except to the court, till after eight o'clock at night i never relax from business. i have had hitherto, the board knows, no one emolument--no one advantage of a commander-in-chief." it was in reference to this captious rebuff, received when immersed in cares, that he wrote to spencer: "do not, my dear lord, let the admiralty write harshly to me--my generous soul cannot bear it, being conscious it is entirely unmerited." while he was striving to gain assistance for the maltese, he does not forget to sustain them with hopes, not always too well founded. he tells ball he trusts the messina troops will soon be with him. "you may depend, in october, i will get 2,000 men on shore at malta. niza is ordered to lisbon, but i have directed his stay off malta." he appeals personally to the british commander at messina, and to the russian minister at palermo, reminding the latter how dear malta and its order were to his sovereign. "malta, my dear sir, is in my thoughts sleeping or waking." the portuguese, he tells him, are ordered home; but, wishing russian assistance, he does not say that he has stopped them,--as to which, indeed, he could not feel sure. the same object pressed upon him while in port mahon, and he succeeded, by his personal enthusiasm, in arousing erskine's interest in the matter; but the latter was loaded to the muzzle with objections. "sir james," said nelson to troubridge, with the amusing professional prejudice they both entertained, "enters upon the difficulty of the undertaking in a true soldier way." "i am just come from sir james," he wrote to hamilton on the 13th of october. "he sees all the difficulty of taking malta in the clearest point of views, and therefore it became an arduous task to make him think that with god's blessing the thing was possible." he has, however, consented to prepare fifteen hundred men with stores and equipments, but only on condition that the russians will also give a thousand,--a further draft on nelson's diplomacy,--and a thousand be landed from the squadron, etc. besides, there is the further difficulty that a superior officer is expected from england, and what will he say? and will erskine be justified in sending men before his entirely uncertain arrival? it may be imagined what such proceedings were to nelson's nervous, ardent, unhesitating temperament, and they elicited the characteristic comment, "this has been my first conference. it has cost me four hours hard labour, and may be upset by a fool." "my heart is, i assure you, almost broke with this and other things," he wrote to spencer. "if the enemy gets supplies in, we may bid adieu to malta. this would complete my misery; for i am afraid i take all services too much to heart. the accomplishing of them is my study, night and day." "my dear sir james," he writes to erskine after returning to palermo, "i am in desperation about malta--we shall lose it, i am afraid, past redemption. i send you copies of niza's and ball's letters, also general acton's, so you will see i have not been idle." as it is, ball can hardly keep the inhabitants in hope of relief; what then will it be if the portuguese withdraw? "if the islanders are forced again to join the french, we may not find even landing a very easy task, much less to get again our present advantageous position. i therefore entreat for the honour of our king, that whether general fox is arrived or not, at least the garrison of messina may be ordered to hold post in malta until a sufficient force can be collected to attack it.... i know well enough of what officers in your situation can do; the delicacy of your feelings on the near approach of general fox i can readily conceive; but the time you know nothing about; this is a great and important moment, and the only thing to be considered, _is his majesty's service to stand still for an instant?_ ... was the call for these troops known at home, would they not order them to proceed when the service near at hand loudly calls for them? _this is the only thing in my opinion for consideration_. if we lose this opportunity it will be impossible to recall it." from this desperate appeal he turns to ball, with words of encouragement for his islanders. "we shall soon hear to a certainty of at least 5,000 russian troops for the service of malta. within a month i hope to see 10,000 men in arms against la valetta. i have sent for troubridge and martin, that i may get a force to relieve niza. i trust he will not go till i can get not only a proper force to relieve his ships, but those of his people who are on shore." "the great order of all," he writes erskine three weeks later, "is to destroy the power of the french. two regiments for two months would probably, with the assistance of the russians, give us malta, liberate us from an enemy close to our doors, gratify the emperor of russia, protect our levant trade, relieve a large squadron of ships from this service, and enable me the better to afford naval protection to the island of minorca, and assist our allies on the northern coast of italy, and to annoy the enemy on the coast of france." nelson's entreaties and efforts met with success, sufficient at least to stay the ebbing tide. general fox arrived in minorca, gave permission for the garrison of messina to go to malta, and on the 25th of november troubridge, bringing this news, arrived off palermo. nelson's haste did not permit the "culloden" to anchor. shifting his flag to a transport, he sent out the "foudroyant" to meet her, with orders for both to go to messina, embark the garrison, and get off malta as soon as possible. the "northumberland," seventy-four, was also to join off malta, forming a division to replace the portuguese squadron. the latter quitted the blockade in december, nelson notifying niza on the 18th of the month that he no longer considered him under his command. the messina troops landed at malta on the 10th. the british then had fifteen hundred men on the island, supported by two thousand maltese, well disciplined and armed, besides a number of native irregulars upon whom only partial dependence could be placed. the russians never came to take part. they got as far as messina, but there received orders to go to corfu, both ships and men. this was in pursuance of a change of policy in the czar, who, being enraged at the conduct of his allies, particularly of the austrians, in the late campaign, intended withdrawing from the coalition, and was concentrating troops at corfu. this revived nelson's fears for malta. "i trust graham will not think of giving the island to the french by withdrawing, till he receives orders from general fox." the troops remained, but in numbers too small to admit active operations. the result was left perforce to the slow pressure of blockade; and final success, insured mainly by nelson's untiring efforts, was not attained until after he had left the mediterranean. the six months of his independent command, though unmarked by striking incidents at sea, were crowded with events, important in themselves, but far more important as pregnant of great and portentous changes in the political and military conditions of europe. when keith passed the straits in pursuit of the franco-spanish fleet, on the 30th of july, the forces of the coalition in upper italy were in the full tide of repeated victories and unchecked success. on that same day the fortress of mantua, the siege of which in 1796 had stayed for nine months the triumphal progress of bonaparte, was surrendered by the french, whose armies in the field, driven far to the westward, were maintaining a difficult position on the crests of the apennines. seeking to descend from there into the fields of piedmont, they were met by suwarrow, and on the 15th of august, at novi, received once more a ruinous defeat, in which their commander-in-chief was slain. at this moment of success, instead of pressing onward to drive the enemy out of italy, and possibly to pursue him into france, it was decided that the russians should be sent across the alps into switzerland, to take the place of a number of austrians. the latter, in turn, were to move farther north, on the lower rhine, to favor by a diversion an intended invasion of holland by a combined force of russians and british. this gigantic flank movement and change of plan resulted most disastrously. in the midst of it the french general masséna, commanding in switzerland, the centre of the great hostile front which extended from the mediterranean to the north sea, made a vehement and sustained attack upon the austro-russians at zurich, on the 25th of september. gaining a complete victory, he drove the enemy back beyond the point where suwarrow expected to make his junction. the veteran marshal, who had left italy on the 11th of september, arrived two days after the battle of zurich was fought. isolated in insufficient numbers from the friends he expected to meet, it was only after severe hardships and superhuman efforts, extending over ten days, that he at length, on the 9th of october, reached a place of safety at ilanz. declining further co-operation with the austrians, and alleging the need of rest for his troops after their frightful exposure in the mountains, he withdrew into winter quarters in bavaria at the end of the month. thus switzerland remained in possession of the french, inactivity continued in italy, and the czar, furious at the turn events had taken, was rapidly passing into hatred of both austria and great britain. on the 9th of october, also, bonaparte landed in france, after a six weeks' voyage from alexandria. the immense consequences involved in this single event could not then be foreseen; but it none the less caused mortification and regret to nelson. it was a cardinal principle with him, vehemently and frequently uttered, that not a single frenchman should be allowed to return from egypt; and here their commander-in-chief had passed successfully from end to end of the station, unseen by any british cruiser. he did not, however, consider himself at fault, and his judgment may be allowed, although in his own case. "if i could have had any cruisers, as was my plan, off cape bon, in africa, and between corsica and toulon, mr. buonaparte could not probably have got to france." this he said to earl spencer. elsewhere he wrote: "i have regretted sincerely the escape of buonaparte; but those ships which were destined by me for the two places where he would certainly have been intercepted, were, from the admiralty thinking, doubtless, that the russians would do something at sea, obliged to be at malta, and other services which i thought the russian admiral would have assisted me in--therefore, no blame lies at my door." he took some comfort in contrasting the stealthy return of the french general, with the great armada that accompanied his departure. "no crusader ever returned with more humility--contrast his going in l'orient, &c. &c." a report that bonaparte had passed corsica reached nelson on october 24th. the same day came despatches from sir sidney smith, narrating a disastrous defeat sustained by the turks on the shores of aboukir bay. smith's period of command in the levant had been chiefly, and brilliantly, distinguished by the successful defence of acre against bonaparte. the latter, threatened by simultaneous attacks by the turks from syria and from the sea, had determined to anticipate such a combination by going himself against the enemy on the land side, before the weather conditions made it possible to disembark any formidable body of men on the shores of egypt. starting with this purpose in february, he had proceeded with slight resistance until the 18th of march, when his army appeared before acre. smith was then lying in the roads with two ships-of-the-line. the siege which ensued lasted for sixty-two days, so great was bonaparte's pertinacity, and anxiety to possess the place; and in its course smith displayed, not only courage and activity, which had never been doubted, but a degree of conduct and sound judgment that few expected of him. his division was fortunate enough to capture the french siege train, which had to be sent by water, and he very much disturbed the enemy's coastwise communications, besides contributing materially to the direction of the defence, to which the turks, though brave enough, were not adequate. after several desperate assaults the siege was raised on the 20th of may, and bonaparte retreated to egypt, regaining cairo on the 14th of june. following up the success at acre, a turkish fleet of thirteen ships-of-the-line anchored in aboukir bay on the 11th of july, attended by a body of transports carrying troops, variously estimated at from ten to thirty thousand. smith with his ships accompanied the expedition. the turks landed, and stormed the castle of aboukir; but on the 25th bonaparte, having concentrated his forces rapidly, fell upon them and totally defeated them. all who had landed were either killed, driven into the sea and drowned, or taken prisoners; the commander-in-chief being among the latter. four weeks later, as is already known, bonaparte embarked for france. it was thus conclusively demonstrated that for the present at least, and until the french numbers were further diminished by the inevitable losses of disease and battle, the turks could not regain control of egypt. on the other hand, it was equally evident, and was admitted by both bonaparte and his able successor, kleber, that without reinforcements, which could not be sent while the british controlled the sea, the end of the french occupation was only a question of time. after bonaparte's departure, kleber wrote home strongly to this effect. his letters, being addressed to the government, fell upon arrival into bonaparte's hands; but, with these convictions, he was ready to enter into an arrangement for the evacuation of the country, upon condition of being allowed to return freely to europe. such also appears to have been the disposition of the british representatives in the east. immediately after taking over the command in the levant from troubridge, smith gave him, among other papers, a form of passport which he intended to use, permitting individual frenchmen to go to europe by sea. this troubridge handed to nelson, telling him also that it was smith's intention to send word into alexandria, that all french ships might pass to france. this passport, adopted after smith had been to constantinople, had doubtless the sanction of the joint minister, his brother, and was signed by himself both as plenipotentiary and naval officer. nelson had by this time been instructed that smith was under his command, and he at once sent him an order, couched in the most explicit, positive, and peremptory terms, which merit especial attention because smith disobeyed them. "_as this is in direct opposition to my opinion_, which is, _never to suffer any one individual frenchman to quit egypt_--i must therefore _strictly charge and command you_,[2] never to give any french ship or man leave to quit egypt. and i must also desire that _you will oppose by every means in your power, any permission which may he attempted to be given by any foreigner_, admiral, general, or other person; and you will acquaint those persons, that i shall not pay the smallest attention to any such passport after your notification; and _you are to put my orders in force, not on any pretence to permit a single_ _frenchman to leave egypt_." it seems clear from these expressions that nelson had gathered, through troubridge, that it was the policy of the sultan and of the british representatives to get the french out of egypt at any cost,--to look, in short, to local interests rather than to the general policy of the allies. this he was determined to prevent by instructions so comprehensive, yet so precise, as to leave no loophole for evasion. here matters seem to have rested for a time. smith could scarcely dare to disregard such orders at once, and bonaparte was not yet disposed openly to confess failure by seeking terms. in the autumn of 1799, however, the earl of elgin went to constantinople as ambassador, spencer smith dropping to secretary of embassy, and his brother remaining on the egyptian coast. elgin was far from being in accord with smith's general line of conduct, which was marked with presumption and self-sufficiency, and in the end he greatly deplored the terms "granted to the french, so far beyond our expectation;" but he shared the belief that to rid egypt of the french was an end for which considerable sacrifices should be made, and his correspondence with smith expressed this conviction. when prepossessions such as this exist among a number of men associated with one another, they are apt, as in the case of admiral man consulting with his captains, to result in some ill-advised step, bearing commonly the stamp of concern for local interests, and forgetfulness of general considerations. the upshot in this particular instance was the conclusion of a convention, known as that of el arish, between the turks and the french, signed on board smith's ship on the 24th of january, 1800, by which this army of veterans was to be permitted to return to france unmolested, and free at once to take the field against the allies of turkey and great britain, at the moment when bonaparte's unrivalled powers of administration were straining every nerve, to restore the french forces from the disorganization into which they had fallen, and to prepare for the spring campaign. smith, though present, did not sign this precious paper, which, in a letter to hamilton, he called "the gratifying termination of his labours;" but he had in his hand the orders of his immediate superior, and temporary commander-in-chief, to notify any "foreigner, general, or admiral," that the execution of such an agreement would not be permitted by the british navy, and it would have been his own duty to stop any ships attempting to carry it out, until other orders were received. his powers as joint plenipotentiary having ceased, he was now simply the naval officer. as it happened, keith, who by this time had relieved nelson, brought out from england clear directions from the government not to allow any transaction of this kind; and although he personally favored the policy of evacuation, feeling perhaps the inconvenience of detaching ships so far from his centre of operations, he was not a man to trifle with orders. rumors of what was going on had evidently reached him, for on the 8th of january, a fortnight before the convention was signed, he wrote to kleber a letter, which he directed smith to deliver, thus placing it out of the power of that very independent officer to leave any mistake as to actual conditions in the mind of the french general. to the latter he said: "i have positive orders not to consent to any capitulation with the french troops, at least unless they lay down their arms, surrender themselves prisoners of war, and deliver up all the ships and stores of the port of alexandria to the allied powers." even in such case they would not be allowed to leave egypt until exchanged. any persons that attempted to return, pursuant to an arrangement with one of the allies, exclusive of the others, as the el-arish convention was, would be made prisoners of war. nelson's opinions in this matter had never wavered. as rumors of what was brewing got about, he wrote to the earl of elgin, on the 21st of december, 1800: "i own my hope yet is, that the sublime porte will never permit a single frenchman to quit egypt; and i own myself wicked enough to wish them all to die in that country they chose to invade. we have scoundrels of french enough in europe without them." "i never would consent to one of them returning to the continent of europe during the war," he tells spencer smith. "i wish them to _perish_ in egypt, and give a great lesson to the world of the justice of the almighty." when elgin, thinking him still commander-in-chief, sent him the convention, he replied formally: "i shall forward the papers to lord keith, who will answer your excellency. but i cannot help most sincerely regretting that ever any countenance was given to the turks to enter into such a treaty with the french; for i ever held it to be impossible to permit that army to return to europe, but as prisoners of war, and in that case, not to france. and was i commander-in-chief, even when the thing was done, i should have refused to ratify any consent or approbation of sir sidney smith, and have wrote to both the grand vizir and the french general, the impossibility of permitting a vanquished army to be placed by one ally in a position to attack another ally." the last phrase put the facts in a nutshell, and illustrates well nelson's power of going straight to the root of a matter, disregardful of confusing side-issues, of policy or timidity. to hamilton he wrote passionately concerning the manifold difficulties caused to all, except the turks and the smiths. "if all the wise heads had left them to god almighty, after the bridge was broke, all would have ended well. for i differ entirely with my commander-in-chief, in wishing they were permitted to return to france; and, likewise, with lord elgin on the great importance of removing them from egypt." "i have wrote to lord keith, and home," said nelson to sir sidney smith on the 15th of january, "that i did not give credit that it was possible for you to give any passport for a single frenchman, much less the army, after my positive order of march 18th, 1799." the words show what reports had already got about of the general trend of policy, on the part of the porte and the british representatives; but the irony of the matter as regards nelson is, that smith disobeyed his orders, as he himself, six months before, had disobeyed keith's; and for the same reason, that he on the spot was a better judge of local conditions and recent developments than one at a distance. to one, naples was more important than minorca, more important than a half-dozen ships in a possible fleet action; to the other, egypt was more important than the presence of sixteen thousand veterans, more or less, on a european battle-field. it is impossible and bootless, to weigh the comparative degree of culpability involved in breaches of orders which cannot be justified. it is perhaps safe to say that while a subordinate has necessarily a large amount of discretion in the particular matter intrusted to him, the burden of proof rests wholly upon him when he presumes to depart from orders affecting the general field of war, which is the attribute of the commander-in-chief. what in the former case may be simply an error of judgment, in the latter becomes a military crime. on the 16th of january, 1800, nelson, who some days before had been notified by keith of his approach, and directed to place himself under his command, left palermo for leghorn, arriving on the 20th. the commander-in-chief was already there in the "queen charlotte." on the 25th they sailed together for palermo, and after nine days' stay in that port went on again for malta, which they reached on the 15th of february. no incident of particular interest occurred during these three weeks, but nelson's letters to the hamiltons show that he was chafing under any act in his superior which could be construed into a slight. "i feel all, and notwithstanding my desire to be as humble as the lowest midshipman, perhaps, i cannot submit to be much lower, i am used to have attention paid me from his superiors." "to say how i miss your house and company would be saying little; but in truth you and sir william have so spoiled me, that i am not happy anywhere else but with you, nor have i an idea that i ever can be." keith's comment--the other point of view--is worth quoting. "anything absurd coming from the quarter you mention does not surprise me," he wrote to paget, who succeeded hamilton as minister. "the whole was a scene of fulsome vanity and absurdity all the _long_ eight days i was at palermo."[3] when keith returned, the capture of malta, and of the two ships-of-the-line which had escaped from the battle of the nile, were, by common consent, all that remained to do, in order to round off and bring to a triumphant conclusion nelson's mediterranean career. fortune strove hard against his own weakness to add all these jewels to his crown, but she strove in vain. "we may truly call him a _heaven_-born admiral, upon whom fortune smiles wherever he goes." so wrote ball to lady hamilton, alluding to the first of the favors flung at his head. "we have been carrying on the blockade of malta sixteen months, during which time the enemy never attempted to throw in great succours. his lordship arrived off here the day they were within a few leagues of the island, captured the principal ships, and dispersed the rest, so that not one has reached the port." it was indeed a marvellous piece of what men call luck. nelson had never gone near malta since october, 1798, till keith took him there on the 15th of february, 1800. the division had no sooner arrived at the island, than a frigate brought word of a french squadron having been seen off the west end of sicily. it was then blowing strong from southeast, and raining. keith took his own station off the mouth of the harbor, placed other ships where he thought best, and signalled nelson to chase to windward with three ships-of-the-line, which were afterwards joined by a fourth, then cruising on the southeast of the island. the next day the wind shifted to northwest, but it was not until the morning of the 18th that the enemy were discovered. guns were then heard to the northward, by those on board the "foudroyant," which made all sail in pursuit, and soon sighted the "alexander" chasing four french sail. "pray god we may get alongside of them," wrote nelson in his journal; "the event i leave to providence. i think if i can take one 74 by myself, i would retire, and give the staff to more able hands." "i feel anxious to get up with these ships," he wrote to lady hamilton, "and shall be unhappy not to take them myself, for first my greatest happiness is to serve my gracious king and country, and i am envious only of glory; for if it be a sin to covet glory, i am the most offending soul alive. _but here i am_ in a heavy sea and thick fog--oh, god! the wind subsided--but i trust to providence i shall have them. 18th in the evening, i have got her--le généreux--thank god! 12 out of 13, onely the guillaume telle remaining; i am after the others." the enemy's division had consisted of this seventy-four, a large transport, also captured, and three corvettes which escaped. an account of nelson on the quarter-deck on this occasion has been transmitted by an eye-witness, whose recollections, committed to paper nearly forty years later, are in many points evidently faulty, but in the present instance reflect a frame of mind in the great admiral in perfect keeping with the words last quoted from his own letter. the writer was then a midshipman of the "foudroyant;" and the scene as described opens with a hail from a lieutenant at the masthead, with his telescope on the chase. "'deck there! the stranger is evidently a man of war--she is a line-of-battle-ship, my lord, and going large on the starboard tack.' "'ah! an enemy, mr. stains. i pray god it may be le généreux. the signal for a general chase, sir ed'ard, (the nelsonian pronunciation of edward,) make the foudroyant fly!' "thus spoke the heroic nelson; and every exertion that emulation could inspire was used to crowd the squadron with canvas, the northumberland taking the lead, with the flag-ship close on her quarter. "'this will not do, sir ed'ard; it is certainly le généreux, and to my flag-ship she can alone surrender. sir ed'ard, we must and shall beat the northumberland.' "'i will do the utmost, my lord; get the engine to work on the sails--hang butts of water to the stays--pipe the hammocks down, and each man place shot in them--slack the stays, knock up the wedges, and give the masts play--start off the water, mr. james, and pump the ship.' the foudroyant is drawing a-head, and at last takes the lead in the chase. 'the admiral is working his fin, (the stump of his right arm,) do not cross his hawse, i advise you.' "the advice was good, for at that moment nelson opened furiously on the quarter-master at the conn. 'i'll knock you off your perch, you rascal, if you are so inattentive.--sir ed'ard, send your best quarter-master to the weather wheel.' "'a strange sail a-head of the chase!' called the look-out man. "'youngster, to the mast-head. what! going without your glass, and be d----d to you? let me know what she is immediately.' "'a sloop of war, or frigate, my lord," shouted the young signal-midshipman. "'demand her number.' "'the success, my lord.' "'captain peard; signal to cut off the flying enemy--great odds, though--thirty-two small guns to eighty large ones.' "'the success has hove-to athwart-hawse of the généreux, and is firing her larboard broadside. the frenchman has hoisted his tri-colour, with a rear-admiral's flag.' "'bravo--success, at her again!' "'she has wore round, my lord, and firing her starboard broadside. it has winged her, my lord--her flying kites are flying away all together.' the enemy is close on the success, who must receive her tremendous broadside. the généreux opens her fire on her little enemy, and every person stands aghast, afraid of the consequences. the smoke clears away, and there is the success, crippled, it is true, but, bull-dog like, bearing up after the enemy. "'the signal for the success to discontinue the action, and come under my stern,' said lord nelson; 'she has done well, for her size. try a shot from the lower-deck at her, sir ed'ard.' "'it goes over her.' "'beat to quarters, and fire coolly and deliberately at her masts and yards.' "le généreux at this moment opened her fire on us; and, as a shot passed through the mizen stay-sail, lord nelson, patting one of the youngsters on the head, asked him jocularly how he relished the music; and observing something like alarm depicted on his countenance, consoled him with the information, that charles xii. ran away from the first shot he heard, though afterwards he was called 'the great,' and deservedly, from his bravery. 'i, therefore,' said lord nelson, 'hope much from you in future.' "here the northumberland opened her fire, and down came the tri-colored ensign, amidst the thunder of our united cannon."[4] according to keith, nelson "on this occasion, as on all others, conducted himself with skill, and great address, in comprehending my signals, which the state of the weather led me greatly to suspect." nelson's account to hamilton was, "by leaving my admiral without signal, for which _i may be broke_, i took these french villains." "i have wrote to lord spencer," he tells his eldest brother, "and have sent him my journal, to show that the généreux was taken by me, and my plan--that my quitting lord keith was at my own risk, and for which, if i had not succeeded, i might have been broke. the way he went, the généreux never could have been taken." in a letter to lord minto he attributed his success to his knowledge of all the local conditions, acquired by seven years' experience. in his anxiety to make this instance prove his case, in the previous disobedience to keith, for which the admiralty had censured him, nelson overreached himself and certainly fell into an ungenerous action. his vaunt of success by the road of disobedience rested only on the fact that he had failed to see keith's signal. this the latter did not know, and evidently considered he had complied with its spirit. the signal to chase to windward was not strained to disobedience in being construed to search a fairly wide area for the enemy, keeping the rendezvous, which was also the enemy's destination, to leeward, so as to be readily regained. the "queen charlotte," keith's flagship, covered the inner line, and, being a first-rate, was competent to handle any force that could come out of toulon. there is a good deal of human nature in this captious unofficial attack on a superior, whose chief fault, as towards himself, was that he had been the victim of disobedience; but it is not pleasant to see in a man so truly great. the "généreux" carried the flag of a rear-admiral, who was killed in the action. nelson seized the opportunity of further conciliating the czar, by sending the sword of this officer to him, as grand master of the order of malta. upon rejoining keith, he reported in person, as custom demands. "lord keith received my account and myself like a philosopher (but very unlike you)," he wrote to hamilton; "it did not, that i could perceive, cause a pleasing muscle in his face." "had you seen the peer receive me," he wrote to lady hamilton the same day, "i know not what you would have done; but i can guess. but never mind. i told him that i had made a vow, if i took the généreux by myself, it was my intention to strike my flag. to which he made no answer." what could he very well say, if a man chose to throw away his chances, especially when that man was a subordinate who a short time before had flatly refused to obey his orders. soreness and testiness had full swing in nelson at this time; at some fancied neglect, he wrote troubridge a letter which reduced that gallant officer to tears. between palermo and malta keith had received letters from general mélas, commanding the austrian army in piedmont, giving the plan of the approaching campaign, in which, as the austrians were to besiege genoa, and advance to the riviera, much depended upon naval co-operation. rightly judging that to be the quarter calling for the naval commander-in-chief, he was anxious to get away. on the 24th of february he issued an order to nelson to take charge of the blockade, and "to adopt and prosecute the necessary measures for contributing to the complete reduction of malta." short of the chief command, which he coveted and grudged, nelson himself could not have contrived a position better fitted to crown his work in the mediterranean. within the harbor of la valetta, concentrating there the two objects that yet remained to be attained,--valetta itself being one,--was the "guillaume tell," the thirteenth ship, which alone was lacking now to complete the tale of the trophies of the nile. yet the fair prospect of success, inevitable since the capture of the "généreux" had destroyed the french hopes of relief, brought to nelson nothing but dismay. "my lord," he replied the same day, "my state of health is such, that it is impossible i can much longer remain here. without some rest, i am gone. i must, therefore, whenever i find the service will admit of it, request your permission to go to my friends, at palermo, for a few weeks, and leave the command here to commodore troubridge. nothing but absolute necessity obliges me to write this letter." "i could no more stay fourteen days longer here, than fourteen years," he said in a private letter to keith of the same date. by the next day he had recognized that even he could not leave at once the task appointed him, without discredit. "my situation," he then wrote to hamilton, "is to me very irksome, but how at this moment to get rid of it is a great difficulty. the french ships here ["guillaume tell" and others] are preparing for sea; the brest fleet, lord keith says, may be daily expected, and with all this i am very unwell.... the first moment which offers with credit to myself i shall assuredly give you my company.... lord keith is commander-in-chief, and i have not been kindly treated." his tried friends, troubridge and ball, realized the false step he was about to take, but they could not change his purpose. "remember, my lord," wrote the former, "the prospects are rather good at present of reducing this place, and that william tell, diane,[1] and justice,[5] are the only three ships left from the nile fleet. i beseech you hear the entreaties of a sincere friend, and do not go to sicily for the present. cruizing may be unpleasant. leave the foudroyant outside, and hoist your flag in the culloden, to carry on operations with the general. everything shall be done to make it comfortable and pleasing to you: a month will do all. if you comply with my request, i shall be happy, as i shall then be convinced i have not forfeited your friendship." "i dined with his lordship yesterday, who is apparently in good health," wrote ball to lady hamilton, "but he complains of indisposition and the necessity of repose. i do not think a short stay here will hurt his health, particularly as his ship is at anchor, and his mind not harassed. troubridge and i are extremely anxious that the french ships, and the french garrison of la valetta, shall surrender to him. i would not urge it if i were not convinced that it will ultimately add both to his honour and happiness." the fear of his friends that he would lose honor, by not resisting inclination, is evident--undisguised; but they could not prevail. on the 4th of march he wrote to lady hamilton: "my health is in such a state, and to say the truth, an uneasy mind at being taught my lesson like a school boy, that my determination is made to leave malta on the 15th morning of this month, on the first moment after the wind comes favourable; unless i am sure that i shall get hold of the french ships." keith's directions had been full and explicit on details, and this nelson seems to have resented. among the particular orders was one that palermo, being so distant from malta, should be discontinued as the rendezvous, and syracuse substituted for it; nelson was, however, at liberty to use messina or augusta, both also on the west coast of sicily, if he preferred. it will be remembered that nelson himself, before he fell under the influence of naples, had expressed his intention to make syracuse the base of his operations. coming as this change did, as one of the first acts of a new commander-in-chief, coinciding with his own former judgment, it readily took the color of an implied censure upon his prolonged stay at palermo--an echo of the increasing scandal that attended it. on the 10th of march he left malta for palermo in the "foudroyant," sending the ship back, however, to take her place in the blockade, and hoisting his own flag on board a transport. his mind was now rapidly turning towards a final retirement from the station, a decision which was accelerated by the capture of the "guillaume tell." this eighty-gun ship started on the night of march 29th to run out from la valetta, to relieve the famished garrison from feeding the twelve hundred men she carried. fortunately, the "foudroyant" had resumed her station off the island; and it was a singular illustration of the good fortune of the "heaven-born" admiral, to repeat ball's expression, that she arrived barely in time, only a few hours before the event, her absence from which might have resulted in the escape of the enemy, and a just censure upon nelson. the french ship was sighted first by a frigate, the "penelope," captain blackwood, which hung gallantly upon her quarters, as nelson in former days had dogged the "ça ira" with the "agamemnon," until the heavier ships could gather round the quarry. the "guillaume tell," necessarily intent only on escape from overpowering numbers, could not turn aside to crush the small antagonist, which one of her broadsides might have swept out of existence; yet even so, the frigate decided the issue, for she shot away the main and mizzen topmasts of the french vessel, permitting the remainder of the british to come up. no ship was ever more gallantly fought than the "guillaume tell;" the scene would have been well worthy even of nelson's presence. more could not be said, but nelson was not there. she had shaken off the "penelope" and the "lion," sixty-four, when the "foudroyant" drew up at six in the morning. "at half-past six," says the latter's log, "shot away the [french] main and mizen-masts: saw a man nail the french ensign to the stump of the mizen-mast. five minutes past eight, shot away the enemy's foremast. ten minutes past eight, all her masts being gone by the board, the enemy struck his colours, and ceased firing." the last of the fleet in aboukir bay had surrendered to nelson's ship, but not to nelson's flag. "i am sensible," he wrote from palermo to sir edward berry, the captain of the "foudroyant," "of your kindness in wishing my presence at the finish of the egyptian fleet, but i have no cause for sorrow. the thing could not be better done, and i would not for all the world rob you of one particle of your well-earned laurels." in the matter of glory nelson might well yield much to another, nor miss what he gave; but there is a fitness in things, and it was not fitting that the commander of the division should have been away from his post when such an event was likely to happen. "my task is done, my health is lost, and the orders of the great earl st. vincent are completely fulfilled." "i have wrote to lord keith," he tells spencer, "for permission to return to england, when you will see a broken-hearted man. my spirit cannot submit patiently." but by this time, if the forbearance of the first lord was not exhausted, his patience very nearly was, and a letter had already been sent, which, while couched in terms of delicate consideration, nevertheless betrayed the profound disappointment that had succeeded to admiration for services so eminent, and for a spirit once so indomitable: "to your letter of the 20th of march, all i shall say is, to express my extreme regret that your health should be such as to oblige you to quit your station off malta, at a time when i should suppose there must be the finest prospect of its reduction. i should be very sorry that you did not accomplish that business in person, as the guillaume tell is your due, and that ship ought not to strike to any other. if the enemy should come into the mediterranean, and whenever they do, it will be suddenly, i should be much concerned to hear that you learnt of their arrival in that sea, either on shore or in a transport at palermo." a nearer approach to censure was soon to follow. on the 9th of may, apparently before nelson's application for leave to return to england had been received, the admiralty sent orders to keith, that if his health rendered him incapable of doing his duty, he was to be permitted to return home by sea when opportunity offered, or by land if he preferred. earl spencer wrote him at the same time a private letter, in which disapprobation was too thinly masked by carefully chosen words to escape attention: "it is by no means my wish or intention to call you away from service, but having observed that you have been under the necessity of quitting your station off malta, on account of your health, which i am persuaded you could not have thought of doing without such necessity, it appeared to me much more advisable for you to come home at once, than to be obliged to remain inactive at palermo, while active service was going on in other parts of the station. i should still much prefer your remaining to complete the reduction of malta, which i flatter myself cannot be very far distant, and i still look with anxious expectation to the guillaume tell striking to your flag. but if, unfortunately, these agreeable events are to be prevented, by your having too much exhausted yourself in the service to be equal to follow them up, i am quite clear, and i believe i am joined in opinion by all your friends here, that you will be more likely to recover your health and strength in england than in an inactive situation at a foreign court, however pleasing the respect and gratitude shown to you for your services may be, and no testimonies of respect and gratitude from that court to you can be, i am convinced, too great for the very essential services you have rendered it. i trust that you will take in good part what i have taken the liberty to write to you as a friend." both these letters reached nelson in june, at leghorn, on his way home. the underlying censure did not escape him,--"your two letters gave me much pain," he replied,--but he showed no traces of self-condemnation, or of regret for the past. lord minto, who was now ambassador at vienna, wrote thence in march of this year, before the question of going home was decided: "i have letters from nelson and lady hamilton. it does not seem clear whether he will go home. i hope he will not for his own sake, and he will at least, i hope, take malta first. he does not seem at all conscious of the sort of discredit he has fallen into, or the cause of it, for he still writes, not wisely, about lady h. and all that. but it is hard to condemn and use ill a hero, as he is in his own element, for being foolish about a woman who has art enough to make fools of many wiser than an admiral." many years later, immediately after the parting which he did not then know was the last, minto said of him, "he is in many points a really great man, in others a baby." nelson himself, conscious of the diligence which he had used in the administration of his wide command and its varied interests, put out of court all other considerations of propriety. "i trust you and all my friends will believe," he told spencer, "that mine cannot be an inactive life, although it may not carry all the outward parade of _much ado about nothing_." had the hamiltons remained in palermo, nelson would have been forced to a choice between leaving her and the mediterranean, or yielding a submission to orders which to the last he never gave, when fairly out of signal distance. but the foreign office had decided that sir william should not return after the leave for which he had applied; and in the beginning of march it was known at palermo that his successor had been appointed. this nelson also learned, at the latest, when he came back there on the 16th. to one correspondent he wrote, on the 28th, "most probably my health will force me to retire in april, for i am worn out with fatigue of body and mind," and his application was sent in on the 6th of the latter month, after news of the "guillaume tell's" capture. on the 22d hamilton presented his letters of recall, and on the 24th he and lady hamilton, with a party, embarked on board the "foudroyant" for a trip to syracuse and malta, from which they all returned to palermo on the first of june. against this renewed departure troubridge again remonstrated, in words which showed that he and others saw, in nelson's determination to abandon the field, the results of infatuation rather than of illness. "your friends, my lord, absolutely, as far as they dare, insist on your staying to sign the capitulation. be on your guard." keith also wrote him in generous and unexceptionable terms: "i am very sorry, my dear nelson, for the contents of your letter, and i hope you will not be obliged to go: strictly speaking, i ought to write to the admiralty before i let a flag-officer go off the station; particularly as i am directed to send you, if you like it, to egypt; but when a man's health is concerned, there is an end of all, and i will send you the first frigate i can lay hold of." footnotes: [1] the title of bronté was assumed in sicily only, until he received the consent of george iii. to accept it. [2] the italics to this point are nelson's; afterwards the author's. [3] the paget papers, london, 1896, vol. i. p. 200. [4] nelsonian reminiscences, by lieutenant g.s. parsons. the author has been able to test parsons' stories sufficiently to assure himself that they cannot be quoted to establish historical fact; but such scenes as here given, or how many glasses of wine nelson drank at dinner, or that the writer himself was out of clean shirts, when asked to dine at the admiral's table, are trivialities which memory retains. [5] frigates. chapter xv. nelson leaves the mediterranean.--the journey overland through germany.--arrival in england.--separation from lady nelson.--hoists his flag in the channel fleet, under lord st. vincent. june, 1800--january, 1801. age, 42. at the time nelson and the hamiltons returned to palermo, the queen of naples was wishing, for political reasons, to visit vienna. to meet this wish nelson took the "foudroyant" and "alexander" off the blockade of malta, that they might carry herself and suite to leghorn, together with the hamiltons. he clung also to the hope that keith would give him his powerful flagship to return to england, in which case the hamiltons would go with him. "i go with our dear friends sir william and lady hamilton," he wrote to lord minto; "but whether by water or land depends on the will of lord keith. may all orders be as punctually obeyed," alluding to the completion of the destruction of the nile fleet by the capture of the "guillaume tell," "but never again an officer at the close of what i must, without being thought vain (for such i am represented by enemies), call a glorious career, be so treated!" keith's opinion of nelson's obedience was probably somewhat different. the latter had written him on the 12th of may, that, being under an old promise to carry the queen to the continent, he proposed to take the two ships-of-the-line for that purpose, and keith sent him a letter forbidding him to do so, and directing them to be sent back at once to malta. nelson, it is true, did not receive this; but it is impossible to reconcile with attention to orders the diversion of two ships of their force from the singularly important station appointed them by the commander-in-chief, without reference to him, and using them to carry about foreign sovereigns. on arriving in leghorn, on the 14th of june, nelson announced the fact to keith, with apparent perfect unconsciousness that the latter could be other than charmed. "i was obliged to bring the alexander, or the party never could have been accommodated: i therefore trust you will approve of it." "i was so displeased by the withdrawing of the ships from before malta," wrote keith to paget, "and with other proceedings, that her majesty did not take any notice of me latterly." it would seem also that some harm had come of it. "what a clamour, too, letting in the ships to malta will occasion. i assure you nothing has given me more real concern, it was so near exhausted." "had not nelson quitted the blockade," he wrote a week later, "and taken the ships off the station, it might have fallen about this time."[6] lord keith had been engaged for six weeks past in the famous blockade and siege of genoa, the garrison of which, spent with famine and disease, marched out on the 5th of june, 1800. on the 14th--the day nelson reached leghorn--was fought the battle of marengo, in which the austrians were totally defeated, the french army under bonaparte remaining victorious across their line of retreat to mantua. the next day mélas signed a convention, abandoning northern italy, as far as the mincio, to the french, to whom were given up all the fortified places, genoa included. at midnight of june 18, nelson received an order from keith to take all the ships at leghorn to spezia, for certain minor military purposes. nelson sent the "alexander" and a frigate, but remained himself in leghorn with the "foudroyant," ready, he wrote the admiral, "to receive the queen and royal family, should such an event be necessary." keith rejoined with a peremptory order that no ships-of-the-line should be used for such purpose; the queen, he said, had better get to vienna as fast as she could, and not think of going back to palermo. "if the french fleet gets the start of ours a day, sicily cannot hold out even that one day." "lord keith," commented nelson, "believes reports of the brest fleet, which i give not the smallest credit to." "i own i do not believe the brest fleet will return to sea," he told keith; "and if they do, the lord have mercy on them, for our fleet will not, i am sure." it was not the least of his conspicuous merits that he was blind to imaginative or exaggerated alarms. keith saw too vividly all that might happen in consequence of recent reverses--much more than could happen. on the 24th of june the latter reached leghorn in person. "i must go to leghorn," he complained, "to land the fugitives, and to be bored by lord nelson for permission to take the queen to palermo, and princes and princesses to all parts of the globe." the queen was in a panic, and besought him with tears to give her the "foudroyant," but keith was obdurate. "mr. wyndham[7] arrived here yesterday from florence," wrote lady minto on the 6th of july to her sister. "he left the queen of naples, sir william and lady hamilton, and nelson, at leghorn. the queen has given up all thoughts of coming here. she asked lord keith in her own proper person for the foudroyant to take her back. he refused positively giving her such a ship. the queen wept, concluding that royal tears were irresistible; but he remained unmoved, and would grant nothing but a frigate to convoy her own frigates[8] to trieste. he told her lady hamilton had had command of the fleet long enough. the queen is very ill with a sort of convulsive fit, and nelson is staying there to nurse her; he does not intend going home till he has escorted her back to palermo. his zeal for the public service seems entirely lost in his love and vanity, and they all sit and flatter each other all day long." it is only fair to say that there are indications, in the correspondence, of bad terms between the hamiltons and wyndham, who, therefore, was probably not a sympathetic observer. he had also before this written unpleasantly to nelson, insinuating, apparently, a lack of attention to duty; for the latter in a letter to troubridge says, "i send you an extract of mr. wyndham's unhandsome mode of expressing himself towards me." towards keith her majesty manifested her displeasure by omitting him in the public leave she took of all the officials. the queen finally resolved to continue her journey, but the victories of the french introduced into the political future an element of uncertainty, which caused her to delay a month in leghorn, undecided whether to go by sea or land; and nelson had vowed not to forsake her. keith, after some days, relented so far as to authorize the "alexander" taking the royal family to trieste, but many of the party were averse to the sea voyage. there had been for some time living with the hamiltons a miss knight, an english lady already in middle life, whose journal gives the chief particulars that have been preserved of this period. "the queen," she wrote, "wishes, if possible, to prosecute her journey. lady hamilton cannot bear the thought of going by sea; and therefore nothing but impracticability will prevent our going to vienna." when it was at last fixed, after many vacillations, that they should go to ancona, and there take small austrian vessels for trieste, she exclaims, "to avoid the danger of being on board an english man-of-war, where everything is commodious, and equally well arranged for defence and comfort! but the die is cast, and go we must." she mentions that lord nelson was well, and kept up his spirits amazingly, but sir william appeared broken, distressed, and harassed. on the 11th the travellers started for florence, passing within two miles of the french advanced posts. at ancona they embarked on board some russian frigates, and in them reached trieste safely on the 2d of august. nelson was received with acclamations in all the towns of the pope's states. a party in which were not only the queen of a reigning sovereign, but an english minister and his wife, was sure of receiving attention wherever it passed or stopped; but in the present case it was the naval officer who carried off the lion's share of homage, so widely had his fame spread throughout the continent. at trieste, says miss knight, "he is followed by thousands when he goes out, and for the illumination which is to take place this evening, there are many _viva nelsons_ prepared." the same enthusiasm was shown at vienna, where they arrived on the 21st or 22d of august. "you can have no notion of the anxiety and curiosity to see him," wrote lady minto.[9] "the door of his house is always crowded with people, and even the street when his carriage is at the door; and when he went to the play he was applauded, a thing which rarely happens here." "whenever he appeared in public," records miss knight, "a crowd was collected, and his portrait was hung up as a sign over many shops--even the milliners giving his name to particular dresses, but it did not appear to me that the english nation was at all popular." at a dinner at prince esterhazy's, where he spent some days, his health was drunk with a flourish of trumpets and firing of cannon. "i don't think him altered in the least," continued lady minto, who remembered him from the old days in corsica. "he has the same shock head and the same honest simple manners; but he is devoted to _emma_, he thinks her quite an _angel_, and talks of her as such to her face and behind her back, and she leads him about like a keeper with a bear. she must sit by him at dinner to cut his meat, and he carries her pocket-handkerchief. he is a gig from ribands, orders and stars, but he is just the same with us as ever he was;" and she mentions his outspoken gratitude to minto for the substantial service he had done him, and the guidance he had imparted to his political thought,--an acknowledgment he frequently renewed up to the last days of his life. lady minto's nephew, lord fitzharris, the son of the earl of malmesbury, was then in vienna, apparently as an attaché. he speaks in the same way of nelson himself, but with less forbearance for lady hamilton; and he confirms the impression that nelson at this time had lost interest in the service. writing to his father, he says: "nelson personally is not changed; open and honest, not the least vanity about him. he looks very well, but seems to be in no hurry to sail again. he told me he had no thoughts of serving again." "lord nelson and the hamiltons dined here the other day; it is really disgusting to see her with him." a few days later there was a ball at prince esterhazy's, where fitzharris was present. "lady hamilton is without exception the most coarse, ill-mannered, disagreeable woman i ever met with. the princess had with great kindness got a number of musicians, and the famous haydn, who is in their service, to play, knowing lady hamilton was fond of music. instead of attending to them she sat down to the faro table, played nelson's cards for him, and won between £300 and £400. in short, i could not disguise my feeling, and joined in the general abuse of her."[10] the impression that nelson would decline further service had been conveyed to other friends. troubridge, who had meanwhile returned to england, wrote two months later to a young lieutenant who wished to get on board the admiral's next ship: "lord nelson is not yet arrived in england, and between ourselves i do not think he will serve again." both lady minto and fitzharris have recorded an account given them by nelson, of his motives for action at the battle of the nile. "he speaks in the highest terms of all the captains he had with him off the coast of egypt," writes the former, "adding that without knowing the men he had to trust to, he would not have hazarded the attack, that there was little room, but he was sure each would find a hole to creep in at." in place of this summary, her nephew gives words evidently quite fresh from the speaker's lips. "he says, 'when i saw them, i could not help popping my head every now and then out of the window, (although i had a d----d toothache), and once as i was observing their position i heard two seamen quartered at a gun near me, talking, and one said to the other, 'd----n them, look at them, there they are, jack, if we don't beat them, they will beat us.' he says, 'i knew what stuff i had under me, so i went into the attack with only a few ships, perfectly sure the others would follow me, although it was nearly dark and they might have had every excuse for not doing it, yet they all in the course of two hours found a hole to poke in at. if,' he added, 'i had taken a fleet of the same force from spithead, i would sooner have thought of flying than attacking the french in their position, but i knew my captains, nor could i say which distinguished himself most.'" yet to lady minto he revealed the spirit he was of. "i told him i wished he had the command of the emperor's army. he said, 'i'll tell you what. if i had, i would only use one word--_advance_, and never say _retreat_.'" after a month's stop at vienna, during which sir william hamilton's health continued to cause anxiety, the party started north for prague, dresden, and hamburg, following the course of the elbe. on the 28th of september, prague was reached, and there nelson was met by arrangement by the archduke charles, the first in ability of the austrian generals, approved as no unworthy antagonist by bonaparte himself, but rarely employed, except in moments of emergency, because of his pronounced opposition to the court policy. the next day, september 29th, was nelson's birthday, and the archduke gave a grand entertainment in his honor. continuing thence, the travellers on october 2d reached dresden, to which court the british minister was hugh elliot, the brother of lord minto. it was here that they came under the eye of mrs. st. george, a young irish widow, who by a second marriage, some years later, became mrs. trench, and the mother of the late archbishop of dublin. her description and comments have been considered severe, and even prejudiced; but they do not differ essentially from those of the mintos and fitzharris, except in saying that on one occasion, after dinner, nelson took too much champagne, and showed the effects. such a thing has happened on isolated occasions to many a good man and true, and, however much to be deplored, is not so impossible an occurrence, even in a man of nelson's well-established habitual abstemiousness, which indeed his health necessitated, as to invalidate the testimony of an eye-witness. mrs. st. george's journal was not written for publication, and did not see the light till thirty-odd years after her death. "october 3d. dined at mr. elliot's with only the nelson party. it is plain that lord nelson thinks of nothing but lady hamilton,[11] who is totally occupied by the same object. lord nelson is a little man, without any dignity; who, i suppose, must resemble what suwarrow was in his youth, as he is like all the pictures i have seen of that general. lady hamilton takes possession of him, and he is a willing captive, the most submissive and devoted i have ever seen. sir william is old, infirm, all admiration of his wife, and never spoke to-day but to applaud her. miss cornelia knight seems the decided flatterer of the two, and never opens her mouth but to show forth their praise; and mrs. cadogan, lady hamilton's mother, is--what one might expect. after dinner we had several songs in honour of lord nelson, written by miss knight, and sung by lady hamilton.[12] she puffs the incense full in his face; but he receives it with pleasure, and snuffs it up very cordially." lord minto, whose friendship for nelson was of proof, wrote eighteen months after this to his wife: "she goes on cramming nelson with trowelfuls of flattery, which he goes on taking as quietly as a child does pap."[13] "lady hamilton," wrote mrs. st. george on succeeding days, "paid me those kinds of compliments which prove she thinks mere exterior alone of any consequence ... she loads me with all marks of friendship at first sight, which i always think more extraordinary than love of the same kind, pays me many compliments both when i am absent and present, and said many fine things about my accompanying her at sight. still she does not gain upon me ... mr. elliot says, 'she will captivate the prince of wales, whose mind is as vulgar as her own, and play a great part in england,'"--a remark which showed shrewd judgment of character, as nelson afterwards found to his intense disturbance. at vienna the whole party had been presented at court, but at dresden the electress refused to receive lady hamilton, on account of her former dissolute life. "she wished to go to court," says mrs. st. george, "on which a pretext was made to avoid receiving company last sunday, and i understand there will be no court while she stays." nelson felt resentment at this exclusion, though powerless, of course, to express it; but he declined an invitation to a private house which had not been extended to her. this incident naturally raised the question, what prospect there was of the lady being accepted at the court of her own sovereign. "she talked to me a great deal of her doubts whether the queen would receive her, adding, 'i care little about it. i had much rather she would settle half sir william's pension on me,'"--a remark which showed more philosophy than self-esteem. a week's visit in dresden ended by the party taking boats for hamburg, which they reached on the 21st of october, the journey being prolonged by stopping every night. they there remained ten days, of which no very noteworthy incidents have been recorded, although the general interest of all classes of people in the renowned warrior, of whom they had heard so much, continued to be manifested, sometimes in quaint and touching expression. on the 31st of october they embarked on board the mail-packet for england, and after a stormy passage landed at yarmouth on the 6th of november, 1800. two years and eight months had passed since nelson sailed from spithead, on a cruise destined to have so marked an influence on his professional reputation and private happiness. he was received on his landing with every evidence of popular enthusiasm, and of official respect from all authorities, civil and military. with the unvarying devout spirit which characterized him in all the greater events of his life, he asked that public service might be held, to enable him to give thanks in church for his safe return to his native country, and for the many blessings which he had experienced. the whole party then went on to town, arriving on the 8th. from those who welcomed nelson when he first put his foot on shore there was one conspicuously missing. lady nelson had not thought well to go to yarmouth to await her husband. under ordinary conditions there would have been little to challenge remark, in the decision not to leave the feeble old man, her husband's father, who depended much upon her, for the period of uncertain duration during which she might have to wait at yarmouth, in those days of sailing-vessels and head winds. coining as her husband did, hand in hand with the woman whose name had been scandalously linked with his for nearly two years, the absence easily took on the appearance of cold and reserved censure. unquestionably, if lady nelson wished above all things to win her husband back, and cared more for that than for her own humiliation, more or less, the best fighting chance would have been to meet him at once, with a smile on her face and words of love on her lips. considering the flagrancy of the affair throughout europe, and the antecedents of lady hamilton, it may be permitted to doubt whether, regarded as a struggle for possession, many women would have thought the game worth the candle; although lady nelson did not then know that her husband expected soon to be a father, by the woman whom he at once brought to her apartments and presented to her. in the scanty details that have been transmitted to us concerning lady nelson, there is little to appeal to the imagination, or to impress one strongly with her attractions; but candor to her surely compels the admission that, to await her husband in their own home, to greet him alone, without the observation even of beloved outsiders, was no singular impulse in a tender and reserved woman. a seaside hotel and the inevitable clamor of the multitude do not fit in well with the emotions that would naturally stir her, and a very little tact, a very little sympathy, would have induced nelson to let the hamiltons go their way for one evening, while he went directly and alone to her and his father. she had been sorely tried, and as far as is known had restrained herself patiently in her letters. the latest one that is now accessible is dated the 29th of march, 1800, seven months therefore before they now met, and is lacking neither in dignity, affection, nor pathos. "i have this instant received a note from admiral young, who tells me if i can send him a letter for you in an hour, he will send it, therefore, i have only time to say i have at last had the pleasure of receiving two letters from you, dated january 20th and 25th. i rejoice exceedingly i did not follow the advice of the physician and our good father to change the climate, and i hope my health will be established by hot sea-bathing and the warmth of the summer. "i can with safety put my hand on my heart and say it has been my study to please and make you happy, and i still flatter myself we shall meet before very long. i feel most sensibly all your kindnesses to my dear son, and i hope he will add much to our comfort. our good father has been in good spirits ever since we heard from you; indeed, my spirits were quite worn out, the time had been so long. i thank god for the preservation of my dear husband, and your recent success off malta. the taking of the généreux seems to give great spirits to all. god bless you, my dear husband, and grant us a happy meeting, and believe me," etc.[14] from the difficulties attendant upon the mails in those days, this letter would not be likely to reach nelson till towards the end of may, when he was on the point of leaving palermo finally; and, having regard to the uncertainties of his movements before quitting leghorn, it is not improbable that it was among the last, if not the very last, he received before landing in england. if so, it represented fairly the attitude of lady nelson, as far as known to him,--free from reproach, affectionate, yet evidently saddened by a silence on his part, which tended to corroborate the rumors rife, not only in society but in the press. it is possible that, like many men, though it would not be in the least characteristic of himself, he, during his journey home, simply put aside all consideration of the evil day when the two women would be in the same city, and trusted to the chapter of accidents to settle the terms on which they might live; but, from his actions, he seems to have entertained the idea that he could still maintain in london, with the cheerful acquiescence of his wife, the public relations towards lady hamilton which were tolerated by the easy tone of neapolitan society. miss knight relates that, while at leghorn, he said he hoped lady nelson and himself would be much with sir william and lady hamilton, that they all would dine together very often, and that when the latter went to their musical parties, he and lady nelson would go to bed. in accordance with this programme, he took his two friends to dine with his wife and father, immediately upon his arrival in town. miss knight went to another hotel with lady hamilton's mother, and was that evening visited by troubridge. he advised her to go and stop with a friend; and, although no reason is given, it is probable that he, who knew as much as any one of the past, saw that the position of residence with the hamiltons would be socially untenable for a woman. miss knight accordingly went to live with mrs. nepean, the wife of the secretary to the admiralty. a few days later there was again a dinner at the house taken by the hamiltons in grosvenor square. the nelsons were there, as was miss knight. the next day several of the party attended the theatre, and lady nelson, it is said, fainted in the box, overcome by feeling, many thought, at her husband's marked attentions to lady hamilton. the latter being in her way a character as well known as nelson himself, the affair necessarily became more than usually a matter of comment, especially as the scene now provided for london gossipers was a re-presentation of that so long enacted at palermo, and notorious throughout europe; but it was received with little toleration. "most of my friends," wrote miss knight, "were urgent with me to drop the acquaintance, but, circumstanced as i had been, i feared the charge of ingratitude, though greatly embarrassed as to what to do, for things became very unpleasant." had it been a new development, it would have presented little difficulty; but as she had quietly lived many months in the minister's house under the same conditions, only in the more congenial atmosphere of palermo, it was not easy now to join in the disapproval shown by much of london society. lady hamilton, of course, could not have any social acceptance, but even towards nelson himself, in all his glory, a marked coldness was shown in significant quarters. "the lady of the admiralty," wrote he to his friend davison, "never had any just cause for being cool to me;" an allusion probably to lady spencer, the wife of the first lord. coldness from her must have been the more marked, for after the nile she had written him a wildly enthusiastic letter, recognizing with gratitude the distinction conferred upon her husband's administration by the lustre of that battle. "either as a public or private man," he continued, "i wish nothing undone which i have done,"--a remark entirely ambiguous and misleading as regards his actual relations to lady hamilton. he told collingwood, at this same time, that he had not been well received by the king. "he gave me an account of his reception at court," his old comrade writes, "which was not very flattering, after having been the adoration of that of naples. his majesty merely asked him if he had recovered his health; and then, without waiting for an answer, turned to general----, and talked to him near half an hour in great good humour. it could not be about his successes." this slight was not a revival of the old prejudice entertained by the king before the war, which had been wholly removed by the distinguished services nelson had rendered afterwards. eighteen months before this davison had written to him: "i waited upon the king early last sunday morning, and was _alone_ with him a full hour, when much of the conversation was about you. it is impossible to express how warmly he spoke of you, and asked me a thousand questions about you ... i have been again at the queen's house, and have given the king a copy of your last letter to me, giving an account of your health, which he read twice over, with great attention, and with apparent emotion of concern. his majesty speaks of you with the tenderness of a father." samuel rogers has an incidental mention of the effect produced upon nelson by the treatment now experienced. "i heard him once during dinner utter many bitter complaints (which lady hamilton vainly attempted to check) of the way he had been treated at court that forenoon: the queen had not condescended to take the slightest notice of him. in truth, nelson was hated at court; they were jealous of his fame."[15] people, however, are rarely jealous of those who are not rivals. the position which nelson had proposed to himself to establish was of course impossible. the world was no more disposed to worry about any private immoralities of his than it did about those of other men, but it was not prepared to have them brandished in its face, and it would have none of lady hamilton,--nor would lady nelson. the general public opinion at the time receives, probably, accurate expression from sir william hotham, a man then in london society. "his vanity, excusable as such a foible is in such a man, led him to unpardonable excesses, and blinded him to the advantages of being respected in society.... his conduct to lady nelson was the very extreme of unjustifiable weakness, for he should at least have attempted to conceal his infirmities, without publicly wounding the feelings of a woman whose own conduct he well knew was irreproachable."[16] on the other hand, nelson could not forget the kindnesses he had accepted from lady hamilton, nor was he either able or willing to lessen an intimacy which, unless diminished, left the scandal unabated. he was not able, for a man of his temperament could not recede before opposition, or slight a woman now compromised by his name; and he was not willing, for he was madly in love. being daily with her for seven months after leaving palermo, there occurs a break in their correspondence; but when it was resumed in the latter part of january, 1801, every particle of the reticence which a possible struggle with conscience had imposed disappears. he has accepted the new situation, cast aside all restraints, and his language at times falls little short of frenzy, while belying the respect for her which he asserts continually and aggressively, as though against his convictions. the breach with lady nelson had in this short time become final. we have not the means--happily--to trace through its successive stages a rapid process of estrangement, of which nelson said a few months afterwards: "sooner than live the unhappy life i did when last i came to england, i would stay abroad forever." a highly colored account is given in harrison's life of nelson, emanating apparently from lady hamilton, of the wretchedness the hero experienced from the temper of his wife; while in the "memoirs of lady hamilton," published shortly after her death, another side of the case is brought forward, and lady nelson appears as rebutting with quiet dignity the reproaches of her husband for heartlessness, displayed in her unsympathetic attitude towards her rival, when suffering from indisposition. into these recriminations it is needless to enter; those who wish can read for themselves in the works mentioned. a marked symptom of growing alienation was afforded by his leaving her on the 19th of december, in company with the hamiltons, to spend the christmas holidays at fonthill, the seat of william beckford. during this visit occurred a curious incident, which shows that the exultant delight unquestionably felt by nelson in battle did not indicate insensibility to danger, or to its customary effects upon men, but resulted from the pleasurable predominance of other emotions, which accepted danger and the startling tokens of its presence as the accompaniments, that only enhanced the majesty of the part he was called upon to play. beckford tells the story as follows: "i offered to show him what had been done by planting in the course of years. nelson mounted by my side in a phaeton, drawn by four well-trained horses, which i drove. there was not the least danger, the horses being perfectly under my command, long driven by myself. singular to say, we had not gone far before i observed a peculiar anxiety in his countenance, and presently he said: 'this is too much for me, you must set me down.' i assured him that the horses were continually driven by me, and that they were perfectly under command. all would not do. he would descend, and i walked the vehicle back again."[17] nelson, of course, never claimed for himself the blind ignorance of fear which has been asserted of him; on the contrary, the son of his old friend locker tells us, "the bravest man (so we have heard lord nelson himself declare) feels an anxiety '_circa præcordia_' as he enters the battle; but he dreads disgrace yet more."[18] in battle, like a great actor in a great drama, he knew himself the master of an invisible concourse, whose homage he commanded, whose plaudits he craved, and whom, by the sight of deeds raised above the common ground of earth, he drew to sympathy with heroism and self-devotion. there, too, he rejoiced in the noblest exercise of power, in the sensation of energies and faculties roused to full exertion, contending with mighty obstacles, and acting amid surroundings worthy of their grandeur; like masséna, of whom it was said that he only found his greatest self when the balls flew thick about him, and things began to look their worst. after his return from fonthill lady nelson and himself lived together again for a time in their london lodgings, in arlington street, and there, according to the story told forty-five years afterwards by mr. william haslewood, nelson's solicitor, the crisis of their troubles was reached. "in the winter of 1800, 1801, i was breakfasting with lord and lady nelson, at their lodgings in arlington street, and a cheerful conversation was passing on indifferent subjects, when lord nelson spoke of something which had been done or said by 'dear lady hamilton;' upon which lady nelson rose from her chair, and exclaimed, with much vehemence, 'i am sick of hearing of dear lady hamilton, and am resolved that you shall give up either her or me.' lord nelson, with perfect calmness, said: 'take care, fanny, what you say. i love you sincerely; but i cannot forget my obligations to lady hamilton, or speak of her otherwise than with affection and admiration.' without one soothing word or gesture, but muttering something about her mind being made up, lady nelson left the room, and shortly after drove from the house. they never lived together afterwards." though committed to paper so many years later, the incident is just one of those that sticks to the memory, and probably occurred substantially as told. lady nelson's ultimatum will probably be differently regarded by different persons; it shows that she was at least living human flesh and blood. in later life, we are told by hotham, who was in the habit of frequently seeing her, up to her death, in 1831, "she continually talked of him, and always attempted to palliate his conduct towards her, was warm and enthusiastic in her praises of his public achievements, and bowed down with dignified submission to the errors of his domestic life." the same testimony is borne by a lady, of whom nicolas speaks as "the personal and intimate friend both of lord and lady nelson, and the widow of one of his most distinguished followers," but whose name he does not give.[19] "i am aware of your intention not to touch upon this delicate subject: i only allude to it in order to assure you, from my personal knowledge, in a long and intimate acquaintance, that lady nelson's conduct was not only affectionate, wise, and prudent, but admirable, throughout her married life, and that she had not a single reproach to make herself. i say not this to cast unnecessary blame upon _one_ whose memory i delight to honour, but only in justice to that truly good and amiable woman.... if mildness, forbearance, and indulgence to the weaknesses of human nature could have availed, her fate would have been very different. no reproach ever passed her lips; and when she parted from her lord, on his hoisting his flag again, it was without the most distant suspicion that he meant it to be final, and that in this life they were never to meet again. i am desirous that you should know the worth of her who has so often been misrepresented, from the wish of many to cast the blame anywhere, but on him who was so deservedly dear to the nation." the latter years of lady nelson's life were passed partly in paris, where she lived with her son and his family. her eldest grandchild, a girl, was eight or ten years old at the time of her death. she remembers the great sweetness of her grandmother's temper, and tells that she often saw her take from a casket a miniature of nelson, look at it affectionately, kiss it, and then replace it gently; after which she would turn to her and say, "when you are older, little fan, you too may know what it is to have a broken heart." this trifling incident, transpiring as it now does for the first time, after nearly seventy years, from the intimate privacies of family life, bears its mute evidence to the truth of the last two witnesses, that lady nelson neither reproached her husband, nor was towards him unforgiving.[20] nelson's early friend, the duke of clarence, who had given her away at the wedding, maintained his kindly relations with her to the end, and continued his interest to her descendants after his accession to the throne. thus abruptly and sadly ended an attachment which, if never ardent, had for many years run undisturbed its tender course, and apparently had satisfied nelson's heart, until the wave of a great passion swept him off his feet. "i remember," writes miss knight, "that, shortly after the battle of the nile, when my mother said to him that no doubt he considered the day of that victory as the happiest in his life, he answered, 'no; the happiest was that on which i married lady nelson.'" on the 13th of january, 1801, nelson took formal and final leave of her before hoisting his flag at torbay. "i call god to witness," he then said, "there is nothing in you, or your conduct, that i wish otherwise." his alienation from her was shared by most of his family, except his father, who said to him frankly, that gratitude required he should spend part of his time with lady nelson. two years before, he had written of her: "during the whole war [since 1793] i have been with lady nelson, a good woman, and attentive to an infirm old man," and they had continued to live together. the old man persuaded himself that there was nothing criminal in relations, the result of which, as regarded his son and daughter-in-law, he could not but deplore; but his letters to lady hamilton go little beyond the civility that was necessary to avoid giving offence to nelson. nelson's two married sisters, mrs. bolton and mrs. matcham, evidently shared their father's belief. they and their children maintained with lady hamilton a friendly and even affectionate correspondence, long after trafalgar, and until the death of the parties put an end to it. immediately upon landing at yarmouth, nelson had written to the admiralty that his health was perfectly restored, and that he wished to resume service immediately. he was soon designated to a command in the channel fleet, under earl st. vincent, who had been commander-in-chief since the spring of 1800. the "san josef," the three-decker boarded by him at cape st. vincent, was named to receive his flag, and on the 17th of january it was hoisted on board her, at plymouth,--blue at the fore, he having been promoted vice-admiral of the blue on new year's day. an arrangement, however, had already been made, that, if the impending difficulties with denmark threatened to lead to hostilities, he should accompany the fleet sent to the baltic, as second to sir hyde parker, selected for the chief command. while he was officially reporting to st. vincent, on the 16th, at torbay, preparatory to hoisting his flag, a letter from parker informed him that the armament was decided upon. this he showed at once to st. vincent, who acquiesced of course in the disappointment, but expressed a hope that after a brief absence he would rejoin him. by the first of february the "san josef" had gone round to torbay, the rendezvous of the channel fleet under st. vincent's command, and there it was that nelson received the news of the birth, on the 29th or 30th of january, of the child horatia, whose parentage for a long time gave rise to much discussion, and is even yet considered by some a matter of doubt. fortunately, that question requires no investigation here; as regards the life of nelson, and his character as involved in this matter, the fact is beyond dispute that he believed himself the father, and lady hamilton the mother, of the girl, whose origin he sought to conceal by an elaborate though clumsy system of mystification. this might possibly have left the subject covered with clouds, though not greatly in doubt, had not lady hamilton, after wildly unnecessary lying on her own part, recklessly preserved her holdings of a correspondence which nelson scrupulously destroyed, and enjoined her to destroy. the sedulous care on his side to conceal the nature of their relations, and the reckless disregard of his wishes shown by her, is singularly illustrated by the method he took to bring the child into her charge, from that of the nurse to whom it had been intrusted. when it was somewhat over three years old, on the 13th of august, 1804, he wrote lady hamilton a letter, evidently to be used, where necessary, to account for its presence under his roof. "i am now going to state a thing to you and to request your kind assistance, which, from my dear emma's goodness of heart, i am sure of her acquiescence in. before we left italy i told you of the extraordinary circumstance of a child being left to my care and protection. on your first coming to england i presented you the child, dear horatia. you became, to my comfort, attached to it, so did sir william, thinking her the finest child he had ever seen. she is become of that age when it is necessary to remove her from a mere nurse and to think of educating her.... i shall tell you, my dear emma, more of this matter when i come to england, but i am now anxious for the child's being placed under your protecting wing." with this letter (or, possibly, with another written the same day) was found an enclosure, undated and unsigned, but in nelson's handwriting. "my beloved, how i feel for your situation and that of our dear horatia, our dear child...."[21] the indifference to incidental consequences which was shown by nelson, when once he had decided upon a course of action, was part of his natural, as well as of his more distinctively military character; but in this connection with lady hamilton he must have felt intuitively that not only her reputation--which probably was his first care--was involved, but his own also. the hospitality, the attention, the friendship, extended to him at naples and palermo, were not from lady hamilton only but from her husband also, in whose house he lived, and who to the end, so far as the records show, professed for him unbounded esteem and confidence. this confidence had been betrayed, and the strongest line of argument formerly advanced, by those who disputed lady hamilton's being the mother of the child, has become now nelson's severest condemnation. "however great was nelson's infatuation," says sir harris nicolas, "his nice sense of honour, his feelings of propriety, and his love of truth, were unquestionable. hence, though during a long separation from his wife on the public service in the mediterranean, he so far yielded to temptation as to become the father of a child, it is nevertheless difficult to believe that he should for years have had a criminal intercourse with the wife of a man of his own rank, whom he considered as his dearest friend, who placed the greatest confidence in his honour and virtue, and in whose house he was living. still more difficult is it to believe, even if this had been the case, that he should not only have permitted every one of his relations, male and female,--his wife, his father, his brothers, his brothers-in-law, his two sisters, and all their daughters,--to visit and correspond with her, but even have allowed three of his nieces to live for a considerable time with her; have ostentatiously and frequently written and spoken of her 'virtuous and religious' character,--holding her up as an example to his family; have appointed her the sole guardian of his child; have avowedly intended to make her his wife; have acted upon every occasion as if the purity of their intimacy was altogether free from suspicion; and in the last written act of his life have solemnly called upon his country to reward and support her. an honourable and conscientious man rarely acts thus towards his mistress.... moreover, nelson's most intimate friends, including the earl of st. vincent, who called them 'a pair of sentimental fools,' dr. scott, his chaplain, and mr. haslewood, were of the same opinion; and southey says, 'there is no reason to believe that this most unfortunate attachment was criminal.'" this complicated and difficult path of deception had to be trod, because the offence was not one of common error, readily pardoned if discovered, but because the man betrayed, whatever his faults otherwise, had shown both the culprits unbounded confidence and kindness, and upon the woman, at least, had been led by his love to confer a benefit which neither should have forgotten. footnotes: [6] the paget papers, vol. i. pp. 253, 257. [7] british minister to tuscany. [8] there were some neapolitan frigates in leghorn, but the royal family were never willing to trust them. [9] life of lord minto, vol. iii. pp. 147-150. [10] malmesbury's memoirs, vol, ii. p. 24. [11] mrs. st. george's description of lady hamilton has already been given, _ante_, vol. i. p. 380. [12] miss knight mentions the same ceremony occurring in vienna. [13] life of lord minto, vol. iii. pp. 242-243. [14] this letter, with another, appears in the alfred morrison "collection of autograph letters" (nos. 472, 473). it is purposely given entire, except immaterial postscripts. [15] table-talk of samuel rogers. [16] the author is indebted to prof. j. knox laughton for some extracts from hotham's diary. [17] beckford's memoirs, london, 1859, vol. ii. p. 127. [18] locker's greenwich gallery, article "torrington." [19] nicolas, vol. ii. p. 353. the present writer believes this lady to have been lady berry, wife of nelson's flag-captain, who gave nicolas much of his information. [20] the author is indebted for this anecdote to mrs. f.h.b. eccles, of sherwell house, plymouth, the daughter of the "little fan" who told it. [21] morrison. the hamilton and nelson papers, nos. 777, 778, 779. chapter xvi. the expedition to the baltic and battle of copenhagen.--nelson returns to england. february--june, 1801. age, 42. the trouble between great britain and denmark, which now called nelson again to the front, leading to the most difficult of his undertakings, and, consequently, to the most distinguished of his achievements, arose about the maritime rights of neutrals and belligerents. the contention was not new. in 1780 the baltic states, russia, sweden, and denmark, being neutrals in the war then raging, had combined to assert, by arms, if necessary, certain claims advanced by them to immunity from practices which international law had hitherto sanctioned, or concerning which it had spoken ambiguously. these claims great britain had rejected, as contrary to her rights and interests; but, being then greatly outnumbered, she temporized until the end of the war, which left her in possession of the principles at stake, although she had forborne to enforce them offensively. the coalition of the baltic states, at that time, received the name of the armed neutrality. from 1793 to 1800 sweden and denmark had again succeeded in maintaining their neutrality, and, as most other maritime states were at war, their freedom of navigation had thrown into their hands a large carrying trade. but, while their profit was thus great, it would be much greater, if their ships could be saved the interruptions to their voyages arising from the right of belligerents to stop, to search, and, if necessary, to send into port, a vessel on board which were found enemy's goods, or articles considered "contraband of war." the uncertainty hanging round the definitions of the latter phrase greatly increased the annoyance to neutrals; and serious disputes existed on certain points, as, for example, whether materials for shipbuilding, going to an enemy's port, were liable to capture. great britain maintained that they were, the neutrals that they were not; and, as the baltic was one of the chief regions from which such supplies came, a principal line of trade for the northern states was much curtailed. sweden and denmark were too weak to support their contention against the sea-power of great britain. where there is lack of force, there will always be found the tendency to resort to evasion to accomplish an end; and denmark, in 1799, endeavored to secure for her merchant ships immunity from search by belligerent cruisers--which international law has always conceded, and still concedes, to be within the rights of a belligerent--by sending them on their voyages in large convoys, protected by ships of war. it was claimed that the statement of the senior naval officer, that there were not in the convoy any articles subject to capture, was sufficient; and that the belligerent would in that case have no right to search. great britain replied that the right of search rested upon longstanding common consent, and precedent, and that it could not be taken from her against her will by any process instituted by another state. the danish ships of war being instructed to use force against search, two hostile collisions followed, in one of which several men were killed and wounded, and the danish frigate was taken into a british port--though afterwards released. the latter of these conflicts occurred in july, 1800. great britain then sent an ambassador to denmark, backing him with a fleet of nine ships-of-the-line, with bomb-vessels; and at the end of august a convention was signed, by which the general subject was referred to future discussion, but denmark agreed for the time to discontinue her convoys. the importance of the subject to great britain was twofold. first, by having the right to seize enemy's property in neutral ships, she suppressed a great part of the commerce which france could carry on, thus crippling her financially; and, second, by capturing articles of shipbuilding as contraband of war, she kept from the french materials essential to the maintenance of their navy, which their own country did not produce. british statesmen of all parties maintained that in these contentions there was at stake, not an empty and offensive privilege, but a right vital to self-defence, to the effective maintenance of which the power to search was fundamentally necessary. in 1800 the czar paul i. had become bitterly hostile to austria and great britain. this feeling had its origin in the disasters of the campaign of 1799, and was brought to a climax by the refusal of great britain to yield malta to him, as grand master of the order, after its capture from the french in september, 1800. it had been the full purpose of the british ministry to surrender it, and nelson, much to his distaste, had received specific orders to that effect; but, besides the fact that the russians had contributed nothing directly to the reduction of the island, the attitude of the czar had become so doubtful, that common prudence forbade putting into the hands of a probable future enemy the prize so hardly won from a present foe. paul had already announced his intention of reviving the armed neutrality of 1780; and when, in november, he learned the fall of malta, he seized three hundred british vessels lying in russian ports, marched their crews into the interior, and at the same time placed seals on all british warehoused property,--a measure intended to support his demand for the restitution of the island to him. on the 16th of december a treaty was signed at st. petersburg by russia and sweden, to which denmark and prussia promptly adhered, renewing the armed neutrality, for the support of their various claims. the consenting states bound themselves to maintain their demands by force, if necessary; but no declaration of war was issued. great britain, in accepting the challenge, equally abstained from acts which would constitute a state of war; but she armed at once to shatter the coalition, before it attained coherence in aught but words. from first to last, until the armed neutrality again dissolved, though there was hard fighting, there was not formal war. the relation of these occurrences to the life of nelson will not be fully understood, unless the general state of europe be recalled, and the master hand of bonaparte be recognized, underlying and controlling previous changes and present conditions. after the battle of the nile, and up to a year before this, austria, russia, and great britain had been united in arms against france; and, in addition to the undisputed control of the sea by the british navy, they were pressing in overpowering numbers upon her eastern frontiers, from the north sea to the mediterranean. blunders of their own had arrested the full tide of success, and the return of bonaparte from egypt reversed the current. russia withdrew in anger, and austria, beaten upon field after field, in italy and germany, by bonaparte and moreau, had finally consented to peace after the disastrous defeat of hohenlinden, on the 3d of december, 1800. great britain was left without an ally; and russia was added to the list of her active enemies by the skilful political manipulation of bonaparte, who played upon the impulses and weaknesses of the half-mad czar, releasing with distinguished marks of respect all russian prisoners, and offering the vain gift of malta, the french garrison of which was even then clutched by the throat in the iron grip of the british sea-power. the renewal of the armed neutrality was thus, primarily, the work of bonaparte. he alone had the keenness to see all the possibilities in favor of france that were to be found in the immense combination, and he alone possessed the skill and the power to touch the various chords, whose concert was necessary to its harmonious action. although it was true, as nelson said, that paul was the trunk of the many-limbed tree, it was yet more true that bonaparte's deft cajoling of the czar, and the inducements astutely suggested by him to prussia, were the vitalizing forces which animated the two principal parties in the coalition, in whose wake the weaker states were dragged. through the former he hoped to effect a combination of the baltic navies against the british; through the latter he looked to exclude great britain from her important commerce with the continent, which was carried on mainly by the ports of prussia, or by those of north germany, which she could control. thus, by the concerted and simultaneous action of direct weight of arms on the one hand, and of commercial embarrassment on the other, bonaparte hoped to overbear the power of his chief enemy; and here, as on other occasions, both before and after, nelson was at once the quickening spirit of the enterprise, and the direct agent of the blow, which brought down his plans, in ruins, about his ears. relaxing none of her efforts in other quarters of the world, great britain drew together, to confront the new danger, everything in the home waters that could float, till she had gathered a fleet of twenty sail-of-the-line, with smaller cruisers in due proportion. "under the present impending storm from the north of europe," wrote st. vincent, from his perch above the waters of torbay, "to enable us to meet such a host of foes, no ship under my command must have anything done to her at plymouth or portsmouth that can be done at this anchorage." "we are now arrived at that period," wrote nelson, "what we have often heard of, but must now execute--that of fighting for our dear country; and i trust that, although we may not be able to subdue our host of enemies, yet we may make them ashamed of themselves, and prove that they cannot injure us." "i have only to say," he wrote to earl spencer, who must have rejoiced to see the old spirit flaming again in undiminished vigor, "what you, my dear lord, are fully satisfied of, that the service of my king and country is the object nearest my heart; and that a first-rate, or sloop of war, is a matter of perfect indifference to your most faithful and obliged nelson." the "san josef" being considered too heavy a ship for the baltic service, nelson's flag was shifted on the 12th of february to the "st. george," a three-decker of lighter draft. hardy accompanied him as captain, and on the 17th nelson received orders to place himself under the command of sir hyde parker. a few days afterwards, the "st. george" went to spithead, where she received on board six hundred troops, under the command of colonel william stewart, to whom we owe the fullest and most interesting account of the expedition in general, and of the battle of copenhagen in particular, that has been transmitted by an eye-witness. the ship sailed again on the 2d of march for yarmouth, where she arrived on the 6th. the next day nelson went to call on the commander-in-chief, who was living on shore, his flag flying on board a vessel in the roads. "i remember," says colonel stewart, "that lord nelson regretted sir hyde being on shore. we breakfasted that morning as usual, soon after six o'clock, for we were always up before daylight. we went on shore, so as to be at sir hyde's door at eight o'clock, lord nelson choosing to be amusingly exact to that hour, which he considered as a very late one for business." at this, his first official visit, the commander-in-chief, it is said, scarcely noticed him, and nelson, as will be seen, complained freely of the treatment he at the beginning received. parker was now verging on old age, but he had recently married a young wife, who was in yarmouth with him, and the two had arranged to give a great ball on the 13th of march; altogether a bad combination for a military undertaking. nelson, who was in haste to get away,--chiefly because of his sound martial instinct that this was peculiarly a case for celerity, but partly, also, because of anxiety to get the thing over and done, and to return to his home comforts,--appears to have represented matters unofficially to the admiralty, a step for which his personal intimacy with st. vincent and troubridge afforded easy opportunity; and an express quickly arrived, ordering the fleet to sea at once.[22] "the signal is made to prepare to unmoor at twelve o'clock," wrote nelson to troubridge on the 11th. "now we can have no desire for staying, for her ladyship is gone, and the _ball_ for friday knocked up by yours and the earl's unpoliteness, to send gentlemen to sea instead of dancing with white gloves. i will only say," he continues, "as yet i know not that we are even going to the baltic, except from the newspapers, and at sea i cannot go out of my ship but with serious inconvenience,"--owing to the loss of his arm. what was not told him before starting, therefore, could not be told by mouth till after arrival. it will be remembered that sir hyde parker had succeeded hotham in the chief command of the mediterranean, for a brief but critical month in 1795,[23] and that nelson had then complained of his action as regards the general conduct of the campaign, and specifically for having reduced to the point of inefficiency the small squadron under nelson's own direction, upon which the most important issues hinged. possibly parker had heard this, possibly the notorious disregard of keith's orders a few months before influenced him to keep his renowned, but independent, subordinate at a distance in official matters. it was not well advised; though probably the great blunderers were the admiralty, in sending as second a man who had shown himself so exceptionally and uniquely capable of supreme command, and so apt to make trouble for mediocre superiors. if lord st. vincent's surmise was correct, parker, who was a very respectable officer, had been chosen for his present place because in possession of all the information acquired during the last preparation for a russian war; while nelson fancied that st. vincent himself, as commander of the channel fleet, had recommended him, in order to get rid of a second in command who did not carry out satisfactorily the methods of his superior. if that were so, the mistake recoiled upon his own head; for, while the appointment was made by earl spencer, st. vincent succeeded him as first lord before the expedition sailed, and the old seaman would much have preferred to see nelson at the helm. he was quite sure of the latter, he said, and should have been in no apprehension if he had been of rank to take the chief command; but he could not feel so sure about sir hyde, as he had never been tried. whatever the truth, lady malmesbury's comment after the event was indisputable: "i feel very sorry for sir hyde; but no wise man would ever have gone with nelson, or over him, as he was sure to be in the background in every case." "i declare solemnly," wrote nelson to davison four days after reporting, "that i do not know"--officially, of course--"that i am going to the baltic, and much worse than that i could tell you. sir hyde is on board sulky. stewart tells me, his treatment of me is now noticed. dickson came on board to-day to say all were scandalized at his gross neglect. burn this letter: then it can never appear, and you can speak as if your knowledge came from another quarter." that day the orders came from the admiralty to go to sea; and the next, march 12, the ships then present sailed,--fifteen ships-of-the-line and two fifties, besides frigates, sloops of war, brigs, cutters, fireships, and seven bomb-vessels,--for, if the danes were obstinate, copenhagen was to be bombarded. on the 16th of march nelson wrote both to davison and lady hamilton that he as yet knew nothing, except by common report. "sir hyde has not told me officially a thing. i am sorry enough to be sent on such an expedition, but nothing can, i trust, degrade, do what they will." his mind was in a condition to see the worst motives in what befell him. "i know, i see, that i am not to be supported in the way i ought, but the st. george is beginning to prepare this day for battle, and she shall be true to herself.... captain murray sees, as do every one, what is meant to disgrace me, but that is impossible. even the captain of the fleet [parker's chief of staff] sent me word that it was not his doing, for that sir hyde parker had run his pen through all that could do me credit, or give me support; but never mind, nelson will be first if he lives, and you shall partake of all his glory. so it shall be my study to distinguish myself, that your heart shall leap for joy when my name is mentioned."[24] enough reached his ears to draw forth unqualified expressions of dissent from the plans proposed, and equally clear statements as to what should be done,--all stamped unmistakably with the "nelson touch," to use an apt phrase of his own. "reports say," he tells lady hamilton, "we are to anchor before we get to cronenburg castle, that our minister at copenhagen may negotiate. what nonsense! how much better could we negotiate was our fleet off copenhagen, and the danish minister would seriously reflect how he brought the fire of england on his master's fleet and capital; but to keep us out of sight is to seduce denmark into a war.... if they are the plans of ministers, they are weak in the extreme, and very different to what i understood from mr. pitt.[25] if they originate with sir hyde, it makes him, in my mind, as--but never mind, your nelson's plans are bold and decisive--all on the great scale. i hate your pen and ink men; a fleet of british ships of war are the best negotiators in europe." while the greatness and decision of his character remain unimpaired, perhaps even heightened, it will be noticed that self-reliance, never in any man more justified, has tended to degenerate into boastfulness, and restlessness under displeasing orders to become suspicion of the motives prompting them. "they all hate me and treat me ill," he says, speaking of spencer's and st. vincent's administrations. "i cannot, my dear friend, recall to mind any one real act of kindness, but all of unkindness." it must, of course, be remembered that, while such expressions portray faithfully the working of the inner spirit, and serve, by contrast, to measure the nelson of 1801 against the nelson of 1796, they were addressed to the most intimate of friends, and do not necessarily imply a corresponding bearing before the eyes of the world. an amusing story is told of a shrewd stratagem resorted to by nelson, on the passage to the baltic, to thaw the barrier of frigidity in his superior, which not only was unpleasant to him personally, as well as injurious to the interests of the state, but threatened also to prevent his due share in the planning and execution of the enterprise in hand, thus diminishing the glory he ever coveted. the narrator, lieutenant layman, was serving on board the "st. george," and happened to mention, in nelson's presence, that some years before he had seen caught a very fine turbot on the dogger bank, over which the fleet must pass on its way. "this being a mere casual remark, nothing more would have been thought of it, had not nelson, after showing great anxiety in his inquiries when they should be on the dogger bank, significantly said to mr. layman, 'do you think we could catch a turbot?' after a try or two, a small turbot was caught. lord nelson appeared delighted, and called out, 'send it to sir hyde.' something being said about the risk of sending a boat, from the great sea, lowering weather, and its being dark, his lordship said with much meaning, 'i know the chief is fond of good living, and he shall have the turbot.' that his lordship was right appeared by the result, as the boat returned with a note of compliment and thanks from parker. the turbot having opened a communication, the effect was wonderful. at merton mr. layman told lord nelson that a man eminent in the naval profession had said to him, 'do tell me how parker came to take the laurel from his own brow, and place it on nelson's?' 'what did you say?' asked nelson. 'that it was not a gift,' replied layman, 'as your lordship had gained the victory by a turbot.' 'a turbot!' 'yes, my lord, i well recollect your great desire to catch a turbot, and your astonishing many, by insisting upon its being immediately sent to sir hyde, who condescended to return a civil note; without which opening your lordship would not have been consulted in the cattegat, and without such intercourse your lordship would not have got the detached squadron; without which there would not have been any engagement, and consequently no victory.' lord nelson smilingly said, 'you are right.'"[26] on the 19th of march the fleet was collected off the northern point of denmark, known as the skaw. from there the broad channel, called the kattegat, extends southward, between sweden and the northern part of the danish peninsula, until it reaches the large island of zealand, upon the eastern shore of which copenhagen lies. the two principal entrances into the baltic are on either side of zealand. the eastern one, separating it from sweden, is called the sound, that to the west is known as the great belt; each, from the military point of view, possessed its particular advantages and particular drawbacks. "we are slow in our motions as ever," wrote nelson, whose impatient and decided character would have used the fair wind that was blowing to enter the kattegat, and to proceed at once to copenhagen, "but i hope all for the best. i have not yet seen sir hyde, but i purpose going this morning; for no attention shall be wanting on my part." the next day he reports the result of the interview to his friend davison: "i staid an hour, and ground out something, but there was not that degree of openness which i should have shown to my second in command." the fleet advanced deliberately, a frigate being sent ahead to land the british envoy, mr. vansittart, whose instructions were that only forty-eight hours were to be allowed the danes to accept the demands of great britain, and to withdraw from the coalition. the slowness here, like every other delay, chafed nelson, whose wish from the beginning was to proceed at the utmost speed, not merely from the skaw, but from england, with whatever ships could be collected; for he reasoned perfectly accurately upon the safe general principle that delay favors the defence more than the offence. "i only now long to be gone," he wrote before leaving yarmouth; "time is precious, and every hour makes more resistance; strike quick, and home." it was particularly true in this case, for denmark, long used to peace, had not thought war possible, and every day was precious to her in restoring and increasing the neglected protection of copenhagen. on the evening of march 20 the fleet anchored in the kattegat, eighteen miles from cronenburg castle and the town of elsinore, at which the sound narrows to three miles. both shores being hostile, parker would not attempt to force the passage until he learned the result of the british mission to copenhagen; meanwhile the danes were working busily at the blockships and batteries of the city. on the 23d mr. vansittart returned with the terms rejected; and he brought, also, alarming reports of the state of the batteries at elsinore and copenhagen, which were much stronger than the previous information of the british cabinet had shown, proving, as nelson urged, that each day's delay increased the enemy's relative power. sir hyde called a council. "now we are sure of fighting," wrote nelson to lady hamilton. "i am sent for. when it was a joke i was kept in the background; to-morrow will i hope be a proud day for england--to have it so, no exertion shall be wanting from your most attached and affectionate friend." he was accompanied to parker's flagship by lieutenant layman, who went in the boat to steer for him. "on board the london," according to layman, "the heads appeared very gloomy. mr. vansittart, who arrived at the same moment nelson did, said that if the fleet proceeded to attack, it would be beaten, and the attempt was in danger of being relinquished. the captain of the fleet said to layman that the danes were too strong to attack, and a torpor verging to despondency prevailed in the councils. while others were dismayed, however, lord nelson questioned those just arrived from copenhagen not only as to the force, but as to the position of the enemy. such interrogatories he called 'bringing people to the post.' having learned that the great strength of the enemy was at the head of the line, supported by the crown battery, his lordship emphatically observed that to begin the attack there would be like taking a bull by the horns, and he therefore suggested the attempt by the tail."[27] in order to avoid the formidable works at cronenburg, and yet come up in rear of copenhagen, according to this proposition of nelson's, it was proposed in the council to go by the great belt. that passage is more intricate, and therefore, from the pilot's point of view, more hazardous than the sound. nelson was not much deterred by the alarming reports. "go by the sound, or by the belt, or anyhow," he said, "only lose not an hour." the minutes of the council have not been transmitted, but it is evident from nelson's own letter of the following day, soon to be quoted in full, and also from one written to him by mr. vansittart, after the latter reached london, that he urged upon parker, and prevailed with him, to throw aside the instructions of the government, under the changed conditions, and to adopt boldly the plan which, according to his present knowledge, should seem most certain to crush denmark at once. after that, he would shatter the coalition by immediate steps against russia. only such a bold spirit, with the prestige of a nelson, can dominate a council of war, or extort decisive action from a commander-in-chief who calls one. "the difficulty," wrote nelson some time afterwards, "was to get our commander-in-chief to either go past cronenburg or through the belt [that is, by any passage], because, what sir hyde thought best, and what i believe was settled before i came on board the london, was to stay in the cattegat, and there wait the time when the whole naval force of the baltic might choose to come out and fight--a measure, in my opinion, disgraceful to our country. i wanted to get at an enemy as soon as possible to strike a _home_ stroke, and paul was the enemy most vulnerable, and of the greatest consequence for us to humble." so pressing, daring, and outspoken were his counsels, so freely did he now, as at former times, advocate setting aside the orders of distant superiors, that he thought advisable to ask vansittart, who was to sail immediately for england, to explain to the admiralty all the conditions and reasons, which vansittart did. st. vincent, as first lord, gave unhesitating approval to what his former lieutenant had advised. nelson's understanding of the situation was, in truth, acute, profound, and decisive. in the northern combination against great britain, paul was the trunk, denmark and sweden the branches. could he get at the trunk and hew it down, the branches fell with it; but should time and strength first be spent lopping off the branches, the trunk would remain, and "my power must be weaker when its greatest strength is required." as things then were, the russian navy was divided, part being in cronstadt, and a large fraction, twelve ships-of-the-line, in revel, an advanced and exposed port, where it was detained fettered by the winter's ice. get at that and smite it, and the russian navy is disabled; all falls together. this would be his own course, if independent. as parker, however, was obstinately resolved not to leave denmark hostile in his rear, nelson had to bend to the will of his superior. he did so, without forsaking his own purpose. as in the diverse objects of his care in the mediterranean, where he could not compel, he sought diligently to compass his object by persuasion, by clear and full explanation of his lofty views, by stirring appeals to duty and opportunity, striving to impart to another his own insight, and to arouse in him his own single-minded and dauntless activity. conceding, perforce, that denmark was not to be left hostile in the rear,--although he indicates that this object might be attained by masking her power with a detachment, while the main effort was immediately directed against revel,--his suggestions to parker for reducing denmark speedily are dominated by the same conception. strategic and tactical considerations unite to dictate, that the fleet, whether it go by the sound or the belt, must quickly reach and hold a position beyond--and therefore in the rear of--copenhagen. there it interposed between denmark and russia; from there it approached copenhagen where its defences were weakest. this comprehensive exposition went, with nelson's customary directness, straight to the root of the matter. next day, after returning to his own ship, nelson drew up the following paper, which is at once so characteristic of his temperament and genius, and so lucid and masterly a review of the political and military conditions, that, contrary to the author's usual practice, it is given entire. being devoted to a single subject, and inspired by the spirit of the writer when in a state of more than usual exaltation, it possesses a unity of purpose and demonstration, necessarily absent from most of his letters, in which many and diverse matters have to be treated. 24th march, 1801. my dear sir hyde,--the conversation we had yesterday has naturally, from its importance, been the subject of my thoughts; and the more i have reflected, the more i am confirmed in opinion, that not a moment should be lost in attacking the enemy: they will every day and hour be stronger; we never shall be so good a match for them as at this moment. the only consideration in my mind is, how to get at them with the least risk to our ships. by mr. vansittart's account, the danes have taken every means in their power to prevent our getting to attack copenhagen by the passage of the sound. cronenburg has been strengthened, the crown islands fortified, on the outermost of which are twenty guns, pointing mostly downwards, and only eight hundred yards from very formidable batteries placed under the citadel, supported by five sail of the line, seven floating batteries of fifty guns each, besides small-craft, gun-boats, &c. &c.; and that the revel squadron of twelve or fourteen sail of the line are soon expected, as also five sail of swedes. it would appear by what you have told me of your instructions, that government took for granted you would find no difficulty in getting off copenhagen, and in the event of a failure of negotiation, you might instantly attack; and that there would be scarcely a doubt but the danish fleet would be destroyed, and the capital made so hot that denmark would listen to reason and its true interest. by mr. vansittart's account, their state of preparation exceeds what he conceives our government thought possible, and that the danish government is hostile to us in the greatest possible degree. therefore here you are, with almost the safety, certainly with the honour of england more intrusted to you, than ever yet fell to the lot of any british officer. on your decision depends, whether our country shall be degraded in the eyes of europe, or whether she shall rear her head higher than ever; again do i repeat, never did our country depend so much on the success of any fleet as on this. how best to honour our country and abate the pride of her enemies, by defeating their schemes, must be the subject of your deepest consideration as commander-in-chief; and if what i have to offer can be the least useful in forming your decision, you are most heartily welcome. i shall begin with supposing you are determined to enter by the passage of the sound, as there are those who think, if you leave that passage open, that the danish fleet may sail from copenhagen, and join the dutch or french. i own i have no fears on that subject; for it is not likely that whilst their capital is menaced with an attack, 9,000 of her best men should be sent out of the kingdom. i suppose that some damage may arise amongst our masts and yards; yet perhaps there will not be one of them but could be made serviceable again. you are now about cronenburg: if the wind be fair, and you determine to attack the ships and crown islands, you must expect the natural issue of such a battle--ships crippled, and perhaps one or two lost; for the wind which carries you in, will most probably not bring out a crippled ship. this mode i call taking the bull by the horns. it, however, will not prevent the revel ships, or swedes, from joining the danes; and to prevent this from taking effect, is, in my humble opinion, a measure absolutely necessary--and still to attack copenhagen. two modes are in my view; one to pass cronenburg, taking the risk of damage, and to pass up[28] the deepest and straightest channel above the middle grounds; and coming down the garbar or king's channel, to attack their floating batteries, &c. &c, as we find it convenient. it must have the effect of preventing a junction between the russians, swedes, and danes, and may give us an opportunity of bombarding copenhagen. i am also pretty certain that a passage could be found to the northward of southolm for all our ships; perhaps it might be necessary to warp a short distance in the very narrow part. should this mode of attack be ineligible, the passage of the belt, i have no doubt, would be accomplished in four or five days, and then the attack by draco could be carried into effect, and the junction of the russians prevented, with every probability of success against the danish floating batteries. what effect a bombardment might have, i am not called upon to give an opinion; but think the way would be cleared for the trial. supposing us through the belt with the wind first westerly, would it not be possible to either go with the fleet, or detach ten ships of three and two decks, with one bomb and two fire-ships, to revel, to destroy the russian squadron at that place? i do not see the great risk of such a detachment, and with the remainder to attempt the business at copenhagen. the measure may be thought bold, but i am of opinion the boldest measures are the safest; and our country demands a most vigorous exertion of her force, directed with judgment. in supporting you, my dear sir hyde, through the arduous and important task you have undertaken, no exertion of head or heart shall be wanting from your most obedient and faithful servant, nelson and bronte. on the 25th the wind was too strong to allow the ships to lift their anchors. on the 26th the fleet weighed, and proceeded for a few hours in the direction of the great belt, which parker had decided to follow. captain otway of the "london," sir hyde's flagship, chanced to have local knowledge of that passage, which had not come before the council, because he was not a member. when he ascertained the intention, he explained the difficulties and risks to the admiral, upon which the latter concluded that the batteries of cronenburg and elsinore presented fewer dangers. he accordingly directed the fleet to return toward the sound, and sent otway to tell nelson he should take that route. "i don't care a d--n by which passage we go," replied the latter, "so that we fight them." "sir hyde parker," he wrote the same day to lady hamilton, "has by this time found out the worth of your nelson, and that he is a useful sort of man on a pinch; therefore, if he ever has thought unkindly of me, i freely forgive him. nelson must stand among the first, or he must fall." side by side with such expressions of dauntless resolve and unfailing self-confidence stand words of deepest tenderness, their union under one cover typifying aptly the twin emotions of heroic aspiration and passionate devotion, which at this time held within him alternate, yet not conflicting, sway. in the same letter he tells her fondly, "you know i am more bigoted to your picture--the faithful representation of you i have with me--than ever a neapolitan was to st. januarius, and look upon you as my guardian angel, and god, i trust, will make you so to me. his will be done." from the time of leaving he wrote to her practically every day. "mr. s. is quite right," he says to her on one occasion, "that through the medium of your influence is the surest way to get my interest. it is true, and it will ever be, whilst you hold your present conduct, for you never ask anything that does not do honour to your feelings, as the best woman, as far as my knowledge goes, that ever lived, and it must do me honour the complying with them." the fleet anchored again on the evening of the 26th of march, six miles from cronenburg, and was there detained three days by head winds and calms. in this interval, nelson's general plan of operations having been adopted, he shifted his flag to a lighter ship, the "elephant," seventy-four, commanded by captain foley, the same who had led the fleet inside the french line in aboukir bay. on the 30th, the wind coming fair from northwest, the ships weighed and passed cronenburg castle. it had been expected that the swedish batteries would open upon them, but, finding they remained silent, the column inclined to that side, thus going clear of the danish guns. "more powder and shot, i believe, never were thrown away," wrote nelson, "for not one shot struck a single ship of the british fleet. some of our ships fired; but the elephant did not return a single shot. i hope to reserve them for a better occasion." that afternoon they anchored again, about five miles below copenhagen. parker and nelson, accompanied by several senior officers, went at once in a schooner to view the defences of the town. "we soon perceived," wrote stewart, "that our delay had been of important advantage to the enemy, who had lined the northern edge of the shoals near the crown batteries, and the front of the harbour and arsenal, with a formidable flotilla. the trekroner (three crowns) battery"--a strong work established on piles, whose position will be given--"appeared, in particular, to have been strengthened, and all the buoys of the northern, and of the king's channels had been removed." nelson, however, was, or feigned to be, less impressed. "i have just been reconnoitring the danish line of defence," he wrote to lady hamilton. "it looks formidable to those who are children at war, but to my judgment, with ten sail-of-the-line i think i can annihilate them; at all events, i hope to be allowed to try." this is again the same spirit of the seaman "determined to attack" at aboukir; the same resolution as before bastia, where he kept shut in his own breast the knowledge of the odds, feeling that to do nothing was as bad as failure--and worse. a like eagerness does not seem to have prevailed on board the flagship. parker had allowed himself to be stiffened to the fighting-point by the junior he had before disregarded, but that he looked to the issue with more than doubt may be inferred from the words of his private secretary, the rev. mr. scott, who afterwards held the same relation to nelson. "i fear," he wrote on the day of the council, "there is a great deal of quixotism in this business; there is no getting any positive information of their strength." nelson's general plan of attack is set forth in main outlines in the letter already given, but it is desirable to give a somewhat more detailed description. it will be seen, by the annexed chart, that there are before copenhagen two channels by which the city can be passed. between the two lies a shoal, called the middle ground. the inner, known as the king's channel, lay under the guns of the defences which had been hurriedly improvised for the present emergency. these consisted of a line of hulks, mostly mastless, ranged along the inner side of the king's channel, close to the flats which bordered it, flanked at the northern end by the permanent work, called the trekroner[29] battery. westward of the latter lay, across the mouth of the harbor proper, two more hulks, and a small squadron consisting of two ships-of-the-line and a frigate, masted, and in commission. this division was not seriously engaged, and, as a factor in the battle, may be disregarded. the northern part of this defence was decisively the stronger. to attack there, nelson called "taking the bull by the horns." the southern wing was much more exposed. nor was this all. an advance from the north must be made with a northerly wind. if unsuccessful, or even, in case of success, if ships were badly crippled, they could not return to the north, where the fleet was. on the other hand, attack from the south presupposed a southerly wind, with which, after an action, the engaged ships could rejoin the fleet, if they threaded safely the difficult navigation. in any event there was risk, but none knew better than nelson that without risks war is not made. to the considerations above given he added that, when south of the city, the british would be interposed between the other baltic navies and denmark. the latter, in that case, could not receive reinforcements, unless the english squadron were first defeated. he therefore proposed that ten ships-of-the-line, of the lighter draughts, which he offered himself to lead, should pass through the outer, or northern channel, gain the southern flank of the defence, and thence make the principal attack, while the rest of the fleet supported them by a demonstration against the northern end. the sagacity of this scheme is best attested from the enemy himself. "we have been deceived in the plan of attack," wrote the historian niebuhr, then residing in the city; "and," now that the right wing of the defence is destroyed, "all is at stake." the nights of the 30th and 31st were employed in surveying the waters, laying down buoys to replace those removed by the danes, and in further reconnoissance of the enemy's position. the artillery officers who were to supervise the bombardment satisfied themselves that, if the floating defences south of the trekroner were destroyed, the bomb-vessels could be placed in such a position as to shell the city, without being themselves exposed to undue peril. parker gave nelson twelve ships-of-the-line, two more than he had asked; a judicious addition, for the main part of the fighting was to fall to him, and the difficulties of pilotage might, and actually did, deprive him of several ships. moreover, while it was proposed that the vessels remaining with parker should approach and engage the northern defences, yet the time of attack depended upon a fair wind for nelson; and as that would necessarily be foul for the other body, the diversion made by it might be, and proved to be, ineffective. sound judgment dictated giving nelson all that could be spared. on the afternoon of the 31st another council was held, in which nelson's plan was finally ratified; he again volunteered his services, which were accepted and his force detailed. as usual, the council was prolific in suggestions of danger. stewart, who seems to have been present, writes: "during this council of war, the energy of lord nelson's character was remarked: certain difficulties had been started by some of the members, relative to each of the three powers we should either have to engage, in succession or united, in those seas. the number of the russians was, in particular, represented as formidable. lord nelson kept pacing the cabin, mortified at everything that savoured either of alarm or irresolution. when the above remark was applied to the swedes, he sharply observed, 'the more numerous the better;' and when to the russians, he repeatedly said, 'so much the better, i wish they were twice as many, the easier the victory, depend on it.' he alluded, as he afterwards explained in private, to the total want of tactique among the northern fleets; and to his intention, whenever he should bring either the swedes or russians to action, of attacking the head of their line, and confusing their movements as much as possible. he used to say, 'close with a frenchman, but out-manoeuvre a russian.'" nelson gave personal supervision to the general work of buoying the northern channel. on the morning of april 1st he made a final examination of the ground in the frigate "amazon," commanded by captain riou, who fell in the next day's battle. returning at about one in the afternoon, he signalled his division to weigh, and, the wind favoring, the whole passed without accident, the "amazon" leading. by nightfall they were again anchored, south of the middle ground, not over two miles from that end of the danish line. as the anchor dropped, nelson called out emphatically, "i will fight them the moment i have a fair wind." as there were in all thirty-three ships of war, they were crowded together, and, being within shelling distance of the mortars on amag island, might have received much harm; but the danes were too preoccupied with their yet incomplete defences to note that the few shells thrown dropped among their enemies. "on board the elephant," writes stewart, who with his soldiers had followed nelson from the "st. george," "the night of the 1st of april was an important one. as soon as the fleet was at anchor, the gallant nelson sat down to table with a large party of his comrades in arms. he was in the highest spirits, and drank to a leading wind and to the success of the ensuing day. captains foley, hardy, freemantle, riou, inman, admiral graves, his lordship's second in command, and a few others to whom he was particularly attached, were of this interesting party; from which every man separated with feelings of admiration for their great leader, and with anxious impatience to follow him to the approaching battle. the signal to prepare for action had been made early in the evening. all the captains retired to their respective ships, riou excepted, who with lord nelson and foley arranged the order of battle, and those instructions that were to be issued to each ship on the succeeding day. these three officers retired between nine and ten to the after-cabin, and drew up those orders that have been generally published, and which ought to be referred to as the best proof of the arduous nature of the enterprise in which the fleet was about to be engaged. "from the previous fatigue of this day, and of the two preceding, lord nelson was so much exhausted while dictating his instructions, that it was recommended to him by us all, and, indeed, insisted upon by his old servant, allen, who assumed much command on these occasions, that he should go to his cot. it was placed on the floor, but from it he still continued to dictate. captain hardy returned about eleven. he had rowed as far as the leading ship of the enemy; sounding round her, and using a pole when he was apprehensive of being heard. he reported the practicability of the channel, and the depth of water up to the ships of the enemy's line. had we abided by this report, in lieu of confiding in our masters and pilots, we should have acted better. the orders were completed about one o'clock, when half a dozen clerks in the foremost cabin proceeded to transcribe them. lord nelson's impatience again showed itself; for instead of sleeping undisturbedly, as he might have done, he was every half hour calling from his cot to these clerks to hasten their work, for that the wind was becoming fair: he was constantly receiving a report of this during the night." it was characteristic of the fortune of the "heaven-born" admiral, that the wind which had been fair the day before to take him south, changed by the hour of battle to fair to take him north; but it is only just to notice also that he himself never trifled with a fair wind, nor with time. the orders for battle, the process of framing which stewart narrates, have been preserved in full;[30] but they require a little study and analysis to detect nelson's thought, and their tactical merit, which in matters of detail is unique among his works. at the nile and trafalgar he contented himself with general plans, to meet cases which he could only foresee in broad outlines; the method of application he reserved to the moment of battle, when again he signified the general direction of the attack, and left the details to his subordinates. here at copenhagen he had been able to study the hostile dispositions. consequently, although he could not mark with precision the situations of the smaller floating batteries, those of the principal blockships were known, and upon that knowledge lie based very particular instructions for the position each ship-of-the-line was to occupy. the smaller british vessels also had specific orders. taking the trekroner as a point of reference for the danish order, there were north of it, on the danish left flank, two blockships. south of it were seven blockships, with a number of miscellaneous floating batteries, which raised that wing of the defence to eighteen--the grand total being therefore twenty. this was also nelson's count, except that he put one small vessel on the north wing, reducing the southern to seventeen--an immaterial difference. south of the trekroner, the danes had disposed their seven blockships--which were mastless ships-of-the-line--as follows. two were on the right flank, supporting each other, two on the left, the three others spaced between these extremes; the distance from the trekroner to the southernmost ship being about a mile and a half. the intervals were filled with the floating batteries. it will be recognized that the danes treated this southern wing as an entity by itself, of which they strengthened the flanks, relying for the protection of the centre upon the nearness to shoal water, which would prevent the line being pierced. as thus described, the southern wing covered the front of the city against bombardment. the two northern blockships and the trekroner did not conduce materially to that; they protected chiefly the entrance of the harbor. it was therefore only necessary to reduce the southern wing; but nelson preferred to engage at once the whole line of vessels and the trekroner. it is difficult entirely to approve this refusal to concentrate upon a part of the enemy's order,--an advantage to which nelson was fully alive,--but it was probably due to underestimating the value of the danish gunnery, knowing as he did how long they had been at peace. he may, also, have hoped something from parker's division. be this as it may, he spread his ships-of-the-line, in the arrangement he prescribed, from one end to the other of the enemy's order. having done this, however, he adopted measures well calculated to crush the southern flank speedily, and then to accumulate superior numbers on the northern. the british were arranged in a column of attack, and the directions were that the three leading ships should pass along the hostile line, engaging as they went, until the headmost reached the fifth dane, a blockship inferior to itself, abreast which it was to anchor by the stern, as all the british ships were to do. numbers two and three were then to pass number one, and anchor successively ahead of her, supporting her there against the other enemy's batteries, while four and five were to anchor astern of her, engaging the two flank blockships, which would have received already the full broadsides of the three leading vessels. nelson hoped that the two southern danes, by this concentration of fire upon them, would be speedily silenced; and their immediate antagonists had orders, when that was done, to cut their cables and go north, to reinforce the fight in that quarter. the sooner to attain this end, a frigate and some smaller vessels were told off to take position across the bows of the two blockships, and to keep a raking fire upon them. the dispositions for the other british vessels were more simple. they were to follow along the outer side of their own engaged ships, each one anchoring as it cleared the headmost ship already in action,--number six ahead of number five, number seven of number six,--so that the twelfth would be abreast the twentieth dane. one ship-of-the-line was of course thought equivalent to two or three floating batteries, if opposed to them in an interval. by this arrangement, each of the british was covered in its advance, until it reached its prescribed antagonist as nearly fresh as possible, and the order of the british column was reversed from end to end.[31] a division of frigates and fireships, under captain riou, was held ready for any special service. the bomb-vessels were to anchor in the king's channel, but well outside the line of battle, from which position they threw some bombs. alongside each ship-of-the-line was towed a flat-boat, intended to carry soldiers in an attempt to storm the trekroner, if circumstances favored; and other boats were sent for that purpose from parker's division. these orders were copied, and ready for distribution, by six in the morning. nelson, who was already up and had breakfasted, signalled at seven for all captains, and by eight these had their instructions. the wind had become so fair that ships anchoring by the stern would lie perfectly well for using their broadsides at once. at this instant indecision appeared among the pilots, who were mostly men of only a little local experience, and that gained in vessels much smaller than those they were now to conduct. nelson, reverting afterwards to these moments, said: "i experienced in the sound the misery of having the honour of our country intrusted to pilots, who have no other thought than to keep the ship clear of danger, and their own silly heads clear of shot. at eight in the morning of the 2d of april, not one pilot would take charge of a ship." there is in these words scarcely fair allowance for the men's ignorance. at length one of the masters of the fleet, a mr. brierley, undertook to lead the column, and the signal to weigh in succession was made. the leading ship got off handsomely, but difficulties soon arose. nelson's old "agamemnon" was so anchored that she could not weather the middle ground; she consequently did not get into action at all. two other ships, the "bellona" and "russell," seventy-fours, grounded on the east side of the middle ground, where they remained fast. although they could use their guns, and did use them against those southern ships which nelson particularly wanted crushed, the disadvantages of distance, of position, and of general helplessness, detracted exceedingly from their usefulness. the valid british force was thus reduced by one-fourth,--to nine vessels. nelson's ship, the "elephant," was following the "bellona" and "russell," and he saw them ground. "his agitation during these moments was extreme," says an eye-witness. "i shall never forget the impression it made on me. it was not, however, the agitation of indecision, but of ardent, animated patriotism panting for glory, which had appeared within his reach, and was vanishing from his grasp." he doubtless well knew the thinly veiled reproaches of rashness, cast by timid counsels upon the daring, which even under these disadvantages was to cover with confusion their prophecies of disaster; but, as on many another day, and in that more famous incident, a few hours later, in this same battle, his tenacious purpose harbored no side-thought of retreat. "before you receive this," he had written to lady hamilton, "all will be over with denmark,--either your nelson will be safe, and sir hyde parker a victor, or he, your own nelson, will be laid low." the signal to advance was kept flying, but new dispositions had to be made to meet the new and adverse conditions.[32] the remaining ships were made to close to the rear, as they anchored. the "elephant" had been originally assigned as antagonist to the biggest danish ship, the "sjaelland," seventy-four; but, the "bellona" having grounded, she now dropped into the latter's berth immediately ahead of the "glatton;" and nelson hailed the "ganges," as she was passing, to place herself as close as possible ahead of the "elephant." this movement was imitated by the "monarch," which thus got the "elephant's" position abreast the "sjaelland." here, according to danish accounts, the contest stood for some time, until the "defiance," graves's flagship, arriving, anchored ahead of the "monarch," completing the line of nine british ships. captain riou with his light division engaged the trekroner, and the danish blockship next south of it, which was by him terribly battered. from this moment, and for some time, to use subsequent words of nelson, "here was no manoeuvring: it was downright fighting." meanwhile parker's division, which had weighed as agreed, was some four miles off, beating up against nelson's fair wind. it had not yet come into action, and the anxious chief, ever doubtful of the result of a step into which he had been persuaded, contrary, not, perhaps, to his will, but certainly to his bent, watched the indecisive progress of the strife with a mind unoccupied by any fighting of his own. two things were evident: that nelson had met with some mishaps, and that the danish resistance was more prolonged and sturdier than he had argued in the council that it would be. parker began to talk about making the signal to leave off action, and the matter was discussed between himself, his fleet-captain, and otway, the captain of the ship. the latter opposed the idea strongly, and at last, as a stay, obtained the admiral's authority to go on board the "elephant" and learn how things were. he shoved off accordingly, but before he reached nelson the signal was made. nelson at the moment was walking the quarter-deck of the "elephant," which was anchored on the bow of the danish flagship "dannebroge," engaging her and some floating batteries ahead of her. at this time, stewart says, "few, if any, of the enemy's heavy ships and praams had ceased to fire;" and, after mentioning various disappointments that had befallen the smaller british vessels, besides the failure of three heavy ships to reach their stations, he continues: "the contest, in general, although from the relaxed state of the enemy's fire, it might not have given much room for apprehension as to the result, had certainly not declared itself in favour of either side. nelson was sometimes much animated, and at others heroically fine in his observations. a shot through the mainmast knocked a few splinters about us. he observed to me, with a smile, 'it is warm work, and this day may be the last to any of us at a moment;' and then, stopping short at the gangway, he used an expression never to be erased from my memory, and said with emotion, 'but mark you, i would not be elsewhere for thousands.' "when the signal, no. 39, was made, the signal lieutenant reported it to him. he continued his walk, and did not appear to take notice of it. the lieutenant meeting his lordship at the next turn asked, 'whether he should repeat it?' lord nelson answered, 'no, acknowledge it.'[33] on the officer returning to the poop, his lordship called after him, 'is no. 16 [for close action] still hoisted?' the lieutenant answering in the affirmative, lord nelson said, 'mind you keep it so.' he now walked the deck considerably agitated, which was always known by his moving the stump of his right arm. after a turn or two, he said to me, in a quick manner, 'do you know what's shown on board the commander-in-chief, no. 39?' on asking him what that meant, he answered, 'why, to leave off action.' 'leave off action!' he repeated, and then added, with a shrug, 'now damn me if i do.' he also observed, i believe, to captain foley, 'you know, foley, i have only one eye--i have a right to be blind sometimes;' and then with an archness peculiar to his character, putting the glass to his blind eye, he exclaimed, 'i really do not see the signal.' this remarkable signal was, therefore, only acknowledged on board the elephant, not repeated. admiral graves did the latter, not being able to distinguish the elephant's conduct: either by a fortunate accident, or intentionally, no. 16 was not displaced. "the squadron of frigates obeyed the signal, and hauled off. that brave officer, captain riou, was killed by a raking shot, when the amazon showed her stern to the trekroner. he was sitting on a gun, was encouraging his men, and had been wounded in the head by a splinter. he had expressed himself grieved at being thus obliged to retreat, and nobly observed, 'what will nelson think of us?' his clerk was killed by his side; and by another shot, several of the marines, while hauling on the main-brace, shared the same fate. riou then exclaimed, 'come then, my boys, let us all die together!' the words were scarcely uttered, when the fatal shot severed him in two. thus, and in an instant, was the british service deprived of one of its greatest ornaments, and society of a character of singular worth, resembling the heroes of romance." fortunately for the british, not a ship-of-the-line budged. graves had indeed transmitted the order by repeating it, but as he kept that for close action also flying, and did not move himself, the line remained entire throughout a period when the departure of a single ship would have ruined all, and probably caused its own destruction. this incident of refusing to see the signal has become as hackneyed as a popular ballad, and in its superficial aspect, showing nelson as the mere fighting man, who, like a plucky dog, could not be dragged off his antagonist, might well now have been dismissed with the shortest and most summary mention. of late years doubt has been cast over the reality of nelson's disobedience, for the reason that otway, whose mission has already been noted, carried a verbal message that the order was to be understood as permissive, leaving nelson the liberty to obey or not. from otway's biography, however, it appears that the signal was hoisted before he reached the "elephant." parker's secretary, mr. scott, has also stated distinctly, that "it was arranged between the admirals, that, should it appear the ships which were engaged were suffering too severely, the signal for retreat would be made, to give lord nelson the option of retiring, if he thought fit."[34] on the other hand, without affirming positively, it should be said that nelson's own impressions do not seem to have agreed with scott's. not only did he say, some hours after the fight, "well, i have fought contrary to orders, and i shall perhaps be hanged; never mind, let them,"--which might pass as a continuation of the quarter-deck drama, if such it was,--but his account of the matter to lord minto is not consistent with any clear understanding, on his part, that he had such liberty of action. nearly a year later, in march, 1802, minto writes: "lord nelson explained to me a little, on saturday last, the sort of blame which had been imputed to sir hyde parker for copenhagen; in the first place, for not commanding the attack in person, and in the next place for making signals to recall the fleet during the action; and everything would have been lost if these signals had been obeyed." if nelson understood that the signal was to be construed as permissive only, it was extremely ungenerous, and most unlike nelson, to have withheld an explanation which extenuated, if it did not excuse, one of the most dangerous and ill-judged orders that ever was conveyed by flags; nor is it probable that parker, if the understanding had been explicit, would not have insisted with the admiralty upon the fact, when he was smarting under the general censure, which had led to talk of an inquiry. it seems, also, unlikely that nelson, having such a contingency in view, would have failed to give explicit instructions that his ships should not withdraw (as riou's frigates did) unless he repeated; nor is it easy to reconcile the agitation noted by stewart with a previous arrangement of the kind asserted. what parker said was, probably, simply one of those by-remarks, with which an apprehensive man consoles himself that he reserves a chance to change his mind. such provision rarely entered nelson's head when embarking upon an enterprise in which "do or die" was the only order for success. the man who went into the copenhagen fight with an eye upon withdrawing from action would have been beaten before he began. it is upon the clear perception of this truth, and his tenacious grip of it, that the vast merit of nelson in this incident depends, and not upon the disobedience; though never was disobedience more justified, more imperative, more glorious. to retire, with crippled ships and mangled crews, through difficult channels, under the guns of the half-beaten foe, who would renew his strength when he saw the movement, would be to court destruction,--to convert probable victory into certain, and perhaps overwhelming, disaster. it was not, however, only in superiority of judgment or of fighting quality that nelson in this one act towered like a giant above his superior; it was in that supreme moral characteristic which enabled him to shut his eyes to the perils and doubts surrounding the only path by which he could achieve success, and save his command from a defeat verging on annihilation. the pantomime of putting the glass to his blind eye was, however unintentionally, a profound allegory. there is a time to be blind as well as a time to see. and if in it there was a little bit of conscious drama, it was one of those touches that not only provoke the plaudits of the spectators, but stir and raise their hearts, giving them both an example of heroic steadfastness, and also the assurance that there is one standing by upon whom their confidence can repose to the bitter end,--no small thing in the hour of hard and doubtful battle. it had its counterpart in the rebuke addressed by him on this very occasion to a lieutenant, who uttered some desponding words on the same quarter-deck: "at such a moment, the delivery of a desponding opinion, unasked, was highly reprehensible, and deserved much more censure than captain foley gave you." at two o'clock, an hour after the signal was made, the resistance of the danes had perceptibly slackened; the greater part of their line, stewart says, had ceased to reply. the flagship "dannebroge" had been on fire as early as half-past eleven, and the commander-in-chief, commodore fischer, had felt necessary to shift his broad pendant to the "holstein," the second ship from the north flank. the "dannebroge" continued to fight bravely, losing two hundred and seventy killed and wounded out of a total of three hundred and thirty-six, but at length she was driven out of the line in flames, and grounded near the trekroner, where she blew up after the action. the "sjaelland," seventy-four, next north of her, was likewise carried out of the line by her cables being cut; while the "holstein," and the northernmost ship of all, the "indfödsretten," were so shattered, the latter mainly by riou's frigates, that fischer again shifted his flag, this time to the trekroner. the two southern flank ships, upon whom the most concentrated attack was made, had also met with tremendous losses. their flags were shot away many times, till at the last, by a danish account, no one had time to raise them again, whence the impression arose amongst the british that these vessels, as well as some others, fought after having surrendered. this incident, occurring in several cases, was the immediate cause of nelson's taking a step which both then and since has been blamed as an unjustifiable stratagem. so much of the danish fire south of the trekroner had ceased, that that wing could be looked upon as subdued; some vessels were helpless, some had their flags down. between himself and the trekroner, nelson alleged, there was a group of four danes, unresisting and unmanageable, across and through which the battery was firing, and the british replying. ships which had struck repelled boats sent to board them, and the batteries on amag island also fired upon those boats, and over the surrendered danes. that there was some ground for the complaints made by him appears from the danish admission just quoted, as well as from several british statements; stewart's being explicit. nelson accordingly sent a message ashore, under a flag of truce, to the crown prince, who was in general command, saying that if he were not allowed to take possession of his prizes, he would have to burn them. the message ran:- to the brothers of englishmen, the danes. lord nelson has directions to spare denmark, when no longer resisting; but if the firing is continued on the part of denmark, lord nelson will be obliged to set on fire all the floating batteries he has taken, without having the power of saving the brave danes who have defended them. nelson and bronte. it was in the preparation and despatch of this note that nelson gave another illustration, often quoted, of his cool consideration of all the circumstances surrounding him, and of the politic regard to effect which he ever observed in his official intercourse with men. it was written by his own hand, a secretary copying as he wrote. when finished, the original was put into an envelope, which the secretary was about to seal with a wafer; but this nelson would not permit, directing that taper and wax should be brought. the man sent was killed before he could return. when this was reported to the admiral, his only reply was, "send another messenger;" and he waited until the wax came, and then saw that particular care was exercised to make a full and perfect impression of the seal, which bore his own arms. stewart said to him, "may i take the liberty of asking why, under so hot a fire, and after so lamentable an accident, you have attached so much importance to a circumstance apparently so trifling?" nelson replied, "had i made use of the wafer, it would still have been wet when presented to the crown prince; he would have inferred that the letter was sent off in a hurry, and that we had some very pressing reasons for being in a hurry. the wax told no tales." a flag of truce in a boat asks no cessation of hostilities, except so far as the boat itself is concerned. as for the message sent, it simply insisted that the danes should cease firing; failing which, nelson would resort to the perfectly regular, warlike measure of burning their ships. as the ships were beaten, this might not be humane; but between it and leaving them under the guns of both parties, the question of humanity was only one of degree. if nelson could extort from the danes a cessation of hostilities by such a threat, he had a perfect right to do it, and his claim that what he demanded was required by humanity, is at least colorable. it must be observed, however, that he makes no suggestion of truce or armistice,--he demands that firing shall be discontinued, or he will resort to certain steps. the crown prince at once sent back his principal aid-de-camp, with a verbal message, which the latter reduced to writing, as follows:- "his royal highness, the prince royal of denmark, has sent me, general adjutant lindholm, on board to his britannic majesty's vice-admiral, the right honourable lord nelson, to ask the particular object of sending the flag of truce." to this nelson replied in writing:- "lord nelson's object in sending on shore a flag of truce is humanity; he, therefore, consents that hostilities shall cease till lord nelson can take his prisoners out of the prizes, and he consents to land all the wounded danes, and to burn or remove his prizes." this message concluded with a complimentary expression of hope that good relations would be restored between the two nations, whom nelson always carefully spoke of as natural friends. it will be observed that he again alludes only to the flag of truce sent by the boat, and, as at first he demanded, so now he consents to a cessation of hostilities, until he can secure his prisoners and remove his prizes. if he could rightly remove his prizes, which he avowed as part of his demand, then still more he could his own ships. this part of the negotiation he took upon himself to settle; for discussion of any further matters he referred lindholm to sir hyde parker, and the danish officer started for the "london" at the same time that the english officer pushed off to carry nelson's second message to the crown prince. the latter had already sent orders to the batteries to cease firing. the battle then ended, and both sides hoisted flags of truce. nelson at once began to remove his ships, which had sufered more than in any other battle he had ever fought. that he was fully aware of the imminent necessity for some of them to withdraw, and of the advantage the danes had yielded him by accepting his terms, is indisputable, and his own opinion was confirmed by that of two of his leading captains, whom he consulted. this he never denied; but he did deny that he had used a _ruse de guerre_, or taken unfair advantage of a truce. on the score of humanity he had consented to a cessation of hostilities, conditional upon his freedom to take out of the surrendered ships the unwounded prisoners, and to remove the prizes. if the bargain was more to his advantage than to that of the danes--which is a matter of opinion--it was none the less a bargain, of which he had full right to reap the benefit. the danes did not then charge him with taking an unfair advantage. on the contrary, lindholm, who was closely cognizant of all that passed in relation to these negotiations, wrote to him: "your lordship's motives for sending a flag of truce to our government can never be misconstrued, and your subsequent conduct has sufficiently shown that humanity is always the companion of true valour." the truce that then began was prolonged from day to day till april 9th. during it both parties went on with their preparations for war. "these few days," wrote niebuhr, on the 6th, "have certainly been employed in repairing the evil [of faulty preparation] as far as possible." it is clear that the danes understood, what nelson's message specified, a cessation of direct hostilities, not of other movements. the british during the same days were putting bomb-vessels in place, a perfectly overt act. nelson's success at copenhagen was secured by address, as it had been won by force. but it had been thoroughly won. "we cannot deny it," wrote niebuhr, "we are quite beaten. our line of defence is destroyed. we cannot do much injury to the enemy, as long as he contents himself with bombarding the city, docks, and fleet. the worst is the crown batteries can be held no longer." two or three days later he says again: "the truce has been prolonged. the remaining half of our defences are useless, now that the right wing is broken,--a defect over which i have meditated uselessly many a time since last summer." the result was due to nelson's sagacious and emphatic advice as to the direction and manner of the attack, by which the strong points of the danish positions were completely and unexpectedly turned. this plan, it is credibly stated, he had formed before leaving england, although he was not formally consulted by parker until the 23d of march. having regard to the general political conditions, and especially to the great combination of the north at this time directed against great britain, the victory of copenhagen was second in importance to none that nelson ever gained; while in the severity of the resistance, and in the attendant difficulties to be overcome, the battle itself was the most critical of all in which he was engaged. so conspicuous were the energy and sagacity shown by him, that most seamen will agree in the opinion of jurien de la gravière: "they will always be in the eyes of seamen his fairest title to glory. he alone was capable of displaying such boldness and perseverance; he alone could confront the immense difficulties of that enterprise and overcome them." notwithstanding this, and notwithstanding that the valor of the squadron, as manifested in its losses, was never excelled, no medals were ever issued for the battle, nor were any individual rewards bestowed, except upon nelson himself, who was advanced in the peerage to be a viscount, and upon his immediate second, rear-admiral graves, who was made a knight of the bath. the cause for this action--it was not a case of oversight--has never been explained; nor did nelson consider the reasons for it, which the prime minister advanced to him in a private interview, at all satisfactory. if it was because a formal state of war did not exist between great britain and denmark, the obvious reply of those engaged would be that they had hazarded their lives, and won an exceptionally hard-fought fight, in obedience to the orders of their government. if, on the other hand, the ministry felt the difficulty of making an invidious distinction between ships engaged and those not engaged, as between nelson's detachment and the main body under parker, it can only be said that that was shirking the duty of a government to reward the deserving, for fear lest those who had been less fortunate should cry out. the last administration had not hesitated to draw a line at the battle of the nile, even though the mishap of so great an officer as troubridge left him on the wrong side. st. vincent, positive as he was, had shrunk from distinguishing by name even nelson at the battle which had won for himself his title. this naturally suggests the speculation whether the joint presence of st. vincent and troubridge at the admiralty was not the cause of this futility; but nothing can be affirmed. "first secure the victory, then make the most of it," had been avowedly nelson's motto before the nile. in the battle of copenhagen he had followed much the same rule. after beating the force immediately opposed to him, he obtained the safe removal of his detachment from the critical position in which it lay, by the shrewd use made of the advantage then in his hands. this achieved, and his ships having rejoined the main body, after various mishaps from grounding, under the enemy's guns, which emphasized over and over the adroit presence of mind he had displayed, it next fell to him to make the most of what the british had so far gained; having regard not merely to denmark and copenhagen, but to the whole question of british interests involved in the coalition of the baltic states. parker intrusted to him the direct management of the negotiations, just as he had given him the immediate command of the fighting. one circumstance, which completely changed the political complexion of affairs, was as yet unknown to him. on the night of march 24th the czar paul had been murdered, and with him fell the main motive force and support of the armed neutrality. ignorant of this fact, nelson's one object, the most to be made of the victory, was to get at the detachment of the russian fleet--twelve ships--lying in the harbor of revel, before the breaking up of the ice allowed it to join the main body at cronstadt. the difficulty in the way lay not in nelson's hesitation to act instantly, nor in the power of the british fleet to do so; it lay in the conflicting views and purposes of other persons, of the crown prince and of parker, the representatives of denmark and of great britain. parker was resolved, so nelson has told us, not to leave denmark hostile in his rear, flanking his line of communications if he proceeded up the baltic; and nelson admits, although with his sagacious daring he would have disregarded, that the batteries which commanded the shoal ground above copenhagen might have seriously interrupted the passage. he was ready to run risks again for the very adequate object mentioned. on the other hand the crown prince, while recognizing the exposure of copenhagen, feared to yield even to the menace of bombardment, lest he should incur the vengeance of the czar. it was to find a middle term between these opposing motives that nelson's diplomacy was exerted. on the 3d of april he went ashore to visit the crown prince, by whom he was received with all possible attention. "the populace," says stewart, "showed a mixture of admiration, curiosity, and displeasure. a strong guard secured his safety, and appeared necessary to keep off the mob, whose rage, although mixed with admiration at his thus trusting himself amongst them, was naturally to be expected. it perhaps savored of rashness in him thus early to risk himself among them; but with him his country's cause was paramount to all personal considerations." nelson himself did not note these threatening indications. fond of observation, with vanity easily touched, and indifferent to danger, he heard only homage in the murmurs about him. "the people received me as they always have done; and even the stairs of the palace were crowded, huzzaing, and saying, 'god bless lord nelson.'" his interview with the crown prince was private, only lindholm being present. it ranged, according to his private letter to addington, over the whole subject of the existing differences with great britain, and the respective interests of the two states. the most important points to be noticed in this personal discussion, which was preliminary to the actual negotiation, are, first, nelson's statement of the cause for the presence of the british fleet, and, second, the basis of agreement he proposed. as regards the former, to a question of the prince he replied categorically: the fleet is here "to crush a most formidable and unprovoked coalition against great britain." for the second, he said that the only foundation, upon which sir hyde parker could rest his justification for not proceeding to bombardment, would be the total suspension of the treaties with russia for a fixed time, and the free use of danish ports and supplies by the british fleet. these two concessions, it will be observed, by neutralizing denmark, would remove the threat to british communications, and convert denmark into an advanced base of operations for the fleet. nelson did not have great hope of success in negotiating, for he observed that fear of russia, not desire for war, was controlling the prince. therefore, had he been commander-in-chief, he would at all risks have pushed on to revel, and struck the coalition to the heart there. "i make no scruple," he wrote to st. vincent after he had procured the armistice, "in saying that i would have been at revel fourteen days ago. no man but those on the spot can tell what i have gone through, and do suffer. i wanted sir hyde to let me at least go and cruise off carlscrona, [where the swedish fleet was,] to prevent the revel ships getting in. think of me, my dear lord, and if i have deserved well, let me retire; if ill, for heaven's sake supersede me, for i cannot exist in this state." pegasus was indeed shackled. the truce was continued from day to day, both sides preparing to renew hostilities, while the negotiators sat. discussing thus, sword in hand, nelson frankly told the other side that he wanted an armistice for sixteen weeks, to give him time to act against the russian fleet, and then to return to denmark. on the likely supposition that the latter would not greatly grieve over a russian disaster, this openness was probably discreet. in the wrangling that preceded consent, one of the danes hinted, in french, at a renewal of hostilities. "renew hostilities!" said nelson, who understood the language, but could not speak it, "tell him that we are ready at this moment; ready to bombard this very night." but, while he thus could use on occasion the haughty language of one at whose back stood a victorious fleet of twenty ships-of-the-line, "the best negotiators in europe," to repeat his own words, his general bearing was eminently conciliatory, as became one who really longed for peace in the particular instance, and was alive to the mingled horror and inutility of the next move open to great britain, under parker's policy,--the bombardment of copenhagen. "whoever may be the respective ministers who shall sign the peace," wrote to him count waltersdorff, who with lindholm conducted the danish case and signed the armistice, "i shall always consider your lordship as the pacificator of the north, and i am sure that your heart will be as much flattered by that title, as by any other which your grateful country has bestowed upon you." had paul lived, the issue might have been doubtful, and in that case england might well have rued the choice of a commander-in-chief whose chief function was to hamstring her greatest seaman; but the danes received word of the murder, and on the 9th of april an agreement was reached. there was to be a cessation of hostilities for fourteen weeks, during which denmark suspended her part in the armed neutrality, and would leave her ships of war in the same state of unpreparedness as they then were. the british fleet was at liberty to get supplies in all danish ports. in return, it was merely stipulated that no attacks should be made on any part of the coast of denmark proper. norway[35] and the danish colonies were not included, nor was holstein. in a letter to addington, nelson pointed out that as a military measure, which it was, the result was that the hands of denmark were tied, those of the fleet loosed, its communications secured, its base of supplies advanced, and last, but far from least, the timid counsels of its commander-in-chief disconcerted; no excuse for not advancing being left. besides, as he said, to extort these concessions he had nothing in his hand but the threat of bombardment, which done, "we had done our worst, and not much nearer being friends." sir hyde would not have advanced. as a military negotiation it is difficult to conceive one more adroitly managed, more perfectly conducive to the ends in view, or, it may be added, more clearly explained. the government, with extraordinary dulness, replied in that patronizing official tone of superior wisdom, which is probably one of the most exasperating things that can be encountered by a man of such insight and action as nelson had displayed. "upon a consideration of all the circumstances, his majesty has thought fit to approve." "i am sorry," replied nelson, "that the armistice is only approved under _all_ considerations. now i own myself of opinion that every part of the _all_ was to the advantage of our king and country." as first lord of the admiralty, old st. vincent had to transmit this qualified approval; but he wrote afterwards to nelson: "your lordship's whole conduct, from your first appointment to this hour, is the subject of our constant admiration. it does not become me to make comparisons: all agree there is but one nelson." the armistice being signed and ratified, the fleet on the 12th of april entered the baltic; the heavy ships having to remove their guns, in order to cross the "grounds," between the islands of amager and saltholm. nelson was left behind in the "st. george," which, for some reason, was not ready. "my commander-in-chief has left me," he wrote to lady hamilton, "but if there is any work to do, i dare say they will wait for me. _nelson will be first_. who can stop him?" "we have reports," he says again, "that the swedish fleet is above the shallows, distant five or six leagues. all our fellows are longing to be at them, and so do i, as great a boy as any of them, for i consider this as being at school, and going to england as going home for the holidays, therefore i really long to finish my task." his confidence in himself and in his fortune was growing apace at this time, as was both natural and justifiable. "this day, twenty-two years," he writes soon after, on the 11th of june, "i was made a post-captain by sir peter parker. if you meet him again, say that i shall drink his health in a bumper, for i do not forget that i owe my present exalted rank to his partiality, although i feel, if i had even been in an humbler sphere, that nelson would have been nelson still." although always reverently thankful to the almighty for a favorable issue to events, there does not seem to have been in him any keen consciousness of personal dependence, such as led moltke to mark the text, "my strength is made perfect in weakness." while thus lying, about twenty-four miles from the main body, a report came that the swedish squadron had put to sea. alarmed lest a battle might take place in his absence, nelson jumped into a boat alongside, and started for a six hours' pull against wind and current to join the fleet, in haste so great that he refused even to wait for a boat cloak. "his anxiety lest the fleet should have sailed before he got on board one of them," tells the officer who was with him, "is beyond all conception. i will quote some expressions in his own words. it was extremely cold, and i wished him to put on a great coat of mine which was in the boat: 'no, i am not cold; my anxiety for my country will keep me warm. do you not think the fleet has sailed?' 'i should suppose not, my lord.' 'if they are, we shall follow then to carlscrona in the boat, by g--d!'--i merely state this to show how his thoughts must have been employed. the idea of going in a small boat, rowing six oars, without a single morsel of anything to eat or drink, the distance of about fifty leagues, must convince the world that every other earthly consideration than that of serving his country, was totally banished from his thoughts." such preoccupation with one idea, and that idea so fine, brings back to us the old nelson, who has found himself again amid the storm and stress of danger and of action, for which he was created. about midnight he reached the "elephant," where his flag was again hoisted; but he did not escape unharmed from the exposure he had too carelessly undergone. "since april 15," he wrote several weeks afterwards to lady hamilton, "i have been rapidly in a decline, but am now, thank god, i firmly believe, past all danger. at that time i rowed five hours in a bitter cold night. a cold struck me to the heart. on the 27th i had one of my terrible spasms of heart-stroke, which had near carried me off, and the severe disappointment of being kept in a situation where there can be nothing to do before august, almost killed me. from that time to the end of may i brought up what every one thought was my lungs, and i was emaciated more than you can conceive." the fleet proceeded in a leisurely manner toward carlscrona, nelson chafing and fretting, none the less for his illness, under the indecision and dilatoriness that continued to characterize parker's movements. "my dear friend," he had written to lady hamilton, "we are very lazy. we mediterranean people are not used to it." "lord st. vincent," he tells his brother, "will either take this late business up with a very high hand, or he will depress it; but how they will manage about sir hyde i cannot guess. i am afraid much will be said about him in the public papers; but not a word shall be drawn from me, for god knows they may make him lord copenhagen if they please, it will not offend me." but now that denmark has been quieted, he cannot understand nor tolerate the delay in going to revel, where the appearance of the fleet would checkmate, not only russia, but all the allied squadrons; for it would occupy an interior and commanding position between the detachments at revel, cronstadt, and carlscrona, in force superior to any one of them. "on the 19th of april," he afterwards wrote bitterly to st. vincent, "we had eighteen ships of the line and a fair wind. count pahlen [the russian cabinet minister] came and resided at revel, evidently to endeavour to prevent any hostilities against the russian fleet there, which was, i decidedly say, at our mercy. nothing, if it had been right to make the attack, could have saved one ship of them in two hours after our entering the bay; and to prevent their destruction, sir hyde parker had a great latitude for asking for various things for the suspension of his orders." that is, parker having the fleet at his mercy could have exacted terms, just as nelson himself had exacted them from denmark when copenhagen was laid open; the advantage, indeed, was far greater, as the destruction of an organized force is a greater military evil than that of an unarmed town. this letter was written after nelson had been to revel, and seen the conditions on which he based his opinion. so far from taking this course,--which it may be said would have conformed to instructions from his government then on their way, and issued after knowing paul's death,--parker appeared off carlscrona on april 20th. two days afterwards he received a letter from the russian minister at copenhagen, saying that the emperor had ordered his fleet to abstain from all hostilities. parker apparently forgot that he was first a naval officer, and only incidentally a diplomatist; for, instead of exacting guarantees which would have insured the military situation remaining unchanged until definite agreements had been reached, he returned to kioge bay, near copenhagen, but within the shallows, leaving the revel squadron untrammelled, either by force or pledge, free to go out when the ice allowed, and to join either the swedes or its own main body. accordingly, it did come out a fortnight later, went to cronstadt, and so escaped the british fleet. while on this cruise towards carlscrona, nelson became involved in a pen-and-ink controversy about commodore fischer, who had commanded the danish line at the battle of copenhagen,--one of two or three rare occasions which illustrate the vehemence and insolence that could be aroused in him when his vanity was touched, or when he conceived his reputation to be assailed. fischer, in his official report of the action, had comforted himself and his nation, as most beaten men do, by dwelling upon--and unquestionably exaggerating--the significance of certain incidents, either actual, or imagined by the danes; for instance, that towards the end of the battle, nelson's own ship had fired only single guns, and that two british ships had struck,--the latter being an error, and the former readily accounted for by the fact that the "elephant" then had no enemy within easy range. what particularly stung nelson, however, seems to have been the assertion that the british force was superior, and that his sending a flag of truce indicated the injury done his squadron. some of his friends had thought, erroneously in the opinion of the author, that the flag was an unjustifiable _ruse de guerre_, which made him specially sensitive on this point. his retort, addressed to his danish friend, lindholm, was written and sent in such heat that it is somewhat incoherent in form, and more full of abuse than of argument, besides involving him in contradictions. that the british squadron was numerically superior in guns seems certain; it would have been even culpable, having ships enough, not to have employed them in any case, and especially when the attacking force had to come into action amid dangerous shoals, and against vessels already carefully placed and moored. in his official report he had stated that the "bellona" and "russell" had grounded; "but although not in the situation assigned them, yet so placed as to be of great service." in the present dispute he claimed that they should be left out of the reckoning, and he was at variance with the danish accounts as to the effect of riou's frigates. but such errors, he afterwards admitted to lindholm, may creep into any official report, and to measure credit merely by counting guns is wholly illusory; for, as he confessed, with exaggerated humility, some months later, "if any merit attaches itself to me, it was in combating the dangers of the shallows in defiance of the pilots." he chose, however, to consider that fischer's letter had thrown ridicule upon his character, and he resented it in terms as violent as he afterwards used of the french admiral, latouche tréville, who asserted that he had retired before a superior force; as though nelson, by any flight of imagination, could have been suspected of over-caution. fischer had twice shifted his broad pendant--that is, his own position--in the battle; therefore he was a coward. "in his letter he states that, after he quitted the dannebrog, she long contested the battle. if so, more shame for him to quit so many brave fellows. _here_ was no manoeuvring: _it was_ downright fighting, and it was his duty to have shown an example of firmness becoming the high trust reposed in him." this was probably a just comment, but not a fair implication of cowardice. "he went in such a hurry, if he went before she struck, which but for his own declaration i can hardly believe, that he forgot to take his broad pendant with him." this lindholm showed was a mistake. "he seems to exult that i sent on shore a flag of truce. men of his description, if they ever are victorious, know not the feeling of humanity.... mr. fischer's carcase was safe, and he regarded not the sacred call of humanity." this letter was sent to lindholm, to be communicated to the crown prince; for, had not fischer addressed the latter as an eye-witness, nelson "would have treated his official letter with the contempt it deserved." lindholm kept it from fischer, made a temperate reply defending the latter, and the subject there dropped. on the 25th of april the fleet was at anchor in kioge bay, and there remained until the 5th of may, when orders arrived relieving parker, and placing nelson in chief command. the latter was utterly dismayed. side by side with the unquenchable zeal for glory and for his country's service had been running the equally unquenchable passion for lady hamilton; and, with the noble impulses that bore him up in battle, sickness, and exposure, had mingled soft dreams of flight from the world, of days spent upon the sunny slopes of sicily, on his estate of bronté, amid scenes closely resembling those associated with his past delights, and with the life of the woman whom he loved. to this he several times alludes in the almost daily letters which he wrote her. but, whether to be realized there or in england, he panted for the charms of home which he had never known. "i am fixed," he tells her, "to live a country life, and to have many (i hope) years of comfort, which god knows, i never yet had--only moments of happiness,"--a pathetic admission of the price he had paid for the glory which could not satisfy him, yet which, by the law of his being, he could not cease to crave. "i wish for happiness to be my reward, and not titles or money;" and happiness means being with her whom he repeatedly calls santa emma, and his "guardian angel,"--a fond imagining, the sincerity of which checks the ready smile, but elicits no tenderness for a delusion too gross for sympathy. whatever sacrifices he might be ready to make for his country's service, he was not willing to give up all he held dear when the real occasion for his exceptional powers had passed away; and the assurances that the service absolutely required his presence in the baltic made no impression upon him. he knew better. "had the command been given me in february," he said, "many lives would have been saved, and we should have been in a very different situation; but the wiseheads at home know everything." now it means expense and suffering, and nothing to do beyond the powers of an average officer. "any other man can as well look about him as nelson." "sir thomas troubridge," he complains, after enumerating his grievances, "had the nonsense to say, now i was a commander-in-chief i must be pleased. does he take me for a greater fool than i am?" it was indeed shaving pretty close to insult to send out a man like nelson as second, when great work was in hand, and then, after he had done all his superior had permitted, and there was nothing left to do, to tell him that he was indispensable; but to be congratulated upon the fact by a lord of the admiralty, which troubridge then was, was rather too much. he could not refuse to accept the command, but he demanded his relief in terms which could not be disregarded. his health, he said, made him unequal to the service. for three weeks he could not leave his cabin. "the keen air of the north kills me." "i did not come to the baltic with the design of dying a natural death." parker had no sooner departed than nelson made the signal for the fleet to weigh, and started at once for revel. he did not know whether or not the russian ships were still there, and he felt that the change of sovereigns probably implied a radical change of policy; but he understood, also, that the part of a commander-in-chief was to see that the military situation was maintained, from day to day, as favorable as possible to his own country. he anticipated, therefore, by his personal judgment, the instructions of the cabinet, not to enter upon hostilities if certain conditions could be obtained, but to exact of the russian government, pending its decision, that the revel ships should remain where they were. "my object," he said, writing the same day he took command, "_was_ to get at revel before the frost broke up at cronstadt, that the twelve sail of the line might be destroyed. i shall _now_ go there as a friend, _but the two fleets shall not form a junction_, if not already accomplished, unless my orders permit it." for the same reason, he wrote to the swedish admiral that he had no orders to abstain from hostilities if he met his fleet at sea. he hoped, therefore, that he would see the wisdom of remaining in port. his visit to revel, consequently, was to wear the external appearance of a compliment to a sovereign whose friendly intentions were assumed. to give it that color, he took with him only twelve ships-of-the-line, leaving the others, with the small vessels of distinctly hostile character, bombs, fireships, etc., anchored off bornholm island, a danish possession. the resolution to prevent a junction was contingent and concealed. on the 12th the squadron arrived in the outer bay of revel, and a complimentary letter, announcing the purpose of his coming, was sent to st. petersburg. the next day he paid an official visit to the authorities, when his vanity and love of attention received fresh gratification. "except to you, my own friend, i should not mention it, 'tis so much like vanity; but hundreds come to look at nelson, '_that is him, that is him_,' in short, 'tis the same as in italy and germany, and i now feel that a good name is better than riches, not amongst our great folks in england; but it has its fine feelings to an honest heart. all the russians have taken it into their heads that i am like _suwaroff, le jeune suwaroff_;" thus confirming the impression made upon mrs. st. george at dresden. on the 16th of may a letter arrived from count pahlen, the russian minister. the czar declined to see a compliment in the appearance in russian waters of so formidable a force, commanded by a seaman whose name stood foremost, not merely for professional ability, but for sudden, resolute, and aggressive action. "nelson's presence," niebuhr had written, "leads us to think, judging of him by his past conduct, that a furious attack will be made upon our harbor;" and he himself had recorded with complacency that a danish officer, visiting the "london," upon learning that he was with the fleet in the kattegat, had said, "is he here? then i suppose it is no joke, if he is come." "the baltic folks will never fight me, if it is to be avoided." "the emperor, my master," wrote pahlen, "does not consider this step compatible with the lively desire manifested by his britannic majesty, to re-establish the good intelligence so long existing between the two monarchies. the only guarantee of the loyalty of your intentions that his majesty can accept, is the prompt withdrawal of the fleet under your command, and no negotiation with your court can take place, so long as a naval force is in sight of his ports." nelson had of course recognized that the game was lost, as soon as he saw that the russian fleet was gone. the conditions which had mainly prompted his visit were changed, and the russian government was in a position to take a high tone, without fear of consequences. "after such an answer," he wrote indignantly to st. vincent, "i had no business here. time will show; but i do not believe he would have written such a letter, if the russian fleet had been in revel." "lord nelson received the letter a few minutes before dinner-time," wrote stewart. "he appeared to be a good deal agitated by it, but said little, and did not return an immediate reply. during dinner, however, he left the table, and in less than a quarter of an hour sent for his secretary to peruse a letter which, in that short absence, he had composed. the signal for preparing to weigh was immediately made; the answer above-mentioned was sent on shore; and his lordship caused the fleet to weigh, and to stand as far to sea as was safe for that evening." nelson took hold of pahlen's expression, that he had come "with his whole fleet" to revel. confining himself to that, he pointed out the mistake the minister had made, for he had brought "not one-seventh of his fleet in point of numbers." he mentioned also the deference that he had paid to the revel authorities. "my conduct, i feel, is so entirely different to what your excellency has expressed in your letter, that i have only to regret, that my desire to pay a marked attention to his imperial majesty has been so entirely misunderstood. that being the case, i shall sail immediately into the baltic." retiring thus in good order, if defeated, he had the satisfaction of knowing that it was not his own blunder, but the wretched dilatoriness of his predecessor, that had made the czar, instead of the british admiral, master of the situation. stopping for twenty-four hours at bornholm on the way down, nelson on the 24th anchored in rostock bay, on the german coast of the baltic, and there awaited the relief he confidently expected. he had scarcely arrived when a second letter from pahlen overtook him. the minister expressed his regret for any misunderstanding that had arisen as to the purpose of his first visit, and continued, "i cannot give your excellency a more striking proof of the confidence which the emperor my master reposes in you, than by announcing the effect produced by your letter of the 16th of this month. his imperial majesty has ordered the immediate raising of the embargo placed upon the english merchant ships." nelson plumed himself greatly upon this result of his diplomacy. "our diplomatic men are so slow. lord st. helens told me that he hoped in a month he should be able to tell me something decisive. now, what can take two hours i cannot even guess, but ministers must do something for their diamond boxes. i gained the unconditional release of our ships, which neither ministers nor sir hyde parker could accomplish, by showing my fleet. then they became alarmed, begged i would go away, or it would be considered as warlike. on my complying, it pleased the emperor and his ministers so much, that the whole of the british shipping were given up." there is nothing like the point of view; but it must be admitted that nelson extricated himself from an unpleasant position with great good temper and sound judgment. he remained in his flagship between rostock and kioge bay, until relieved by vice-admiral pole on the 19th of june. nothing of official importance occurred during these three weeks; for the naval part of the baltic entanglement was ended, as he had foreseen. a pleasant picture of his daily life on board the "st. george" at this time has been preserved for us by colonel stewart: "his hour of rising was four or five o'clock, and of going to rest about ten; breakfast was never later than six, and generally nearer to five o'clock. a midshipman or two were always of the party; and i have known him send during the middle watch[36] to invite the little fellows to breakfast with him, when relieved. at table with them, he would enter into their boyish jokes, and be the most youthful of the party. at dinner he invariably had every officer of the ship in their turn, and was both a polite and hospitable host. the whole ordinary business of the fleet was invariably despatched, as it had been by earl st. vincent, before eight o'clock. the great command of time which lord nelson thus gave himself, and the alertness which this example imparted throughout the fleet, can only be understood by those who witnessed it, or who know the value of early hours.... he did not again land whilst in the baltic; his health was not good, and his mind was not at ease; with him, mind and health invariably sympathized." while thus generally pleasant on board ship, he resolutely refused intercourse with the outside world when not compelled by duty. in this there appears to have been something self-imposed, in deference to lady hamilton. there are indications that she felt, or feigned, some jealousy of his relations with others, especially with women, corresponding to the frenzied agitation he manifested at the association of her name with that of any other man, and especially with that of the then prince of wales. whatever her real depth of attachment to him, her best hope for the future was in his constancy, and that he would eventually marry her; for sir william's death could not be far distant, and matters might otherwise favor the hope that both he and she cherished. her approaching widowhood would in fact leave her, unless her husband's will was exceptionally generous, in a condition as precarious, her acquired tastes considered, as that from which her marriage had rescued her; and her uneasiness would naturally arouse an uncertain and exacting temper, as in the old days at naples, when hamilton could not make up his mind. the condition of nelson's health furnished him an excuse for declining all civilities or calls, even from a reigning prince, on the ground that he was not well enough to go ashore and return them. soon after this, however, he was able to write lady hamilton that he was perfectly recovered. "as far as relates to health, i don't think i ever was stronger or in better health. it is odd, but after severe illness i feel much better." thus he was, when definitely informed that his relief was on the way. "to find a proper successor," said lord st. vincent, when announcing the fact to him, "your lordship knows is no easy task; for i never saw the man in our profession, excepting yourself and troubridge, who possessed the magic art of infusing the same spirit into others, which inspired their own actions; exclusive of other talents and habits of business, not common to naval characters." "i was so overcome yesterday," wrote nelson to lady hamilton, "with the good and happy news that came about my going home, that i believe i was in truth scarcely myself. the thoughts of going do me good, yet all night i was so restless that i could not sleep. it is nearly calm, therefore admiral pole cannot get on. if he was not to come, i believe it would kill me. i am ready to start the moment i have talked with him one hour." on the 19th of june nelson left the baltic in the brig "kite," and on the 1st of july landed at yarmouth. footnotes: [22] naval chronicle, vol. xxxvii. p. 445. [23] _ante_, vol. i. pp. 199-202. [24] nelson to lady hamilton. pettigrew, vol. i. pp. 442-444. [25] pitt had resigned from office since then. [26] naval chronicle, vol. xxxvii. p. 446. [27] naval chronicle, vol. xxxvii., art. "layman." [28] that is, from north to south. it may be well to notice that to go from the kattegat to the baltic is _up_, although from north to south. [29] trekroner, which was then a favorite military name in denmark, refers to the three crowns of denmark, norway, and sweden, once united. [30] they are to be found in nicolas's "despatches and letters of lord nelson," vol. iv. p. 304. [31] except numbers 4 and 5, whose stations, as has been said, were abreast the two southernmost danes. [32] the following is the order of the ships in the column of attack, as originally prescribed:-1. edgar, 74. 2. ardent, 64. 3. glatton, 54. 4. isis, 50. 5. agamemnon, 64. 6. bellona, 74. 7. elephant, 74. 8. ganges, 74. 9. monarch, 74. 10. defiance, 74. 11. russell, 74. 12. polyphemus, 64. [33] to acknowledge a signal is simply to hoist a flag, showing that it has been seen and understood. to repeat is to hoist the signal yourself, thus transmitting it as an order to those concerned. [34] life of rev. dr. a.j. scott, p. 70 [35] norway was then attached to the danish crown, as now to that of sweden. [36] midnight to four a.m. chapter xvii. nelson commands the "squadron on a particular service," for the defence of the coast of england against invasion.--signature of preliminaries of peace with france. july-october, 1801. age, 43. before sailing for the baltic, and throughout his service in that sea, the longing for repose and for a lover's paradise had disputed with the love of glory for the empire in nelson's heart, and signs were not wanting that the latter was making a doubtful, if not a losing, fight. shortly before his departure for the north, he wrote to st. vincent, "although, i own, i have met with much more honours and rewards than ever my most sanguine ideas led me to expect, yet i am so circumstanced that probably this expedition will be the last service ever performed by your obliged and affectionate friend." his old commander was naturally perturbed at the thought that the illustrious career, which he had done so much to foster, was to have the ignoble termination to be inferred from these words and the notorious facts. "be assured, my dear lord," he replied, "that every _public_[37] act of your life has been the subject of my admiration, which i should have sooner declared, but that i was appalled by the last sentence of your letter: for god's sake, do not suffer yourself to be carried away by any sudden impulse." during his absence, the uncertain deferment of his desires had worked together with the perverse indolence of sir hyde parker, the fretting sight of opportunities wasted, the constant chafing against the curb, to keep both body and mind in perpetual unrest, to which the severe climate contributed by undermining his health. this unceasing discomfort had given enhanced charm to his caressing dreams of reposeful happiness, soothed and stimulated by the companionship which he so far had found to fulfil all his power of admiration, and all his demands for sympathy. released at last, he landed in england confidently expecting to realize his hopes, only to find that they must again be postponed. reputation such as his bears its own penalty. there was no other man in whose name england could find the calm certainty of safety, which popular apprehension demanded in the new emergency, that had arisen while he was upholding her cause in the northern seas. nelson repined, but he submitted. within four weeks his flag was flying again, and himself immersed in professional anxieties. war on the continent of europe had ceased definitively with the treaty of lunéville, between france and austria, signed february 9, 1801. over four years were to elapse before it should recommence. but, as great britain was to be the first to take up arms again to resist the encroachments of bonaparte, so now she was the last to consent to peace, eager as her people were to have it. malta had fallen, the armed neutrality of the north had dissolved, the french occupation of egypt was at its last gasp. foiled in these three directions by the sea-power of great britain, unable, with all his manipulation of the prostrate continent, to inflict a deadly wound, bonaparte now resorted to the threat of invasion, well aware that, under existing conditions, it could be but a threat, yet hoping that its influence upon a people accustomed to sleep securely might further his designs. but, though the enchanter wove his spells to rouse the demon of fear, their one effect was to bring up once more, over against him, the defiant form of his arch-subverter. both the prime minister, addington, and the first lord of the admiralty assured nelson that his presence in charge of the dispositions for defence, and that only, could quiet the public mind. "i have seen lord st. vincent," he wrote the former, "and submit to your and his partiality. whilst my health will allow, i can only say, that every exertion of mine shall be used to merit the continuance of your esteem." st. vincent, writing to him a fortnight later, avowed frankly the weight attached to his very name by both friend and foe. "our negotiation is drawing near its close, and must terminate one way or another in a few days, and, i need not add, how very important it is that the enemy should know that _you_ are constantly opposed to him." the purpose of bonaparte in 1801 is not to be gauged by the same measure as that of 1803-1805. in 1798 he had told the then government of france that to make a descent upon england, without being master of the sea, would be the boldest and most difficult operation ever attempted. conditions had not changed since then, nor had he now the time or the money to embark in the extensive preparations, which afterwards gave assurance that he was in earnest in his threats. an adept in making false demonstrations, perfectly appreciative of the power of a great name, he counted upon his own renown, and his amazing achievement of the apparently impossible in the past, to overawe the imagination of a nation, whose will, rather than whose strength, he hoped to subdue. boulogne and the small neighboring ports, whose nearness clearly indicated them as the only suitable base from which an invasion could start, were in that year in no state to receive the boats necessary to carry an army. this the british could see with their own eyes; but who could be sure that the paper flotilla at boulogne, like the paper army of reserve at dijon a year before, had not elsewhere a substantial counterpart, whose sudden appearance might yet work a catastrophe as unexpected and total as that of marengo? and who more apt than bonaparte to spread the impression that some such surprise was brewing? "i can venture to assure you that no embarkation of troops can take place at boulogne," wrote nelson, immediately after his first reconnoissance; but he says at the same time, "i have now more than ever reason to believe that the ports of flushing and flanders are much more likely places to embark men from, than calais, boulogne, or dieppe; for in flanders we cannot tell by our eyes what means they have collected for carrying an army." "great preparations at ostend," he notes a week later; "augereau commands that part of the army. i hope to let him feel the bottom of the goodwin sand." it was just this sort of apprehension, specific in direction, yet vague and elusive in details, that bonaparte was skilled in disseminating. st. vincent, and the government generally, agreed with nelson's opinion. "we are to look to flanders for the great effort," wrote the earl to him. neither of them had, nor was it possible for clear-headed naval officers to have, any substantial, rational, fear of a descent in force; yet the vague possibility did, for the moment, impress even them, and the liability of the populace, and of the commercial interests, to panic, was a consideration not to be overlooked. besides, in a certain way, there was no adequate preparation for resistance. the british navy, indeed, was an overwhelming force as compared to the french; but its hands were fully occupied, and the fleet nelson had just left in the baltic could not yet be recalled. it was, however, in purely defensive measures, in the possession of a force similar to that by which the proposed attack was to be made, and in dispositions analogous to coast defences, that the means were singularly defective, both in material and men. "everything, my dear lord," wrote nelson, the day after he hoisted his flag at sheerness, "must have a beginning, and we are literally at the foundation of our fabric of defence;" but, he continues, reverting to his own and st. vincent's clear and accurate military intuitions, "i agree perfectly with you, that we must keep the enemy as far from our own coasts as possible, and be able to attack them the moment they come out of their ports." "our first defence," he writes a fortnight later, showing the gradual maturing of the views which he, in common with st. vincent, held with such illustrious firmness in the succeeding years, "is close to the enemy's ports. when that is broke, others will come forth on our own coasts." it was in the latter that the unexpected anxieties of 1801 found the government deficient, and these it was to be nelson's first care to organize and dispose. by the time his duties were completed, and the problems connected with them had been two months under his consideration, he had reached the conclusion which napoleon also held, and upon which he acted. "this boat business may be a part of a great plan of invasion, but can never be the only one." from the first he had contemplated the possibility of the french fleets in brest and elsewhere attempting diversions, such as napoleon planned in support of his later great projects. "although i feel confident that the fleets of the enemy will meet the same fate which has always attended them, yet their sailing will facilitate the coming over of their flotilla, as they will naturally suppose our attention will be called only to the fleets." what was feared in 1801 was not a grand military operation, in the nature of an attempt at conquest, or, at the least, at injury so serious as to be disabling, but rather something in the nature of a great raid, of which the most probable object was the city of london, the chief commercial centre. it was upon this supposition that the instructions of the admiralty to nelson were framed, and upon this also the memorandum as to methods, submitted by him to it, on the 25th of july, 1801. "it is certainly proper to believe that the french are coming to attack london. i will suppose that 40,000 men are destined for this attack, or rather surprise." his plan is given first in his own words, as due to a matter of so much importance; and to them the writer appends a summary of the principal features, as understood by him. these are not always easily to be seen on the face of the paper, owing to the small time for its preparation, and the consequent haste--off-hand almost--with which it was drawn up, as is further indicated from the copy in the admiralty being in his own writing. memoranda by lord nelson, on the defence of the thames, etc. 25th july, 1801. besides the stationed ships at the different posts between the north foreland and orfordness, as many gun-vessels as can be spared from the very necessary protection of the coast of sussex and of kent to the westward of dover, should be collected, for this part of the coast must be seriously attended to; for supposing london the object of surprise, i am of opinion that the enemy's object _ought_ to be the getting on shore as speedily as possible, for the dangers of a navigation of forty-eight hours, appear to me to be an insurmountable objection to the rowing from boulogne to the coast of essex. it is therefore most probable (for it is certainly proper to believe the french are coming to attack london, and therefore to be prepared) that from boulogne, calais, and even havre, that the enemy will try and land in sussex, or the lower part of kent, and from dunkirk, ostend, and the other ports of flanders, to land on the coast of essex or suffolk; for i own myself of opinion that, the object being to get on shore somewhere within 100 miles of london, as speedily as possible, that the flats in the mouth of the thames will not be the only place necessary to attend to; added to this, the enemy will create a powerful diversion by the sailing of the combined fleet, and the either sailing, or creating such an appearance of sailing, of the dutch fleet, as will prevent admiral dickson from sending anything from off the great dutch ports, whilst the smaller ports will spew forth its flotilla,--viz., flushing, &c. &c. it must be pretty well ascertained what number of small vessels are in each port. "i will suppose that 40,000 men are destined for this attack, or rather surprise, of london; 20,000 will land on the west side of dover, sixty or seventy miles from london, and the same number on the east side: they are too knowing to let us have but one point of alarm for london. supposing 200 craft, or 250, collected at boulogne &c, they are supposed equal to carry 20,000 men. in very calm weather, they might row over, supposing no impediment, in twelve hours; at the same instant, by telegraph, the same number of troops would be rowed out of dunkirk, ostend, &c. &c. these are the two great objects to attend to from dover and the downs, and perhaps one of the small ports to the westward. boulogne (which i call the central point of the western attack) must be attended to. if it is calm when the enemy row out, all our vessels and boats appointed to watch them, must get into the channel, and meet them as soon as possible: if not strong enough for the attack, they must watch, and keep them company till a favourable opportunity offers. if a breeze springs up, our ships are to deal _destruction_; no delicacy can be observed on this great occasion. but should it remain calm, and our flotilla not fancy itself strong enough to attack the enemy on their passage, the moment that they begin to touch our shore, strong or weak, our flotilla of boats must attack as much of the enemy's flotilla as they are able--say only one-half or two-thirds; it will create a most powerful diversion, for the bows of our flotilla will be opposed to their unarmed sterns, and the courage of britons will never, i believe, allow one frenchman to leave the beach. a great number of deal and dover boats to be on board our vessels off the port of boulogne, to give notice of the direction taken by the enemy. if it is calm, vessels in the channel can make signals of intelligence to our shores, from the north foreland to orfordness, and even as far as solebay, not an improbable place, about seventy or eighty miles from london. "a flotilla to be kept near margate and ramsgate, to consist of gun-boats and flat-boats; another squadron to be stationed near the centre, between orfordness and north foreland, and the third in hoseley bay.[38] the floating batteries are stationed in all proper positions for defending the different channels, and the smaller vessels will always have a resort in the support of the stationed ships. the moment of the enemy's movement from boulogne, is to be considered as the movement of the enemy from dunkirk. supposing it calm, the flotillas are to be rowed, and the heavy ones towed, (except the stationed ships), those near margate, three or four leagues to the north of the north foreland; those from hoseley bay, a little approaching the centre division, but always keeping an eye towards solebay; the centre division to advance half-way between the two. the more fast rowing boats, called thames galleys, which can be procured the better, to carry orders, information, &c. &c. "whenever the enemy's flotilla can be seen, our divisions are to unite, but not intermix, and to be ready to execute such orders as may be deemed necessary, or as the indispensable circumstances may require. for this purpose, men of such confidence in each other should be looked for, that (as far as human foresight can go,) no little jealousy may creep into any man's mind, but to be all animated with the same desire of preventing the descent of the enemy on our coasts. stationary floating batteries are not, from any apparent advantage, to be moved, for the tide may prevent their resuming the very important stations assigned them; they are on no account to be supposed neglected, even should the enemy surround them, for they may rely on support, and reflect that perhaps their gallant conduct may prevent the mischievous designs of the enemy. whatever plans may be adopted, the moment the enemy touch our coast, be it where it may, they are to be attacked by every man afloat and on shore: this must be perfectly understood. _never fear the event_. the flat boats can probably be manned (partly, at least,) with the sea fencibles, (the numbers or fixed places of whom i am entirely ignorant of,) but the flat boats they may man to be in grand and sub-divisions, commanded by their own captains and lieutenants, as far as is possible. the number of flat boats is unknown to me, as also the other means of defence in small craft; but i am clearly of opinion that a proportion of the small force should be kept to watch the flat-boats from boulogne, and the others in the way i have presumed to suggest. these are offered as merely the rude ideas of the moment, and are only meant as a sea plan of defence for the city of london; but i believe other parts may likewise be menaced, if the brest fleet, and those from rochfort and holland put to sea; although i feel confident that the fleets of the enemy will meet the same fate which has always attended them, yet their sailing will facilitate the coming over of their flotilla, as they will naturally suppose our attention will be called only to the fleets." coming by water, the expectation seems to have been that the enemy might proceed up the river, or to a landing on some of the flats at the mouth of the thames. nelson says expressly that he does not think those alone are the points to be guarded; but he characterizes his paper as being "only meant as a sea plan of defence for the city of london," and the suggestion already noticed, that the enemy's fleet will support the attack by diversions, is merely mentioned casually. london being the supposed object, and the thames the highway, the purely defensive force is to be concentrated there; the channel coasts, though not excluded, are secondary. "as many gun-vessels as can be spared from the very necessary protection of the coast of sussex, and of kent to the westward of dover, should be collected between the north foreland and orfordness, for this part of the coast must be seriously attended to." the attack is expected in this quarter, because from flanders and flushing it is the most accessible. the object, nelson thinks, will be to get on shore as speedily as possible, and therefore somewhere within one hundred miles of london. anywhere from the westward of dover round to solebay--"not an improbable place"--must be looked upon as a possible landing. if there are forty thousand men coming, he regards it as certain that they will come in two principal bodies, of twenty thousand each--"they are too knowing to let us have but one point of alarm for london." "from boulogne, calais, and even havre, the enemy will try and land in sussex, or the lower part of kent; and from dunkirk, ostend, and the other ports of flanders, to land on the coast of essex or suffolk." "in very calm weather, they might row over from boulogne, supposing no impediment, in twelve hours; at the same instant, by telegraph, the same number of troops would be rowed out of dunkirk, ostend, &c. &c. added to this, the enemy will create a powerful diversion by the sailing of the combined fleet, and either the sailing, or creating such an appearance of sailing, of the dutch fleet, as will prevent admiral dickson [commander-in-chief in the north sea] from sending anything from off the great dutch ports, whilst the smaller ports will spew forth its flotilla--viz, flushing &c. &c." to frustrate that part of this combined effort which is supposed to be directed against the channel coast, nelson proposes that, "if it is calm when the enemy row out, all our vessels and boats appointed to watch them, must get into the channel, and meet them as soon as possible; if not strong enough for the attack, they must watch, and keep them company till a favourable opportunity offers. should it remain calm," so that the cruising ships cannot assist, "the moment that they begin to touch our shore, strong or weak, our flotilla of boats must attack as much of the enemy's flotilla as they are able--say only one half or two thirds--it will create a most powerful diversion, for the bows of our flotilla will be opposed to their unarmed sterns." the dispositions to defend the entrance of the thames, being considered the more important, are the more minute. blockships are stationed in the principal channels, as floating fortifications, commanding absolutely the water around them, and forming strong points of support for the flotilla. it is sagaciously ordered that these "are not, from any apparent advantage, to be moved, for the tide may prevent their resuming the very important stations assigned them." nelson was evidently alive to that advantage in permanent works, which puts it out of the power of panic to stampede them; tide is not the only factor that prevents retrieving a false step. the eastern flotilla is organized into three bodies, the right wing being near margate, the left in hollesley bay near harwich, the centre, vaguely, between orfordness and the north foreland. when the alarm is given, they are to draw together towards the centre, but not to emphasize their movement sufficiently to uncover either flank, until the enemy's flotilla can be seen; then they are "to unite, but not intermix." to both divisions--that in the channel and that on' the east coast--the commander-in-chief, in concluding, renews his charge, with one of those "nelson touches" which electrified his followers: "whatever plans may be adopted, the moment the enemy touch our coast, be it where it may, they are to be attacked by every man afloat and on shore: this must be perfectly understood. _never fear the event_." this plan for the defence of london against an attack by surprise, drawn up by nelson on the spur of the moment, was based simply upon his general ideas, and without specific information yet as to either the character or extent of the enemy's preparations, or of the means of resistance available on his own side. it has, therefore, something of an abstract character, embodying broad views unmodified by special circumstances, and possessing, consequently, a somewhat peculiar value in indicating the tendency of nelson's military conceptions. he assumes, implicitly, a certain freedom of movement on the part of the two opponents, unrestricted by the friction and uncertainty which in practice fetter action; and the use which, under these conditions, he imagines either will make of his powers, may not unfairly be assumed to show what he thought the correct course in such a general case. prominent among his ideas, and continuous in all his speculations as to the movements of an enemy, from 1795 onward, is the certainty that, for the sake of diversion, bonaparte will divide his force into two great equal fragments, which may land at points so far apart, and separated by such serious obstacles, as were solebay and dover. those who will be at the trouble to recall his guesses as to the future movements of the french in the riviera, piedmont, and tuscany, in 1795 and 1796, as well as his own propositions to the austrians at the same period, will recognize here the recurrence, unchastened by experience or thought, of a theory of warfare it is almost impossible to approve. that bonaparte,--supposed to be master of his first movements,--if he meant to land in person at dover, would put half his army ashore at solebay, is as incredible as that he would have landed one half at leghorn, meaning to act with the other from the riviera. if this criticism be sound, it would show that nelson, genius as he was, suffered from the lack of that study which reinforces its own conclusions by the experience of others; and that his experience, resting upon service in a navy so superior in quality to its enemies, that great inferiority in number or position could be accepted, had not supplied the necessary corrective to an ill-conceived readiness to sub-divide. the resultant error is clearly traceable, in the author's opinion, in his dispositions at copenhagen, and in a general tendency to allow himself too narrow a margin, based upon an under-valuation of the enemy not far removed from contempt. it was most fortunate for him, in the baltic, that parker increased to twelve the detachment he himself had fixed at ten. the last utterances of his life, however, show a distinct advance and ripening of the judgment, without the slightest decrease of the heroic resolution that so characterized him. "i have twenty-three sail with me," he wrote a fortnight before trafalgar, "and should they come out i will immediately bring them to battle; ... but i am _very, very, very_ anxious for the arrival of the force which is intended. it is, as mr. pitt knows, annihilation that the country wants, and not merely a splendid victory of twenty-three to thirty-six. numbers only can annihilate." the assumption that bonaparte's plan would be such as he mentioned, naturally controlled nelson in the dispositions he sketched for the local defence of the shore lines. the invasion being in two bodies, the defence was to be in two bodies also; nor is there any suggestion of a possibility that these two might be united against one of the enemy's. the whole scheme is dual; yet, although the chance of either division of the british being largely inferior to the enemy opposed to it is recognized, the adoption of a central position, or concentration upon either of the enemy's flotillas, apparently is not contemplated. such uncertainty of touch, when not corrected by training, is the natural characteristic of a defence essentially passive; that is, of a defence which proposes to await the approach of the enemy to its own frontier, be that land or water. yet it scarcely could have failed soon to occur to men of nelson's and st. vincent's martial capacities, that a different disposition, which would clearly enable them to unite and intercept either one of the enemy's divisions, must wreck the entire project; for the other twenty thousand men alone could not do serious or lasting injury. the mere taking a position favorable to such concentration would be an adequate check. the trouble for them undoubtedly was that which overloads, and so nullifies, all schemes for coast defence resting upon popular outcry, which demands outward and visible protection for every point, and assurance that people at war shall be guarded, not only against broken bones, but against even scratches of the skin. this uneducated and weak idea, that protection is only adequate when co-extensive with the frontier line threatened, finds its natural outcome in a system of defence by very small vessels, in great numbers, capable of minute subdivision and wide dispersal, to which an equal tonnage locked up in larger ships cannot be subjected. although st. vincent was at the head of the admiralty which in 1801 ordered that nelson should first organize such a flotilla, and only after that proceed to offensive measures, the results of his experience now were to form--or at the least to confirm in him--the conclusion which he enunciated, and to which he persistently held, during the later truly formidable preparations of napoleon. "our great reliance is on the vigilance and activity of our cruisers at sea, any reduction in the number of which, by applying them to guard our ports, inlets, and beaches, would in my judgment tend to our destruction." very strangely, so far as the author's opinion goes, nelson afterwards expressed an apparently contrary view, and sustained mr. pitt in his attack upon st. vincent's administration on this very point; an attack, in its tendency and in the moment chosen, among the most dangerous to his country ever attempted by a great and sagacious statesman. nelson, however, writing in may, 1804, says: "i had wrote a memoir, many months ago, upon the propriety of a flotilla. i had that command at the end of the last war, and i know the necessity of it, even had you, and which you ought to have, thirty or forty sail of the line in the downs and north sea, besides frigates &c.; but having failed so entirely in submitting my mind upon three points i was disheartened." this memoir has not been preserved, but it will be noticed that, in expressing his difference from st. vincent in the words quoted, he assumes, what did not at any time exist, thirty or forty sail-of-the-line for the north sea and the downs. st. vincent's stand was taken on the position that the flotilla could not be manned without diminishing the cruisers in commission, which were far short of the ideal number named by nelson. it may be believed, or at least hoped, that if forced to choose between the two, as st. vincent was, his choice would have been that of the great earl. it seems clear, however, that in 1804 he believed it possible that the army of invasion _might_ get as far as the shores of england--a question which has been much argued. "i am very uneasy," he then wrote to lady hamilton, "at your and horatia being on the coast: for you cannot move, if the french make the attempt." whatever weight may be attributed to this criticism on nelson's hastily sketched scheme, there can scarcely be any discord in the note of admiration for the fire that begins to glow, the instant he in thought draws near the enemy. there, assuredly, is no uncertain sound. they must be met as soon as possible; if not strong enough to attack, they must be watched, and company kept, till a favorable opportunity offers. if none occur till they draw near the beach, then, "whatever plans may be adopted, the moment they touch our coast, be it where it may, they are to be attacked by every man afloat and on shore: this must be perfectly understood. never fear the event." the resolution shown by such words is not born of carelessness; and the man who approaches his work in their spirit will wring success out of many mistakes of calculation--unless indeed he stumble on an enemy of equal determination. the insistence upon keeping the enemy under observation, "keeping company" with them, however superior in numbers, may also be profitably noted. this inspired his whole purpose, four years later, in the pursuit of the french to the west indies--if the odds are too great for immediate attack, "we won't part without a battle." it was the failure to hold the same principle of action, applicable to such diverse cases, that ruined calder in the same campaign. with the general views that have been outlined, nelson hastened to his task. his commission for the new service was dated july 24, three weeks after his return from the baltic. on the 25th he presented the memorandum of operations which has been discussed, on the 26th the admiralty issued their instructions, and on the 27th he hoisted his flag upon the "unité" frigate at sheerness. "i shall go on board this day," he said, "in order to show we must all get to our posts as speedily as possible." his orders, after mentioning the general reason for creating the "squadron on a particular service," as his command was officially styled, designated the limits of his charge, coastwise, as from orfordness, on the suffolk shore, round to beachy head, on the channel. on the enemy's side of the water, it extended from end to end of the line of ports from which the especial danger of an invasion by troops might be supposed to issue--from dieppe to ostend; but the mouth of the scheldt was implicitly included. the district thus assigned to him was taken out of the commands hitherto held by some very reputable admirals, senior to himself, who otherwise retained their previous charges, surrounding and touching his own; while at the scheldt he trenched closely upon the province of the commander-in-chief in the north sea. such circumstances are extremely liable to cause friction and bad blood, and st. vincent, who with all his despotism was keenly alive to the just susceptibilities of meritorious officers, was very careful to explain to them that he had with the greatest reluctance yielded to the necessity of combining the preparations for defence under a single flag-officer, who should have no other care. the innate tact, courtesy, and thoughtful consideration which distinguished nelson, when in normal conditions, removed all other misunderstandings. "the delicacy you have always shown to senior officers," wrote st. vincent to him, "is a sure presage of your avoiding by every means in your power to give umbrage to admiral dickson, who seems disposed to judge favourably of the intentions of us all: it is, in truth, the most difficult card we have to play." "happy should i be," he said at another time, "to place the whole of our offensive and defensive war under your auspices, but you are well aware of the difficulties on that head." from first to last there is no trace of a serious jar, and nelson's instructions to his subordinates were such as to obviate the probability of any. "i feel myself, my dear lord," he wrote st. vincent, relative to a projected undertaking on the dutch coast, "as anxious to get a medal, or a step in the peerage as if i had never got either. if i succeeded, and burnt the dutch fleet, probably medals and an earldom. i must have had every desire to try the matter, regardless of the feelings of others; but i should not have been your nelson, that wants not to take honours or rewards from any man; and if ever i feel great, it is, my dear lord, in never having, in thought, word, or deed, robbed any man of his fair fame." he was accompanied from london by a young commander, edward parker, who seems first to have become known to him in the baltic, and who now acted as an additional aide. the latter was filled with the admiration, felt by most of those thrown into contact with nelson, for the rapidity with which he transacted business, and set all about him in movement. "he is the cleverest and quickest man, and the most zealous in the world. in the short time we were in sheerness, he regulated and gave orders for thirty of the ships under his command, made every one pleased, filled them with emulation, and set them all on the _qui vive_." in forty-eight hours he was off again for the downs, by land, having to make some inquiries on the way as to the organization, and readiness to serve, of the sea fencibles, a large body of naval reserves, who were exempt from impressment upon the understanding that they would come forward for coast defence, in case of threatened invasion. concerning their dispositions he received fairly flattering assurances, which in the event were not realized. if the men were certified that they would not be detained after the danger was over, it was said, they certainly would go on board. "this service, my dear lord," he wrote to st. vincent, "above all others, would be terrible for me: to get up and harangue like a recruiting sergeant; but as i am come forth, i feel that i ought to do this disagreeable service as well as any other, if judged necessary." three days more, and he was off boulogne in a frigate with some bomb-vessels. the french admiral, latouche tréville, had moored in front of the pier a line of gun-vessels, twenty-four in number, fastened together from end to end. at these, and at the shipping in the small port, some bombs were thrown. not much injury was done on either side. prevented by an easterly wind from going on to flushing, as he had intended, nelson returned to margate on the 6th of august, issued a proclamation to the fencibles, assuring them that the french undoubtedly intended an invasion, that their services were absolutely required at once on board the defence-ships, and that they could rely upon being returned to their homes as soon as the danger was over. out of twenty-six hundred, only three hundred and eighty-five volunteered to this urgent call. "they are no more willing to give up their occupations than their superiors," wrote nelson, with characteristically shrewd insight into a frame of mind wholly alien to his own self-sacrificing love of country and of glory. hurrying from station to station, on the shores, and in the channels of the thames, he was on the 12th of august back at margate, evidently disappointed in the prospects for coast-defence, and more and more inclining to the deep-sea cruising, and to action on the enemy's coast, recommended by the admiralty, and consonant to his own temper, always disdainful of mere defensive measures. "our active force is perfect," he wrote to st. vincent, "and possesses so much zeal that i only want to catch that buonaparte on the water." he has satisfied himself that the french preparations were greatly exaggerated; boulogne in fact could not harbor the needed vessels, unless enlarged, as afterwards by napoleon. "where is our invasion to come from? the _time_ is gone." nevertheless, he favors an attack of some sort, suggests an expedition against flushing, with five thousand troops, and proposes a consultation. st. vincent replied that he did not believe in consultations, and had always avoided them. "i disapprove of unnecessary consultations as much as any man," retorted nelson, "yet being close to the admiralty, i should not feel myself justified in risking our ships through the channels of flushing without buoys and pilots, without a consultation with such men as your lordship, and also i believe you would think an order absolutely necessary." "lord st. vincent tells me he hates councils," he writes rather sorely to addington. "so do i between military men; for if a man consults whether he is to fight, when he has the power in his own hands, _it is certain that his opinion is against fighting_; but that is not the case at present, and i own i do want good council. lord st. vincent is for keeping the enemy closely blockaded; but i see they get alongshore inside their sand banks, and under their guns, which line the coast of france. lord hood is for keeping our squadrons of defence stationary on our own shore (except light cutters to give information of every movement of the enemy).... when men of such good sense, such great sea-officers, differ so widely, is it not natural that i should wish the mode of defence to be well arranged by the mature consideration of men of judgment?" meanwhile he had again gone off boulogne, and directed an attack in boats upon the line of vessels moored outside. he took great care in the arrangements for this hazardous expedition, giving personal supervision to all details. "as you may believe, my dear emma," he wrote to her who had his closest confidence, "my mind feels at what is going forward this night; it is one thing to order and arrange an attack, and another to execute it; but i assure you i have taken much more precaution for others, than if i was to go myself--then my mind would be perfectly at ease." he professed, and probably felt, entire confidence in the result. fifty-seven boats were detailed for the attack. they were in four divisions, each under a commander; edward parker having one. each division was to advance in two columns, the boats of which were secured one to another by tow-ropes; a precaution invaluable to keep them together, though rendering progress slower. the points in the enemy's line which each division was to make for were clearly specified, and special boats told off and fitted to tow out any vessels that were captured. simultaneous with this onslaught, a division of howitzer flatboats was to throw shot into the port. at half-past eleven on the night of august 15th, the boats, which had assembled alongside the flag-frigate "medusa," shoved off together; but the distance which they had to pull, with the strong, uncertain currents, separated them; and, as so often happens in concerted movements, attacks intended to be simultaneous were made disconnectedly, while the french were fully prepared. the first division of the british arrived at half-past twelve, and after a desperate struggle was beaten off, commander parker being mortally wounded. two other divisions came up later, while the fourth lost its way altogether. the affair was an entire failure, except so far as to show that the enemy would be met on their own shores, rather than on those of great britain. the british loss was forty-four killed, and one hundred and twenty-eight wounded. nelson returned to the downs, bitterly grieved, but not greatly discouraged. the mishap, he said, was due to the boats not arriving at the same moment; and that, he knew, was caused by conditions of currents, which would ever prevent the dull flatboats of the enemy moving in a concert that the cutters of ships of war had not attained. "the craft which i have seen," he wrote, "i do not think it possible to _row_ to england; and sail they cannot." as yet, however, he had not visited flushing, and he felt it necessary to satisfy himself on that point. on the 24th of august, taking some pilots with him, he went across and inspected the ground, where the officer in charge of the british observing squadron was confident something might be effected. nelson, however, decided otherwise. "i cannot but admire captain owen's zeal in his anxious desire to get at the enemy, but i am afraid it has made him overleap sand-banks and tides, and laid him aboard the enemy. i could join most heartily in his desire; but we cannot do impossibilities, and i am as little used to find out the impossibles as most folks; and i think i can discriminate between the impracticable and the fair prospect of success." by the 27th of august he had returned to the downs, where, with a brief and unimportant intermission, he remained until the cessation of hostilities with france in october. satisfied that invasion was, for that year at least, an empty menace, nelson fell again into the tone of angry and fretful complaint which was so conspicuous in the last weeks of his stay in the baltic. to borrow the words of a french admirer, "he filled the admiralty with his caprices and europe with his fame." almost from his first contact with this duty, it had been distasteful to him. "there is nothing to be done on the great scale," he said. "i own, my dear lord," he told st. vincent, "that this boat warfare is not exactly congenial to my feelings, and i find i get laughed at for my puny mode of attack." as usual, he threw himself with all his might into what he had to do, but the inward friction remained. "whilst i serve, i will do it actively, and to the very best of my abilities. i have all night had a fever, which is very little abated this morning; my mind carries me beyond my strength, and will do me up; but such is my nature. i require nursing like a child." that he was far from well is as unquestionable as that his distemper proceeded largely from his mind, if it did not originate there. "our separation is terrible," he writes to lady hamilton; "my heart is ready to flow out of my eyes. i am not unwell, but i am very low. i can only account for it by my absence from all i hold dear in this world." from the first he had told st. vincent that he could not stay longer than september 14th, that it was beyond his strength to stand the equinoctial weather. the veteran seaman showed towards him the same delicate consideration that he always had, using the flattering urgency which nelson himself knew so well how to employ, in eliciting the hearty co-operation of others. "the public mind is so much tranquillised by your being at your post, it is extremely desirable that you should continue there: in this opinion all his majesty's servants, with sir thomas troubridge, agree. let me entreat your lordship to persevere in the measures you are so advantageously employed in, and give up, at least for the present, your intention of returning to town, which would have the worst possible effect at this critical juncture. the dispositions you have made, and are making, appear to us all as the most judicious possible." "i hope you will not relinquish your situation at a moment when the services of every man are called for by the circumstances the country is placed in, so imperiously that, upon reflection, i persuade myself you will think as i, and every friend you have, do on this subject." nelson admitted, in a calmer moment, that "although my whole soul is devoted to get rid of this command, yet i do not blame the earl for wishing to keep me here a little longer." "pray take care of your health," the latter says again, "than which nothing is of so much consequence to the country at large, more particularly so to your very affectionate st. vincent." "your health is so precious at all times, more particularly so at this crisis." st. vincent tried in vain to conjure with the once beloved name of troubridge, whom nelson used to style the "nonpareil," whose merits he had been never weary of extolling, and whose cause he had pleaded so vehemently, when the accident of his ship's grounding deprived him of his share in the battle of the nile. from the moment that he was chosen by st. vincent, who called him the ablest adviser and best executive officer in the british navy, to assist in the administration of the admiralty, nelson began to view him jealously. "our friend troubridge is to be a lord of the admiralty, and i have a sharp eye, and almost think i see it. no, poor fellow, i hope i do him injustice; he cannot surely forget my kindness to him." but when the single eye has become double, suspicion thrives, and when tortured by his desire to return to lady hamilton, nelson saw in every obstacle and every delay the secret hand of troubridge. "i believe it is all the plan of troubridge," he wrote in one such instance, "but i have wrote both him and the earl my mind." to st. vincent, habit and professional admiration enabled him to submit, if grudgingly, and with constant complaints to his _confidante_; but troubridge, though now one of the board that issued his orders, was his inferior in grade, and he resented the imagined condition of being baffled in his wishes by a junior. the latter, quick-tempered and rough of speech, but true as his sword, to use st. vincent's simile, must have found himself put to it to uphold the respect due to his present position, without wronging the affection and reverence which he undoubtedly felt for his old comrade, and which in the past he had shown by the moral courage that even ventured to utter a remonstrance, against the infatuation that threatened to stain his professional honor. such straining of personal relations constantly accompanies accession to office; many are the friendships, if they can be called such, which cannot endure the experience that official action may not always be controlled by them. if such is to be noted in nelson, it is because he was no exception to the common rule, and it is sad that a man so great should not in this have been greater than he was. st. vincent felt it necessary to tell him, with reference to the difficulty of granting some requests for promotion, "encompassed as i am by applications and presumptuous claims, i have nothing for it but to act upon the defensive, as your lordship will be compelled to do, whenever you are placed in the situation i at present fill." this nelson contents himself with quoting; but of troubridge he says: "troubridge has so completely prevented my mentioning any body's service, that i am become a cypher, and he has gained a victory over nelson's spirit. captain somerville has been begging me to intercede with the admiralty again; but i have been so _rebuffed_, that my spirits are gone, and the _great_ troubridge has what we call _cowed_ the spirits of nelson; but i shall never forget it. he told me if i asked anything more that i should get nothing. no wonder i am not well." the refusal of the admiralty to give him leave to come to london, though founded on alleged motives of state, he thinks absurd. "they are beasts for their pains," he says; "it was only depriving me of one day's comfort and happiness, for which they have my hearty prayers." his spleen breaks out in oddly comical ways. "i have a letter from troubridge, recommending me to wear flannel shirts. does he care for me? _no_; but never mind." "troubridge writes me, that as the weather is set in fine again, he hopes i shall get walks on shore. he is, i suppose, laughing at me; but, never mind." petulant words, such as quoted, and others much more harsh, used to an intimate friend, are of course to be allowed for as indicating mental exasperation and the excitement of baffled longings, rather than expressing permanent feeling; but still they illustrate mental conditions more faithfully than do the guarded utterances of formal correspondence. friendship rarely regains the ground lost in them. the situation did undoubtedly become exasperating towards the end, for no one pretended that any active service could be expected, or that his function was other than that of a signal displayed, indicating that great britain, though negotiating for peace, was yet on her guard. lying in an open roadstead, with a heavy surf pouring in on the beach many days of the week, a man with one arm and one eye could not easily or safely get back and forth; and, being in a small frigate pitching and tugging at her anchors, he was constantly seasick, so much so "that i cannot hold up my head," afflicted with cold and toothache,--"but none of them cares a d--n for me and my sufferings." in september the hamiltons came to deal, off which the ship was lying, and remained for a fortnight, during which he was happy; but the reaction was all the more severe when they returned to town on the 20th. "i came on board, but no emma. no, no, my heart will break. i am in silent distraction.... my dearest wife, how can i bear our separation? good god, what a change! i am so low that i cannot hold up my head." his depression was increased by the condition of parker, the young commander, who had been wounded off boulogne, and had since then hovered between life and death. the thigh had been shattered too far up for amputation, and the only faint hope had been that the bones might reunite. the day that the hamiltons left, the great artery burst, and, after a brief deceitful rally, he died on the 27th of september. nelson, who was tenderly attached to him, followed him to the grave with emotion so deep as to be noticeable to the bystanders. "thank god," he wrote that afternoon, "the dreadful scene is past. i scarcely know how i got over it. i could not suffer much more and be alive." "i own," he had written to st. vincent immediately after the repulse, "i shall never bring myself again to allow any attack to go forward, where i am not personally concerned; my mind suffers much more than if i had a leg shot off in this late business." the admiralty refusing any allowances, much of the expense of parker's illness and of his funeral fell upon nelson, who assumed all his debts. it was but one instance among many of a liberality in money matters, which kept him constantly embarrassed. to the surgeon who had attended the wounded, and to the captain of the "medusa," a much richer man than he was, but who had shown him kindness, he gave handsome remembrances of the favors which he was pleased to consider done to himself personally. in a like spirit he wrote some months afterwards, concerning a proposed monument to captain ralph willett miller, who had fought under his flag. "i much doubt if all the admirals and captains will subscribe to poor dear miller's monument; but i have told davison, that whatever is wanted to make up the sum, i shall pay. i thought of lord st. vincent and myself paying,£50 each; some other admirals may give something, and i thought about £12 each for the captains who had served with him in the actions off cape st. vincent and the nile. the spirit of liberality seems declining; but when i forget an old and dear friend, may i cease to be your affectionate nelson and bronté." yet at this period he felt it advisable to sell the diamonds from the presents given him by foreign sovereigns. he was during these weeks particularly pressed, because in treaty for a house which he bought at merton in surrey, and for which he had difficulty in raising funds. in this his friend davison helped him by a generous and unlimited offer of a loan. "the baltic expedition," wrote nelson in his letter of thanks, "cost me full £2,000. since i left london it has cost me, for nelson cannot be like others, near £1,000 in six weeks. if i am continued here, ruin to my finances must be the consequence." on the 1st of october the preliminaries of peace with france were signed, and on the 9th news of their ratification reached nelson on board his ship. "thank god! it is peace," he exclaimed. yet, while delighted beyond measure at the prospect of release from his present duties, and in general for the repose he now expected, he was most impatient at the exuberant demonstrations of the london populace, and of some military and naval men. "let the rejoicings be proper to our several stations--the manufacturer, because he will have more markets for his goods,--but seamen and soldiers ought to say, 'well, as it is peace, we lay down our arms; and are ready again to take them up, if the french are insolent.' there is no person in the world rejoices more in the peace than i do, but i would burst sooner than let a d--d frenchman know it. we have made peace with the french despotism, and we will, i hope, adhere to it whilst the french continue in due bounds; but whenever they overstep that, and usurp a power which would degrade europe, then i trust we shall join europe in crushing her ambition; then i would with pleasure go forth and risk my life for to pull down the overgrown detestable power of france." when the mob in london dragged the carriage of the french ambassador, his wrath quite boiled over. "can you cure madness?" he wrote to his physician; "for i am mad to read that our d--d scoundrels dragged a frenchman's carriage. i am ashamed for our country." "i hope never more to be dragged by such a degenerate set of people," he tells lady hamilton. "would our ancestors have done it? so, the villains would have drawn buonaparte if he had been able to get to london to cut off the king's head, and yet all our royal family will employ frenchmen. thanks to the navy, they could not." nelson's soul was disturbed without cause. under the ephemeral effervescence of a crowd lay a purpose as set as his own, and of which his present emotions were a dim and unconscious prophecy. on the 15th of october he received official notification for the cessation of hostilities with the french republic, the precise date at which they were to be considered formally at an end having been fixed at the 22d of the month. the admiralty declined to allow him to leave his station until that day arrived. then he had their permission to take leave of absence, but not to haul down his flag. "i heartily hope a little rest will soon set you up," wrote st. vincent, "but until the definitive treaty is signed, your lordship must continue in pay, although we may not have occasion to require your personal services at the head of the squadron under your orders." in accordance with this decision, nelson's flag continued to fly as commander-in-chief of a squadron of ships "on a particular service," throughout the anxious period of doubt and suspicion which preceded the signing of the treaty of amiens, on the 25th of march, 1802. it was not till the 10th of the following april that he received the formal orders, to strike his flag and come on shore. on the 22d of october, 1801, he left the flagship and set off for his new home in surrey. footnotes: [37] these suggestive italics are in the letter as printed by clarke and m'arthur, and reproduced by nicolas. [38] hollesley bay. chapter xviii. release from active service during the peace of amiens.--home life at merton.--public incidents. october, 1801--may, 1803. age, 43-44. during the brief interval between his return from the baltic, july i,1801, and his taking command of the squadron on a particular service, on the 27th of the same month, nelson had made his home in england with the hamiltons, to whose house in piccadilly he went immediately upon his arrival in london. whatever doubt may have remained in his wife's mind, as to the finality of their parting in the previous january, or whatever trace of hesitation may then have existed in his own, had been definitively removed by letters during his absence. to her he wrote on the 4th of march, immediately before the expedition sailed from yarmouth: "josiah[39] is to have another ship and to go abroad, if the thalia cannot soon be got ready. i have done _all_ for him, and he may again, as he has often done before, wish me to break my neck, and be abetted in it by his friends, who are likewise my enemies; but i have done my duty as an honest, generous man, and i neither want or wish for anybody to care what becomes of me, whether i return, or am left in the baltic. living, i have done all in my power for you, and if dead, you will find i have done the same; therefore my only wish is, to be left to myself: and wishing you every happiness, believe that i am, your affectionate nelson and bronté." upon this letter lady nelson endorsed: "this is my lord nelson's letter of dismissal, which so astonished me that i immediately sent it to mr. maurice nelson,[40] who was sincerely attached to me, for his advice. he desired me not to take the least notice of it, as his brother seemed to have forgot himself." a separation preceded and caused by such circumstances as this was, could not fail to be attended with bitterness on both sides; yet one could have wished to see in a letter which is believed, and probably was intended, to be the last ever addressed by him to her, some recollection, not only of what he himself had done for his stepson, but that once, to use his own expression, "the boy" had "saved his life;" and that, after all, if he was under obligations to nelson, he would have been more than youth, had no intemperance of expression mingled with the resentment he felt for the slights offered his mother in the face of the world. with nelson's natural temperament and previous habits of thought, however, it was imperative, for his peace of mind, to justify his course of action to himself; and this he could do only by dwelling upon the wrong done him by those who, in the eyes of men generally, seemed, and must still seem, the wronged. of what passed between himself and lady nelson, we know too little to apportion the blame of a transaction in which she appears chiefly as the sufferer. nisbet, except in the gallantry and coolness shown by him at teneriffe, has not the same claim to consideration, and his career had undoubtedly occasioned great and legitimate anxiety to nelson, whose urgency with st. vincent was primarily the cause of a premature promotion, which spoiled the future of an officer, otherwise fairly promising.[41] if the relations between the two had not been so soon strained by nelson's attentions to lady hamilton, things might have turned out better, through the influence of one who rarely failed to make the most of those under his command. the annual allowance made to lady nelson by her husband, after their separation, was £1,800; which, by a statement he gave to the prime minister, two years later, when asking an increase of pension, appears to have been about half of his total income. on the 23d of april, 1801, when daily expecting to leave the baltic for england, he sent her a message through their mutual friend davison: "you will, at a proper time, and before my arrival in england, signify to lady n. that i expect, and for which i have made such a very liberal allowance to her, to be left to myself, and without any inquiries from her; for sooner than live the unhappy life i did when last i came to england, i would stay abroad for ever. my mind is fixed as fate: therefore you will send my determination in any way you may judge proper."[42] to lady hamilton he wrote about the same time, assuring her, under the assumption of mystery with which he sought to guard their relations against discovery through the postal uncertainties of the day, that he had no communication with his wife: "thomson[43] desires me to say he has never wrote his aunt[44] since he sailed, and all the parade about a house is nonsense. he has wrote to his father, but not a word or message to her. he does not, nor cannot, care about her; he believes she has a most unfeeling heart."[45] his stay with the hamiltons in piccadilly, though broken by several trips to the country, convinced nelson that if they were to live together, as he wished to do, it must be, for his own satisfaction, in a house belonging to him. it is clear that the matter was talked over between lady hamilton and himself; for, immediately upon joining his command in the downs, he began writing about the search for a house, as a matter already decided, in which she was to act for him. "have you heard of any house? i am very anxious to have a home where my friends might be made welcome." as usual, in undertakings of every kind, he chafed under delays, and he was ready to take the first that seemed suitable. "i really wish you would buy the house at turnham green," he writes her within a week. the raising of the money, it is true, presents some difficulty, for he has in hand but £3,000. "it is, my dear friend," he moralizes, "extraordinary, but true, that the man who is pushed forward to defend his country, has not from that country a place to lay his head in; but never mind, happy, truly happy, in the estimation of such friends as you, i care for nothing." lady hamilton, however, was a better business-man than himself, and went about his purchase with the deliberation of a woman shopping. at the end of three weeks he was still regretting that he could not "find a house and a little ece of ground, for if i go on much longer with my present command, i must be ruined. i think your perseverance and management will at last get me a home." by the 20th of august she was suited, for on that date he writes to her, "i approve of the house at merton;" and, as the admiralty would not consent to his leaving his station even for a few days, all the details of the bargain were left in her hands. "i entreat, my good friend, manage the affair of the house for me." he stipulates only that everything in it shall be his, "to a book or a cook," or even "to a pair of sheets, towels, &c." "i entreat i may never hear about the expenses again. if you live in piccadilly or merton it makes no difference, and if i was to live at merton i must keep a table, and nothing can cost me one-sixth part which it does at present." "you are to be, recollect, lady paramount of all the territories and waters of merton, and we are all to be your guests, and to obey, all lawful commands." in this way were conducted the purchase and preparation of the only home of his own on english ground that nelson ever possessed, where he passed his happiest hours, and from which he set out to fight his last battle. the negotiation was concluded three days before the rumors of the peace got abroad, therefore about the 27th of september, 1801; and in consequence, so sir william hamilton thought, the property was acquired a thousand pounds cheaper than it otherwise might have been--a piece of financial good luck rare in nelson's experience. "we have now inhabited your lordship's premises some days," continued the old knight, "and i can now speak with some certainty. i have lived with our dear emma several years. i know her merit, have a great opinion of the head and heart that god almighty has been pleased to give her; but a seaman alone could have given a fine woman full power to chuse and fit up a residence for him without seeing it himself. you are in luck, for in my conscience i verily believe that a place so suitable to your views could not have been found, and at so cheap a rate. the proximity to the capital,"--nelson found it an hour's drive from hyde park--"and the perfect retirement of this place, are, for your lordship, two points beyond estimation; but the house is so comfortable, the furniture clean and good, and i never saw so many conveniences united in so small a compass. you have nothing but to come and enjoy immediately; you have a good mile of pleasant dry walk around your own farm. it would make you laugh to see emma and her mother fitting up pig-sties and hencoops, and already the canal is enlivened with ducks, and the cock is strutting with his hens about the walks." as time passed, sir william did not realize the comfort he had anticipated from surroundings so pleasant as those he described. he was troubled in money matters, fearing lest he might be distressed to meet the current expenses of the house. "if we had given up the house in piccadilly," he lamented to greville, "the living here would indeed be a great saving; but, as it is, we spend neither more nor less than we did." why he did not give it up does not appear. as lady paramount over the owner of the place, lady hamilton insisted upon entertaining to a degree consonant to the taste neither of lord nelson, who was only too pleased to humor her whims, nor of her husband, who had an old man's longing for quiet, and, besides, was not pleased to find himself relegated to a place in her consideration quite secondary to that of his host. "it is but reasonable," he wrote to greville, in january, 1802, "after having fagged all my life, that my last days should pass off comfortably and quietly. nothing at present disturbs me but my debt, and the nonsense i am obliged to submit to here to avoid coming to an explosion, which would be attended with many disagreeable effects, and would totally destroy the comfort of the best man and the best friend i have in the world. however, i am determined that my quiet shall not be disturbed, let the nonsensical world go on as it will." neither the phlegm on which he prided himself, nor his resolutions, were sufficient, however, to keep the peace, or to avoid undignified contentions with his wife. some months later he addressed her a letter, which, although bearing no date, was evidently written after a prolonged experience of the conditions entailed upon himself by this odd partnership; for partnership it was, in form at least, the living expenses being divided between the two.[46] in their quiet reasonableness, his words are not without a certain dignified pathos, and they have the additional interest of proving, as far as words can prove, that, battered man of the world though he was, he had no suspicion, within a year of his death, that the relations between his host and his wife were guilty towards himself. "i have passed the last 40 years of my life in the hurry & bustle that must necessarily be attendant on a publick character. i am arrived at the age when some repose is really necessary, & i promised myself a quiet home, & altho' i was sensible, & said so when i married, that i shou'd be superannuated when my wife wou'd be in her full beauty and vigour of youth. that time is arrived, and we must make the best of it for the comfort of both parties. unfortunately our tastes as to the manner of living are very different. i by no means wish to live in solitary retreat, but to have seldom less than 12 or 14 at table, and those varying continually, is coming back to what was become so irksome to me in italy during the latter years of my residence in that country. i have no connections out of my own family. i have no complaint to make, but i feel that the whole attention of my wife is given to ld. n. and his interest at merton. i well know the purity of ld. n.'s friendship for emma and me, and i know how very uncomfortable it wou'd make his lp, our best friend, if a separation shou'd take place, & am therefore determined to do all in my power to prevent such an extremity, which wou'd be _essentially detrimental_ to all parties, but wou'd be more sensibly felt by our dear friend than by us. provided that our expences in housekeeping do not encrease beyond measure (of which i must own i see some danger), i am willing to go on upon our present footing; but as i cannot expect to live many years, every moment to me is precious, & i hope i may be allow'd sometimes to be my own master, & pass my time according to my own inclination, either by going my fishing parties on the thames or by going to london to attend the museum, r. society, the tuesday club, & auctions of pictures. i mean to have a light chariot or post chaise by the month, that i may make use of it in london and run backwards and forwards to merton or to shepperton, &c. this is my plan, and we might go on very well, but i am fully determined not to have more of the very silly altercations that happen but too often between us and embitter the present moments exceedingly. if realy one cannot live comfortably together, a _wise_ and well _concerted separation_ is preferable; but i think, considering the probability of my not troubling any party long in this world, the best for us all wou'd be to bear those ills we have rather than flie to those we know not of. i have fairly stated what i have on my mind. there is no time for nonsense or trifling. i know and admire your talents & many excellent qualities, but i am not blind to your defects, and confess having many myself; therefore let us bear and forbear for god's sake."[47] there are other accounts by eye-witnesses of the home life at merton, in which participated, from time to time, not only the many outside guests, of whose burden hamilton complained, but also most of the members of the nelson family. lord minto, who had returned to england from vienna, and whose personal friendship to nelson never slackened, wrote to his wife, in march, 1802: "i went to lord nelson's on saturday to dinner, and returned to-day in the forenoon. the whole establishment and way of life are such as to make me angry, as well as melancholy; but i cannot alter it, and i do not think myself obliged, or at liberty, to quarrel with him for his weakness, though nothing shall ever induce me to give the smallest countenance to lady hamilton. she looks ultimately to the chance of marriage, as sir william will not be long in her way, and she probably indulges a hope that she may survive lady nelson; in the meanwhile she and sir william, and the whole set of them, are living with him at his expense. she is in high looks, but more immense than ever. the love she makes to nelson is not only ridiculous, but disgusting: not only the rooms, but the whole house, staircase and all, are covered with nothing but pictures of her and him, of all sizes and sorts, and representations of his naval actions, coats-of-arms, pieces of plate in his honour, the flag-staff of l'orient, &c.--an excess of vanity which counteracts its own purpose. if it was lady hamilton's house there might be a pretence for it; to make his own house a mere looking-glass to view himself all day is bad taste. braham, the celebrated jew singer, performed with lady hamilton. she is horrid, but he entertained me in spite of her." of this same period, but a year later, at the time of hamilton's death, minto wrote: "lady hamilton talked very freely [to me] of her situation with nelson, and the construction the world may have put upon it, but protested that their attachment had been perfectly pure, which i declare i can believe, though i am sure it is of no consequence whether it be so or not. the shocking injury done to lady nelson is not made less or greater, by anything that may or may not have occurred between him and lady hamilton." on the 6th of november, 1861, mr. matcham, a nephew of lord nelson, wrote for the "times" some reminiscences of the great admiral, as he had known him in private life, both at this period, and three years later, just before trafalgar. his letter was elicited by the publication of the "remains of mrs. trench." in this had appeared extracts from her journal, when mrs. st. george, containing statements derogatory to nelson's conduct in dresden, when on the journey from trieste to hamburg in the year 1800; some of which have been quoted already in this work.[48] mr. matcham's words, so far as they relate to nelson himself, are here given in full[49]:- i too sir, as well as "the lady," had some knowledge of that person, so much honoured and so much maligned; and although i do not defend his one great error (though in that, with some palliation, there were united elements of a generous and noble nature), i venture to say that whoever forms a notion of his manners and deportment in private life from this account of him, will labour under a very great delusion. i visited my uncle twice during the short periods in which he was on shore--once in 1802, during his journey to wales, when he was received at oxford and other places; and the second time at his house at merton, in 1805, for three weeks preceding the 15th of september, when he left to embark at portsmouth to return no more; and i can assert with truth that a more complete contrast between this lady's portrait and my thorough recollection of him could not be forced on my mind. lord nelson in private life was remarkable for a demeanour quiet, sedate, and unobtrusive, anxious to give pleasure to every one about him, distinguishing each in turn by some act of kindness, and chiefly those who seemed to require it most. during his few intervals of leisure, in a little knot of relations and friends, he delighted in quiet conversation, through which occasionally ran an undercurrent of pleasantry, not unmixed with caustic wit. at his table he was the least heard among the company, and so far from being the hero of his own tale, i never heard him voluntarily refer to any of the great actions of his life. i have known him lauded by the great and wise; but he seemed to me to waive the homage with as little attention as was consistent with civility. nevertheless, a mind like his was necessarily won by attention from those who could best estimate his value. on his return from his last interview with mr. pitt, being asked in what manner he had been received, he replied that he had reason to be gratified with his reception, and concluded with animation, "mr. pitt, when i rose to go, left the room with me, and attended me to the carriage"--a spontaneous mark of respect and admiration from the great statesman, of which, indeed, he might well be proud. it would have formed an amusement to the circle at merton, if intemperance were set down to the master of the house, who always so prematurely cut short the _sederunt_ of the gentlemen after dinner. a man of more temperate habits could not, i am persuaded, have been found. it appears that the person of lord nelson (although he was not as described, a little man, but of the middle height and of a frame adapted to activity and exertion) did not find favour with the lady; and i presume not to dispute her taste, but in his plain suit of black, in which he alone recurs to my memory, he always looked what he was--a gentleman. whatever expletives of an objectionable kind may be ascribed to him, i feel persuaded that such rarely entered into his conversation. he was, it is true, a sailor, and one of a warm and generous disposition; yet i can safely affirm that i never heard a coarse expression issue from his lips, nor do i recollect one word or action of his to which even a disciple of chesterfield could reasonably object. if such did arise, it would be drawn forth when a friend was attacked, or even an enemy unjustly accused; for his disposition was so truly noble, that it revolted against all wrong and oppression. his heart, indeed, was as tender as it was courageous. nor do i think, sir, that it is a necessary concession to truth that you or others should lower your conception of this popular personage, on account of the exaggerated colours in which he is here drawn. those who best knew the man the most estimated his value, and many who like myself could not appreciate his professional superiority, would yet bear witness to his gentleness, kindness, good-breeding, and courtesy. he was not "a rude and boisterous captain of the sea." from his early years, by the introduction of his uncle, the comptroller of the navy, he was associated with the _élite_ of his own profession; and the influences of his own paternal home, and his acquaintance with the first families of his native county, to many of whom he was related, would not allow a man of his intelligence and proper pride to foster coarseness beyond the habits of his age. it appears to me that, however flattering or consolatory the recital of the follies or foibles of great men may be to that mediocrity which forms the mass of mankind, the person who undertakes to cater for mere amusement withdraws something from the common stock of his country. the glory of great britain depends as much on the heroes she has produced, as on her wealth, her influence, and her possessions; and the true patriot and honourable man, if he cannot add to their lustre, will at least refrain from any premeditated act which may dim their fame, and diminish that high estimation of them which expedience, nationality, and gratitude should alike contribute to sustain. a nephew of admiral lord nelson. a glimpse of the family life at merton, and of the society which gathered there, has been casually preserved for us. it presents not only an interesting group of the admiral's associates, but also the record of a conversation concerning him, under his own roof, transmitted by one of the parties to it; particularly instructive, because showing the contradictory traits which illustrated his character, and the impression made by him upon his contemporaries and intimates,--men who had seen him upon all kinds of occasions, both great and small. it corroborates, too, the report of these superficial inconsistencies made by the duke of wellington on a later occasion. the narrator, lieutenant layman, was the same who had recently been with nelson in the baltic, and who has before been quoted in connection with that expedition. sir alexander ball will be remembered as one of his chief supports during the long chase that preceded the battle of the nile, as well as in the action, and afterwards during the protracted operations around malta. hood was also a nile captain. "during the temporary peace, mr. layman spent some days at merton, with sir alexander ball and sir samuel hood. one day, after tea in the drawing-room, lord nelson was earnestly engaged in conversation with sir samuel. mr. layman observed to sir alexander, that lord nelson was at work by his countenance and mouth, that he was a most extraordinary man, possessing opposite points of character; little in little things, but by far the greatest man in great things he ever saw: that he had seen him petulant in trifles, and as cool and collected as a philosopher when surrounded by dangers, in which men of common minds, with clouded countenance, would say, 'ah! what is to be done?' it was a treat to see his animated and collected countenance in the heat of action. sir alexander remarked this seeming inconsistency, and mentioned that, after the battle of the nile, the captains of the squadron were desirous to have a good likeness of their heroic chief taken, and for that purpose employed one of the most eminent painters in italy. the plan was to ask the painter to breakfast, and get him to begin immediately after. breakfast being over, and no preparation being made by the painter, sir alexander was selected by the other captains to ask him when he intended to begin; to which the answer was, 'never.' sir alexander said, he stared, and they all stared, but the artist continued: 'there is such a mixture of humility with ambition in lord nelson's countenance, that i dare not risk the attempt.'"[50] there is yet another casual mention of the merton home life, illustrative of more than one feature of nelson's native character. many years later the daughter of the vicar of the parish, when transmitting a letter to sir harris nicolas, added: "in revered affection for the memory of that dear man, i cannot refrain from informing you of his unlimited charity and goodness during his residence at merton. his frequently expressed desire was, that none in that place should want or suffer affliction that he could alleviate; and this i know he did with a most liberal hand, always desiring that it should not be known from whence it came. his residence at merton was a continued course of charity and goodness, setting such an example of propriety and regularity that there are few who would not be benefited by following it." his thoughtfulness and generosity to those about him was equally shown in his charges to his agents at bronté, for the welfare of the sicilian peasantry upon his estate. in the regularity and propriety of observance which impressed the clergyman's daughter, he carried out the ideal he had proposed to lady hamilton. "have we a nice church at merton? we will set an example of goodness to the under parishioners." whatever of censure or of allowance may be pronounced upon the life he was living, there was in the intention just quoted no effort to conciliate the opinion of society, which he was resolute in braving; nor was it inconsistent with the general tenor of his thoughts. in the sense of profound recognition of the dependence of events upon god, and of the obligation to manifest gratitude in outward act, nelson was from first to last a strongly religious man. to his sin he had contrived to reconcile his conscience by fallacies, analogies to which will be supplied by the inward experience of many, if they will be honest with themselves. the outcome upon character of such dealings with one's self is, in the individual case, a matter to which man's judgment is not competent. during the last two years and a half of nelson's life, the chaplain of the "victory" was associated with him in close intimacy as confidential secretary, with whom he talked freely on many matters. "he was," said this gentleman, "a thorough clergyman's son--i should think he never went to bed or got up without kneeling down to say his prayers." he often expressed his attachment to the church in which he had been brought up, and showed the sincerity of his words by the regularity and respect with which he always had divine service performed on board the "victory," whenever the weather permitted. after the service he had generally a few words with the chaplain on the subject of the sermon, either thanking him for its being a good one, or remarking that it was not so well adapted as usual to the crew. more than once, on such occasions, he took down a volume of sermons in his own cabin, with the page already marked at some discourse which he thought well suited to such a congregation, and requested dr. scott to preach it on the following sunday.[51] on the 29th of october, 1801, just one week after he left the downs, nelson took his seat in the house of lords as a viscount, his former commander-in-chief, hood, who was of the same rank in the peerage, being one of those to present him. while in england he spoke from time to time on professional subjects, or those connected with the external policy of the country, on which he held clear and decided opinions, based, naturally, upon naval exigencies. his first speech was a warm and generous eulogy of sir james saumarez, once second to himself at the battle of the nile, an officer with whom it is not too much to say he was not in close personal sympathy, as he had been with troubridge, but who had just fought two desperate squadron actions under conditions of singular difficulty, out of which he had wrenched a success that was both signal and, in the then state of the war and negotiations, most opportune. "sir james saumarez's action," said lord st. vincent, "has put us upon velvet." nelson's own thirst for glory made him keenly appreciative of the necessity to be just and liberal, in distributing to those who had achieved great deeds the outward tokens of distinguished service, which often are the sole recompense for dangers run and hardships borne. scarcely had he retired from his active command in the channel when he felt impelled to enter upon a painful and humiliating controversy, on behalf of those who had shared with him all the perils of the desperate battle of copenhagen; for which, unlike himself, they had received no reward, but from whom he refused to be dissociated in the national esteem and gratitude. on the 19th of november, 1801, the city of london voted its thanks to the divisions of the army and the navy, whose joint operations during the previous summer had brought to an end the french occupation of egypt, begun by bonaparte in 1798. nelson had for some time been uneasy that no such notice had been taken of the battle of copenhagen, for the custom of the corporation of the chief city of the empire, thus to honor the great achievements of their armed forces, was, he asserted, invariable in his experience; consequently, the omission in the case of copenhagen was a deliberate slight, the implication of which, he thought, could not be disregarded. delay, up to the time then present, might be attributed to other causes, not necessarily offensive, although, from a letter to his friend davison, he seems to have feared neglect; but the vote of thanks to the two services for their successes in egypt left no room to doubt, that the failure to take similar action in the case of copenhagen was intentional. this nelson regarded, and justly, as an imputation upon the transactions there. where a practice is invariable, omission is as significant as commission can be. either the victory was doubtful, or of small consequence, or, for some other reason, not creditable to the victors. he wrote at once to the lord mayor. after recalling the facts, he said: "if i were only personally concerned, i should bear the stigma, now first attempted to be placed upon my brow, with humility. but, my lord, i am the natural guardian of the characters of the officers of the navy, army, and marines, who fought, and so profusely bled, under my command on that day.... when i am called upon to speak of the merits of the captains of his majesty's ships, and of the officers and men, whether seamen, marines, or soldiers, i that day had the happiness to command, _i say_, that never was the glory of this country upheld with more determined bravery than upon that occasion, and more important service was never rendered to our king and country. it is my duty to prove to the brave fellows, my companions in dangers, that _i_ have not failed, at every proper place, to represent, as well as i am able, their bravery and meritorious services." this matter was the occasion, possibly the cause, of bringing him into collision with the admiralty and the government on the same subject. although his private representations, soon after his return to england, had obtained from lord st. vincent, as he thought, a promise that medals should be issued for the battle, no steps thereto had been taken. he now enclosed to the prime minister and to the first lord a copy of his letter to the lord mayor; and to both he alluded to the assurance he believed had been made him. "i have," he said, "been expecting the medals daily since the king's return from weymouth." st. vincent's reply was prompt as himself. with reference to the former matter, he confined himself to drily thanking nelson, without comment, "for communicating the letter you have judged fit to write to the lord mayor;" but as to the medals, he wrote a separate note, telling him that he had "given no encouragement, but on the contrary had explained to your lordship, and to mr. addington, the impropriety of such a measure being recommended to the king." nelson, to use his own word, was "thunder-struck" by this statement. "i own," he said, "i considered the words your lordship used as conveying an assurance. it was an apology for their not being given before, which, i understood you, they would have been, but for the difficulty of fixing who was to have them;" an allusion particularly valuable as indicating, in this case of flat contradiction between two honorable men, what was the probable cause of withholding the marks of hard-won distinction. "i have never failed assuring the captains, that i have seen and communicated with, that they might depend on receiving them. i could not, my dear lord, have had any interest in misunderstanding you, and representing that as an intended honour from the king which you considered as so improper to be recommended to the king: therefore i must beg that your lordship will reconsider our conversation--to me of the very highest concern, and think that i could not but believe that we would have medals. i am truly made ill by your letter." st. vincent replied briefly, "that you have perfectly mistaken all that passed between us in the conversation you allude to, is most certain. at the same time i am extremely concerned that it should have had so material an effect upon your health," etc. "either lord st. vincent or myself are liars," wrote nelson to davison; a conclusion not inevitable to those who have had experience of human misunderstandings. the prime minister took a week to reply. when he did, he deprecated the sending of any letter to the mayor, for reasons, he said, "not merely of a public nature, but connected with the interest i shall ever take in your well-earned fame." these reasons, he added, he would be ready to give him in a private interview. nelson had asked his opinion upon the terms of the letter; but, impatient after waiting three days, had already sent it in when this answer came. it seems probable that, with his usual promptness, he called at once; for on the same day, november 28, that he received addington's letter he withdrew that to the mayor.[52] "by the advice of a friend," he said, "i have now to request that your lordship will consider my letter as withdrawn, _as the discussion of the question may bring forward characters which had better rest quiet_."[53] there seems, therefore, little reason to doubt that the honors, due to those who fought, were withheld out of consideration to those who did not fight. nelson himself recognized the difficulty. "they are not sir hyde parker's real friends who wish for an inquiry," he had written confidentially to davison before leaving the baltic. "his friends in the fleet wish everything of this fleet to be forgot, for we all respect and love sir hyde; but the dearer his friends, the more uneasy they have been at his _idleness_, for that is the truth--no criminality." but, as he vigorously and characteristically said of another matter occurring about this time, "i was told the difficulties were insurmountable. my answer was, 'as the thing is necessary to be done, the more difficulties, the more necessary to try to remove them.'" as regards the soundness of nelson's grounds, and the propriety of his action in this matter, it must, first, be kept in mind, that, before the city voted its thanks to the navy engaged in egypt, he had spoken in the house of lords in favor of the thanks of the government to the same force, although, as a whole, it had there played a subordinate part; and also, that, although deprived of the medal which he hoped to get in common with others, he had himself been rewarded for copenhagen by promotion in the peerage.[54] this separation between himself and the mass of those who fought under him, necessarily intensified the feeling of one always profusely generous, in praise as in money; but his point otherwise was well taken. the task was ungracious and unpleasant, it may almost be called dirty work to have thus to solicit honors and distinction for deeds in which one has borne the principal part; but dirty work must at times be done, with hands or words, and the humiliation then rests, not with him who does it, but with them who make it necessary. had the victors at copenhagen fought a desperate fight, and were they neglected? if so, and the outside world looked indifferently on, who from among them should first come forth to defend their glory from implication of some undefined stain, if not their commander-in-chief, one whose great renown could well spare the additional ray of lustre which he demanded for them. whether underneath lay some spot of self-seeking, of the secondary motive from which so few of us are free, matters little or nothing. the thing was right to be done, and he did it. if the government and the city of london, by calculated omission, proclaimed, as they did, that these men had not deserved well of their country, it became him to say, as he did, openly to the city, subordinately to his superiors, that they had done men's work and deserved men's reward. "if lord nelson could forget the services of those who have fought under his command, he would ill deserve to be so supported as he always has been." thus he closed his last letter to the lord mayor on this subject, a year after the correspondence began. it was this noble sympathy with all beneath him, the lack of which has been charged against the great commander of the british army of this period, that won for nelson the enthusiastic affection which, in all parts of his command, however remote from his own eyes, aroused the ardent desire to please him. no good service done him escaped his hearty acknowledgment, and he was unwearied in upholding the just claims of others to consideration. in the matter of copenhagen, up to the time he left the country, eighteen months later, he refused any compromise. he recognized, of course, that he was powerless in the face of st. vincent's opposition; but, he wrote to one of the captains engaged, "i am fixed never to abandon the fair fame of my companions in dangers. i have had a meeting with mr. addington on the subject; i don't expect we shall get much by it, except having had a full opportunity of speaking my mind." the premier's arguments had been to him wholly inconclusive. oddly enough, as things were, the sultan sent him a decoration for copenhagen. coming from a foreign sovereign, there was, in accepting it, no inconsistency with his general attitude; but in referring the question to the government, as was necessary, he told the prime minister, "if i can judge the feelings of others by myself, there can be no honours bestowed upon me by foreigners that do not reflect ten times on our sovereign and country."[55] in conformity with this general stand, when it was proposed in june, 1802, to give him the thanks of the city, for taking command of the force destined to defend it against invasion, he wrote to request that the motion might be withdrawn, on the express ground that no thanks had been given those engaged at copenhagen. "i should feel much mortified, when i reflected on the noble support i that day received, at any honour which could separate me from them." he alleged the same reason, in the following september, for refusing to dine with the corporation. "never, till the city of london think justly of the merits of my brave companions of the 2d of april, can i, their commander, receive any attention from the city of london." a like refusal was sent to his invitation for lord mayor's day. after the interview with mr. addington, the question of medals was dropped. he had explained his position fully, and felt that it was hopeless to attempt more, so long as the admiralty was against him; but when the administration changed, in may, 1804, he wrote to lord melville, the new first-lord, enclosing a statement of facts, including his correspondence with st. vincent, and requesting a reconsideration of the matter. "the medal," he said, is withheld, "for what reason lord st. vincent best knows. i hope," he concluded, "for your recommendation to his majesty, that he may be pleased to bestow that mark of honour on the battle of copenhagen, which his goodness has given to the battle of st. vincent, the first of june, of camperdown, and the nile." melville, in a very sympathetic and courteous letter, declined, for a reason whose weight must be admitted: "when badges of triumph are bestowed in the heat and conflict of war, they do not rankle in the minds even of the enemy, at whose expense they are bestowed; but the feeling, i suspect, would be very different in denmark, if the present moment was to be chosen for opening afresh wounds which are, i trust, now healed, or in the daily progress of being so." so it resulted that for some reason, only dimly outlined, no mark of public recognition ever was conferred upon the most difficult, the most hazardous, and, at the moment, perhaps the most critically important of nelson's victories; that which he himself considered the greatest of his achievements. this unfortunate and embittering controversy was the most marked and characteristic incident of his residence at merton, between october, 1801, when he first went there, and may, 1803, when he departed for the mediterranean, upon the renewal of war with france. living always with the hamiltons, the most copious stream of private correspondence was cut off; and being unemployed after april, 1802, his official letters are confined to subjects connected rather with the past than with the then present time. upon general naval questions he had, however, something to say. a trip to wales suggests a memorandum to the prime minister concerning the cultivation and preservation of oak timber in the forest of dean. he submits to him also his views as to the disposition of malta, in case the provision of the treaty of amiens, which re-established there the order of the knights under the guarantee of the six great powers, should fail, owing to the refusal of russia to join in the proposed guarantee. at the time he wrote,--december, 1802,--the question was become burning, threatening the rupture of the existing peace between france and great britain; a result which, in fact, soon followed, and turned mainly upon this point. the essential aim in the provision, he observed, was that neither of the two countries should have the island. if the order could not be restored, then it ought to go to naples, again under the guarantee of the powers. it was useless to england, for operations against france; and in the hands of the latter was a direct menace to sicily. this arrangement would accord with the spirit of the treaty; but if it also was impracticable, great britain had no choice but to keep malta herself. it would cost £300,000 annually, but anything was better than to chance its falling again into the hands of france. in like manner he submitted to the admiralty plans for the more certain manning of the navy, and for the prevention of desertion. the material conditions of seamen while in the service, the pay and provisions, were, he considered, all that could be desired; but still there was great indisposition to enlist, and the desertions in the last war, 1793-1801, rose to the enormous figure of forty-two thousand. the remedy he outlined was a registration of seamen, and of certificates to be given them, bearing a personal description by which they could be identified, and on which their character and services would appear. for lack of such papers, seamen by hundreds were in london in distress, although large amounts of money were due them at prize agencies, where the agent feared to pay for want of identification. a certificate showing five years' faithful service should entitle the holder to an annual bounty of two guineas, to be increased by further periods. such provisions were well calculated to appeal to men accustomed to entertain prudential considerations, and to create gradually a class with whom they would weigh, and who would by them be retained in permanent employment. in meeting the case of desertions, caused by the heedlessness and weakness of seamen, nelson became more vague. the nature of the trouble he recognized clearly enough, but there is a lack of definiteness in the remedy he proposed to meet an evil which still exists. "the mainspring of all my plan is, that of certificates fully descriptive of the persons; the very greatest good must result from it. something should be attempted at these times to make our seamen, at the din of war, fly to our navy, instead of flying from it." his plan is substantially that now adopted. closely connected with the discontent of seamen was the subject of prize-money, in the receipt and distribution of which great irregularities and abuses existed among the agents, to remove which also he made particular and detailed suggestions; and he strongly supported, though with discriminating criticism, the bill for an inquiry into naval abuses, which embodied the most prominent of st. vincent's administrative measures while at the head of the admiralty. but, though thus supporting the earl in his policy of investigation, and retaining his respect for him as a sea-officer, he was utterly dissatisfied with the general conduct of the admiralty and with its attitude towards himself in particular. "i attribute none of the tyrannical conduct of the late board to lord st. vincent," he wrote two years later. "for the earl i have a sincere regard, but he was dreadfully ill-advised, and i fear the service has suffered much from their conduct." it would seem as if he did not, after the first moments of annoyance, forget the irritation he felt against troubridge at being retained in the downs against his will, and, as he thought, without necessity. "i thank you," he wrote to captain murray, "for taking the trouble of driving seven miles to make me a visit; for, could you believe it, there are those who i thought were my firm friends, some of near thirty years' standing--who have never taken that trouble!" this may not refer to troubridge, but the description answers to him, and it appears that in the nelson-hamilton circle his name now stood as a type of ingratitude.[56] writing to davison in september, 1802, after a trip of six weeks made to wales, in company with the hamiltons, he says: "our tour has been very fine and interesting, and the way in which i have been everywhere received most flattering to my feelings; and although some of the higher powers may wish to keep me down, yet the reward of the general approbation and gratitude for my services is an ample reward for all i have done; but it makes a _comparison_ fly up to my mind, not much to the credit of some in the higher offices of the state." he seems to have felt that neither in his influence with the admiralty, nor in reference to his opinions on foreign topics, did he receive the recognition that his distinguished services, abilities, and experience claimed. "having failed entirely in submitting my thoughts on three points"--those just cited, manning, desertion, and prize-money--"i was disheartened;" and to this he attributes his not sending in a memoir which he had prepared upon the subject of the flotilla for coast defence. but, while he resented this neglect, it did not greatly interfere with his happiness, which was at this time well-nigh complete. he complains of ill health, it is true, from time to time, and his means were insufficient duly to keep up the two establishments--lady nelson's and merton--for which he was pecuniarily responsible. under this embarrassment he chafed, and with a sense of injustice which was not unfounded; for, if reward be proportioned to merit and to the importance of services rendered, nelson had been most inadequately repaid. for the single victories of st. vincent and camperdown, each commander-in-chief had received a pension of £3,000. the nile and copenhagen together had brought him no more than £2,000; indeed, as he had already been granted £1,000 a year for st. vincent, another thousand may be said to have been all he got for two of the greatest victories of the war. in submitting a request for an increase, he asked pertinently, "was it, or not, the intention of his majesty's government to place my rewards for services lower than lord st. vincent or lord duncan?" there was, of course, the damaging circumstance that the conditions under which he chose to live made him poorer than he needed to be; but with this the government had no concern. its only care should have been that its recompense was commensurate with his deserts, and it is revolting to see a man like nelson, naturally high-toned and always liberal, forced to the undignified position of urging--and in vain--for the equal remuneration that should have been granted spontaneously long before. in his criticisms of the admiralty's general course, it does not appear whether nelson, who was hereafter to be the greatest sufferer from st. vincent's excessive economies, realized as yet the particular injury being done by them to the material of the navy. in his passion for reform, the veteran seaman obstinately shut his eyes to the threatening condition of the political atmosphere, and refused to recognize the imminent danger of a renewal of the war, because it necessarily would postpone his projected innovations. assuming the continuance of peace with all the violence of a prejudice, he permitted the strength and resources of the navy to deteriorate rapidly, both by direct action and by omission to act. "lord st. vincent," wrote minto in november, 1802, "is more violent than anybody against the war, and has declared that he will resign if ministers dare go to war. his principal reason is, i believe, that the ships are so much out of repair as to be unfit for service." "lord nelson," he says at the same period, "has been with me a long time to-day. he seems much of my mind on material points, but especially on the necessity of being better prepared than we now are." the admiral's own letters at this time make little allusion to the measures, or the neglects, which were rapidly undermining the efficiency of the fleet; but a year after leaving england he wrote, "with all my personal regard for lord st. vincent, i am sorry to see that he has been led astray by the opinion of ignorant people. there is scarcely a thing he has done since he has been at the admiralty that i have not heard him reprobate before he came to the board." much as he enjoyed his home and desired peace, nelson had never felt assured of its continuance. like great britain herself during this repose, he rested with his arms at his side, ready for a call. the prime minister, addington, has transmitted a curious story of the manner in which he exemplified his ideas of the proper mode of negotiating with bonaparte. "it matters not at all," he said, taking up a poker, "in what way i lay this poker on the floor. but if bonaparte should say it _must_ be placed in this direction," suiting the action to the word, "we must instantly insist upon its being laid in some other one." at the same time bonaparte, across the channel, was illustrating in almost identical phrase the indomitable energy that was common to these two men, the exponents of the two opposing and irreconcilable tendencies of their age. "if the british ministry should intimate that there was anything the first consul had not done, because he was prevented from doing it, that instant he would do it." "you have proved yourself too true a prophet," wrote an occasional correspondent to nelson, "for you have said ever since the peace that it could not be of long duration." jar after jar, as bonaparte drove his triumphal chariot over the prostrate continent, announced the instability of existing conditions; and the speech from the throne on the 16th of november, 1802, was distinctly ominous, if vague. nelson then seconded the address in the house of peers, in words so characteristic of his own temper, and of that then prevailing in the nation, that they serve to explain the strong accord between him and it, and to show why he was so readily and affectionately distinguished as its representative hero. they are thus reported:- "i, my lords, have in different countries, seen much of the miseries of war. i am, therefore, in my inmost soul, a man of peace. yet i would not, for the sake of any peace, however fortunate, consent to sacrifice one jot of england's honour. our honour is inseparably combined with our genuine interest. hitherto there has been nothing greater known on the continent than the faith, the untainted honour, the generous public sympathies, the high diplomatic influence, the commerce, the grandeur, the resistless power, the unconquerable valour of the british nation. wherever i have served in foreign countries, i have witnessed these to be sentiments with which britons were regarded. the advantages of such a reputation are not to be lightly brought into hazard. i, for one, rejoice that his majesty has signified his intention to pay due regard to the connection between the interests of this country and the preservation of the liberties of europe. it is satisfactory to know, that the preparations to maintain our dignity in peace, are not to be neglected. those supplies which his majesty shall for such purposes demand, his people will most earnestly grant. the nation is satisfied that the government seeks in peace or war no interest separate from that of the people at large; and as the nation was pleased with that sincere spirit of peace with which the late treaty was negotiated, so, now that a restless and unjust ambition in those with whom we desired sincere amity has given a new alarm, the country will rather prompt the government to assert its honour, than need to be roused to such measures of vigorous defence as the exigency of the times may require." during the winter, bonaparte, resentful of great britain's claim to a voice in the politics of the continent, became more and more distinctly menacing in deed and word. on the 20th of february, 1803, in a message to the legislature, he made the imprudent, because useless, vaunt, "this government says with just pride, england, alone, cannot to-day contend against france." two days later minto, who was in opposition, was told by nelson, "in strict confidence," that for some time back there had been great doubts between peace and war in the ministry. "one measure in contemplation has been to send him to the mediterranean, by way of watching the armament and being ready if wanted. he says that he is thought the fitter for that delicate service, as on the one hand he wishes the continuance of peace, and therefore is not likely to precipitate matters, and on the other hand bonaparte knows that if he hoists his flag it will not be in joke." it had for some time been arranged that, if war came, he was to have the mediterranean command. on the 8th of march, 1803, the king sent a message to parliament, that, in consequence of military preparations going on in the ports of france and holland, he judged expedient to adopt additional measures of precaution for the security of his dominions. while this was under discussion in the upper house, nelson, impressed with the idea that war must come, left his seat, and wrote to the prime minister the following line: "whenever it is necessary, i am _your_ admiral." yet he felt the tug at his heartstrings as he never had before. "war or peace?" he writes to his old flag-captain, berry. "every person has a different opinion. i fear perhaps the former, as i hope so much the latter." only with large reservations would he now have repeated the rule codrington tells us he inculcated,--"that every man became a bachelor after passing the rock of gibraltar, and he was not very tardy in showing that he practised what he preached. honour, glory and distinction were the whole object of his life, and that dear domestic happiness never abstracted his attention." he did, indeed, rail at marriage[57] during his last cruise, now fast approaching; but his passionate devotion to lady hamilton, and his yearning for home, knew no abatement. yet, through all and over all, the love of glory and the sense of honor continued to the last to reign supreme. "government cannot be more anxious for my departure," he tells st. vincent, "than i am, if a war, to go." meantime the necessary preparations were quietly progressing, while the diplomatic discussions with france became more and more bitter and hopeless, turning mainly on the question of malta, though the root of the trouble lay far deeper. the "victory," of a hundred guns, was named for nelson's flag, her officers appointed, and the ship commissioned. on the 6th of may he received orders to prepare for departure. on the 12th the british ambassador left paris, having handed in the government's ultimatum and demanded his passports. on the 16th great britain declared war against france, and the same day nelson at the admiralty received his commission as commander-in-chief in the mediterranean. within forty-eight hours he joined the "victory" at portsmouth, and on the 20th sailed for his station. thus ended the longest period of retirement enjoyed by nelson, from the opening of the war with france, in 1793, until his death in 1805. during it, besides the separation from lady nelson, two great breaks occurred in his personal ties and surroundings. his father died at bath on the 26th of april, 1802, at the age of seventy-nine. there had been no breach in the love between the two, but it seems to the author impossible to overlook, in the guarded letters of the old man to his famous son, a tinge of regret and disapproval for the singular circumstances under which he saw fit to live. that he gladly accepted the opinion professed by many friends, naval and others, and carefully fostered by the admiral, that his relations with lady hamilton were perfectly innocent, is wholly probable; but, despite the usual silence concerning his own views, observed by himself and nelson, two clues to his thought and action appear in his letters. one is the remark, already quoted, that gratitude required him to spend some of his time with lady nelson. the other, singular and suggestive, is the casual mention to nelson that he had received an anonymous letter, containing "severe reproaches for my conduct to you, which is such, it seems, as will totally separate us."[58] there is no record that he permitted himself to use direct expostulation, and it seems equally clear that he would not, by any implication, manifest approval or acquiescence. it has been said, indeed, but only upon the authority of lady hamilton, that it was his intention to take up his residence entirely at merton, with the admiral and the hamiltons; an act which would have given express countenance to the existing arrangements, and disavowed, more strongly than any words, the bearing imputed to him by the anonymous letter. in whose interest would such a letter most likely be penned? nelson mourned him sincerely, but was prevented by illness from being present at the funeral. he is a man known to us only by his letters, which are marked by none of the originality that distinguishes the professional utterances of the admiral, and cannot be said to rise much above the commonplace; but they show a strong and unaffected piety, and particularly a cheerful, resolute, acceptance of the infirmities of protracted old age, which possesses charm and inspires respect. there is also a clear indication of the firmness that characterized nelson himself, in the determination, amid all the feebleness of age, and notwithstanding his pride and love for his famous son, upon whom, too, he was partially dependent, that he would not join in the general abandonment of the wife by the husband's family. his attitude in this regard, as far as can be inferred from his letters, commands sympathy and admiration. a year later, on the 6th of april, 1803, sir william hamilton also died, "in lady hamilton's and my arms," wrote nelson, "without a sigh or a struggle. the world never lost a more upright and accomplished gentleman." lady hamilton, with ready tears, recorded: "unhappy day for the forlorn emma. ten minutes past ten dear blessed sir william left me." the grouping of figures and emotions at that death-bed was odd almost beyond comprehension; one of the most singular studies which human nature has presented to itself of its powers of self-cajolement. a man systematically deceived, yet apparently sincerely regarded, and affectionately tended to the last by his betrayers, one of whom at least prided himself, and for the most part not unjustly, upon his fidelity to his friends. hamilton, alone among the three, seems to have been single-minded--to have viewed their mutual relations to the end, not with cynical indifference, but with a simplicity of confidence hard to be understood in a man of his antecedents. it may have been, however, that he recognized the inevitable in the disparity of years and in his wife's early training, and that he chose to cover her failings with a self-abnegation that was not without nobility. upon such a tacit affirmation he set a final seal in a codicil to his will, well calculated to silence those who saw scandal in the association between his wife and his friend. "the copy of madam le brunn's picture of emma, in enamel, by bone, i give to my dearest friend lord nelson, duke of bronté, a very small token of the great regard i have for his lordship, the most virtuous, loyal, and truly brave character i ever met with. god bless him, and shame fall on those who do not say amen." sir william's death, by withdrawing the husband's countenance to nelson's remaining under the same roof, might have complicated matters for the two lovers, but the outbreak of war necessitated the admiral's departure a month later. when he returned to england for the last time, in august, 1805, he was, deservedly, the object of such widespread popular devotion, and his stay was so short, that the voice of censure was hushed amid the general murmur of affectionate admiration. the noble qualities of the man, the exalted spirit of self-sacrifice and heroic aspiration that breathed in his utterances, and was embodied, not only in his brilliant deeds, but in the obscure, patient endurance of the last two years, evoked a sentiment which spread over him and her a haze of tender sympathy that still survives. in the glory of trafalgar, in his last touching commendation of her and his child to the british government, in the general grief of the nation, there was justly no room to remember their fault; both acquaintance and strangers saw in her only the woman whom he loved to the end. the sisters of nelson, women of mature years and irreproachable character, maintained a correspondence with lady hamilton during their lives; long after his death, and the departure of his influence, removed any interested motive for courting her friendship. between them and lady nelson, on the other hand, the breach was final. their occasional mention of her is unfriendly, and upon the whole contemptuous; while she, as far as can be judged from their letters, returned to them an equal measure of disdain. footnotes: [39] josiah nisbet, her son. [40] nelson's eldest brother. there appear to have been two copies of this letter in nelson's hand. one, of which the latter half only remains, is in the british museum. it bears the endorsement of lady nelson, as given. the other copy, entire, is in the alfred morrison collection--number 536. nelson probably sent a copy to lady hamilton to satisfy her exigencies that the breach was final. the two correspond, word for word,--as far, that is, as the former remains. maurice nelson died in april, 1801. [41] nelson several times spoke of nisbet's early promise. the author is indebted to mrs. f.h.b. eccles, nisbet's granddaughter, for a copy of the following letter from st. vincent to his sister mrs. ricketts:-london, january 22, 1807. my dear sister,--upon reflexion it appears best to send you the only letters i can find relative to captain nisbet, and to authorize you to assert in my name that lord nelson assured me that he owed his life to the resolution and admirable conduct of his stepson, when wounded at teneriffe, and that he had witnessed many instances of his courage and enterprise. yours most affectionately, st. vincent. this letter explains how st. vincent, feeling the value of nelson's life to the country, granted, in the still warm memories of teneriffe, a promotion which must have been sorely against his judgment. [42] nicolas, vol. vii. addenda, p. ccix. in a letter to lady hamilton of the same date, nelson says: "read the enclosed, and send it if you approve. who should i consult but my friends?" (morrison, vol. ii. p. 142.) whether the enclosed was this letter to davison cannot be said; but it is likely. compare foot-note, preceding page. [43] nelson. [44] lady nelson. [45] morrison, vol. ii. p. 137. [46] on the 21st of september, 1802, six months before hamilton's death, he was still £1,200 in nelson's debt. (morrison, vol. ii. p. 404.) [47] morrison, no. 684. [48] _ante_, p. 43. [49] from mr. g. lathora browne's "nelson: his public and private life," london, 1891, p. 412. [50] naval chronicle, vol. xxxvii. p. 445. [51] life of rev. a.j. scott, d.d., p. 191. [52] nicolas, vol. iv. p. 533. [53] ibid., vol. vii. p. ccx. author's italics. [54] ibid., vol. v. p. 60. [55] it is possible that nelson here used the word "reflect" in the primary sense of reflecting honor; but in the secondary sense of being a reflection upon those who had denied a just claim, the phrase, ambiguous as it stands, represented accurately his feelings. "i own, my dear sir," he said again to the premier, with reference to this decoration, "great as this honour will be, it will have its alloy, if i cannot at the same time wear the medal for the battle of copenhagen, the greatest and most honourable reward in the power of our sovereign to bestow, as it marks my personal services." [56] see pettigrew, vol. ii. p. 225; morrison, vol. ii. p. 176. [57] this habit is mentioned by captain james hillyar, for extracts from whose journals the author is indebted to admiral sir w.r. mends, g.c.b. [58] morrison collection, no. 632, october 8, 1801. chapter xix. commander-in-chief in the mediterranean.--the long watch off toulon.--occupations of a commander-in-chief. may, 1803--january, 1805. age, 45-46. when nelson, after a three years' absence, returned to the mediterranean in 1803, he found the conditions, upon which the military balance of power there depended, greatly altered from those he had known during the period of his previous service. he had been present, indeed, almost an eye-witness, at the tremendous reverse associated with the name of marengo, for that battle, it will be remembered, was fought while he was at leghorn on his return to england; but marengo, and the conventions following it, were at the moment only the beginning of an end which then could not be foreseen. the most significant token of the entire change of conditions--of the predominant, far-reaching, and firmly fastened grip of france on the land--was the presence of an army corps of fifteen thousand men in the extreme southeast of italy, occupying the kingdom of naples from the river ofanto, on the adriatic coast, round to the bradano on the gulf of taranto, and including the useful ports of brindisi and taranto. this distant and ex-centric extension of the arms of the republic bespoke bonaparte's confidence in the solidity of his situation in the south of europe; for under previous circumstances, even after his victorious campaign of 1796, he had always deprecated an occupation of naples, and relied upon threats and a display of force to insure the quiescence of that state. that one of his first steps, upon the renewal of war with great britain, should have been to place a large body of troops in a position he once considered so exposed, shows the fulness of his conviction that upon the continent he had, for the moment, nothing to fear from the other great powers. strongly stirred as they had been by his highhanded aggressions, none as yet ventured to call him directly to account. great britain, the least immediately affected, had stepped into the lists, and demanded not only that aggression should cease, but that the state of the continent should be restored as it existed when she signed the treaty of amiens. with this requirement she maintained the war, single-handed, from may, 1803, to the autumn of 1805. it was not without reason that bonaparte reckoned upon the inaction of the continent. austria, although profoundly discontented by much he had done since the peace of lunéville, in 1801, was too thoroughly disheartened and exhausted by the unsuccessful and protracted struggle which preceded it, to be ready to renew the strife. limited as she now was, by the treaty, to the eastern bank of the adige, there was in northern italy no force to threaten the french communications, between their divisions in the valley of the po and the one at the heel of the peninsula. prussia, playing a double part for years back, seeking from day to day the favor of the most powerful, was wholly committed for the time to the first consul; while russia, although her youthful sovereign had abandoned the anti-british policy of his predecessor, remained undecided as to the general course she should pursue amid the ever-shifting perplexities of the day. less fantastic in imagination than his insane father, alexander i. inherited a visionary tendency, which hindered practical action, and showed itself in plans too vast and complicated for realization, even when two rulers of the overwhelming power of himself and napoleon, at a later date, set their hands to the task. swayed, alternately, by sympathy with the ancient order of things, which great britain for the moment represented, and by prospects of russian aggrandizement, which bonaparte dangled before his eyes, the czar halted between two opinions, pleasing himself, meanwhile, in weaving, with associates of his own age, schemes for a general reorganization of europe. in these the interests of russia naturally, and quite properly, had a leading part, and not least in those seas and regions that fell within the limits of nelson's command. the power of the great states which lay to the northward and eastward of him being thus neutralized, bonaparte found upon the land nothing to oppose his will, or to contest his influence, in the smaller and weaker nations to the southward and westward, close to his own doors, but isolated from the rest of europe, except by sea--a weighty exception. spain, reduced to virtual vassalage in the previous war, no longer even pretended to dispute his orders. she was not engaged in the present hostilities, simply because it suited him better to take a money tribute from her, and to enjoy for french ships the benevolent neutrality of spanish ports, more necessary to them than to the british. moreover, if spain joined in the war, minorca, restored to her at the peace, would be at the mercy of great britain, and port mahon, the fine haven of that island, was always a menace to toulon. the harbors of remote portugal, where lisbon formerly had given powerful support to the british fleet, were now closed to it for offensive operations; and nelson, within whose command its seaboard lay, was strictly enjoined to refrain from any such use of them, even from sending in prizes, except under stress of weather. in italy, piedmont had been incorporated with france, while the italian and ligurian (genoa) republics in the north were so identified with her in action, and so submissive to her, that the capture of the latter's ships was at once ordered by nelson; and he recommended to his government that a formal blockade should be proclaimed of her ports, as well as of leghorn, where the french flag was flown on the same staff as the tuscan. the states of the pope, intermediate between these tributaries of bonaparte in the north and his garrisoned province in naples, enjoyed only such precarious independence as he from day to day allowed. but, mighty as was the growth of french ascendency, as shown by these changes, the very advantages accruing to france from her advanced maritime positions laid her further open to the sea power of great britain. the neutrality of genoa and tuscany could no longer embarrass the british admiral, as it had nelson in 1795 and 1796. offensive operations against them were now merely a question of adequate force, and the south of france depended greatly upon free access to their ports. taking piedmont from the king of sardinia, too, relieved any scruples the british might have concerning their use of the island of sardinia injuring a friendly monarch, a consideration which kept them away from sicily. nelson, instructed by the experience and observation of the recent past, and by a certain prescient sagacity which was at once native and cultivated in him, recognized that the mediterranean, with its immense indented coast line, its positions of critical importance,--such as the straits of gibraltar and the bosphorus, egypt and malta,--and its comparatively short water distances, was the field of operations to which the maritime ambitions of bonaparte, debarred a wider flight by the sea-power of great britain, must inevitably incline. to this contributed also its remoteness from england, as well as its nearness to france and to the ports subject to her influence in italy and spain; while the traditional ambitions of french rulers, for three centuries back, had aspired to control in the levant, and had regarded turkey for that reason as a natural ally. it was, therefore, not merely as magnifying his own office, nor yet as the outcome of natural bias, resulting from long service in its waters, that nelson saw in the mediterranean the region at once for defence and offence against bonaparte; where he might be most fatally checked, and where also he might be induced most surely to steps exhaustive to his strength. this conviction was, indeed, rather an instance of accurate intuition than of formulated reasoning. clear, ample, and repeated, as are his demonstrations of the importance of the various positions at stake, and of the measures necessary to be taken, they rather apply to the necessities of the moment than indicate a wide scheme of policy, which should divert the energies of the enemy to the south of europe, and so provide the best of defences against his projected invasion of england. yet even of such broader view tokens are not wanting. "to say the truth," he writes to the queen of naples, "i do not believe we had in the last war, and, according to all appearance, we shall not have in the present one either, plans of a sufficiently grand scale to force france to keep within her proper limits. small measures produce only small results. the intelligent mind of your majesty will readily comprehend the great things which might be effected in the mediterranean. on this side buonaparte is the most vulnerable. it is from here that it would be the most easy to mortify his pride, and so far humble him, as to make him accept reasonable conditions of peace." it cannot be claimed, however, that there entered into nelson's thoughts, for italy, any such diversion as that by which the spanish peninsular war some years later drained the life blood of france. the time, indeed, was not yet ripe, nor would the scene have been in any way as favorable to great britain; and, moreover, so far from being ready to threaten, her energies were effectually constrained to her own defence, by the superior audacity and direct threats of bonaparte. even the limited suggestions for the employment of troops in the mediterranean, made by nelson from time to time, failed to receive attention, and he himself was left to struggle on as best he might, with inadequate means and upon a bare defensive, even in naval matters. great britain, in short, had stripped herself, incautiously, so bare, and was so alarmed by the french demonstrations of invasion, that she for the moment could think only of the safety of her territory and of her home waters, and her offensive operations were confined to the sea. bonaparte understood as fully as nelson the importance of the mediterranean to him. his mind was set upon the extension of france's dominion therein,--in its islands, upon its northern and southern shores, and in the east; nor was he troubled with scruples as to the means by which that object might be attained. during the short peace of amiens, lord keith had felt it necessary to take precautions against the re-occupation of corfu by the french troops; and again at a later date had stationed a ship for the same purpose at the madalena islands, belonging to sardinia, which nelson afterwards made a rendezvous for his fleet. algiers, too, had attracted the first consul's attention. "algiers will be french in one year after a peace," wrote nelson in august, 1804. "you see it, and a man may run and read; that is the plan of buonaparte." "the ministers of the dey must know, that an armament at toulon, and a large army, after the peace with great britain, was intended to land and plunder algiers, which they doubtless would have effected, had not a british fleet been placed in oristan bay [sardinia] to watch their motions." these and similar reasons had led the british government to maintain the mediterranean squadron nearly upon a war footing during the peace. but, if bonaparte's purpose was fixed to control the mediterranean some day, it now was set also upon the invasion of england; and although he looked and plotted in many directions, taking long views, and neglecting no opportunity to secure advanced footholds for future uses, he had not yet reached the stage in his development when he would divide his energies between two gigantic undertakings. one at a time, and with an accumulation of force abundantly adequate to the end in view, was his policy all the days of nelson. the mediterranean with its varied interests was to him at this time one of several means, by which he hoped to distract british counsels and to dissever british strength; but it was no part of his design to provoke great britain to measures which would convert her alarm for the mediterranean peninsulas into open war with them, or in them, compelling france either to recede from thence, or to divert thither a force that might weaken his main effort. his aim was to keep anxiety keenly alive, and to cut short the resources of his enemy, by diplomatic pressure upon neutral states, up to the last extreme that could be borne without war against them being declared, as the lesser evil; and the nearer he could approach this delicate boundary line, without crossing it, the greater his success. "i do not think a spanish war [that is, a declaration by spain] so near," wrote nelson in november, 1803. "we are more likely to go to war with spain for her complaisance to the french; but the french can gain nothing, but be great losers, by forcing spain to go to war with us; therefore, i never expect that the spaniards will begin, unless buonaparte is absolutely mad, as many say he is. i never can believe that he or his counsellors are such fools as to force spain to begin." the course instinctively advocated by nelson, transpiring through occasional utterances, was directly contrary to bonaparte's aims and would have marred his game. "we never wanted ten thousand troops more than at this moment," nelson wrote shortly after he had reached the station and become acquainted with the state of affairs. "they might save naples, sicily, the morea and egypt, by assisting and giving confidence to the inhabitants." "it has been my plan to have 10,000 disposable troops in the mediterranean," he wrote to acton; and he regretted to the ministry that they should have withdrawn all the fine army which had regained egypt in 1801. "the sending them home," he remarked to an occasional correspondent, "was a very inconsiderate measure, to say nothing further of it." his idea was to garrison gaeta and naples on the coast of the mainland, and messina in sicily; and to throw a force into the mountains of calabria, which should sustain and give cohesion to the insurrection that he confidently expected would follow. with the british fleet covering the approaches by water, and sustaining and reinforcing garrisons in the ports, there would be imposed upon the enemy, unless he chose to abandon southern italy, a scene of operations in a distant, difficult country, with a long and narrow line of communications, flanked throughout by the sea, and particularly by the two fortified harbors which he proposed to occupy. "the peasantry would, i believe, defend their mountains, and at least it would give a check to the movements of the french, and give us time to get a fleet into the mediterranean." that the attempt would have been ultimately successful, against such power as napoleon then wielded, cannot be affirmed; but, until put down, it necessarily would have engaged a force very disproportionate to its own numbers, drawing off in great part the army destined against england, as it was diverted two years later by austria, and giving opportunity for changes in the political conditions, even to the formation of a new coalition. nelson, therefore, was not far from right in reasoning that the mediterranean should, and therefore would, be the chief scene of operations. in bonaparte's eyes, to invade britain was, justly, the greatest of all ends, the compassing of which would cause all the rest to fall. nelson, weighing the difficulties of that enterprise more accurately than could be done by one unaccustomed to the sea, doubted the reality of the intention, and thought it more consonant to the true policy of france to seize control of the mediterranean, by a sudden concentration of her fleets, and then to transport her troops by water to the heel of italy, to the ionian islands, to the morea, to egypt. so stationed, with fortified stepping-stones rising at short intervals from the deep, future movements of troops and supplies from point to point would be but an affair of coasters, slipping from battery to battery, such as he had experienced to his cost in the riviera. in this project he thought it likely that france could secure the co-operation of russia, by allowing the latter her share of the spoils of turkey, especially in constantinople. he saw, indeed, that the partition would involve some difficulty between the two partners, and in his correspondence he attributes the morea and the islands, now to one, now to the other; but the prediction, elicited piece-meal from his letters, received a close fulfilment four years later in the general tenor of the agreements of tilsit, nor was it less accurate in its dim prophecy of a disagreement. such, in broad outline, were the prepossessions and views nelson took with him from england in 1803, as modified by the information he received upon reaching the station; and such the counter-projects of bonaparte, to whom belonged, as the privilege of the offensive, the choice of direction for his attack. the essential difference between the two was, that one believed the invasion of england, however difficult, to be possible, and therefore to be the true and first object of his efforts; while the other, without pronouncing that attempt impossible, saw its difficulties so clearly, that he conceived his enemy must be aiming for the mediterranean from the beginning. it is permissible to remark that bonaparte, after the failure of the invasion, first busied himself in reducing austria, prussia, and russia, successively, to the state of inaction in which they were in 1803; next came to an understanding with the latter, such as nelson had foreseen; and then turned to the mediterranean, where he established his own rule in naples, in the ionian islands, on the eastern shore of the adriatic, and finally in the spanish peninsula. beyond that his advance was stayed by the sea power of great britain, which at last wrought his ruin. thus in the event the predictions of the british admiral were postponed, but not falsified. nelson's characteristic impatience and energy hurried him on from the moment he took up his command. "i cannot sail before to-morrow," he said repeatedly in portsmouth, "and that's an age." "if the devil stands at the door," he tells st. vincent, "we shall sail to-morrow forenoon." the admiralty, in its primary anxiety about brest, imposed upon him a delay under which he chafed angrily. he was directed to meet off that port the squadron of admiral cornwallis, in order that, if the latter wanted the "victory," she might be left there, and an intimation was even given that he was "on no account to pass admiral cornwallis, so as to run any chance of his being deprived of the services of the victory, if he should judge it necessary to detain her." nelson resented the implication that he was capable of evading an order, like a frigate-captain parting company to better his chance of prize-money. "i beg to assure you that i hold it impossible for any officer, under such orders as their lordships' to me, to designedly miss admiral cornwallis off brest." on the 22d of may he was off ushant, between which and cornwallis's rendezvous he passed twenty-four hours, fuming and fretting over a delay that was losing him a fresh, fair, northerly wind; the more so, that he was satisfied cornwallis neither needed nor wanted the ship. "from his conduct,"--not being on his rendezvous,--"i am clear there can be nothing in brest to demand his attention." on the 23d, however, he could stand it no longer. "what a wind we are losing!" "if the wisdom of my superiors had not prevented me," he growled, "at this moment i should have been off the coast of portugal. i am aware of the importance of my getting to the mediterranean, and think i might safely have been allowed to proceed in the victory." at 6 p.m. of that day, cornwallis not turning up, he tumbled himself and his suite on board the frigate "amphion," which was in company, and continued his voyage, going out in all the discomfort of "a convict," to use st. vincent's expression; "seven or eight sleeping in one cabin," as nelson himself described it. "it is against my own judgment but in obedience to orders," he told the earl; while to the prime minister, with whom he was in personal correspondence, he lamented the loss, "for i well know the weight of the victory in the mediterranean." as he anticipated, cornwallis did not want the ship, and she joined nelson two months afterwards off toulon. late in the evening of june 3d, the "amphion" anchored at gibraltar, whither she brought the first certain news of the war, though it had been declared nearly three weeks before. the next day was actively employed in giving necessary instructions to the yard officials, and detailing cruisers to guard the entrance to the straits, and to maintain the communications with the barbary coast, upon which the rock depended for supplies of fresh provisions. at 4 p.m. the ship again sailed for malta, accompanied by the frigate "maidstone," to which, on the 11th of june, was transferred, for direct passage to naples by the north of sicily, the new british minister to the two sicilies, mr. elliot, who had embarked with nelson on board the "victory," and afterwards gone with him to the "amphion." throughout the following two years an active correspondence, personal and diplomatic, was maintained with this gentleman, who, like his brother, lord minto, placed the utmost dependence upon the political sagacity and tact of the admiral. when the latter, a year later, spoke of leaving the station on account of his health, elliot wrote to him: "where such great interests are concerned, i shall not presume to dwell upon my own feelings, although i cannot but recall to your lordship that i only consented to depart as abruptly as i did from england, to undertake this arduous and ruinous mission, from the expectation that my efforts to direct the councils of this kingdom would have been seconded by your pre-eminent talents and judgment." after the two frigates parted, the "amphion" kept on to malta, where she arrived on the 15th of june. with the separation of the "maidstone" nelson began the extensive diplomatic correspondence, which employed so much of his time during this command, and through which we are made familiar with the workings of his mind on the general political conditions of the mediterranean. she carried from him letters to the king and queen of the sicilies, to their prime minister, acton, and to the british minister to the court of sardinia. to these succeeded, upon his arrival in malta,--as a better point of departure for the farther east, now that the french held the west coast of the adriatic,--despatches to the british minister to the porte, to the grand vizier and the capitan pacha, to the republic of the seven islands, as the group of corfu and its sisters was now styled, and to the british representative to their government. all these communications were, of course, tentative, based upon a yet imperfect knowledge of conditions. for the most part they conveyed, besides the notification of his having taken the command, chiefly general assurances of the good-will of the writer's government, and an undefined intimation that all had best be on their guard against french scheming and aggressions. to naples he spoke more definitely, and indicated at once the considerations that would dictate his course, and, he intimated, should control theirs also. he had been instructed, he said, to consider the welfare of the two sicilies as one of the first of british objects, and his government was convinced of the advantages that would accrue both to sicily and naples, if their neutrality could be maintained. they had to do, however, with an enemy that was not only powerful, but wily and unscrupulous; one whose action would be governed wholly by considerations of interest and expediency, not by those of right. great britain could not, probably, keep the french out of naples, but she could out of sicily, provided, and only provided, messina was adequately garrisoned and held. if, however, there was any hasty overt action taken, looking to the security of sicily, it might merely precipitate the seizure of naples and the entire conquest of the king's continental dominions; or, "ten times more humiliating," leave him "an odious commissary to raise contributions from his unhappy subjects for the french." on the other hand, if, to avert suspicion, there was too much slackness in the measures to guard sicily, messina might be suddenly seized, the gates of the island thus thrown open, and, sicily once lost, "_naples falls of course_." "it is a most important point," he wrote to elliot soon after, "to decide when sicily ought to be placed in a state of security. for the present, i am content to say that messina need not be taken possession of; but the strictest watch must be kept by sir john acton that we are not lulled into a fatal security, and thus lose both kingdoms. to save for the moment naples, we risk the two kingdoms, and general acton must join me in this heavy responsibility." "my whole opinion rests in these few words--_that we must not risk sicily too far in trying to save naples; therefore, general acton, yourself and myself must keep a good lookout_." this summed up the conditions for naples during the long two years of watching and waiting, while bonaparte, concentrating his purposes upon his invasion scheme, was content to leave things quiet in the south. to check, as far as might be, the designs of the french towards morea or towards sicily, on either side of the central position they held at the heel of italy, nelson employed a proportionately large number of cruisers--five--between messina and the mouth of the adriatic; while, to provide for the safety of the royal family, he kept always a ship-of-the-line in the bay of naples, the british minister holding orders for her captain to embark them at a moment's notice, and take them to sicily. "i have kept everything here to save italy, if in my power," he wrote elliot two months later, "and you know i was ordered to send a squadron outside the straits. fourteen days ago, a french seventy-four got into cadiz from santo domingo, and two french frigates, with some merchant ships. what will they say at home? however, i feel i have done right, and care not." "i must place a squadron between elba and genoa," he says again, "to prevent that expedition from moving, and also send some ships to the straits' mouth, and keep enough to watch the ships in toulon. these are all important objects, but nothing when compared to the security of the sicilies." nelson's anxiety for sicily threw him again into contact with an instance of that rigid and blind conformity to orders which always exasperated him. he had brought out directions to the general commanding in malta, to hold a detachment of two thousand british troops in readiness to go at once to messina, on the appearance of danger, and to garrison the works there, if he thought they could be spared from the defence of malta. nelson told the prime minister that discretion, as to such a step, was a responsibility greater than the average officer could bear, and would certainly defeat the object in view; for he would never feel his charge secure enough to permit such a diminution. there was at this time in malta a body of neapolitan soldiers, which had been sent there during the peace of amiens, in accordance with a stipulation of the treaty. the general received an order to send them to messina. nelson had pointed out to him that if he did so, in the divided state of feeling in the neapolitan dominions, and with the general character of neapolitan officers, for both efficiency and fidelity, the citadel would not be safe from betrayal at their hands. "i have requested him to keep the orders secret, and not to send them; for if they got into messina, they would certainly not keep the french out one moment, and it would give a good excuse for not asking us to secure messina." "if general acton sends for them we must submit; but at present we need not find means of sending them away." the british general, however, sent them over, and then the neapolitan governor, as nelson foretold, said it was quite unnecessary for any british to come. "i must apprise you," wrote nelson to addington, "that general villettes, although a most excellent officer, will do nothing but what he receives, 'you are hereby required and directed;' for to obey, is with him the very acme of discipline. with respect to sicily, i have no doubt but that the french will have it. my former reasons for inducing general villettes to keep the neapolitan troops in malta, was to prevent what has happened; but, in a month after my back was turned, villettes obeyed his orders, and now the governor of messina says, 'we can defend it, and want no assistance.' his whole conduct, i am bold to say, is either that of a traitor or a fool."[59] upon his own subordinates nelson laid a distinct charge, that he should expect them to use their judgment and act upon it with independence, sure of his generous construction and support of their action. "we must all in our several stations," he tells one of them, "exert ourselves to the utmost, and not be nonsensical in saying, 'i have an order for this, that, and the other,' if the king's service clearly marks what ought to be done. i am well convinced of your zeal." in accordance with this, he was emphatic in his expressions of commendation for action rightly taken; a bare, cold approval was not adequate reward for deeds which he expected to reproduce his own spirit and temper, vivifying the whole of his command, and making his presence virtually co-extensive with its utmost limits. no severer condemnation, perhaps, was ever implied by him, than when he wrote to sidney smith, unqualifiedly, "i strictly charge and command you never to give any french ship or man leave to quit egypt." to deny an officer discretion was as scathing an expression of dissatisfaction as nelson could utter; and as he sowed, so he reaped, in a devotion and vigor of service few have elicited equally. in malta nelson remained but thirty-six hours. arriving at 4 p.m. on the evening of june 15th, he sailed again at 4 a.m. of the 17th. he had expected partly to find the fleet there; but by an odd coincidence, on the same day that he hoisted his flag in portsmouth, it had sailed, although in ignorance of the war, to cruise between sicily and naples; whence, on the day he left gibraltar, the commanding officer, sir richard bickerton, had started for toulon,--"very judiciously," said nelson,--the instant he heard of the renewal of hostilities. the "amphion" passed through the straits of messina, and within sight of naples, carrying nelson once more over well-known seas, and in sight of fondly remembered places. "i am looking at _dear_ naples, if it is what it was," he wrote to elliot from off capri. "close to capri," he tells lady hamilton, "the view of vesuvius calls so many circumstances to my mind, that it almost overpowers my feelings." "i am using force upon myself to keep away," he had already said to acton; "for i think it likely, was i to fly to naples, which i am much inclined to do, that the french might turn it to some plea against those good sovereigns." in his anxiety to join the fleet, and get in touch of the french, the length of the passage, three weeks, caused him great vexation, and deepened his convictions of the uselessness of the island to his squadron off toulon. "my opinion of malta, as a naval station for watching the french in toulon, is well known; and my present experience of what will be a three weeks' passage, most fully confirms me in it. the fleet can never go there, if i can find any other corner to put them in; but having said this, i now declare, that i consider malta as a most important outwork to india, that it will ever give us great influence in the levant, and indeed all the southern parts of italy. in this view, i hope we shall never give it up." "malta and toulon are entirely different services. it takes upon an average seven weeks to get an answer to a letter. when i am forced to send a ship there, i never see her under two months." with gibraltar, however, malta gave the british two impregnable and secure bases of operations, within reasonable distance of one another, and each in close proximity to points most essential to control. during nelson's entire command, the three chief centres of interest and of danger were the straits of gibraltar, the heel of italy, and toulon. the narrowing of the trade routes near the two former rendered them points of particular exposure for merchant shipping. around them, therefore, and in dependence upon them, gathered the largest bodies of the cruisers which kept down privateering, and convoyed the merchant ships, whose protection was not the least exacting of the many cares that fell upon nelson. upon the malta division depended also the watch over the mouth of the adriatic and the straits of messina, by which nelson hoped to prevent the passage of the french, in small bodies, to either sicily, the morea, or the ionian islands. malta in truth, even in nelson's time, was the base for operations only less important than the destruction of the toulon fleet. the latter he rightly considered his principal mission, success in which would solve most other maritime difficulties. "my first object must ever be to keep the french fleet in check; and, if they put to sea, to have force enough with me to _annihilate_ them. that would keep the two sicilies free from any attack from sea." on the 8th of july the "amphion" joined the fleet off toulon. it numbered then nine ships-of-the-line, with three smaller cruisers. "as far as outside show goes," he reported to st. vincent, "the ships look very well; but they complain of their bottoms, and are very short of men." the fact was, as he afterwards explained, that before the war came they had been expecting every day to go to england, and consequently had been allowed to run down gradually, a result which doubtless had been hastened by st. vincent's stringent economies. gibraltar and malta were both bare, nelson wrote six months later, and it was not the fault of the naval storekeepers. the ships, everywhere, were "distressed for almost every article. they have entirely eat up their stores, and their real wants not half complied with. i have applications from the different line-of-battle-ships for surveys on most of their sails and running rigging, which cannot be complied with, as there is neither cordage nor sails to replace the unserviceable stores, and, therefore, the evil must be combated in the best manner possible." as the whole navy had suffered from the same cause, there was no reserve of ships at home to replace those in the mediterranean, which, besides lacking everything, were between eight and nine hundred men short of their complement, or about one hundred for each ship-of-the-line. "we can send you neither ships nor men," wrote st. vincent as winter drew on; and even a year later, the administration which followed his found it impossible to replace the "crazy" vessels, of which nelson said only four were fit for winter cruising. "it is not a storeship a week," he declared, "that would keep them in repair." the trouble was greater because, when leaving malta, they had anticipated only a cruise of three weeks, which for many of them became two years. despite the difficulties, he determined that the fleet as a body should not go into port; nor should the individual ships-of-the-line, except when absolutely necessary, and then to gibraltar, not malta. "i have made up my mind never to go into port till after the battle, if they make me wait a year, provided the admiralty change the ships who cannot keep the sea in winter;" nor did the failure of the admiralty to meet this proviso alter his resolution. it was the carrying out of this decision, with ships in such condition, in a region where winds and seas were of exceptional violence, and supplies of food and water most difficult to be obtained, because surrounded in all directions by countries either directly hostile, or under the overmastering influence of bonaparte, that made the exercise of nelson's command during this period a triumph of naval administration and prevision. it does not necessarily follow that an officer of distinguished ability for handling a force in the face of an enemy, will possess also the faculty which foresees and provides for the many contingencies, upon which depend the constant efficiency and readiness of a great organized body; though both qualities are doubtless essential to constitute a great general officer. for twenty-two months nelson's fleet never went into a port, other than an open roadstead on a neutral coast, destitute of supplies; at the end of that time, when the need arose to pursue an enemy for four thousand miles, it was found massed, and in all respects perfectly prepared for so distant and sudden a call. to quote his own words, written a year before this summons in reply to an intimation from the admiralty to be on his guard against spain, "i have the pleasure to acquaint you that the squadron under my command is all collected, except the gibraltar,[60] complete in their provisions and stores to near five months, and in a perfect state of readiness to act as the exigency of the moment may determine." "with the resources of your mind," wrote st. vincent, when unable to reinforce him, "you will do very well;" and nelson, when he put off his harness, might have boasted himself that the prediction was more than fulfilled. provisions, water, and supplies of all sorts were brought to the ships on their station, either at sea, or in unfrequented roadsteads within the limits of the cruising ground. "i never could have spared the ships to go to gibraltar for them," he wrote to st. vincent, to whom he expressed his satisfaction with the way the plan worked. he soon abandoned, in fact, the method of sending individual ships for water, because of the long absence thus entailed. when water could not be brought in transports, or rather could not easily be transhipped owing to the badness of the season, he thought it better to take the whole fleet to the nearest watering-place than to divide its strength. fresh provisions, absolutely indispensable to the health of the ships' companies, constituted the greatest of difficulties. opposition to furnishing them must be expected wherever french influence could be felt. "the great distance from malta or gibraltar renders the getting such refreshments from those places, in a regular manner, absolutely impossible;" and from the spanish ports, barcelona or rosas, which were near his cruising ground, they could be had only "clandestinely." government bills would not be taken there, nor in barbary or sardinia, where bullocks might be got. hard money must be paid, and about this there was some routine bureau difficulty. "i certainly hate to have anything to do with the management of money," he wrote, "but i submit the propriety of lodging public money on board the fleet, for the purpose of paying for fresh beef and vegetables, provided, but on _no account otherwise_, that the simple receipt from the captain of the ship may be a sufficient voucher for the disbursement of such money." absolutely disposed as he was to assume political or military responsibilities, he was not willing, even for the health of the fleet, to incur the risk of pecuniary imputations for himself or his captains. great dexterity of management was required to obtain these supplies, without drawing, upon those who gave them, such tokens of displeasure from bonaparte as might result in their discontinuance. towards spain, although he felt for her perplexities, nelson took a firm tone. she was nominally neutral, and enjoyed privileges as such; he insisted therefore that she should deal equal measure to both belligerents. "i am ready to make large allowances for the miserable situation spain has placed herself in; but there is a certain line beyond which i cannot submit to be treated with disrespect." that line of forbearance was dictated, of course, less by indulgence towards spain than by the necessities of great britain, which nelson, however indignant, was too good a diplomatist to drop out of sight; but he kept up a pressure which secured very substantial assistance, though grudgingly given. "refreshments we have a right to as long as we remain at peace, and if this goes on"--the refusal, that is, to allow provisions to be bought in quantities--"you may acquaint them that i will anchor in rosas with the squadron, and receive our daily supplies, which will offend the french much more than our staying at sea." towards naples, as secretly friendly to great britain, he was of course far more tender; and, while he rejected no suggestion without consideration, he regarded the distance as too great to render such a means of subsistence certain. the numerous privateers that haunted every port would intercept the transports and render convoys necessary; it was not worth while, for so small an advantage, to involve naples, in its already critical state, in a dispute with france. an occasional purchase, however, seems to have been made there; and even france herself was at times brought to contribute, indirectly, to the support of the squadron which was watching one of her principal ports. "latterly our cattle and onions have been procured from france," wrote nelson; "but from the apparent incivilities of the spaniards, i suppose we are on the eve of being shut out." to escape the notice of the french agents, it was obviously desirable to distribute as widely as possible the sources of supply, so as not to concentrate observation upon any one, or upon the general fact. it was, however, upon sardinia that nelson in the end chiefly depended. the importance of this island, both in fact and in his estimation, was so great, that it may be said to have constituted the chief object of his thought and anxiety, after his own squadron and the french, which also he at times prophetically spoke of as his own. "i do not mean to use the shells you have sent me at sea," he writes to general villettes, "for that i hope to consider burning _our own_ ships; but in case they run ashore, then a few put into their sides will do their business." in addition to its extremely favorable central position, sardinia, as compared to sicily, did not entail the perplexity that its use by the british might cause a friendly sovereign the loss of his continental dominions. those of the king of sardinia had passed already nearly, if not wholly, out of his hands. the island itself was so wild, poor, and neglected, that, even if seized by the enemy, the king would lose little. the net revenue derived from it was only £5,000. during the previous war nelson's attention had not been called much to sardinia. up to the withdrawal from the mediterranean in 1796, corsica had been a sufficient, and more suitable, base for the operations of the fleet, which until then had been upon the riviera and the northern coast of italy. when he returned in 1798, even after the battle of the nile and the disasters of the french in 1799, the unsettled condition of naples, the blockade of malta, and the affairs of egypt, had combined to keep him in the south; while the tenure of the allies in northern italy, up to the battle of marengo, was apparently so secure as to require no great support from the fleet. irrespective of any personal influences that may have swayed him, sicily was better suited then to be the centre from which to superintend the varied duties of his wide command. when he returned in 1803, the old prepossessions naturally remained. in a survey of the political conditions written for the prime minister when on the passage to toulon, much is said of malta, sicily, and naples, but sardinia is dismissed with a passing hope that the french would not seize it. after joining the fleet off toulon, however, he had to realize that, if it was to remain at sea, as he purposed and effected, and yet be kept fully provisioned and watered, it must at times make an anchorage, which should be so far convenient as to keep it, practically, as much on its station as when under way. in this dilemma his attention was called to the madalena islands, a group off the northeast end of sardinia, where wood and water could be obtained. between them and the main island there was a good harbor, having the decisive advantage of two entrances, by one or other of which it could be left in winds from any quarter. a survey had been made a year before, during the peace, by a captain ryves, now commanding a ship in the fleet. as winter approached, nelson decided to examine the spot himself, which he did in the last days of october, taking advantage of a moonlight week when the enemy would be less likely to leave port. he found it admirably adapted for his purposes, and that fresh provisions, though not of the best quality, could be had. "it is certainly one of the best anchorages i have met with for a fleet," he wrote, "but i suppose the french will take it now we have used it." this they did not attempt, and the british fleet continued to resort to it from time to time, obtaining water and bullocks. such a roadstead as an occasional rendezvous, where transports could discharge their stores to the vessels, and ships be refitted and supplied, would make the fleet as secure of holding its position as were the cruisers that depended upon malta and gibraltar. its being two hundred miles from toulon was not a serious drawback, for it was no part of nelson's plan to keep the fleet close to toulon. when he took command, he found it so stationed, but he soon removed to a position thirty to forty miles west of the harbor's mouth, which seems to have been his general summer rendezvous. "lord nelson," wrote a young officer of the fleet,[61] "pursues a very different plan from sir richard bickerton. the latter kept close to the harbour, but lord nelson is scarce ever in sight of the land, and there is but one frigate inshore." "i chose this position," nelson said, "to answer two important purposes: one to prevent the junction of a spanish fleet from the westward; and the other, to be to windward, so as to enable me, if the northerly gale came on to the n.n.w., to take shelter in a few hours under the hières islands, or if n.n.e., under cape san sebastian." "it is not my intention to close-watch toulon, even with frigates," he wrote, and his dispositions were taken rather with a view to encourage the enemy to come out; although, of course, he took every precaution that they should not get far without being observed, and assured himself by frequent reconnoitring that they had not left port. "my system is the very contrary of blockading," he told admiral pole. "every opportunity has been offered the enemy to put to sea," he says again, "for it is there we hope to realize the hopes and expectations of our country." there was also the obvious advantage that, if habitually out of sight, the enemy could not know his movements, nor profit by his occasional absences in any direction. from madalena he extended his observations over the whole island of sardinia, upon the holding of which he thenceforth laid the greatest stress, and entertained most anxious fears lest the french should snatch it out of his hands. "if we could possess sardinia, we should want neither malta nor any other. it is the most important island, as a naval and military station, in the mediterranean. it possesses at the northern end the finest harbour in the world [madalena]. it is twenty-four hours' sail from toulon; it covers italy; it is a position that the wind which carries the french to the westward is fair for you to follow. in passing to the southward they go close to you. in short, it covers egypt, italy, and turkey." he was anxious that the british government should buy it. "if we, from delicacy, or commiseration of the unfortunate king of sardinia, do not get possession of that island, the french will. if i lose sardinia, i lose the french fleet." his apprehensions were not verified; as also they were not during his command, either in the morea, in naples, or in sicily. napoleon took no active steps against sardinia, although the proceedings there did not escape the sharp eyes of the french agents, but elicited from them vivacious remonstrances. "the government of the republic," wrote one, "has a right to complain of this excessive complaisance. to give regular support to a squadron blockading a port, to revictual it, in one word, periodically, is to tread under foot the neutrality which is professed. i shall notify my government of a fact which demands all its attention, and in which it is painful to me to see a cause of misunderstanding between france and his sardinian majesty." it is singularly confirmatory of the reality of bonaparte's intention to attempt the invasion of england, that he confined his efforts in the south--in the mediterranean--to feints and demonstrations. what he did there looked to the future, not to the present; although, doubtless, he stood always so ready that no opportunity offering advantage would have passed neglected. the active mind of nelson, condemned to the uncertainties of the defensive and to military idleness, however it may have been burdened with administrative routine and official correspondence, found ample time to speculate on the designs of bonaparte, and the latter took care that he should have matter enough to occupy him--and if possible mislead him--in rumor and in movements. "at marseilles they are fitting, as reports say, eighty or ninety gunboats, and intend sending them, by the canal of languedoc to bordeaux; but i am sure this is not true. they are to go alongshore to the heel of italy, and to embark and protect their army either to sicily or the morea, or to both; and the navy of europe can hardly prevent these alongshore voyages." in this will be noticed the recurrence of ideas familiar to him in the riviera eight years before; the expectation of ex-centric operations into which bonaparte was rarely betrayed. frequent stories also reach him of projects to invade and seize sardinia. vessels are fitting for that purpose, now at marseilles, now at villefranche; now the expedition is to come from corsica only. "a light linen jacket, trowsers, red cap, and a pair of shoes, is the whole expense of government; the plunder of the sardinian anglo-sardes is held out as the reward." to prevent it he seeks the authority of his government and of the king of sardinia to garrison madalena. the straits of bonifacio are but ten miles wide; it is impossible therefore for a cruiser to prevent boats passing. if the attempt is made, no scruples about the neutrality of sardinia shall tie his hands. "i have directed the frigates to pursue them, even should they chase into sardinia, and to take or destroy them, and also the corsican troops; for if i wait till the island is taken i should feel deserving of reprobation. of course, they will say we have broken the neutrality, if we attack them in the ports of sardinia before their conquest, and if we do not i shall be laughed at for a fool. _prevention is better than cure_." with his usual long-headed circumspection, however, even when most bent on an extreme step, he warns the prime minister, to whom he is writing, to mention his purpose to the russian ambassador--that the latter may understand the apparent breach of neutrality; for russia has constituted herself a champion of the sardinian monarch. "i mention my intention that idle reports may not be attended to." as the winter of 1803-4 approached, and it became evident that spain was to persevere in her neutrality, nelson removed his fleet to a rendezvous about thirty miles south of cape san sebastian, on the spanish coast--the number 97 continually mentioned in his official letters to captains. there the highlands of spain afford some shelter from the furious northerly gales, which, sweeping over france from the atlantic, are compressed as in a funnel between the pyrenees and the alps, to fall with redoubled violence on the gulf of lyons. only the utmost care and the most skilful seamanship could preserve the rickety ships, upon whose efficiency so much depended, and which, if damaged, there was none to replace. i "bear up for every gale," wrote nelson. "i must not in our present state quarrel with the northwesters--with crazy masts and no port or spars near us." even in september, he writes, there are "three days' gale of severe blowing weather out of the seven, which frequently comes on suddenly, and thereby exposes the topmasts, topsail yards and sails, to great hazard, under every care and attention; and there are no topmasts or topsail yards in store, either at gibraltar or malta." "the french fleet keep us waiting; and such a place as all the gulf of lyons, for gales of wind from the n.w. to n.e., i never saw; but by always going away large, we generally lose much of their force and the heavy sea. by the great care and attention of every captain, we have suffered much less than could have been expected. i do not believe lord st. vincent would have kept the sea with such ships. however, with nursing our ships, we have roughed it out better than could have been expected. we either run to the southward, or furl all the sails and make the ships as easy as possible." under such circumstances, it was no small nor unworthy boast he made near the close of the cruise, when the first ineffectual attempt of the french to leave toulon ended in numerous accidents. "these gentlemen are not accustomed to a gulf of lyons gale, which we have buffeted for twenty-one months, and not carried away a spar." nelson himself, though reckless to desperation when an adequate object was at stake, in the moments of repose husbanded his means, and looked to the efficiency of his instruments, with the diligence of a miser. with his own hand he noted the weather indications, including the barometer, at least three times every twenty-four hours, and occasionally even more often. a rendezvous, however advantageous, was not permitted by nelson to become a permanent station, or a long-continued resting-place for the fleet. in the inevitable monotony of a watch protracted so far beyond his original expectations, his sleepless solicitude for the health and contentment of the ships' companies warned him that lack of mental interest saps the spirit, and wears away the strength, beyond the power of mere bodily comfort to prevent. on number 97 was kept always a ship--frigate or smaller cruiser--with word where the admiral was to be found at any time; and thither resorted the vessels returning from their missions to all parts of the station, or coming out from england. "rejoin me at number 97," their instructions ran, "where you will find me, or orders for your further proceedings." other rendezvous there were, of course, each with its own number, and with a cruiser if at sea; but in the anchorages occasionally resorted to, as madalena, or the gulf of palmas in the south of sardinia, communications were left on shore. with the threads thus reaching from these centres to the different parts of his command, nelson's habit was to keep his fleet in motion from point to point, in the stretch of sea bounded on the one side by the coast of spain, as far south as the balearics, and on the east by the islands of sardinia and corsica. through this hunting-ground, from end to end of which he roamed in unceasing restlessness, like a lion roaring for his prey, the toulon fleet must pass, wherever bound; and by the judicious distribution of the cruisers--all too few--allowed him by st. vincent's economies, he hoped to get timely and sufficient information of its leaving port. "the great thing in all military service is health," he wrote to his old friend, dr. moseley, who had been with him in the far-back central american expedition in 1780; "and you will agree with me, that it is easier for an officer to keep men healthy, than for a physician to cure them. situated as this fleet has been, without a friendly port, where we could get all the things so necessary for us, yet i have, by changing the cruizing ground, not allowed the sameness of prospect to satiate the mind--sometimes by looking at toulon, ville franche, barcelona, and rosas; then running round minorca, majorca; sardinia and corsica; and two or three times anchoring for a few days, and sending a ship to the last place for _onions_, which i find the best thing that can be given to seamen; having always good mutton for the sick, cattle when we can get them, and plenty of fresh water. in the winter it is the best plan to give half the allowance of grog, instead of all wine. these things are for the commander-in-chief to look to; but shut very nearly out from spain, and only getting refreshments by stealth from other places, my command has been an arduous one." "our men's minds," he added, "are always kept up with the daily hopes of meeting the enemy." an order indicating one of the squadron movements, of which he here speaks, may be worth quoting. "whereas it is my intention," he writes at number 97 to the captain there stationed, "to proceed with the squadron, the first westerly wind, off toulon, for the purpose of reconnoitring the enemy at that port, and from thence pass through rendezvous no. 102, to secure any information the ships there may have obtained of them, you are hereby required and directed to keep on your station and inform any of his majesty's ships arriving on said rendezvous," etc. the health of the crews, thus carefully watched, remained excellent throughout, and is mentioned by him continually with evident pride as well as satisfaction. occasional slight outbursts of scurvy are noted, despite his efforts for fresh food, and he mentions hectic complaints--"of the few men we have lost, nine in ten are dead of consumption "--but upon the whole, the general condition is unparalleled in his experience. "we are healthy beyond example, and in great good humour with ourselves," he writes in october, 1803, "and so sharp-set, that i would not be a french admiral in the way of any of our ships for something." it would be tedious to quote the numerous assertions to the same effect scattered up and down his correspondence at this time; but in december, 1804, when near the end of this long period of suspense, and after eighteen months at sea, he writes to the admiralty: "the fleet is in perfect good health and good humour, unequalled by anything which has ever come within my knowledge, and equal to the most active service which the times may call for." dr. gillespie, who joined the "victory" as physician to the fleet in january, 1805, wrote immediately afterwards that out of her eight hundred and forty men, but one was confined to his bed by sickness, and that the other ships, though upwards of twenty months off toulon, were in a like condition of health. the same could not then, nor for long before, be said of nelson himself. the first flush of excitement in leaving england and taking command, the expectation and change of scene in going out, affected him favorably. "as to my health," he says, immediately after joining the fleet, "thank god, i have not had a finger ache since i left england;" but this, unfortunately, did not endure. it was his first experience of the weightier anxieties of a commander-in-chief; for when he had succeeded to that position, temporarily, in the mediterranean and the baltic, he had found either a squadron in good running order, or at the least no serious hitch about necessary maintenance. now all this was different. the difficulties about supplies and the condition of his ships have been mentioned, as have also his fears for naples, sicily, and the morea,--all of which, in his belief, might possibly be conquered, even without the interposition of the toulon fleet. the latter, however, kept him most uneasy; for he could get no certain knowledge as to its destination, or the probable time of its moving; and the wide field for injury open to it, if his vigilance were eluded, kept his eager, unquiet mind continually on the strain of speculation and anticipation. "i hope they will come out and let us settle the matter. you know i hate being kept in suspense." the nervous excitability--irritability--that often overlay the usually cordial kindliness and gracious bearing of the man, was an easy prey to such harassment. it breaks out at times in his letters, but was only occasionally visible to those around him. by the first of december he already foresees that he cannot last long. "next christmas, please god, i shall be at merton; for, by that time, with all the anxiety attendant on such a command as this, i shall be done up. the mind and body both wear out." as autumn drew towards winter, the bitter cold went through his feeble frame, and in the wild weather he was "always tossed about, and always sea-sick." "we have had a most terrible winter," he writes, even before the new year. "it has almost knocked me up. i have been very ill, and am now far from recovered; but i hope to hold out till the battle is over, when i must recruit." "my heart, my lord, is warm," he tells lord hobart, the secretary of state for war, "my head is firm, but my body is unequal to my wishes. i am visibly shook; but as long as i can hold out, i shall never abandon my truly honourable post." he feared also blindness. "my eyesight fails me most dreadfully," he writes to his old friend davison. "i firmly believe that, in a very few years, i shall be stone-blind. it is this only, of all my maladies, that makes me unhappy; but god's will be done." the first winter was unusually severe, and during it was added, to his official cares and personal suffering, an extreme anxiety about lady hamilton, for he was expecting the birth of a second child in january. this child, a girl, lived but a short time; he never saw her. the effect of these various causes upon his health was so great, that the physicians, as early as january, 1804, were advising his return. "the medical gentlemen are wanting to survey me, and to send me to bristol for the re-establishment of my health," he tells minto; but he adds, "do not mention it (it is my concern) i beg of you." reports were then unusually persistent that the enemy was about to put to sea. "_i_ must not be sick until after the french fleet is taken." to the last moment the destination of the french and the purposes of bonaparte remained unknown to him, a fruitful source of guessing and worry. "it is at best but a guess," he wrote to ball, after a year's pondering, "and the world attaches wisdom to him that guesses right." yet his conclusions, however reached, though subject to temporary variations, were in the main correct. strongly impressed though he was with the importance and exposure of egypt, he inclined upon the whole to the belief that the french were bound to the westward, out of the straits and into the atlantic. this confirmed him in taking his general summer rendezvous to the westward, where he was to windward of such a movement, as well as interposed between toulon and any spanish fleet attempting to go there. "my station to the westward of toulon, an unusual one," he writes to addington in august, 1803, "has been taken upon an idea that the french fleet is bound out of the straits and probably to ireland. i shall follow them to the antipodes." two months later he says: "plausible reasons may certainly be given for every one of the plans" suggested by his various correspondents; but he thinks that either alexandria or outside the mediterranean is the most probable. "to those two points my whole attention is turned." "their destination, is it ireland or the levant? that is what i want to know;" but in december he still holds to his first impression: "my opinion is, certainly, out of the mediterranean." in this perplexity elliot suggested to him to receive on board the fleet some good frenchmen, who could land from time to time and get information in toulon,--a proposition which drew from nelson a characteristic and amusing explosion. "mr. elliot wanted to send me some _good_ frenchmen, to go ashore and get me information. my answer to all these offers is 'no.' i can be told nothing of any consequence to me; but a copy of the french admiral's orders, when he is to put to sea, and where he is destined to, is the only useful information i can care about. i can see the number and force at toulon any day i please, and as for the names of the captains or admirals i care not what they are called; therefore, as you may suppose, i have none of these 'good frenchmen' about me." "i put no confidence in them," he tells elliot. "you think yours good: the queen thinks hers the same: i believe they are all alike. whatever information you can get me, i shall be very thankful for; but not a frenchman comes here. forgive me, but my mother hated the french." "i never trust a corsican or a frenchman. i would give the devil all the good ones to take the remainder." as winter advanced, his perplexities increased, for each correspondent, by long dwelling on his particular concern, saw its danger and importance growing in his own eyes, and dwelt upon them with greater emphasis in his letters. "ball is sure they are going to egypt; the turks are sure they are going to the morea; mr. elliot at naples, to sicily; and the king of sardinia, to his only spot. every power thinks they are destined against them; but whatever the french may intend to do," he concludes, with a quaint humor occasional with him, "i trust, and with confidence, they are destined for _spithead_." he recognized, too, that bonaparte himself was not wholly master of his own projects when contending with such uncertain elements; and the great master of war, in this instance as in many others, had placed his force so centrally, in the heel of italy, that he threatened with equal facility in two opposite directions, to his own advantage and his enemies' perplexity. "circumstances may even make it necessary to alter its destination by buonaparte; egypt or ireland, and i rather lean to the latter destination." anything, indeed, is possible; for, as winter approaches, "we can be sure of nothing in so short a run,"--as to sardinia or sicily. for a little while during february, 1804, he was further stirred up by reports that the french were about to concentrate their naval forces, from brest and ferrol, in the mediterranean; and this he was inclined to believe, unfavorable as the season would be for maritime operations in that stormy sea, with the inexperienced crews of the enemy. in the summer his conviction of the importance of the mediterranean had fully prepared him for such an attempt. "naples, the morea, and ultimately egypt, are in buonaparte's view," he had then written. "with this idea, i fully expect that the french fleet from brest will assuredly come into the mediterranean, to protect this army across the water. i shall try and fight one party or the other, before they form a junction." "much may be done before british reinforcements arrive," he reminded st. vincent. "your lordship knows what admiral bruix might have done, had he done his duty, and they may buy their experience." now he says to ball, "the admiralty tells me nothing, they know nothing; but my private letters say, that the brest squadron, as well as ferrol,[62] is bound here--if so, we shall have work enough upon our hands." thirty thousand troops, also, were ready to embark in marseilles and nice. the conclusion, in view of so great a force assembling, was natural: "egypt, i have no doubt is the favourite and ultimate object of the corsican tyrant." nelson's spirit rises with the occasion. "i shall try to intercept them, but i cannot go so far to the westward as is necessary; for i will not lose sight of the toulon fleet. what a most zealous man can do to meet all points of difficulty, shall be done. my squadron is the finest for its numbers in the world, and much may be expected of it. should superior numbers join, we must look it in the face. _nil desperandum!_ god is good, and our cause is just." this alarm passed away like others. bonaparte had no idea of pushing ships into the mediterranean, or embarking his naval forces on any doubtful experiments, until he had first tested the possibility of that supreme adventure, the invasion of england. when that mighty imagination passed away like a dream that leaves no trace, he ordered his fleets into the mediterranean, as nelson had expected, and the result was trafalgar. as the spring of 1804 opened, the french admiral at toulon began to exercise his ships outside the harbor, singly or in small groups, like half-fledged birds learning to fly; or, to use nelson's expression, "my friend monsieur la touche sometimes plays bo-peep in and out of toulon, like a mouse at the edge of her hole." the only drill-ground for fleets, the open sea, being closed to him, he could do no better than these furtive excursions, to prepare for the eagle's flight napoleon had prescribed to him. "last week, at different times, two sail of the line put their heads out of toulon, and on thursday, the 5th [april], in the afternoon, they all came out." "yesterday [the 9th] a rear-admiral and seven sail, including frigates, put their nose outside the harbour. if they go on playing this game, some day we shall lay salt upon their tails, and so end the campaign." these outings--"capers," nelson called them--naturally became more venturesome by little and little, as the british suffered them to proceed without serious attempt at molestation, or near approach on their part. nelson veiled the keenness of his watch, as he crouched for a spring, with a drowsy appearance of caution and indifference. the french admiral, latouche tréville, was he who had commanded at boulogne when nelson's boats were repelled with slaughter; and it was also he who in 1792 had sent a grenadier to the king of naples, with a peremptory summons to diplomatic apology in one hand, and a threat of bombardment in the other. for both these affairs nelson considered he had a personal score to settle. "i rather believe my antagonist at toulon begins to be angry with me: at least, i am trying to make him so; and then, he may come out, and beat me, as he says he did off boulogne. he is the admiral that went to naples in december, 1792, who landed the grenadier. i owe him something for that." the french having eight sail-of-the-line certainly ready for sea, and two or three more nearly so--how nearly nelson was not sure--he now endeavored to lure them out. "i have taken a method of making mr. la touche tréville angry. i have left sir richard bickerton, with part of the fleet, twenty leagues from hence, and, with five of the line, am preventing his cutting capers, which he has done for some time past, off cape sicie." "he seems inclined to try his hand with us," he writes a week later, "and by my keeping so great an inferiority close to him, perhaps he may some day be tempted." nelson had near toulon at the time nine ships-of-the-line. had he succeeded in bringing latouche tréville to attack his five, he would have hoped, even with such odds, for a decisive victory; but, failing that, he was assured that the toulon fleet would be out of the game for that summer. it was important to bring matters to an issue, for, as he wrote elliot, his force was diminishing daily through the deterioration of ships never from the first fit for their work. measured by the standard of the ships in the channel, "i have but four sail fit to keep the sea. i absolutely keep them out by management." except the four, all needed docking, and there was not a dock open to the british west of constantinople. but, while thus keenly anxious to force an action, he was wary to obtain tactical conditions that should insure a success, adequate both to the risk he ran, and to the object at which he aimed. "i think their fleet will be ordered out to fight close to toulon, that they may get their crippled ships in again, and that we must then quit the coast to repair our damages, and thus leave the coast clear; but my mind is fixed not to fight them, unless with a westerly wind, outside the hières, and with an easterly wind, to the westward of sicie." crippled there, to leeward of their port, the other british division coming up fresh, as a reserve, from the southward, where it lay concealed, would both cut them off, and rescue any of their own fleet that might have been overpowered. bickerton's orders were to remain due south from port cros, one of the hyères, at a distance such that, with the upper canvas furled, his ships could not be seen from the islands, but could keep the main division in sight from their mastheads. in all cases of anticipated battle, nelson not only took his measures thus thoughtfully, but was careful to put his subordinates in possession both of his general plans, and, as far as possible, of the underlying ideas. thus, in a memorandum issued about this time to the captains, he says: "as it is my determination to attack the french fleet in any place where there is a reasonable prospect of getting fairly alongside of them, i recommend that every captain will make himself, by inquiries, as fully acquainted as possible with the following places, viz., hières bay, [with its three entrances], gourjean bay, (of which i send a chart from the latest surveys made,) port especia, and, in particular the northern passage into leghorn roads, from which side it is only, in my opinion, possible to attack an enemy's fleet to advantage; and with the gulf of ajaccio." to these instructions he adds some details of practical preparation for anchoring under fire, and the reasons therefor. in the same spirit, when expecting the brest fleet in the mediterranean, he says: "i am perfectly prepared how to act with either a superior or an inferior force. my mind is firm as a rock, and my plans for every event fixed in my mind." no man ever was served better than nelson by the inspiration of the moment; no man ever counted on it less. in communicating his ideas to his subordinates nelson did not confine himself to official intercourse; on the contrary, his natural disposition impelled him rather to familiar conversation with them on service subjects. "even for debating the most important naval business," we learn through his confidential secretary at this period, "he preferred a turn on the quarter-deck with his captains, whom he led by his own frankness to express themselves freely, to all the stiffness and formality of a council of war."[63] an interesting instance of these occasional counsels has been transmitted to us by one of his captains, then little more than a youth, but the last to survive of those who commanded ships under him. "throughout the month of october, 1804, toulon was frequently reconnoitred, and the phoebe and amazon were ordered to cruize together. previous to their going away lord nelson gave to captains capel and parker several injunctions, in case they should get an opportunity of attacking two of the french frigates, which now got under weigh more frequently. the principal one was, that they should not each single out and attack an opponent, but 'that both should endeavour together to take _one frigate_; if successful, chase the other: but if you do not take the second, still you have won a victory, and your country will gain a frigate.' then, half laughing, and half snappishly, said kindly to them as he wished them good-bye, 'i daresay you consider yourselves a couple of fine fellows, and when you get away from me you will do nothing of the sort, but think yourselves wiser than i am!'"[64] the game of cat and mouse, off toulon, occasioned one incident which greatly upset nelson's composure, and led to a somewhat amusing display of ire, excited by a statement of the french admiral, published throughout europe, that his renowned antagonist had run away from him. on the 13th of june, two french frigates and a brig were seen under the hyères islands, where they had been sent by latouche tréville, upon the report that some enemy's cruisers were in the neighborhood. nelson despatched two frigates after them, which, owing to light winds, did not get near until the next day. the french vessels being then seen from the "victory" to be close in with the batteries, the "excellent," 74, was sent to support the frigates, and some time afterwards the other four ships also bore up for the main entrance to the islands. upon this, latouche tréville got under way, and at about 5 p.m. came out of the harbor with his eight sail-of-the-line. nelson's division reduced their canvas, hauling to the wind in line of battle, on the starboard tack, which, with the then wind, was with their heads off shore, and the "excellent" was recalled, although she could not rejoin till midnight. in this order they hove-to (stopped), with two reefs in the topsails and the main yards square, at 7.30 p.m., which at that time of the year was broad daylight, and in this general position remained till next morning. as the distance between the hostile bodies was apparently from twelve to fifteen miles, the french admiral's observations may have failed to recognize that the enemy, by backing his topsails, had offered a fair challenge; else, in his report of this very commonplace occurrence, he could scarcely have used, concerning the movement of heading south, the expression, _prit chasse_, which, whether rendered "retired," or "retreated," or, as nelson did, "ran away," was a misrepresentation of the facts, and heightened by the assertion that he pursued till nightfall, and next morning could not see the enemy. writing to elliot four days after the affair happened, nelson mentioned casually his view of the matter. "monsieur la touche came out with eight sail of the line and six frigates, cut a caper off sepet, and went in again. i brought-to for his attack, although i did not believe anything was meant serious, but merely a gasconade." "on the morning of the 15th," he tells acton on the same day, "i believe i may call it, we chased him into toulon." his purpose evidently was, as has been shown, to fight, if the enemy meant business, to leeward of the port, and far enough off to give bickerton a chance to come up. great was his wrath, two months later, when latouche's statement reached him, and he found that not only no mention was made of the relative numbers, but that the offensive expression quoted had been used. "i do assure you," he wrote to the admiralty, enclosing a copy of the day's log, "i know not what to say, except by a flat contradiction; for if my character is not established by this time for not being apt to run away, it is not worth my time to attempt to put the world right." he might well have rested there,--an imputation that might have injured an untried man could provoke only a smile when levelled at his impregnable renown; but his ruffled mind would not let him keep quiet, and in private correspondence he vented his rage in terms similar to those used of the danish commodore after copenhagen. "you will have seen monsieur la touche's letter of how he chased me and how i _ran_. i keep it; and, by g--d, if i take him, he shall _eat_ it." he is a "poltroon," a "liar," and a "miscreant." it may be added that no admiral, whether a nelson or not, could have abandoned the "excellent" under the conditions. immediately after this abortive affair, nelson, convinced by it that something more than a taunt was needed to bring his enemy under his guns, stationed frigates at the hyères, and to cruise thence to the eastward as far as cape taillat, to intercept the commerce between italy and toulon and marseilles. for this purpose he had recommended, and the government had ordered, a blockade of all genoese ports including spezia; genoa, now the ligurian republic, being considered as much france as toulon. nothing, he said, could distress france more. this blockade had been but feebly enforced, owing to the lack of small cruisers; but he hoped to attain the same end by the frigates off the hyères. "i really am of opinion," he told their commander, "that it will force la touche out." in the latter, however, he had to do with an opponent of skill as well as of resolution. firmly imbued with the french tradition, and with bonaparte's instructions, which subordinated his local action entirely to the great scheme in which the toulon fleet had its appointed part, latouche tréville was neither to be provoked nor betrayed into an action, by which, however tempting the promise, his fleet might be made unfit for their intended service. nelson did him no more than justice, when he said, "i am confident, when he is ordered for any service, that he will risk falling in with us, and the event of a battle, to try and accomplish his orders;" but, short of the appointed time, nothing else could entice him. in vain did the british admiral bait his trap by exposing frigates, without visible support, to draw him to leeward, while the hostile fleet hovered out of sight to windward. the shrewd frenchman doubtless felt the temptation, but he distrusted the gifts too plausibly tendered. besides the interest of the public service, nelson had the strongest personal motives for bringing matters to an issue. the prolonged suspense and the anxiety were exhausting him, the steady tension even of the normal conditions fretted him beyond endurance; but when a crisis became accentuated by an appearance that the enemy had eluded him, his feelings of distress, acting upon an enfeebled organization, and a nervous temperament so sensitive that he started at the mere dropping of a rope beside him, drove him almost to distraction. on such an occasion he wrote: "i am absolutely beginning this letter in a fever of the mind. it is thick as butter-milk, and blowing a levanter; and the narcissus has just spoke me to say, 'she boarded a vessel, and they understood that the men had seen, a few days before, twelve sail of ships of war off minorca. it was in the dusk, and he did not know which way they were steering.' this is the whole story, and a lame one. you will imagine my feelings, although i cannot bring my mind to believe. to miss them, god forbid.... if i should miss these fellows, my heart will break: i am actually only now recovering the shock of missing them in 1798. god knows i only serve to fight those scoundrels; and if i cannot do that, i should be better on shore." when the weather cleared, and a reconnoissance showed the news was false, his intense relief found expression in the words: "i believe this is the only time in my life, that i was glad to hear the french were in port." "the french ships," he says at another time, "have either altered their anchorage, or some of them have got to sea in the late gales: the idea has given me half a fever. if that admiral were to cheat me out of my hopes of meeting him, it would kill me much easier than one of his balls. since we sat down to dinner captain moubray has made the signal, but i am very far from being easy." on the 12th of may, 1804, there was a change of administration in england. earl st. vincent left the admiralty, as first lord, and was succeeded by lord melville. a few days before this nelson, by a general promotion, had become vice-admiral of the white, the rank in which he died eighteen months later. the return of summer had improved his health from the low condition into which it had fallen during the winter, but he did not flatter himself as to the future. the combination of colorless monotony with constant racking anxiety slackened the springs of moral energy, which, and which alone, responding joyously to a call to action, afforded the stimulus capable of triumphing over his bodily weakness, and causing it for the moment to disappear. "this is an odd war," he said, "not a battle!" tying himself to the ship, in profound sympathy with the crews, he never went ashore from the time he left malta in june, 1803, until he reached gibraltar in july, 1805; nor was he ever outside of the "victory" from july 30, 1803, the day he went on board her from the "amphion." "always shut up in the victory's cabin," as he himself wrote, "cannot be very good for the constitution. i think you will find me grown thin, but never mind." other officers, especially of the frigates, got their occasional runs ashore; but his slight figure was continually in view, walking the front of the poop, to the unconscious contentment of the men, thus reminded ever that their admiral shared their deprivations. this profound seclusion to the narrow circle of the flagship, although often broken by the presence of officers from the other vessels, who, whether cruising in company with the fleet, or arriving with tidings from different ports, were daily partakers of the admiral's hospitable table, could not but depress him; and there was with him the constant sense of loss, by absence from those he held most dear. "i have not a thought except on you and the french fleet," he tells lady hamilton; "all my thoughts, plans, and toils tend to those two objects. don't laugh at my putting you and the french fleet together, but you cannot be separated." yet even towards her his mind is fixed as of old, that she must take a place second to duty. she had, it appears, insisted upon her wish to come out to the station to be near him. malta and italy were both, he said, out of the question. his place was off toulon, as long as the french fleet was there; therefore he could not go into harbor; nay, "i might absolutely miss you, by leaving the mediterranean without warning. the other day we had a report the french were out, and seen steering to the westward. we were as far as minorca when the alarm proved false." as for coming on board the "victory" to live, which she seems to have suggested, "imagine what a cruize off toulon is; even in summer time we have a hard gale every week, and two days' heavy swell. it would kill you; and myself to see you. much less possible to have charlotte, horatia, &c., on board ship! and i, that have given orders to carry no women to sea in the victory, to be the first to break them! i know, my own dear emma, if she will let her reason have fair play, will say i am right; but she is like horatia, very angry if she cannot have her own way." "horatia is like her mother; will have her own way, or kick up a devil of a dust,"--an observation both greville and hamilton had had to make. "your nelson," he concludes, "is called upon, in the most honourable manner, to defend his country. absence to us is equally painful: but, if i had either stayed at home, or neglected my duty abroad, would not my emma have blushed for me? she could never have heard my praises, and how the country looks up." "the call of our country," he says again, "makes it indispensable for both our honours--the country looks up to the services of the poorest individual, much more to me, and are you not a sharer of my glory?" of his daily life on board, and intercourse with others, we have intimations, fragmentary yet sufficient. "our days," he himself says, "pass so much alike that, having described one, you have them all. we now [october] breakfast by candle light; and all retire, at eight o'clock, to bed." "we cruise, cruise, and one day so like another that they are hardly distinguishable, but _hopes_, blessed _hopes_, keeps us up, that some happy day the french may come out, then i shall consider my duty to my country fulfilled." of one of these monotonous days we have received a description from an officer,[65] a member of the admiral's mess, who had then too lately entered upon them to feel the full weight of their deadly sameness. "at 6 o'clock my servant brings a light and informs me of the hour, wind, weather, and course of the ship, when i immediately dress and generally repair to the deck, the dawn of day at this season and latitude being apparent at about half or three-quarters of an hour past six. breakfast is announced in the admiral's cabin, where lord nelson, rear admiral murray, (the captain of the fleet,) captain hardy, commander of the victory, the chaplain, secretary, one or two officers of the ship, and your humble servant assemble and breakfast on tea, hot rolls, toast, cold tongue, &c, which when finished we repair upon deck to enjoy the majestic sight of the rising sun (scarcely ever obscured by clouds in this fine climate) surmounting the smooth and placid waves of the mediterranean, which supports the lofty and tremendous bulwarks of britain, following in regular train their admiral in the victory. between the hours of 7 and 2 there is plenty of time for business, study, writing, and exercise, which different occupations i endeavour to vary in such a manner as to afford me sufficient employment. at 2 o'clock a band of music plays till within a quarter of 3, when the drum beats the tune called, 'the roast beef of old england' to announce the admiral's dinner, which is served up exactly at 3 o'clock, and which generally consists of three courses and a dessert of the choicest fruit [a fact which bespeaks the frequency of communications with the land], together with three or four of the best wines, champagne and claret not excepted. if a person does not feel himself perfectly at his ease it must be his own fault, such is the urbanity and hospitality which reign here, notwithstanding the numerous titles, the four orders of knighthood, worn by lord nelson,[66] and the well earned laurels which he has acquired. coffee and liqueurs close the dinner about half-past 4 or 5 o'clock, after which the company generally walk the deck, where the band of music plays for nearly an hour.[67] a 6 o'clock tea is announced, when the company again assemble in the admiral's cabin, where tea is served up before 7 o'clock, and, as we are inclined, the party continue to converse with his lordship, who at this time generally unbends himself, though he is at all times as free from stiffness and pomp as a regard to proper dignity will admit, and is very communicative. at 8 o'clock a rummer of punch with cake or biscuit is served up, soon after which we wish the admiral a good night (who is generally in bed before 9 o'clock). such is the journal of a day at sea in fine or at least moderate weather, in which this floating castle goes through the water with the greatest imaginable steadiness." another medical officer, who served on board the "victory" soon after the writer of the lines just quoted, has transmitted some other interesting particulars of nelson's personal habits and health, which relate to the general period now under narration. "an opinion has been very generally entertained, that lord nelson's state of health, and supposed infirmities arising from his former wounds and hard services, precluded the probability of his long surviving the battle of trafalgar, had he fortunately escaped the enemy's shot: but the writer of this can assert that his lordship's health was uniformly good, with the exception of some slight attacks of indisposition arising from accidental causes; and which never continued above two or three days, nor confined him in any degree with respect to either exercise or regimen: and during the last twelve months of his life, he complained only three times in this way. it is true, that his lordship, about the meridian of life, had been subject to frequent fits of the gout; which disease, however, as well as his constitutional tendency to it, he totally overcame by abstaining for the space of nearly two years from animal food, and wine, and all other fermented drink; confining his diet to vegetables, and commonly milk and water. and it is also a fact, that early in life, when he first went to sea, he left off the use of salt, which he then believed to be the sole cause of scurvy, and never took it afterwards with his food. "his lordship used a great deal of exercise, generally walking on deck six or seven hours in the day. he always rose early, for the most part shortly after daybreak. he breakfasted in summer about six, and at seven in winter: and if not occupied in reading or writing despatches, or examining into the details of the fleet, he walked on the quarter-deck the greater part of the forenoon; going down to his cabin occasionally to commit to paper such incidents or reflections as occurred to him during that time, and as might be hereafter useful to the service of his country. he dined generally about half-past two o'clock. at his table there were seldom less than eight or nine persons, consisting of the different officers of the ship: and when the weather and the service permitted, he very often had several of the admirals and captains in the fleet to dine with him; who were mostly invited by signal, the rotation of seniority being commonly observed by his lordship in these invitations. at dinner he was alike affable and attentive to every one: he ate very sparingly himself; the liver and wing of a fowl, and a small plate of macaroni, in general composing his meal, during which he occasionally took a glass of champagne. he never exceeded four glasses of wine after dinner, and seldom drank three; and even those were diluted with either bristol or common water. "few men subject to the vicissitudes of a naval life, equalled his lordship in an habitual systematic mode of living. he possessed such a wonderful activity of mind, as even prevented him from taking ordinary repose, seldom enjoying two hours of uninterrupted sleep; and on several occasions he did not quit the deck during the whole night. at these times he took no pains to protect himself from the effects of wet, or the night air; wearing only a thin great coat: and he has frequently, after having his clothes wet through with rain, refused to have them changed, saying that the leather waistcoat which he wore over his flannel one would secure him from complaint. he seldom wore boots, and was consequently very liable to have his feet wet. when this occurred he has often been known to go down to his cabin, throw off his shoes, and walk on the carpet in his stockings for the purpose of drying the feet of them. he chose rather to adopt this uncomfortable expedient, than to give his servants the trouble of assisting him to put on fresh stockings; which, from his having only one hand, he could not himself conveniently effect. "from these circumstances it may be inferred, that though lord nelson's constitution was not of that kind which is generally denominated strong, yet it was not very susceptible of complaint from the common occasional causes of disease necessarily attending a naval life. the only bodily pain which his lordship felt in consequence of his many wounds, was a slight rheumatic affection of the stump of his amputated arm on any sudden variation in the state of the weather; which is generally experienced by those who have the misfortune to lose a limb after the middle age. his lordship usually predicted an alteration in the weather with as much certainty from feeling transient pains in his stump, as he could by his marine barometer; from the indications of which latter he kept a diary of the atmospheric changes, which was written with his own hand. "his lordship had lost his right eye by a contusion which he received at the siege of calvi, in the island of corsica. the vision of the other was likewise considerably impaired: he always therefore wore a green shade over his forehead, to defend this eye from the effect of strong light; but as he was in the habit of looking much through a glass while on deck, there is little doubt that had he lived a few years longer, and continued at sea, he would have lost his sight totally."[68] the business hours of the day from seven to two were spent by nelson largely with his secretaries. we know from colonel stewart that in the baltic, where his command was more numerous than in the mediterranean, his habit was to get through the ordinary business of the squadron before eight o'clock; for the rest, the greater part of the detail work would fall upon the captain of the fleet, then rear-admiral george murray, who would require only general instructions and little interference for carrying on the laborious internal administration of the fleet. the admiral's energies were sufficiently taxed in considering and meeting, so far as his resources would permit, the numerous and complicated demands for external services in the different quarters of his wide command--the ingenious effort to induce two and two to make five, in which so much of the puzzle of life consists. his position necessarily involved extensive diplomatic relations. each british minister around the shores of the mediterranean had his own particular care; the british admiral was in confidential communication with all, and in every movement had to consider the consequences, both of what he did and of what he left undone. it was a day when force ruled, and all the nations of europe, whether they wished or not, had to put their chief trust in the sword, and in those who bore it. not the least of nelson's qualifications for his post was that he possessed intimate knowledge and experience of political conditions in the mediterranean, knew the peoples and the rulers well, and to great sagacity and sound judgment added a temper at once firm and conciliatory. "he had in a great degree," said a contemporary who knew him well,[69] "the valuable but rare quality of conciliating the most opposite tempers, and forwarding the public service with unanimity amongst men not of themselves disposed to accord;" and although the remark referred primarily to his conduct in the naval service, it will readily be seen that this aptitude is nowhere more useful than in the tangled maze of conflicting national interests. "my line of conduct," he wrote to hobart, a year after taking his command, "in obedience to the spirit of his majesty's instructions communicated through your lordship, has been simply this,--to conciliate all, to protect all from french rapacity. i have been honoured with your letter of january 7th, and it has given me most sincere pleasure that my whole conduct in my command here has been such as to meet his majesty's approbation." the new ministry, upon assuming office, requested him in the most flattering terms to continue his direct correspondence on political subjects with them, as with their predecessors. yet, while conciliatory, he could at times be curt and arbitrary enough. fault was found with the blockade of genoa on the ground that it did not comply with the requirements of international law; the complaint resting, apparently, on the statement that the blockaders could not be seen from genoa. nelson replied that the proof of evident danger to vessels seeking to enter or leave, rested on the fact that captures were made; and it is, on the face of it, absurd to say that there can be no danger to a vessel seeking to enter a blockaded port, because the blockading vessels are not visible from the latter. much more depends upon their number, disposition, and speed. "from my knowledge of genoa and its gulf," said nelson, "i assert without fear of contradiction, that the nearer ships cruise to genoa, the more certain is the escape of vessels from that port, or their entrance into it insured. i am blockading genoa, according to the orders of the admiralty, and in the way i think most proper. whether modern law or ancient law makes my mode right, i cannot judge; and surely of the mode of disposing of a fleet, i must, if i am fit for my post, be a better judge than any landsman, however learned he may appear. it would be the act of a fool to tell europe where i intend to place the ships, for the purpose of effectually obeying my orders; not a captain can know it, and their positions will vary, according to the information i may receive.... i endeavour, as well as i am able, to obey my orders, without entering into the nice distinctions of lawyers. i will not further take up your time on a subject which, without being a lawyer, merely as a man, could have admitted of no dispute." along with much truth, there was in this a certain amount of special pleading, as appeared when he took the further position that, to intercept ships from genoa, bound to the atlantic, there was no better place than the gut of gibraltar. when a definition of international law is stretched as far as that, it will have little elastic force left. a petty, yet harassing, diplomatic difficulty, curiously illustrative of maritime conditions at that day, ran unsettled through almost the whole of his command. malta, under the knights, had been always at war with the barbary powers; and there was trouble in impressing upon the rulers of the latter that, when it passed into british hands, its people and ships were under british protection. several maltese vessels had been taken by algerine cruisers, and their crews enslaved. when nelson came out in 1803, he found pending these cases, and also the question of compelling, or inducing, the dey to receive back the british consul, whom he had expelled with insult. in the absence of a british representative, the negotiations were intrusted wholly to the admiral. nelson's feelings were strongly excited. he was tenacious of everything he conceived to touch his country's honor, and long service in the mediterranean had made him familiar with the outrages on its defenceless coasts practised by these barbarians, under the pretence of war with the weaker states. even in the remote and impoverished north of sardinia, the shepherds near the beaches watched their flocks with arms beside them, day and night, to repel the attacks of marauders from the sea. not only were trading-vessels seized, but descents were made upon the shore, and the inhabitants swept off into slavery. speaking of one such case in 1799, he had said: "my blood boils that i cannot chastise these pirates. they could not show themselves in the mediterranean did not our country permit. never let us talk of the cruelty of the african slave trade, while we permit such a horrid war." but he knew, both then and afterwards, that great britain, with the great contest on her hands, could not spare the ships which might be crippled in knocking the barbarians' strongholds about their ears, and that no british admiral would be sustained in a course that provoked these pirates to cast aside the fears that restrained them, and to declare war on british commerce, which, as it was, he had difficulty to protect. he estimated ten ships-of-the-line as the force necessary, in case the batteries at algiers were to be attacked. exmouth, twelve years later, with fuller information, thought and found five to be sufficient. nelson's conduct and self-control were sorely tested by the necessity of temporizing with this petty foe, who reckoned securely on the embarrassments of great britain. he acted with great judgment, however, holding a high tone, and implying much in the way of menace, without at any time involving himself in a definite threat, from which he could not recede without humiliation; careful and precise in his demands, but never receding from them, or allowing them to be evaded, when once made; sensible of the difficulties in his way, as well those raised by his own government as those dependent upon his opponent, but equally aware that he held in his hands, if authorized to use it, the power to suppress the career of depredation, upon which the dey relied to support his revenue, and to content his officers. personally, he favored a short and summary proceeding, accordant to his own decided character. the dey proving immovable when first summoned, he proposed to the british government "that on the 28th of april next, when, if he means to send his cruisers to sea, they will be out, that, on that day, every ship under my command should have strict orders (to open on that day) to take, sink, burn, and destroy every algerine, and that on that day the port of algiers should be declared in a state of blockade. thus the dey could get neither commerce, presents, or plunder; and, although the other powers may rejoice at the war with us, yet i am firmly persuaded that it will be most advantageous to us for the next hundred years." at the same time, with his usual circumspection, he issued a general direction to all commanders of convoys to carry their charges well clear of the algerine coast, until matters were settled. in the end, the british ministry yielded much more than nelson approved, but, however sorely against the grain, he carried out all his instructions with scrupulous subordination. it was only three days before the active campaign began with the sortie of the french fleet, that he was rejoined by the ship to whose captain were intrusted the final arrangements with algiers. for his diplomatic and naval correspondence, nelson had two principal secretaries, public and private, both, awkwardly enough, named scott; but the latter, being a clergyman and chaplain of the ship, was colloquially brevetted doctor, a distinction which, for convenience, will be observed when it is necessary to mention him. he had become known to nelson while serving in the same capacity with sir hyde parker, and had been found very useful in the negotiations at copenhagen. an accomplished linguist and an omnivorous reader, dr. scott was doubly useful. upon him devolved the translating of all despatches and letters, not only from, but to, foreign courts and officials; for nelson made a point of sending with all such papers a copy in the language of the person addressed, and an apology for failing to do so sometimes appears, on account of his secretary's absence. the latter was also a man of wide information, acquired, not as his superior's chiefly was, by mingling among men and dealing with affairs, but from books; and the admiral, while rightly valuing the teachings of experience above all, was duly sensible that one's own experience is susceptible of further extension through that of others, imparted either by word or pen. nelson entertained a persuasion, so scott has told us, that no man ever put his hand to paper without having some information or theory to deliver, which he fancied was not generally known, and that this was worth looking after through all the encumbering rubbish. for the same reason, besides being naturally sociable, he liked to draw others into conversation, and to start subjects for discussion, from which, when fairly under way, he would withdraw himself into silence and allow the company to do the talking, both in order to gather ideas that might be useful to himself, and also to observe character transpiring in conversation. bourrienne has told us that bonaparte took pleasure in provoking similar debates. scott himself, a man essentially unpractical, afforded nelson amusement as well as interest, and was the object of a good deal of innocent chaffing. he would, in those after-dinner gatherings which gillespie mentions, lead the doctor into arguments on literature, politics, spanish and even naval affairs, and would occasionally provoke from him a lecture on navigation itself, to the great entertainment of murray, hardy, and the other officers present.[70] "ah, my dear doctor!" he would say chaffingly, "give me knowledge practically acquired--experience! experience! experience! and practical men!" nelson, however, was too big and too broad a man not to know that, while by doing the same thing, or bearing the same thing, many times,--by experience, that is,--one acquires a facility not otherwise communicable, in a novel situation a man is abler to act, the more he has availed himself of the knowledge and the suggestions of others. absorbed with the duties of his station, it was of the first importance that he should possess every information, and ponder every idea, small and great, bearing upon its conditions, as well as upon the general political state of europe in that period of ominous waiting, wherein great events were evidently coming to birth. day after day, dr. scott's biographer tells us, was passed by the two together, sitting in two black leathern arm-chairs with roomy pockets, stuffed with papers, written and printed, journals and pamphlets, gathered from every source--from prizes, from passing neutral vessels, from cruisers returning from neutral or friendly ports, or picked up by the doctor himself in the not infrequent trips on which he was sent, ostensibly for pleasure, but with a keen eye also to the collection of intelligence. marked externally by the abstraction of a book-worm, entirely unpractical and heedless in the common affairs of life, and subject to an occasional flightiness of action, the result in part of an injury to his head while in the service, scott gave those who saw him going about an impression of guilelessness, which covered him from the suspicion of having a mission. he had, says his biographer, "in union with a capacity for very difficult services, a simplicity that often put him at disadvantage in worldly matters, and it became a common joke with the admiral, that 'the doctor would always want somebody to take care of him.'" nelson had everything read to him; first of all, newspapers, which were sent regularly to the fleet by british agents in various quarters. upon them chiefly, and not upon england, he depended for knowledge of what was happening; in great britain itself, as well as on the continent. from ten to twelve weeks was no uncommon length of time for him to be without word from home. "i never hear from england," he wrote to elliot in the summer of 1804, "but as we manage to get the paris papers regularly through spain. from ten days to a fortnight we get them from their date at paris: therefore we know the very great events which are passing in europe--at least as much as the french people;" a shrewd limitation. these, therefore, together with spanish, italian, and other sheets, it was scott's daily task to read aloud to his chief, who found therein not only information but amusement. he insisted also upon hearing the numerous ephemeral pamphlets, of which the age was prolific, and which found their way to him. his quickness in detecting the drift of an author was marvellous. two or three pages of a pamphlet were generally sufficient to put him in complete possession of the writer's object, while nothing was too trivial for his attention where there existed a possibility of its contributing a clue to the problems of his command. not the least onerous of the doctor's duties was the deciphering of private letters found in prizes, a channel by which important public interests are often betrayed. nelson's quickness to see the bearing and value of an apparently trifling mention, dropped by the way by a careless pen, rendered such an exercise of his ingenuity at once a pleasure and a profit. the public secretary, mr. scott, was equally struck with the alertness and sagacity of his employer's mind. "i have heard much of lord nelson's abilities as an officer and statesman, but the account of the latter is infinitely short. in my travels through the service i have met with no character in any degree equal to his lordship; his penetration is quick, judgment clear, wisdom great, and his decisions correct and decided: nor does he in company appear to bear any weight on his mind." it was with difficulty, after a prolonged session, that the doctor could at times beg off, and leave, stuffed in the arm-chair pockets, for another day's work, a dozen or two of such letters, sealed to nelson by his imperfect eyesight and inadequate mastery of other tongues. the arm-chairs, lashed together, formed at times a couch upon which the admiral "slept those brief slumbers for which he was remarkable;" in those moments, doubtless, when anxiety about the enemy's movements did not permit him to go regularly to bed. in common with all those closely associated with nelson, dr. scott was particularly struck with the kindliness and cordiality of his bearing and actions; which is the more to be noted, because no one, probably, had more occasion to see the movements of irritability, of impatience, which lay very near the surface, than did his secretaries, through whom his most vexatious work must be done. that he was vehement to express annoyance has appeared frequently in these pages. the first lord radstock, who was senior to him in the service, and knew him well, writing to his son, then a midshipman in the "victory," is constant and extreme in his admiration of nelson; but he gives the caution to be careful of impressions made upon a chief upon whom advancement depends. quick in all his ways, a moment's heedlessness, possibly misunderstood or misrepresented, may produce lasting injury. "lord nelson is of so hasty a temper, that in spite of all his natural goodness, i should fear that he would too readily give ear to those in whom he had placed his confidence. he is a man of strong passions, and his prejudices are proportionate." "on many occasions," says another writer, "lord nelson evinced an impatience that has been considered as irreconcileable with magnanimity; but the secret workings of his soul have not been received into the account or analysis of character, for we find the same individual, while employed in watching the french fleet off toulon, display the most unexampled patience and forbearance, and never betray the smallest symptom of inquietude or disappointment."[71] murray, the captain of the fleet, when first offered his appointment, had hesitated to accept. upon nelson urging him, he gave as his reason that the nature of the duties often led to disagreements between the admiral and his chief of staff, and that he was unwilling to risk any diminution of the regard existing between him and his lordship; a remark true enough in the general, but clearly of somewhat special application. nelson assured him that, should anything go contrary to his wishes, he would waive his rank and explain or expostulate with him as his friend, and when, after two years' service, murray had to leave the ship, he refused to replace him,--he would have murray or none. in truth, such readiness to flare up must needs be the defect of that quality of promptness, that instant succession of deed to thought, which was a distinguishing feature of nelson's genius and actions. captain hillyar more than once alludes to this trait as characteristic of the fleet, to which its chief had transmitted his own spirit. "i have had to-day to lament," he says, speaking of some trifling disappointment, "the extreme promptitude with which we all move when near his lordship." but, while traces of this failing may be detected here and there by the watchful reader, as nelson himself gleaned useful indications amid the rubbishy mass of captured correspondence, there survives, among the remains left by those in daily contact with him, only the record of a frank, open bearing, and unfailing active kindness. "setting aside his heroism," wrote dr. scott after trafalgar, "when i think what an affectionate, fascinating little fellow he was, how dignified and pure his mind, how kind and condescending his manners, i become stupid with grief for what i have lost." "he is so cheerful and pleasant," wrote the public secretary, mr. scott, "that it is a happiness to be about his hand." dr. gillespie notes "his noble frankness of manners, freedom from vain formality and pomp (so necessary to the decoration of empty little great men), which can only be equalled by the unexampled glory of his naval career, and the watchful and persevering diligence with which he commands this fleet." "nelson was the man to _love_" said captain pulteney malcolm, who knew intimately both him and wellington. "i received captain leake," nelson himself says, speaking of an army officer on a special mission to the mediterranean, "with that openness which was necessary to make myself as well acquainted with him in three days, as others might do in as many years. i have given him all the knowledge of the men, their views, &c. &c., as far as i have been able to form a judgment." the remark is valuable, for it shows that frankness and cordiality were recognized by him as the wisest and most politic method of dealing with men. "our friend, sir alexander," he says testily, "is a very great diplomatic character, and even an admiral must not know what he is negotiating about. you shall judge, viz., 'the tunisian envoy is still here, negotiating. he is a moderate man; and, apparently, the best disposed of any i ever did business with.' could even the oldest diplomatic character be drier? i hate such parade and nonsense." captain hillyar, who commanded one of the frigates that were ever coming and going, writes in his journal: "if extreme kindness and attention could render me happy, i have this day experienced both from our revered and good commander-in-chief. how can i repay his kindness? by obeying his injunctions 'not to be in a hurry to get married,'[72] or by a continued perseverance in discharging those duties with alacrity and honour, which he is more immediately concerned in?" "lord nelson talked a great deal against matrimony yesterday, and i feel will not trust me at malta, while we are capable of remaining at sea. it was all, however, in a good natured way. he is going to charge me with two of his boys [midshipmen], i am pleased that an opportunity is offered for showing my gratitude in a small degree for his almost fatherly kindness. i wish you knew him; if he has failings, reflections on his virtues cause them to be forgotten, and the mind dwells with pleasure on a character where bravery, generosity, and good nature, are joined to a heart that can feel for the woes of others, and delights in endeavouring to alleviate them." hillyar was experiencing what radstock had remarked: "gain his esteem, and there is nothing he will not dash through to put you forward." "gain his esteem, and you will have nothing to fear, for i know not a more honourable man existing, or one who would more readily do you justice in all respects." "i am well aware," wrote another young captain to nelson himself, "of the good construction which your lordship has ever been in the habit of putting on circumstances, although wearing the most unfavourable appearances.... your lordship's good opinion constitutes the summit of my ambition, and the most effective spur to my endeavours." nelson loved to bestow promotion, when deserved, on the spot, to give a man his spurs, if it might be, on the field of battle; but vacancies would not always offer at the happy moment. a brother of hillyar's was a midshipman in one of two boats, sent to visit a suspicious vessel. a sudden and staggering fire killed the lieutenant in command, besides disabling a number of the boats' crews. the men hesitated; but the lad, left in charge, cheered them on and carried the vessel by boarding. although he was but a couple of months over fifteen, nelson gave him at once his commission into the vacancy made by the lieutenant. one very dark night, the "victory" being under way, a midshipman, at the imminent risk of his life, leaped into the sea to save a seaman who had fallen overboard, and otherwise would have been drowned. nelson gave him, too, his commission the following morning; but, seeing the jubilation among the young man's messmates, and thinking the act might be a dangerous precedent, he leaned over the poop and said, smiling good-naturedly, "stop, young gentlemen! mr. flin has done a gallant thing today, and he has done many gallant things before, for which he has now got his reward. but mind, i'll have no more making lieutenants for men falling overboard." the power thus to reward at discretion, and speedily, though liable to abuse, was, he claimed, essential to the due influence of a commander-in-chief; his subordinates must feel that it was in his power to make their future, to distinguish them, and that they were in so far dependent upon him. nevertheless, with him as with others, personal interest had a weight which qualified his argument. the premature[73] and disastrous promotion of his stepson, at his request, by st. vincent, was a practical abuse which in most minds would outweigh theoretical advantages. writing to sir peter parker about this time, he said, "you may be assured i will lose no time in making your grandson a postcaptain. it is the only opportunity ever offered me, of showing that my feelings of gratitude to you are as warm and alive as when you first took me by the hand: i owe all my honours to you, and i am proud to acknowledge it to all the world." such enduring gratitude is charming to see, and tends to show that nelson recognized some other reason for parker's favor to himself than deference to suckling's position; but it is scarcely a good working principle for the distribution of official patronage, although the younger parker was a good and gallant officer. among the military duties that weighed upon nelson, not the least was the protection of british trade. the narrow waters of the mediterranean favored the operations of privateers, which did not have to go far from their ports, and found shelter everywhere; for the littoral states, in their weakness and insecurity, could but feebly enforce neutrality either in their continental or insular territories. in fact, both parties to the war, great britain and france, derived from the infringement of neutrality advantages which checked their remonstrances, and gave the feebler nations an apt retort, when taken to task in their painful efforts to preserve an attitude that was rather double-faced than neutral. if france, on the one hand, was deriving a considerable revenue from spanish subsidies, and subsisting an army corps upon neapolitan territory, great britain, on the other, could scarcely have maintained her fleet in the gulf of lyons, if unable to get fresh provisions and water from neutral ports; for, save gibraltar and malta, she had none that was her own or allied. under these conditions, small privateers, often mere rowboats, but under the colors of france or the italian republic, swarmed in every port and inlet; in the adriatic,--a deep, secluded pocket, particularly favorable to marauding,--in the ionian islands, along the barbary coast, upon the shores of spain, and especially in sicily, whose central position and extensive seaboard commanded every trade-route east of the balearics. nelson's correspondence is full of remonstrances addressed to the various neutral states--including even austria, whose shore-line on the adriatic was extensive--for their toleration of these abuses, which rested ultimately upon the fear of bonaparte. he has, also, constant explanations to make to his own government, or to british ministers at the different courts, of the acts of his cruisers in destroying the depredators within neutral limits, when found red-handed. he makes no apologies, but stands firmly by his officers, who, when right, could always count upon his support in trouble. he never left a man in the lurch, or damned him with faint approval. "the protection afforded the enemy's privateers and rowboats in the different neutral ports of these seas, so contrary to every known law of neutrality, is extremely destructive of our commerce.... although their conduct is infamous, yet their doing wrong is no rule why we should. there is a general principle which i have laid down for the regulation of the officers' conduct under my command--which is never to break the neutrality of any port or place; but never to consider as neutral any place from whence an attack is allowed to be made. it is certainly justifiable to attack any vessel in a place from whence she makes an attack." "i very fully approve every part of captain ----'s conduct on the above occasion," he writes to the admiralty in such a case. the supplying of convoys, therefore, was ceaseless, for the depredations of the marauders were unending. "i am pulled to pieces by the demands of merchants for convoys," nelson said; and he recognized that it must be so, for he entirely disapproved of even a fast-sailing vessel attempting to make a passage unprotected. "i wrote to the admiralty for more cruisers until i was tired," he told ball, "and they left off answering those parts of my letters. the late admiralty thought i kept too many to the eastward of sicily; the smyrna folks complain of me, so do the adriatic, so they do between cape de gatte and gibraltar. if i had the vessels, i do assure you not one of them should go prize-hunting: that i never have done, i am a poorer man than the day i was ordered to the mediterranean command, by upwards of £1,000; but money i despise except as it is useful, and i expect my prize money is embarked in the toulon fleet." "i am distressed for frigates," was his continual cry. "from cape st. vincent to the head of the adriatic i have only eight; which, with the service of watching toulon, and the necessary frigates with the fleet, are absolutely not one half enough." for military duties, "frigates are the eyes of a fleet. i want ten more than i have in order to watch that the french should not escape me, and ten sloops besides, to do all duties." for nine stations which ought to be filled, "i have but two frigates; therefore, my dear ball, have a little mercy, and do not think i have neglected the protection of the trade of malta." this was written soon after joining the station, and he represents the number as diminishing as time passed. "it is shameful!" he cries in a moment of intense anxiety. in this fewness of cruisers he was forced to keep his vessels constantly on the go,--to the levant, to the adriatic, to sicily, to italy,--scouring the coasts for privateers, gathering merchant ships by driblets, picking up information, and at the end of the round returning to malta with their fractions of the large convoy. when this was assembled, a frigate or a ship-of-the-line, with one or two smaller ships of war, sailed with it for gibraltar at a date fixed, approximately, months before. meanwhile, at the latter place a similar process of collection had been going on from the ports of the western mediterranean, and, after the malta convoy arrived, the whole started together in charge of a division, composed usually of vessels of war that had to return to england for repairs. to arrange and maintain this complicated process, and to dovetail it with the other necessary cruising duties, having in consideration which ships should first go home, required careful study and long foresight--infinite management, in fact. "the going on in the routine of a station," he tells ball, who seems to have trod on his toes, "if interrupted, is like stopping a watch--the whole machine gets wrong. if the maidstone takes the convoy, and, when agincourt arrives, there is none for her or thisbe, it puzzles me to know what orders to give them. if they chace the convoy to gibraltar, the maidstone may have gone on with it to england, and in that case, two ships, unless i begin to give a new arrangement, will either go home without convoy, or they must return [to malta] in contradiction to the admiralty's orders to send them home; i am sure you see it in its true point of view." "i dare not send a frigate home without a convoy," he says later. "not an officer in the service bows with more respect to the orders of the admiralty than myself," he writes st. vincent; "but i am sure you will agree with me, that if i form plans for the sending home our convoys, and the clearing the different parts of the station from privateers, and the other services requisite, and that the admiralty in some respects makes their arrangements, we must clash." then he points out how the admiralty diverting a ship, unknown to him, has tumbled over a whole train of services, like a child's row of blocks. an extremely critical point in the homeward voyage was the first hundred miles west of gibraltar; and it was a greater thorn in nelson's side, because of a french seventy-four, the "aigle," which had succeeded in entering cadiz just after he got off toulon. for the ordinary policing of that locality he assigned a division of three frigates, under a captain gore, who possessed his confidence. "the enemy's privateers and cruisers," he tells him, "are particularly destructive to our trade passing the skirts of the station." privateering was thus reduced; but when a convoy sailed, he tried always to have it accompanied through that stage by a ship of size sufficient to grapple with the "aigle." for a while, indeed, he placed there an eighty-gun ship, but the gradual deterioration of his squadron and the increase of latouche tréville's obliged him to recall her, and at times his anxiety was great; not the less because gore, like other frigate captains, entertained the fancy that his three frigates might contend with a ship-of-the-line. "your intentions of attacking that ship with the small squadron under your command are certainly very laudable; but i do not consider your force by any means equal to it." the question of two or three small ships against one large involves more considerations than number and weight of guns. unity of direction and thickness of sides--defensive strength, that is--enter into the problem. as hawke said, "big ships take a good deal of drubbing." howe's opinion was the same as nelson's; and hardy, nelson's captain, said, "after what i have seen at trafalgar, i am satisfied it would be mere folly, and ought never to succeed."[74] what hardy saw at trafalgar, however, was not frigates against ships-of-the-line, but vessels of the latter class opposed, smaller against greater. it seems singular, with such a weak link in the chain of communication from the mediterranean to england, that the admiralty, on the outbreak of the war with spain, in the latter part of 1804, should have divided nelson's command at this very point, leaving as a somewhat debatable ground, for mutual jealousy, that through which valuable interests must pass, and where they must be transferred. the reason and manner of this division, impolitic and inopportune as it was, and bitterly as nelson resented it, seem to have been misunderstood. convinced that he could not endure another winter such as the last, he made a formal application, about the middle of august, 1804, for permission to go home for a while. "i consider the state of my health to be such as to make it absolutely necessary that i should return to england to re-establish it. another winter such as the last, i feel myself unable to stand against. a few months of quiet may enable me to serve again next spring; and i believe that no officer is more anxious to serve than myself." in accordance with this last intimation, which speaks his whole heart, he wrote privately to the first lord that he would like to come back in the spring, if his health were restored, as he believed it would be; and he assured him that his second, bickerton, whose rank did not entitle him to the chief command under ordinary conditions, was perfectly fitted to hold it during his absence--in short, to keep the place warm for his return. nelson knew that the admiralty was besieged with admirals, many senior to himself, seeking for employment, and that it would be very difficult for it to resist the pressure for the vacancy in "my favourite command," to resume which he was impelled by both his sense of duty and his love of glory. he wrote therefore to elliot, and to the king of the two sicilies, in the same sense as he had to melville, recalling his well-tried devotion to the interests of that court, which a successor might not equally show, and suggesting that his cause would be strengthened by an application for his return on the part of the king. the latter consequently intimated to the british government that he hoped lord nelson would be sent back. he was, in truth, so much agitated over the prospect of his going, that he offered him a house in either palermo or naples, if he wished to remain in the south to recruit; an offer which elliot, equally uneasy, urged him to accept. the government did exactly what was asked. nelson received permission to go to england, when he felt it necessary, leaving the command in the hands of bickerton; but at the same time the admiralty had to meet the rush of claimants for the vacancy, all the more pressing because rumors were afloat of a spanish war, which would make the mediterranean not only the most important, but, in prize-money, the most lucrative command. among the applicants was sir john orde, who had been nursing a technical grievance ever since he had been passed over, in nelson's favor, for the command of the detachment with which the battle of the nile was fought. nelson's leave was issued on the 6th of october, and on the 26th orde was given a small squadron--five ships-of-the-line--to blockade cadiz. being senior to nelson, and of course to bickerton, he could only have this position by reducing the latter's station, which had extended to cape finisterre. the line between the two commands was drawn at the straits' mouth, a rather vague phrase, but gibraltar was left with nelson. orde thus got the station for prize-money, and nelson that for honor, which from youth until now he most valued. "the arrangement," wrote his friend, lord radstock, "will be a death-stroke to his hopes of the galleons; but as your chief has ever showed himself to be as great a despiser of riches as he is a lover of glory, i am fully convinced in my own mind that he would sooner defeat the french fleet than capture fifty galleons." nevertheless, nelson was sorely aggrieved, and complained bitterly to his correspondents. "i have learnt not to be surprised at anything; but the sending an officer to such a point, to take, if it is a spanish war, the whole harvest, after all my trials (god knows unprofitable enough! for i am a much poorer man than when we started in the amphion,) seems a little hard: but _patienza_." "he is sent off cadiz to reap the golden harvest, as campbell was to reap my sugar harvest. it's very odd, two admiralties to treat me so: surely i have dreamt that i have 'done the state some service.' but never mind; i am superior to those who could treat me so." his contempt for money, however acquired, except as a secondary consideration, remained unchanged. "i believe i attend more to the french fleet than making captures; but what i have, i can say as old haddock said, 'it never cost a sailor a tear, nor the nation a farthing.' this thought is far better than prize-money;--not that i despise money--quite the contrary, i wish i had one hundred thousand pounds this moment." "i am keeping as many frigates as possible round me," he wrote to his friend ball, "for i know the value of them on the day of battle: and compared with that day, what signifies any prizes they might take?"[75] nor did such utterances stand alone. "i hope war with spain may be avoided," he wrote. "i want not riches at such a dreadful price. peace for our country is all i wish to fight for,--i mean, of course, an honourable one, without which it cannot be a secure one." but his outlays were very heavy. besides the £1,800 annually paid to lady nelson, he gave lady hamilton £1,200 a year, exclusive of what was spent on the house and grounds at merton; and it may be inferred from dr. gillespie that the cost of the cabin mess, beyond the table money allowed by the government, was assumed by him. he himself said, early in the cruise, "unless we have a spanish war, i shall live here at a great expense, although mr. chevalier [his steward] takes every care." "god knows, in my own person, i spend as little money as any man; but you[76] know i love to give away." that he was thus sore was most natural; but it was also natural that the government should expect, in view of his strong representations about his health, that the three weeks between the issuing his leave and orde's orders would have insured his being on his way home, before the latter reached his station. had things fallen out so, it would not have been nelson, the exceptional hero of exceptional services, but bickerton, a man with no peculiar claims as yet, who would have lost the prize-money; for nelson himself had just won a suit against st. vincent, which established that the moment a commander-in-chief left his station, his right lapsed, and that of the next flag-officer commenced. nor was the division of the station an unprecedented measure. it had been extended from the straits to cape finisterre at the time st. vincent withdrew from the mediterranean, in 1796; and in 1802, when lord keith asked for additional aids, on account of the enormous administrative work, the admiralty made of the request a pretext for restricting his field to the mediterranean, a step which keith successfully resisted. before nelson received his leave he had begun to change his mind about going home. this was due, partly, to a slight betterment in his health, which he at this time mentions; chiefly, it would seem, to the prospects of a spanish war. this, by doubling the number of his enemies and the quarters whence they might come, contributed to the pleasurable excitement that was always a tonic to his physical frame, and roused the eager desire for conspicuous action, which was his most prominent passion. indications also assured him that the expectation of the french coming out, in which appearances had so often deceived him, was now on the point of being realized; that bonaparte's projects, whatever they were, were approaching maturity. his "guess," founded on the reports before him, was wonderfully penetrative. he did not see all the way through the french mill-stone, but he saw very deep into it; his inference, indeed, was one in which intuition and sagacity bore equal shares. "if the russians continue increasing their naval force in this country [that is, in the eastern mediterranean], i do not think the french will venture to the eastward; therefore, i rather expect they will, as the year advances, try to get out of the straits; and should they accomplish it with 7,000 troops on board, i am sure we should lose half our west india islands, for i think they would go there, and not to ireland. whatever may be their destination, i shall certainly follow, be it even to the east indies." the last allusion is interesting, for it shows the wide flight of his speculations, which had found utterance before in the casual remark that his ships were provisioned for a voyage to madras; and, even as a guess, it struck perilously near one of bonaparte's purposes. the splendid decision, formulated so long before the case arose, to follow wherever they went, held in its womb the germ of the great campaign of trafalgar; while in the surmise that the toulon fleet was bound to the west indies, the arrow of conjecture had gone straight to the bull's-eye. in this same letter, addressed to general villettes, at malta, formerly his coadjutor at the siege of bastia, nelson, in the intimacy of friendship, reveals what was to him at once the secret of health and the fulfilment of desire; the congenial atmosphere in which his being throve, and expanded to fulfil the limits of his genius. "such a pursuit would do more, perhaps, towards restoring me to health than all the doctors; but i fear" (his application for leave having gone in) "this is reserved for some happier man. not that i complain; i have had a good race of glory, but we are never satisfied, although i hope i am duly thankful for the past; but one cannot help, being at sea, longing for a little more." "i hope," he had written a few months earlier to lord minto, "some day, very soon, to fulfil the warmest wishes of my country and expectations of my friends. i hope you may be able, at some debate, to say, as your partiality has said before, 'nelson has done more than he has done before;' i can assure you it shall be a stimulus to my exertion on the day of battle.... whatever happens, i have run a glorious race." on the 12th of october nelson received a piece of news which elicited instantaneously a flash of action, illustrative at once of the promptness of his decisions and of the briskness of temper that has been noted already. a letter arrived from captain gore, commanding the detachment outside of the straits, that two frigates, sent from the brest squadron by admiral cornwallis, had arrived, with a captain senior to himself, who had taken him under his orders, and carried two of nelson's frigates off cadiz to intercept the spanish treasure-fleet expected there from america. cornwallis's action had been taken by orders from england, but no communication to that effect, either from him or from the admiralty, reached nelson at this moment. astounded by a measure which could scarcely fail to cause war, and convinced, as he said, that spain had no wish to go to war with great britain, he gave himself a night to pause; but early next day he wrote to the admiralty, intimating pretty plainly that, if done by its direction, this was not the way the commander of the mediterranean fleet should receive word of so momentous a step taken in his district, while to gore he sent emphatic orders to disobey cornwallis, although the latter was nelson's senior. summing up with admirable lucidity the facts before him, and thereby proving that the impression under which cornwallis's action probably was taken was erroneous, he said: "unless you have much weightier reasons than the order of admiral cornwallis, or that you receive orders from the admiralty, it is my most positive directions that neither you, or any ship under your orders, do molest or interrupt in any manner the lawful commerce of spain, with whom we are at perfect peace and amity." it is permissible, because instructive, to note that in this order, while nelson amply provides for discretion on the part of his subordinate, he throws the full weight of his authority on the difficult horn of a possible dilemma, the act--so momentous to an officer--of disobedience to a present superior; in this case the captain sent by cornwallis. contrast this with the government's orders to the commander of the troops at malta, when it wished him to send a garrison to messina.[77] instead of saying, "you will send so many men, _unless_ you think you _cannot_ spare them," its orders ran: "you will send, _if_ you think you _can_ spare them." of course, as nelson invariably experienced, an officer addressed in the latter style found always a lion in his path. so his orders to gore were not, "obey, _if_" but "disobey, _unless_;" and gore knew, as every man in the mediterranean knew by long trial, that, if he disobeyed, he would have at his back, through thick and thin, the first sea-officer in great britain. but nelson's orders were always stamped with the positive, daring, lucid character of his genius and its conceptions; and so, except in unworthy hands, they were fulfilled in spirit as well as in letter. an interesting illustration of this trenchant clearness is to be found in instructions given to the captain of the "donegal," an eighty-gun ship, sent under very critical circumstances to cruise off cadiz, in september, 1803. it appears to the author not only characteristic of nelson, but a perfect example of the kind of directions a junior would wish to have in a difficult case, when desirous to carry out the spirit of his superior's orders. it explains itself. 26th september, 1803. to captain sir richard john strachan, bart., h.m. ship donegal. the occurrences which pass every day in spain forbode, i fancy, a speedy war with england; therefore it becomes proper for me to put you on your guard, and advise you how to act under particular circumstances. by looking at the former line of conduct on the part of spain, which she followed just before the commencement of the last war, we may naturally expect the same events to happen. the french admiral richery was in cadiz, blocked up by admiral man; on august the 22nd, they came to sea, attended by the spanish fleet, which saw the french safe beyond st. vincent, and returned into cadiz. admiral man very properly did not choose to attack admiral richery under such an escort. this is a prelude to what i must request your strict attention to; at the same time, i am fully aware that you must be guided, in some measure, by actual circumstances. i think it very probable, even before spain breaks with us, that they may send a ship or two of the line to see l'aigle round cape st. vincent; and that if you attack her in their presence, they may attack you; and giving them possession of the donegal, would be more than either you or i should wish, therefore i am certain it must be very comfortable for you to know my sentiments. from what you hear in cadiz, you will judge how far you may venture yourself in company with a spanish squadron; but if you are of opinion that you may trust yourself near them, keeping certainly out of gun-shot, send your boat with a letter to the spanish commodore, and desire to know whether he means to defend the french ships; and get his answer in writing, and have it as plain as possible. if it be 'yes, that he will fire at you if you attack the french under his protection,' then, if you have force enough, make your attack on the whole body, and take them all if you can; for i should consider such an answer as a perfect declaration of war. if you are too weak for such an attack, you must desist; but you certainly are fully authorized to take the ships of spain whenever you meet them. should the answer be ambiguous, you must then act as your judgment may direct you, and i am sure that will be very proper. only recollect, that it would be much better to let the french ships escape, than to run too great a risk of losing the donegal, yourself, and the ship's company. i am, &c. nelson and bronte. this letter fulfils his own request to the admiralty: "all i wish and submit to their lordships is, that if the business is left to me, my orders may be decisive." later in the same day that nelson received gore's letter, the admiralty's orders arrived, sent, as despatches too often were, by a vessel so small and slow that it would seem they counted upon her insignificance to elude an enemy's notice. the delay served, as has been said, to give proof of the rapidity of nelson's action; the receipt of the orders enabled him also to show how much clearer were his conceptions of adequacy than those of ordinary men. to stop treasure-ships, or to embargo merchant-ships, when difficulty was threatening, was no new idea to the british government. the latter had been done with baltic merchantmen at the time of the armed neutrality. in the case of spain, it was a measure particularly efficacious, for the financial solvency and belligerent capacity of that country depended upon the galleons, which brought to her the tribute of her colonies; and her relations and dealings with france at this time were so partial and suspicious as to justify precautions. evidently, however, such a step, being avowedly preventive and not offensive, should be taken in such a way as to avert all chance of possible disaster. several spanish frigates being expected, the british government charged four vessels of the same rate with the task of arresting them. nelson, the instant he got his orders, detached to the spot an eighty-gun ship, to which he added four other cruisers, thinking, as he said in his orders to the captain selected, that "this is a service of the highest importance, and that an officer of your rank and experience should be employed therein." with such odds against him, the spanish commander would need no military justification for submission. as it was, he resisted, necessitating a fight, which under the circumstances was barbarous and brutal, and ended in one of the spanish vessels blowing up with several women on board; a result due wholly to the blundering lack of foresight which sent a corporal's guard to do the work of a sheriff's posse. this incident, of the order to arrest the treasure-ships, which was made general for all vessels of that class, was probably the determining occasion of nelson's decision to remain in the mediterranean. war with spain, with consequent increased activity on the part of france, though not certain, became probable. there was at that time on board the "victory" a dr. lambton este, who had gone to the mediterranean in a civil capacity, and was on his way home. nelson, hoping to return soon himself, asked este to remain until he started, and to accompany him in a worn-out seventy-four, the "superb," which he was holding for that purpose. it seems that, in looking forward to the resumption of his command, he expected it would be the scene of a more wide-spread political activity, especially in the far east where este had been employed, and that, for this purpose, he wished to attach the latter to his person. "there may be more occupation there for us all, hereafter, than we just now foresee, or may expect." in confirmation of this general forecast, we are told by dr. scott that, when the admiral left england before trafalgar, arrangements had been made with the foreign office for este with six clerks to be attached to the flagship, to conduct the diplomatic correspondence. the fact is doubly interesting. it shows, on the one hand, the accuracy of nelson's foresight as to the vast importance the mediterranean was about to assume, to meet which he thus was making provision in a general way; although neither he nor any other man could have anticipated the extraordinary, complicated snarl of the political threads in napoleon's later years. the cares from these, it may be said in passing, were by nelson's death devolved upon collingwood; who, though a strong man, was killed by them, through general debility resulting from confinement, and through organic injury produced by bending over his desk. on the other hand, it cannot but be grateful to those who admire the hero, to see that nelson looked forward to no inglorious ease, but to a life of strenuous work, as well as, if it might be so, of military honor. had he lived, we may hope, the days after trafalgar would not have been the grave of his renown. on the first of november his decision was taken. he sent for este and said, "oh, my good fellow! i have abandoned the idea of going to england, at present. i shall not go yet, and when i may go is quite uncertain--must depend upon events, and upon my own precarious health; at the same time, i am doing you an evident injustice, by detaining you here so long in uncertainty." este of course expressed his willingness to remain while needed, but nelson interrupted him, saying, "no, _my_ wish is that you should go,--i am anxious that you should go, and go without further delay. to tell you the truth, i am not entirely disinterested. go home; get confirmed in your appointment, according to my desire, and return to me as soon afterwards as you can. should i retain my command in the mediterranean, with the powers already conceded to me, i shall require your assistance." it seems probable that he was anxious to get some one home as rapidly as possible, to forestall, if time permitted, a final recall, which the appointment of a successor would be. "long before this time," he had written lady hamilton, "i expect, another admiral is far on his way to supersede me. i should for your sake, and for many of our friends, have liked an odd hundred thousand pounds [by a spanish war]; but, never mind. if they give me the choice of staying a few months longer, it will be very handsome; and, for the sake of others, we would give up very much of our own felicity." the despatches and routine papers were got ready rapidly, and placed in charge of este, who sailed for lisbon, in a sloop-of-war, on the 6th of november, furnished with orders to all officials to expedite him on his way, and particularly to captains not to communicate with the ship, because the plague, then raging in gibraltar, would involve her, if visited, in the delays of quarantine. on the 18th of november, off cape st. vincent, este met the "swiftsure," seventy-four, bringing orde out. it has been charged that the latter discourteously delayed to notify nelson of his taking over part of the station.[78] it appears, however, from this encounter, that his letter to that effect, dated the 17th,[79] though headed "off cadiz," was actually prepared before he reached his position there. it was forwarded to nelson by the "anson," whose captain was senior officer of the division till then blockading the port, whom orde relieved and sent on with his despatch. the "anson" joined nelson on the 15th of december. the "swiftsure," which was also destined to his squadron, did not reach him until the 25th. it seems, therefore, fair to acquit orde of a discourtesy as aimless as it would be reprehensible. just before este's departure nelson had reconnoitred toulon. a new vice-admiral had hoisted his flag in place of latouche tréville, who had died on the 20th of august. "he has given me the slip," wrote nelson, who felt himself balked of his vengeance. "the french papers say he died of walking so often up to the signal-post, upon sepet, to watch us: i always pronounced that would be his death." his successor was villeneuve, the predestined victim of trafalgar. "they now amuse themselves with night-signals," nelson informed the first lord; "and by the quantity of rockets and blue lights they show with every signal, they plainly mark their position. these gentlemen must soon be so perfect in theory, that they will come to sea to put their knowledge into practice. could i see that day, it would make me happy." the time was now not far distant. the weariness of waiting was soon to give way to the anxious fever of doubtful and protracted pursuit, of prolonged uncertainty and steadfast endurance, through which he advanced to his final triumph, just as he had to those of the past. the seizure of the spanish treasure-ships, with its lamentable catastrophe, took place on the 5th of october. nelson had the news on the 8th of november, which, extraordinary as it may appear, was before the fact was known in madrid. on the 10th of november, when the british minister received his passports upon his own demand, no word had reached there. on the 15th, nelson was informed that a british vessel had been fired upon by the batteries of barcelona, which was an error; but receiving at the same time a letter from the minister, probably to the effect that he would break off relations on the 10th, he inferred that war existed, and issued orders for a general seizure of spanish vessels of war and commerce throughout the station. this was done on his own responsibility, but he guarded himself by stringent provisions against any injury beyond detention being inflicted; and he alleged, very reasonably, that a commander-in-chief who never got letters from home less than two months old must act upon his own motion. "i am completely in the dark. it is now more than two months since the john bull [the last despatch boat] sailed." "i have set the whole mediterranean to work," he tells lady hamilton on the 23d; "and if i had had the spare troops at malta at my disposal, minorca would at this moment have had english colours flying." a swedish ship, carrying a spanish regiment from barcelona to the latter island, was among the first captures. "with respect to my making war upon spain, and sir john orde not having done it," so he wrote to elliot, "i believe you will think i have acted not precipitately, but consistent with the firmness of john bull. i can't tell what schemes ministers may have; but when i am without orders, and unexpected occurrences arise, i shall always act as i think the honour and glory of my king and country demand. upon the most mature and serious consideration i can give the subject, the present lays within the compass of a nutshell. our ministers demand certain points to be conceded to them; they, to give a spur, detain the spanish treasure. spain, the moment she hears of it, kicks your minister out of madrid; a plain proof they had not acceded to our propositions. indeed, mr. frere,[80] you will see by his letter, did not believe it would have a favourable termination, even had not the frigates been detained. i send your excellency his letters. i feel i have done perfectly right. no desire of wealth could influence my conduct; for i had nothing to take worth two-pence to me. sir john orde was sent, if it was a spanish war, to take the money; but until he saw my orders, he did not act. i suppose he was fearful of that responsibility which i am ever ready to take upon me; and now he is to wallow in wealth, whilst i am left a beggar. but such things are. i receive the kindest letters from lord melville and the secretary of state, but they think the french fleet is prize enough for me." no wonder nelson found that diplomatists were slow, measured by himself as a standard; but what a wonderful instinct it shows in him, that, with action ever prompt to the verge of precipitancy, he made so few blunders in deed. there are several errors of fact in his summary of reasons, but his action was absolutely well-timed--to the very hour. meanwhile, and up to the 15th of december, when orde's letter was received, no reply had come to his application for leave, and no intimation of a successor. a fresh complication here arose by the entire break-down of one of his two junior admirals--rear-admiral campbell--whose health became so affected that it was necessary to send him immediately home. he quitted the fleet on the 4th of december. nelson rightly felt that he himself could not go, leaving bickerton without any assistant. he went further; for, when a rumor came that orde was to relieve him, he determined that he would offer his services to him, as second, until a successor to campbell should arrive. as there was friction between himself and orde, who had, besides, a not very pleasant official reputation, this intention, to take a lower place where he had been chief, was not only self-sacrificing, but extremely magnanimous; it was, however, disfigured by too much self-consciousness. "i have wrote to lord melville that i should make such an offer, and that i entreated him to send out a flag-officer as soon as possible, but i dare say sir john orde is too great a man to want my poor services, and that he will reject them; be that as it may, you will, i am sure, agree with me, that i shall show my superiority to him by such an offer, and the world will see what a sacrifice i am ready to make for the service of my king and country, for what greater sacrifice could i make, than serving for a moment under sir john orde, and giving up for that moment the society of all i hold most dear in this world?" orde's letter reached nelson in pula roads, in the gulf of cagliari, at the southern extremity of sardinia; an out-of-the-way position which probably accounts for much of its delay. he remained there, or in the gulf of palmas, a little to the westward, for about a week, and on the 19th of december left for his station off cape san sebastian. at the latter place, on christmas day, he was joined by the "swiftsure," which brought him a great batch of official mail that had come out with orde. he thus received at one and the same time his leave to go home and the admiralty's order reducing his station. unluckily, the latter step, though taken much later than the issuing of his leave, had become known to him first, through orde; and the impression upon his mind remained with that firmness of prejudice which radstock had noted in him. he does not appear at any time to have made allowance for the fact that his command was cut down under a reasonable impression that he was about to quit it. immediately after the "swiftsure" joined at rendezvous 97, he took the fleet off toulon. the enemy was found to be still in port, but the rumors of an approaching movement, and of the embarkation of troops, were becoming more specific. he remained off the harbor for at least a week, and thence went to madalena, where he anchored on the 11th of january, 1805. this was, though he knew it not, the end of the long watch off toulon. short as the time was, nelson had already experienced the inconvenience of a senior admiral, lying, like an enemy, on the flank of his communications with great britain, and dealing as he pleased with his vessels. one frigate at least had been sent already to england, without his knowledge and consent. "i have in a former letter," he tells the first lord, "stated my opinion freely upon the stations of gibraltar and cadiz being given to the same officer; for without that is done, our convoys can never be considered safe. there is also another consideration, why the officer at gibraltar should be under the orders of the admiral commanding the mediterranean fleet--which is, that any admiral independent of that station, takes all the stores he chooses, or fancies he wants, for the service of his fleet; thereby placing the fleet in the gulf of lyons in great distress for many articles." off toulon, having a large official mail to make up in reply to that brought by the "swiftsure," he thought it both quicker and safer, under all the conditions of the time, to send it to lisbon. he therefore called on board the "victory" a smart young frigate-captain, william parker, a nephew of lord st. vincent, gave him orders to take the despatches to lisbon, and added, "sir john orde takes my frigates from me, and sends them away in some other direction from what i wish. i cannot even get my despatches home. you must contrive to get to the westward and go into lisbon, and avoid his ships. i have not signed your orders," alluding to memorandum instructions separate from the formal orders, "because sir john orde is my senior officer; but, if it should come to a court martial, hardy can swear to my handwriting, and you shall not be broke. take your orders, and good bye; and remember, parker, if you cannot weather _that fellow_, i shall think you have not a drop of your old uncle's blood in your veins." the memorandum directed him to pass cape spartel in the night, steering to the southward and westward to avoid orde, and ended thus: "bring-to [stop] for nothing, if you can help it. hoist the signal for quarantine, and that you are charged with dispatches. if you are forced to speak by a superior officer, show him only my order for not interfering with you; and unless he is an admiral, superior to me, you will obey my orders instead of any pretended ones from him, from my superior officer." parker executed his commission successfully, but in doing so met with a curious adventure. leaving gibraltar with a north wind, favorable for his purpose, he passed spartel as directed, and, the night being moonlight, saw in the distance orde's squadron cruising under easy sail. unluckily, one of the outlying lookout frigates discovered him, gave chase, and overtook him. her captain himself came on board, and was about to give parker orders not to proceed to the westward, orde jealously objecting to any apparent intrusion upon his domain. parker stopped him hastily from speaking on the quarter-deck, within earshot of others, and took him into the cabin. the stranger had been one of nelson's old midshipmen and a favorite; had started with him in the "agamemnon," and by him had been made a commander after the nile. "captain hoste," said parker, "i believe you owe all your advancement in the service to my uncle, lord st. vincent, and to lord nelson. i am avoiding sir john orde's squadron by desire of lord nelson; you know his handwriting; _i must go on_."[81] (parker being senior to hoste, the latter could not detain him by his own authority; and he understood from this avowal that orde's orders, if produced, would become a matter of record, would be disobeyed, and a court-martial must follow.) "the question of a court-martial would be very mischievous. do you not think it would be better if you were not to meet the 'amazon' this night?" captain hoste, after a little reflection, left the ship without giving his admiral's orders to parker.[82] having determined not to leave bickerton alone, nelson decided to keep secret his own leave to return to england. "i am much obliged by their lordships' kind compliance with my request, which is absolutely necessary from the present state of my health," he writes on the 30th of december; "and i shall avail myself of their lordships' permission, the moment another admiral, in the room of admiral campbell, joins the fleet, unless the enemy's fleet should be at sea, when i should not think of quitting my command until after the battle." "i shall never quit my post," he tells a friend, "when the french fleet is at sea, as a commander-in-chief of great celebrity once did,"--a not very generous fling at st. vincent. "i would sooner die at my post, than have such a stigma upon my memory." "nothing has kept me here," he writes elliot, "but the fear for the escape of the french fleet, and that they should get to either naples or sicily in the short days. nothing but gratitude to those good sovereigns could have induced me to stay one moment after sir john orde's extraordinary command, for his general conduct towards me is not such as i had a right to expect." during this last month of monotonous routine, while off toulon and at madalena, he had occasion to express opinions on current general topics, which found little room in his mind after the french fleet began to move. there was then a report of a large expedition for foreign service forming in england, and rumor, as usual, had a thousand tongues as to its destination. "a blow struck in europe," nelson wrote to lord moira, "would do more towards making us respected, and of course facilitate a peace, than the possession of mexico or peru,"--a direction towards which the commercial ambitions of great britain had a traditional inclination, fostered by some military men and statesmen, who foresaw the break-up of the spanish colonial system. "above all, i hope we shall have no buccaneering expeditions. such services fritter away our troops and ships, when they are so much wanted for more important occasions, and are of no use beyond enriching a few individuals. i know not, if these sentiments coincide with yours; but as glory, and not money, has through life been your pursuit, i should rather think that you will agree with me, that in europe, and not abroad, is the place for us to strike a blow." "i like the idea of english troops getting into the kingdom of naples," he tells elliot at this same time; whence it may be inferred that that was the quarter he would now, as upon his first arrival, choose for british effort. "if they are well commanded, i am sure they will do well. they will have more wants than us sailors." the expedition, which sailed the following spring, was destined for the mediterranean, and reinforced the garrisons of gibraltar and malta to an extent that made the latter a factor to be considered in the strategy of the inland sea; but when it arrived, nelson had left the mediterranean, not to return. as regards general politics, nelson, writing to the queen of naples, took a gloomy view of the future. the prime minister of the two sicilies, sir john acton, had some time before been forced out of office and had retired to palermo, an event produced by the pressure of french influence, which nelson regarded now as absolutely dominant in that kingdom, and menacing to europe at large. "never, perhaps, was europe more critically situated than at this moment, and never was the probability of universal monarchy more nearly being realized, than in the person of the corsican. i can see but little difference between the name of emperor, king, or prefect, if they perfectly obey his despotic orders. prussia is trying to be destroyed last--spain is little better than a province of france--russia does nothing on the grand scale. would to god these great powers reflected, that the boldest measures are the safest! they allow small states to fall, and to serve the enormous power of france, without appearing to reflect that every kingdom which is annexed to france, makes their own existence, as independent states, more precarious." how shrewd a prophecy this was as regards prussia and spain, those two countries were to learn by bitter experience; and remote russia herself, though she escaped the last humiliation, saw in the gigantic hosts whose onset a few years later shook her to her centre, the armed subjects of the many smaller states, in whose subjugation she had acquiesced during the period of the czar's moral subservience to napoleon. nelson's essentially military genius had in political matters a keenly sensitive intuition of the probable action of his fellow-warrior, bonaparte. "russia's going to war in the way i am sure she will, will cause the loss of naples and sardinia; for that court will not send 100,000 men into italy, and less are useless for any grand purpose." "your excellency's summary account of the situation of naples since the negotiations with russia," he wrote to elliot in october, "are perfectly clear; but the times are such that kingdoms must not be played with. so far from russia assisting naples, it may involve her, without the greatest care and circumspection, in total ruin. naples must not be hastily involved in war with france. sicily must be saved. the calabrians must be kept from the entrance of french troops. if we are consulted, we must assist naples in keeping off the blow as long as possible." that napoleon's action would have been as here surmised, had his purposes then tended towards the mediterranean instead of the english channel, we have his own assertion. "at the solicitation of your ambassador at st. petersburg," wrote he to the queen of naples, three months later, referring to the same subject, "ten thousand russians have been sent to corfu.... if it had entered into my plans to make war upon the king of naples, i should have done it on the entrance of the first russian in corfu, but i wish for peace with naples, with europe entire, with england even." napoleon's wishes for peace, except on the condition of having his own way, are scarcely to be taken seriously; but his care to keep things quiet in the south corroborates the other indications of his firm purpose to invade england. he was too astute to precipitate troubles elsewhere while that was pending. the appearance of the russians in corfu, although unwise in nelson's view, relieved his fears for the islands and the morea, and enabled him to reduce a little his detachment about the heel of italy. towards the middle of december nelson had received information, which was substantially correct, "from various places, and amongst others, from the king of sardinia [then in gaeta], that the french were assembling troops near toulon, and had taken some of the best troops and a corps of cavalry from the riviera of genoa. every seaman was pressed and sent to toulon. on the 16th the active spoke a vessel from marseilles, who reported that seven thousand troops had embarked on board the french fleet." it was in madalena roads that the long-expected summons came at last. in the afternoon of january 19, 1805, blowing a heavy gale of wind from the northwest, the two lookout frigates from off toulon came in sight, with the signal flying that the french fleet was at sea. at 3 p.m. they anchored near the "victory." three hours later nelson had left madalena forever. footnotes: [59] this sentence refers to the governor; not to villettes, as the construction might indicate. [60] unfit for sea, and kept at naples for political reasons. [61] the honourable mr. waldegrave, afterwards admiral lord eadstock. [62] five french ships-of-the-line, returning from the west indies, had taken refuge in ferrol. [63] life of rev. a.j. scott, p. 124. [64] phillimore's last of nelson's captains, p. 122. a portion of this incident has before been quoted, in another connection (vol. i. p. 355, note). it is repeated, because again applicable, to illustrate a different trait of nelson's character. [65] the letter of this gentleman, dr. gillespie, from which a quotation has already been made, was published in the london "times" of october 6, 1894. [66] this incidental remark may be noted, as bearing upon the statement, now rejected, that his orders were put on especially for battle. [67] there is here no mention of smoking; nor has any allusion to it, or to tobacco, caught the author's eye in nelson's letters. [68] dr. beatty's narrative of the death of lord nelson. nicolas, vol. vii. p. 259. [69] sir william hotham. [70] many of these details are taken with little alteration from the "life of rev. a.j. scott." [71] memoir of sir thomas hardy, in clarke and m'arthur's life of nelson vol. iii. p. 234. [72] hillyar was then engaged to a lady in malta. [73] as lady nelson's first marriage was in 1779, josiah nisbet could not have been eighteen when made a commander, in 1797. [74] phillimore's "the last of nelson's captains," p. 146. [75] flag-officers had a share in all prizes taken by vessels of their squadrons. [76] davison. [77] _ante_, p. 192. [78] pettigrew, vol. ii. p. 444. [79] nicolas, vol. vi. p. 288. [80] late british minister to spain. [81] author's italics. [82] the whole of this account is taken from the life of sir william parker. phillimore's last of nelson's captains, pp. 125-129. chapter xx. the escape and pursuit of the toulon fleet.--nelson's return to england. january-august, 1805. age, 46. to understand rightly the movements of nelson during the first months of 1805, up to his return to england in august, and to appreciate fully the influence of this closing period of his career upon the plans and fortunes of napoleon, it is necessary to state briefly the projects of the latter, as formulated in his correspondence. the great object of the emperor was to invade england, crossing the channel with the army, 150,000 strong, which for two years past he had been assembling and drilling in the neighborhood of boulogne. to this end all his plans were subsidiary--to it all movements at this moment were intended to conduce. he had no illusions as to the difficulties of the enterprise; he recognized fully that the odds were against success, but he had too often achieved the apparently impossible to permit the word to stop him in an attempt, which, if accomplished, would cause all other obstacles to disappear from his path of conquest. there were chances in his favor. warily and steadfastly he advanced, step by step, determined to take no risk that could by the utmost care be changed into security, but equally resolved to dare the hazard, if by the military movements set in action by his unsurpassed genius, he could for a moment obtain the particular combination which would, to use his own phrase, make him master of the world. what if the soldiers of the grand army never returned from england? there were still in france men enough, as good as they were before his energizing spirit wrought them into the force which in its might trod the continent under foot. like nelson dying at trafalgar, it too would have laid down its life, leaving its work finished. neither man nor army could have a prouder memorial. the particular combination upon which napoleon was willing to stake everything was a naval control of the straits of dover for a very few days, coincident with the presence there of an army ready and equipped to cross at once. the latter condition was merely a question of preparation--long, tedious, and expensive, but perfectly feasible. in the early months of 1805 it was realized. the army, a substantial, absolute fact, was there, awaiting only the throwing of the bridge. the naval part of the problem was far more difficult. in the face of the naval supremacy of great britain, the sought-for control could only be casual and transient--a fleeting opportunity to be seized, utilized, and so to disappear. its realization must be effected by stratagem, by successful deception and evasion. the coveted superiority would be not actual, but local,--the french fleet in force there, the british fleet, though the greater in force, elsewhere; the weight of the former concentrated at one point by simultaneous movements of its different detachments, which movements had been so calculated and directed that they had misled the british divisions, and, of themselves, diverted them from the decisive centre. subsidiary to this main effort, napoleon also contemplated a simultaneous landing of some twenty thousand men in ireland, which, like the naval movements, would distract and tend to divide the unity of the british resistance. the british admirals considered this project to be easier than the invasion of great britain, and it engaged their much more serious attention. there were three principal french detachments to be united,--in brest twenty ships, in toulon ten, in rochefort five. to these the outbreak of the war between great britain and spain added the forces of the latter kingdom, in ferrol and cadiz, aggregating fifteen serviceable ships; but this was not until march, 1805. of the three french contingents, the one from rochefort was small; and, as a factor, although important, it was not essential. its failure might weaken or impede the progress of the general movement, without entirely destroying it; but it was of necessity that the toulon and brest divisions both should fulfil their missions, accurately and on time, if the great combination, of which they were parts, was to advance to a triumphant conclusion. this emphasized to the british the importance, which nelson always so keenly felt, of meeting the enemy immediately after they left port. once away, and their destination in doubt, the chances in favor of any scheme were multiplied. in their greatest and final effort, cornwallis, off brest, was fortunate, in that the plans of the emperor first, and afterwards unusual weather conditions, retained the french fleet there in harbor; a result to which the material efficiency of his own ships, and their nearness to their base, much contributed. upon nelson, with his crazy ships, on the other hand, fell the burden of counteracting a successful evasion of the toulon fleet, of foiling, by sagacious and untiring pursuit, through immense and protracted discouragements, the efforts of the one division which had been committed to his watch. although it became much superior to his own force, he drove it out of the position in the west indies first appointed for the meeting, followed it back to europe, arrived before it, and then, finding it had gone to ferrol, carried his squadron, without orders, counselled simply by his own genius, to the aid of cornwallis; by which act the british navy, to the number of thirty-five ships-of-the-line, was massed in a central position, separating the two enemy's bodies, and able to act decisively against a foe approaching from either direction. thus a second time he prevented the enemy from forming a junction, unless they fought for it--an alternative napoleon wished to avoid. to him fell all the strain of uncertainty, all the doubtful and complicated mental effort, all the active strategic movement, of the campaign, and to him consequently has been attributed justly the greater meed of glory; though care must be taken not to ignore or undervalue the well-played parts of other admirals, which were essential to the success of the great defensive campaign comprehended under the name trafalgar. the point selected by the emperor for the meeting of his naval divisions, in both the unsuccessful attempts made in 1805, was the west indies. there was the most powerful foreign arsenal, martinique, left in the hands of france, and there the greatest single interest of the wide-spread commerce upon which depended the life of great britain. the latter, therefore, was specially sensitive to anything threatening the safety of the west india islands. "i should think the west indies the more likely place for the french to succeed in," wrote nelson to ball, on the 6th of september, 1804. "suppose the toulon fleet escapes, and gets out of the straits, i rather think i should bend my course to the westward; for if they carry 7,000 men--with what they have at martinico and guadaloupe--st. lucia, grenada, st. vincent, antigua, and st. kitts would fall, and, in that case, england would be so clamorous for peace that we should humble ourselves." this is a noteworthy passage, for it shows great sagacity of prediction, and, in announcing beforehand his resolve,--of which this is not the sole previous mention,--it dispels entirely the idea that he was decoyed to the west indies. it explains, also, the remarkable outburst of gratitude that hailed him on his return from a chase which had been wholly unsuccessful as regards his own chief object--the annihilation of the french fleet. he had failed to find it, but he had driven the enemy out of the west indies before they could do any serious injury to the vital interests of the country. a man cannot be said to be decoyed, because, in pursuance of a judgment deliberately formed beforehand, he does the thing which the moment demands; unless it can be shown that he has thereby uncovered greater interests. this nelson did not do. he saved the west indies, and returned in time to protect great britain and ireland from invasion. it is through the perplexities of this momentous period that we have now to follow him, and we shall do so to most advantage by taking as our clue his own avowed primary motive of action, the finding and destroying of the french fleet. a man dealing with napoleon was bound to meet perplexities innumerable, to thread a winding and devious track, branching out often into false trails that led nowhere, and confused by cross-lights which glittered only to mislead. in such a case, as in the doubtful paths of common life, the only sure guide to a man's feet is principle; and nelson's principle was the destruction of the french fleet. no other interest, his own least of all, could divert him from it. for it he was willing not only to sacrifice fortune, but to risk renown; and so, amid troubles manifold, he walked steadfastly in the light of the single eye. while napoleon's object remained the same throughout, his methods received various modifications, as all plans must do when circumstances change. in his original intention the execution of the main effort was intrusted to latouche tréville, by far and away the best admiral he had. upon his death, the toulon fleet was committed to villeneuve. its sailing was to take place as nearly as possible at the same time as that of the rochefort division. they were to go to the west indies, proceed at once, independently, to offensive operations, then to unite and return together to rochefort. napoleon's calculation was that the british, impressed by this simultaneous departure, and uncertain about the enemy's purpose, must send at once thirty ships-of-the-line in pursuit, in order to secure all the different quarters they would think endangered. this diversion, if realized, would facilitate the operations of the brest fleet, which was to land an army corps in ireland, and then to cover the crossing of the main body at boulogne into england; the precise character of its movements depending necessarily upon conditions of wind at the moment of execution. the rochefort ships sailed on the 11th of january. for a week before and a week after that date the winds at toulon hung between northeast and southeast, favorable, therefore, for a voyage to the straits of gibraltar; but villeneuve argued, judiciously, that a fleet intent on evasion only, and to avoid fighting, should move with great speed until lost to sight--that is, should start with a very fresh breeze, the direction of which was of secondary moment. this view of the matter escaped nelson's attention, and therefore contributed seriously to mislead him in his reasoning as to the enemy's probable object. on the 17th of january the wind at toulon shifted to north-northwest, with signs of an approaching gale, such as the gulf of lyons is noted for. the next morning villeneuve sent a division to drive away nelson's lookouts. this duty was imperfectly performed. it should have been done by a frigate squadron strong enough to force them out of sight of the main body, and having orders to rejoin the latter at a distant rendezvous. as it was, the british frigates did not lose touch of the hostile fleet, which sailed that evening. they dogged it late into the night, going at times thirteen knots before the blast of the storm, in order to keep clear of the enemy; and at two in the morning of january 19th, being then in the latitude of ajaccio, satisfied that the french were steering steadily south-southwest, and under a press of sail, which indicated a mission of importance, they parted company and hastened to nelson, whom they joined twelve hours later, as already stated. nelson needed no time to deliberate. his mind was long before fixed to follow, and there was but one way to do so. the enemy's course, as reported, led to the southern end of sardinia, after reaching which the wind was fair for naples, sicily, and the east. the british ships were moored--two anchors down. at half-past four they were under way, standing in single column for the narrow passage between biche and sardinia, the "victory" leading, each vessel steering by the stern lights of the one ahead of her. at seven p.m. all were clear, and the fleet hauled up along the east coast of sardinia, which made a lee for them. "at midnight," nelson notes in his journal, "moderate breezes and clear." during the same hours the untrained squadron of villeneuve was losing topmasts in the fury of the gale. the following afternoon,[83] as the british drew out from under the lee of sardinia, they found the wind blowing a hard gale from south-southwest, which lasted all that night. the fleet could make no way against it, but neither could the french utilize it, unless, which was unlikely, they had got much farther to the southward than nelson had. when he left madalena, he had sent a frigate ahead, with orders to round sardinia by the south and try to get sight or word of the enemy. on the morning of the 22d she rejoined, the fleet having then drifted to fifty miles east of cape carbonara, the southeastern point of sardinia. at 11 a.m. her captain informed nelson that the afternoon before he had seen a french frigate standing into the gulf of cagliari, but, the weather being thick, giving an horizon of only three miles, nothing more had been discovered. the admiral had sent word of the french sailing to acton at palermo, and through him to naples and malta, ball being requested to seek for information in every practicable direction. naples was for the moment safe, as the british squadron stood across any possible road by which the french could approach it. the gale, hauling gradually to the westward, lasted in its force until the morning of january 25th. during these three days nelson received no news, but he did much thinking and had made up his mind. the french might be intending to land in cagliari, to windward of which they had been during these four days that he had been to leeward. with cagliari, therefore, he must communicate; the viceroy of sardinia would know if any landing had been attempted or threatened. if sardinia was safe, he would next go or send to palermo for news, and thence push for the faro of messina, where he would cover both that important fortress and the approaches to naples from either side of sicily. "you will believe my anxiety," he wrote to acton in palermo, on the 25th. "i have neither ate, drank, or slept with any comfort since last sunday" (the 20th). "i am naturally very anxious," he tells ball, "therefore you must forgive my short letter. we have a dead foul wind and heavy sea. i cannot, for want of frigates, send off this letter." the lack of small cruisers; so often lamented in quieter days, now embarrassed him cruelly. the few he had were dispersed in all directions in search of news, and to communicate with acton he had to detach one of his fastest ships-of-the-line, the "leviathan," intending himself to follow her with the fleet to palermo. at the latter point he could obtain all the intelligence of the common enemy which might have reached any sicilian port, before he carried out his already formed purpose of chasing to leeward, to the morea and egypt. with firm grip, though in agony of mind, he held himself in hand, determined, burning as he was to pursue somewhere, not to yield the advantage of the wind till he had reached a reasonable certainty--as in 1798--that the circumstances justified it. "i hope," he says to acton, "that the governor of augusta[84] will not give up the post to the french fleet; but if he does, i shall go in and attack them; for i consider the destruction of the enemy's fleet of so much consequence, that i would gladly have half of mine burnt to effect their destruction. i am in a fever. god send i may find them!" throughout the long chase which followed, all, so to say, slept on their arms. on the 11th of march he wrote: "ever since january 21st we have been prepared for battle: not a bulkhead[85] up in the fleet. night or day, it is my determination not to lose one moment in attacking them." on the 26th nelson communicated with cagliari, and learned that no landing had been attempted in sardinia. the same day the frigate "phoebe" rejoined, with information that a french eighty-gun ship had anchored in ajaccio on the evening of the 19th, dismasted and crippled. putting these facts together, and in connection with his own movements, he inferred conclusively that either the french had gone back to toulon in consequence of injuries, or that they had given him the slip, had got round sicily, and proceeded to the eastward. the latter was improbable, because the westerly gales, as he had noted, could scarcely have allowed them to weather maritimo[86]; it was not, however, impossible. a return to toulon was, antecedently, equally improbable, although it proved to be the alternative adopted by villeneuve. "although i knew one of the french ships was crippled, yet i considered the character of bonaparte; and that the orders given by him, on the banks of the seine, would not take into consideration winds or weather; nor indeed could the accident of three or four ships alter, _in my opinion_,[87] a destination of importance: therefore such an accident did not weigh in my mind, and i went first to the morea and then to egypt." this quotation is especially interesting, as it proves how closely nelson scanned every known element in a problem, even to the temperament of his opponent; and it also shows the substantial agreement in judgment between him and napoleon. the latter, thiers writes, "was sensibly displeased on hearing of this resultless sortie. 'what is to be done,' he said, 'with admirals who allow their spirits to sink, and determine to hasten home at the first damage they receive? all the captains ought to have had sealed orders to meet off the canary islands. the damages should have been repaired _en route_. a few topmasts carried away, some casualties in a gale of wind, were every-day occurrences. but the great evil of our navy is, that the men who command it are unused to all the risks of command.'" still without definite tidings, compelled to act upon his own inferences--for merely doing nothing was action under such circumstances--nelson reasoned that, if the french had returned, he could not overtake them, and if they had gone east, he had no time to lose before following. he fell back therefore from his windward position to the straits of messina, through which the whole squadron beat on the 31st of january--"a thing unprecedented in nautical history," he wrote to the admiralty, "but although the danger from the rapidity of the current was great, yet so was the object of my pursuit; and i relied with confidence on the zeal and ability of the fleet under my command." the same day, knowing now that sicily and naples were not threatened, he despatched six cruisers for intelligence, "in all directions from tunis to toulon;" three of them being frigates, which were to rendezvous off the latter port and resume the watch of the french, if found there. a seventh vessel was sent ahead of the squadron to koron, off which he appeared on the 2d of february, and, still getting no news, went on to alexandria, where he communicated with the british consul on the 7th. "i beg the boat may not be detained, nor must any communication be had with the officer, so as to put the ship in quarantine. the officer is ordered not to wait more than thirty minutes; for you will readily believe my anxiety to find out the enemy's fleet." no news was to be had; but it was ascertained that egypt was practically defenceless against any renewed attempts of the french. nelson at once started back to the westward. on the 19th of february, twelve days after leaving alexandria, he was off malta, and there for the first time received information that the enemy had returned to toulon in a very crippled state. it was now necessary to regain his station as speedily as possible, and also to resume the operation of victualling the squadron, which had been interrupted at madalena by the news of the enemy's sailing. the captain left there in charge of the transports had taken them for safety to malta, in pursuance of the orders left with him, and they would have to be convoyed again to the gulf of palmas, which was appointed for their joining. the incident shows at once the forehandedness of nelson, in that he was able immediately to go on so long a chase, and also the difficulties attendant upon the administration of the fleet. against the prevailing winds the convoy did not reach palmas until the 14th of march. the fleet had preceded it there by a week. after a tedious beat, in which eight days were consumed to make the three hundred and fifty miles to windward, nelson anchored on the 27th of february in pula roads, gulf of cagliari, just to hold on. "what weather!" wrote he to bickerton, when the anchor dropped. "did you ever see such in almost any country? it has forced me to anchor here, in order to prevent being drove to leeward, but i shall go to sea the moment it moderates." palmas is only forty miles to windward of pula, but it was not till the 8th of march, after three or four ineffectual efforts, that the squadron got there. "from the 19th of february to this day," wrote nelson to ball, "have we been beating, and only now going to anchor here as it blows a gale of wind at northwest. it has been without exception, the very worst weather i have ever seen." bad as it was, it was but a sample of that he was to meet a month later, in the most wearing episode of his anxious life. besides the weary struggle with foul winds and weather, other great disappointments and vexations met nelson at palmas. during his absence to the eastward, one despatch vessel had been wrecked off cadiz and fallen into the hands of the spaniards, another had been intercepted by the battered french fleet as it approached toulon, and a convoy, homeward-bound from malta, had been waylaid, the two small ships of war which formed the escort had been taken, and the merchant ships dispersed. this last misfortune he ascribed unhesitatingly to the division of the command. "it would not have happened, could i have ordered the officer off cadiz to send ships to protect them." the incident was not without its compensations to one who valued honor above loss, for his two petty cruisers had honored themselves and him by such a desperate resistance, before surrendering to superior force, that the convoy had time to scatter, and most of it escaped. there was reason to fear that the despatch vessel taken off toulon had mistaken the french fleet for the british, which it had expected to find outside, and that her commander might have had to haul down his flag before getting opportunity to throw the mail-bags overboard. in that case, both public and private letters had gone into the enemy's possession. "i do assure you, my dearest emma," he wrote lady hamilton, "that nothing can be more miserable, or unhappy, than your poor nelson." besides the failure to find the french, "you will conceive my disappointment! it is now[88] from november 2nd that i have had a line from england." a characteristic letter was elicited from nelson by the loss of the despatch-vessel off cadiz, the brig "raven," whose commander, captain layman, had gained his cordial professional esteem in the copenhagen expedition, in connection with which he has already been mentioned. as usual in the case of a wreck, a court-martial was held. this censured the captain, much to nelson's vexation; the more so because, at his request, layman had not produced before the court certain orders for the night given by him, the proved neglect of which would have brought a very heavy punishment upon the officer of the watch. in weighing the admiral's words, therefore, allowance may be made for a sense of personal responsibility for the finding of the court; but the letter, which was addressed to the first lord, contains expressions that are most worthy of attention, not only because illustrative of nelson's temperament and mode of thought, but also for a point of view too rarely taken in the modern practice, which has grown up in peace. my dear lord,--give me leave to recommend captain layman to your kind protection; for, notwithstanding the court martial has thought him deserving of censure for his running in with the land, yet, my lord, allow me to say, that captain layman's misfortune was, perhaps, conceiving other people's abilities were equal to his own, which, indeed, very few people's are. i own myself one of those who do not fear the shore, for hardly any great things are done in a small ship by a man that is; therefore, i make very great allowances for him. indeed, his station was intended never to be from the shore in the straits: and if he did not every day risk his sloop, he would he useless upon that station. captain layman has served with me in three ships, and i am well acquainted with his bravery, zeal, judgment, and activity; _nor do i regret the loss of the raven compared to the value of captain layman's services, which are a national loss_.[89] you must, my dear lord, forgive the warmth which i express for captain layman; but he is in adversity, and, therefore, has the more claim to my attention and regard. if i had been censured every time i have run my ship, or fleets under my command, into great danger, i should long ago have been _out_ of the service, and never _in_ the house of peers. i am, my dear lord, most faithfully, your obedient servant, nelson and bronte. it is something to meet with the clear recognition that a man may be of more value than a ship. as clarendon said, it is not all of an officer's duty to bring his ship safe home again. on the voyage back from alexandria be had busied himself with vindications of his course in going there, manifesting again that over-sensitiveness to the judgment of others, which contrasts so singularly with his high resolve and self-dependence when assuming the greatest responsibilities. to ball, to the admiralty, and to the first lord privately, he sent explanations of his action, accompanied by a summary of his reasons. as the latter have been given, one by one, as each step was taken, it is not necessary here to say more than that, in the author's judgment, each successive movement was made upon good; grounds, and rightly timed. this is true, although nelson was entirely misled as to bonaparte's object. the ruse of the latter, as put into effect by villeneuve, not only deceived the british admiral, but, in its issue, confounded the french. the critical moment of decision, for the whole fruitless campaign, was when nelson determined to go first off messina, then to the morea, and finally to egypt, upon the inference that by this time one of three things must have happened. either (1) he must have met the french fleet, personally or by his lookouts, or (2) it had returned to toulon, or (3) it had gone on to egypt. the first being eliminated, the choice he made between the others, wide as was the flight for which it called, was perfectly accurate. it is difficult to know which most to admire,--the sagacity which divined the actual, though not the intended, movements of the enemy, the fiery eagerness which gave assurance of a fierce and decisive battle, or the great self-restraint which, in all his fever of impatience, withheld him from precipitating action before every means of information was exhausted. there will be occasion to note again the same traits in the yet sharper trial he was soon to undergo. his conclusion upon the whole matter, therefore, though erroneous as to the fact, may be accepted as entirely justified by all the indications; and it must be added that, with the dispositions he took, nothing could have saved the french fleet but its prompt retreat to toulon. "had they not been crippled," he wrote davison, "nothing could have hindered our meeting them on january 21st, off the south end of sardinia." "i have not the smallest doubt," he concluded his letter to the admiralty, "but that the destination of the french armament which left the coast of france on the 18th of january, was alexandria; and, under all the circumstances which i have stated, i trust their lordships will approve my having gone to egypt in search of the french fleet." there was, however, no occasion for him to be forward in suggesting the sacrifice of himself, as he did to melville. "at this moment of sorrow i still feel that i have acted right. the result of my inquiries at coron and alexandria confirm me in my former opinion; and therefore, my lord, if my obstinacy or ignorance is so gross, i should be the first to recommend your superseding me." it may be noted here that nelson never realized--he did not live long enough to realize--how thoroughly bonaparte had learned from egypt his lesson as to the control of the sea by sea-power, and what it meant to a maritime expedition which left it out of the account. to the end of his reign, and in the height of his sway, he made no serious attempt to occupy sardinia or even sicily, narrow as was the water separating the latter from naples, become practically a french state, over which his brother and brother-in-law reigned for six years. nelson to the last made light of the difficulties of which bonaparte had had bitter experience. "france," he wrote to the secretary for war, "will have both sardinia and sicily very soon, if we do not prevent it, and egypt besides." "we know," he said in a letter to ball, "there would be no difficulty for single polaccas to sail from the shores of italy with 300 or 400 men in each, (single ships;) and that, in the northerly winds, they would have a fair chance of not being seen, and even if seen, not to be overtaken by the russian ships. thus, 20,000 men would be fixed again in egypt, with the whole people in their favour. who would turn them out?" nelson left the gulf of palmas as soon as the wind served, which was on the 9th of march. it was necessary to revictual; but, as the time of the storeships' arrival was uncertain, he thought best to make a round off toulon and barcelona, to renew the impression of the french that his fleet was to the westward. this intention he carried out, "showing myself," to use his own words, "off barcelona and the coast of spain, and the islands of majorca and minorca, until the 21st of march." "i shall, if possible," he wrote to a captain on detached service, "make my appearance off barcelona, in order to induce the enemy to believe that i am fixed upon the coast of spain, when i have every reason to believe they will put to sea, as i am told the troops are still embarked. from barcelona i shall proceed direct to rendezvous 98."[90] accordingly, on the 26th of march he anchored at palmas, and began at once to clear the transports. "by the report of the fleet captain, i trust [it will be evident that] it could not with propriety be longer deferred." still satisfied that the french were bound to egypt, he would here be close to their necessary route, and with a lookout ship thirty miles to the westward felt assured they would not escape him. four days after he anchored, villeneuve started on his second venture, and thinking, as nelson had plotted, that the british fleet was off cape san sebastian, he again shaped his course to pass east of the balearics, between them and sardinia. the news of his sailing reached nelson five days later, on april 4th, at 10 a.m. he had left palmas the morning before, and was then twenty miles west of it, beating against a head wind. the weary work of doubt, inference, and speculation was about to begin once more, and to be protracted for over three months. in the present gigantic combination of napoleon, the brest squadron, as well as those of rochefort and toulon, was to go to the west indies, whence the three should return in mass to the english channel, to the number of thirty-five french ships-of-the-line. to these it was hoped to add a number of spanish ships, from cartagena and cadiz. if the movements were successful, this great force would overpower, or hold in check, the british channel fleet, and secure control of the straits of dover long enough for the army to cross. it is with the toulon squadron that we are immediately concerned, as it alone for the present touches the fortunes of nelson. villeneuve's orders were to make the best of his way to the straits of gibraltar, evading the british fleet, but calling off cartagena, to pick up any spanish ships there that might be perfectly ready to join him. he was not, however, to delay for them on any account, but to push on at once to cadiz. this port he was not to enter, but to anchor outside, and there be joined by the "aigle," the ship that had so long worried nelson, and also by six or eight spanish ships believed to be ready. as soon as these came out, he was to sail with all speed for martinique, and there wait forty days for the brest squadron, if the latter, whose admiral was to be commander-in-chief of the allied fleets, did not appear sooner. villeneuve had other contingent instructions, which became inoperative through the persistent pursuit of nelson. the french fleet sailed during the night of march 30, with a light northeast wind, and steered a course approaching due south, in accordance with villeneuve's plan of going east of minorca. the british lookout frigates, "active" and "phoebe," saw it at eight o'clock the next morning, and kept company with its slow progress till eight p.m., when, being then sixty miles south by west, true, from toulon, the "phoebe" was sent off to nelson. during the day the wind shifted for a time to the northwest. the french then hauled up to southwest, and were heading so when darkness concealed them from the british frigates, which were not near enough for night observations. after the "phoebe's" departure, the "active" continued to steer as the enemy had been doing when last seen, but at daybreak they were no longer in sight. just what villeneuve did that night does not appear; but no vessel of nelson's knew anything more about him till april 18th, when information was received from a chance passer that he had been seen on the 7th off cape de gata, on the coast of spain, with a fresh easterly wind steering to the westward. villeneuve doubtless had used the night's breeze, which was fresh, to fetch a long circuit, throw off the "active," and resume his course to the southward. it was not till next day, april 1st, that he spoke a neutral, which had seen nelson near palmas. undeceived thus as to the british being off cape san sebastian, and the wind having then come again easterly, the french admiral kept away at once to the westward, passed north of the balearic islands, and on the 6th appeared off cartagena. the spanish ships there refusing to join him, he pressed on, went by gibraltar on the 8th, and on the 9th anchored off cadiz, whence he drove away orde's squadron. the "aigle," with six spanish ships, joined at once, and that night the combined force, eighteen ships-of-the-line, sailed for martinique, where it arrived on the 14th of may. by villeneuve's instructions it was to remain in the west indies till the 23d of june. when the captain of the "active" found he had lost sight of the french, he kept away for nelson's rendezvous, and joined him at 2 p.m. of april 4th, five or six hours after the "phoebe." prepossessed with the opinion that naples, sicily, or egypt was the enemy's aim, an opinion which the frigate's news tended to confirm, nelson at once took the fleet midway between sardinia and the barbary coast, spreading lookouts on either side. thus, without yielding ground to leeward, he covered all avenues leading to the eastward. he summed up his purpose in words which showed an entire grasp of the essentials of his perplexing situation. "i shall neither go to the eastward of sicily, or to the westward of sardinia, until i know something positive." amid the diverse objects demanding his care, this choice of the strategic position was perfectly correct; but as day followed day without tidings, the distress of uncertainty, and the strain of adhering to his resolve not to move without information to guide him, became almost unbearable--a condition not hard to be realized by those who have known, in suspense, the overpowering impulse to do something, little matter what. it is an interesting illustration of the administrative difficulties of the fleet, that three supply-ships joined him on the 5th of april, and their stores were transferred at sea while momentarily expecting the enemy's appearance; one at least being completely discharged by the night of the 6th. on this date, nelson, having waited forty-eight hours to windward of sicily, decided to fall back on palermo; reckoning that if any attempt had been made upon naples or sicily, he should there hear of it. the lookouts which were scattered in all directions were ordered to join him there, and a frigate was sent to naples. on the 9th and 10th he was off palermo, and, though he got no word of the french, received two pieces of news from which his quick perceptions jumped to the conclusion that he had been deceived, and that the enemy had gone west. "april 10, 7 a.m. hallowell is just arrived from palermo. he brings accounts that the great expedition is sailed,[91] and that seven russian sail-of-the-line are expected in the mediterranean; therefore i may suppose the french fleet are bound to the westward. i must do my best. god bless you. i am very, very miserable, but ever, my dear ball," etc. a week more was to elapse before this dreadfully harassing surmise was converted into a certainty. on the 9th he started back from palermo, intending to go towards toulon, to make sure that the french had not returned again. meeting a constant strong head wind, he was nine days getting again to the south of sardinia, a distance of less than two hundred miles. there, on the 18th, the vessel was spoken which informed him that she had seen the french off cape de gata, three hundred miles to the westward, ten days before. "if this account is true," he wrote to elliot, "much mischief may be apprehended. it kills me, the very thought." yet, now that the call for decision sounds, he knows no faltering, nor does he, as in hours of reaction, fret himself about the opinions of others. "i am going out of the mediterranean," he says in farewell. "it may be thought that i have protected too well sardinia, naples, sicily, the morea, and egypt; but i feel i have done right, and am, therefore, easy about any fate which may await me for having missed the french fleet." the following day a vessel joined from gibraltar, with certain information that the enemy had passed the straits. nelson had no need to ponder the next step. his resolve had been taken long before to follow to the antipodes. he comforted himself, mistakenly, that his watchfulness was the cause that the french had abandoned the attempt against egypt in force. "under the severe affliction which i feel at the escape of the french fleet out of the mediterranean," he wrote the admiralty, "i hope that their lordships will not impute it to any want of due attention on my part; but, on the contrary, that by my vigilance the enemy found it was impossible to undertake any expedition in the mediterranean." mindful, also, that bonaparte's great attempt of 1798 had depended upon the absence of the british fleet, he left a squadron of five frigates to cruise together to the windward of sicily, lest the french even now might try to send transports with troops to the eastward, under the protection of small armed vessels. the number of letters written on the 18th and 19th of april show how thoroughly his mind was prepared for contingencies. despatched, in all directions, they outline his own intended course, for the information of those who might have to co-operate, as well as that which he wished to be pursued by the officers under his orders. they are issued neat and complete, at one cast, and no other follows for a week. he surmises, from the fact of the spanish ships accompanying the movement, that it is directed, not against the west indies, but for either ireland or brest; not a bad "guess," which is all he would have claimed for it, for the west indies were actually only a rallying-point on the roundabout road to the channel prescribed by napoleon. "therefore," he wrote to the admiralty, "if i receive no intelligence to do away my present belief, i shall proceed from cape st. vincent, and take my position fifty leagues west from scilly, approaching that island slowly, that i may not miss any vessels sent in search of the squadron with orders. my reason for this position is, that it is equally easy to get to either the fleet off brest, or to go to ireland, should the fleet be wanted at either station." the suitableness of this position to any emergency arising about the british islands can be realized at a glance, bearing in mind that westerly winds prevail there. a copy of the letter was sent to ireland, and another to the commander of the channel fleet off brest. "i have the pleasure to say," he concludes, "that i shall bring with me eleven as fine ships of war, as ably commanded, and in as perfect order, and in health, as ever went to sea." it will be interesting to support even nelson's opinion of his own squadron by that of an unbiassed and competent witness. sir edward codrington was associated with it, still nearly entire, some three months later, after the return from the west indies; the "orion," which he commanded, being one of a detachment of eighteen ships-of-the-line sent off from brest by admiral cornwallis. "lord nelson's squadron (of which we have now eight with us) seems to be in very high order indeed; and although their ships do not look so handsome as objects, they look so very warlike and show such high condition, that when once i can think orion fit to manoeuvre with them, i shall probably paint her in the same manner." there was, it would seem, a nelson pattern for painting ships, as well as a "nelson touch" in orders for battle. "i have been employed this week past," wrote captain duff of the "mars," "to paint the ship _à la nelson_, which most of the fleet are doing." this, according to the admiral's biographers, was with two yellow streaks, but the portholes black, which gave the sides an appearance of being chequered. the frigate "amazon," sent ahead with the letters, was ordered to go on to lisbon, get all the news she could, and rejoin at cape st. vincent. she passed gibraltar on the 29th, and, getting decisive information just outside the straits, held on there. it was not till the 6th that nelson reached gibraltar, where he anchored for only four hours. this gain of a week by a frigate, in traversing ground for which the fleet took seventeen days, may well be borne in mind by those unfamiliar with the delays attending concerted movements, that have to be timed with reference to the slowest units taking part in the combination. the days of chase, over which we have hurried in a few lines, passed for nelson not only wearily, but in agony of soul. justified as his action was to his own mind, and as it must be by the dispassionate review of military criticism, he could not but be tormented by the thought of what might have been, and by his temper, which lacked equanimity and fretted uncontrollably to get alongside the enemy--to do the duty and to reap the glory that he rightly conceived to be his own. "i am entirely adrift," he complained, "by my frigates losing sight of the french fleet so soon after their coming out of port." his purpose never faltered, nor did the light that led him grow dim. his action left nothing to be desired, but the chafing of his spirit approached fury. lord radstock, writing from london to his son, says: "i met a person yesterday, who told me that he had seen a letter from lord nelson, concluding in these words: 'o french fleet, french fleet, if i can but once get up with you, i'll make you pay dearly for all that you have made me suffer!' another told me that he had seen a letter from an officer on board the victory, describing his chief 'as almost raving with anger and vexation.' this," continues radstock, who knew him very well, "i can readily credit, so much so, indeed, that i much fear that he will either undertake some desperate measure to retrieve his ground, or, should not such an opportunity offer, that he will never suffer us to behold him more." being in london, the writer just quoted was in close touch with the popular feeling of anxiety, a suspicion of which he could well imagine nelson also had, and which added to his burden. "it is believed here," he says on the 21st of may, "that the combined fleet from cadiz is bound to the west indies. this is by no means improbable.... the city people are crying out against sir j.o.,[92] and, as usual, are equally absurd and unjust. some are so ridiculous as to say that he ought to have captured some of the toulon squadron, whilst others, more moderate, think that he might at all events, have so crippled the enemy as to have checked the expedition.[93] you may readily guess that your chief is not out of our thoughts at this critical moment. should providence once more favour him, he will be considered our guardian angel; but, on the other hand, should he unfortunately take a wrong scent, and the toulon fleet attain their object, the hero of the 14th of february and of aboukir will be--i will not say what, but the ingratitude of the world is but too well known on these occasions." a week before, on the 13th of may, the same officer had written: "where are you all this time?[94] for that is a point justly agitating the whole country more than i can describe. i fear that your gallant and worthy chief will have much injustice done him on this occasion, for the cry is stirring up fast against him, and the loss of jamaica would at once sink all his past services into oblivion. all i know for certain is that we ought never to judge rashly on these occasions, and never merely by the result. lord barham[95] told me this morning that the board had no tidings of your squadron. this is truly melancholy, for certainly no man's zeal and activity ever surpassed those of your chief.... the world is at once anxious for news and dreading its arrival." the admiralty itself, perplexed and harassed by the hazards of the situation, were dissatisfied because they received no word from him, being ignorant of the weather conditions which had retarded even his frigates so far beyond the time of villeneuve's arrival at cadiz. radstock, whose rank enabled him to see much of the members of the board, drew shrewd inferences as to their feelings, though mistaken as to nelson's action. "i fear that he has been so much soured by the appointment of sir john orde, that he has had the imprudence to vent his spleen on the admiralty by a long, and, to the board, painful silence. i am sure that they are out of humour with him, and i have my doubts whether they would risk much for him, were he to meet with any serious misfortune." through such difficulties in front, and such clamor in the rear, nelson pursued his steadfast way, in anguish of spirit, but constant still in mind. "i am not made to despair," he said to melville, "what man can do shall be done. i have marked out for myself a decided line of conduct, and i shall follow it well up; although i have now before me a letter from the physician of the fleet, enforcing my return to england before the hot months." "brokenhearted as i am, at the escape of the toulon fleet," he tells the governor of gibraltar, "yet it cannot prevent my thinking of all the points intrusted to my care, amongst which gibraltar stands prominent." "my good fortune seems flown away," he cries out to ball. "i cannot get a fair wind, or even a side wind. dead foul!--dead foul! but my mind is fully made up what to do when i leave the straits, supposing there is no certain information of the enemy's destination. i believe this ill-luck will go near to kill me; but as these are times for exertions, i must not be cast down, whatever i feel." a week later, on the 26th of april, he complains: "from the 9th i have been using every effort to get down the mediterranean, but to this day we are very little advanced. from march 26th, we have had nothing like a levanter,[96] except for the french fleet. i have never been one week without one, until this very important moment. it has half killed me; but fretting is of no use." on the 1st of may he wrote to the admiralty, "i have as yet heard nothing of the enemy;" beyond, of course, the fact of their having passed the straits. on the 4th of may the squadron was off tetuan, on the african coast, a little east of gibraltar, and, as the wind was too foul for progress, nelson, ever watchful over supplies, determined to stop for water and fresh beef, which the place afforded. there he was joined by the frigate "decade" from gibraltar, and for the first time, apparently, received a rumor that the allied fleets had gone to the west indies. he complains, certainly not unreasonably, and apparently not unjustly, that sir john orde, who had seen the french arrive off cadiz, had not dogged their track and ascertained their route; a feat certainly not beyond british seamanship and daring, under the management of a dozen men that could be named off-hand. "i believe my ill luck is to go on for a longer time, and i now much fear that sir john orde has not sent his small ships to watch the enemy's fleet, and ordered them to return to the straits mouth, to give me information, that i might know how to direct my proceedings: for i cannot very properly run to the west indies, without something beyond mere surmise; and if i defer my departure, jamaica may be lost. indeed, as they have a month's start of me, i see no prospect of getting out time enough to prevent much mischief from being done. however, i shall take all matters into my most serious consideration, and shall do that which seemeth best under all circumstances." "i am like to have a west india trip," he wrote to keats, one of his favorite captains; "but that i don't mind, if i can but get at them." the wind hauling somewhat to the southward on the 5th, allowed the fleet to lay a course for gibraltar. the operation of getting bullocks was stopped at once, and the ships weighed. in this brief stay, the water of the fleet had been completed and another transport cleared. next day gibraltar was reached. the wind, westerly still, though fair for this stretch, remained foul for beating out of the straits against a current which ever sets to the eastward; and many of the officers, presuming on a continuance of the weather that had so long baffled them, hurried their washing ashore. nelson, however, keenly vigilant and with long experience, saw indications of a change. "off went a gun from the victory, and up went the blue peter,[97] whilst the admiral paced the deck in a hurry, with anxious steps, and impatient of a moment's delay. the officers said, 'here is one of nelson's mad pranks.' but he was right."[98] the wind came fair, a condition with which the great admiral never trifled. five hours after the anchors dropped they were again at the bows, and the fleet at last standing out of the mediterranean; the transports in tow of the ships of war. nelson's resolve was fast forming to go to the west indies. in fact, at tetuan, acting upon this possibility, he had given conditional orders to bickerton to remain in command of the mediterranean squadron, assigning to that service half a dozen frigates and double that number of smaller cruisers, and had transferred to him all station papers necessary for his guidance,--a promptness of decision which sufficiently shows one of the chief secrets of his greatness. "if i fail," said he to dr. scott, "if they are not gone to the west indies, i shall be blamed: to be burnt in effigy or westminster abbey is my alternative." evidently he was not unmindful of the fickle breath of popular favor, whose fluctuations radstock was noting. dr. scott, who witnessed his chief's bearing at this time, always considered that he never exhibited greater magnanimity than in this resolution, which jurien de la gravière also has called one of his finest inspirations. great, indeed, was his promptitude, alike in decision and in act; but he was no less great in his delays, in the curb he placed on his natural impetuosity. "god only knows, my dear friend," he wrote at this moment to davison, "what i have suffered by not getting at the enemy's fleet;" but, in all his impatience, he would not start on that long voyage until he had exhausted every possibility of further enlightenment. "perseverance _and_ patience," he said, "may do much;" but he did not separate the one from the other, in deed or in word. circumspection was in him as marked a trait as ardor. "i was in great hopes," he wrote the admiralty, "that some of sir john orde's frigates would have arrived at gibraltar, from watching the destination of the enemy, from whom i should have derived information of the route the enemy had taken, but none had arrived." up to april 27th nothing had been heard of them at lisbon. "i am now pushing off cape st. vincent, and hope that is the station to which sir john orde may have directed his frigates to return from watching the route of the enemy. if nothing is heard there, i shall probably think the rumours which are spread are true, that their destination is the west indies, and in that case think it my duty to follow them." "i am as much in the dark as ever," he wrote on the same date, may 7th, to nepean, one of the puisne lords. "if i hear nothing, i shall proceed to the west indies." the wind continued fair for nearly forty-eight hours, when it again became westerly; but the fleet was now in the atlantic. on the 9th of may the "amazon" rejoined, bringing a letter from another ship of war, which enclosed a report gathered from an american brig that had left cadiz on the 2d. according to this, while there were in cadiz diverse rumors as to the destination of the allied fleets, the one most generally accepted was that they were bound to the west indies. that night the fleet anchored in lagos bay, to the eastward of cape st. vincent, and the unending work of discharging transports was again resumed. nelson, shortly before leaving gibraltar, had received official notification that a convoy carrying five thousand troops was on its way to the mediterranean, and would depend upon him for protection. he felt it necessary to await this in his present position, and he utilized the time by preparing for a very long chase. at lagos, rear-admiral campbell of the portuguese navy, who had served with the british in the mediterranean six years before, visited the "victory," and certain intelligence that villeneuve was gone to the west indies was by him given to nelson. the latter had now all the confirmation needed, by such an one as he, to decide upon his line of action. "my lot is cast, my dear ball, and i am going to the west indies, where, although i am late, yet chance may have given them a bad passage, and me a good one: i must hope the best." "disappointment has worn me to a skeleton," he writes to his late junior in the mediterranean, campbell, "and i am in good truth, very, very far from well." "if i had not been in pursuit of the enemy's fleet, i should have been at this moment in england, but my health, or even my life, must not come into consideration at this important crisis; for, however i may be called unfortunate, it never shall be said that i have been neglectful of my duty, or spared myself." "it will not be supposed i am on a party of pleasure," he wrote to the secretary of the admiralty, "running after eighteen sail of the line with ten, and that to the west indies;" but, he summed up his feelings to davison, "salt beef and the french fleet, is far preferable to roast beef and champagne without them." on the 10th of may only was his purpose finally and absolutely formed, for on that day he sent a sloop to barbadoes, his intended point of arrival, to announce his coming; requesting that an embargo might be laid at once on all vessels in port, to prevent the news reaching the enemy at martinique or elsewhere. in the morning of the 11th the fleet weighed, and at 4 p.m. the expedition from england arrived. it was accompanied by two ships-of-the-line, to which nelson joined a third, the "royal sovereign," which sailed so badly, from the state of her bottom, that she would retard a movement already too long delayed. at seven that evening the fleet was under full sail for the west indies. the voyage across was uneventful; the ships, as customary for this passage, stood to the southward and westward into the trade winds, under whose steady impulse they advanced at a daily average speed of one hundred and thirty-five miles, or between five and six miles an hour. this rate, however, was a mean between considerable extremes,--a rate of nine miles being at times attained. the slackest winds, which brought down the average, are found before reaching the trades, and nelson utilized this period to transmit to the fleet his general plan for action, in case he found the allies at sea. the manner in which this was conveyed to the individual ships is an interesting incident. the speed of the fleet is necessarily that of its slowest member; the faster ships, therefore, have continually a reserve, which they may at any moment bring into play. the orders being prepared, a frigate captain was called on board the "victory" and received them. returning to his own vessel, he made all sail until on the bow[99] of one of the ships-of-the-line. deadening the way of the frigate, a boat was dropped in the water and had only to pull alongside the other vessel as it came up. the frigate remained slowed until passed, and the boat, having delivered its letter, came easily alongside again,--the whole operation being thus conducted with the least expenditure of time and exertion.[100] there was in the fleet one ship that had been steadily in commission since 1801, and was now in very shaky condition. this was the "superb," seventy-four. she had only been kept out by the extreme exertions of her commander, keats, one of the most distinguished captains of the day, and he had entreated that he should not be sent away now, when the moment of battle seemed near. by a singular irony of fate, this zealous insistence caused him to miss trafalgar, at which the "royal sovereign," that parted at lagos, was present, repaired and recoppered,--a new ship. keats, whose energy and readiness made him a great favorite with nelson, obtained permission not to stop when other ships did, but always to carry a press of sail; and he lashed his studding-sail booms to the yards, as the constant direction of the trade-winds allows them to be carried steadily. notwithstanding all that could be done, the "superb" seems to have set the pace, and slower than could have been wished; which drew from nelson's customary kindly thoughtfulness a few lines too characteristic to be omitted. my dear keats,--i am fearful that you may think that the superb does not go so fast as i could wish. however that may be, (for if we all went ten knots, i should not think it fast enough,) yet i would have you be assured that i know and feel that the superb does all which is possible for a ship to accomplish; and i desire that you will not fret upon the occasion.... whatever may happen, believe me ever, my dear keats, your most obliged and sincere friend, nelson and bronte. a week seems to have elapsed before he could get a suitable opportunity for sending this, and he then, on the 27th of may, added: "our passage, although not very quick, has been far from a bad one;" and he thought that they would gain fourteen days upon the allies. the actual gain was ten, the latter being thirty-four days from cadiz to martinique, the british twenty-four to barbadoes. the enemy were therefore three weeks in the west indies before nelson arrived; but in that time they neither accomplished nor undertook anything but the recapture of diamond rock, a precipitous islet off the south end of martinique, which the british had held for some time, to the great annoyance of the main island. reaching barbadoes on the afternoon of june 4th, nelson found that the day before information had been received from general brereton, commanding the troops at santa lucia, that the allied fleets had passed there, going south, during the night of may 28-29. the intelligence was so circumstantial that it compelled respect, coming from the quarter it did. "there is not a doubt in any of the admirals' or generals' minds," wrote nelson to the admiralty, in the despatch announcing his arrival, "but that tobago and trinidada are the enemy's objects." nelson himself was sceptical,--the improbability seemed great to his sound military perceptions; but, confident as he was in his own conclusions in dilemmas, his mind was too sane and well balanced to refuse direct and credible evidence. summing up the situation with lamentations, six weeks later, he said to davison: "when i follow my own head, i am, in general, much more correct in my judgment, than following the opinion of others. i resisted the opinion of general brereton's information till it would have been the height of presumption to have carried my disbelief further. i could not, in the face of generals and admirals, go n.w., when it was _apparently_ clear that the enemy had gone south." his purpose had been not to anchor, but to pick up such ships-of-the-line as he found there,--two seventy-fours,[101] as it turned out,--and to proceed with them to martinique, which he naturally assumed to be the enemy's headquarters. as it was, receiving a pressing request from the commanding general at barbadoes to let him accompany the fleet with two thousand troops, he anchored in carlisle bay at 5 p.m. at half-past nine the next morning he was again under way for trinidad. some curious misunderstandings maintained this mistaken impression as to the enemy's actions, until communication with trinidad was had on the evening of june 7th. it was found then that no hostile force had appeared, although the british fleet for a moment had been believed to be such. nelson at once started north again. a report reached him that a second squadron, of fourteen french and spanish ships from ferrol, had arrived at martinique. he said frankly that he thought this very doubtful, but added proudly: "powerful as their force may be, they shall not with impunity make any great attacks. mine is compact, theirs must be unwieldy, and although a very pretty fiddle, i don't believe that either gravina or villeneuve know how to play upon it." on the 9th he for the first time got accurate information. an official letter from dominica[102] announced that eighteen ships-of-the-line, with smaller vessels, had passed there on the 6th of june. but for the false tidings which on the 4th had led him, first to pause, and then to take a wrong direction, nelson argued, and not unjustly, that he would have overtaken them at this point, a bare hundred miles from barbadoes. "but for wrong information, i should have fought the battle on june 6th where rodney fought his." the famous victory of the latter was immediately north of dominica, by which name it is known in french naval history. "there would have been no occasion for opinions," wrote nelson wrathfully, as he thought of his long anxieties, and the narrow margin by which he failed, "had not general brereton sent his damned intelligence from st. lucia; nor would i have received it to have acted by it, but that i was assured that his information was very correct. it has almost broke my heart, but i must not despair." it was hard to have borne so much, and then to miss success from such a cause. "brereton's wrong information could not be doubted," he told his intimates, "and by following it, i lost the opportunity of fighting the enemy." "what a race i have run after these fellows; but god is just, and i may be repaid for all my moments of anxiety." when villeneuve, with his ill-trained and sickly[103] fleet, left martinique on the 4th of june, he had, of course, no knowledge of nelson's approach. nearly up to that date it was not known, even in london, where the latter had gone. a frigate had reached the french admiral on the 29th of may, with orders from napoleon to make some attempts against the british islands during the time he was awaiting the brest squadron. for this reason he sailed, and just outside the harbor was joined by two ships from france, raising his force to twenty of the line. he steered north, intending to gain to windward, and thence return upon barbadoes, his first proposed conquest. on the 8th of june, off antigua, were captured fourteen british merchant-ships, which had imprudently put to sea from that island. from these villeneuve got a report that nelson had arrived with fourteen ships-of-the-line, to which his imagination added five he believed to be at barbadoes. he decided at once to return to europe, abandoning all his projects against the british possessions. transferring hastily a number of troops to frigates, as garrisons for the french islands, he sailed the next day for the northward to gain the westerly winds which prevail in the higher latitudes. of the forty days he was to remain in the west indies--reduced to thirty-five by subsequent instructions--only twenty-six had passed. whatever else might result in the future, nelson was justified in claiming that his pursuit, effected under such discouragements, had driven the enemy out of the west indies, saved the islands, and, as he added, two hundred sail of sugar ships. only extreme imprudence, he fairly maintained, was responsible for the loss of the fourteen from antigua. nelson himself was off antigua on the 12th of june, exactly one week after he left barbadoes. there he received all the information that has just been mentioned as to the enemy's movements. a rapid decision was necessary, if he might hope yet to overtake his fortune, and to baffle finally the objects of the allies, whatever they might be. "i must be satisfied they have bent their course for europe before i push after them, which will be to the straits' mouth;" but later in the same day he has learned that they were standing to the northward when last seen, and had sent back their troops to guadaloupe, therefore, "i hope to sail in the morning after them for the straits' mouth." that night the troops were landed, and a brig of war, the "curieux," was despatched to england with word of his intentions. at the same time, while believing the allies were bound back to the mediterranean, he recognized that it was possible they might be going farther north, to one of the biscay ports, and consequently took measures to notify the commanding officer off ferrol to be on his guard. the frigate charged with this communication was kept with the fleet until the 19th, by which time he had obtained at sea additional and more precise knowledge of villeneuve's direction. this important warning was duly received, and in advance of the enemy's appearance, by the admiral for whom it was intended. in taking this second decision, to abandon the west indies once more to themselves, as a month before he had abandoned the mediterranean, nelson had to rely only upon his own natural sagacity and practised judgment. "i hear all, and even feel obliged, for all is meant as kindness to me, that i should get at them. in this diversity of opinions i may as well follow my own, which is, that the spaniards are gone to the havannah, and that the french will either stand for cadiz or toulon--i feel most inclined to the latter place; and then they may fancy that they will get to egypt without any interruption." "so far from being infallible, like the pope, i believe my opinions to be very fallible, and therefore i may be mistaken that the enemy's fleet has gone to europe; but i cannot bring myself to think otherwise, notwithstanding the variety of opinions which different people of good judgment form." still, as before, his judgments, if rapid, are not precipitate. though characterized by even more of insight than of reasoning, no conditions are left out of sight, nor, as he declared, was a deaf ear turned to any suggestion. upon the whole, one is more struck by the accuracy of the inferences than by the antecedent processes as summarized by himself; yet the weight of evidence will be found on the side he espouses. erroneous in particulars, the general conclusions upon which he bases his future course are justified, not only by the results now known to us, but to impartial review of their probability at the moment. most impressive of all, however, is the strength of conviction, which lifts him from the plane of doubt, where unaided reason alone would leave him, to that of unhesitating action, incapable of looking backward. in the most complete presentation of all his views, the one he wished brought before the prime minister, if his conduct on this momentous occasion were called in question, he ends thus: "my opinion is firm as a rock, that some cause, _orders_, or _inability_ to perform any service in these seas, has made them resolve to proceed direct for europe, sending the spanish ships to the havannah." it is such conviction, in which opinion rather possesses a man than is possessed by him, that exalts genius above talent, and imbues faith with a power which reason has not in her gift. there were among his conclusions certain ones which placed nelson's mind, however fretted by disappointment, at ease concerning any future harm the enemy might be able to do. another wreath of laurel, which seemed almost within his grasp, had indeed evaded him, and no man felt more keenly such a loss; but he was reasonably sure that, if villeneuve were gone to europe, he could not outstrip pursuit by long enough to do much harm. the harassing fear, which he had borne through the long beat down the mediterranean and the retarded voyage to martinique, had now disappeared. going out he had gained ten days upon the allies; they had only five days' start of him in the return. he recognized, moreover, the great significance of their inactivity during the three weeks they had the windward islands, if not all the west indies, defenceless before them. "if they were not able to make an attack for three weeks after their arrival, they could not hope for greater success after our means of resistance increased, and their means of offence were diminished." if this consideration, on the one hand, showed the improbability of their proceeding against jamaica, after nelson's coming, when they had not ventured before, it gave also an inkling of their probable efficiency for immediate action in europe. "they will not give me credit for quitting the west indies for a month to come;" therefore it was unlikely that they would think it necessary to proceed at once upon their next enterprise, after reaching port. "i must not despair of getting up with them before they enter the straits," he writes elliot. "at least, they will have no time to carry any of their future plans into execution, and do harm to any of the countries under my charge." if his thirst for glory was unslaked, his fears of disaster had disappeared. villeneuve, guided by instructions recently received from napoleon, to meet the case of the brest squadron not getting away, had gone actually for ferrol, where he was to join a squadron of five french and nine spanish ships, which would raise his own force to thirty-four of the line; but nelson, unable to know this, argued correctly that, in the uncertainty, he must leave this chance to the biscay ships, and that for himself the mediterranean possessed the first claim. at noon of june 13th, nine days after reaching barbadoes, he got away from antigua. the necessity for gaining the westerly winds made his course for some time the same as that of villeneuve, and left him not without hopes that he might yet fall in with the allies, especially if, as he thought, they were destined to the straits. on the 17th an american schooner was spoken, which had seen the combined squadron two days before, steering also to the northward. this report, wrote nelson to the admiralty, "can leave me no room to doubt but that i am hard upon the heels of the enemy's fleet. i think we cannot be more than eighty leagues from them at this moment, and by carrying every sail, and using my utmost efforts, i shall hope to close with them before they get to either cadiz or toulon." the news was sent ahead by two vessels, which parted from the fleet on the 19th of june,--one for gibraltar, with despatches and letters for the admiral and ministers in the mediterranean; one for lisbon, whence this important intelligence would be forwarded to england and to the commanding officer off ferrol. still believing them bound for the straits, nelson expressed in the fleet the opinion that they would keep well to the southward of the azores, so as not to be seen by british cruisers centred there. in this he was mistaken, as he was in their final destination; both fleets sighted the islands,--the french on the 30th of june to the northward of the group, while the british passed through it on the 8th of july. he admitted, however, that he was doubtful in the matter. "it is very uncertain whether they will go to ferrol or cadiz;" and nothing can indicate more clearly his perplexity, and his sense of the urgency of the case, than his parting on the same day with two of the four small cruisers he had with him, in order to insure that ferrol as well as gibraltar should have prompt warning. it was at about this time that nelson expressed, to one or more of his captains, his views as to what he had so far effected, what he had proposed to do if he had met the hostile fleets, and what his future course would be if they were yet found. "i am thankful that the enemy have been driven from the west india islands with so little loss to our country. i had made up my mind to great sacrifices; for i had determined, notwithstanding his vast superiority, to stop his career, and to put it out of his power to do any further mischief. yet do not imagine i am one of those hot brained people, who fight at an immense disadvantage, _without an adequate object_.[1] my object is partly gained," that is, the allies had been forced out of the west indies." if we meet them, we shall find them not less than eighteen, i rather think twenty sail of the line, and therefore do not be surprised if i should not fall on them immediately: _we won't part without a battle_.[104] i think they will be glad to leave me alone, if i will let them alone; which i will do, either till we approach the shores of europe, or they give me an advantage too tempting to be resisted." it is rare to find so much sagacious appreciation of conditions, combined with so much exalted resolution and sound discretion, as in this compact utterance. among the external interests of great britain, the west indies were the greatest. they were critically threatened by the force he was pursuing; therefore at all costs that force should be so disabled, that it could do nothing effective against the defences with which the scattered islands were provided. for this end he was prepared to risk the destruction of his squadron. the west indies were now delivered; but the enemy's force remained, and other british interests. three months before, he had said, "i had rather see half my squadron burnt than risk what the french fleet may do in the mediterranean." in the same spirit he now repeats: "though we are but eleven to eighteen or twenty, we won't part without a battle." why fight such odds? he himself has told us a little later. "by the time the enemy has beat our fleet soundly, they will do us no harm this year." granting this conclusion,--the reasonableness of which was substantiated at trafalgar,--it cannot be denied that the sacrifice would be justified, the enemy's combinations being disconcerted. yet there shall be no headlong, reckless attack. "i will leave them alone till they offer me an opportunity too tempting to be resisted,"--that speaks for itself,--or, "until we approach the shores of europe," when the matter can no longer be deferred, and the twenty ships must be taken out of napoleon's hosts, even though eleven be destroyed to effect this. the preparedness of mind is to be noted, and yet more the firmness of the conviction, in the strength of which alone such deeds are done. it is the man of faith who is ever the man of works. singularly enough, his plans were quickly to receive the best of illustrations by the failure of contrary methods. scarcely a month later fifteen british ships, under another admiral, met these twenty, which nelson with eleven now sought in vain. they did not part without a battle, but they did part without a decisive battle; they were not kept in sight afterwards; they joined and were incorporated with napoleon's great armada; they had further wide opportunities of mischief; and there followed for the people of great britain a period of bitter suspense and wide-spread panic. "what a game had villeneuve to play!" said napoleon of those moments. "does not the thought of the possibilities remaining to villeneuve," wrote lord radstock of calder's fruitless battle, "make your blood boil when you reflect on the never to be forgotten 22d of july? notwithstanding the inferiority of lord nelson's numbers," he says at the same time, with keen appreciation of the man he knew so well, "should he be so lucky as to fall in with the enemy, i have no doubt that _he would never quit them_[105] until he should have destroyed or taken some of the french ships; and that he himself would seek the french admiral's ship, if possible, i would pledge my life on it." "there is such an universal bustle and cry about invasion, that no other subject will be listened to at present by those in power. i found london almost a desert, and no good news stirring to animate it; on the contrary, the few faces i saw at the admiralty at once confirmed the truth of the report of the combined squadron having safely arrived at ferrol." this was after calder had met and fought them, and let them get out of his sight. lord minto, speaking of the same crisis, says: "there has been the greatest alarm ever known in the city of london, since the combined fleet [villeneuve's] sailed from ferrol. if they had captured our homeward-bound convoys, it is said the india company and half the city must have been bankrupt." these gleams of the feelings of the times, reflected by two men in close contact with the popular apprehensions, show what nelson was among british admirals to the men of his day, and why he was so. "great and important as the victory is," wrote minto, three months later, after the news of trafalgar, "it is bought too dearly, even for our interest, by the death of nelson. we shall want more victories yet, and to whom can we look for them? the navy is certainly full of the bravest men, but they are mostly below the rank of admiral; and brave as they almost all are, there was a sort of heroic cast about nelson that i never saw in any other man, and which seems wanting to the achievement of _impossible things_ which became easy to him, and on which the maintenance of our superiority at sea seems to depend against the growing navy of the enemy." "the clamour against poor sir robert calder is gaining ground daily," wrote radstock, condemnatory yet pitiful towards the admiral who had failed duly to utilize the opportunity nelson then was seeking in vain, "and there is a general cry against him from all quarters. thus much one may venture to say, that had your old chief commanded our squadron, the enemy would have had but little room for lying or vapouring, as i have not a shadow of a doubt but that he would either have taken or destroyed the french admiral." but there was but one nelson, and he meantime, faint yet pursuing, toiled fruitlessly on, bearing still the sickness of hope deferred and suspense protracted. "midnight," he notes in his private diary of june 21st. "nearly calm, saw three planks which i think came from the french fleet. very miserable, which is very foolish." "we crawled thirty-three miles the last twenty-four hours," he enters on the 8th of july. "my only hope is, that the enemy's fleet are near us, and in the same situation. all night light breezes, standing to the eastward, to go to the northward of st. michael's.[106] at times squally with rain." amid these unavoidable delays, he was forecasting and preparing that no time should be lost when he reached the straits and once more came within the range of intelligence. the light winds, when boats could pass without retarding the ships, were utilized in preparing letters to the officials at gibraltar and tangiers, to have ready the stores necessary for the fleet upon arrival. these papers were already on board the two frigates remaining with him, with the necessary instructions for their captains, so that they might part at any moment judged fitting, irrespective of weather conditions. again he cautions the authorities to keep his approach a profound secret. no private letters for gibraltar were permitted in the mail-bags, lest they should unwittingly betray counsel. the vessels were directed to rejoin him forty miles west of cape spartel, giving him thus time to decide upon his course before he reached gibraltar; for it was quite on the cards that he might find it imperative to hurry north without anchoring. on the 13th of july, five hundred miles from cape st. vincent, one of these ships left him, probably the last to go. on the 18th of july, cape spartel was sighted. "no french fleet," wrote the admiral in his diary, "nor any information about them: how sorrowful this makes me, but i cannot help myself!" "i am, my dear mr. marsden," he wrote to the secretary of the admiralty, "as completely miserable as my greatest enemy could wish me; but i blame neither fortune or my own judgment. oh, general brereton! general brereton!" to his friend davison he revealed yet more frankly the bitterness of his spirit, now that the last hope was dashed, and it was even possible that the mis-step of going to trinidad had caused him to incur a further mistake, by leaving the allies in the west indies. "but for general brereton's damned information, nelson," he said, half prophetically, "would have been, living or dead, the greatest man in his profession that england ever saw. now alas! i am nothing--perhaps shall incur censure for misfortunes which may happen, and have happened." but if he himself were disappointed, and foreboded the discontent of others, the greatness of what he had done was quickly apparent, and received due recognition from thoughtful men. "either the distances between the different quarters of the globe are diminished," wrote mr. elliot from naples, "or you have extended the powers of human action. after an unremitting cruise of two long years in the stormy gulf of lyons, to have proceeded without going into port to alexandria, from alexandria to the west indies, from the west indies back again to gibraltar; to have kept your ships afloat, your rigging standing, and your crews in health and spirits--is an effort such as never was realised in former times, nor, i doubt, will ever again be repeated by any other admiral. you have protected us for two long years, and you saved the west indies by only a few days." thus truly summarized, such achievements are seen to possess claims to admiration, not to be exceeded even by the glory of trafalgar. although no french fleet was visible, as nelson approached the straits, there were a half-dozen british ships-of-the-line, under the command of his old friend collingwood, blockading cadiz. when orde was driven off that station by villeneuve on the 9th of april, and retired upon brest, he had already sent in an application to be relieved from a duty which he himself had sought, and had held for so short a time; alleging a bundle of grievances which show clearly enough the impracticable touchiness of the man. his request was at once granted. early in may, collingwood was sent from england with eight sail-of-the-line for the west indies; but learning on the way that nelson had gone thither, he detached to him two of his swiftest seventy-fours, and, with great good judgment, himself took position off cadiz, where he covered the entrance of the mediterranean, and effectually prevented any ships from either cartagena or ferrol concentrating in the neighborhood of the straits. nelson received word from some of his lookouts appointed to meet him here, that nothing had been heard of the allied squadrons. the anxiety which had never ceased to attend him was increased by this prolonged silence. he had no certainty that the enemy might not have doubled back, and gone to jamaica. he would not stop now to exchange with collingwood speculations about the enemy's course. "my dear collingwood, i am, as you may suppose, miserable at not having fallen in with the enemy's fleet; and i am almost increased in sorrow by not finding them [here]. the name of general brereton will not soon be forgot. i must now only hope that the enemy have not tricked me, and gone to jamaica; but if the account,[107] of which i send you a copy, is correct, it is more than probable that they are either gone to the northward, or, if bound to the mediterranean, not yet arrived." his surmise remains accurate. he then continues, with that delicate and respectful recognition of the position and ability of others, which won him so much love: "the moment the fleet is watered, and got some refreshments, of which we are in great want, i shall come out and make you a visit; not, my dear friend, to take your command from you, (for i may probably add mine to you,) but to consult how we can best serve our country, by detaching a part of this large force." circumstances prevented his neighborly intention from taking effect. a week later nelson returned north with his squadron, and the friends did not meet until shortly before trafalgar. in reply to nelson's letter, collingwood summed up his view of the situation as so far developed. "i have always had an idea that ireland alone was the object they had in view, and still believe that to be their ultimate destination--that they will now liberate the ferrol squadron from calder, make the round of the bay,[108] and, taking the rochefort people with them, appear off ushant--perhaps with thirty-four sail, there to be joined by twenty more. admiral cornwallis collecting his out squadrons may have thirty and upwards. this appears to be a probable plan; for unless it is to bring their great fleets and armies to some point of service--some rash attempt at conquest--they have been only subjecting them to chance of loss, which i do not believe the corsican would do, without the hope of an adequate reward." it is upon this letter, the sagacious and well-ordered inferences of which must be candidly admitted, that a claim for superiority of discernment over nelson has been made for its writer. it must be remembered, however, not as a matter of invidious detraction from one man, but in simple justice to the other, whose insight and belief had taken form in such wonderful work, that nelson also had fully believed that the enemy, if they left the mediterranean, would proceed to ireland; and further, and yet more particularly, collingwood's views had been confirmed to him by the fact, as yet unknown to nelson, that the rochefort squadron, which sailed at the time villeneuve first escaped in january, had since returned to europe on the 26th of may. "the flight to the west indies," collingwood said, in a letter dated the day after the one just quoted, "was to take off our naval force, which is the great impediment to their undertaking. the rochefort squadron's return confirmed me." "i well know what your lordship's disappointment is," he wrote, with generous sympathy; "and i share the mortification of it. it would have been a happy day for england, could you have met them; small as your force was, i trust it would have been found enough. this summer is big with events. sincerely i wish your lordship strength of body to go through--_and to all others, your strength of mind_." testy even to petulance as these two great seamen were at times in small matters, when overwrought with their manifold anxieties, they nowhere betray any egotistic concern as to the value attached by others to their respective speculations, the uncertainties of which none knew better than they, who had to act upon their conclusions. meantime, at the very moment they were exchanging letters, pregnant movements were taking place, unknown to either. the brig "curieux," despatched to england by nelson the night before he left antigua, had fallen in with the allied squadrons, nine hundred miles north-northeast from antigua, on the 19th of june--just a week after she sailed. keeping company with them long enough to ascertain their course and approximate numbers, the captain then hastened on, anchoring in plymouth on the 7th of july. "i am sorry," wrote nelson when he heard of this meeting, "that captain bettesworth did not stand back and try to find us out;" but grateful as the word would have been to him, the captain was better advised to make for a fixed and certain destination. at daylight of the 9th the news was in the hands of the first lord, who issued instant orders for the blockading squadrons off rochefort and ferrol to unite, and to take post one hundred miles west of cape finisterre. on the 19th of july admiral calder was in this position, with fifteen ships-of-the-line, and received through lisbon the information of the french movements, which nelson had forwarded thither an exact month before. on the 20th nelson's fleet anchored at gibraltar, and he went ashore, "for the first time since the 16th of june, 1803." on the 22d calder and villeneuve met and fought. two spanish ships-of-the-line were captured, but the battle was otherwise indecisive. calder hesitated to attack again, and on the 26th lost sight of the enemy, who, on the 28th, put into vigo bay; whence, by a lucky slant of wind, they reached ferrol on the first of august with fifteen ships, having left three in vigo. calder sent five of his fleet to resume the blockade of rochefort, and himself with nine joined cornwallis off brest, raising the force there to twenty-six. this junction was made august 14th. the next day appeared there the indefatigable nelson, with his unwearied and ever ready squadron of eleven ships--veterans in the highest sense of the word, in organization, practice, and endurance; alert, and solid as men of iron. this important and most opportune arrival came about as follows. anchoring on the 19th of july at gibraltar, nelson found everything ready for the re-equipment of his ships, owing to his foresight in directing it. all set to work at once to prepare for immediate departure. when i have "completed the fleet to four months' provisions, and with stores for channel service," he wrote to the admiralty, "i shall get outside the mediterranean, leaving a sufficient force to watch carthagena, and proceed as upon a due consideration, (on reading vice-admiral collingwood's orders, and those which rear-admiral sir richard bickerton may have received during my absence,) may suggest to be most proper. should i hear that the enemy are gone to some of the ports in the bay, i shall join the squadron off ferrol, or off ushant, as i think the case requires." there will be observed here the same striking combination of rapidity, circumspection, and purpose prepared by reflection for instant action in emergencies, that characterized him usually, and especially in these four months of chase. "the squadron is in the most perfect health," he continues, "except some symptoms of scurvy, which i hope to eradicate by bullocks and refreshments from tetuan, to which i will proceed to-morrow." the getting fresh beef at tetuan, it will be remembered, had been stopped by a fair wind on the 5th of may. since then, and in fact since a month earlier, no opportunity of obtaining fresh provisions had offered during his rapid movements. "the fleet received not the smallest refreshment, not even a cup of water in the west indies," he told the queen of naples. the admiral himself got only a few sheep, in the nine days' round. even now, the intention to go to tetuan, advisable as the step was, was contingent upon the opportunity offering of reaching a position whence he could move with facility. nelson did not mean to be back-strapped again within the mediterranean, with a west wind, and a current setting to leeward, if the enemy turned up in the atlantic. "if the wind is westerly," he wrote on the early morning of the 22d, "i shall go to tetuan: if easterly, out of the straits." at half-past nine that day the fleet weighed, and at half-past seven in the evening anchored at tetuan, whither orders had already gone to prepare bullocks and fresh vegetables for delivery. at noon of the 23d the ships again lifted their anchors, and started. "the fleet is complete," he wrote the first lord that day, "and the first easterly wind, i shall pass the straits." fortune apparently had made up her mind now to balk him no more. thirty-six hours later, at 3.30 a.m. of july 25th, being then off tarifa, a little west of gibraltar, the sloop-of-war "termagant," one of his own mediterranean cruisers, came alongside, and brought him a newspaper, received from lisbon, containing an account of the report carried to england by the "curieux." "i know it's true," he wrote to the admiralty, "from my words being repeated, therefore i shall not lose a moment, after i have communicated with admiral collingwood, in getting to the northward to either ferrol, ireland, or ushant; as information or circumstances may point out to be proper." in his haste to proceed, and wishing to summon the "amazon" frigate to rejoin him, he sent the "termagant" at once to gibraltar, without understanding that she was just from there and had on board his clothes left for washing; in consequence of which precipitancy she "carried all my things, even to my last shirt, back again." "as i fancied he came from lisbon," he explained, "i would not allow him to stop." "my dear parker," he wrote the frigate-captain, "make haste and join me. if all places fail you will find me at spithead." parker, who was a favorite of the admiral's, followed out the careful detailed instructions which accompanied this note, but could not overtake the fleet, and from incidents of the service never met nelson again. with a fresh easterly gale the squadron pressed again into the atlantic. as it went on for cape st. vincent, collingwood's division was seen some distance to leeward, but, as not infrequently happens in and near the mediterranean, the wind with it came from the opposite quarter to that which nelson had. the latter, therefore, would not stop, nor lose a mile of the ground over which his fair breeze was carrying him. "my dear collingwood," he wrote, "we are in a fresh levanter. you have a westerly wind, therefore i must forego the pleasure of taking you by the hand until october next, when, if i am well enough, i shall (if the admiralty please) resume the command. i am very far from well; but i am anxious that not a moment of the services of this fleet should be lost." matters therefore were left standing much as they were when he passed in a week before. he had taken upon himself, however, with a discretion he could now assume freely, to change the admiralty's orders, issued during his absence, withdrawing most of the small cruisers from about malta, to reinforce collingwood's division. when he first learned of this step, he said it was a mistake, for double the number he had left there were needed; "but the orders of the admiralty must be obeyed. i only hope officers will not be blamed for the events which it is not difficult to foresee will happen." with the crowd of enemy's privateers in those waters, malta, he was assured, would be cut off from all communication. he soon made up his mind that he would use his own discretion and modify the dispositions taken. "malta cannot more than exist, and our troops would be placed in a position of great distress," he told the admiralty. "i transmit a statement of the force i think necessary to the eastward of carthagena for performing the services intrusted to my care, and when i get the lists i shall apportion them as far as their number will allow, and my judgment will admit." "i hope the board will consider this as not wishing to alter any arrangement of theirs, but as a measure absolutely necessary." within his own field nelson was now, by proved professional genius, above the restraint of boards; and when he reached england the new first lord had the wisdom to admit it, in this supreme crisis, by giving him full control, within the resources of the country, over the constitution of the fleet with which he fought trafalgar. letters left for bickerton and collingwood placed them in possession of his ideas, including the revocation of the admiralty's order; and, in an official letter, he earnestly recommended the latter officer to adhere to his arrangements. word was also sent forward to cornwallis, and to the commander-in-chief at cork, as well as to the admiralty, to notify them of his approach. to the northward of cape st. vincent he met the northerly winds that prevail on the portuguese coast. delayed by these, he was three full weeks making the passage from gibraltar to the channel fleet, which he joined at 3 p.m. of august 15th, twenty-five miles west of ushant. to this point his movements were finally determined by a frigate, which was spoken on the 12th of august, and informed him that up to three days before no intelligence had been received of the enemy's arrival in the bay of biscay, or on the irish coast. cornwallis excused him from the customary personal visit, and authorized him to proceed at once to portsmouth with the "victory," in pursuance of the admiralty's leave which he so long had had in his hands. on the morning of august 18th, the long and fruitless chase of the allied fleet was brought to an end by the dropping of the "victory's" anchor at spithead. to davison nelson summed up his disappointment in the exasperated expression, "--n general brereton."[109] from newspapers received off ushant he first learned of calder's battle, and the public dissatisfaction with the results. he had undergone too much frustration and anxiety himself not to feel for an officer who had made a mistake, although it may safely be said that calder's mistake was not only one nelson could not have made, but was the exact opposite of the course which nelson by anticipation had said he would adopt. he expressed himself in words of generous sympathy. "i was bewildered by the account of sir robert calder's victory, and the joy of the event; together with the hearing that _john bull_ was not content, which i am sorry for. who can, my dear freemantle, command all the success which our country may wish? we have fought together, and therefore well know what it is. i have had the best disposed fleet of friends, but who can say what will be the event of a battle? and it most sincerely grieves me, that in any of the papers it should be insinuated, that lord nelson could have done better. i should have fought the enemy, so did my friend calder; but who can say that he will be more successful than another? i only wish to stand upon my own merits, and not by comparison, one way or the other, upon the conduct of a brother officer. you will forgive this dissertation, but i feel upon the occasion." these words, which spoke the whole of his honest heart, were the more generous, because he believed calder to be one of the few professional enemies that he had. from the place where villeneuve was met, nelson reasoned, again, that the primary intention of the allies, returning from the west indies, had been to enter the straits. "by all accounts i am satisfied their original destination was the mediterranean, but they heard frequently of our track." this persistence in his first view was partly due to the confidence with which he held to his own convictions,--the defect of a strong quality,--partly, doubtless, to the fact that villeneuve had blundered in his homeward course, and fetched unnecessarily to leeward of his port, with reference to winds perfectly understood by seamen of that day. in fact he had no business to be where he brought up, except on the supposition that he was making for the straits. footnotes: [83] at noon, january 20, "mount santo bore n.w., distant six leagues."--"_victory's" log_. cape monte santo is sixty miles north of the southern extremity of sardinia. [84] on the east coast of sicily. [85] bulkheads are the light partitions which divide cabins, offices, etc. from the rest of the decks. for battle they are removed to allow freer communication, and to lessen the risk of fire and splinters. [86] an island twenty miles west of sicily. [87] author's italics. [88] march 9th. [89] author's italics. [90] apparently gulf of palmas. [91] from england. [92] sir john orde. [93] orde's squadron never exceeded six ships-of-the-line, while villeneuve's numbered eleven without the spaniards. it will be seen further on that nelson blamed orde for not keeping track of the enemy's movements, and sending word to him at gibraltar, and elsewhere, of the direction taken. as far as the author's information goes, he agrees with this censure. to fight eleven ships with six could only be justified by extreme circumstances; but to lose sight of them in spring weather infers even worse judgment than fighting would. it was of the first importance to learn the destination of so large a body, considering that the interests of great britain were threatened in directions so diverse as the channel, the east indies, and the west indies. [94] lord radstock's son had been transferred before this from the "victory" to the "hydra"; but his father did not yet know the fact, and supposed him with nelson. [95] first lord of the admiralty, who had very lately succeeded melville. [96] an east wind. [97] the signal flag for a vessel about to sail. [98] life of the rev. a.j. scott, p. 171. [99] ahead, but a little to one side. [100] phillimore's last of nelson's captains. [101] the "northumberland" and the "spartiate." [102] the island immediately north of martinique. [103] "the trench and spaniards landed 1,000 sick when they arrived at martinico, and buried full that number during their stay." nicolas, vol. vi. p. 480. [104] author's italics. [105] author's italics. [106] one of the easternmost of the azores. [107] the report of the american schooner, which saw the allied fleet, june 15th. [108] of biscay. [109] the extent of brereton's fault (if at fault) depended, probably, upon the character and responsibility of the man he had on lookout at so critical a moment, and the care with which he tested the report made to him. brereton did not know of nelson's arrival, possibly not of his approach. at the same time men must take the blame of carelessness, when harm comes of it. ball, commenting to nelson upon the incident, said: "i think orders should be given, that when a fleet is discovered, an officer should be sent for to witness it, and that one should be at the signal hill at the rising and setting of the sun. i have often reflected on these circumstances, and on the little attention generally paid them." as it stands, the whole affair is a warning to officers, of what results may flow from errors small in themselves. chapter xxi. nelson's last stay in england. august 19--september 15, 1805. age, 46. the "victory" was delayed in quarantine twenty-four hours, when orders from london directed her release. at 9 p.m. of the 19th of august, nelson's flag was hauled down, and he left the ship for merton, thus ending an absence of two years and three months. his home being but an hour's drive from the heart of london, the anxieties of the time, and his own eagerness to communicate his views and experience, carried him necessarily and at once to the public offices--to the admiralty first, but also to the secretaries for foreign affairs and for war, both of whom had occasion for the knowledge and suggestions of so competent and practised an observer. the present head of the admiralty, lord barham, had succeeded to the office, unexpectedly, upon the sudden retirement of melville the previous may. he was a naval officer, eighty years of age, who since middle life had exchanged the active sea-going of the profession, for civil duties connected with it. he had thus been out of touch with it on the military side; and although nelson was of course well known to him by reputation and achievement, he had not that intimate personal experience of his character and habit of thought, upon which was based the absolute confidence felt by st. vincent, and by all others who had seen the great warrior in active service. "lord barham is an almost entire stranger to me," wrote nelson; but after their interview he left with him the journals in which were embodied the information obtained during his recent command, with his comments upon the affairs of the mediterranean in particular, and, as incidental thereto, of europe in general. barham, who gave proof of great military capacity during his short term of office, was so much impressed by the sagacity and power of nelson's remarks, that he assured the cabinet he ought by all means to go back to the mediterranean; and it may be assumed that the latter's wish so to do would have been gratified, at the time of his own choosing, had not other events interposed to carry him away earlier, and to end his career. it was upon one of these visits to ministers that nelson and wellington met for the only time in their lives. the latter had just returned from a long service in india, reaching england in september, 1805. his account of the interview, transmitted to us by croker, is as follows:- walmer, october 1st, 1834. we were talking of lord nelson, and some instances were mentioned of the egotism and vanity that derogated from his character. "why," said the duke, "i am not surprised at such instances, for lord nelson was, in different circumstances, two quite different men, as i myself can vouch, though i only saw him once in my life, and for, perhaps, an hour. it was soon after i returned from india. i went to the colonial office[110] in downing street, and there i was shown into the little waiting-room on the right hand, where i found, also waiting to see the secretary of state, a gentleman, whom, from his likeness to his pictures and the loss of an arm, i immediately recognised as lord nelson. he could not know who i was, but he entered at once into conversation with me, if i can call it conversation, for it was almost all on his side and all about himself, and in, really, a style so vain and so silly as to surprise and almost disgust me. i suppose something that i happened to say may have made him guess that i was _somebody_, and he went out of the room for a moment, i have no doubt to ask the office-keeper who i was, for when he came back he was altogether a different man, both in manner and matter. all that i had thought a charlatan style had vanished, and he talked of the state of this country and of the aspect and probabilities of affairs on the continent with a good sense, and a knowledge of subjects both at home and abroad, that surprised me equally and more agreeably than the first part of our interview had done; in fact, he talked like an officer and a statesman. the secretary of state kept us long waiting, and certainly, for the last half or three quarters of an hour, i don't know that i ever had a conversation that interested me more. now, if the secretary of state had been punctual, and admitted lord nelson in the first quarter of an hour, i should have had the same impression of a light and trivial character that other people have had; but luckily i saw enough to be satisfied that he was really a very superior man; but certainly a more sudden and complete metamorphosis i never saw."[111] this is not the only record that remains to us of those interesting interviews with cabinet ministers, although the most have passed away unnoted. it was in one of them that he uttered a military opinion, for whose preservation we are indebted to his own mention of it in a private letter; an opinion so characteristic of his habits of thought, his reasoned motives of action, that, although it has before been quoted, it is fitting to repeat it in his own words and in full. when he reached england, the naval situation, as far as then known, was that napoleon had twenty-one french ships-of-the-line in brest, and twenty-eight or nine, french and spanish, in ferrol; while cornwallis had thirty-five british off brest. this was the condition on the 15th of august, when nelson parted from the fleet off ushant. very soon after his arrival in town, news was received that villeneuve had gone to sea from ferrol, and that cornwallis, when informed of the fact, had divided his fleet, with great lack of judgment, keeping himself seventeen ships to confront the brest squadron, while eighteen were sent to look for villeneuve under the command of admiral calder. in the public discontent with the latter, it was not reassuring to know that, at a moment when every one's nerves were on the rack, he was again intrusted with the always difficult task of coping with a much superior force. while this state of excitement prevailed, nelson called upon the secretary of state, lord castlereagh, on the 23d of august. "yesterday," he wrote to captain keats, "the secretary of state, which is a man who has only sat one solitary day in his office, and of course knows but little of what is passed, and indeed the minister,[112] were all full of the enemy's fleet, and as i am now set up for a _conjuror_, and god knows they will very soon find out i am far from being one, i was asked my opinion, against my inclination, for if i make one wrong guess the charm will be broken; but this i ventured without any fear, that if calder got close alongside their twenty-seven or twenty-eight sail, that by the time the enemy had beat our fleet soundly, they would do us no harm this year." this acute perception of the reason why it was at times desirable and proper to hurl a smaller though more efficient force against superior numbers, content that the latter, as a factor, were for the campaign annihilated,--this realization of the possible fruitfulness of a defeat, or rather, of a battle wisely lost, as contrasted with what jomini calls the sterile glory of fighting battles merely to win them,--is one of the most marked and decisive features of nelson's genius as a general officer. it recurs over and over again, and at all periods, in his correspondence, this clear and full appreciation of the relation of the parts to the whole.[113] it underlay his sustained purpose during the long pursuit of the preceding months, that, if he found the allied squadron, "they would not part without a battle." whatever else the result, that particular division would do no harm that year, and with it necessarily fell the great combination, whatever that might be, of which it was an essential factor. "the event would have been in the hands of providence," he wrote to barham; "but we may without, i hope, vanity, believe that the enemy would have been fit for no active service after such a battle." there is wanting to the completeness of this admirable impulse only the steadying resolve that he would bide his time, so as, to use napoleon's phrase, to have the most of the chances on his side when he attacked. this also we know he meant to do. "i will _wait_, till they give me an opportunity too tempting to be resisted, or till they draw near the shores of europe." in such qualification is to be seen the equipoise of the highest order of ability. this union of desperate energy with calculating wariness was in him not so much a matter of reasoning, though reason fully endorses it, as it was the gift of nature,--genius, in short. reasoning of a very high order illuminates nelson's mental processes and justifies his conclusions, but it is not in the power of reason, when face to face with emergency, to bridge the chasm that separates perception, however clear, from the inward conviction which alone sustains the loftiest action. "responsibility," said st. vincent, "is the test of a man's courage." emergency, it may be said, is the test of his faith in his beliefs. while those at the head of the state thus hung upon his counsels, and drew encouragement from his indomitable confidence, the people in the streets looked up to him with that wistful and reverent dependence which does not wholly understand, but centres all its trust upon a tried name. they knew what he had done in the now distant past, and they had heard lately that he had been to the west indies, and had returned, having saved the chief jewel among the colonies of the empire. they knew, also, that their rulers were fearful about invasion, and that in some undefined way nelson had stood, and would yet stand, between them and harm. the rapidity of his movements left little interval between the news of his being back at gibraltar and the announcement of his arrival at portsmouth, which was not generally expected. on the 19th of august, a day after the "victory" anchored at spithead, lord radstock wrote: "'t is extraordinary no official accounts have been received from lord nelson since the 27th of july. he then hinted that he might perhaps go to ireland; nevertheless, we have had no tidings of him on that coast. i confess i begin to be fearful that he has worried his mind up to that pitch, that he cannot bear the idea of showing himself again to the world, until he shall have struck some blow, and that it is this hope that is now making him run about, half-frantic, in quest of adventures. that such unparalleled perseverance and true valor should thus evaporate in air is truly melancholy." if any doubt of the approval of his countrymen mingled with the distress nelson unquestionably felt at having missed the enemy, he was touchingly undeceived. as soon as the "victory" and his flag were made out, the people flocked to portsmouth, collecting on the ramparts of the town and other points of view, in inaudible testimony of welcome. as the barge pulled to the shore, and upon landing, he was greeted with loud and long-continued cheering. in london the same demonstrations continued whenever he was recognized in public. "lord nelson arrived a few days ago," wrote radstock. "he was received in town almost as a conqueror, and was followed round by the people with huzzas. so much for a great and good name most nobly and deservedly acquired." "i met nelson in a mob in piccadilly," wrote minto at the same time, "and got hold of his arm, so that i was mobbed too. it is really quite affecting to see the wonder and admiration, and love and respect of the whole world; and the genuine expression of all these sentiments at once, from gentle and simple, the moment he is seen. it is beyond anything represented in a play or in a poem of fame." in these few days was concentrated the outward reward of a life spent in the service of his country. during them, nelson was conspicuously the first man in england,--first alike in the love of the people and in importance to the state. on the private side, also, his life for this brief respite was eminently happy, marred only by the prospect of a speedy departure, the signal for which sounded even sooner than was expected. by his own account, he was only four times in london, and all the moments that could be spared from external calls he spent at merton, where there gathered a large family party, including all his surviving brothers and sisters, with several of their children. "i cannot move at present," he writes on the 31st of august, in declining an invitation, "as all my family are with me, and my stay is very uncertain; and, besides, i have refused for the present all invitations." "i went to merton on saturday" (august 24th), wrote minto, "and found nelson just sitting down to dinner, surrounded by a family party, of his brother the dean, mrs. nelson, their children, and the children of a sister. lady hamilton at the head of the table, and mother cadogan[114] at the bottom. i had a hearty welcome. he looks remarkably well and full of spirits. his conversation is a cordial in these low times. lady hamilton has improved and added to the house and the place extremely well, without his knowing she was about it. he found it already done. she is a clever being, after all: the passion is as hot as ever." over all hung, unseen, the sword of damocles. nelson himself seems to have been possessed already by vague premonitions of the coming end, which deepened and darkened around him as he went forward to his fate. the story told of his saying to the upholsterer, who had in charge the coffin made from the mast of the "orient," that a certificate of its identity should be engraved on the lid, because he thought it highly probable that he might want it on his return, is, indeed, but a commonplace, light-hearted remark, which derives what significance it has purely from the event; but it is easy to recognize in his writings the recurrent, though intermittent, strain of unusual foreboding. life then held much for him; and it is when richest that the possibility of approaching loss possesses the consciousness with the sense of probability. upon a soul of his heroic temper, however, such presentiments, though they might solemnize and consecrate the passing moments, had no power to appall, nor to convert cheerfulness into gloom. the light that led him never burned more brightly, nor did he ever follow with more unfaltering step. fixed in his mind to return to his command in october, he soon felt that, in the uncertainties of the french movements, a call might come at any moment. although he nowhere says so, his mind was doubtless made up that, if villeneuve's twenty-nine sail went to, or near, the mediterranean, he would go out at once. "every ship," he writes on the 31st of august, "even the victory, is ordered out, for there is an entire ignorance whether the ferrol fleet is coming to the northward, gone to the mediterranean, or cruizing for our valuable homeward-bound fleet." "mr. pitt," he tells a friend as early as the 29th, "is pleased to think that my services may be wanted. i hope calder's victory (which i am most anxiously expecting) will render my going forth unnecessary." "i hold myself ready," he writes again on the 3d of september, "to go forth whenever i am desired, although god knows i want rest; but self is entirely out of the question."[115] it was not, therefore, to a mind or will unprepared that the sudden intimation came on the 2d of september--just a fortnight after he left the "victory." that morning there arrived in town captain blackwood of the frigate "euryalus," which had been despatched by collingwood to notify the admiralty that the missing villeneuve had turned up with his squadron at cadiz, on the 20th of august. blackwood was an old friend and follower. it was he who had commanded the "penelope" in march, 1800, and more than any one present had insured the capture of the "guillaume tell," when she ran out from malta,[116]--the greatest service, probably, rendered to nelson's reputation by any man who ever sailed under his orders. he stopped first at merton at five o'clock in the morning, and found nelson already up and dressed. the latter said at once, "i am sure you bring me news of the french and spanish fleets, and i think i shall yet have to beat them." later in the day he called at the admiralty, and there saw blackwood again. in the course of conversation, which turned chiefly upon future operations in the mediterranean, he frequently repeated, "depend on it, blackwood, i shall yet give mr. villeneuve a drubbing," an expression whose wording evinces animation and resolve,--far removed from the troubled indecision from which, by her own account, lady hamilton freed him. it was speedily determined by the government that the combined fleets in cadiz should be held there, or forced to fight if they left; the country had passed through a fortnight of too great anxiety, to risk any chance of its repetition by a renewed evasion. ignorant of the reasons which dictated villeneuve's course, and that it was not accordant but contrary to his orders, it was natural to suppose that there was some further object indicated by the position now taken, and that that object was the mediterranean. moreover, so large a body of commissioned ships--nearly forty--as were now assembled, could not fail to tax severely the resources of a port like cadiz, and distress would tend to drive them out soon. thirty thousand able-bodied men are a heavy additional load on the markets of a small city, blockaded by sea, and with primitive communications by land. upon this rested nelson's principal hope of obliging them to come forth, if napoleon himself did not compel them. their position, he wrote the secretary for war soon after he joined the fleet, seemed to favor an attack by rockets; "but i think we have a better chance of forcing them out by want of provisions: it is said hunger will break through stone walls,--ours is only a wall of wood." "it is said that there is a great scarcity of provisions in cadiz." he then mentioned that the allies were endeavoring to meet this difficulty by sending neutral vessels, loaded with food-stuffs, from french ports to all the small harbors on either side of cadiz, whence the stores carried by them could be transferred by coasting-boats,--a process which ships were powerless to stop. collingwood, therefore, had seized the neutrals, and sent them into gibraltar, a step which nelson had approved and continued. for it he then demanded the authority of his government. "should it be thought proper to allow the enemy's fleet to be victualled, i request that i may be informed as soon as possible." in connection with this subject nelson made an allusion to a policy with which castlereagh, the minister he was addressing, was afterwards identified,--that of the celebrated orders in council of 1807, and the license system connected with it. this is one of the few intimations we have of the wide range of subjects upon which he conversed with members of the cabinet while in england; and it is interesting, not only as showing how far back those measures originated, but also as illustrating his own prophetic intuition of the construction which would be placed upon such proceedings. "i can have nothing, as an admiral, to say upon the propriety of granting licences; but from what your lordship told me of the intention of ministers respecting the neutral trade, it strikes me, some day it may be urged that it was not for the sake of blockade, but for the purpose of taking all the trade into her own hands, that great britain excluded the neutrals. your lordship's wisdom will readily conceive all that neutral courts may urge at this apparent injustice, and of might overcoming right."[117] this shrewdly accurate forecast of a contention which was not to arise till after his death is but one instance among many of nelson's clearness of judgment, in political as well as in military matters. nelson's services, upon this, his final departure from england, were rather requested by the government than by him volunteered--in the ordinary sense of the word. he went willingly enough, doubtless, but in obedience, proud and glad, to the summons, not only of the popular cry, but of the cabinet's wish. "i own i want much more rest," he wrote to elliot, immediately after joining the fleet off cadiz; "but it was thought right to desire me to come forth, and i obeyed." "i expected to lay my weary bones quiet for the winter," he told another friend in naples, "but i ought, perhaps, to be proud of the general call which has made me to go forth." the popularly received account, therefore, derived from lady hamilton, of her controlling influence in the matter, may be dismissed as being--if not apocryphal--merely one side of the dealing by which he had to reconcile the claims of patriotic duty with the appeals of the affections. as told by southey, her part in his decision was as follows: "when blackwood had left him, he wanted resolution to declare his wishes to lady hamilton and his sisters, and endeavoured to drive away the thought. he had done enough, he said: 'let the man trudge it who has lost his budget!' his countenance belied his lips; and as he was pacing one of the walks in the garden, which he used to call the quarter-deck, lady hamilton came up to him, and said she saw he was uneasy. he smiled, and said: 'no, he was as happy as possible; he was surrounded by his family, his health was better since he had been on shore, and he would not give sixpence to call the king his uncle.' she replied, that she did not believe him, that she knew he was longing to get at the combined fleets, that he considered them as his own property, that he would be miserable if any man but himself did the business, and that he ought to have them, as the price and reward of his two years' long watching, and his hard chase. 'nelson,' said she, 'however we may lament your absence, offer your services; they will be accepted, and you will gain a quiet heart by it; you will have a glorious victory, and then you may return here, and be happy.' he looked at her with tears in his eyes: 'brave emma! good emma! if there were more emmas, there would be more nelsons.' his services were as willingly accepted as they were offered." the fidelity with which nelson destroyed lady hamilton's letters prevents our knowing just what was her attitude towards his aspirations for glory, and her acquiescence in his perils, in view of the entire dependence of her future upon his life; a dependence such as an honored wife could by no means feel, for the widow of nelson could rely safely upon the love of the nation. certain it is that his letters to her contain enough appeals to the sense she should have of his honor, to show that he stood in need of no strengthening at her hands; and it seems legible enough, between the lines, that he had rather to resist the pull of her weakness, or her interest, than to look for encouragement in the path of hardship and self-denial. it is certain, too, that some days before blackwood arrived, nelson understood that he might be wanted soon, and avowed his entire willingness to go, while not affecting to conceal his hope that circumstances might permit him to remain until october, the time he had fixed to collingwood for his return. whatever the inside history, the matter was quickly settled. on september 3d, the day after blackwood's arrival, he writes to rose: "i shall rejoice to see you on board the victory, if only for a moment; but i shall certainly not be an advocate for being at portsmouth till one of the victory's anchors are at the bows."[118] the next day, the 4th, lord minto writes: "lord nelson has been here to-day. he is going to resume the command of the mediterranean as soon as the victory is ready, which will be within a week." on the 5th he himself tells a friend, "_all my things_ are this day going off for portsmouth." the ten days that followed were for him, necessarily, very busy; but mental preoccupation--definiteness of object--was always beneficial to him. even the harassing run to and from the west indies had done him good. "i am but so-so," he had written to his brother upon arrival; "yet, what is very odd, the better for going to the west indies, even with the anxiety." to this had succeeded the delightful fortnight at home, and now the animation and stir of expected active service. minto had already noted his exhilaration amid the general public gloom, and after his death, speaking of these last days, said, "he was remarkably well and fresh, and full of hope and spirit." the care of providing him with adequate force he threw off upon the admiralty. there was, of course, a consultation between him and it as to the numbers and kind of vessels he thought necessary, but his estimate was accepted without question, and the ships were promised, as far as the resources went. when lord barham asked him to select his own officers, he is said to have replied, "choose yourself, my lord, the same spirit actuates the whole profession; you cannot choose wrong." he did, nevertheless, indicate his wishes in individual cases; and the expression, though characteristic enough of his proud confidence in the officers of the navy, must be taken rather as a resolve not to be burdened with invidious distinctions, than as an unqualified assertion of fact. nelson, however, gave one general admonition to the cabinet which is worthy to be borne in mind, as a broad principle of unvarying application, more valuable than much labored detail. what is wanted, he said, is the annihilation of the enemy--"only numbers can annihilate."[119] it is brilliant and inspiring, indeed, to see skill and heroism bearing up against enormous odds, and even wrenching victory therefrom; but it is the business of governments to insure that such skill and heroism be more profitably employed, in utterly destroying, with superior forces, the power of the foe, and so compelling peace. no general has won more striking successes over superior numbers than did napoleon; no ruler has been more careful to see that adequate superiority for his own forces was provided from the beginning. nelson believed that he had fully impressed the prime minister that what was needed now, after two and a half years of colorless war, was not a brilliant victory for the british navy, but a crushing defeat for the foe. "i hope my absence will not be long," he wrote to davison, "and that i shall soon meet the combined fleets with a force sufficient to do the job well: for half a victory would but half content me. but i do not believe the admiralty can give me a force within fifteen or sixteen sail-of-the-line of the enemy; and therefore, if every ship took her opponent, we should have to contend with a fresh fleet of fifteen or sixteen sail-of-the-line. but i will do my best; and i hope god almighty will go with me. i have much to lose, but little to gain; and i go because it's right, and i will serve the country faithfully." he doubtless did not know then that calder, finding villeneuve had gone to cadiz, had taken thither the eighteen ships detached with him from the brest blockade, and that bickerton had also joined from within the mediterranean, so that collingwood, at the moment he was writing, had with him twenty-six of the line. his anticipation, however, was substantially correct. despite every effort, the admiralty up to a fortnight before trafalgar had not given him the number of ships he thought necessary, to insure certain watching, and crushing defeat. he was particularly short of the smaller cruisers wanted. on the 12th of september minto took his leave of him. "i went yesterday to merton," he wrote on the 13th, "in a great hurry, as lord nelson said he was to be at home all day, and he dines at half-past three. but i found he had been sent for to carleton house, and he and lady hamilton did not return till half-past five." the prince of wales had sent an urgent command that he particularly wished to see him before he left england. "i stayed till ten at night," continues minto, "and i took a final leave of him. he goes to portsmouth to-night. lady hamilton was in tears all day yesterday, could not eat, and hardly drink, and near swooning, and all at table. it is a strange picture. she tells me nothing can be more pure and ardent than this flame." lady hamilton may have had the self-control of an actress, but clearly not the reticence of a well-bred woman. on the following night nelson left home finally. his last act before leaving the house, it is said, was to visit the bed where his child, then between four and five, was sleeping, and pray over her. the solemn anticipation of death, which from this time forward deepened more and more over his fearless spirit, as the hour of battle approached, is apparent in the record of his departure made in his private diary:- friday night, september 13th. at half-past ten drove from dear dear merton, where i left all which i hold dear in this world, to go to serve my king and country. may the great god whom i adore enable me to fulfil the expectations of my country; and if it is his good pleasure that i should return, my thanks will never cease being offered up to the throne of his mercy. if it is his good providence to cut short my days upon earth, i bow with the greatest submission, relying that he will protect those so dear to me, that i may leave behind. his will be done: amen, amen, amen. at six o'clock on the morning of the 14th nelson arrived at portsmouth. at half-past eleven his flag was again hoisted on board the "victory," and at 2 p.m. he embarked. his youngest and favorite sister, mrs. matcham, with her husband, had gone to portsmouth to see him off. as they were parting, he said to her: "oh, katty! that gypsy;" referring to his fortune told by a gypsy in the west indies many years before, that he should arrive at the head of his profession by the time he was forty. "what then?" he had asked at the moment; but she replied, "i can tell you no more; the book is closed."[120] the battle of the nile, preceding closely the completion of his fortieth year, not unnaturally recalled the prediction to mind, where the singularity of the coincidence left it impressed; and now, standing as he did on the brink of great events, with half-acknowledged foreboding weighing on his heart, he well may have yearned to know what lay beyond that silence, within the closed covers of the book of fate. footnotes: [110] in a letter to the earl of mornington, dated december 21st, 1805, wellington, then wellesley, said, "i arrived in england about september 10th." the margin of time for meeting nelson, who left merton on the 13th, was therefore small, and fixes very closely the date of this interesting interview. the colonial and war offices seem then to have been under one head. [111] correspondence and diaries of john wilson croker, vol. ii. p. 233. [112] the prime minister pitt. [113] compare for example, _ante_, vol. i. p. 421. [114] lady hamilton's mother. [115] nelson to right hon. george rose, august 29 and september 3, 1805: nicolas, vol. vii. pp. 18, 19, 29. [116] _ante_, p. 31. [117] this is the earliest intimation that has come under the author's eye of the formulation (as distinguished from the development) of the groups of orders in council of 1807, bearing upon the neutral trade, which were issued and carried out by a ministry other than the one which nelson knew. the measure was clearly under consideration before trafalgar. [118] that is, the ship ready to sail in half an hour, one of the two anchors which moor a ship being lifted. [119] the author wishes to guard himself from seeming to share the perversion, as he thinks it, of this saying, into an argument against heavy ships, because the heavier the ships, the smaller the number. without here expressing any opinion upon this controverted subject, he would simply quote on the other side the view attributed to nelson during the chase to the west indies. "he knew that the french had no three-decked ships in their fleet, and he reckoned on the great superiority in close action of three batteries of guns over two." (last of nelson's captains, p. 137.) with this may be joined a quotation from himself involving implicitly the same idea: "two [two-deckers] alongside an enemy are better than three-deckers _a great way off_." this evidently suggests the idea that one three-decker was better than two seventy-fours, conditions being similar. in truth, numbers should be read "numbers of guns"--or, better still, "numbers, other things being equal." [120] the author has to thank the present earl nelson for this anecdote. chapter xxii. the antecedents of trafalgar. september 15--october 19, 1805. age, 47. the crowds that had assembled to greet nelson's arrival at portsmouth, four weeks before, now clustered again around his footsteps to bid him a loving farewell. although, to avoid such demonstrations, he had chosen for his embarkation another than the usual landing-place, the multitude collected and followed him to the boat. "they pressed forward to obtain sight of his face," says southey; "many were in tears, and many knelt down before him, and blessed him as he passed. england has had many heroes, but never one," he justly adds, "who so entirely possessed the love of his fellow countrymen as nelson." there attached to him not only the memory of many brilliant deeds, nor yet only the knowledge that more than any other he stood between them and harm,--his very name a tower of strength over against their enemies. the deep human sympathy which won its way to the affections of those under his command, in immediate contact with his person, seamen as well as officers, had spread from them with quick contagion throughout all ranks of men; and heart answered to heart in profound trust, among those who never had seen his face. "i had their huzzas before," he said to captain hardy, who sat beside him in the boat. "now i have their hearts." he was accompanied to the ship by mr. canning and mr. rose, intimate associates of mr. pitt, and they remained on board to dine. nelson noted that just twenty-five days had been passed ashore, "from dinner to dinner." the next morning, sunday, september 15th, at 8 a.m., the "victory" got under way and left st. helen's, where she had been lying at single anchor, waiting to start. three other line-of-battle ships belonging to his fleet, and which followed him in time for trafalgar, were then at spithead, but not yet ready. the "victory" therefore sailed without them, accompanied only by blackwood's frigate, the "euryalus." the wind outside, being west-southwest, was dead foul, and it was not till the 17th that the ship was off plymouth. there it fell nearly calm, and she was joined by two seventy-fours from the harbor. the little squadron continued its course, the wind still ahead, until the 20th of the month, when it had not yet gained a hundred miles southwest from scilly. here nelson met his former long-tried second in the mediterranean, sir richard bickerton, going home ill; having endured the protracted drudgery off toulon only to lose, by a hair's breadth, his share in the approaching triumph. on the 25th the "victory" was off lisbon. "we have had only one day's real fair wind," wrote nelson to lady hamilton, "but by perseverance we have done much." the admiral sent in letters to the british consul and naval officers, urging them to secure as many men as possible for the fleet, but enjoining profound secrecy about his coming, conscious that his presence would be a deterrent to the enemy and might prevent the attempt to leave cadiz, upon which he based his hopes of a speedy issue, and a speedy return home for needed repose. his departure from england, indeed, could not remain long unknown in paris; but communications by land were slow in those times, and a few days' ignorance of his arrival, and of the reinforcement he brought, might induce villeneuve to dare the hazard which he otherwise might fear. "day by day," he wrote to davison, "i am expecting the allied fleet to put to sea--every day, hour, and moment." "i am convinced," he tells blackwood, who took charge of the inshore lookout, "that you estimate, as i do, the importance of not letting these rogues escape us without a fair fight, which i pant for by day, and dream of by night." for the same reasons of secrecy he sent a frigate ahead to collingwood, with orders that, when the "victory" appeared, not only should no salutes be fired, but no colors should be shown, if in sight of the port. the like precautions were continued when any new ship joined. every care was taken to lull the enemy into confidence, and to lure him out of port. at 6 p.m. of saturday, september 28th, the "victory" reached the fleet, then numbering twenty-nine of the line; the main body being fifteen to twenty miles west of cadiz, with six ships close in with the port. the next day was nelson's birthday--forty-seven years old. the junior admirals and the captains visited the commander-in chief, as customary, but with demonstrations of gladness and confidence that few leaders have elicited in equal measure from their followers. "the reception i met with on joining the fleet caused the sweetest sensation of my life. the officers who came on board to welcome my return, forgot my rank as commander-in-chief in the enthusiasm with which they greeted me. as soon as these emotions were past, i laid before them the plan i had previously arranged for attacking the enemy; and it was not only my pleasure to find it generally approved, but clearly perceived and understood." to lady hamilton he gave an account of this scene which differs little from the above, except in its greater vividness. "i believe my arrival was most welcome, not only to the commander of the fleet, but also to every individual in it; and, when i came to explain to them the '_nelson touch_,' it was like an electric shock. some shed tears, all approved--'it was new--it was singular--it was simple!' and, from admirals downwards, it was repeated--'it must succeed, if ever they will allow us to get at them! you are, my lord, surrounded by friends whom you inspire with confidence.' some may be judas's: but the majority are certainly much pleased with my commanding them." no more joyful birthday levee was ever held than that of this little naval court. besides the adoration for nelson personally, which they shared with their countrymen in general, there mingled with the delight of the captains the sentiment of professional appreciation and confidence, and a certain relief, noticed by codrington, from the dry, unsympathetic rule of collingwood, a man just, conscientious, highly trained, and efficient, but self-centred, rigid, uncommunicative; one who fostered, if he did not impose, restrictions upon the intercourse between the ships, against which he had inveighed bitterly when himself one of st. vincent's captains. nelson, on the contrary, at once invited cordial social relations with the commanding officers. half of the thirty-odd were summoned to dine on board the flagship the first day, and half the second. not till the third did he permit himself the luxury of a quiet dinner chat with his old chum, the second in command, whose sterling merits, under a crusty exterior, he knew and appreciated. codrington mentions also an incident, trivial in itself, but illustrative of that outward graciousness of manner, which, in a man of nelson's temperament and position, is rarely the result of careful cultivation, but bespeaks rather the inner graciousness of the heart that he abundantly possessed. they had never met before, and the admiral, greeting him with his usual easy courtesy, handed him a letter from his wife, saying that being intrusted with it by a lady, he made a point of delivering it himself, instead of sending it by another. the "nelson touch," or plan of attack, expounded to his captains at the first meeting, was afterwards formulated in an order, copies of which were issued to the fleet on the 9th of october. in this "memorandum," which was doubtless sufficient for those who had listened to the vivid oral explanation of its framer, the writer finds the simplicity, but not the absolute clearness, that they recognized. it embodies, however, the essential ideas, though not the precise method of execution, actually followed at trafalgar, under conditions considerably different from those which nelson probably anticipated; and it is not the least of its merits as a military conception that it could thus, with few signals and without confusion, adapt itself at a moment's notice to diverse circumstances. this great order not only reflects the ripened experience of its author, but contains also the proof of constant mental activity and development in his thought; for it differs materially in detail from the one issued a few months before to the fleet, when in pursuit of villeneuve to the west indies. as the final, and in the main consecutive, illustrations of his military views, the two are presented here together. plan of attack.[121] the business of an english commander-in-chief being first to bring an enemy's fleet to battle, on the most advantageous terms to himself, (i mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible;) and secondly, to continue them there, without separating, until the business is decided; i am sensible beyond this object it is not necessary that i should say a word, being fully assured that the admirals and captains of the fleet i have the honour to command, will, knowing my precise object, that of a close and decisive battle, supply any deficiency in my not making signals; which may, if extended beyond these objects, either be misunderstood, or, if waited for, very probably, from various causes, be impossible for the commander-in-chief to make: therefore, it will only be requisite for me to state, in as few words as possible, the various modes in which it may be necessary for me to obtain my object, on which depends, not only the honour and glory of our country, but possibly its safety, and with it that of all europe, from french tyranny and oppression. if the two fleets are both willing to fight, but little manoeuvring is necessary; the less the better;--a day is soon lost in that business: therefore i will only suppose that the enemy's fleet being to leeward, standing close upon a wind on the starboard tack, and that i am nearly ahead of them, standing on the larboard tack, of course i should weather them. the weather must be supposed to be moderate; for if it be a gale of wind, the manoeuvring of both fleets is but of little avail, and probably no decisive action would take place with the whole fleet. two modes present themselves: one to stand on, just out of gunshot, until the van-ship of my line would be about the centre ship of the enemy, then make the signal to wear together, then bear up, engage with all our force the six or five van-ships of the enemy, passing, certainly, if opportunity offered, through their line. this would prevent their bearing up, and the action, from the known bravery and conduct of the admirals and captains, would certainly be decisive: the second or third rear-ships of the enemy would act as they please, and our ships would give a good account of them, should they persist in mixing with our ships. the other mode would be, to stand under an easy but commanding sail, directly for their headmost ship, so as to prevent the enemy from knowing whether i should pass to leeward or windward of him. in that situation, i would make the signal to engage the enemy to leeward, and to cut through their fleet about the sixth ship from the van, passing very close; they being on a wind, and you going large, could cut their line when you please. the van-ships of the enemy would, by the time our rear came abreast of the van-ship, be severely cut up, and our van could not expect to escape damage. i would then have our _rear_ ship, and every ship in succession, wear, continue the action with either the van-ship, or second ship, as it might appear most eligible from her crippled state; and this mode pursued, i see nothing to prevent the capture of the five or six ships of the enemy's van. the two or three ships of the enemy's rear[122] must either bear up, or wear; and, in either case, although they would be in a better plight probably than our two van-ships (now in the rear) yet they would be separated, and at a distance to leeward, so as to give our ships time to refit; and by that time, i believe, the battle would, from the judgment of the admiral and captains, be over with the rest of them. signals from these moments are useless, when every man is disposed to do his duty. the great object is for us to support each other, and to keep close to the enemy, and to leeward of him. if the enemy are running away, then the only signals necessary will be, to engage the enemy as arriving up with them; and the other ships to pass on for the second, third, &c., giving, if possible, a close fire into the enemy in passing, taking care to give our ships engaged notice of your intention. memorandum. (secret) victory, off cadiz, 9th october, 1805. [sidenote: general considerations.] thinking it almost impossible to bring a fleet of forty sail of the line into a line of battle in variable winds, thick weather, and other circumstances which must occur, without such a loss of time that the opportunity would probably be lost of bringing the enemy to battle in such a manner as to make the business decisive, i have therefore made up my mind to keep the fleet in that position of sailing (with the exception of the first and second in command) that the order of sailing is to be the order of battle, placing the fleet in two lines of sixteen ships each, with an advanced squadron of eight of the fastest sailing two-decked ships, which will always make, if wanted, a line of twenty-four sail, on whichever line the commander-in-chief may direct. [sidenote: powers of second in command.] the second in command will, after my intentions are made known to him, have the entire direction of his line to make the attack upon the enemy, and to follow up the blow until they are captured or destroyed. [sidenote: the attack from to leeward.] if the enemy's fleet should be seen to windward in line of battle, and that the two lines and the advanced squadron can fetch them, they will probably be so extended that their van could not succour their rear. i should therefore probably make the second in command's signal to lead through, about their twelfth ship from their rear, (or wherever he could fetch, if not able to get so far advanced); my line would lead through about their centre, and the advanced squadron to cut two or three or four ships a-head of their centre, so as to ensure getting at their commander-in-chief, on whom every effort must be made to capture. [sidenote: the general controlling idea, under all conditions.] the whole impression of the british fleet must be to overpower from two or three ships a-head of their commander-in-chief supposed to be in the centre, to the rear of their fleet. i will suppose twenty sail of the enemy's line to be untouched, it must be some time before they could perform a manoeuvre to bring their force compact to attack any part of the british fleet engaged, or to succour their own ships, which indeed would be impossible without mixing with the ships engaged. something must be left to chance; nothing is sure in a sea fight beyond all others. shot will carry away the masts and yards of friends as well as foes; but i look with confidence to a victory before the van of the enemy could succour their rear, and then that the british fleet would most of them be ready to receive their twenty sail of the line, or to pursue them, should they endeavour to make off. if the van of the enemy tacks, the captured ships must run to leeward of the british fleet; if the enemy wears, the british must place themselves between the enemy and the captured, and disabled british ships; and should the enemy close, i have no fears as to the result. [sidenote: duties of subordinate.] the second in command will in all possible things direct the movements of his line, by keeping them as compact as the nature of the circumstances will admit. captains are to look to their particular line as their rallying point. but, in case signals can neither be seen or perfectly understood, no captain can do very wrong if he places his ship alongside that of an enemy. of the intended attack from to windward, the enemy in line of battle ready to receive an attack, [illustration][123] [sidenote: the attack from to windward.] the divisions of the british fleet will be brought nearly within gun shot of the enemy's centre. the signal will most probably then be made for the lee line to bear up together, to set all their sails, even steering sails, in order to get as quickly as possible to the enemy's line, and to cut through, beginning from the 12 ship from the enemy's rear. some ships may not get through their exact place, but they will always be at hand to assist their friends; and if any are thrown round the rear of the enemy, they will effectually complete the business of twelve sail of the enemy. should the enemy wear together, or bear up and sail large, still the twelve ships composing, in the first position, the enemy's rear, are to be the object of attack of the lee line, unless otherwise directed from the commander-in-chief, which is scarcely to be expected, as the entire management of the lee line, after the intentions of the commander-in-chief, is signified, is intended to be left to the judgment of the admiral commanding that line. [sidenote: special charge of the commander-in-chief.] the remainder of the enemy's fleet, 34 sail, are to be left to the management of the commander-in-chief, who will endeavour to take care that the movements of the second in command are as little interrupted as is possible. nelson and bronte. it will be borne in mind that the first of these instructions was issued for the handling of a small body of ships--ten--expecting to meet fifteen to eighteen enemies; whereas the second contemplated the wielding of a great mass of vessels, as many as forty british, directed against a possible combination of forty-six french and spanish. in the former case, however, although the aggregate numbers were smaller, the disproportion of force was much greater, even after allowance made for the british three-deckers; and we know, from other contemporary remarks of nelson, that his object here was not so much a crushing defeat of the enemy--"only numbers can annihilate"--as the disorganization and neutralization of a particular detachment, as the result of which the greater combination of the enemy would fall to pieces. "after they have beaten our fleet soundly, they will do us no more harm this summer."[124] consequently, he relies much upon the confusion introduced into the enemy's movements by an attack, which, though of much inferior force, should be sudden in character, developing only at the last moment, into which the enemy should be precipitated unawares, while the british should encounter it, or rather should enter it, with minds fully prepared,--not only for the immediate manoeuvre, but for all probable consequences. in accordance with the same general object--confusion--he directs his assault upon the van, instead of, as at trafalgar, upon the rear; according to his saying in the baltic, recorded by stewart,[125] "close with a frenchman, but out-manoeuvre a russian," for which purpose he would throw his own force, preferably, upon the van of the latter. the reason is obvious, upon reflection; for in attacking and cutting off the head--van and centre--of a column of ships, the rear, coming up under full way, has _immediate_ action forced upon it. there is no time for deliberation. the van is already engaged, and access to it more or less impeded, by the hostile dispositions. the decision must be instant--to the right hand, or to the left, to windward, or to leeward--and there is at least an even chance that the wrong thing will be done, as well as a probability, falling little short of certainty, that all the ships of the rear will _not_ do the same thing; that is, they will be thrown into confusion with all its dire train of evils, doubt, hesitancy, faltering, and inconsequent action. it is hard work to knit again a shattered line under the unremittent assault of hardened veterans, such as nelson's mediterranean ships. the method employed in the second of these instructions, the celebrated memorandum, differs essentially from that of the plan of attack, though both are simply developments of the one idea of concentration. it is unfortunate for us that nelson, like most men of action, reveals his reasoning processes, not in ordered discussion, but by stray gleams of expression, too often unrecorded, from which we can infer only the general tenor of his thought. it is in the chance phrase, transmitted by stewart, coupled with the change of object, so definitely announced in the second instance,--the crushing, namely, of the enemy's great fleet, and not the mere crippling of a detachment such as went to the west indies,--that the author thinks to find the clew to the difference of dispositions, in the first case, from those prescribed and followed for trafalgar--the "nelson touch" that thrilled the captains. there is again, indeed, in the latter, the distinct reliance upon confusion, for the line of the foe is to be broken in two places; but now the confusion introduced is in the part of the enemy that is assailed, not, as before, in that which is left out of action. confusion, in short, is now imposed by external force, rather than induced by internal perplexity,--a condition surer, and therefore more liable to result in a crushing victory, for it depends upon the vigor of the offensive, and not on the weakness of the defensive, which may prove a deceitful reliance. moreover, effectual crushing requires time, even when, as in the final memorandum, a great concentration of superiority is intended on part of an enemy's order. now, when the van and centre are attacked, the rear is pointed fair, and, if it does not lose its head, comes quickly up to the rescue; but when, in the contrary case, the centre and rear receive the assault, the van, being left out of action, not only has to turn round, but naturally stands away, for an interval dependent upon the initiative of its immediate commander, as occurred to an extreme degree at trafalgar. thus time, the invaluable five minutes or half hour, is gained for the offensive to bring its first concentration to a successful issue, as well as to prepare to repel the van of the defensive, if it countermarches, as it should. "i look with confidence to a victory before the van of the enemy could succour their rear, and then that the british fleet would most of them be ready to receive their twenty sail of the line, or to pursue them, should they endeavour to make off." the organization of a distinct body of eight fast-sailing ships-of-the-line, to be carried to such part of the field as might appear necessary to the commander-in-chief in a particular emergency, resulted inevitably, perhaps, from the considerations presented by nelson in the opening sentences of the memorandum, and from the great number of ships he then hoped to have. there were precedents for such a formation, in the practice of the day; but, as far as recalled by the author, they were the advanced guards, the skirmish line, of the fleet, not, as in this case, essentially a reserve. in nelson's present thought, the employment of this force would be, not antecedent to, but consequent upon, the particular indications of the day. probably they would not be held back as long--for as distinct indications--as in the case of an army's reserve; but nevertheless, the chief object of their separate organization was to redress, at the moment, the unforeseen developments of a battle, whether at the instant of engagement or during its subsequent progress. the unfortunate villeneuve, who commanded the allies, an accomplished though irresolute seaman, had adopted a similar arrangement, placing twelve detached ships under his colleague gravina; but, with sailing vessels, the effective use of such a force depended largely upon the windward position, which the allies did not have. if placed to leeward of a lee line, it was in the power of the assailant to throw them out of action altogether; if to windward, to attack them separately; therefore at trafalgar villeneuve ordered them back into the line. nelson likewise then embodied his reserve in the two columns of attack, because he had fewer vessels than he expected, and because the light wind forbade the wasting of time in evolutionary refinements. the incident of the simultaneous adoption of the same provision by the two opposing admirals, however, is interesting as indicative of the progress of naval thought, though still hampered by the uncertainties of the motive power. the second of these orders, that of october 9, is memorable, not only for the sagacity and comprehensiveness of its general dispositions, but even more for the magnanimous confidence with which the details of execution were freely intrusted to those upon whom they had to fall. it was evidently drawn up in the first instance for collingwood only; the word "your" in the original draught having been struck out, and "second in command" substituted. the comparison already made between it and its predecessor of may, may not uninstructively be followed by a study of the difference in details between itself and the execution it actually received at the battle of trafalgar. to aid this purpose the author has traced, in marginal notes, the succession of the leading ideas. after a statement of general considerations, and a frank attribution of full powers to the second in command for carrying out his part, nelson lays down the manner of attack from to leeward. this condition not obtaining at trafalgar, the plan cannot be contrasted with the performance of that day. upon this follows a luminous enunciation of the general idea, namely, collingwood's engaging the twelve rear ships, which underlies the method prescribed for each attack--from to leeward and to windward. of the latter nelson fortunately gives an outline diagram, which illustrates the picture before his own mind, facilitating our comprehension of his probable expectations, and allowing a comparison between them and the event as it actually occurred. it is not to the discredit, but greatly to the credit, of his conception, that it was susceptible of large modification in practice while retaining its characteristic idea. looking at his diagram,[126] and following his words, it will be seen that the british lines are not formed perpendicularly to that of the enemy (as they were at trafalgar), but parallel to it. starting from this disposition, near the enemy and abreast his centre, the lee line of sixteen ships was to bear up _together_, and advance in line, not in column (as happened at trafalgar); their object being the twelve rear ships of the enemy. this first move stands by itself; the action of the weather line, and of the reserve squadron still farther to windward, are held in suspense under the eye of the commander-in-chief, to take the direction which the latter shall prescribe as the struggle develops. the mere menace of such a force, just out of gunshot to windward, would be sufficient to prevent any extensive manoeuvre of the unengaged enemies. nelson doubtless had in mind the dispositions, more than a century old, of tourville and de ruyter, by which a few ships, spaced to windward of an enemy's van, could check its tacking, because of the raking fire to which they would subject it. unquestionably, he would not have kept long in idle expectancy twenty-four ships, the number he had in mind; but clearly also he proposed to hold them until he saw how things went with collingwood. thus much time would allow, granting the position he assumed and a reasonable breeze. his twenty-four to windward held an absolute check over the supposed thirty-four unengaged, of the enemy. the attack as planned, therefore, differed from that executed (1) in that the lee line was not to advance in column, but in line, thereby dispersing the enemy's fire, and avoiding the terrific concentration which crushed the leaders at trafalgar; and (2) in that the weather squadrons were not to attack simultaneously with the lee, but after it had engaged, in order to permit the remedying of any mishap that might arise in delivering the crucial blow. in both these matters of detail the plan was better than the modification; but the latter was forced upon nelson by conditions beyond his control. it will be observed that, when considering attacking from to leeward, he orders a simultaneous movement of the three british divisions,--lee, weather, and reserve; for the obvious reason that if he held his own divisions in reserve to leeward he could not at all count upon bringing them into action at will; and, moreover, such an attack would probably have to be in columns, and, if simultaneous, would be less liable to disaster than in succession, mutual support diverting the enemies' fire. in fact, the highest order of offensive combination was only possible when having the advantage of the wind--fair, and enough of it. the plan upon which trafalgar was to be fought, as above described and analyzed, was formed some time before leaving england, and it is not unreasonable to suppose that it was in fact a modification of the earlier idea, laid down during the chase to the west indies. on the 10th of september, three days only before quitting merton, nelson called upon his old friend, lord sidmouth,[127] who until recently had been prime minister. in the course of the interview he explained his intentions as regards the attack. "rodney," he said, "broke the enemy's line in one place,[128] i will break it in two;" and with his finger he indicated upon a table the general character of the assault, to be made in two lines, led by himself and collingwood. he felt confident, according to sidmouth's narration, that he should capture either their van and centre or their centre and rear. it was of course out of his power to prevent the enemy inverting their order, by the simultaneous turning round of every ship, at the time of engagement, so that the attack intended for the rear should fall upon it become the van. against this contingency he provided by the words, "should the enemy wear together, still the twelve ships composing, _in the first position_, the enemy's rear, are to be the object of attack of the lee line." sidmouth did not commit his recollection of this incident to writing until many years later, and, not being a seaman, very likely failed to comprehend some of the details--there seems to the author to be in the story a confusion of what nelson planned with what nelson did; but a great conception is largely independent of details, and the essential features of trafalgar are in sidmouth's account. the idea was doubtless imparted also to the family circle at merton, where probably the expression, "nelson touch," originated. it occurs chiefly, if not wholly, in his letters to lady hamilton, to whom, some days before reaching the fleet, he wrote, "i am anxious to join, for it would add to my grief if any other man was to give them the nelson touch, which we say is warranted never to fail;" but there may be a quaint allusion to it in the motto he told rose he had adopted: "touch and take." when nelson left england, he was intrusted by the first lord with the delicate and unpleasant mission of communicating to sir robert calder the dissatisfaction of the government with his conduct, in the encounter with the allied fleets the previous july; especially for failing to keep touch with them and bring them again to action. the national outcry was too strong to be disregarded, nor is it probable that the admiralty took a more lenient view of the matter. at all events, an inquiry was inevitable, and the authorities seem to have felt that it was a favor to calder to permit him to ask for the court which in any case must be ordered. "i did not fail," wrote nelson to barham, "immediately on my arrival, to deliver your message to sir robert calder; and it will give your lordship pleasure to find, as it has me, that an inquiry is what the vice-admiral wishes, and that he had written to you by the nautilus, which i detained, to say so. sir robert thinks that he can clearly prove, that it was not in his power to bring the combined squadrons again to battle." nelson felt a profound sympathy for the unfortunate officer, pursued by the undiscriminating and ignorant fury of popular clamor, the extent and intensity of which he had had opportunity to realize when in england. while he probably did not look for so tragic an issue, the execution of byng under a similar odium and a similar charge, although expressly cleared of cowardice and disaffection, was still fresh in the naval mind. "sir robert has an ordeal to pass through," he wrote collingwood, "which he little expects." his own opinion upon the case seems to have undergone some modification, since the generous outburst with which he at first deprecated the prejudgment of a disappointed and frightened people; nor could it well fail, as details became known to him, that he should pass a silent censure upon proceedings, which contravened alike his inward professional convictions, and his expressed purposes of action for a similar contingency. "i have had, as you will believe, a very distressing scene with poor sir robert calder," he told lady hamilton. "he has wrote home to beg an inquiry, feeling confident that he can fully justify himself. i sincerely hope he may, but--i have given him the advice as to my dearest friend. he is in adversity, and if he ever has been my enemy, he now feels the pang of it, and finds me one of his best friends." "sir robert calder," he wrote to another correspondent, "has just left us to stand his trial, which i think of a very serious nature." nelson was obliged to detain him until reinforcements arrived from england, because calder was unwilling to undergo the apparent humiliation of leaving his flagship under charges, and she could not yet be spared. it was not the least of this unlucky man's misfortunes that he left the fleet just a week before the battle, where his conduct would undoubtedly have redeemed whatever of errors he may have committed. one of the last remarks nelson made before the action began, was, "hardy, what would poor sir robert calder give to be with us now!" calder's reluctance to quit his flagship, and the keen sensitiveness with which he expressed his feelings, drew from nelson a concession he knew to be wrong, but which is too characteristic, both in the act itself and in his own account of it, to be omitted. "sir robert felt so much," he wrote to the first lord, "even at the idea of being removed from his own ship which he commanded, in the face of the fleet, that i much fear i shall incur the censure of the board of admiralty, without your lordship's influence with the members of it. i may be thought wrong, as an officer, to disobey the orders of the admiralty, by not insisting on sir robert calder's quitting the prince of wales for the dreadnought, and for parting with a 90-gun ship, before the force arrives which their lordships have judged necessary; but i trust that i shall be considered to have done right as a man, and to a brother officer in affliction--my heart could not stand it, and so the thing must rest. i shall submit to the wisdom of the board to censure me or not, as to them may seem best for the service; i shall bow with all due respect to their decision." from the military point of view this step was indefensible, but it is in singular keeping with nelson's kindness of heart, his generosity of temper, and with a certain recklessness of consequences,--when supported by inward conviction of right, or swayed by natural impulses,--which formed no small part of his greatness as a warrior. "numbers only can annihilate;" yet to spare the feelings of an unhappy man, whom he believed to have been his enemy, he parted with one of the best units from his numbers, although, even with her present, he was inferior to the allies. he felt keenly, however, the responsibility he assumed, not only towards the admiralty, but towards his own success and reputation. at one time he seems, with unusual vacillation, even to have returned upon his decision, and to have notified calder that the ship could not be spared; for on the 12th of october the latter wrote him: "the contents of your lordship's letter have cut me to the soul. if i am to be turned out of my ship, after all that has passed, i have only to request i may be allowed to take my captain, and such officers as i find necessary for the justification of my conduct as an officer, and that i may be permitted to go without a moment's further loss of time. my heart is broken." this appeal broke down all nelson's power of resistance. he deprived himself on the eve of battle of a first-rate ship, taking only the precaution of sending his entire correspondence with calder, public and private, to explain his course, though scarcely to justify it. the significance of this act is enhanced by the known importance which he himself attached to the presence or absence of even a third-rate ship-of-the-line. when the expedition to the baltic was on the eve of starting, a seventy-four went aground, in leaving the downs. lieutenant layman having been conspicuously instrumental in getting her off, nelson told him that he had in consequence written in his favor to the admiralty; and upon layman's remarking that what he had done scarcely deserved so much, the admiral replied, "i think differently, the loss of one line-of-battle ship might be the loss of a victory." when nelson joined the fleet, he found it stationed some fifteen to twenty miles from cadiz. he soon moved the main body to fifty miles west of the port. "it is desirable," he admitted, "to be well up in easterly winds, but i must guard against being caught with a westerly wind near cadiz, as a fleet of ships with so many three-deckers would inevitably be forced into the straits, and then cadiz would be perfectly free for the enemy to come out with a westerly wind, as they served lord keith in the late war." the memory of his weary beat out of the mediterranean the previous april, against wind and current, remained vividly in his mind; and he feared also that the willingness of the enemy to come out, which was his great object, would be much cooled by the certainty that his fleet could not be avoided, and by seeing such additions as it might receive. "i think we are near enough," he wrote colling wood, "for the weather if it is fine, the wind serves, and we are in sight, they will never move." "i rely on you," he tells blackwood, "that we can't miss getting hold of them, and i will give them such a shaking as they never yet experienced; at least i will lay down my life in the attempt." an advanced squadron of fast-sailing seventy-fours was thrown out ten or twelve miles east of the fleet, through which daily signals could be exchanged with blackwood's squadron of frigates, that cruised day and night close to the harbor's mouth. this disposition received a farther development after the 10th of october, when the combined fleets shifted from the inner harbor to the bay of cadiz, and gave other tokens of a speedy start. on the 14th of the month he made the following entry in his diary: "enemy at the harbour's mouth. placed defence and agamemnon from seven to ten leagues west of cadiz, and mars and colossus five leagues east of fleet [that is, under way between the fleet and the former group], whose station is from fifteen to twenty leagues west of cadiz; and by this chain i hope to have constant communication with the frigates off cadiz." to the captain of the "defence" he wrote that it was possible the enemy might try to drive off the frigate squadron, in order to facilitate their own evasion; in which case the inner ships-of-the-line would be at hand to resist the attempt. despite these careful dispositions, his mind was still ill at ease lest the enemy might escape undetected. he never had frigates enough to make the result as sure as it ought to be, where such vast issues were at stake. while eight at least were needed to be always with the fleet before cadiz, he had but five; and to maintain even so many it was necessary to cut short other services and essential stations. this deficiency he urged upon the government still more than he did the inadequacy of the line-of-battle force; for his fear of the enemy eluding him was greater than that of a conflict with superior numbers. as regards the latter contingency, he wrote to lord barham that, if the enemy came out, he would immediately bring them to battle; "but, although i should not doubt of spoiling any voyage they might attempt, yet i hope for the arrival of the ships from england, that as an enemy's fleet they may be annihilated." on the other hand, "the last fleet was lost to me for want of frigates." besides his own direct representations, he pressed rose to obtain an intimation to the admiralty from the prime minister, that the latter was personally solicitous that more small cruisers should be supplied. both collingwood and nelson believed the allies bound to the mediterranean; but in this they might be mistaken, and as the real object might be again the west indies, lookouts should be placed off cape blanco on the coast of africa, and off the salvages,[129] both which he knew had been sighted by villeneuve, in the outward voyage of the previous spring. to his concern about the immediate situation before cadiz were added the universal cares of the mediterranean, with all parts of which he renewed his correspondence, occupying his active mind with provisions for forwarding the cause of great britain and her allies. under his many anxieties, however, he preserved his buoyant, resolute temper, not worrying over possible happenings against which he was unable to provide. "the force is at present not so large as might be wished," he writes to ball, "but i will do my best with it; they will give me more when they can, and i am not come forth to find difficulties, but to remove them." "your lordship may depend upon my exertions," he tells barham. the possibility that he himself might fall was, as always, present to his thoughts, and never did life mean more to him than it now did; yet, as the twilight deepened, and the realization of danger passed gradually into a presentiment of death, he faced the prospect without gloom--steadfast still in mind. "let the battle be when it may, it will never have been surpassed. my shattered frame, if i survive that day, will require rest, and that is all i shall ask for. if i fall on such a glorious occasion, it shall be my pride to take care that my friends shall not blush for me. these things are in the hands of a wise and just providence, and his will be done! i have got some trifle, thank god, to leave those i hold most dear, and i have taken care not to neglect it. do not think i am low-spirited on this account, or fancy anything is to happen to me; quite the contrary--my mind is calm, and i have only to think of destroying our inveterate foe." of these days of preoccupation, while in hourly expectation of the issue, overcharged with official anxieties, and facing, however fearlessly, a growing impression that he himself would not survive the conflict for which he longed, an anecdote has been transmitted that shows again how to the end, and whatever his personal cares, his quick sympathy went out to men of all classes. word had been passed through the fleet that a mail was about to start for england, which would not improbably be the last opportunity of writing home before the enemy came forth. the letters had been collected as usual, the bags were all on board the departing vessel, and she herself, under full sail, had got already some distance away, when nelson saw a midshipman come up and speak to lieutenant pasco, the signal officer, who, upon hearing what was said, stamped his foot in evident vexation, and uttered an exclamation. the admiral, of whose nearness pasco was not aware, called him, and asked what was the matter. "nothing that need trouble your lordship," was the reply. "you are not the man to lose your temper for nothing," rejoined nelson. "what was it?" "well, if you must know, my lord, i will tell you. you see that cockswain," pointing to one of the most active of the petty officers; "we have not a better man on board the victory and the message which put me out was this. i was told that he was so busy receiving and getting off the mail-bags, that he forgot to drop his own letter to his wife into one of them, and he has just discovered it in his pocket." "hoist a signal to bring her back," was nelson's instant command; "who knows that he may not fall in action to-morrow. his letter shall go with the rest,"--and the despatch vessel was brought back for that alone.[130] in telling the story, pasco used to say it was no wonder that the common sailors idolized nelson, since he was always thinking about them, and won their hearts by showing his own. in addition to the combined fleets in cadiz, which numbered thirty-six of the line, besides frigates, the enemy had a half-dozen of the line in cartagena, which showed signs of moving, and whose junction must be prevented, if possible. partly for this reason, partly because it was necessary to renew the water of the ships, nelson sent a detachment of six of the line to gibraltar and tetuan, immediately after he took charge. to the junior admiral who commanded it, and who lamented that they might lose their share in the expected battle, he replied: "i have no other means of keeping my fleet complete in provisions and water. the enemy _will_ come out, and we shall fight them; but there will be time for you to get back first." they did not, however, return as thus expected, a misadventure which was chiefly due to their having to guard a convoy past cartagena,--a potent illustration of the influence exerted by a powerful squadron, judiciously placed on the flank of an important trade route, or line of communication; but even had they rejoined, six others were told off to leave at once in turn. nelson did not dare to take the fleet in mass to tetuan, as he used to madalena; for he could never be sure of getting out of the straits when he wished, or when the enemy moved. thus his fleet was reduced, by both administrative and strategic exigencies, to twenty-three ships-of-the-line. fortunately, four more joined before the battle, raising the numbers actually engaged to twenty-seven. it will be recognized that calder's ninety-gun ship was no small loss. such were the general dispositions in which the sailing of the enemy was awaited. a main body of eighteen to twenty, fifty miles west of cadiz, a frigate squadron close in to the harbor, and two groups of ships-of-the-line extended between these extremes. with a westerly wind, approach to the port would be easy for all; with an easterly, nelson wrote to blackwood, he would habitually beat up for cadiz, never going north of the port. his whereabouts in case of thick weather was thus always known. he notified collingwood and his other subordinates, that if the enemy came out, he should stand for cape spartel, the african outpost of the straits, to bar the entrance of the allies to the mediterranean. signals were arranged, precise, yet not so elaborate as to tend to confusion, by which the departure and general direction of the enemy could be continually transmitted, from the furthest lookouts to the main body, by night as by day. on the 13th of october his old ship, the "agamemnon," joined the fleet. she was commanded by sir edward berry, who had been first lieutenant in her with nelson, had accompanied him in boarding the "san nicolas" and "san josef" at st. vincent, and was afterwards his flag-captain at the nile. when her approach was reported to the admiral, he exclaimed gleefully, "here comes berry! now we shall have a battle;" for berry, having been in more fleet actions than any captain in the british navy,[131] had a proverbial reputation for such luck. the event did not belie the prediction. five days later, on the 18th of the month, nelson noted in his diary: "fine weather, wind easterly; the combined fleets cannot have finer weather to put to sea;" and the following morning, at half-past nine, the signal, repeated from masthead to masthead, from the inshore frigates to their commander-in-chief fifty miles at sea, announced that the long-expected battle was at hand--for "the enemy are coming out of port." footnotes: [121] may, 1805. [122] the author does not here understand the speaking of "two or three" rear ships, when the van is supposed to be five or six--making a total of not over nine or ten enemies. if this order of attack was issued, as expressly stated by clarke and m'arthur, on the chase to the west indies, nelson then was fully aware that he with ten ships was in pursuit of eighteen. (see _ante_, p. 296) it appears to the author more probable that it was issued to the fleet when off toulon, in anticipation of a possible meeting with the french squadron there, when the disparity of force was less--say, eight to ten. this impression is confirmed by the "plan of attack" speaking of the junior "admirals"--in the plural. there was but one such in the pursuit to the west indies. it is quite possible, however, that the same order was re-issued upon the later occasion, re-copied without change of words. in any event, it confirms other statements and actions of nelson's, that an enemy should not be fought ship to ship, but by a concentration on part of his order. [123] inserted by author. [124] _ante_, pp. 306, 323. [125] _ante_, p. 82. [126] the author has introduced an arrow to show the direction of the wind as viewed by nelson; the arrow flying _with_ the wind. [127] formerly mr. addington, who was at the head of the government during the copenhagen expedition. [128] this was a mistake on nelson's part. rodney's fleet actually, though accidentally, broke through de grasse's order in two (if not three) places. [129] a desert group of small islands between madeira and the canaries. [130] the author is indebted for this reminiscence to mr. stuart j. reid, who received it from pasco's son, also an officer in the navy. [131] besides three of the battles associated with nelson's name--st. vincent, the nile, and trafalgar--berry as a midshipman had been in the five fleet actions between suffren and hughes, in the east indies, in 1782 and 1783. ("the nelson memorial," by john knox laughton, pp. 83, 284.) chapter xxiii. trafalgar.--the death of nelson. october 19-21, 1805. age, 47. contrary to the general policy that for many years had governed the naval undertakings of france and spain, the combined fleets put to sea on the 19th of october, 1805, with the fixed purpose of daring the hazard of battle, which they could scarcely expect to avoid. they numbered thirty-three ships-of-the-line, eighteen french and fifteen spanish, and were accompanied by five frigates and two brigs, all of which were french. this great force in its aggregate was one. there were not two separate entities, a french fleet and a spanish fleet, acting in concert, as is often the case in alliances. whatever the administrative arrangements, for cruising and for battle the vessels of the two nations were blended in a single mass, at the head of which was the french admiral, just as the general direction of the naval campaign was in the hands of the french emperor alone. the commander-in-chief was vice-admiral villeneuve, the same that nelson recently had pursued to the west indies and back to europe. the commander of the spanish contingent, vice-admiral gravina, was less his colleague than his subordinate. there were also flying in the combined fleet the flags of four junior admirals, two french and two spanish, and the broad pendants of several commodores. in the allied force there were four three-decked ships, of from one hundred to one hundred and thirty guns, all spanish, of which one, the "santísima trinidad," was the largest vessel then afloat. among nelson's twenty-seven there were seven three-deckers, of ninety-eight to one hundred guns; but in the lower rates the british were at a disadvantage, having but one eighty-gun ship and three sixty-fours, whereas the allies had six of the former and only one of the latter. all the other vessels of the line-of-battle were seventy-fours, the normal medium type, upon which the experience of most navies of that day had fixed, as best fitted for the general purposes of fleet warfare. where more tonnage and heavier batteries were put into single ships, it was simply for the purpose of reinforcing the critical points of an order of battle; an aim that could not be as effectively attained by the combination of two ships, under two captains. as nelson said in his celebrated order, so large a body as thirty-three heavy vessels is not easily handled, even at sea; and leaving port with them is an operation yet more difficult. consequently, the movement which began soon after daylight on the 19th was not completed that day. owing to the falling of the wind, only twelve ships got fairly clear of the bay, outside of which they lay becalmed. the following morning the attempt was resumed, and by two or three o'clock in the afternoon of the 20th the whole combined fleet was united, and standing with a fresh southwest wind to the northward and westward, to gain room to windward for entering the straits. as has been said, the movement that blackwood recognized at 7 a.m. of the 19th was communicated to the admiral at half-past nine. according to his announced plan, to cut the enemy off from the mediterranean, he at once made signal for a general chase to the southeast,--towards cape spartel,--and the fleet moved off in that direction with a light southerly wind. at noon nelson sat down in his cabin to begin his last letter to lady hamilton. the words then written he signed, as though conscious that no opportunity to continue might offer; nor is it difficult to trace that some such thought was then uppermost in his mind, and sought expression in the tenderness of farewell. the following day, however, he added a few lines, in which the dominant note was fear that the enemy might again elude him, by returning into port; an apprehension that expelled the previous haunting sense of finality. there he laid down the pen, never again to address her directly. the letter, thus abruptly closed by death, was found open and unsigned upon his desk after the battle. victory, october 19th, 1805, noon. cadiz, e.s.e., 16 leagues. my dearest beloved emma, the dear friend of my bosom. the signal has been made that the enemy's combined fleet are coming out of port. we have very little wind, so that i have no hopes of seeing them before to-morrow. may the god of battles crown my endeavours with success; at all events, i will take care that my name shall ever be most dear to you and horatia, both of whom i love as much as my own life. and as my last writing before the battle will be to you, so i hope in god that i shall live to finish my letter after the battle. may heaven bless you prays your nelson and bronte. october 20th. in the morning, we were close to the mouth of the straits, but the wind had not come far enough to the westward to allow the combined fleets to weather the shoals off trafalgar; but they were counted as far as forty sail of ships of war, which i suppose to be thirty-four of the line, and six frigates. a group of them was seen off the lighthouse of cadiz this morning, but it blows so very fresh and thick weather, that i rather believe they will go into the harbour before night. may god almighty give us success over these fellows, and enable us to get a peace. he wrote the same day to his daughter, addressing the letter to miss horatia nelson thompson,[132] by which name she had hitherto been known. in the codicil to his will, signed on the morning of the 21st, a few hours before the battle, he called her his adopted daughter, and desired that she would in future use the name of nelson only. victory, october 19th, 1805. my dearest angel,--i was made happy by the pleasure of receiving your letter of september 19th, and i rejoice to hear that you are so very good a girl, and love my dear lady hamilton, who most dearly loves you. give her a kiss for me. the combined fleets of the enemy are now reported to be coming out of cadiz; and therefore i answer your letter, my dearest horatia, to mark to you that you are ever uppermost in my thoughts. i shall be sure of your prayers for my safety, conquest, and speedy return to dear merton, and our dearest good lady hamilton. be a good girl, mind what miss connor says to you. receive, my dearest horatia, the affectionate parental blessing of your father, nelson and bronte. the 20th of october opened with fresh breezes from south-southwest and heavy rains. at daybreak the british fleet was near the straits' mouth, between capes trafalgar and spartel, unable to see anything, but certain that, with the existing winds, the enemy could not have anticipated it there. blackwood's frigates, out of sight to the northward, were dogging the path of the allies, of whose general position they were certain, although the thick weather hid them from observation. at 7 a.m. the frigate "phoebe" signalled to nelson that the enemy bore north. with the wind as it was, and considering the position of the land, they must be standing to the northwest, so that the british fleet wore and steered the same course, keeping parallel to the enemy and spreading lookouts in their direction. soon after noon, the weather clearing, blackwood saw the combined fleets where he believed them to be, under low sail, and so close that the "euryalus" went about immediately. at 1 p.m. he left the squadron in temporary charge of a junior captain, and with his own ship kept away south to speak the admiral. at two he sighted the main body, and at 3.20 was near enough to send the telegraphic message, "the enemy appears determined to push to the westward." "that," wrote nelson in his diary, "they shall _not_ do, if in the power of nelson and bronté to prevent them," and he telegraphed back, "i rely upon your keeping sight of the enemy." the frigates and lookout ships, he noted in his journal, had so far discharged their duties most admirably, informing him promptly of all the hostile movements; he was justified therefore in the confidence that they would do as well in the night now approaching. while blackwood was communicating, nelson himself was much of the time on the "victory's" poop. seeing there a number of midshipmen assembled, he observed to them, "this day or to-morrow will be a fortunate one for you, young gentlemen," alluding to their prospect of promotion after a successful battle. the same day at dinner, he said to some of the company, "to-morrow i will do that which will give you younger gentlemen something to talk and think about for the rest of your lives, but i shall not live to know about it myself;" and he added that he expected to capture twenty to twenty-two of the hostile fleet.[133] it may be inferred from this remark that by the dinner hour, between three and five, he had become satisfied that the enemy either would not, or could not, return into port, according to the fear he had expressed to lady hamilton, and that a battle therefore was certain. the letter to her, from its mention of the weather as thick, must have been written in the forenoon. his expectation that the morrow would prove the decisive day was reinforced by one of those prepossessions for coincidences, half jesting, half serious, which are natural to men, but fall too far short of conviction to be called superstitious. on the 21st of october, 1757, his uncle maurice suckling had commanded one of three ships-of-the-line which had beaten off a superior force. nelson had several times said to captain hardy and dr. scott, "the 21st will be our day;" and on the morning of the battle, when the prediction was approaching fulfilment, he again remarked that the 21st of october was the happiest day in the year for his family; but he mentioned no reason other than that just given. the main bodies of the contending navies did not come in sight of each other during the 20th; the british lookout frigates, between the two, and three or four miles from the allied line, could see their own fleet only from the masthead. at about 2 p.m., soon after the weather cleared, the wind shifted to west-northwest, taking the ships aback. after filling their sails again to the new wind, as this was now fair for their approach to the straits' mouth, the combined fleets wore, and headed to the southward. the british remaining on the same tack as before,--the port,--stood to the northward until 8 p.m., when they also wore to the southwest; but this interval of steering in nearly opposite directions changed the relative bearings. at midnight, by the log of blackwood's frigates, the enemy stretched along the eastern horizon, while the british bore southwest; the space between the two being ten miles. the "euryalus," three miles from the allies, saw the loom of the lights of her own fleet. still fearful lest the view of his ships should shake the enemy's purpose, nelson was careful not to lessen this distance; the more so because the british, having the wind, could attack when they pleased, provided the enemy by continuing to the southward deprived themselves of the power to regain cadiz. two british frigates were directed to keep them in sight during the night, reporting their movements to two others who were stationed a little farther from them, whence a chain of line-of-battle ships communicated with the "victory." thus, throughout the dark hours, signal lights and guns flashed across the waters to nelson instantaneous information of every noteworthy occurrence in the hostile order. since the morning of the 19th, the weather, fine for some days previous, had become unsettled, working up for the southwest gale which wrought so much damage among the victims of the fight. as the night of the 20th advanced, the wind fell, and at midnight there were only light westerly breezes, inclining to calm. the same conditions continued at dawn, and throughout the day of the 21st until after the battle; but there was also a great swell from the westward, the precursor of a storm. at 4 a.m. the british fleet again wore, and was standing northeast when the day broke. after leaving cadiz, in order to avoid separations during the night, or in thick weather, the combined fleets had been disposed in five columns, a formation whose compactness, though not suited to an engagement, was less liable to straggling than a single long line, and brought all parts more directly under the control of the commander-in-chief at the centre. of the five, the two to windward, of six ships each, constituted a reserve, similar to nelson's proposed detachment of eight. it was commanded by admiral gravina, and was intended to reinforce such part of the battle as should appear to require it; an object for which the windward position was of the utmost moment, as it was for all naval initiative in that day. this advantage the allies did not have on the morning of trafalgar. when villeneuve, therefore, formed the line of battle, these twelve ships were at once incorporated with it, taking the lead of their order as it stood to the southward, with the wind at west-northwest,--a long column stretching over five miles of sea from end to end. in a general sense, then, it may be said that, when daylight showed the enemies to each other, the british fleet was heading to the northward, and that of the allies to the southward; the latter being ten or twelve miles east of their opponents. in the far distance, cape trafalgar, from which the battle takes its name, was just visible against the eastern sky. at twenty minutes before seven nelson made in quick succession the signals, "to form the order of sailing,"--which by his previous instructions was to be the order of battle,--and "to prepare for battle." ten minutes later followed the command to "bear up," the "victory" setting the example by at once altering her course for the enemy. collingwood did the same, and the ships of the two divisions fell into the wake of their leaders as best they could, for the light wind afforded neither the means nor the time for refinements in manoeuvring. fourteen ships followed the "royal sovereign," which bore collingwood's flag, while the remaining twelve gathered in nelson's division behind the "victory."[134] the two columns steered east, about a mile apart, that of nelson being to the northward; from which circumstance, the wind being west-northwest, it has been called commonly the weather line. thus, as ivanhoe, at the instant of encounter in the lists, shifted his lance from the shield to the casque of the templar, nelson, at the moment of engaging, changed the details of his plan, and substituted an attack in two columns, simultaneously made, for the charge of collingwood's division, in line and in superior numbers, upon the enemy's flank; to be followed, more or less quickly, according to indications, by such movement of his own division as might seem advisable. it will be observed, however, that the order of sailing remained the order of battle,--probably, although it is not so stated, the fleet was already thus disposed when the signal was made, needing only rectification after the derangements incident to darkness,--and further, that the general direction of attack continued the same, collingwood guiding his column upon the enemy's southern flank, while nelson pointed a few ships north of their centre. in this way was preserved the comprehensive aim which underlay the particular dispositions of his famous order: "the whole impression of the british fleet must be to overpower from two or three ships ahead of their commander-in-chief, supposed to be in the centre, to the rear of their fleet." the northern flank of the allies--ten or a dozen ships--was consequently left unengaged, unless by their own initiative they came promptly into action; which, it may be added, they did not do until after the battle was decided. when the development of the british movement was recognized by villeneuve, he saw that fighting was inevitable; and, wishing to keep cadiz, then twenty miles to the northward and eastward, under his lee, he ordered the combined fleets to wear together.[135] the scanty wind which embarrassed the british impeded this manoeuvre also, so that it was not completed till near ten o'clock. nelson, however, noted its beginning at seven, and with grave concern; for not only would it put the allies nearer their port, as it was intended to do, but it would cause vessels crippled in the action to find to leeward of them, during the gale which he foresaw, the dangerous shoals off trafalgar instead of the open refuge of the straits. the appreciation of the peril thus entailed led him to make a signal for all the ships to be prepared to anchor after the battle, for it was not to be hoped that the spars of many of them would be in a condition to bear sail. the result of the allied movement was to invert their order. their ships, which had been steering south, now all headed north; the van became the rear; gravina, who had been leading the column, was in the rear ship; and it was upon this rear, but still the southern flank of the hostile array, that the weight of collingwood's attack was to fall. soon after daylight nelson, who, according to his custom, was already up and dressed, had gone on deck. he wore as usual his admiral's frock coat, on the left breast of which were stitched the stars of four different orders that he always bore. it was noticed that he did not wear his sword at trafalgar, although it lay ready for him on the cabin table; and it is supposed he forgot to call for it, as this was the only instance in which he was known not to carry it when engaged. at about six o'clock he summoned captain blackwood on board the "victory." this officer had had a hard fag during the past forty-eight hours, dogging the enemy's movements through darkness and mist; but that task was over, and his ambition now was to get command of one of two seventy-fours, whose captains had gone home with calder to give evidence at his trial. "my signal just made on board the victory," he wrote to his wife. "i hope to order me to a vacant line-of-battle ship." nelson's purpose, however, as far as stated by blackwood, was simply to thank him for the successful efforts of the past two days, and to have him by his side till the flagship came under fire, in order to receive final and precise instructions, as the situation developed, for the conduct of the frigates during and after the battle. to blackwood's congratulations upon the approach of the moment that he had, to use his own word, panted for, he replied: "i mean to-day to bleed the captains of the frigates, as i shall keep you on board to the very last moment." blackwood found him in good but very calm spirits, preoccupied with the movements of the allies, and the probable results of his own plan of attack. he frequently asked, "what would you consider a victory?" blackwood answered: "considering the handsome way in which the battle is offered by the enemy, their apparent determination for a fair trial of strength, and the proximity of the land, i think if fourteen ships are captured, it will be a glorious result." nelson's constant reply was that he would not be satisfied with anything short of twenty. he admitted, however, that the nearness of the land might make it difficult to preserve the prizes, and he was emphatic in directing that, if the shattered enemies had any chance of returning to cadiz, the frigates were to be actively employed in destroying them, and were not to be diverted from that single aim in order to save either ships or men. annihilation, he repeated, was his aim, and nothing short of it; and he must have regretted the absence of the six of the line in the mediterranean, imperative as that had been. word had been sent for them to gibraltar by blackwood the moment the enemy moved, but they were still away with the convoy. blackwood, being a great personal friend of the admiral, took the liberty, after exchanging greetings, of submitting to him the expediency of shifting his flag to the "euryalus," and conducting the battle from her. nelson made no reply, but immediately ordered more sail to be made upon the "victory." finding himself foiled in this, blackwood then made a direct request for the command of one of the two vacant seventy-fours. this would give him a chance to share in the fight, which in a frigate he probably would not have, but it would also displace the first lieutenant of the ship from the position to which he had succeeded temporarily. nelson replied instantly, "no, blackwood, it is those men's birthright, and they shall have it."[136] the incident shows vividly the lively sympathy and sense of justice which ever distinguished nelson; for it must have pained him to deny a request so consonant to his own temper, coming from one whom he had long known and valued, both as a friend and as an officer, and of whose recent service such orders would have been a graceful and appropriate acknowledgment. it may be desirable to explain to unprofessional readers what was the claim of the lieutenants which nelson refused to ignore. the efficiency of the ships for the coming day's work was due to them scarcely less than to the absent captains, and if they survived the battle, having been in command through it, they would reap not only the honor but also their confirmation in the rank of post-captain, through having exercised it in actual battle. this succession the admiral aptly called their birthright. nelson availed himself of blackwood's presence to have him, together with hardy, witness his signature to a paper, in which he bequeathed lady hamilton and the child horatia to the care of the nation, and which consequently has been styled a codicil to his will. unless blackwood's memory a few years later was at fault, in stating that his signal was made at six o'clock,[137] it is likely enough that this early summons was for the special purpose of giving formal completeness, by the attestation of two of his closest friends, to a private duty which was the last to engage nelson's attention and affections; for, in addition to the date, the place and hour of his writing are fixed by the words, "in sight of the combined fleets of france and spain, distant about ten miles." this was the common estimate of the relative positions, made by the british fleet at large at daybreak, and coincides fairly well with the inferences to be drawn, from the slow rate of speed at which the wind permitted the british to advance, and from the hour the conflict began. nor was there time, nor convenient room, for further delay. a freshening breeze might readily have brought the fleet into action in a couple of hours, and it is the custom in preparing for battle--the signal for which was made at 6.40--to remove most of the conveniences, and arrangements for privacy, from the living spaces of the officers; partly to provide against their destruction, chiefly to clear away all impediments to fighting the guns, and to moving about the ship. in the case of the admiral, of course, much might be postponed to the last moment, but in fact his cabin was cleared of fixtures immediately after he went on the poop in the early morning; for it is distinctly mentioned that while there he gave particular directions in the matter, and enjoined great care in handling the portrait of lady hamilton, saying, "take care of my guardian angel." it seems, therefore, probable that this so-called codicil was written in the quiet minutes of the morning, while the fleet was forming its order of sailing and bearing up for the enemy, but before the admiral's cabin was cleared for battle. in it nelson first recounted, briefly but specifically, "the eminent services of emma hamilton" to the state, on two occasions, as believed by himself to have been rendered. into the actuality of these services it is not necessary here to inquire;[138] it is sufficient to say that nelson's knowledge of them could not have been at first hand, and that the credence he unquestionably gave to them must have depended upon the evidence of others,--probably of lady hamilton herself, in whom he felt, and always expressed, the most unbounded confidence. "could i have rewarded these services," the paper concludes, "i would not now call upon my country; but as that has not been in my power, i leave emma lady hamilton, therefore, a legacy to my king and country, that they will give her an ample provision to maintain her rank in life. i also leave to the beneficence of my country my adopted daughter, horatia nelson thompson; and i desire she will use in future the name of nelson only. these are the only favours i ask of my king and country at this moment when i am going to fight their battle. may god bless my king and country, and all those who i hold dear. my relations it is needless to mention: they will of course be amply provided for." at seven o'clock nelson had returned from the poop to the cabin, for at that hour was made in his private journal the last entry of occurrences,--"at seven the combined fleets wearing in succession." here it seems likely that he laid down the pen, for, when he was found writing again, some hours later, it was to complete the long record of experiences and of duties, with words that summed up, in fit and most touching expression, the self-devotion of a life already entering the shadow of death. between eight and nine o'clock the other frigate commanders came on board the "victory;" aides-de-camp, as it were, waiting to the last moment to receive such orders as might require more extensive wording, or precise explanation, than is supplied by the sententious phrases of the signal-book. blackwood himself, a captain of long standing and of tried ability, was in fact intrusted contingently with no small share of the power and discretion of the commander-in-chief. "he not only gave me command of all the frigates, but he also gave me a latitude, seldom or ever given, that of making any use i pleased of his name, in ordering any of the sternmost line-of-battle ships to do what struck me as best." while thus waiting, the captains accompanied the admiral in an inspection which he made of the decks and batteries of the flagship. he addressed the crew at their several quarters, cautioned them against firing a single shot without being sure of their object, and to the officers he expressed himself as highly satisfied with the arrangements made. meanwhile the two fleets were forming, as best they could with the scanty breeze, the order in which each meant to meet the shock of battle. the british could not range themselves in regular columns without loss of time that was not to be thrown away. they advanced rather in two elongated groups, all under full sail, even to studding-sails on both sides, the place of each ship being determined chiefly by her speed, or, perhaps, by some fortuitous advantage of position when the movement began. the great point was to get the heads of the columns into action as soon as possible, to break up the enemy's order. that done, those which followed could be trusted to complete the business on the general lines prescribed by nelson. collingwood's ship, the "royal sovereign," being but a few days out from home, and freshly coppered, easily took the lead in her own division. after her came the "belleisle," also a recent arrival off cadiz, but an old mediterranean cruiser which had accompanied nelson in the recent chase to the west indies. upon these two ships, as upon the heads of all columns, fell the weight of destruction from the enemy's resistance. the "victory," always a fast ship, had likewise little difficulty in keeping her place at the front. blackwood, having failed to get nelson on board his own frigate, and realizing the exposure inseparable from the position of leader, ventured, at about half-past nine, when still six miles from the enemy, to urge that one or two ships should be permitted to precede the "victory." nelson gave a conditional assent--"let them go," if they can. the "téméraire," a three-decker, being close behind, was hailed to go ahead, and endeavored to do so; but at the same moment the admiral gave an indication of how little disposed he was to yield either time or position. the lee lower studding-sail happening to be badly set, the lieutenant of the forecastle had it taken in, meaning to reset it; which nelson observing, ran forward and rated him severely for delaying the ship's progress. anything much less useful than a lee lower studding-sail is hard to imagine, but by this time the admiral was getting very restive. "about ten o'clock," says blackwood, "lord nelson's anxiety to close with the enemy became very apparent: he frequently remarked that they put a good face upon it; but always quickly added: 'i'll give them such a dressing as they never had before.'" seeing that the "téméraire" could not pass the "victory" in time to lead into the hostile order, unless the flagship gave way, blackwood, feeling perhaps that he might wear out his own privilege, told hardy he ought to say to the admiral that, unless the "victory" shortened sail, the other ships could not get into place; but hardy naturally demurred. in any event, it was not just the sort of proposition that the captain of the ship would wish to make, and it was very doubtful how nelson might take it. this the latter soon showed, however; for, as the "téméraire" painfully crawled up, and her bows doubled on the "victory's" quarter, he hailed her, and speaking as he always did with a slight nasal intonation, said: "i'll thank you, captain harvey, to keep in your proper station, which is astern of the victory." the same concern for the admiral's personal safety led the assembled officers to comment anxiously upon the conspicuous mark offered by his blaze of decorations, knowing as they did that the enemy's ships swarmed with soldiers, that among them were many sharpshooters, and that the action would be close. none, however, liked to approach him with the suggestion that he should take any precaution. at length the surgeon, whose painful duty it was a few hours later to watch over the sad fulfilment of his apprehensions, said that he would run the risk of his lordship's displeasure; but before he could find a fitting opportunity to speak, a shot flew over the "victory," and the admiral directed all not stationed on deck to go to their quarters. no remark therefore was made; but it is more likely that nelson would have resented the warning than that he would have heeded it. the french and spanish fleets, being neither a homogeneous nor a well-exercised mass, experienced even greater difficulty than the british in forming their array; and the matter was to them of more consequence, for, as the defensive has an advantage in the careful preparations he may make, so, if he fail to accomplish them, he has little to compensate for the loss of the initiative, which he has yielded his opponent. the formation at which they aimed, the customary order of battle in that day, was a long, straight, single column, presenting from end to end an unbroken succession of batteries, close to one another and clear towards the foe, so that all the ships should sweep with their guns the sea over which, nearly at right angles, the hostile columns were advancing. instead of this, embarrassed by both lack of wind and lack of skill, their manoeuvres resulted in a curved line, concave to the enemy's approach; the horns of the crescent thus formed being nearer to the latter. collingwood noted that this disposition facilitated a convergent fire upon the assailants, the heads of whose columns were bearing down on the allied centre; it does not seem to have been remarked that the two horns, or wings, being to windward of the centre, also had it more in their power to support the latter--a consideration of very great importance. neither of these advantages, however, was due to contrivance. the order of the combined fleets was the result merely of an unsuccessful effort to assume the usual line of battle. the ships distributed along the crescent lay irregularly, sometimes two and three abreast, masking each other's fire. on the other hand, even this irregularity had some compensations, for a british vessel, attempting to pass through at such a place, fell at once into a swarm of enemies. from horn to horn was about five miles. owing to the lightness of the breeze, the allies carried a good deal of sail, a departure from the usual battle practice. this was necessary in order to enable them to keep their places at all, but it also had the effect of bringing them continually, though very gradually, nearer to cadiz. seeing this, nelson signalled to collingwood, "i intend to pass through the van of the enemy's line, to prevent him from getting into cadiz," and the course of the "victory," for this purpose, was changed a little to the northward. after this, towards eleven o'clock, nelson went below to the cabin. it was his habit, when an engagement was expected, to have all the bulkheads[139] upon the fighting decks taken down, and those of his own apartments doubtless had been removed at least as soon as the enemy's sailing was signalled; but it was possible to obtain some degree of privacy by hanging screens, which could be hurried out of the way at the last moment. the "victory" did not come under fire till 12.30, so that at eleven she would yet be three miles or more distant from the enemy,[140] and screens could still remain. shortly, after he entered, the signal-lieutenant, who had been by his side all the morning, followed him, partly to make an official report, partly to prefer a personal request. he was the ranking lieutenant on board, but had not been permitted to exercise the duties of first lieutenant, because nelson some time before, to avoid constant changes in that important station, had ordered that the person then occupying it should so continue, notwithstanding the seniority of any who might afterwards join. now that battle was at hand, the oldest in rank wished to claim the position, and to gain the reward that it insured after a victory,--a request natural and not improper, but more suited for the retirement of the cabin than for the publicity of the deck. whatever the original injustice,--or rather hardship,--it is scarcely likely, remembering the refusal encountered by blackwood, that nelson would have consented now to deprive of his "birthright" the man who so far had been doing the work; but the petition was never preferred. entering the cabin, the officer paused at the threshold, for nelson was on his knees writing. the words, the last that he ever penned, were written in the private diary he habitually kept, in which were noted observations and reflections upon passing occurrences, mingled with occasional self-communings. they followed now, without break of space, or paragraph, upon the last incident recorded--"at seven the enemy wearing in succession"--and they ran thus:-"may the great god, whom i worship, grant to my country, and for the benefit of europe in general, a great and glorious victory; and may no misconduct in any one tarnish it; and may humanity after victory be the predominant feature in the british fleet. for myself, individually, i commit my life to him who made me, and may his blessing light upon my endeavours for serving my country faithfully. to him i resign myself and the just cause which is entrusted to me to defend. amen. amen. amen." the officer, lieutenant pasco, waited quietly till nelson rose from his knees, and then made his necessary report; but, although his future prospects hung upon the wish he had to express, he refrained with singular delicacy from intruding it upon the preoccupation of mind evidenced by the attitude in which he had found his commander. the latter soon afterwards followed him to the poop, where blackwood was still awaiting his final instructions. to him nelson said, "i will now amuse the fleet with a signal;" and he asked if he did not think there was one yet wanting. blackwood replied that the whole fleet seemed very clearly to understand what they were about, and were vying with each other to get as near as possible to the leaders of the columns. upon this succeeded the celebrated signal, the development of which to its final wording is a little uncertain. comparing the various accounts of witnesses, it seems probably to have been as follows. nelson mused for a little while, as one who phrases a thought in his own mind before uttering it, and then said, "suppose we telegraph 'nelson confides that every man will do his duty.'" in this form it was the call of the leader to the followers, the personal appeal of one who trusts to those in whom he trusts, a feeling particularly characteristic of the speaker, whose strong hold over others lay above all in the transparent and unswerving faith he showed in their loyal support; and to arouse it now in full force he used the watchword "duty," sure that the chord it struck in him would find its quick response in every man of the same blood. the officer to whom the remark was made, suggested "england" instead of "nelson." to the fleet it could have made no difference,--to them the two names meant the same thing; but nelson accepted the change with delight. "mr. pasco," he called to the signal officer, "i wish to say to the fleet, 'england confides that every man will do his duty;'" and he added, "you must be quick, for i have one more to make, which is for close action." this remark shows that the columns, and particularly collingwood's ship, were already nearing the enemy. pasco answered, "if your lordship will permit me to substitute 'expects' for 'confides,' it will be sooner completed, because 'expects' is in the vocabulary,[141] and 'confides' must be spelt." nelson replied hastily, but apparently satisfied, "that will do, pasco, make it directly;" but the slightly mandatory "expects" is less representative of the author of this renowned sentence than the cordial and sympathetic "confides." it is "allez," rather than "allons;" yet even so, become now the voice of the distant motherland, it carries with it the shade of reverence, as well as of affection, which patriotism exacts. it is said that collingwood, frequently testy, and at the moment preoccupied with the approaching collision with the spanish three-decker he had marked for his opponent, exclaimed impatiently when the first number went aloft, "i wish nelson would stop signalling, as we know well enough what we have to do." but the two life-long friends, who were not again to look each other in the face, soon passed to other thoughts, such as men gladly recall when death has parted them. when the whole signal was reported to him, and cheers resounded along the lines, collingwood cordially expressed his own satisfaction. a few moments later, just at noon, the french ship "fougueux," the second astern of the "santa ana," for which the "royal sovereign" was steering, fired at the latter the first gun of the battle. as by a common impulse the ships of all the nations engaged hoisted their colors, and the admirals their flags,--a courteous and chivalrous salute preceding the mortal encounter. for ten minutes the "royal sovereign" advanced in silence, the one centre of the hostile fire, upon which were fixed all eyes, as yet without danger of their own to distract. as she drew near the two ships between which she intended to pass, nelson exclaimed admiringly, "see how that noble fellow collingwood carries his ship into action." at about the same instant collingwood was saying to his flag-captain, "rotherham, what would nelson give to be here!" these things being done, nelson said to blackwood, "now i can do no more. we must trust to the great disposer of all events, and to the justice of our cause. i thank god for this great opportunity of doing my duty." when his last signal had been acknowledged by a few ships in the van, the admiral directed pasco to make that for close action, and to keep it up. this was accordingly hoisted on board the flagship, where it was flying still as she disappeared into the smoke of the battle, and so remained till shot away. the "victory" was about two miles from the "royal sovereign" when the latter, at ten minutes past twelve, broke through the allied order, and she had still a mile and a half to go before she herself could reach it. at twenty minutes past twelve villeneuve's flagship, the "bucentaure," of eighty guns, fired a shot at her, to try the range. it fell short. a few minutes later a second was fired, which dropped alongside. the distance then was a mile and a quarter. two or three followed in rapid succession and passed over the "victory." nelson then turned to blackwood, and directed him and captain prowse of the "sirius" to return to their ships, but in so doing to pass along the column and tell the captains he depended upon their exertions to get into action as quickly as possible. he then bade them again to go away. blackwood, who was standing by him at the forward end of the poop, took his hand, and said, "i trust, my lord, that on my return to the victory, which will be as soon as possible, i shall find your lordship well and in possession of twenty prizes." nelson replied, "god bless you, blackwood, i shall never speak to you again." the "victory" was all the time advancing, the feeble breeze urging her progress, which was helped also by her lurching through the heavy following swell that prevailed. before blackwood could leave her, a shot passed through the main-topgallantsail, and the rent proclaimed to the eager eyes of the foes that the ship was fairly under their guns. thereupon everything about the "bucentaure," some seven or eight ships, at least, opened upon this single enemy, as the allied rear and centre had upon the "royal sovereign;" for it was imperative to stop her way, if possible, or at least to deaden it, and so to delay as long as might be the moment when she could bring her broadside to bear effectively. during the forty minutes that followed, the "victory" was an unresisting target to her enemies, and her speed, slow enough at the first, decreased continually as the hail of shot riddled the sails, or stripped them from the yards. every studding-sail boom was shot away close to the yard arms, and this light canvas, invaluable in so faint a wind, fell helplessly into the water. during these trying moments, mr. scott, the admiral's public secretary, was struck by a round shot while talking with captain hardy, and instantly killed. those standing by sought to remove the body without drawing nelson's attention to the loss of one so closely associated with him; but the admiral had noticed the fall. "is that poor scott," he said, "who is gone?" the clerk who took the dead man's place was killed a few moments later by the wind of a ball, though his person was untouched. the "victory" continuing to forge slowly ahead, despite her injuries, and pointing evidently for the flagship of the hostile commander-in-chief, the ships round the latter, to use james's striking phrase, now "closed like a forest." the nearer the british vessel drew, the better necessarily became the enemies' aim. just as she got within about five hundred yards--quarter of a mile--from the "bucentaure's" beam, the mizzen topmast was shot away. at the same time the wheel was hit and shattered, so that the ship had to be steered from below, a matter that soon became of little importance. a couple of minutes more, eight marines were carried off by a single projectile, while standing drawn up on the poop, whereupon nelson ordered the survivors to be dispersed about the deck. presently a shot coming in through the ship's side ranged aft on the quarter-deck towards the admiral and captain hardy, between whom it passed. on its way it struck the fore-brace bitts--a heavy block of timber--carrying thence a shower of splinters, one of which bruised hardy's foot. the two officers, who were walking together, stopped, and looked inquiringly at each other. seeing that no harm was done, nelson smiled, but said, "this is too warm work, hardy, to last long." he then praised the cool resolution of the seamen around him, compelled to endure this murderous fire without present reply. he had never, he said, seen better conduct. twenty men had so far been killed and thirty wounded, with not a shot fired from their own guns. still the ship closed the "bucentaure." it had been nelson's purpose and desire to make her his special antagonist, because of villeneuve's flag; but to do so required room for the "victory" to turn under the french vessel's stern, and to come up alongside. as she drew near, hardy, scanning the hostile array, saw three ships crowded together behind and beyond the "bucentaure." he reported to nelson that he could go close under her stern, but could not round-to alongside, nor pass through the line, without running on board one of these. the admiral replied, "i cannot help it, it does not signify which we run on board of. go on board which you please: take your choice." at one o'clock the bows of the "victory" crossed the wake of the "bucentaure," by whose stern she passed within thirty feet, the projecting yard arms grazing the enemy's rigging. one after another, as they bore, the double-shotted guns tore through the woodwork of the french ship, the smoke, driven back, filling the lower decks of the "victory," while persons on the upper deck, including nelson himself, were covered with the dust which rose in clouds from the wreck. from the relative positions of the two vessels, the shot ranged from end to end of the "bucentaure," and the injury was tremendous. twenty guns were at once dismounted, and the loss by that single discharge was estimated, by the french, at four hundred men. leaving the further care of the enemy's flagship to her followers, secure that they would give due heed to the admiral's order, that "every effort must be made to capture the hostile commander-in-chief," the "victory" put her helm up, inclining to the right, and ran on board a french seventy-four, the "redoutable," whose guns, as well as those of the french "neptune," had been busily playing upon her hitherto. at 1.10 she lay along the port side of the "redoutable," the two ships falling off with their heads to the eastward, and moving slowly before the wind to the east-southeast. in the duel which ensued between these two, in which nelson fell, the disparity, so far as weight of battery was concerned, was all against the french ship; but the latter, while greatly overmatched at the guns, much the greater part of which were below deck, was markedly superior to her antagonist in small-arm fire on the upper deck, and especially aloft, where she had many musketeers stationed. nelson himself was averse to the employment of men in that position, thinking the danger of fire greater than the gain, but the result on this day was fatal to very many of the "victory's" men as well as to himself. as the ship's place in the battle was fixed for the moment, nothing now remained to be done, except for the crews to ply their weapons till the end was reached. the admiral and the captain, their parts of direction and guidance being finished, walked back and forth together on the quarter-deck, on the side farthest from the "redoutable," where there was a clear space of a little over twenty feet in length, fore and aft, from the wheel to the hatch ladder leading down to the cabin. the mizzen-top of the "redoutable," garnished with sharpshooters, was about fifty feet above them. fifteen minutes after the vessels came together, as the two officers were walking forward, and had nearly reached the usual place of turning, nelson, who was on hardy's left, suddenly faced left about. hardy, after taking a step farther, turned also, and saw the admiral in the act of falling--on his knees, with his left hand touching the deck; then, the arm giving way, he fell on his left side. it was in the exact spot where scott, the secretary, had been killed an hour before. to hardy's natural exclamation that he hoped he was not badly hurt, he replied, "they have done for me at last;" and when the expression of hope was repeated, he said again, "yes, my back-bone is shot through." "i felt it break my back," he told the surgeon, a few minutes later. the ball had struck him on the left shoulder, on the forward part of the epaulette, piercing the lung, where it severed a large artery, and then passed through the spine from left to right, lodging finally in the muscles of the back. although there was more than one mortal injury, the immediate and merciful cause of his speedy death was the internal bleeding from the artery. within a few moments of his wounding some forty officers and men were cut down by the same murderous fire from the tops of the enemy. indeed so stripped of men was the upper deck of the "victory" that the french made a movement to board, which was repulsed, though with heavy loss. the stricken hero was at once carried below, himself covering his face and the decorations of his coat with his handkerchief, that the sight of their loss might not affect the ship's company at this critical instant. the cockpit was already cumbered with the wounded and dying, but the handkerchief falling from his face, the surgeon recognized him, and came at once to him. "you can do nothing for me, beatty," he said; "i have but a short time to live." the surgeon also uttered the involuntary exclamation of encouragement, which rises inevitably to the lips at such a moment; but a short examination, and the sufferer's statement of his sensations, especially the gushing of blood within the breast, which was vividly felt, convinced him that there was indeed no hope. "doctor, i am gone," he said to the rev. mr. scott, the chaplain, who knelt beside him; and then added in a low voice, "i have to leave lady hamilton, and my adopted daughter horatia, as a legacy to my country." after the necessary examination had been made, nothing further could be done, nor was attempted, than to obtain the utmost possible relief from suffering. dr. scott and the purser of the "victory" sustained the bed under his shoulders, raising him into a semi-recumbent posture, the only one that was supportable to him, and fanned him; while others gave him the cooling drink--lemonade--which he continually demanded. those about did not speak to him, except when addressed; but the chaplain, to whom nelson frequently said, "pray for me, doctor," ejaculated with him short prayers from time to time. the agony of mortal pain wrung from him repeated utterance, though no unmanly complaint; and his thoughts dwelt more upon home and the battle than upon his own suffering and approaching death. his mind remained clear until he became speechless, about fifteen minutes before he passed away, and he took frequent notice of what occurred near him, as well as of sounds on deck. the hour that succeeded his wounding was the decisive one of the fight; not that the issue admitted of much doubt, after once nelson's plans had received fulfilment, and the battle joined,--unless the delinquent van of the allies had acted promptly,--but in those moments the work was done which was thenceforth, for the enemy, beyond repair. overhead, therefore, the strife went on incessantly, the seamen toiling steadily at their guns, and cheering repeatedly. near the admiral lay lieutenant pasco, severely but not fatally wounded. at one burst of hurrahs, nelson asked eagerly what it was about; and pasco replying that another ship had struck, he expressed his satisfaction. soon he became very anxious for further and more exact information of the course of the battle, and about the safety of captain hardy, upon whom now was devolved such guidance as the fleet, until the action was over, must continue to receive from the flagship of the commander-in-chief. in accordance with his wishes many messages were sent to hardy to come to him, but for some time it was not possible for that officer to leave the deck. during this period, up to between half-past two and three, the ships of the two british divisions, that followed the leaders, were breaking successively into the enemy's order, and carrying out with intelligent precision the broad outlines of nelson's instructions. the heads of the columns had dashed themselves to pieces, like a forlorn hope, against the overpowering number of foes which opposed their passage--an analysis of the returns shows that upon the four ships which led, the "victory" and "téméraire," the "royal sovereign" and "belleisle," fell one-third of the entire loss in a fleet of twenty-seven sail. but they had forced their way through, and by the sacrifice of themselves had shattered and pulverized the local resistance, destroyed the coherence of the hostile line, and opened the road for the successful action of their followers. with the appearance of the latter upon the scene, succeeded shortly by the approach of the allied van, though too late and in disorder, began what may be called the second and final phase of the battle. while such things were happening the deck could not be left by hardy, who, for the time being, was commander-in-chief as well as captain. shortly after nelson fell, the "téméraire" had run on board the "redoutable" on the other side, and the french "fougueux" upon the "téméraire," so that for a few minutes the four ships were fast together, in the heat of the fight. about quarter past two, the "victory" was shoved clear, and lay with her head to the northward, though scarcely with steerage way. the three others remained in contact with their heads to the southward. while this _mêlée_ was in progress, the french flagship "bucentaure" surrendered, at five minutes past two; but, before hauling down the flag, villeneuve made a signal to his recreant van,--"the ships that are not engaged, take positions which will bring them most rapidly under fire." thus summoned, the ten vessels which constituted the van began to go about, as they should have done before; and, although retarded by the slack wind, they had got their heads to the southward by half-past two. five stood to leeward of the line of battle, but five to windward. the latter would pass not far to the westward of the "victory," and to meet this fresh attack demanded the captain's further care, and postponed his going to the death-bed of his chief. the latter had become very agitated at the delay, thinking that hardy might be dead and the news kept from him. "will nobody bring hardy to me?" he frequently exclaimed. "he must be killed; he is surely destroyed." at last a midshipman came down with the message that "circumstances respecting the fleet required the captain's presence on deck, but that he would take the first favourable moment to visit his lordship." nelson, hearing the voice, asked who it was that spoke. the lad, bulkeley, who later in the day was wounded also, was the son of a former shipmate in the far back days of the san juan expedition, and the dying admiral charged the lad with a remembrance to his father. two ships of nelson's column, as yet not engaged,--the "spartiate" and the "minotaur,"--were then just reaching the scene. being in the extreme rear, the lightness of the breeze had so far delayed them. arriving thus opportunely, they hauled to the wind so as to interpose between the "victory" and the approaching van of the allies. covered now by two wholly fresh ships, the captain felt at liberty to quit the deck, in accordance with nelson's desire. the two tried friends--hardy had been everywhere with him since the day of st. vincent, and was faithful enough to speak to lady hamilton more freely than she liked--shook hands affectionately. "well, hardy," said nelson, "how goes the battle? how goes the day with us?" "very well, my lord," replied hardy. "we have got twelve or fourteen of the enemy's ships in our possession, but five of their van have tacked, and show an intention of bearing down upon the victory. i have therefore called two or three of our fresh ships round us, and have no doubt of giving them a drubbing." "i hope none of _our_ ships have struck, hardy." "no, my lord," was the answer, "there is no fear of that." nelson then said, "i am a dead man, hardy. i am going fast: it will be all over with me soon. come nearer to me. pray let my dear lady hamilton have my hair, and all other things belonging to me." hardy observed that he hoped mr. beatty could yet hold out some prospect of life. "oh no!" replied nelson; "it is impossible. my back is shot through. beatty will tell you so." hardy then returned to the deck, shaking hands again before parting. nelson now desired the surgeons to leave him to the attendants, as one for whom nothing could be done, and to give their professional care where it would be of some avail. in a few moments he recalled the chief surgeon, and said, "i forgot to tell you that all power of motion and feeling below my breast are gone; and _you_ very well _know_ i can live but a short time." from the emphasis he placed on his words, the surgeon saw he was thinking of a case of spinal injury to a seaman some months before, which had proved mortal after many days' suffering; yet it would seem that, despite the conviction that rested on his mind, the love of life, and of all it meant to him, yet clung to the hope that possibly there might be a reprieve. "one would like to live a little longer," he murmured; and added, "what would become of poor lady hamilton if she knew my situation!" "beatty," he said again, "_you know_ i am gone." "my lord," replied the surgeon, with a noble and courteous simplicity, "unhappily for our country, nothing can be done for you;" and he turned away to conceal the emotion which he could not at once control. "i know it," said nelson. "i feel something rising in my breast," putting his hand on his left side, "which tells me i am gone. god be praised, i have done my duty." to this latter thought he continually recurred. at about three o'clock, the five ships of the enemy's van, passing within gunshot to windward,[142] opened fire upon the british ships and their prizes. the "victory" with her consorts replied. "oh, victory! victory!" cried the sufferer, "how you distract my poor brain!" and after a pause added, "how dear life is to all men!" this distant exchange of shots was ineffectual, except to kill or wound a few more people, but while it continued hardy had to be on deck, for the flag of the commander-in-chief still vested his authority in that ship. during this period an officer was sent to collingwood to inform him of the admiral's condition, and to bear a personal message of farewell from the latter; but nelson had no idea of transferring any portion of his duty until he parted with his life also. a short hour elapsed between hardy's leaving the cockpit and his returning to it, which brings the time to four o'clock. strength had ebbed fast meanwhile, and the end was now very near; but nelson was still conscious. the friends again shook hands, and the captain, before releasing his grasp, congratulated the dying hero upon the brilliancy of the victory. it was complete, he said. how many were captured, it was impossible to see, but he was certain fourteen or fifteen. the exact number proved to be eighteen. "that is well," said nelson, but added, faithful to his exhaustive ideas of sufficiency, "i bargained for twenty." then he exclaimed, "_anchor_, hardy, _anchor_!" hardy felt the embarrassment of issuing orders now that collingwood knew that his chief was in the very arms of death; but nelson was clearly within his rights. "i suppose, my lord," said the captain, "admiral collingwood will now take upon himself the direction of affairs." "not while i live, i hope, hardy," cried nelson, and for a moment endeavored, ineffectually, to raise himself from the bed. "no. do _you_ anchor, hardy." captain hardy then said, "shall we make the signal, sir?" "yes," answered the admiral, "for if i live, i'll anchor." these words he repeated several times, even after hardy had left him, and the energy of his manner showed that for the moment the sense of duty and of responsibility had triumphed over his increasing weakness. reaction of course followed, and he told hardy he felt that in a few minutes he should be no more. "don't throw me overboard," he added; "you know what to do." hardy having given assurance that these wishes should be attended to, nelson then said, "take care of my dear lady hamilton, hardy: take care of poor lady hamilton. kiss me, hardy." the captain knelt down and kissed his cheek. "now i am satisfied. thank god, i have done my duty." hardy rose and stood looking silently at him for an instant or two, then knelt down again and kissed his forehead. "who is that?" asked nelson. the captain answered, "it is hardy;" to which his lordship replied, "god bless you, hardy!" the latter then returned to the quarter-deck, having passed about eight minutes in this final interview. nelson now desired his steward, who was in attendance throughout, to turn him on his right side. "i wish i had not left the deck," he murmured; "for i shall soon be gone." thenceforth he sank rapidly; his breathing became oppressed and his voice faint. to dr. scott he said, "doctor, i have _not_ been a _great_ sinner," and after a short pause, "_remember_, that i leave lady hamilton and my daughter horatia as a legacy to my country--never forget horatia." this injunction, with remembrances to lady hamilton and the child, he frequently repeated; and he charged scott to see mr. rose, and tell him--but here pain interrupted his utterance, and after an interval he simply said, "mr. rose will remember," alluding to a letter which he had written him, but which as yet could not have been received. his thirst now increased; and he called for "drink, drink," "fan, fan," and "rub, rub," addressing himself in this last case to dr. scott, who had been rubbing his breast with his hand, by which some relief was given. these words he spoke in a very rapid manner, which rendered his articulation difficult; but he every now and then, with evident increase of pain, made a greater effort, and said distinctly, "thank god, i have done my duty." this he repeated at intervals as long as the power of speech remained. the last words caught by dr. scott, who was bending closely over him, were, "god and my country." fifteen minutes after hardy left him for the second time, the admiral became speechless; and when this had continued five minutes, the surgeon, who was busied among the other wounded, was summoned again. he found him upon the verge of dissolution, the hands cold and the pulse gone; but upon laying his hand upon his forehead, nelson opened his eyes, looked up, and then closed them forever. five minutes later he was dead. the passing was so quiet that dr. scott, still rubbing his breast, did not perceive it, until the surgeon announced that all was over. it was half-past four o'clock, just three hours after the fatal wound was received. not till an hour later did the last of the eighteen prizes strike, and firing cease altogether; but the substantial results were known to nelson before consciousness left him. to quote the rugged words of the "victory's" log, "partial firing continued until 4.30, when a victory having been reported to the right honourable lord viscount nelson, k.b., he died of his wound." of the five ships of the allied van which passed to windward of the "victory," one was cut off and captured by the "minotaur" and "spartiate." the other four continued on the wind to the southwest, and escaped to sea. by the surrender of villeneuve the chief command of the combined fleets remained with the spanish admiral gravina. the latter, at quarter before five, fifteen minutes after nelson breathed his last, retreated upon cadiz, making signal for the vessels which had not struck to rally round his flag. ten other ships, five french and five spanish,--in all eleven sail-of-the-line,--made good their escape into the port. "before sunset," wrote an eye-witness on board the "belleisle," "all firing had ceased. the view of the fleet at this period was highly interesting, and would have formed a beautiful subject for a painter. just under the setting rays were five or six dismantled prizes; on one hand lay the victory with part of our fleet and prizes, and on the left hand the royal sovereign and a similar cluster of ships. to the northward, the remnant of the combined fleets was making for cadiz. the achille, with the tricoloured ensign still displayed, had burnt to the water's edge about a mile from us, and our tenders and boats were using every effort to save the brave fellows who had so gloriously defended her; but only two hundred and fifty were rescued, and she blew up with a tremendous explosion." there, surrounded by the companions of his triumph, and by the trophies of his prowess, we leave our hero with his glory. sharer of our mortal weakness, he has bequeathed to us a type of single-minded self-devotion that can never perish. as his funeral anthem proclaimed, while a nation mourned, "his body is buried in peace, but his name liveth for evermore." wars may cease, but the need for heroism shall not depart from the earth, while man remains man and evil exists to be redressed. wherever danger has to be faced or duty to be done, at cost to self, men will draw inspiration from the name and deeds of nelson. happy he who lives to finish all his task. the words, "i have done my duty," sealed the closed book of nelson's story with a truth broader and deeper than he himself could suspect. his duty was done, and its fruit perfected. other men have died in the hour of victory, but for no other has victory so singular and so signal graced the fulfilment and ending of a great life's work. "finis coronat opus" has of no man been more true than of nelson. there were, indeed, consequences momentous and stupendous yet to flow from the decisive supremacy of great britain's sea-power, the establishment of which, beyond all question or competition, was nelson's great achievement; but his part was done when trafalgar was fought. the coincidence of his death with the moment of completed success has impressed upon that superb battle a stamp of finality, an immortality of fame, which even its own grandeur scarcely could have insured. he needed, and he left, no successor. to use again st. vincent's words, "there is but one nelson." footnotes: [132] the name thompson was spelled by nelson indifferently with or without the "p", which, as nicolas observes, confirms the belief that it was fictitious. the fact is singular; for, from a chance remark of his, it appears that he meant it to be thomson. (morrison, letter no. 569.) [133] the author is indebted for this anecdote to mr. edgar goble, of fareham, hants, whose father, thomas goble, then secretary to captain hardy, was present at the table. [134] one sixty-four, the "africa," had separated to the northward during the night, and joined in the battle by passing alone along the enemy's line, much of the time under fire. she belonged, therefore, to nelson's column, and cooperated with it during the day. [135] nelson in his journal wrote: "the enemy wearing _in succession_." as the allies' order was reversed, however, it is evident that he meant merely that the ships wore one after the other, from rear to van, but in their respective stations, each waiting till the one astern had, to use the old phrase, "marked her manoeuvre,"--a precaution intended to prevent collisions, though it necessarily extended the line. [136] the author is indebted for these incidents to admiral sir w.r. mends, g.c.b., who received them from the second baronet, sir henry m. blackwood, when serving with him as first lieutenant. [137] the "euryalus's" log gives eight o'clock as the hour of the captain's going on board the "victory;" but blackwood not only says six, but also mentions that his stay on board lasted five and a half hours, which gives about the same time for going on board. the other frigate captains did not go till eight. blackwood, as the senior, might need a fuller and longer continued interview, because the general direction of the frigate squadron would be in his hands; or nelson might particularly desire the presence of a close professional friend, the captains of the ships-of-the-line having their hands now full of preparations. [138] the question of lady hamilton's services on the occasions mentioned by nelson, vigorously asserted by herself, has been exhaustively discussed by professor john knox laughton, in the "united service magazine" for april and may, 1889. his conclusions are decisively adverse to her claims. [139] see _ante_, p. 275. [140] that is, with a one and a half knot breeze. [141] the vocabulary of the telegraphic signal book provides certain words which can be signalled by a single number. words not in this vocabulary must be spelled letter by letter,--each letter of the alphabet having its own number. [142] that is, to the westward. index. aboukir, bay, island, promontory, and castle, i. 342, 343, 345-347, 365; ii. 16, 17, 32. aboukir, battle of, ii. 17. acton, sir john, prime minister of the kingdom of the two sicilies, i. 328, 329, 340, 342, 383, 428, 430, 443; ii. 8, 190, 191, 193, 194, 219, 264, 274, 275. addington (afterwards lord sidmouth), prime minister of great britain, 1801-1804, nelson's intercourse with, i. 383; ii. 101, 103, 120, 136, 162-164, 166, 167, 172, 174, 189, 193, 205, 211, 352. adriatic, importance to the communications of the austrians in italy, i. 247, 405; british concern in, 369, ii. 192, 195, 243; napoleon's interest in, 188, 195, 266; resort of privateers, 241, 242. "agamemnon," british ship-of-the-line, nelson ordered to command her, i. 95; relation to his career, 97-99; action with four french frigates, 113, 115; engages the batteries at bastia, 120, 121; action with the "ça ira," french 80-gun ship, 163-166; engagement of march 14, 1795, 168; engagement of july 13, 178-180; services at genoa, 200-202; on the opening of bonaparte's campaign, 1796, 220-223; nelson leaves her for the "captain," seventy-four, 229, 230; she sails for england, 230; subsequent history, 230; misfortune at the battle of copenhagen, ii. 87; joins the fleet shortly before trafalgar, 361. "albemarle," british frigate commanded by nelson, i. 31-41. alexandria, nelson's first voyage to, i. 332-339; second voyage, 342, 343; blockaded, 366; nelson's third voyage to, ii. 276, 277. algiers, bonaparte's designs upon, ii. 184; nelson's difficulties with, 230-232. "amazon," british frigate, services at copenhagen, ii. 82, 86, 89, 91; subsequent mention, 217, 261-263, 289, 295, 315. amiens, peace of, signature of, ii. 146; nelson's home life during, 150-178; rupture of, 175. "amphion," british frigate, nelson's passage to mediterranean in, ii. 189-196; leaves her for the "victory," 222. archduke charles, nelson's meeting with, at prague, ii. 43. austria and austrians, result of campaign of 1794 in holland and germany, 155; in italy, 156; delay in opening campaign of 1795 in italy, 177; their advance to vado bay, on the riviera, 178; nelson ordered to co-operate with, 178, 184; their disregard of genoese neutrality, 184; position of, in summer of 1795, 186; inability, or unwillingness to advance, 188, 189, 194; their attitude towards the british, 197, 202, 213; growing insecurity of their position, 196, 200, 201, 212; attacked and defeated by french at battle of loano, 201; retreat across the apennines, 202; urged by nelson to reoccupy vado in 1796, 218, 219; their advance under beaulieu, 220-223; nelson's assurances to, 221; defeat by bonaparte, 220, 223; driven into the tyrol, and behind the adige, 232; besieged in mantua, 232; advance under wurmser to relieve mantua, 238; nelson's hopes therefrom, 238-241; hears of their defeat again, 241, 244; the peace of campo formio between austria and france, 317, 318; dissatisfaction of austria with france, 319, 322; effect of their position in upper italy upon french operations, 391; attitude towards france and naples, 1798, 392; nelson's judgment on, 399, 400; alliance with russia, 1799, 400; successes in 1799, 400, 415, 416, ii. 1, 14, 15; reverses, 15; capture of genoa, 1800, 37; defeat at marengo, 37; abandon northern italy, 37; nelson's visit to, 40-43; peace with france, 1801, 63, 119; exhaustion of, 1801-1805, 180; nelson's remonstrance with, on failure to enforce her neutrality, 242. ball, sir alexander j., british captain, letter to nelson, i. 211; joins nelson's division at gibraltar, 316; services in saving the flagship, 324; advice asked by nelson, 333; at the battle of the nile, 347, 352-354; accompanies nelson to naples, 366; gallantry towards lady hamilton, 386; serves ashore at malta, 392, 406-409, ii. 7, 9, 11, 12, 13; mentions with unbelief reports about nelson and lady hamilton, i. 396; summoned to join nelson upon the incursion of admiral bruix, 419-421, 426; ordered to resume duties at malta, 423; mention of nelson in letters to lady hamilton, ii. 23, 30; visits nelson at merton, 158; anecdote of nelson told by him, 158; letters from nelson to, 211, 213, 242-244, 270, 274, 278, 280, 286, 292; opinion as to french objects in 1804, 212; nelson's testy vexation with, 238; opinion as to the management of coast lookout stations, 318, note. barbary states. _see_ algiers, tripoli, tunis. barham, lord, nelson's interview with, as comptroller of the navy, i. 85; first lord of the admiralty, ii. 291 and note, 317, 320, 321; nelson's interviews with, 320, 333; nelson's letters to, 324, 353, 355, 358. bastia, town in corsica, in possession of french, i. 116; blockade of, by nelson, 120, 122; engagement with batteries of, 120; description of, 121; nelson's opinion as to besieging, 121-124, 126; siege of, 127-131; capitulation of, 129; nelson's estimate as to his own services at, 132, 133, 152; nelson directed to superintend evacuation of, by british, 247; evacuation of, 251-253. battles, land, mentioned: aboukir, ii. 17; castiglione, i. 241, 244; hohenlinden, ii. 63; loano, i. 201; marengo, ii. 37; novi, 15. battles, naval, mentioned: calder's action, ii. 307, 313, 318, 323; camperdown, i. 309; copenhagen, ii. 79-97, 98, 161-167; first of june (lord howe's), i. 150, 176; july 13, 1795, i. 178-182; march 14, 1795, i. 166-173; the nile, i. 343-358; st. vincent, i. 268-277; trafalgar, ii. 377-397. beatty, dr., surgeon of the "victory," account of nelson's habits and health, ii. 225-228 and note; present at nelson's death, 388, 389, 392, 393, 396. beaulieu, austrian general, commands the army in italy, 1796, i. 219; defeated by bonaparte, and driven into the tyrol, 220-223, 232. beckford, william, opinion of lady hamilton, i. 381; visited by nelson at fonthill, ii. 51-53; anecdote of nelson, 52. berry, sir edward, british captain, accompanies nelson in boarding the "san nicolas" and "san josef," i. 273-275, 279; commands nelson's flagship, the "vanguard," 309; account of the campaign of the nile (quoted), 332, 339, 344, 355, 359; at the battle of the nile, 351, 354, 363; sent to england with despatches, 360; commands the "foudroyant" at the capture of the "généreux," ii. 24-27; at the capture of the "guillaume tell," 31, 32; commands the "agamemnon" at trafalgar, 361; numerous services of, 362. bickerton, sir richard, british admiral, commands in the "mediterranean" when war with france begins, 1803, ii. 194; second in command to nelson, 1803-1805, 202, 215, 219, 246, 248, 259, 263, 278; left in command by nelson, upon his departure for the west indies, 294, 314, 317; joins collingwood before cadiz, 334; returns to england, ill, just before trafalgar, 338. blackwood, sir henry, british captain, distinguished part taken in the capture of the "guillaume tell," ii. 31, 328; arrives in london with news that the combined fleets are in cadiz, 328; interviews with nelson, 328; commands advanced squadron of frigates off cadiz, 339, 357, 361, 364-369; last day spent with nelson, 372-379, 382-385; witnesses the "codicil" to nelson's will, 374, 375; special mark of confidence shown him by nelson, 377; nelson's farewell to him, 385. bolton, susannah, nelson's sister, relations of, with lady nelson and lady hamilton, ii. 55, 178. bonaparte, napoleon, decisive influence of nelson upon the career of, i. 96, 97, 220, ii. 63, 64, 119, 120, 267-270, 283, 284, 301, 310, 314; indicates the key of the defences of toulon, i. 117; opinions upon operations in italy, 186, 187, 193, 194, 197, 208, 214-216, 219, 391, 394; command of army of italy, 220; defeats beaulieu, advances to the adige, and establishes the french position in northern italy, 220-223, 228, 229, 232; fortifies the coastline of the riviera, 223, 224, 227; seizes leghorn, 231-233, 236; contrasted with nelson, 234-236, 258, ii. 129, 130, 172; overthrows wurmser, i. 238, 240, 241; effect of his campaign in italy upon the career of nelson, 242, 243, 318; forces genoa to close her ports to great britain, 245; sails on the egyptian expedition, 323, 325, 328, 329, 331-334, 336-339; landing in egypt, 339; nelson's appreciation of the effect upon, by the battle of the nile, 366, 369, 370, 406, ii. 18-22; expedition into syria, 17; escape from egypt to france, 16, 17, after defeating a turkish army in aboukir bay, 17; defeats austrians at marengo, 37; influence upon the formation of the baltic coalition, 63, 64; threats of invading england, 1801, 119-122; his dominant situation on the continent in 1803, 179-187; firmness of intention to invade england, 1803-1805, 184-188, 191, 204, 213; his policy and nelson's counter projects, 182-187; nelson's singularly accurate prediction of future of, 188, 265; nelson's intuitive recognition of probable action of, 265, 270; vast combinations for invasion of england, 267-272, 283, 284; his understanding of the value of sea-power evidenced, 282. "boreas," british frigate, commanded by nelson, 1784-1787, i. 44-80. brereton, british general, erroneous information sent to nelson, ii. 298-300; nelson's expressions of annoyance, 300, 309, 311, 318; comment upon his mistake, 318, note. bronté, duke of, sicilian title and estate conferred upon nelson, ii. 2; his form of signature afterwards, 2 and note. brueys, french admiral, commander-in-chief at the battle of the nile, i. 345; his dispositions for action, 345-347. bruix, french admiral, commander-in-chief of a french fleet entering the mediterranean from brest, i. 417, 422, 425, 428, 432; effect of his approach upon proceedings in naples, 432, 437, 441; his return to brest, 446, 448; nelson's comment upon his conduct, ii. 213. "bucentaure," french flagship at trafalgar, nelson's encounter with, ii. 384-387; surrender of, 391. cadiz, nelson's visit to, i. 103-104; his operations before, under jervis, 286-288, 289-294; his watch before, prior to trafalgar, ii. 339, 356-361; effect of position of, upon the battle of trafalgar, 369, 371, 372, 380. "ça ira," french ship-of-the-line, nelson's action with, in the "agamemnon," i. 163-166; his credit for, 172. calder, sir robert, british admiral, captain of the fleet at the battle of st. vincent, i. 281, 282; his indecisive action with the allied fleets, in 1805, ii. 307, 313; popular outcry against, 308, 315, 323, 353; nelson's relations with, 318, 319, 323, 327, 353-356; recalled to england for trial, 353. calvi, town in corsica, nelson at the siege of, i. 136-148; loses there his right eye, 139, 140. canary islands. _see_ teneriffe. capel, thomas b., british captain, bearer of despatches after the battle of the nile, i. 361, 371; mentioned, 355, note, ii. 217. "captain," british ship-of-the-line, carries nelson's broad pendant as commodore, i. 230; at the battle of st. vincent, 270-276; injuries received there, 285; nelson quits her for the "theseus," 285, 289. caracciolo, francesco, commodore in the neapolitan navy, wounded feelings at the distrust of his court, i. 390; accompanies the flight to palermo, obtains leave to return to naples, and joins the insurgents there, 437; apprehension, trial, and execution of, 438; comments upon nelson's part in this transaction, 439-443. castlereagh, lord, british minister, nelson's shrewd prediction to him of the results of the orders in council affecting neutral flags, and of the license system, ii. 330. clarence, duke of. _see_ william henry. codrington, edward, british captain, expressions quoted: about nelson's seamanship, i. 15; his family ties and love of glory, 72, ii. 175; appearance of nelson's ships, 288; graciousness of nelson's bearing, 340. collingwood, cuthbert, british admiral, close connection between his career and that of nelson, i. 21, 22; strong expression of regard for nelson, 24; association with nelson in the west indies, 54 and note, 55, 63; at the battle of cape st. vincent, 269, 273, 276, 281, 282; strong expression upon the credit due to nelson, 272; his account of nelson's cold reception at court, in 1800, ii. 49; sent from england to west indies in 1805, 310; hearing that nelson is gone thither, takes position off cadiz instead, 311; correspondence with nelson on his return, 311-313; left by nelson in charge off cadiz, 316, 317; force collected under, when allies enter cadiz, 334; characteristics, 340; part assigned to, by nelson, for trafalgar, 350-352; his part at trafalgar, 370-372, 377, 380, 383, 384; nelson's praise of, 384; his sympathy with nelson, 384; notified of nelson's fatal wound, 394. convoys, nelson's comments on the behavior of, i. 33; gives one to american merchant ships against french privateers, 289; difficulty of providing in the mediterranean, ii. 241-244. copenhagen, defences of, in 1801, ii. 72, 80, 81, 84, 85; battle of, nelson's plans for, 84-87; the battle, 87-97; importance and difficulty of the achievement, 98, 99; failure of the british government to reward, 99, 162; silence of the city of london, 161; nelson's action, 161-167. corfu, transferred, with the other ionian islands, from venice to france, i. 318; nelson's concern for, after the battle of the nile, 368, 405, 406; taken by russo-turkish forces, 405; british precautions against re-occupation by french, ii. 184; concern of nelson for, while commander-in-chief in the mediterranean, 1803-1805, 187, 190, 195, 266; resort of privateers, 241; napoleon's estimate of, 206. cornwallis, william, british admiral, kindness to nelson in early life, i. 30 and note, 45; nelson directed to communicate with, off brest in 1803, ii. 188, 189; orders seizure of spanish treasure-ships, 251; nelson directs that the order be disobeyed, 251; services of, off brest, 269; nelson joins, off brest, on return from west indies, 314, 317; authorizes nelson to return to england, 317. correspondence, nelson's extensive, while in the mediterranean, ii. 190; his manner of conducting, 232-236. corsica, island of, nelson ordered to coast of, i. 115, 116; nelson's connection with operations there in 1794, 118-148; strategic value of, to british, 155-159; government as a british dependency, 159; dissatisfaction of natives with british rule, 231; tenure of, dependent on support of the natives, 234; abandonment of, by the british, 247, 251-254; threatened invasion of sardinia from, ii. 204. "curieux," british brig of war, sent by nelson to england from west indies with news of his movements, ii. 301; falls in with combined fleets, 313; nelson's comment on hearing the fact, 313, 315. davison, alexander, intimate friend of nelson, nelson expresses despondency to, i. 412; tells him circumstances of surrender of castles at naples, 431, 432; the "lady of the admiralty's" coolness, ii. 49; account given by, of george iii. speaking of nelson, 49, 50; nelson's mention of sir hyde parker to, 67, 68, 71, 164; aids nelson pecuniarily, 144; charged by nelson with a final message to lady nelson, 148; nelson's expressions to, about st. vincent, 163; about treatment of himself by the government, 170; "salt beef and the french fleet," 296; about general brereton, 318. de vins, austrian general, commands on the riviera in 1795, i. 187; nelson's association with, 187, 193-197, and opinion of, 197. dresden, nelson's visit to, in 1800, ii. 43-45. drinkwater, colonel, returns from elba in frigate with nelson, 1797, i. 262; incidents narrated of the voyage, 266-268; witnesses the battle of st. vincent, 281; interview with nelson after the battle, 283; characteristic anecdote of nelson, 309. duckworth, sir j.t., british admiral, association with nelson during operations in the mediterranean, 1799, i. 418, 419, 420, 421, 423, 442, ii. 1, 6. dundas, british general, commanding troops in corsica, i. 121; controversy with lord hood, 121, 122; nelson's opinion, 121. egypt, bonaparte's expedition to, in 1798, i. 323-339; nelson's pursuit, 327-329, 331-338; nelson's constant attention to, 369, 404, 406, ii. 182, 185, 201, 203, 211, 212, 213, 255, 270, 277, 280-282, 287, 302; his urgency that the french army be not permitted to leave, 18-22. el arish, convention of, signed, ii. 19. elba, island of, nelson's opinion of importance of, i. 237; his seizure of, 237; evacuation of, 259-263, 287, 288. "elephant," british ship-of-the-line, nelson's flagship at copenhagen, ii. 78, 83, 88-97. elgin, earl of, british ambassador to turkey, opinion upon the state of things at palermo during nelson's residence there, i. 397; nelson's divergence of opinion from, concerning the french quitting egypt, ii. 19-21. elliot, sir gilbert, afterwards lord minto, british representative in corsica, 1794, i. 119; viceroy of corsica, 154; friendship between him and nelson, 154, 275, 281, 283, 284, ii. 153, 250, 325; nelson's correspondence with, i. 172, 203, 237, 239, 275, 281, 356, ii. 3, 27, 36, 210, 250; directs the seizure of elba by nelson, i. 237; present at the evacuation of corsica, 252, 253, and of elba. 262; passage with nelson to gibraltar, 262-268; witnesses the battle of st. vincent, 275, 281; advocacy of nelson's claims to distinction, 284, 403; incidental mention of nelson by, i. 308, ii. 34, 44, 92, 154, 172, 174, 308, 326, 332, 335; mention of lady hamilton by, i. 379-382, ii. 44, 154, 320, 335; ambassador to vienna, i. 396 note. elliot, hugh, british minister at dresden during nelson's visit in 1800, ii. 43, 44; minister to the two sicilies during nelson's mediterranean command, 1803-1805, 189-310; takes passage out with nelson, 189; correspondence between nelson and, quoted, 191, 192, 194, 211, 212, 215, 218, 235, 246, 258, 263, 264, 286, 304, 310, 330. este, lambton, association with nelson mentioned, ii. 254-257. fischer, commodore, commander-in-chief of danish fleet at the battle of copenhagen, ii. 94; nelson's controversy with, on account of his official report of the battle, 107-109. fitzharris, lord, british attaché at vienna during nelson's visit, 1800, anecdotes of nelson and of lady hamilton, ii. 41, 42. flag of truce, incident of the, at copenhagen, ii. 94-98. "fleet in being," indications of nelson's probable opinion of its deterrent effect, i. 135-137, 160, 182, 183, 196, 198, 213, 214, 216, 217, 218, 227; ii. 301-306. freemantle, british captain, with nelson, at teneriffe, i. 301-304; at copenhagen, ii. 83; letter from nelson to, concerning calder, 318. frigates, nelson's sense of the importance of, and of small cruisers generally, i. 338, 340, 341; ii. 242-245, 274, 294, 334, 357, 358. "généreux," french ship-of-the-line, escape of, after the battle of the nile, i. 357, 358; capture of the "leander" by, 361, 405; captured by nelson's squadron off malta, ii. 24-29. genoa, importance of, to the south of france, i. 105, 106, 107; difficult neutrality of, 157, 158, 184-192, 199-201, 218, 223, 226-228, 233, 393; closes her ports against great britain, 1796, 244-246; siege of city, in 1800, ii. 28; surrender of, by masséna, 37; identified with france as the ligurian republic, 181, 182; ports of, blockaded by nelson, 219, 229, 230. george iii., king of great britain, prejudice of, against nelson in early life, i. 88, 89, 284; subsequent approbation, 177, 284, 308; interest in nelson manifested by, ii. 49, 50; subsequent coldness of, toward nelson, apparently in consequence of his relations to lady hamilton, 49. gillespie, dr., account of life on board nelson's flagship by, ii. 223-225, 238, 248. goodall, admiral, at the partial fleet action of march 14, 1795, i. 168, 169; his support of nelson when under public censure for failure to find the french fleet, 334. gore, british captain, commands squadron of frigates under nelson's orders, outside straits of gibraltar, ii. 244; letter of nelson to, concerning three frigates attacking a ship-of-the-line, 245; ordered by nelson to disobey orders of admiral cornwallis to seize spanish treasure-ships, 250, 251. graves, rear admiral, second to nelson at the battle of copenhagen, ii. 83, 90; made knight of the bath in reward for the action, 99. gravina, spanish admiral, commander of the spanish contingent, and second in command of the combined fleet, at trafalgar, ii. 363, 369, 372, 396. greville, charles, nephew to sir william hamilton, relations of, to emma hart, afterwards lady hamilton, i. 373-379. hallowell, british captain, under nelson at the siege of calvi, i. 139; commands the "swiftsure" at the battle of the nile, 353. hamilton, emma, lady, nelson's first meeting with, i. 110, 111; letter of nelson to. 340; conduct of, in naples, upon receipt of news of the battle of the nile, 371; nelson's second meeting with, 372; previous history of, 373-379; married to sir william hamilton, 378; personal appearance and characteristics, 379-382, 384-386, ii. 43-45, 150, 154, 223, 326, 335; influence at court of naples, i. 383, 426, 442; influence upon nelson, 385-388, 441, 442, 444, ii. 23, 28-30, 38, 39, 41, 78, 330-332; intermediary between the court and nelson, i. 389, 426, 428; efficiency during the flight of the court from naples, 395; scandal concerning her relations to nelson, 396-398, ii. 30, 34, 35, 48-51, 154, 177, 178; love of play, i. 397, ii. 41; nelson's infatuation for, i. 380, 422, 441, ii. 29, 30, 34, 35, 38, 39, 41, 43, 51, 53, 78, 110, 154, 326; with sir william hamilton accompanies nelson to naples in flagship, i. 428; usefulness there, 444; nelson asks of the czar insignia of the order of malta for, ii. 10; accompanies nelson, with her husband, on a trip to malta, 35, and on the return journey to england, 36-45; her reception by the london world, 48-50, 154; lady nelson's attitude towards, 46-48, 51, 53; attitude of nelson's father towards, 55, 176; of other members of nelson's family, 55, 178, 326; believed by nelson to be the mother of horatia, 56-58; nelson's letters to, during copenhagen expedition, 68, 69, 72, 79, 88, 104, 105, 106, 110, 111, 116, 149; letters to, while commanding preparations against invasion, 137, 139, 140-143, 149, 150; purchases the merton property for nelson, 149-151; disturbed relations with her husband, 151-153; death of husband, 177; nelson's letters to, during his command in the mediterranean, 1803-1805, 194, 222, 223, 256, 258, 279, 339, 353, 354; nelson's anxiety about confinement of, 210; birth of a second child, 210; allowance made by nelson to, 248; nelson's last letter to, 365; bequeathed by nelson to his country, 376, 389, 395; mentioned by nelson, when dying, 392, 393, 395. hamilton, sir william, british minister to naples, nelson's first association with, i. 110; nelson's correspondence with, during the nile campaign, 327, 329, 330, 340-342, 368, 372; nelson's association with, while in command in neapolitan waters, 1798-1800, 372, 387, 389, 390, 393, 395-398, 427, 428-444, ii. 21, 23, 27-30, 34, 35; relations to amy lyon, otherwise emma hart, prior to their marriage, 375-378; marriage to emma hart, 378; onerous increase of diplomatic duties after the french revolution began, 384; influence of lady hamilton upon, 383, 389, 397, ii. 44; apparent unfitness for his position, i. 383, 397, 398, 435, 436; accompanies nelson to naples in flagship, 428; assertion of nelson's full powers at this time by, 430; official despatch of, relative to transactions at naples, june-july, 1799, quoted and discussed, 432-436; share of, in these transactions, 444; recalled to england, ii. 34; accompanied by nelson on return to england, 36-45; nelson takes up his residence with, 146; with lady hamilton goes to live with nelson at merton, 150; disturbed relations of, with his wife, 151-153; death of, 177; his professed confidence in nelson, 178. hardy, captain thomas m., captured in the prize "sabina," i. 260; exchanged, 264, 266; narrow escape from recapture, 267; commander of the brig "mutine," 323; accompanies nelson in baltic expedition, ii. 65, 83; continuous association with nelson after st. vincent, 392; presence at nelson's death-bed, 392-395; incidentally mentioned, ii. 224, 234, 245, 337, 368, 374, 378, 385-389, 391. hart, emma, name assumed by lady hamilton, prior to marriage, i. 375. haslewood, anecdote of final breach between lord and lady nelson, ii. 53. hillyar, captain james, anecdotes of nelson, ii. 175, note, 237-239. "hinchinbrook," british frigate, commanded by nelson in youth, i. 21-30; singular coincidence that both nelson and collingwood were made post into this ship, 21. hood, admiral, lord, opinion of nelson in early life, i. 34; nelson obtains transfer of his ship to the fleet of, 36-39; relations of nelson with, prior to french revolution, 37, 39, 41, 45, 66, 87, 89, 108; appointed to command the mediterranean fleet, 1793, 101; services off toulon, 103-117; employs nelson on detached service, at naples, 108, at tunis, 113, around corsica, 115-120; reduction of corsica, 118-148; return to england, 148, 149; removed from the mediterranean command, 175; nelson's opinion of, 119, 175, 176; nelson's relations with, during his mediterranean command, 112, 116, 119, 122, 124, 148; at siege of bastia, 130-132; at siege of calvi, 142, 143; inadequate mention of nelson's services in corsica by, 131-134, 152, 153; differences with colonel moore, 143-145; opinion of nelson's merits at the battle of the nile, 361-363; presents nelson in the house of peers, when taking his seat as a viscount, ii. 160. hood, captain sir samuel, pilots nelson's fleet into aboukir bay, i. 348; share of, in the battle of the nile, 349, 350, 358; left to blockade alexandria, 366, 392; incidentally mentioned, 401, 404, ii. 158. horatia, nelson's daughter, birth of, ii. 56; mentioned, 57, 223, 335; nelson's last letter to, 366; desired by him to use the name of "nelson" only, 366; bequeathed by nelson to his country, 376, 389; mentioned by nelson in dying, 395. hoste, captain william, midshipman with nelson from 1793 to 1797, i. 304; describes nelson's return on board wounded, after the affair at santa cruz, 304; lieutenant, and commander of the "mutine," 371; reception at naples by lady hamilton, 371; curious anecdote of, ii. 262, 263. hotham, vice-admiral, second in command to lord hood, mistaken action of, i. 134, 135; nelson's comment on, 135, 150; succeeds hood as commander-in-chief, 149; encounter with french toulon fleet, 161-170; nelson's urgency with, 168, and criticism of his action in this case, 169-172; inadequate military conceptions of, 171, 182, 198; difficulties of, recognized by nelson, 171; second encounter with the french, 178-180; incompetent action, and nelson's criticism, 179-182; disastrous results of inefficiency of, 182, 183, 198, 203, 210; sends nelson to co-operate with austrians on the riviera, 184; nelson's opinion of his "political courage," 189; personal dislike to co-operation of, 191, 197 and note; inadequate support given to nelson by, 197, 198, 202; nelson's opinion of the consequent mishaps, 182, 199, 202; relieved by sir hyde parker, 199. hotham, sir william, criticism of nelson's conduct towards lady nelson, ii. 50; mention of lady nelson's conduct after the separation, 53; nelson's aptitude at forwarding public service, 229. howe, admiral, lord, appoints nelson to the command of the "boreas," i. 44; kind reception of nelson in 1787, 82; victory of june 1st, 1794, nelson's opinion of, 150; nelson's expression to, about the battle of the nile, 356; opinion of, concerning the battle of the nile, 357, 363. hughes, sir richard, commander-in-chief of the leeward islands station, 1784-1786, i. 45; nelson's difficulties with, 49-53, and 53-58; his attitude towards nelson in the matter of enforcing the navigation act, 58, 60, 63; nelson's reconciliation with, 72. hughes, lady, account of nelson as a very young captain, i. 46. ionian islands, corfu, etc., objects of nelson's solicitude, i. 368, 391, 405, 406, ii. 265. 266; russian occupation of, i. 405, ii. 14; importance of, to bonaparte, ii. 187, 188, 195, 241; temporary political name of republic of the seven islands, 190. ireland, nelson's speculations as to bonaparte's intentions against, ii. 211, 212, 288, 315; collingwood's, 311, 312. jervis, admiral sir john, afterwards earl of st. vincent, i. 34; commander-in-chief in the west indies, 115; commander-in-chief in the mediterranean, 204, 212; nelson's first meeting with, 215; desire of, to have nelson remain under his command, 216, 229, 255; his close blockade of toulon, 230, 242; nelson's lofty opinion of, 244, 248; forced to concentrate his fleet owing to the attitude of spain, 245, 246; embarrassment caused to, by conduct of admiral man, 246, 251; ordered to evacuate the mediterranean, 247; retires to gibraltar, 254; sends nelson back to superintend the evacuation of elba, 259; his opinions of nelson, as expressed, 261, 281, 282, 294, 299, 306, 323, 363, 403, ii. 67, 104, 116, 118, 120, 196, 198; rejoined by nelson, off cape st. vincent, i. 268; battle of cape st. vincent, 268-277; operations after the battle, 285-288; blockade and bombardment of cadiz, 288-294; sends nelson to teneriffe, 298, 299; sympathy with nelson in his defeat and wound, 306; created earl of st. vincent, 306; rejoined by nelson after convalescence, 310; expressions of satisfaction thereat, 310; aversion of, to extending the operations of the fleet, 320; sends nelson to watch the toulon armament, 310, 323; denounced for choosing so young a flag-officer, 337; opinion of the battle of the nile, 363; orders nelson to return to the western mediterranean, 366; the affair of sir sidney smith, 401, 402; absolute confidence of, in nelson, 408; action upon the incursion of bruix's fleet, 420-423; gives up the command of the mediterranean, 424; nelson's distress and vexation, 424, ii. 263; succeeded in command by lord keith, i. 425, 428; takes command of channel fleet, 1800, ii. 56; nelson joins him as subordinate, 56; stern resolution in face of the baltic coalition, 64; becomes first lord of the admiralty, 67; nelson's gradual alienation from, 69, 140, 141, 142, 162, 163, 167, 170, 172; full approval of nelson's course in the baltic by, 73, 104; indisposition to grant rewards for services at copenhagen, 99, 162, 163, 167; reluctance to relieve nelson, 116; insists with nelson that he must accept and retain command of preparations against invasion, 120, 139, 145; correspondence with nelson on this subject, 120-126, 134, 135, 136, 139, 143; divergence of views from nelson's on the subject of a flotilla, 131, 132; misunderstanding between nelson and, on the subject of medals for copenhagen, 162, 163, 167; sends nelson to the mediterranean as commander-in-chief, 175; injury to navy from excessive economy of, 172, 196; correspondence of nelson with, while commander-in-chief in the mediterranean, quoted, 188, 189, 196, 198, 213; retires from the admiralty, and succeeded by lord melville, 221. keats, captain richard g., favorite with nelson, ii. 293; letters from nelson to, 293, 297, 298, 323. keith, admiral, lord, second in command to st. vincent in the mediterranean, i. 423; st. vincent relinquishes command to, 425, 428; characteristics of, 425; friction between nelson and, 425-427; advice of, to nelson, concerning executions in naples, 442; nelson's disobedience to orders of, 445-454; pursues combined fleets to english channel, 448, ii. 14; inferiority of, to nelson, in military sagacity, i. 450, ii. 38; absence from mediterranean prolonged, ii. 4; resumes command in the mediterranean, 22; nelson's resentment at his return, 3, 23; relations between the two, 23, 27-30, 32, 36-38; orders nelson to assume personal charge of blockade of malta, 28; generous letter of, to nelson, 35; dissatisfaction of, with nelson's course, 36-38; displeasure of queen of naples with, 38, 39; measures of, to prevent french encroachments during peace of amiens, 184; successful resistance of, to the admiralty's attempt to reduce his station, 249. kleber, french general, succeeds bonaparte in the command in egypt, ii. 17; convinced of the hopelessness of retaining egypt, 18; makes the convention of el arish with the turks, 18-20. knight, miss, friend and companion of the hamiltons, ii. 39; accompanies them and nelson on journey to england in 1800, 39-48; incidents mentioned by, relative to this period, 39, 40, 48; testimony to nelson's love for his wife, prior to meeting with lady hamilton, 55. latouche-tréville, french admiral, in command off boulogne, and successful repulse of british boats, ii. 135-138, 214; in command of toulon fleet, 214; nelson's attempts to lure out of port, 214-216, 219, 220; reports that nelson retreated before him, and nelson's wrath, 217-219; death of, 257. layman, lieutenant, and commander, serving with nelson on board the st. george, 1801, ii. 69; anecdotes of nelson by, 70, 72, 158, 356; loses the brig "raven" when carrying despatches, 279; characteristic letter of nelson in behalf of, 279, 280. "leander," british fifty-gun ship, campaign and battle of the nile, i. 327, 352, 353; sent with despatches to gibraltar, 360; captured by the "généreux," 361; recaptured by russians, and restored to great britain, 405. leghorn, nelson's visits to, i. 148, 151, 161, 208; importance of, to the french, 157, 160, and to the british fleet, 161, 231, 232; occupation of, by bonaparte, in 1796, 233; blockade of, by nelson, 236-238; nelson's project for an assault of, 238-241; occupation of, by neapolitans, in 1798, 393, 406; blockade of, recommended by nelson, in 1803, ii. 182. lindholm, danish officer, aide-de-camp to crown prince at the battle of copenhagen, sent to nelson with reply to the message under flag of truce, ii. 96; association with the negotiations, 97, 101, 103; testimony of, to nelson's motives in sending flag of truce, 97; correspondence of, with nelson, relative to the conduct of commodore fischer, 108, 109. linzee, commodore, nelson serves under, on mission to tunis, i. 113; nelson's causeless dissatisfaction with conduct of, 114. lisbon, headquarters of british fleet after evacuation of the mediterranean, i. 260, 285, 286, 310; forbidden to british in 1803, ii. 181. locker, captain william, nelson's early commander and life-long friend, i. 17-20, 21. louis, captain thomas, nelson's expressions of obligation to, at the battle of the nile, i. 351. "lowestoffe," british frigate, nelson commissioned lieutenant into, and incidents on board of, i. 16-20; his place on board of, filled by collingwood, 21. lyon, amy, maiden name of lady hamilton, i. 373. mack, austrian general, association with nelson before and after the disastrous neapolitan campaign of 1798, i. 392-394. madalena islands, situation of, and importance to nelson's fleet, ii. 201-205, 207; nelson there receives news of villeneuve's first sailing, 266. malmesbury, lady, mention of lady hamilton by, i. 379, 382; of nelson and hyde parker, ii. 67. malta, seizure of, by bonaparte, i. 329, 331; nelson's estimate of the importance of, 330, 407, ii. 13, 195, 198; his concern for, i. 368, 369, 414, ii. 5, 7-14, 243, 316, 317; directs blockade of, i. 369, by portuguese squadron, 371; blockade of, 391, 392, 409, 420, 423, ii. 1, 7-14, 23-34, 36, 37; nelson's jealousy of russian designs upon, i. 406-408; capture near, of the "généreux," ii. 23-28, and of the "guillaume tell," 31; nelson ordered by keith to take personal charge of blockade of, 28; nelson quits blockade of, 30, 31; takes ships off blockade, contrary to keith's wishes, 36-39; surrender of, to the british, 62; effect of surrender of, upon the czar, 62; nelson's views as to the ultimate disposition of, 168; nelson's visit to, in 1803, 189, 194; strategic importance of, 182, 195, 264. man, admiral robert, in command under hotham, at the fleet action of july 13, 1795, i. 180; nelson's commendation of, 180; subsequent mistakes of, in 1796, 240, 248, 249, 254; nelson's expressions concerning, 240, 248; allusion to, ii. 19. marengo, battle of, nelson in leghorn at the time of, ii. 37, 179. maritimo, island of, strategic centre for a rendezvous, i. 420, 426, 427. masséna, french general, defeats the combined austrians and russians near zurich, ii. 15; nelson likened to, 52. matcham, mrs., nelson's sister, attitude towards lady hamilton, ii. 55, 178; towards lady nelson, 178; anecdote of nelson transmitted by, 335. matcham, george, nelson's nephew, letter of, dated 1861, giving recollections of nelson, ii. 155-157. melville, lord, first lord of the admiralty, in succession to st. vincent, reply to nelson's appeal to reverse previous refusal of medals for copenhagen, ii. 167; nelson's letter to, about his missing the french fleet, 280-282. merton, nelson's home in england, purchase of, by him, ii. 144, 149, 150; life at, during peace of amiens, 146-178; final stay at, 320-336. messina, importance of, to the security of sicily, nelson's opinions, i. 413, 414, 417, ii. 186, 191-193. middleton, sir charles, afterwards lord barham, i. 85. _see_ barham. miles, commander jeaffreson, able defence of lord nelson's action at naples, in 1799, i. 441. miller, captain ralph w., commands nelson's flagship at the battle of st. vincent, i. 274, 279; at teneriffe, 302; at the battle of the nile, 355; nelson's expressions of affection for, and anxiety for a monument to, ii. 143. minorca, nelson ordered from egypt for an expedition against, i. 366; nelson directs his squadron upon, on receiving news of bruix's incursion, 418-420; nelson's difference with keith, as to the value and danger of, 445-451, ii. 3, 5, 6; nelson's visit to, in 1799, ii. 6, 11, 12; restored to spain at peace of amiens, 181. minto, lord. _see_ elliot, sir gilbert. minto, lady, mention of nelson at palermo, in letters of, i. 396, 397; at leghorn, ii. 38, 39; at vienna, 40-42. moore, colonel, afterwards sir john, i. 119; friction between lord hood and, in corsica, 140-145; nelson's agreement, in the main, with hood's views, 143, 144, 145. morea, nelson's anxieties about, ii. 185, 187, 195, 203, 204, 213, 266, 276, 281, 287. moutray, captain, nelson's refusal to recognize pendant of, as commodore, i. 49-51; undisturbed friendship between nelson and, 51. moutray, mrs., nelson's affection and admiration for, i. 51, 52; collingwood writes to, after nelson's death, 52. moutray, lieutenant james, son of the above, dies before calvi, while serving under nelson, i. 52, 148; nelson erects a monument to, 148. murray, rear-admiral george, nelson's pleasure at a visit from, ii. 170; captain of the fleet to nelson, 1803-1805, 224, 228, 234, 237. naples, city of, nelson's first visit to, i. 108-111; second visit, 371, 372, 385-395; flight of the court from, 395; the french enter, 399; the french evacuate, after their disasters in upper italy, 415; the royal power re-established in, 429-432, 444; nelson's action in the bay of, 430-444; nelson leaves finally, for palermo, ii. 2; nelson's emotions upon distant view of, in 1803, 194. naples, kingdom of. _see_ two sicilies. naples, king of, nelson's regrets for, upon the evacuation of the mediterranean, 1798, i. 248; gives orders that supplies be furnished nelson's squadron before the battle of the nile, 329; nelson's appeal to, to take a decided stand, 330; nelson's indignation against, when difficulties about supplies are raised in syracuse, 340; congratulates nelson on the issue of the battle of the nile, 363; visits nelson's flagship, 372; distrust of his own officers, 390, 416; under nelson's influence, decides upon war with france, 391; nelson promises support to, 391, 392; decides to advance against french in rome, 393; defeat and precipitate flight of, 394; takes refuge at palermo, 395; promises nelson that malta, being legitimately his territory, should not be transferred to any power without consent of england, 406; authorizes british flag to be hoisted in malta alongside the sicilian, 407; nelson's devotion to, 408, 443, 450; personal timidity and apathy of, 416, 417, ii. 5, 6; requests nelson to go to naples and support the royalists, i. 425; gives nelson full powers to act as his representative in naples, 429, 430; goes himself to bay of naples, but remains on board nelson's flagship, 443; alienation of, from the queen, 444, ii. 6; returns to palermo, ii. 2; confers upon nelson the dukedom of bronté, 2; nelson renews correspondence with, in 1803, 190; nelson's apprehensions for, 191, 195; nelson keeps a ship-of-the-line always in the bay of naples to receive royal family, 192; application of, to the british government, to send nelson back to the mediterranean, after sick-leave, 246; agitation of, at the prospect of nelson's departure, 246; offers him a house at naples or at palermo, 246. naples, queen of, agitation at hearing of the battle of the nile, i. 372; friendship with lady hamilton, 378, 383, 384, 426, 444; characteristics of, 388, ii. 6; association with nelson, i. 388-391; nelson's devotion to, 392; distrust of her subjects, 394, 416, ii. 5; flight to palermo, i. 395; apprehensions of, 419, 428; alienation of the king from, 444, ii. 6; wishes to visit vienna, and is carried to leghorn by nelson, with two ships-of-the-line, ii. 36; refused further assistance of the same kind by lord keith, 38; her distress of mind, and anger with keith, 39; proceeds to vienna by way of ancona, 40; nelson renews correspondence with, in 1803-1805, 183, 190, 264. nelson, rev. edmund, father of lord nelson, i. 4; nelson and his wife live with, 1788-1793, 91; mrs. nelson continues to live with, after nelson goes to the mediterranean, 207, 257, 308, ii. 48-48, 55; his testimony to lady nelson's character, ii. 55; attitude towards lady hamilton, 55, 176; persuaded of the absence of criminality in her relations with nelson, 55, 176; refuses to be separated from lady nelson, 55, 176, 177; death of, 176; character of, 176, 177. nelson, horatio, lord. _historical sequence of career:_ and birth, i. 4; first going to sea, 5; service in merchantman, 9; cruise to the arctic seas, 12; to the east indies, 14; acting lieutenant, 15; lieutenant, 16; cruise to west indies, 17; commander and post-captain, 21; nicaraguan expedition, 26; invalided home, 30; command of "albemarle," 1781, 31; paid off, and visits france, 41; cruise of the "boreas," 1784, 44; refuses to obey orders of commander-in-chief, first, to recognize broad pendant of a captain "not in commission," 49, and, second, when directed not to enforce the navigation act, 53-64; engagement to mrs. nisbet, 69; marriage, 75; return to england, and "boreas" paid off. 1787, 75-80; exposure of frauds in the west indies, 79, 82-86; half-pay, 1788-1792, 90-94; commissions the "agamemnon," february, 1793, 99; joins the mediterranean fleet under lord hood, 103; constant detached service, 108-114; blockade of corsica, 116; siege of bastia, 120-133; siege of calvi, 136-146; loss of right eye, 139; refitting in leghorn, 151-160; action of "agamemnon" with "ça ira," 163; partial fleet action of march 14, 1795, 166; partial fleet action of july 13, 1795, 178; command of a detached squadron on the riviera of genoa, under hotham, 1795, 184-204, and under jervis, 1796, 215-229; hoists broad pendant as commodore, 220; leaves "agamemnon" for "captain," 230; the blockade of leghorn, 233; seizure of elba, 237, and of capraia, 245; evacuation of corsica, 247-254; british fleet retires to gibraltar, 254; mission to evacuate elba, 259; action with spanish frigates, 259; rejoins jervis off cape st. vincent, 268; battle of cape st. vincent, 1797, 268; made a knight of the bath, 284; promoted rear-admiral, 285; mission into the mediterranean, 288; blockade and bombardment of cadiz, 289-294; the teneriffe expedition, 296; loses his right arm, 303; invalided home, 307; rejoins mediterranean fleet in the "vanguard," 1798, 310; sent to watch the toulon armament, 316; campaign of the nile, 323-366; battle of the nile, 343-358; severely wounded in the head, 351; advanced to the peerage as baron nelson of the nile, 361; arrives at naples, 371; meeting with lady hamilton, 372; urges naples to declare war against france, 389; war between naples and france, 393; neapolitan court carried to palermo by, 395; residence at palermo and contemporary events, 1799,--sidney smith and the levant, 400; ionian islands, 404; malta, 406; barbary states, 409; about naples, 413; incursion of french fleet under admiral bruix, 417-427; proceeds to naples, 428; incident of the surrender of the neapolitan insurgents, 429-436; the caracciolo incident, 437; refuses to obey an order of lord keith, 445; reiterated refusal, 448; left temporarily commander-in-chief by keith's departure, ii. 1-22; created duke of bronté by king of naples, 2; dissatisfaction at not being continued as commander-in-chief, 3; keith's return, 1800, 22; superseded by keith's return, 22; capture of "le généreux," 24; capture of "le guillaume tell," in nelson's absence, 31; returns to england through germany, 1800, 39-45; breach with lady nelson, 45-57; promoted vice-admiral, 56; hoists flag on board "san josef," in the channel fleet, under lord st. vincent, 1801, 56; birth of the child horatia, 56; the baltic expedition, 60-116; battle of copenhagen, 80-97; incident of disobeying the signal to leave off action, 89; incident of the flag of truce, 94; created a viscount, 99; negotiations, 100; return to england, 107; charged with defence of the coast of england against invasion, 118-145; retirement from active service during the peace of amiens, 146-175; interest in public questions, 168-174; commissioned commander-in-chief in the mediterranean, 1803, 175; death of his father, 176; arrival in the mediterranean, 189; the long watch off toulon, 196-261; last promotion, vice-admiral of the white, 1804, 221; escape and pursuit of the french toulon fleet, 1805, 272-295; follows it and its spanish auxiliaries to the west indies, 296; returns to gibraltar, 309; carries his squadron to cornwallis off brest, 315-317; returns himself to england, august, 1805, 315; last stay in england, 320-336; resumes command in the mediterranean, 339; the battle of trafalgar, 363; mortally wounded, 388; death of, 396. _personal characteristics_: appearance, in boyhood, i. 15; at twenty-one, 22; at twenty-four, 38; at twenty-seven, 66; at thirty-six, 39; at forty-two, ii. 40, 41, 43; at forty-three, 112; later years, 155-157, 228, 238, 321, 332; expression, 158. health, inherited delicacy of constitution, i. 5; invalided from east indies, 15; from west indies, 29, 30, 31; in baltic, 33; in canada, 36; mentioned, 44, 75, 78, 91, 119, 146, 147, 149, 207, 236, 294, 309, 368, 401, 413, 453, 454, ii. 29-33, 35, 56, 105, 106, 111, 115, 119, 139, 142 (sea-sickness), 209, 210, 221, 225-228, 245, 246, 292, 326, 332; influence of active employment upon, i. 77, 78, 119, 130, 207, 236, 292, 294, ii. 332. charm of manner and considerateness of action, i. 18, 24, 32, 46, 47, 51, 74, 93, 108, 166, 290, 291, 359; ii. 4, 9, 10, 40, 41, 70, 71, 103, 115, 159, 165, 226, 229, 236-239, 298, 311, 318, 337, 339, 340, 353-356, 359, 374. vanity, and occasional petulance, i. 138, 152, 153, 255-257, 277-281, 295, 315, 385, 388-389, 452-453; ii. 3, 23, 27-29, 30, 32, 34, 39, 44, 50, 69, 78, 104-105, 112, 138-142, 144, 236, 237, 300, 322. courage, illustrated, i. 8, 13, 19, 145, 274, 293, 302-304, 306; ii. 90, 95, 101, 327, 359, 379. love of glory and honor, i. 8, 20, 22, 25, 29, 37, 39, 40, 64, 76, 119, 124, 126, 133, 138, 151, 152, 172, 173, 215, 241, 248, 255, 280, 283, 286, 293, 302, 309, 359, 419; ii. 24, 52, 65, 90, 104, 105, 112, 134, 175, 250, 339. strength and tenacity of convictions, i. 18, 38, 52, 57, 62, 63, 73, 74, 125, 126, 127, 136, 137, 226, 241, 244, 312, 313, 335, 341, 344, 421, 427, 450, 451; ii. 18-21, 71, 73, 74, 78, 82, 93, 137, 183, 271, 273, 281, 285, 287, 289, 294, 302, 303, 306, 314, 315, 319, 324. sensitiveness to anxiety, perplexity, and censure, i. 61, 62, 75, 79, 81, 92, 133, 204, 210-213, 302, 306, 307, 341, 401, 412, 419, 452-454; ii. 3, 11, 12, 13, 29-34, 49, 50, 68, 105, 113, 116, 119, 141, 161-167, 170, 188, 209, 219-221, 247, 274, 280, 286, 287, 289, 292, 296, 300, 308, 309, 378. daily life, examples of, and occupations, i. 139-141, 146-147, 207, 289-294, 332-333, 367-369, 396-398; ii. 115-116, 150-159, 223-228, 232-236, 275, 326-328, 330-335, 340. religious feelings, indications of, i. 173, 324, 325, 352, 358-360; ii. 159, 160, 335, 381, 382, 384, 389, 395, 396. _professional characteristics:_ duty, sense of, i. 8, 70, 109, 133, 225, 257, 302, 419; ii. 65, 101, 105, 119-120, 222-223, 263, 291, 296, 382, 384, 393-396. exclusiveness and constancy of purpose, i. 16, 27, 34, 37, 38, 40, 62, 64, 68, 74, 86, 99, 109, 111, 122, 126, 133, 147, 151, 169, 221, 222, 225, 236, 253, 255, 257, 284, 309, 315, 324, 325, 326, 327, 334, 337, 339, 344, 351, 355; ii. 9, 42, 65, 74, 75, 88, 93, 107, 188, 222, 234-236, 271, 287, 291, 315, 324, 394. professional courage, i. 35, 73, 125, 127, 163-165, 166, 221, 240, 248, 263, 265, 266, 271-273, 292, 301, 328, 334, 344, 421, 427; ii. 27, 72-77, 79, 88-93, 102, 107, 111, 132, 136, 215, 270, 280, 281, 294, 305-307, 323, 324, 334, 355. fearlessness of responsibility, i. 11, 19, 49-52, 52-59, 63, 64, 124-126, 188-191, 221, 268, 271, 282, 334-336, 445-453; ii. 8, 73, 89-93, 193, 194, 205, 242, 250-253, 258, 259, 261-263, 270, 292-296, 302, 306, 316. diplomacy, natural aptitude for, and tact in dealing with men, i. 31-33, 47, 65, 110, 140-143, 189-191, 206 and note, 403-404; ii. 4-6, 8-10, 12-14, 69-70, 71, 72-73, 76, 94-97, 100-104, 114, 133-134, 194, 199, 216-217, 229, 231-232, 237-239, 255, 258, 264-266, 311, 337, 339-340; extensive cares in, i. 383, 405-408, 411-413; ii. 10, 11, 181-188, 190, 199, 228-229, 233-236. fleet, when commander-in-chief, administration of, ii. 4, 10, 11, 16, 115, 116, 134-136, 168-170, 197, 198-200, 209, 228, 229, 234-236, 237, 241-245, 277, 278, 283, 286, 292, 293, 295, 309, 314, 315. condition of, in the mediterranean, 1803-1805, ii. 171, 196, 205, 269, 288, 297, 310. preservation and management of, ii. 195-198, 201-204, 205-207, 210, 211, 214-216, 219-220, 229, 230, 241-245, 253-254, 282, 283, 285, 287, 296-298, 310, 315, 316, 317, 329, 356-358, 361. health of, i. 109, 110; ii. 207-209, 310, 314. strategic ideas, indications of, i. 27, 28, 102, 105, 107, 115, 123, 135, 136, 150, 159, 160, 171, 174, 176, 182, 183, 191, 193-196, 199-200, 213-215, 216, 217-218, 231-232, 234, 239, 243-246, 247-250, 330, 332-336, 337, 342, 365, 366, 391, 407, 419-421, 427; ii. 18-21, 42, 71-73, 74-77, 106, 111, 122, 123-133, 136, 182-184, 185-188, 198, 200-203, 204, 207, 211-213, 249, 250, 269-271, 276, 281, 282, 285-288, 293, 302, 305, 306, 314-317, 323, 324, 364. tactical ideas, indications of, i. 34, 105, 121, 126, 135, 163, 164, 166, 180-182, 217-218, 222, 226, 240, 244, 270-272, 301, 327, 344-345, 350, 355-357, 358, 421; ii. 76, 79, 80-82, 84-87, 92, 100, 124-126, 137, 138, 215-217, 219, 220, 230, 306, 333, 341-353, 356, 357, 360, 361, 366-369, 370, 371, 373, 380. nelson, frances, lady, wife of lord nelson, birth, parentage, and first marriage to dr. josiah nisbet, i. 65; one son, josiah nisbet, 65; widowhood, 65; lives with her uncle, at nevis, 66; characteristics, 67-69, 71, 149, 173, 386, ii. 46, 53, 54; wooing of, by nelson, i. 69-71; marriage to nelson, and departure to england, 75; no children by nelson, 90; resides with nelson, in his father's house, 91; lives with father of nelson, during the latter's absences, 1793-1800, 207, 257, 308, ii. 46-48, 55; letters of nelson to, quoted, i. 111, 133, 139, 147, 149, 172, 173, 207, 248, 255-258, 295, 307, 325, 372, 387, ii. 47, 146,147; continued attachment of nelson to, on returning home in 1797, i. 308, 309, 316; nelson's message to, when thinking himself mortally wounded at the nile, 351; uneasiness of, at the reports of nelson's intimacy with lady hamilton, 396; apparent purpose of, to go to the mediterranean, discouraged by nelson, 396; growing alienation of nelson from, 422, ii. 45-47, 48, 51, 53; attitude of, towards nelson, ii. 46, 47, 50, 53, 54; letters of, to nelson, quoted, 47; nelson's bearing towards, 48, 50; attitude of, towards lady hamilton, 51; final breach between nelson and, 53, 55, 146-149; later years of, 54, 55; testimony to, of nelson and of his father, 55; nelson's "letter of dismissal" to, and her endorsement thereon, 146, 147; date of death, i. 65 note. nelson, maurice, nelson's eldest brother, quoted by lady nelson, ii. 147 and note. niebuhr, the historian, accounts of the battle of copenhagen, quoted, ii. 81, 98, 112. nile, battle of the, i. 343-358. nisbet, captain josiah, nelson's stepson, birth and parentage, i. 65; goes to sea with nelson in the "agamemnon," 100; lady hamilton's kindness to, 111; good conduct of, at teneriffe, 302, 303; nelson attributes the saving of his life to, 306, ii. 147; st. vincent promotes to commander at nelson's request, i. 306; nelson's disappointment in, 412; estrangement between nelson and, ii. 146-148; st. vincent's assertion of nelson's high opinion of, in early life, 148 note. nisbet, dr. josiah, first husband of lady nelson, i. 65. nisbet, mrs. josiah, lady nelson's name by first marriage. _see_ nelson, lady. niza, marquis de, portuguese admiral, commanding squadron under nelson's orders in the mediterranean, 1798, 1799, i. 370; conducts sea blockade of malta, 370, 392, ii. 1, 8, 9, 12, 14; ordered temporarily to defence of messina, i. 413; co-operates at sea with nelson, when expecting bruix's fleet, 420, 425; limitations to nelson's authority over, 439; recalled by portuguese government, ii. 8; nelson forbids him to obey, 8, 9; nelson's expressions of esteem for, 9; final recall allowed by nelson, 14. orde, admiral sir john, governor of dominica, i. 59; difficulty with lord st. vincent concerning nelson's appointment to command a squadron, 337, 338; assigned in 1804 to command part of nelson's station, from the straits of gibraltar to cape finisterre, ii. 247; relations between nelson and, 247, 248, 256-263, 291; driven from before cadiz by combined fleets, 285; popular outcry against, 290; nelson's complaint against, for not watching course of combined fleets, 290 note, 292-295; relieved from duty at his own request, 310. "orient," french flagship at the battle of the nile, present as the "sans culottes," in hotham's action of march 13, 1795, i. 162, 164, 166; at the battle of the nile, 347, 349, 353, 354; blows up, 354; nelson's coffin made from mainmast of, ii. 327. otway, captain, commands sir hyde parker's flagship at the battle of copenhagen, ii. 77; advises against the passage of the great belt, 77, 78; opposes the making signal to nelson to leave off action, 89; message from parker to nelson by, 89, 91. paget, sir arthur, succeeds hamilton as british minister to naples, i. 397, ii. 34, 35; quotations from the "paget papers," i. 397, 398, ii. 23, 37. pahlen, russian minister of state during nelson's command in the baltic, ii. 107; nelson's correspondence with, 112-114. palermo, nelson's residence in, i. 395-420; ii. 2-35. palmas, gulf of, in sardinia, rendezvous of nelson's fleet, ii. 207, 277, 278, 282, 283; nelson learns there of villeneuve's second sailing, 283. parker, commander edward, aide to nelson, ii. 134; description of nelson's celerity by, 134; takes part in boat-attack on the french vessels off boulogne, 137; mortally wounded, 138; death of, and nelson's distress, 143. parker, admiral sir hyde, succeeds hotham in command in the mediterranean, i. 199, 200; nelson's dissatisfaction with, 202; selected to command the baltic expedition, ii. 56; nelson joins, as second in command, 65; cool reception of nelson by, 66-69; growing influence of nelson with, 70-74; sluggish movements of, 71, 102, 106, 107; nelson's comprehensive letter to, 75-77; authorizes nelson's plan of attack, 79; the signal to leave off action, 89-93; intrusts negotiations to nelson, 100-104; relieved from command, 110; nelson's opinion of his conduct in the baltic, 110, 164. parker, admiral sir peter, early patron of nelson, and chief mourner at his funeral, i. 20-22; personal kindness to nelson of, 20, 30; nelson's gratitude expressed to, ii. 105, 240. parker, vice-admiral sir william, controversy with nelson about the latter's account of the battle of cape st. vincent, i. 277-282; remonstrates with lord st. vincent for nelson's appointment to command a detached squadron, 337, 338. parker, captain william, commander of the frigate "amazon," anecdote of nelson, i. 337 note, ii. 217; anecdote of captain hardy, 245; special mission and singular orders given by nelson to, 261-263; accompanies nelson to the west indies, 289, 295, 297; final letter from nelson to, 315, 316. pasco, lieutenant, nelson's signal officer at trafalgar, ii. 359; anecdotes of nelson by, 359, 360, 381, 882; makes the signals "england expects," etc., 383, and for "close action," 384; wounded, 390; replies to a query made by nelson while dying, 390. paul i., emperor of russia, congratulations to nelson on the battle of the nile, i. 363; coalition of, with austria and naples, 400, 404-406; becomes grand master of knights of malta, and seeks the restoration of the order, 406-408; nelson's compliments to, ii. 10, 28; successes of his general, suwarrow, 14; subsequent reverses, and anger of, against austria and great britain, 15, 62; indignation at the refusal of great britain to surrender malta to himself, 62; renews the armed neutrality of 1780, with sweden, denmark, and prussia, 63; bonaparte's management of, 64; murder of, 100. "penelope," british frigate, efficacious action of, in compelling the surrender of the "guillaume tell," french ship-of-the-line, ii. 31, 328. pitt, william, prime minister of great britain, marked courtesy shown to nelson when last in england by, ii. 156; intercourse of nelson with, just before trafalgar, 323, 327. porto ferrajo, island of elba, seized by nelson in 1796, i. 237; british forces retire from bastia to, 253; naval evacuation of, superintended by nelson, 259-262. radstock, admiral, lord, quotations from letters of, relating to nelson, i. 152, ii. 202 and note, 236, 239, 247, 289, 290, 291, 307, 308, 325. "redoutable," french ship-of-the-line, nelson mortally wounded by a shot from, ii. 387-389. registration of seamen, nelson's plans for, ii. 168. 169. revel, nelson's desire to attack the russian detachment of ships in, ii. 74, 77, 100, 102, 106, 107, 111; nelson's visit to, 112-114; results of nelson's visit, 114. riou, captain, commands the frigate "amazon," and a light squadron in the battle of copenhagen, ii. 82, 83, 86, 89, 91; obeys signal to retire, and is killed, 91. riviera of genoa, operations of nelson upon the, 1795, 1796, i. 184-236; importance of, to the french, 184-190. rochefort, the part of the french squadron at, in napoleon's combinations, ii. 269, 272, 312. rodney, admiral, lord, effect of his victory upon nelson's plans for trafalgar, ii. 352. rogers, samuel, anecdote of nelson, ii. 50. rose, george, nelson's interview with, in 1788, i. 82-84; accompanies nelson on board ship before trafalgar, ii. 337; nelson's message to, when dying, 395. ruffo, cardinal, leader of the neapolitan "christian army" at naples, 1799, i. 416; concludes with the insurgents in the castles a capitulation which nelson annuls, 429 and note, 432; stormy interview of, with nelson, 431. "sabina," spanish frigate, captured by the "minerve" carrying nelson's broad pendant, i. 259; recaptured, 260. "san josef," spanish three-decked ship, taken possession of by nelson at battle of st. vincent, i. 273-276; flagship to nelson in the channel fleet, ii. 56, 65. "san nicolas," spanish eighty-gun ship, boarded by nelson at battle of st. vincent, i. 273-276. santa cruz, canary islands. _see_ teneriffe. sardinia, island of, importance of, in nelson's opinion, ii. 200-205. saumarez, sir james, commands the "orion," at the battle of st. vincent, i. 276, 277; relieves nelson in the blockade of cadiz, 288; accompanies nelson as second in command in the nile campaign, 316, 325, 332, 333 and note, 336, 345; at battle of the nile, 349, 353; sent to gibraltar with the prizes, 366, 368; nelson's eulogy of, in the house of lords, ii. 160. scott, rev. a.j., private secretary to sir hyde parker, and afterwards to nelson in the mediterranean, ii. 80, 92; testimony of, to nelson's religious feelings, 160; nelson's method of transacting business with, 233-235; mention of nelson's kindliness by, 236-238; anecdote of nelson, 293, 294; remark of nelson to, 368; at nelson's death-bed, 389, 395, 396. scott, john, public secretary to nelson, ii. 232; remarks on the quickness of nelson's intelligence, 236, and on his kindliness, 238; killed at trafalgar, 385. sicily, importance of malta to, i. 330; nelson's anxiety for, in 1799, 413, 414, 419, 423, 426-428, 445, 447, ii. 5; in 1803-5, ii. 185, 191-193, 196, 212, 282, 285-287; nelson's estate of bronté in, ii. 2, 110. sidmouth, lord. _see_ addington. smith, sir sidney, nelson's indignation at the mission of, to the levant, i. 400-402; nelson's relations with, 402-404; successful defence of acre by, ii. 17; nelson's peremptory orders to, not to permit any frenchman to quit egypt, 18; nevertheless, convention of el arish countenanced by, 20-22; nelson's distrust of, 10, 194. smith, spencer, brother to sir sidney, minister and joint minister of great britain to constantinople, i. 400-403; becomes secretary of embassy, ii. 13. spain, nelson sees that spain cannot be a true ally to great britain, i. 104; effect upon nelson of declaration of war by, 243-250; political condition of, in 1803, ii. 181; nelson's views concerning, 185, 199, 248, 251, 254, 258, 259, 265; nelson's letter of instructions to a captain contingent upon action of, 252. spencer, earl, first lord of the admiralty, i. 294; letters to nelson from, quoted, 285, 361, 452, ii. 32-34; letters of nelson to, quoted, i. 294, 327, 362, 401, 402, 407, 444, 445, 447, ii. 5, 6, 11, 12, 16, 27, 32, 34, 65; indicates to jervis the government's wish that nelson command the squadron in the mediterranean, i. 321, 322; selects sir hyde parker for baltic command, ii. 67. st. george, mrs., description of lady hamilton, i. 380, 382; account of meeting with nelson and the hamiltons at dresden in 1800, ii. 43-45; remarks likeness of nelson to the russian marshal suwarrow, 43. "st. george," british ship-of-the-line, nelson's flagship in the baltic expedition, ii. 65; nelson quits, for the "elephant," for the battle of copenhagen, 78. st. vincent, battle of cape, i. 268-277. st. vincent, earl. _see_ jervis. stewart, lieutenant-colonel, accompanies the baltic expedition on board nelson's flagship, ii. 65; narrative of the expedition, and anecdotes of nelson by, quoted, 65, 79, 82-84, 89-91, 94-96, 101, 113, 115. stuart, general, in command of the british troops at the siege of calvi, i. 134, 136-146; apparent friction between lord hood and, 142-145; nelson's high opinion of, 140, 143. suckling, catherine, maiden name of nelson's mother, i. 4. suckling, captain maurice, nelson's maternal uncle, i. 5; receives nelson on board his ship the "raisonnable," on entering the navy, 6; care for nelson during his early years, 9-16; made comptroller of the navy, 15; procures nelson's promotion to lieutenant, 16; death of, 21; nelson's care, when wounded at teneriffe, to save the sword of, 303; successful naval engagement of, on the date of trafalgar, and expectation formed therefrom by nelson, ii. 368. suckling, william, nelson's maternal uncle, nelson appeals to, for aid to marry, i. 43, 69, 70; makes an allowance to nelson, 70; letters of nelson to, 43, 69, 133. suwarrow, russian marshal, commands the combined russian and austrian troops in italian campaign of 1799, i. 416, ii. 2, 6, 15; personal resemblance of nelson to, ii. 43, 112. sweden, joins russia, denmark, and prussia in the armed neutrality of 1800, ii. 60-63. syracuse, nelson refreshes his squadron in, before the battle of the nile, i. 340-342; nelson's opinion of, as a base for his operations after the battle, 368, 369; insecurity of, with headquarters at palermo, 414; nelson ordered by keith to make his headquarters at, ii. 30. "téméraire," british ship-of-the-line, nelson's supporter at trafalgar, ii. 378, 391. teneriffe, nelson's expedition against, i. 296-306. tetuan, nelson's visits to, for water and fresh provisions, ii. 292-294, 314, 315; sends a detachment to, before trafalgar, 360. "theseus," british ship-of-the-line, nelson's flagship before cadiz and at teneriffe, 289-291, 300, 304. thomson, name under which nelson speaks of himself in his correspondence with lady hamilton, ii. 149, and borne by his daughter prior to his own death, 366. toulon, delivered by its inhabitants to lord hood, i. 106, 107; retaken by the french, 117; nelson reconnoitres, 198, 217; jervis's efficient blockade of, 230, 242; nelson's method of watching, ii. 197-199, 202, 211-217. trafalgar, battle of, general plan of action, as originally conceived, ii. 343-346; discussed, 347-349; contrasted with the tactics of the battle as fought, 350-352; anecdote concerning its conception, 352; narrative of, 363-397. trench, mrs. _see_ st. george. tripoli, maintains formal war with naples and portugal, for the purposes of piracy, i. 409, ii. 7; nelson's diplomatic difficulties with, i. 409, 410. troubridge, sir thomas, nobly supports nelson in his initiative at the battle of st. vincent, i. 271-273, 277-282; advises and accompanies nelson in the teneriffe expedition, 296-306; limitations of, 300, 301, and admirable qualities, 304-306, ii. 141; sent with a detachment of ten ships-of-the-line to join nelson in the nile campaign, i. 323, 325, 326; mentioned, 328, 329, 333, 340, 341, 343; his ship, the "culloden," unfortunately grounds before getting into action at the nile, 352; nelson's praise of, 364, ii. 10; incidental services in the waters of italy and malta, i. 393, 405, 414-416, 419, 420, 437, 444, ii. 6, 13, 29; remonstrates with nelson on his life at palermo, i. 398; sent by nelson on a special mission to alexandria, 401; singular anecdote of, 411; letters of, to nelson, 453, ii. 29, 35; nelson's petulant reproach to, ii. 28; strong remonstrances of, to nelson, against quitting the blockade of malta, 29, 30, 35; return of, to england, 41; impression of, that nelson will not serve again, 42; advice to miss knight concerning the hamiltons, 48; letter of nelson to, concerning the sailing of the baltic fleet, 66; beginning alienation of nelson from, 111, 140, 141, 142, 170; st. vincent's opinion of, 116, 140. tunis, nelson's mission to, in 1793, i. 113-116; maintains formal war with naples and portugal, for the purposes of piracy, 409, ii. 7; nelson's diplomatic difficulties with, i. 409, 410. turkey, co-operates with russia and great britain in the mediterranean, 1798, i. 392, 404-406, 419, 420, 429, ii. 16-18; nelson's sympathy with, against russia, i. 406, 408; makes separate convention of el arish with french, regardless of her allies, ii. 19, 20; interests of, threatened in the morea and in egypt by the french in 1803-5, 185-188, 195, 211-213. tuscany, attitude of, towards france, in 1794, i. 156, 161; importance of ports of, to france, 157, 158; difficult neutrality of, 185, 233; nelson imagines a french enterprise against, by sea, 214, 217, 218, 219; control of, obtained by the french, 233; nelson's operations on the coast of, 236; blockade of leghorn and seizure of elba, 237; political condition of, in 1803-5, during nelson's mediterranean command, ii. 182. two sicilies, the kingdom of the, (naples and sicily,) nelson's successful mission to, to obtain troops for the occupation of toulon, i. 110; attitude towards france, 1795, 158; sends flotilla to aid nelson, but too late in the season, 192; makes an armistice with france, 1796, 233; nelson's interest keenly excited for, 247, 248; makes peace with france, 1796, 251; dissatisfaction with course of france, in 1798, 319; attitude of, towards france, during the campaign of the nile, 329-331, 340, 341, 342; nelson's anxieties for, 339; nelson's extreme interest in, throughout his life, after his return from the nile, 369, 388, 412, 417, 427, 442-446, 448, 450-452, ii. 4, 5, 6, 39, 183, 190-194, 264-266, 282, 285-287; joy of, upon receipt of the news of battle of the nile, i. 371, 372; strategic weight of, in the counsels of bonaparte, 391; nelson persuades, to declare war against france, 389-393; overwhelming defeat of, and flight of court to palermo, 394, 395; restoration of the royal authority in naples, ii. 6; refusal of the king to reside in naples, 5, 6; occupation of adriatic coast of, by bonaparte, 1803-5, 179. vado, bay of, occupied by austrians in 1795, i. 178; best anchorage between nice and genoa, 186; importance of, to france, 187, 214, 215; evacuated by austrians after the battle of loano, 201, 208; held definitively by french, 223. valetta, french in malta shut in, i. 392, 407, 409, ii. 7; nelson's difficulties in maintaining the blockade, ii. 7-10, 12-14; urgency of spencer and troubridge upon nelson to await the capitulation of, 28-30, 32-35. "vanguard," british ship-of-the-line, nelson's flagship at the battle of the nile, commissioned, i. 310; dismasted off corsica, 323; at the battle of the nile, 348, 349, 350; arrives at naples, 371; nelson's flag shifted from, to the "foudroyant," 423. vansittart, british envoy to copenhagen in 1801, ii. 71-73; report of danish defences, 73; explanations conveyed from nelson to the admiralty by, 73. "victory," british hundred-gun ship, nelson's flagship at trafalgar, jervis's flagship at battle of st. vincent, i. 275; nelson sails in, for the mediterranean, ii. 175; his long stay on board of, 222, 313; returns to england, 318; again sails with nelson, 338; at battle of trafalgar, 370, 378-380, 384-389, 390-394, 397. villeneuve, french admiral, commands the rear at the battle of the nile, i. 357; escapes with two ships-of-the-line and two frigates, 357; indecision of, 358, ii. 349; commands the toulon squadron, after the death of latouche tréville, ii. 257, 271; napoleon's orders to, 271, 272; first sailing of, and disasters encountered by, 272, 275, 276, 277; second sailing of, from toulon, 284; arrival at cadiz and in the west indies, 285; nelson learns of his passing the straits, 287, and of his destination to the west indies, 292-295; leaves west indies for europe, on learning nelson's arrival, 301; followed by nelson, 302; engagement of, with calder's fleet, 313; arrives at ferrol, 314; sails from ferrol, 323; arrival in cadiz, 328; dispositions for battle, before trafalgar, 349, 369, 370, 379, 380; commander-in-chief of the entire combined fleet, 363; encounter of his flagship and nelson's, 384-387; surrender of, 391. villettes, british general, at the siege of bastia, i. 130; nelson's criticism on, when commander of the troops at malta, 1803, ii. 193; characteristic letters of nelson to, 200, 250. wellington, nelson's one meeting with, ii. 321. west indies, nelson's early service in, i. 17-30; called by nelson "the station for honour," i. 37; nelson enforces navigation act in, 53-65; wishes to return to, in search of more active service, 108, 115; conjectures destination of french toulon fleet to, in 1804, ii. 249, 270; importance of, to great britain, 270; rendezvous fixed by napoleon, for the concentration of his fleets, in 1805, 271, 283; toulon squadron goes to, 284, 285; nelson pursues to, 296, 297; nelson's week in, in june, 1805, 298-303; his estimate of his services rendered by going there, 301, 305; nelson returns to europe from, 302-310. william henry, prince, son of george iii., and captain in the british navy, first meeting of nelson with, i. 38, 39; description of nelson at twenty-four, by, 39; accompanied by nelson in visit to havana, 41; nelson's association with, in 1786-87, 74, 75; gives away the bride at nelson's wedding, 75; intimacy of nelson with, 86-88; returns with his ship from america, contrary to orders, 88; at variance with the king, 88, 89; made duke of clarence, 89; effect of intimacy with, upon nelson, 89; subsequent correspondence between nelson and, 239, 244, 256, 284, 451; continues his friendship to lady nelson, after her husband's alienation, ii. 55. woolward, frances herbert, maiden name of lady nelson, i. 65. wurmser, austrian marshal, succeeds beaulieu, after the latter's defeat by bonaparte, in 1796, i. 238; raises the siege of mantua, 238; nelson's enterprise against leghorn dependent on the success of, 240; defeated by bonaparte, at castiglione and lonato, 241. wyndham, british minister to tuscany, mention of nelson and the hamiltons by, ii. 38, 39; strained relations of, towards nelson and the hamiltons, 39. sampson low, marston & co.'s naval and military publications captain mahan's works on sea power. captain mahan's works on the "influence of sea power" have received official recognition from the governments of the united states and great britain--the war and navy departments of the united states having purchased a large edition for use in the service and ship libraries, and the british government having supplied the books to the cruising ships of the royal navy. german and french translations have appeared. i. the influence of sea power upon history. 1660-1783. with 25 charts of great naval battles. demy 8vo. cloth extra, gilt top, 18_s._ ii. the influence of sea power upon the french revolution and empire. with 13 maps and battle plans. 2 vols. demy 8vo., cloth extra, gilt top, 30_s._ iii. the life of admiral farragut. with steel engraved portrait, also a general map and plans of the passage of the mississippi forts, the vicksburg batteries, and port hudson, and the battle of mobile bay. crown 8vo., cloth, price 6_s._ captain mahan's book is admirable, both as a picture of the admiral himself and as gathering up the lessons of strategy and conduct which are to be learnt from a survey of his career.--_times._ iv. the life of nelson: the embodiment of the sea power of great britain. with 12 battle plans, 7 lithographic maps, and 19 photogravure plates. 2 vols. demy 8vo., cloth extra, gilt top, price 36_s._ _net_. the late admiral tryon, of the british navy, pronounced them _simply great_,--_the best things ever written._ the influence of sea power upon history. extracts from reviews. captain mahan, whose name is famous all the world over as that of the author of "the influence of sea power upon history," a work, or rather a series of works, which may fairly be said to have codified the laws of naval strategy--_the westminster gazette._ an instructive work of the highest value and interest to students and to the reading public, and should find its way into all the libraries and homes of the land.--_magazine of american history._ captain mahan has been recognized by all competent judges not merely as the most distinguished living writer on naval strategy, but as the originator and first exponent of what may be called the philosophy of naval history.--_london times._ the greatest of living writers on naval subjects.... captain mahan is the author of books which mark a new era in historical literature. they are to sailors of every navy in the world what napier's "history of the peninsular war" was to british soldiers, and something more. captain mahan is a born historian.--_london daily news._ the american officer was fitted by nature as well as by training for the work to which he happily turned his hand. possessed of a charming style; precise and clear instead of verbose; completely conscious of what he intends to convey and perfectly competent to convey it; and dowered with a perspicacious breadth of view which dwells on all that is important and passes over all that is irrelevant, captain mahan has given us two very remarkable books.--_the fortnightly review._ the distinguished author of some of the most important books on naval history and strategy which have ever been published, and which serve as text-books for nearly every naval lecture or article of the present day.--_london globe._ captain mahan's book should be read by all who are interested in the development of the navy, and who believe in the importance of the navy as the principal factor of defence.--_c.h. davis, commander and chief intelligence officer, u.s.n._ an altogether exceptional work; there is nothing like it in the whole range of naval literature.... the work is entirely original in conception, masterful in construction, and scholarly in execution.--_the critic._ the influence of sea power upon the french revolution and empire. press notices. a book that must be read. _first_, it must be read by all schoolmasters, from the headmaster of eton to the head of the humblest board-school in the country. no man is fit to train english boys to fulfil their duties as englishmen who has not marked, learned, and inwardly digested it. _secondly_, it must be read by every englishman and englishwoman who wishes to be worthy of that name. it is no hard or irksome task to which i call them the writing is throughout clear, vigorous, and incisive.... the book deserves and must attain a world-wide reputation.--_colonel maurice of the british army in "the united service magazine."_ delightful reading.... the most exciting and among the best written naval battles ever described, for its clearness, is the battle of the nile, fought in the darkness and upon strange waters.--_chicago inter-ocean._ remarkable volumes.... captain mahan has for the first time made clear to the unprofessional reader how much the plans of napoleon were influenced by the successes of the british squadrons and the consequent failure of his "continental system."--_macmillan's magazine._ do not contain a page that cannot be read with pleasure as well as with profit by any man for whom foreign politics, the history of the rise and fall of nations, and the sources of national greatness possess the slightest attractions.--_the fortnightly review._ no other writer has told the influence of british naval power upon the career of napoleon with the skill and lucidity characterizing captain mahan's account.--_springfield republican (editorial)._ of great permanent value and exceptional interest, and in a high degree creditable to our naval service and to the country.--_the new york nation._ masterly and comprehensive.... the drama of the great war unfolds itself in these pages in a manner at once novel and engrossing.--_the spectator._ a highly interesting and an important work, having lessons and suggestions which are calculated to be of high value to the people of the united states. his pages abound with spirited and careful accounts of the great naval battles and manoeuvres which occurred during the period treated. we have before had occasion to praise captain mahan's literary style, which is flexible, nervous, and sufficiently dignified to satisfy every reasonable demand. it is, moreover, full of energy, and marked by a felicitous choice of language, and its tone and qualities are sustained steadily throughout.--_new york tribune._ of the way in which this great theme is treated we need say little; no living writer is so well qualified to do it justice as captain mahan, and certainly the true significance of the tremendous events of these momentous years has never been more luminously or more instructively displayed.--_london times._ he penetrates to the real meaning of the mass of books, diplomatic, political, naval and historical, which have been written to describe the state of things in europe during the last decade of the eighteenth century--_the critic._ we do not hesitate to assert that, in treating this theme, he has easily surpassed all previous writers.--_judge william o'connor morris in "the academy."_ 