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 THE LIBRARY 
 
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 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
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 LOS ANGELES 
 
 GIFT 
 
 From the Library of 
 
 Henry Goldman, Ph.D. 
 
 1886-1972
 
 /•.*•
 
 The Life of Nelson
 
 ....*' Bursting- through the gloom 
 With radiant glory from tliy trophied tomb, 
 The sacred splendour of thy deathless name 
 Shall grace and guard thy Country's martial fame. 
 Far-seen shall blaze the unextinguish'd ray, 
 A mighty beacon, lighting Glory's way ; 
 With living lustre this proud Land adorn, 
 And shine and save, thro' ages yet unborn." 
 
 Ulm and Trafalgar. 
 
 JManufactitred in Great Britain
 
 I -^ PigeSdi. 
 
 '•How sorrowful this makes mel"
 
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 The Lire or Nelson 
 
 Robert Southey 
 
 With Illustrations
 
 Annex 
 
 /viH57 
 ISI5 
 
 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 be- 
 come a manual for the young sailor, which he 
 may carry about with him, till he has treasured 
 up the example in his memory and in his 
 heart. In attempting such a work, I shall write 
 the eulogy of our great naval 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 perspicuQusl/,
 
 NELSON'S ACCOUNT OF HIS 
 SERVICES. 
 
 October 15, 1799. Port Mahon. 
 
 Horatio Nelson, son of the Reverend Edmund 
 Nelson, Rector of Burnham-Thorpe, in the 
 county of Norfolk, and Catherine his wife, 
 daughter of Doctor Suckling, Prebendary of 
 Westminster, whose grandmother was sister to 
 Sir Robert Walpole, Earl of Orford. 
 
 I was born September 29, 1758, in the Parson- 
 age-house ; was sent to the high school at 
 Norwich, and afterwards removed to North 
 Walsham ; from whence, on the disturbance 
 with Spain relative to the Falkland Islands, I 
 went to sea with my uncle. Captain Maurice 
 Suckling, in the Raisonndble^ of 64 guns. But 
 the business with Spain being accommodated, I 
 was sent in a West-India ship belonging to the 
 house of Hibbert, Purrier, Horton, with Mr. John 
 Rathbone, who had formerly been in the Navy, 
 in the Dreadnought^ with Captain Suckling. 
 From this voyage I returned to the Triumph^ 
 at Chatham, in July, 1772 ; and, if I did not 
 improve in my education, I came back a practical 
 seaman, with a horror of the Royal Navy, and with 
 a saying then constant with seamen, **Aft the 
 most honour ; forward the better man I " It was 
 many weeks before I got in the least reconciled 
 to a man-of-war, so deep was the prejudice 
 rooted ; and what pains were taken to instil this 
 erroneous principle in a young mind I However, 
 as my ambition was to be a seaman, it was 
 always held out as a reward, that if I attended
 
 2 NELSON'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 well to my navigation, I should go in the cutter 
 and decked long-boat, which was attached to the 
 commanding officer's ship at Chatham. Thus 
 by degrees I became a e^ood pilot, for vessels of 
 that description, from <^hatham to the Tower of 
 London, down to the Swin and the North Fore- 
 land, and confident of myself amongst rocks and 
 sands, which has been many times since of great 
 comfort to me. In this way I was trained, till 
 the expedition towards the North Pole was fitted 
 out ; when although no boys were allowed to go 
 in the ships (as of no use), yet nothing could 
 prevent my using every interest to go with 
 Captain Lutwidge, in the Carcass ; and as I 
 fancied I was to fill a man's place, I begged I 
 might be his cockswain : which, finding my 
 ardent desire for going with him. Captain 
 Lutwidge complied with, and has continued the 
 strictest friendship to this moment. Lord Mul- 
 grave, whom I then first knew, maintained his 
 kindest friendship and regard to the last moment 
 of his life. When the boats were fitting out to 
 quit the two ships blocked up in the ice, I exerted 
 myself to have the command of a four-oared cutter 
 raised upon, which was given me, with twelve 
 men ; and I prided myself that I could navigate 
 her better than any other boat in the ship. 
 
 On our arrival in England, being paid off, 
 October 15, I found that a squadron was fitting- 
 out for the East Indies; and nothing less than 
 such a distant voyage could in the least satisfy 
 my desire of maritime knowledge. I was placed 
 in the Seahorse, of 20 guns, with Captain Farmer, 
 and watched in the fore-top ; from whence in time 
 I was placed on the quarter-deck, having, in the
 
 NELSON'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 3 
 
 time I was in this ship, visited almost every part 
 of the East Indies, from Bengal to Bussorah. 
 Ill-health induced Sir Edward Hughes, who had 
 always shown me the greatest kindness, to send 
 me to England in the Dolphin^ 20 guns, with 
 Captain James Pigot, whose kindness at that time 
 saved my life. This ship was paid off at Wool- 
 wich, on the 24th September, 1776. On the 26th, 
 I received an order from Sir James Douglas, who 
 commanded at Portsmouth, to act as lieutenant 
 of the Worcester^ 64, Captain Mark Robinson, 
 who was ordered to Gibraltar with a convoy. In 
 this ship I was at sea with convoys till April 2nd, 
 1777, and in very bad weather; but although my 
 age might have been a sufficient cause for not 
 entrusting me with the charge of a watch, yet 
 Captain Robinson used to say, *'he felt as easy 
 when I was upon deck, as any officer in the 
 ship." 
 
 On the 8th of April, 1777, I passed my 
 examination as a lieutenant, and received my 
 commission the next day, as second lieutenant 
 of the Lowestoffe frigate, of 32 guns. Captain 
 (afterwards Lieutenant-Governor of Greenwich 
 Hospital) William Locker, In this ship I went 
 to Jamaica ; but even a frigate was not suffi- 
 ciently active for my mind, and 1 got into a 
 schooner, tender to the Lowestoffe, In this 
 vessel I made myself a complete pilot for all 
 the passages through the Keys, islands situated 
 on the north side Hispaniola. Whilst in this 
 frigate, an event happened which presaged my 
 character ; and as it conveys no dishonour to the 
 officer alluded to, I shall relate it. 
 
 Blowing a gale of wind, and very heavy sea.
 
 4 NELSON'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 the frigate captured an American letter-of- 
 marque. The first lieutenant was ordered to 
 board her, which he did not do, owing to the 
 very high sea. On his return, the captain said, 
 *' Have I no officer in the ship who can board 
 the prize?" On which the master ran to the 
 gangway, to get into the boat, when I stopped 
 him, saying, '' It is my turn now ; and if I come 
 back it is yours." This little incident has often 
 occurred to my mind ; and I know it is my dis- 
 position, that difficulties and dangers do but 
 increase my desire of attempting them. 
 
 Sir Peter Parker, soon after his arrival at 
 Jamaica, 1778, took me into his own flag-ship, 
 the Bristol^ as third lieutenant, from which I 
 rose by succession to be first. Nothing particular 
 happened whilst I was in this ship, which was 
 actively employed off Cape Fran9ois, being the 
 commencement of the French war. 
 
 On the 8th of December, 1778, I was appointed 
 commander of the Badger brig ; and was first 
 sent to protect the Mosquito shore, and the Bay 
 of Honduras, from the depredations of the 
 American privateers. Whilst on this service, I 
 gained so much the affections of the settlers, that 
 they unanimously voted me their thanks, and 
 expressed their regret on my leaving them, en- 
 trusting me to describe to Sir Peter Parker and 
 Sir John Bailing their situation, should a war 
 -ivith Spain break out. Whilst I commanded 
 this brig, H.M.S. Glasgow^ Captain Thomas 
 Lloyd, came into Montego Bay, Jamaica, where 
 the Badger was lying : in two hours afterwards 
 she took fire by a cask of rum ; and Captain 
 Lloyd will tell you, that it was owing to my
 
 NELSON'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 5 
 
 exertions, joined to his, that her whole crew were 
 rescued from the flames. 
 
 On the nth of June, 1779, I was made post in 
 the Hinchinhrook : when, being at sea, and Count 
 d'Estaing arriving at Hispaniola with a very large 
 fleet and army from Martinico, an attack on 
 Jamaica was expected. In this critical state I 
 was, by both admiral and general, entrusted with 
 the command of the batteries at Port Royal ; 
 and I need not say, as this place was the key to 
 the whole naval force, the town of Kingston, 
 and Spanish Town, the defence of it was the most 
 important post in the whole island. 
 
 In January, 1780, an expedition being resolved 
 on against St. Juan's, I was chosen to direct the 
 sea part of it. Major Poison, who commanded, 
 will tell you of my exertions ; how I quitted my 
 ship, carried troops in boats an hundred miles 
 up a river, which none but Spaniards, since the 
 buccaneers, had ever ascended : it will then be 
 told how I boarded, if I may be allowed the 
 expression, an outpost of the enemy, situated on 
 an island in the river ; that I made batteries and 
 afterwards tought them, and was a principal 
 cause of our success. From this scene I was 
 appointed to the Janus^ 44, at Jamaica, and went 
 to Port Royal in the Victor sloop. 
 
 My state of health was now so bad, that I was 
 obliged to go to England in the Lion, the 
 Honourable William Cornwallis, captain ; whose 
 care and attention again saved my life. In 
 August, 1 781, I was commissioned for the 
 Albemarle ; and, it would almost be supposed to 
 try my constitution, was kept the whole winter in 
 the North Sea. In April, 1782, I sailed with a
 
 6 NELSON'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 convoy for Newfoundland and Quebec, under the 
 orders of Captain Thomas Pringle. From 
 Quebec, during a cruise off Boston, I was chased 
 by three French ships of the line, and the Iris 
 frigate ; as they all beat me in sailing very 
 much, I had no chance left, but running them 
 amongst the shoals of St. George's bank. This 
 alarmed the line -of- battle ships, and they 
 quitted the pursuit ; but the frigate continued, 
 and at sunset was little more than gunshot 
 distant : when, the line-of-battle ships being out 
 of sight, I ordered the main-topsail to be laid to 
 the mast ; on this the frigate tacked and stood to 
 rejoin her consorts. 
 
 In October I sailed from Quebec with a convoy 
 to New York, where I joined the fleet under the 
 command of Lord Hood ; and in November I 
 sailed with him to the West Indies, where I 
 remained till the peace ; when I came to 
 England (being directed in my way to attend 
 H.R.H. the Duke of Clarence, on his visit to the 
 Havannah), and was paid off at Portsmouth, on 
 July 3rd, 1783. In the autumn I went to France, 
 and remained there till the spring of the year 
 1784; when I was appointed to the Boreas 
 frigate, of 28 guns, and ordered to the Leeward 
 Islands station. 
 
 This station opened a new scene to the officers 
 ot the British Navy. The Americans, when 
 colonists, possessed almost all the trade from 
 America to our West India Islands, and on the 
 return of peace they forgot, on this occasion, that 
 they became foreigners, and of course had no 
 right to trade in the British Colonies. Our 
 governors and custom-house officers pretended,
 
 NELSON'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 7 
 
 that by the Navigation Act they had a right to 
 trade ; and all the West Indians wished what 
 was so much for their interest. 
 
 Having given governors, custom-house officers, 
 and Americans, notice of what I would do, I 
 seized many of their vessels, which brought all 
 parties upon me ; and I was persecuted from one 
 island to another, so that I could not leave my 
 ship. But conscious rectitude bore me through 
 it ; and I was supported, when the business came 
 to be understood, from home ; and I proved (and 
 an act of parliament has since established it) that 
 a captain of a man-of-war is in duty bound to 
 support all the maritime laws, by his admiralty 
 commission alone, without becoming a custom- 
 house officer. 
 
 In July, 1786, I was left with the command till 
 June, 1787, when I sailed for England. During 
 the winter H.R.H. the Duke of Clarence visited 
 the Leeward Islands in the Pegasus frigate, of 
 which he was captain ; and in March this year I 
 married Frances Herbert Nisbet, widow of Dr. 
 Nisbet, of the island of Nevis ; by whom I have 
 no children. 
 
 The Boreas being paid off at Sheerness, on 
 November the 30th, I lived at Burnham-Thorpe, 
 county of Norfolk, in the Parsonage-house. In 
 1790, when the affair with Spain, relative to 
 Nootka Sound, had nearly involved us in a war, 
 I made use of every interest to get a ship, ay, 
 even a boat, to serve my country, but in vain ; 
 there was a prejudice at the Admiralty evidently 
 against me, which I can neither guess at, nor in 
 the least account for. 
 
 On the 30th of January, 1793, I was
 
 8 NELSON'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 commissioned in the handsomest way for the 
 Agame7nnony 64 guns, and was put under the 
 command of that great man and excellent officer, 
 Lord Hood, appointed to the command in the 
 Mediterranean. The unbounded confidence on 
 all occasions placed in me by his lordship, will 
 show his opinions of my abilities ; having served 
 in the command of the seamen landed for the 
 sieges of Bastia and Calvi. 
 
 His lordship in October, 1794, left the Mediter- 
 ranean to Admiral Hotham, who also honoured 
 me with the same confidence. I was in the 
 actions of the 13th and 14th of March, 1795, 
 and 13th of July in the same year. For the 
 share I had in them I refer to the Admiralty 
 letters. I was then appointed by Admiral 
 Hotham to co-operate with the Austrian general, 
 De Vins, which I did all the time Admiral 
 Hotham retained the command, till November ; 
 when he was superseded by Sir John Jervis, now 
 Earl Vincent. 
 
 In April, 1796, the commander-in-chief so 
 much approved my conduct, that he directed me 
 to wear a distinguishing pendant. In June I 
 was removed from the Agamemnon to the 
 Captain, and on the nth of August had 
 appointed a captain under me. Between April 
 and October, 1796, I was employed in the 
 blockade of Leghorn, taking Porto Ferrajo, the 
 island of Caprea, and finally in the evacuation of 
 Bastia : when, having seen the troops in safety 
 to Porto Ferrajo, I joined the admiral in St. 
 Fiorenzo Bay, and proceeded with him to 
 Gibraltar ; whence in December I was sent in La 
 Mine-rue frigate, Captain George Cockburn, to
 
 NELSON'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 9 
 
 Porto Ferrajo, to bring down our naval stores, 
 etc. On the passage we captured a Spanish 
 frigate, La Sabina^ of 40 guns, 28 eighteen- 
 pounders on her main deck, as will appear by 
 my letter. 
 
 For an account of what passed from our sailing 
 from Porto Ferrajo on the 29th of January, 1797, 
 to the finish of the action on the 14th of February, 
 I refer to the account published by Colonel 
 Drinkwater. The king, for my conduct, gave 
 me a gold medal, and the City of London a gold 
 box. 
 
 In April, 1797, I hoisted my flag as Rear- 
 Admiral of the Blue, and was sent to bring down 
 the garrison of Porto Ferrajo ; which service 
 performed, I shifted my flag from the Captain to 
 the Theseus on May the 27th, and was employed 
 in the command of the inner squadron at the 
 blockade of Cadiz. It was during this period 
 that perhaps my personal courage was more 
 conspicuous than at any other period of my life. 
 In an attack of the Spanish gunboats I was 
 boarded, in my barge, with its common crew of 
 ten men, cockswain, Captain Freemantle, and 
 myself, by the commander of the gunboats ; the 
 Spanish barge rowed twenty-six oars, besides 
 officers — thirty men in the whole. This was a 
 service hand-to-hand with swords, in which my 
 cockswain, John Sykes (now no more), twice 
 saved my life. Eighteen of the Spaniards being 
 killed, and several wounded, we succeeded in 
 taking their commander. On the 15th of July, 
 1797, I sailed for Teneriffe ; for the event, I refer 
 to my letter on that expedition. Having then 
 lost my right arm, for this loss and my formcjf
 
 lo NELSON'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 services his Majesty was pleased to settle on me 
 a pension of ;^iooo a year. By some unlucky 
 mismanagement of my arm I was obliged to go 
 to England, and it was the 13th of December, 
 1797, before the surgeons pronounced me fit for 
 service. On the 19th of December the Vmiguard 
 was commissioned for my flag-ship. On the 
 I St of April, 1798, I sailed with a convoy from 
 Spithead ; at the back of the Isle of Wight, the 
 wind coming to the westward, I was forced to 
 return to St. Helen's, and finally sailed on the 9th 
 of April, carrying a convoy to Oporto and 
 Lisbon. I joined Earl St. Vincent off Cadiz, on 
 April 29th ; on the 30th I was ordered into the 
 Mediterranean. I refer to the printed narrative 
 of my proceedings to the close of the Battle of 
 the Nile. 
 
 On the .22nd of September, 1798, I arrived at 
 Naples, and was received as a deliverer by the 
 king, queen, and the whole kingdom. October 
 1 2th, the blockade of Malta took place, which 
 has continued without intermission to this day. 
 On the 2ist of December, 1798, his Sicilian 
 Majesty and family embarked in the Vanguard^ 
 and were carried to Palermo in Sicily. In 
 March, 1799, I arranged a plan for taking the 
 islands in the Bay of Naples, and for supporting 
 the Royalists, who were making head in the 
 kingdom. This plan succeeded in every part. 
 In May I shifted my flag, being promoted to 
 be Rear-Admiral of the Red, to the Foudroyant^ 
 and was obliged to be on my guard against the 
 French fleets. In June and July, 1799, I went 
 to Naples, and, as his Sicilian Majesty»is pleased 
 to say, reconquered liis kingdom, and placed
 
 NELSON'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. ii 
 
 him on his throne. On the 9th of August I 
 brought his Sicilian Majesty back to Palermo, 
 having been upwards of four weeks on board 
 the Foudroyant. 
 
 On the 13th, his Sicilian Majesty presented 
 me with a sword magnificently enriched with 
 diamonds, the title of Duke of Bronte, and 
 annexed to it the feud of Bronte, supposed to be 
 worth ;^3000 per annum. On the arrival of the 
 Russian squadron at Naples, I directed Commo- 
 dore Troubridge to go with the squadron, and 
 blockade closely Civita Vecchia, and to offer the 
 French most favourable conditions, if they would 
 evacuate Rome and Civita Vecchia ; which terms 
 the French general, Grenier, complied with, and 
 they were signed on board the Culloden : when 
 a prophecy made to me on my arrival at Naples 
 was fulfilled ; viz.. That I should take Rome with 
 my ships. 
 
 Thus may be exemplified by my life, that 
 perseverance in any profession will most prob- 
 ably meet its reward. Without having any 
 inheritance, or having been fortunate in prize- 
 money, I have received all the honours of my 
 profession, been created a peer of Great Britain, 
 etc. And I may say to the Reader, 
 
 **GO THOU AND DO LIKEWISE.'*
 
 The Life of Nelson, 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 I758-I783. 
 
 Nelson's birth and boyhood — He is entered on board 
 the Raisonnahle — Goes to the West Indies in a 
 merchant-ship ; then serves in the Triumph — He 
 sails in Captain Phipps's 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 
 Hinchinhrook — Expedition against the Spanish Main 
 — Sent to the North Seas in the Albemarle — Services 
 during the American war. 
 
 Horatio, son of Edmund and Catherine Nelson, 
 was born September 29th, 1758, in the parsonage- 
 house of Burnham-Thorpe, a village in the county 
 of Norfolk, of which his father was rector. 
 
 The maiden name of his mother was Suckling : 
 her grandmother was an elder 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 Suck- 
 ling, 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 Raisonnahle^ of 64 guns. ** Do, William," 
 said he to a brother who was a vear and a half older
 
 14 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 than himself, ''write to my father, and tell him I 
 should like to go to sea with Uncle Maurice." Mr. 
 Nelson was then at Bath, whither he had gore 
 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. Accordingly 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-bird's-nesting from his grandmother's 
 house in company with a cow-boy ; 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. ts 
 
 search had been made for him in various 
 directions, he was discovered alone, sitting com- 
 posedly 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! grand- 
 mamma," 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 I " 
 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 volun- 
 teered 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
 
 i6 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 Mr. Nelson's servant arrived at this school, at 
 North Walsham, with the expected summons fo: 
 Horatio to join his ship. The parting from h,'S 
 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 ac- 
 companied his father to London. The Ra'.son- 
 nable wdiS, lying in the Medway. He was pui: 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 wander- 
 ing 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 ap- 
 prised 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, w^hich 
 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
 
 Nelson leaves home. 
 
 rage 16.
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 17 
 
 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 
 da}s 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^ 
 74, then stationed as a guardship in the 
 Thames. This was considered as too inactive a 
 life for a boy, and Nelson was therefore sent on 
 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 re- 
 turned a practical seaman, but with a hatred of 
 the king's service, and a saying then common 
 among the sailors — *'Aft the most honour ; for- 
 ward 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
 
 i8 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 acquired a confidence among rocks and sandsj 
 of which he often felt the value. 
 
 Nelson had not been many months on boaid 
 the Triumph when his love of enterprise was 
 excited by hearing that two ships were fitting out 
 for a voyage of discovery toward 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 him- 
 self, before their departure, to see that every- 
 thing 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 19 
 
 passing. By these means, from thirty-four to 
 forty gallons were produced every day. 
 
 They sailed from the Nore on the 4th of June, 
 1773 : on the 6th of the following month they 
 were in lat. 79** 56' 36''; long. 9" 43' 30'' 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 lat. 80° 13' ; 
 long. i8° 48' 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 every- 
 where, 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 thfe 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 any- 
 where, except a hole or lake, as it might be 
 called, of about a mile and a half in circumfer- 
 ence, 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 farther than they had ever been 
 before, and considered that the season was
 
 20 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 in- 
 corporated 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 21 
 
 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 ex- 
 posed 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 Lut- 
 widge and his officers became exceedingly alarmed 
 for their safety. Between three and four in the 
 morning the weather cleared, and the two ad- 
 venturers 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 ip 
 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
 
 22 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 boy then returned, somewhat afraid of the con- 
 sequences of his trespass. The captain repri- 
 manded 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 entrusted 
 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 be all conveyed to Europe. As for winter- 
 ing 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 LIFE OF NELSON. 23 
 
 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 pre- 
 paring 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 the 
 northward and eastward, 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 com- 
 mander therefore resolved to carry on both
 
 24 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 
 advantages 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 farther. 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 25 
 
 between high mountains, so dark as, when con- 
 trasted 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 towards 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 80° and Si"*, without the smallest 
 appearance of any opening. 
 
 The ships were paid off shortly after their 
 return to England ; and Nelson was then (October 
 14, 1773) placed by his uncle with Captain 
 Farmer, in the Seahorse^ of 20 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
 
 26 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 Dolphi7i ; 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 enjoy- 
 ment 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,
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 27 
 
 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^ 
 64 guns, Captain Mark Robinson, then going 
 out with convoy to Gibraltar. Soon after his 
 return, on the 8th 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
 
 28 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 lieu- 
 tenant 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 29 
 
 water-logged that the Lowes to ff e' 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 ex- 
 cellent qualities of Nelson, and formed a friend- 
 ship 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 CoUingwood, who had 
 been long in habits of great friendship with 
 him, succeeded him in the Lowes toff e. Sir 
 Peter Parker was the friend of both, and thus 
 it 'happened that whenever Nelson got a step 
 in rank, CoUingwood succeeded him. The 
 former soon became first lieutenant ; and on 
 the 8th of December, 1778, was appointed 
 commander of the Badger brig, CoUingwood 
 taking his place in the Bristol. While the 
 Badger was lying in Montego Bay, Jamaica, 
 the Glasgow, of 20 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 other- 
 wise have ensued. On the nth of June, 1779, 
 he was made post into the Hinchitibrook, of 
 28 guns, an enemy's merchantman, sheathed 
 with wood, which had been taken into the 
 service. CoUingwood was then made commander
 
 30 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 into the Badger. A short time after he left the 
 Lo'westoffe^ 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, in- 
 deed, had yet been given him of distinguishing 
 himself; but he was thoroughly master of his 
 profession, and his zeal and ability were ac- 
 knowledged 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 Bailing, 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 31 
 
 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 entrusted ; he 
 attempted nothing with his formidable armament ; 
 and General Bailing 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, »nd 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 Calling'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
 
 32 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 neigh- 
 bouring tribes were reconciled 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 re- 
 mained 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 HinchinhrGok' s boats, 
 and they began their voyage. It was the latter 
 end of the dry season, the worst time for such
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 33 
 
 an expedition ; the river was consequently low : 
 Indians were sent forward through narrow 
 channels between shoals and sand-banks, 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 insur- 
 mountable, 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 them- 
 selves, 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 
 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 sprang was 
 so muddy that he had some difficulty in 
 extricating himself, and lost his shoes : bare- 
 5 footed, however, he advanced, and, in his own
 
 34 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 phrase, boarded the battery. In this resolute 
 attempt he was bravely supported by Despard, at 
 that time a captain in the army, afterwards 
 unhappily known for his schemes of revolu- 
 tionary treason. The castle of San Juan is 
 situated about sixteen 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 
 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 thirty-two miles 
 below the point where the river issues from the 
 lake of Nicaragua, and sixty-nine 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 35 
 
 English appeared before it on the nth, 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 sank 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 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 con- 
 tagion 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 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
 
 36 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 men 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 Hinchmhrook's complement con- 
 sisted 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, sank 
 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 37 
 
 succeed him in the Janus, of 44 guns ; Colling- 
 wood being then made post into the Hinchin- 
 brook. 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) Corn- 
 wallis took him home in the Lion ; and to his 
 care and kindness Nelson believed himself in- 
 debted 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 employ- 
 ment. After an interval of about four months 
 (August, 1 781) he was appointed to the 
 Albemarle, of 28 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
 
 38 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 Elsineur, 
 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 sound- 
 ings ; 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 sailor, except when going 
 direcdy 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 39 
 
 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 (1782) 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 ; tor 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 Albeinarle 
 had a narrow escape upon this cruise. Four
 
 40 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 SL 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 his 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 his reappearance, Nelson took his arm 
 to walk towards the town, and told him 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 utter 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 41 
 
 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 com- 
 mander-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 in- 
 troducing 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 li ke it before, nor
 
 42 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 Guayra, 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 Fonts. 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 43 
 
 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 com- 
 mander-in-chief should refuse to acquiesce in 
 their being thus liberated : a circumstance which 
 was not by any means likely to happen. Tidings 
 soon arrived that the preliminaries of peace had 
 been signed ; and the Albemarle returned to 
 England, and was paid off (July 3, 1783). 
 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 
 the officers, nor the ofBcers 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.
 
 44 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 CHAPTER IL 
 1 784- 1 793. 
 
 Nelson goes to Fiance during- the peace — Reappointed 
 to the Boreas and stationed at tlie Leeward Islands 
 — His firm conduct concerning the American inter- 
 lopers 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 
 nis 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 appr.ars to have been less 
 ardent than the first ; for, upon weighing the
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 45 
 
 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 Fonts 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 (1794), ^^ 
 was appointed to the Boreas^ 28 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 masthead, 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 schoolroom, to see that they 
 were pursuing their nautical studies ; and at
 
 46 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 47 
 
 sent an order to the captain of the Latona to 
 strike it, and return to the dockyard. He went 
 on shore the same day, dined with the com- 
 missioner, 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 would 
 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 informa- 
 tion that this ship was sent from Martinico, 
 with two general officers and some engineers 
 on board, to make the 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,
 
 48 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 49 
 
 they come, sell their cargoes for ready money, 
 go to Martinico, buy molasses, and so round and 
 round. The loyalists cannot do this, and conse- 
 quently 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 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, etc., 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 ap- 
 parently 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.
 
 50 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 Ministerof England, and 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. Kitts, 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. Kitts, 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,
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON, 51 
 
 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
 
 52 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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. 
 
 ColHngwood, in the Mediator^ and his brother, 
 Wilfred ColHngwood, 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 con- 
 demned 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 eight-and-forty hours ; but 
 they refused to obey, denying that they were 
 Americans. Some oi 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 
 deposUions it appeared that the vessels and
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 53 
 
 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 ;^40,ooo ; 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 I ** Pity ! '* 
 exclaimed Nelson : ** pity ! did you say? I shall 
 live, sir, to be envied I and to that point I shall 
 always direct my course." Eight weeks he re- 
 mained 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.
 
 54 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 ;;^io,ooo, 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 representations 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 deserve to be sent out of the 
 service, or at least to have had some little notice
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON, 55 
 
 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 caireful, 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 I 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 litde 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 pre- 
 ceding 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
 
 56 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 recon- 
 ciling 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 must, 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 57 
 
 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, represent- 
 ing 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
 
 58 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 was compelled, with his eyes open, to submit to 
 a practice originating in fraudulent intentions. 
 Soon afterwards two Antigua merchants in- 
 form^ him that they were privy to great frauds, 
 which had been committed upon government 
 in various departments ; at Antigua, to the 
 amount of nearly ;^5oo,ooo ; at Lucie, ;^300,ooo ; 
 at Barbadoes, ;^250,ooo ; 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 muchias 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 what- 
 ever : 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 preju- 
 dices 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 59 
 
 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 con- 
 fined 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 sup- 
 posed to be consumptive when in the West 
 Indies, and perhaps was saved from consump- 
 tion 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 sloop and receiving 
 ship. This unworthy treatment, which more 
 probably proceeded from intention than from 
 neglect, excited in Nelson the strongest in- 
 dignation. 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 pre- 
 pare the Boreas for being paid off, he expressed 
 his joy to the senior officer in the Med way, 
 saying, **It will release me for ever from an 
 ungrateful service, for it is my firm and un- 
 alterable determination never again to set my 
 foot on board a king's ship. Immediately after
 
 6o THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 dis- 
 suade 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 I am 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 unquestion- 
 ably v/rong. His Royal Highness, however, while 
 he supported his own character and authority, 
 prevented ihe trial, which must have been
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 6i 
 
 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 satis- 
 factorily proved his charges. In consequence, it 
 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 recom- 
 mended was adopted. The investigation was 
 put into a proper course, which ended in the
 
 62 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 detection and punishment of some of the culprits. 
 An immense saving was made to government, 
 and thus its attention was directed to similar 
 peculation in other parts of the colonies. But it 
 is said also that no mark of commendation seems 
 to have been bestowed upon Nelson for his 
 exertions. And it is 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 y Nevertheless, the sense of what he 
 thought unworthy usage did not diminish his 
 zeal. *' I," said he,** must still buffet the waves 
 in search of— what? Alas I that they called 
 honour is now thought of no more. My fortune, 
 God knows, has grown worse for the service. 
 So much for serving my country ! But the devil, 
 
 * Clarke and M 'Arthur's Life 0/ Nelson, vol. L p. 107.
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 6;^ 
 
 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 unneces- 
 sarily. Mr. Nelson had long been an invalid, 
 suffering under paralytic and asthmatic affec- 
 tions, 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
 
 64 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 reply. Nelson took up his abode at the parson- 
 age, 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 express 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, there- 
 fore, 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 re-^ 
 solved to purchase one, he went to a fair for 
 that purpose. During his absence, two men
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 65 
 
 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, pre- 
 sented her with a writ, or notification, on the 
 part of the American captains, who now laid 
 their damages at ;^20,ooo, 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 to 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 conse- 
 quences which might ensue, he exclaimed, " This 
 affront I did not deserve ! But I'll be trifled 
 with no longer. 1 will write immediately to the 
 Treasury ; and, if government will not support 
 me, I am resolved to leave the country." Ac- 
 cordingly, 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 character- 
 istic 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 appre- 
 hension, for he would assuredly be supported. 
 Here his disquietude upon this subject seems
 
 66 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 re- 
 newed 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 resolu- 
 tion from which nothing but the urgent re- 
 monstrances of Lord Hood induced him to 
 desist. Hearing that the Raisonnahle^ in which 
 he had commenced his career, was to be commis- 
 sioned, he asked for her. This also was in vain ; 
 and a coldness ensued, on his part, towards 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 67 
 
 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 Agaviem^ion^ of 64 guns. 
 
 CHAPTER HL 
 1793-1795. 
 
 The Agamemnon sent to the Mediterranean — Commence- 
 ment of Nelson's acquaintance with Sir W. Hamilton 
 — He is sent to Corsica, to co-operate 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 
 stepson, went with him as a midshipman. 
 
 The Agamemnon was ordered to the Mediter- 
 ranean, under I^ord Hood. The fleet arrived \x\
 
 68 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 them- 
 selves, 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 69 
 
 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 only now 
 
 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 44-gun 
 frigates, with a corvette of 24 guns, and a brig 
 of 12 guns. The Agamemnon had only three 
 hundred and forty-five 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
 
 70 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 but the forerunner of a far more serious engage- 
 ment, 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 i 
 hoisted out their boats to go to her assistance, j 
 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 govern- 
 ment. 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 afterwards Nelson 
 was detached with a small squadron, to co-oper- 
 ate with General Paoli and the Anti-Gallican 
 party in Corsica.
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 71 
 
 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 mal- 
 aria^ 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 one hundred and fifty miles long, and 
 from forty to fifty broad ; in circumference some 
 three hundred and twenty ; — 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 
 Arragon, and the Genoese, successively at- 
 tempted, and each for a time effected, its con- 
 quest. 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 stao^e. In that age men were not ac- 
 customed to see adventurers play for kingdoms,
 
 72 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 affec- 
 tion towards him, in proportion as their expecta- 
 tions 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, I'heodore returned with this
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 73 
 
 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 king- 
 dom of Corsica for the use of his creditors, and 
 died shortly after his deliverance. 
 
 The French, who had 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 ascend- 
 ancy 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 per- 
 sisted 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
 
 74 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 as Corsica. Having reduced the island to per- 
 fect 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, bom- 
 barded Bastia and San Fiorenzo, and delivered 
 them into the hands of the patriots. This service 
 was long remembered with gratitude : the im- 
 pression made upon our own countrymen was 
 less favourable. They had witnessed the heart- 
 burnings 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 circum- 
 stances ; 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 com- 
 munication, 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 govern- 
 ment for themselves, under two leaders, Gaffori 
 and Matra, who had the title of Protectors. The 
 latter is represented as a partisan of Genoa, favour- 
 ing 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 75 
 
 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 that 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
 
 76 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 Naples, and brought up this 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 mould- 
 ing 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 con- 
 venient 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 LIFE OF NELSON. 77 
 
 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 free man 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 further 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 I *' Availing himself of the 
 respite which the inactivity of the French and 
 the weakness of the Genoese allowed, he prose- 
 cuted his plans of civilising the people. He 
 used to say that though he had an unspeakable 
 pride in tihe prospect of the fame to which he 
 aspired, yet, if he could but render his country- 
 men happy, he could be content to be forgotten. 
 His own importance he never affected to under- 
 value. " We are now to our country," said he,
 
 78 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 ^Mike the prophet Elisha, stretched over the 
 dead child of the Shunammite — 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 ship-board, 
 took refuge in England. It is said that Lord 
 Shelburne resigned his seat in the Cabinet,
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 79 
 
 because the ministry looked on without attempt- 
 ing to prevent France from succeeding in this 
 abominable and important act of aggrandise- 
 ment. In one respect, however, our country- 
 acted as became her. Paoli was welcomed with 
 the honours which he deserved, a pension of 
 £1200 was immediately granted him, and pro- 
 vision 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 restora- 
 tion 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 constitu- 
 tion. 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 
 Humankind, had indulged : and perceiving, 
 after the execution of the king, that a civil 
 war was about to ensue of which no man
 
 8o THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 
 heriditary 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 despatched Lieutenant- Colonel (afterward
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 8i 
 
 Sir John) Moore and Major Koehler to confer 
 with him upon a plan of operations. Sir Gilbert 
 Elliot accompanied them ; and it was agreed 
 upon 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 one 
 hundred and twenty men, who threw the flour 
 into the sea, burnt the mill, and re-embarked 
 before one thousand 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 war- 
 fare 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
 
 82 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 declined co-operating, thinking the attempt im- 
 practicable without a reinforcement of two 
 thousand 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 respecc 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 five 
 hundred 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 dare say they act on a surer principle, 
 although we seldom fail." During this partial 
 action our army appeared upon the heights : 
 and having reconnoitred 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 
 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 83 
 
 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 lord- 
 ship 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 
 eleven hundred and eighty-three soldiers, artillery- 
 men, and marines, and two hundred and fifty 
 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 
 (1794), 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
 
 84 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 diffi- 
 cult. La Combe St. Michael, 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 con- 
 fidence of the sailors ; but they themselves
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 85 
 
 excused the opinion of the generals, when they 
 saw what they had done. " I am all astonish- 
 ment," said Nelson, *'when I reflect on what 
 we have achieved ; one thousand regulars, 
 fifteen hundred national guards, and a large 
 
 i party of Corsican troops, four thousand in ail, 
 laying down their arms to twelve hundred 
 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 infor- 
 mation 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 re- 
 warded 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
 
 86 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 (June lo, 1794), ^^^^ S^* Tropez. The 
 wind fell, and prevented Lord Hood from getting 
 between them and the shore, as he designed :
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 87 
 
 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. Mar- 
 guerite, 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 tre- 
 mendous 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 for 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 
 
 » Lord Melville was fully sensible of tkese talents, and bore testimony to 
 them in the handsomest manner after Sir Charles's death.
 
 88 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 there call our season of the dog-days. 
 Of two thousand men, about 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 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 under- 
 stand the nature of his indefatigable and un- 
 equalled 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 89 
 
 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 
 (September, 1794), in his own words, been 
 miserably torn to pieces by as hard service as 
 a ship's crew ever performed. One hundred and 
 fifty were in their beds when he left Calvi ; 
 of them he lost fifty, 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 ac- 
 complish it the ensuing spring. *'The allied 
 powers," he said, '*were jealous of each other; 
 and none but England was hearty in the cause.'* 
 His v/ish was for peace, on fair terms, because 
 England, he thought, was draining herself to 
 maintain allies who would not fight for them- 
 selves. Lord Hood had now returned to
 
 90 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 91 
 
 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 ordersHo 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 
 (March 8, 1795), 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 
 seven thousand six hundred and fifty men, 
 whereas the enemy had sixteen thousand nine 
 hundred. 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 (March 13). 
 One of their ships, the fa Ira^ of 84 guns, 
 carried away her main and fore topmasts. 
 The Inconstant frigate fired at the disabled ship, 
 but received so many shot that she was obliged
 
 92 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 to leave her. Soon afterwards a French frigate 
 took the ^a Ira in tow ; and the Safis-CulotteSj 
 1 20 guns, and the Jean Barras, 74 guns, 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 fa Jra 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 dis- 
 abled, 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 fVz 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 pre- 
 cision ; for every shot went far ahead. By this 
 time her sails were hanging in tatters, her 
 mizen-topmast, mizen-topsail, 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-
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 93 
 
 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 in- 
 effectual 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 Qa Ira lost one hundred and ten men that 
 day, and was so cut up, that she could not get 
 a topmast aloft during the night. 
 
 At daylight, on the following morning, the 
 English ships w'ere 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 (^a Ira and the 
 Censeur^ 74 guns, 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
 
 94 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 yesterday's antagonist ; but she had to fight 
 on both sides the ship at the same time. The (^a 
 Ira and the Censeur fought most gallantly : the 
 first lost nearly three hundred men, in addition 
 to her former loss ; the last, three hundred and 
 fifty. 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 
 
 * " I can, enire nous," says Sir William Hamilton, in a letter to Nelson, 
 "perceive that my old friend Hotham is not quite awake enough for such a 
 command rs that of the kingj's fleet in the Mediterranean, althoug-h he appears 
 the best creature ima^nable."
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 95 
 
 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 us. 
 
 The (^a 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 during Lord Chatham's 
 administration at the Admiralty ; and it did not, 
 for some time, feel the beneficial effect of his 
 removal. Lord Hood had gone home to represent 
 the real slate 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
 
 96 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 service ; that ruinous economy, which, by sparing" 
 a little, renders all that is spent useless, in- 
 fected the British councils ; and Lord Hood, 
 not being able to obtain such reinforcements 
 as he knew were necessary, resigned the com- 
 mand. *' Surely," said Nelson, "the people at 
 home have forgotten us." Another Neapolitan, 
 74 guns, 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 eighteen or twenty 
 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 97 
 
 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 (June i), Nelson was made 
 colonel of marines ; — a mark of approbation 
 which he had long wished for rather than ex- 
 pected. 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 allow- 
 ance 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
 
 98 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 in (July 6th), 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 them 
 many advantages. He 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. UAlcide, of 
 74 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 nwo hundred could be saved. The
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 99 
 
 Agamemnon, and Captain Rowley, in the 
 Cu7nberland, 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 (July 17th), 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 im- 
 possible 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
 
 loo THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 appre- 
 hended : 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 LIFE OF NELSON. loi 
 
 the cause of the allies continually suffered from 
 the frauds of neutral vessels. ^'What changes 
 in my life of activity ! " said this 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 in- 
 activity upon the Piedmontese and Neapolitans, 
 whom, he said, nothing could induce to act; 
 and he concerted a plan with Nelson for embark- 
 ing 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 westward as far as 
 Nice, and would undertake to embark four or 
 five thousand 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
 
 I02 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 as 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 Comtnandant 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 ail description ; and I begin to
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 103 
 
 think that the emperor is anxious to touch 
 another four millions of English money. As for 
 the German generals, war is their trade, and 
 I 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 farther than his present 
 position, and to lay the miscarriage of the enter- 
 prise against Nice, which has always been held 
 out as the great object of his army, to the non- 
 co-operation 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, despatch 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 head- 
 quarters, 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 ten thousand men, with their artillery 
 and baggage, he would put the army in motion. 
 But Nelson was not enabled to do this : Admiral
 
 I04 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 re- 
 signation 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 ;^io,ooo 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 105 
 
 frigate went out with some privateers, landed, 
 robbed the commissary, and brought back the 
 money to Genoa. The next day (November 11, 
 1795) men were publicly enlisted in that city 
 for the French army : seven hundred men were 
 embarked, with seven thousand 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 insiirrection, 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 use- 
 less 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 succeeded till the new commander 
 should arrive ; and he immediately reduced it
 
 io6 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 almost to 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 two thousand French troops 
 occupied the town : this former attack had made 
 them take new measures of defence ; and there 
 were now above one hundred sail of victuallers, 
 gunboats, 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 this 
 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 107 
 
 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 
 I, minister, and the Austrian general, all joined 
 l|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 fore- 
 seen 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 gunboats 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
 
 io8 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 eight to ten thousand 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 French- 
 man ; 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON 109 
 
 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. 
 
 1 795- 1 797. 
 
 Sir J. Jervis takes command — Genoa joins tlie French — 
 Buonaparte begins his career — Evacuation of Corsica 
 —Nelson hoists his broad pennant in the Minerve — 
 Action with the 5a^ma— Battle off Cape St. Vincent 
 — Nelson commands the inner squadron at the block- 
 ade 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
 
 no THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 ob- 
 served 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 diff'erence 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 SL George, 
 90 guns, or the Zealous^ 74 guns, and asked if 
 he should have any objection to serve under him 
 with his flag. He replied, that if the Agamem- 
 no7t 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 ^rery 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. iii 
 
 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 after- 
 wards clearly proved, and Buonaparte was ap- 
 pointed 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 coastways 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 down 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
 
 112 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 conse- 
 quence, 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 advan- 
 tages ; 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 hands. 
 
 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 113 
 
 Austria to improve this momentary success. 
 Buonaparte perceived that the conquest of all 
 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 evacu- 
 ate 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 evacua- 
 tion of the island were immediately sent out. It 
 was impolitic to annex this island to the British 
 dominions ; but, having done so, it was disgrace- 
 ful thus to abandon it. The disgrace would
 
 114 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 in- 
 structions 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 ths 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 
 com rx/cinder-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 govern- 
 ment, 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 v/as laid for
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 115 
 
 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 pass- 
 ing, he sent word to the committee, that if the 
 slightest opposition were made to the embark- 
 ment 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 Egmonty 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 dis- 
 agreeable visit, if there were any more com- 
 plaints. 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
 
 ii6 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 quiet and orderly since the English were in 
 possession of it. This was on the 14th of 
 October, 1796: during the five following days 
 the work of embarkation was carried on, the 
 private property was saved, and public stores 
 to the amount of ;^200,ooo. 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 i8th ; 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 day- 
 break, 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 toward the shore, as he stepped into 
 his boat, and exclaimed: *' Now, John Corse, 
 follow the natural bent of your detestable char- 
 acter — 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 op- 
 pression, 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 acknow- 
 ledged 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 
 
 I
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 117 
 
 service, Nelson was ordered to hoist his broad 
 pennant on board the Minerve frigate, Captain 
 George Cockburn, and with the Blanche under his 
 command, proceed to Porto Ferrajo, and super- 
 intend 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 Don Jacobo 
 Stuart, a descendant of the Duke of Berwick. 
 After an action of three hours, during which the 
 Spaniards lost one hundred and sixty-four 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 to 
 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 wind- 
 ward, 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 Don 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
 
 ii8 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 ; pro- 
 fessing 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 only 
 from any opinion that Porto Ferrajo ought to be 
 retained. But Naples having made peace, Sir 
 J. 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 Mediter- 
 ranean. Mr. Drake, who had been our minister 
 at Genoa, expressed to him, on this occasion 
 (January, 1797), 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 119 
 
 prompt and unerring decision, which character- 
 ised 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 re- 
 spected 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 fort- 
 night 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 irri- 
 tated 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
 
 120 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 fell in with the Spanish fleet ; and, on the 13th 
 of February, 1797, reaching the station off Cape 
 St. Vincent, communicated this intelligence to 
 Sir John Jervis. He was now directed to shift 
 his broad pennant on board the Captain^ 74 guns. 
 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 day- 
 break the enemy were in sight. The British 
 force consisted of two ships of 100 guns, two 
 of 98 guns, two of 90 guns, eight of 74 guns, 
 and one of 64 guns ; fifteen of the line in all ; 
 with four frigates, a sloop, and a cutter. The 
 Spaniards had one four-decker of 136 guns ; six 
 three-deckers of 112 guns; two of 84 guns; 
 eighteen of 74 guns ; in all, twenty-seven ships 
 of the line, with ten frigates and a brig. Their 
 admiral, Don 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 rein- 
 forcement 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 sigrnal-guns during 
 the night, the weather being fine, though thick
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 121 
 
 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
 
 122 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 till 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^ 136 guns, the San Joseph^ 112 guns, 
 the Salvador del Mundo, 112 guns, the San 
 Nicolas y 80 guns, the San IsidrOy 74 guns, 
 another 74 guns, and another first-rate, Trou- 
 bridge, 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 123 
 
 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 Cullodeji 
 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 Sa7i 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 sixty-n*nth 
 broke the upper quartfir-gallery window, and 
 jumped in, followed by the commodore himself.
 
 124 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 and by 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 
 che 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 AgamemnonSj who, with the utmost cool- 
 ness, put them under his arm; '* bundling 
 them up," in the lively expression of Colling- 
 wood, *'with as much composure as he would 
 liave made a faggot, though twenty-two sail of
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 125 
 
 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 CaptairCs 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 unmanage- 
 able. The Spanish adntiral meantime, accord- 
 ing 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 Principe 
 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
 
 126 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 commander-in-chief was rewarded with the title 
 of Earl St. Vincent.^ Nelson, who, before the 
 action was knov/n 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 congratula- 
 tions which he received, none could have affected 
 him with deeper delight than that which came 
 
 I In the official letter of Sir John Jervis, Nelson was not mentioned. It is 
 said that the admiral had seen an instance of the ill consequence of such 
 selections after Lord Howe's victory; and therefore would not name any 
 individual, thinking it proper to speak to the public only in terms of general 
 approbation. His private letter to the First Lord of the Admiralty was, with 
 his consent, published for the first time in a Life of Nelson, by Mr. Harrison. 
 Here it is said, " that Commodore Nelson, who was in the rear on the star- 
 board tack, took the lead on the larboard, and contributed very much to the 
 fortune of the day." It is also said that he boarded the two Spanish ships 
 successively ; but the fact that Nelson wore without orders, and thus planned 
 as well as accomplished the victory, Is not implicitly stated. Perhaps it was 
 thought proper to pass over this part of his conduct in silence, as a splendid 
 fault ; but such an example is not dangerous. The author of the work in 
 which this letter was first made public protests against those over-zealous 
 friends, who would make the action rather appear as Nelson's battle, than 
 that of the illustrious commander-in-chief, who derives from it so deservedly 
 his title. "No man," he says, "ever less needed, or less desired, to strip a 
 siingle 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 
 J. Jervis, than the Earl of SL Vincent." Certainly Earl^ St Vincent well 
 deserved tlie reward which he received ; but it is not detracting from his merit 
 ta say that Nelson is Avly entitled to as much fame from this action as the 
 commander-in-chief; not because the brunt of the action fell upon him, not 
 because he was engag:ed with all the four ships which were taken, and took 
 two of them, it may almost be said.^with his own hand ; but because the decisive 
 movement, which enabled him to perform all this, and by which the action 
 became a victory, was executed in neglect of orders, upon his own judgment, 
 and at his peril. Earl St. Vincent deserved his earldom: but it is not to the 
 honour of those by whom titles were distributed in those days, tliat Nelson 
 Kever obtained the rank of earl for either of those victories which he Uved to 
 enjoy, though the one was the most complete and glorious in the annals of 
 naval history, and the other the most important in its cr<isequences of any 
 v/^hich was achieved during the whcac »'.-»r.
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 127 
 
 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 Provi- 
 dence, 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 Captaia 
 Miller ! We thank them for the officers they
 
 1^8 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 gunboats, his barge was attacked by an 
 armed launch, under their commander, Don 
 Miguel Tregoyen, carrying twenty-six 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, eighteen of the enemy were killed, 
 all the rest wounded, and their launch taken. 
 Nelson would have asked for a lieutenancy
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 129 
 
 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 
 E every day to serve her;-*-a soldier obeys his
 
 I30 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 WelHngton. The army from 
 Elba, consisting of three thousand seven hundred 
 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 per- 
 •form 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 un- 
 founded ; but a homeward-bound Manilla ship 
 put into Santa Cruz at this time, and the ex- 
 pedition 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 absolutel)'' 
 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 
 :i 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 131 
 
 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 con- 
 sidered it a point of honour that some attempt 
 should be made. This was on the twenty-second 
 of July : he re-embarked his men that night, got 
 the ships, on the twenty-fourth, 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
 
 132 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 would 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 Mediter- 
 ranean, presided at table. At eleven o'clock 
 the boats, containing between six and seven 
 hundred men, with one hundred and eighty on 
 board the Fox cutter, and from seventy to eighty 
 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 133 
 
 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 
 four or five hundred men. Its guns, which 
 were six-and-twenty pounders, were spiked ; 
 but such a heavy fire of musketry and grape 
 was kqpt 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
 
 134 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 barge- 
 men, by name Lovel, 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 tre- 
 mendous 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 the 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 ; eighty-three 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 135 
 
 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 every- 
 body. 
 
 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 Agamevmon^ 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 
 
 » During the peace of Amiens, when Nelson was passing through Saligbury, 
 and received there with those acclamations which followed him everywhere, he 
 recognised among the crowd t man who had assisted at the amputation, and 
 attended him afterwards. Hr beckoned him up the stairs of the Council' hcuk«, 
 shook hands with him, and made him a present in remembrance of his services 
 at that time. The man took from his bosom a piece of lace, which he had 
 torn from the sleeve of the amputated limb, saying he had preserved and 
 would preserve it to the last moment, in memory of hi» old commander.
 
 136 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 townspeople 
 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 pro- 
 visions, 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 com- 
 pelled 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 re-embark with all their arms, of
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 137 
 
 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, nor 
 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 iDoats 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 shift, 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
 
 138 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 two hundred and 
 fifty. 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 ; there- 
 fore 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 provi- 
 dence, was principally instrumental in saving my
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 139 
 
 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 av^ay. The freedom of the cities of 
 Bristol and London was transmitted to him. 
 He was invested with the Order of the Bath, and 
 received a pension of ;^iooo 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 Bastia and Calvi ; he 
 had assisted at the capture of seven sail of the 
 line, six frigates, four corvettes, and eleveft 
 privateers ; taken and destroyed near fifty sail of 
 merchant vessels ; and actually been engaged 
 against the enemy upwards of' a hundred and
 
 140 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 enjoying some 
 respite by means of laudanum. He was at that 
 time lodging in Bond Street ; and the family 
 was 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 141 
 
 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 
 ofiicer 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 the 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, ^'thisisonty 
 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- 
 wards went ; and with perfect good humour 
 exhibited the certificate of the loss of his arm.
 
 142 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 1798. 
 
 Nelson rejoins Earl St. Vincent in the Vanguard — Sails 
 in pursuit of the French to 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 dis- 
 tinguished. ** 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 1 vale! Doniine, vale I " 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 w^hich he had long wished to see her. 
 
 Immediately on his rejoining the fleet, he was 
 despatched to the Mediterranean with a small
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 143 
 
 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 govern- 
 ment an object paramount to every other ; and 
 Earl St. Vincent was directed, if he thought it 
 necessary to take his whole force into the Medi- 
 terranean, 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 un- 
 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 appoint- 
 ment 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 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, com- 
 plaining 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 services were conducted 
 with undeviating respect to seniority, the naval
 
 144 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 and military character would soon be brough: 
 down to the dead level of mediocrity. 
 
 The armament at Toulon consisted of thirtee." 
 ships of the line, seven 40-gun frigates, with 
 twenty-four smaller vessels of war, and neany 
 two hundred 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 Lions, a gale came 
 on from the N.W. It moderated so much on 
 the 20th, as to enable them to get their topgallant- 
 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-top- 
 mast went over the side, and the mizen-topmast 
 soon afterward. The night was so tempestuous, 
 that it v/as 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 foremast 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 ex- 
 pected. 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 145 
 
 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 commander's, 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 fought 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
 
 146 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 & 
 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 147 
 
 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 with- 
 out 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 sur- 
 prised 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 per- 
 forming 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
 
 148 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 to send him. It consisted of the best ships of 
 his fleet ; the Cullodeii^ 74 guns, Captain T. 
 Troubridge; Goliath^ 74 guns, Captain T. Foley; 
 Minotaur^ 74 guns, Captain T. Louis ; Defence^ 
 74 guns, Captain John Peyton ; Bellerophon^ 74 
 guns, Captain H. D. E. Darby ; Majestic^ 74 
 guns, Captain G. B. Westcott ; Zealous^ 74 
 guns, Captain S. Hood ; Swiftsure^ 74 guns, 
 Captain B. Hallowell ; Theseus^ 74 guns. Captain 
 R. W. Miller ; Audacious, 74 guns. Captain 
 Davidge Gould. The Leander, 50 guns. Captain 
 T. B. 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 
 reintorcement was seen from the masthead 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 : every- 
 thing was left to his own judgment. Unfortu- 
 nately, 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 i6th, 
 the day after their arrival. It was clear that
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 149 
 
 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 liave 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 Buonaparte 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 Buonaparte 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 dis- 
 graceful : 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
 
 I50 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 v/ould 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, usurpa- 
 tion, and remorseless tyranny, which have con- 
 signed his name to universal execration, now and 
 for ever. 
 
 Conceiving that when an officer is not success- 
 ful 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 lord- 
 ships' 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 151 
 
 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 fre- 
 quently 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
 
 152 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 letter, ** that the devil's children have the devil's 
 luck. I cannot to this moment learn, beyond 
 vague conjecture, where the French fleet are 
 gone to ; 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. 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 dis- 
 appointed 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 re- 
 turn 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 153 
 
 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 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 ist of August, 
 about ten 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 tricoloured 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 ; where- 
 as 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
 
 154 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 done if the frigates had been with him ; the 
 weather also was constantly hazy. These cir- 
 cumstances prevented the English from dis- 
 covering 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 twenty-second of June. During the return 
 to Syracuse, the chances of falling in with them 
 were fewer. 
 
 Why Buonaparte, having effected his landing, 
 should not have suffered the fleet to return, has 
 never yet been explained. Thus 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 
 ist 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 155 
 
 moored in such a manner as to bid defiance to 
 a force more than double their own. This pre- 
 sumption could not then be thought unreason- 
 able. 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, carry- 
 ing eleven hundred and ninety-six guns, and 
 eleven thousand two hundred and thirty men. 
 The English had the same number of ships of 
 the line, and one fifty-gun ship, carrying ten 
 hundred and twelve guns, and eight thousand 
 and sixty-eight 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.
 
 156 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 ^^ 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 acknow- 
 ledged 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 thkX 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 shell 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 hauling the 
 braces, and making ready for anchoring. A
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 157 
 
 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^ out- 
 sailing 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 Conqueranty 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
 
 158 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 the Goliath intended to have occupied, and totally- 
 disabled the Guerrier in twelye minutes. The 
 third ship which doubled the enemy's van was 
 the Orion, Sir J. vSaumarez ; she passed to wind- 
 ward of the Zealous, and opened her larboard guns 
 as long as they bore on the Guerrier \ then passing 
 inside the Goliath, sunk a frigate v/hich 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 Souveraifi, receiving and returning the 
 fire of both. The sun was now nearly down. 
 The Audacious, Captain Gould, 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, Captain Miller, followed, 
 brought down the Guerrier' s remaining main and 
 mizen masts, then anchored inside of iheSpartiate, 
 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 Biritish 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 
 forepart of the Vanguard's neck was killed or
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 159 
 
 wounded ; these guns were three times cleared. 
 Captain Louis, in the Minotaur^ anchored just 
 ahead, and took off the fire of the Aq^iilon^ the 
 fourth in the enemy's line. The Bellerophony 
 Captain Darby, passed ahead, and dropped her 
 stern anchor on the starboard bow of the Orient^ 
 seventh in the line, Brueys' own ship, of 120 
 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 Frankliny 
 the sixth in the line, by which judicious movement 
 the Britishlineremained unbroken. T\i^ 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 
 To7inant, 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 difficult)^ of the navigation ; and suddenly, 
 after having found eleven fathoms' water, before
 
 i6o THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 the lead could be hove again he was fast aground ; 
 nor could all his own exertions, joined to 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 farther 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 mizen peak, as soon as 
 it became dark, and this vessel had no such 
 distinction. Hallowell, however, with great judg- 
 ment, 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 two 
 hundred 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 Frankli7i 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
 
 3^ 
 
 1. N. u (jj^pi^^iii Berr) caugta him in his arms.'^ /'uyeiei.
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. i6i 
 
 a severe fire of musketry upon his decks. The 
 last ship which arrived to complete the destruc- 
 tion 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, 
 ■"he great effusion of blood occasioned an appre- 
 hension 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 cock- 
 pit 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
 
 i62 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 
 en 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. i6 
 
 o 
 
 and unnoticed ; and, to the astonishment of every 
 one, appeared on the quarter-deck, 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 situa- 
 tion 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 parts 
 of the nearest British ships by the British sailors. 
 The greater part of her crew, however, stood the 
 danger to 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
 
 i64 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 cir- 
 cumstances. 
 
 About seventy of the Orienfs crew were saved 
 by the English boats. Among the many 
 hundreds who perished were the Commodore, 
 Casabianca, and his son, a brave boy, only ten 
 years old. They were seen floating on a shattered 
 mast w^hen the ship blew up. She had money 
 on board (the plunder of Malta) to the amount 
 of ;^6oo,ooo 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 'y 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 lee- 
 ward of the centre, and continued till about three. 
 At daybreak, the Guillaume Tell and the GenereuXy 
 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 ;
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 165 
 
 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, **isnot 
 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 villainous 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 the shore. The British loss, in killed and 
 wounded, amounted to eight hundred and ninety- 
 five. Westcott was the only captain who fell ; 
 three thousand one hundred and five of the 
 French, including the wounded, were sent on 
 shore by cartel, and five thousand two hundred 
 and twenty-five perished. 
 
 As soon as the conquest was completed, Nelson 
 sent orders through the fleet to return thanks- 
 giving 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 under- 
 stand the stillness of the fleet during the perform^ 
 ance of this solemn duty ; but it seemed to affect
 
 i66 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 
 wdth 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 167 
 
 wreck ; and the Arabs found employment for 
 many days in burning on the beacli the frag- 
 ments which were cast up for the sake of the 
 iron.^ Part of the Orienfs mainmast was picked 
 up by the Swtftsure, 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 
 of part of L'Orienfs mainmast, that when you 
 are tired of this life, you may be buried in one 
 of your Trophies ; but may that period be far 
 distant is the wish of your sincere, obedient, and 
 much obliged servant, 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. 
 
 * During his long subsequent cruise off Alexandria, Captain Hallowell kept 
 his crew employed and amused in fishing up the small anchors in the road, 
 which, with the iron found on the masts, were afterwards sold at Rhmlps, and 
 the produce applied to purchase vegetables and tobacco for tlie shij.) s company.
 
 i68 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 storeships 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 hac? 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. *'A11," 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 169 
 
 never yet had to contend wkh an English officer, 
 and he would endeavour to make him respect 
 us." This despatch he sent upon his own re- 
 sponsibility, 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 extra- 
 ordinary expenses which would otherwise have 
 been incurred were thus prevented. 
 
 Nelson was now at the summit of glory : con- 
 gratulations, 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 five 
 thousand dollars ; and a diamond aigrette, valued 
 at eighteen thousand : the most honourable badge
 
 I70 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 two thousand sequins, to be distributed 
 among the wounded. The mother of the Sultan 
 sent him a box, set with diamonds, valued at 
 one thousand pounds. 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 
 isstiant, between a disabled ship on the dexter, and 
 a ruinous battery on the sinister^ all proper \ and for 
 his crest, oji a naval crown^ or^ the chelengk^ or 
 plume of triumph, presented to him by the Turk, 
 with the motto Palmam qu i 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 
 
 « It has been erroneously said that the motto was selected by the king- : it 
 was fixed on by Lord Grenville, and taken from an ode of Jortin. The applica- 
 tion was sir.g^ularly fortunate ; and the ode itself breathes a spirit, in which no 
 man ever more truly sympathised than Nelson — ■ 
 
 Concurrant paribus cum ratihus rates, 
 Specttnt ixumina f>ottti, ei 
 Put mam gvi meruit ferat^
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON'. 171 
 
 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 ;£'200O 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 coequal 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 occa- 
 sion, as nugatory and superfluous. True, indeed, 
 whatever title had been bestowed, whether vis- 
 count, 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 w^as 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
 
 172 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 drawing-room and at the ball. That Nelson's 
 honours were affected thus far, and no farther, 
 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 services. 
 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 
 ;^ 10,000 was voted to Nelson by the East India 
 Company ; the Turkish Company presented him 
 with a piece of plate ; the City of London pre- 
 sented 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 1 
 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 
 
 I Mr. Windham must be excepted from this well-deserved censure. He, 
 whose fate it seems to have been almost always to think and feel more 
 generously than those with whom he acted, declared, when he contended 
 against his own party for Lord Wellington's peerage, that he always thought 
 Lord Nelson had been inadequately rewarded. The case was the more flagrant, 
 because an earldom had so lately been granted for the battle of St. Vincent; an 
 action which could never be compared with the battle of the Nile, if the very 
 different manner in which it was rewarded did not necessarily force a com- 
 parison ; especially when the part which Nelson bore in it was considered. 
 Lords Duncan and St. Vincent had each a pension of ;^ioco from the Irish 
 government. This was not granted to Nelson, in consequence of the Union ; 
 though, surely, it would be more becoming to increase the British grant, than 
 to save a thousand a y«ax by the Union in such cases.
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 173 
 
 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 suffer- 
 ings 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 
 merit 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
 
 174 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 midst of his great misfortunes he made those 
 signals which prevented certainly the Alexander 
 and Simftsure from running on the shoals. I 
 beg your pardon for writing on a subject which 
 I verily believe has never entered your lordships' 
 heads ; 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 un- 
 interrupted 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 ;^20oo. 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 memor- 
 able 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 irigates, whose presence would 
 have been so essential a few weeks sooner, 
 joined the squadron on the twelfth day after
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 175 
 
 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 a loss of the 
 service 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 assur- 
 ance 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 ;^6o,ooo 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 con- 
 sidered, 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 recompense 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 con- 
 sideration, 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
 
 176 
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 fcrward, 
 under Sir James Saumarez, Nelson left Captain 
 Hood, of the Zealous, off Alexandria, with the 
 Swiftsure, Goliath, Alcmeiie, Zealous, and 
 Emerald, and stood out to sea himself on the 
 seventeenth day after the battle.^ 
 
 * " Some French officers, during the blockade of Alexandria, were sent off tc 
 Captain Hallowell to offer a supply of vegetables, and observe, of course, the 
 state of the blockading^ squadron. They were received with all possible civility. 
 In the course of conversation, after dinner, one of them remarked that we had 
 made use of unfair weapons during- the action, by which probably the Orient 
 was burnt; and that General Buonaparte had expressed g-reat indignation at 
 It;, In proof of this assertion he stated that in the late gunboat attacks, their 
 camp had twice been set on fire by balls of unextinguishable matter which 
 were fired from one of the English boats. Captain Hallowell instantly ordered 
 the g-unner to bring up some of those balls, and asked him from whence he had 
 them. To the confusion of the accusers he related that they were found on 
 board of the Spartiate, one of the ships captured on the first of August ; as these 
 balls were distinguished by particular marks, though in other respects alike, 
 the captain ordered an expeiiment to be made, in order to ascertain the nature 
 of them. The next morning, says Mr. Willyams, I accompanied Mr. Parr, the 
 gunner, to the island ; the first we tried proved to be a fire-ball, but of what 
 materials composed we could not ascertain. As it did not explode (which at 
 first we apprehended), we rolled it into the sea, where it continued to burn 
 under water ; a black pitchy substance exuding from it till only an iron skeleton 
 of a shell remained. The whole had been carefully crusted over with a 
 substance that gave it the appearance of a perfect shell. On setting fire to the 
 fusee of the other, which was diiferently marked, it burst into many pieces ; 
 though somewhat alarmed, fortunately none of us were hurt. People account 
 differently for the fire that happened on board of the French admirsd ; but why 
 may it not have arisen from some of these fire-balls left, perhaps carelessly, on 
 the poop or cabin, when it first broke out? and what confirms mj' opinion on 
 this head is, that several pieces of such shells were found sticking in the 
 Bellerophon, which she most probably received from the first fire of L' Orient" 
 —Willyam's Vo^'oges in the Mediterranean, p. 145,
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 177 
 
 CHAPTER VL 
 
 1 798- 1 800. 
 
 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, and 
 they brought with them commensurate fatigue 
 and care. The anxiety which he endured during 
 his long pursuit of the enemy was r&ther changed 
 in its direction, than abated by their defeat ; and
 
 178 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 this constant wakefulness of thought, added to 
 ihe 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 re- 
 covered 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 friend- 
 ship 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 awaited 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 179 
 
 battle of Aboukir the court of 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 Marie 
 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 I Oh that my swollen heart
 
 i8o THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 is 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 advantage 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. ,
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. i8i 
 
 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 Vaiigitard^ 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
 
 i82 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 enthusi- 
 astic cries ; and the lazzaroni displayed theif joy 
 by holding up birds in cages, and giving them 
 their liberty as he passed. 
 
 His birthday, 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 w^elcomed him. Nelson was 
 fully sensible of the depravity, as well as 
 weakness, of those by whom he was sur- 
 rounded. **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 of iniquities under which the 
 country groaned ; but he insensibly, under the 
 influence of Lad}' Hamilton, formed an affection 
 for the court, to vvhose misgovern ment the
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 183 
 
 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: **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." 
 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 Cagsars 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 
 
 1 Sir William Hamilton's letters give the history of one of this sovereigfn's 
 campaigns against the wolves and boars. " Our first chase has not succeeded ; 
 the king would direct how we should beat the wood, and begran at the wrong 
 end, by which the wolves and boars escaped. The king's face is very long at 
 thi^ moment, but, I dare say, to-morrow's good sport will shorten it again." 
 " No sport again 1 He has no other comfort to-day, than having killed a wild 
 cat, and his face is a j'ard long. However, his Majesty has vowed venf;:eance 
 on the boars to-morrow, and will go according to his own fancy ; and I dare 
 say there will be a terrible slaughter."—" To-day has been to thoroughly bad 
 that we have not been able to stir out, and the king, of course, in bad humour." 
 — "The king has killed twenty-one boars to-day, and is quite happy." — ''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." — "Only think of his not being satisfied with killing more 
 than thirty yesterday I He said, if the whid had favoured him, he sl^ovild have 
 killed sixty at least." — " The kmg has killed eighty-one animals of one sort or 
 other to-day, and amongst them a wolf and some stags. He fell tsieep io the 
 coach : »nd waking, told roe he bad brco dreaming <-f thr-rtioj 0»* would
 
 i84 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 pre- 
 vailed 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 inter- 
 course 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 
 
 have thought he had shed blood enougfh."— " It is a long-faced day with the 
 king-. We went far ; the weather was bad ; and, after all, met with little or no 
 game. Yesterday, when we brought home all we killed, it filled the house 
 completely, and to^ay they are obliged to whitewash 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 1 meet with the whole day, till I retire to my volumes of the 
 old GentUman'^ RIagaxine, which just keeps my mind from sfir\->ng, '
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 185 
 
 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 Philippe Egalite, Marat, 
 and Hebert ; whereas they deserved rather to 
 be ranked if not with Locke, and Sidney, 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 super- 
 annuated 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
 
 i86 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 con- 
 tinuing the system of misrule to which they 
 had succeeded, conceiving 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 revolu- 
 tionise 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 
 
 I
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 187 
 
 advantage of the crisis to renew the war. Russia 
 also was preparing to enter the field with un- 
 broken forces — led by a general whose extra- 
 ordinary 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 avert- 
 ing it was by meeting the danger, after long 
 vacillations, which were produced by the fears, 
 and weakness, and treachery of its council, agreed 
 at last to join this new coalition with a numerical 
 force of eighty thousand 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 v^ould be safer, in case of 
 any mishap, under t' o 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 villainous knights 
 of their order had betrayed to France, had taken
 
 i88 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 up arms against their rapacious invaders, with a 
 spirit and unanimity worthy 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. 'Mt 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 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." 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 co-operate 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 c )ward 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 intro- 
 duced by the king and queen to the British 
 admiral J the queen said to him, ^' Be to us by
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 189 
 
 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 sur- 
 rounded 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 thirty-two thousand 
 men, marched into the Roman State, five thousand 
 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. Naselli, their 
 general, refused to seize the French vessels at 
 Leghorn, because he, and the Duke di Sangro, 
 who was ambassador at the Tuscan court, main- 
 tained 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
 
 I90 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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, etc., 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,
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 19T 
 
 taking all responsibility on myself." It was 111 
 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 upon 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.
 
 192 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 The King of Naples was with the army which 
 had entered Rome ; but the castle of St. Angelo 
 was held by the French, and thirteen thousand 
 French were strongly posted in the Roman 
 States at Castallana. Mack had marched against 
 them with twenty thousand 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 doubt- 
 ful ; and, in six months, when the Neapolitan 
 republic will be organised, armed and with its 
 numerous resources called forth, the emperor
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 193 
 
 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, not- 
 withstanding the councils which had shaken the 
 throne of her father and mother, he would re- 
 main 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 
 nineteen thousand men. He fell in with three 
 thousand 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 country- 
 men. 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 every- 
 G thing, did not pursue an army of more than
 
 194 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 the 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 any 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."
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 195 
 
 Meantime (December, 1798) Lady Hamilton 
 arranged everything 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 seaside : 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 im- 
 mediately given to the British merchants, that 
 they would be received on board any ship in the 
 squadron. Their property had previously been
 
 196 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 king- 
 dom to the last rock in Calabna, sent plenipo- 
 tentiaries to the French camp beicre 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 loth 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 197 
 
 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 a rabble, who had 
 no other virtue than that sort of loyalty which 
 was like the fidelity of a dog to its master. This 
 fidelity the French and their adherents counter- 
 acted 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 Deuvi 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
 
 198 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 exten- 
 sively 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 repre- 
 sentations were not lost upon Sir Charles Stuart : 
 this officer hastened immediately from Minorca,
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 199 
 
 with a thousand men, assisted in the measures 
 of defence which were taken, and did not return 
 before he had satisfied himself that if the Nea- 
 poHtans were exciuded 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 con- 
 federacy, yetagainst a power which was certainly 
 the common and worst enemy of both. Trou- 
 bridge having given up the blockade of Alexandria 
 to Sir Sidney Smith, joined Nelson (March, 1799), 
 bringing with him a consldf^rable 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 entrusted 
 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 bestand 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 delr^ered 
 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 r.hait
 
 200 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 ;^io,ooo 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 
 want were not to be found. '' There is nothing," 
 said he, "which I propose, that is not, as 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 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, Trou- 
 bridge could not procure even a rag of the 
 tricoloured flag to lay at the king's feet : it 
 was rent into ten thousand pieces by the in- 
 habitants, 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 201 
 
 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 straight- 
 forward 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 heart-broken by the situation in 
 which he found himself. He had promised 
 relief to the islanders, relying upon the queen's
 
 202 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 com- 
 plained, 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 ashore. 
 '*To tell you," he says, writing to Lady 
 Hamilton, "how dreary and uncomfortable 
 the Va7iguard 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 respect- 
 ing 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 Some- 
 thing 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 203 
 
 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 re- 
 quested the Spanish ships to^' make sail and 
 join ; but the Spaniard 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 a/Jies, 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.
 
 204 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 Before this occurred, and while the junction 
 was as probable as it would have been formid- 
 able, 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 ex- 
 perience, 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 com- 
 pletely clipped, that they may be easily over- 
 taken." 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 205 
 
 time. It is said that he was disappointed in the 
 son-in-law, whom he had loved so dearly from 
 his childhood, and who had saved his life at 
 Tenerirfe ; and it is certain that he had now 
 formed an infatuated attachment for Lady 
 Hamilton, which totally weaned his affections 
 from his wife. Further than this, there is no 
 reason to believe that this most unfortunate at- 
 tachment was criminal : but this was criminality 
 enough, and it brought with it its punishment. 
 Nelson was dissatisfied with himself; and, there- 
 fore, weary of the world. This feeling he now 
 frequently expressed. ** There is no true happi- 
 ness 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 
 Seahorse^ with the Neapolitan frigates and some
 
 2o6 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 small vessels under his command, was left f 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 com- 
 mands 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 power- 
 ful 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 seven- 
 teen sail of the line, with seventeen hundred
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 207 
 
 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 I 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 him- 
 self 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 Avas 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 Parthenopasan 
 Republic, as it was called, issued an edict, order- 
 ing all absent Neapolitans to return, on pain of 
 
 ' In one of his letters to LAcly Hamilton, wiittcn a few months before this 
 tatal transaction, Nelson says, speaking- of the queesv "\ declare to Go4, my 
 ivVinlf sturdy i« Knw ta best -"cct hcr 5liJ>prob»,tj«Ml. '
 
 2o8 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 com- 
 mand 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 un- 
 fortunately for others than for himself, he was 
 brought in alive, having ^een 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 209 
 
 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 V/'illiam 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 Minerve^ by hang- 
 ing him at the fore-yard-arm till sunset, when the 
 body was to be cut down and thrown into the 
 sea. Caraccioli requested Lieutenant Parkinson, 
 under whose custody he was placed, to intercede 
 with Lord Nelson for a second trial, — for this,
 
 2IO THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 among other reasons, that Count Thurn, ivho 
 presided at the court-martial, was notorious!;^ his 
 personal enemy. Nelson made ansv/er 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 Carsccioli 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 condemna- 
 tion of Nelson's conduct. Had he the authoritv 
 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 211 
 
 have proved him so ? Why was a second trial 
 refused, virhen the known animosity of the presi- 
 dent 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 in- 
 fluenced by an infatuated attachment — a baneful 
 passion, which destroyed his domestic happiness, 
 and now, in a second instance, stained inefface- 
 ably his public character. 
 
 The body was carried out to a considerable 
 distance, and sunk in the bay, with three double- 
 headed shot, weighing two hundred and fifty 
 pounds, tied to its legs. Between two and three 
 weeks afterwards, 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
 
 212 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 Suvorof 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 the 
 Spanish fleets had formed a junction, and had 
 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 
 lisk 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 LIFE OF NELSON. 213 
 
 the consequences of disobeying my orders ; but 
 as 1 have often before risked my life for the good 
 cause, so I, with cheerfulness, did my commis- 
 sion ; for, although a military tribunal may think 
 me criminal, the world will approve of my con- 
 duct : 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 upon 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 taughtbetter manners, whenTroubridge, 
 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, Liberie^ Egalite^ Guerre aux TyranSy etc., 
 would be received, but that, if he wrote like a 
 soldier and a gentleman, he should be answered 
 in the same style. The Frenchman then began 
 to flatter his antagonist upon the bienfaisance 
 and tiumanite^ 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
 
 214 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 
 in 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 hav^e to deal with ; 
 the whole means of guns, ammunition, pioneers, 
 etc., 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 215 
 
 have placed a battery only one hundred and 
 eighty 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 (July 13), in communicating this to Earl St. 
 Vincent, *' but my mind, as your lordship knows, 
 was perfectly prepared for this order ; and more 
 than ever is my mind made up that 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
 
 2i6 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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. *' Every man 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 had entered into any altercation with the 
 scoundrel. 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,
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 217 
 
 in case of defeat, they might have been pre- 
 vented 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 com- 
 municated the tidings of his complete Jsuccess, 
 he said, in his public letter, '*that it would 
 not be the less acceptable from being 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 only having a left hand, 
 cannot enter into details which may explain the 
 motives which 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 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, dis- 
 charged 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 ;
 
 2i8 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 scaffold 
 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 amuse- 
 ments. Nelson and the ambassador's family 
 accompanied the court ; and Troubridge re- 
 mained, groaning over the villainy 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, 
 etc., 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 keeo the king away ; they all dread 
 reform ; their villainies are so deeply rooted, 
 that if some m*»thod is not taken to dig them out, 
 this government cannot noid together. Out of
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 219 
 
 twenty millions of ducats, collected as a 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 duke- 
 dom and domain of Bronte, worth about ;^3000 
 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
 
 220 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 glory to posterity ; and that 
 I, Ferdinand de Bourbon, should appear un- 
 grateful?" He gave him also, when the duke- 
 dom was accepted, a diamond-hilted sword, which 
 his father, Charles HL of Spain, had given 
 him on his accession to the throne of the Two 
 Sicilies. Nelson said, ^' The present was magnifi- 
 cent, and worthy of a king," and ''I am deter- 
 mined on one thing, that the inhabitants on the 
 domain shall be the happiest in all his Sicilian 
 Majesty's dominions ; but," said he, speaking 
 of these and the other renumeraiions 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 Signior to the 
 lowest Turk, the name of Nelson is familiar in 
 their mouths ; and in this country I am every- 
 thing 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 Dahomey 
 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 221 
 
 finer feeling. The Greeks of that little com- 
 naunity 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, pre- 
 served 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 occupiec €he RomaK 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 like- 
 ness 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. lie applied therefore to
 
 222 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 Sir James St. Clair Erskine, who, in the absence of 
 General Fox, commanded at Minorca, to assist 
 in this great object with twelve hundred 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 a deliverer ; and the 
 pope would owe his restoration to the papal 
 chair to an 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 223 
 
 reliance gives them hope and confidence to the 
 last. Upon Halloweli'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 success- 
 ful 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 con- 
 quest. 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 en- 
 gaged in a more anxious and painful service : 
 the smallest reinforcement from France would,
 
 224 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 five thousand troops — the 
 besieging force of five hundred English and 
 Portuguese marines, and about fifteen hundred 
 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 overreasoning 
 caution, and unreasoning obedience. " My 
 heart," said he, " is almost broken. If the 
 enemy get 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 225 
 
 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 is 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 little ones militate 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 
 Frenchman ! " 
 
 At length. General Fox arrived at Minorca, 
 and at length permitted Colonel 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, *' fifteen thousand 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 Colonel 
 Graham was ordered not to incur any expense 
 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 
 H actually pledged Bronte for ;^66oo if there
 
 226 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 
 (January i, 1800), '<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 at 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 227 
 
 as is in my power ; I foresee much mischief 
 brewing. God bless your lordship ; I am miser- 
 able 1 cannot assist your operations more. 
 Many happy returns of this 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, 
 1 see no alternative but to leave these poor 
 unhappy people to perish, without our being 
 witnesses to 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 1 daily 
 experience, something would be done ! Some 
 engine is at work against us at Naples ; and I 
 believe, in my former letters, 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 on 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
 
 228 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 you, and tell of their infamous tricks, you will 
 be as much surprised as I am. The whole 
 will fall on you, which hurts me much." 
 
 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 professionsj isistead of 
 insisting that the restrictions upon the exporta- 
 tion 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 number of which 
 he had received accurate information. These 
 orders were executed to the great delight and 
 advantage of the shipowners and proprietors ;
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 229 
 
 the necessity of raising the siege was removed, 
 and Captain Ball waited, in calmness, for the 
 consequences to himself. The Neapolitan govern- 
 ment 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 this 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 fear, 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,, 74 guns, 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 gratify- 
 ing 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
 
 230 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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, 
 86 guns, 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 frigates. 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 darling children ; they served 
 in my school ; and all of us caught our pro- 
 fessional zeal and fire from the great and good 
 Earl of 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 hope- 
 less of preserving the conquest which they had 
 so foully acquired. Troubridge and his brother 
 ofiicers were anxious that Nelson should have 
 the honour of signing the capitulation. Thev 
 told him that they absolutely, as far as they
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 231 
 
 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 xrom 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, deter- 
 mined 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 oflScer." 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 dis- 
 pleasure. 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 polic) 
 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,
 
 232 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 till 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 pre- 
 vented. 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 
 
 i
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 233 
 
 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 Hamburg, 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
 
 234 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 yet more gratifying testimonials of public ad- 
 miration, 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 Magdeburg, 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 Hamburg, 
 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 tha.n 
 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 lady- 
 ship 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 re- 
 mainder 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, pro- 
 vided 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 
 Hamburg 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 235 
 
 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 VH. 
 1800-1801. 
 
 Nelson separates himself from his wife — Northern Con- 
 federacy — He goes to the Baltic, under Sir Hyde 
 Parker — Battle of Copenhagen, and subsequent 
 Negotiation — Nelsoa is made a Viscount. 
 
 Nelson was welcomed in England with every 
 mark of popular honour (6th November, 1800). 
 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
 
 236 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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, I wish other- 
 wise." This was the consequence of his in- 
 fatuated 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 com- 
 mand, under Sir Hyde Parker, by Earl St. 
 Vincent, the new First Lord of the Admiralty. 
 The three Northern courts had formed a con- 
 federacy for making England resign her naval 
 rights. Of these courts, Russia was guided by
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 237 
 
 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 crazed 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 twenty-three ships of the 
 line, with about thirty-one frigates and smaller 
 vessels, exclusive of guard ships. The Swedes 
 had eighteen ships of the line, fourteen frigates 
 and sloops, seventy-four galleys and smaller 
 vessels, besides gunboats ; and this force was in 
 a far better state of equipment than the Danish. 
 The Russians had eighty-two sail of the line and 
 forty frigates. Of these there were forty-seven 
 sail of the line at Cronstadt, Revel, Petersburg, 
 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 entrusted to another ; and he himself 
 said to Earl St. Vincent that, circumstanced as
 
 238 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 favour- 
 able ; 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 
 again give our northern enemies that hail-storm 
 of bullets, which gives our dear country the 
 dominion of the sea. We have it, and all the 
 devils in hell 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, 1801. Mr. 
 Vansittart sailed in it ; the British cabinet still 
 
 J
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 239 
 
 hoping to obtain 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 Cronenburg 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 
 waving 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 them- 
 selves, 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 their means of defence 
 were at that time in such a state that they could
 
 240 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 hardly hope to resist, still less to repel, an enemy. 
 On the 2 1st, Nelson had a long- conference witn 
 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 pre- 
 paration 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 con- 
 sideration 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, 1 
 do 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, 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 service- 
 able again. ** If the wind be fair," said he,
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 241 
 
 *'and you determine to attack the ships and 
 Crown Islands, you must expect the natural 
 issue of such a battle — ships crippled, and, per- 
 haps, 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 ihe risk of 
 damage ; take the deepest and straightest channel 
 above the Middle Grounds ; and then coming 
 down the 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 pre- 
 vented. 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 I am of 
 opinion 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 Elsineur, and the tremendous 
 preparations which our negotiators, who were 
 now returned from their fruitless mission, had 
 witnessed. They, therefore, persuaded Sir Hyde
 
 242 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 any- 
 thing 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 
 Belt, 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 timely 
 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 243 
 
 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 
 noi 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 Invincibley 
 74 guns, wrecked on a sandbank, 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 through 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
 
 244 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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's 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 con- 
 sidered as the key of the Baltic, is, in its narrowest 
 part, about three miles wide ; and here the city 
 of Elsineur is situated : except Copenhagen the 
 most flourishing of the Danish towns. Every 
 vessel which passes lowers her topgallant sails, 
 and pays toll at Elsineur ; 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 245 
 
 vessels had annually paid this contribution in 
 time of peace. Adjoining Elsineur, and at the 
 edge of the peninsular promontory, upon the 
 nearest point of land to the Swedish coast, stands 
 Cronenburg 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 Landscrona, 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 
 corn-fields, 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 Elsineur 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 muni- 
 ficent 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
 
 246 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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. Elsineur 
 is a name familiar to English ears, being in- 
 separably associated with Hamlet, and one of 
 the noblest works of human genius. Cronenburg 
 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 ever- 
 lasting leave of that infant, when, by the inter- 
 ference 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 displays so frequenf; 
 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 con- 
 sisted of fifty-one sail of various descriptions ; of 
 which sixteen were of the line. The greater part
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 247 
 
 of the bomb and gun vessels took their stations 
 off Cronenburg 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 
 Monarchy which was the leading ship, came 
 abreast of them, a fire was opened from abou*- 
 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 Helsin- 
 burg, 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, how- 
 ever, 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,
 
 248 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 desisting from their bombardment, which had 
 been as innocent as that of the enemy ; and, 
 about midday, 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 gunboats, 
 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 jj 
 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 battleships than he asked, 
 and left everything to his judgment.
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 249 
 
 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 over- 
 come 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 deter- 
 mined to attack from the south, approaching in 
 the manner which Nelson had suggested in his 
 first thoughts. On the morning of the ist 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 
 distant, 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
 
 250 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 two artificial islands at the mouth of the harbour 
 — most formidable works ; the larger one having, 
 by the Danish account, sixty-six guns, but as 
 Nelson believed, eighty-eight. 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 Salt- 
 holm 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 farther 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 dropped, 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 Cronenburg 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 251 
 
 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 twelve hundred youth, the 
 flower of Denmark — it was one of those emer- 
 gencies 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 dark- 
 ness, 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
 
 252 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 under- 
 gone 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 tran- 
 scribe 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 Free- 
 mande and the Hon. Colonel Stewart, were to
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 253 
 
 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 admiraFs 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 intrusted 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. Brierley, the master 
 of the Bellonay declared that he was prepared to 
 lead the fleet : his judgment was acceded to by
 
 254 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 prompti- 
 tude ; yet so much delay had thus been unavoid- 
 ably 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 farther 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 
 Bello7ia, 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 255 
 
 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 con- 
 tinuance 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. 
 
 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 
 j not render half the service which was required
 
 256 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 of them. Of the squadron of gun-brig-s, 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, when 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 com- 
 mander-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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 257 
 
 continue the action successfully, he will dis- 
 regard 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 communi- 
 cate 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 judg- 
 ment,* therefore, but with this disinterested and 
 generous feeling, he made the signal for 
 retreat. 
 
 Nelson was at this time, in all the excite- 
 ment 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 
 
 » I have great pleasure in rendering this justice to Sir Hyde Parker'* 
 reasoning-. The fact ia here stated upon the highest and most unquestion* 
 «bl* sutVorit^.
 
 258 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 should repeat it. '* No," he replied; ** ac- 
 knowledge 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 do not really see the 
 signal!" Presently he exclaimed, ''Damn 
 the signal I Keep mine for closer battle flying ! 
 That's the way I answer such 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,
 
 ^. 
 
 ...-^. .,# 
 
 ^m^-
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 259 
 
 obeyed, and hauled off. It had suffered 
 severely in its most unequal contest. For a 
 long time the Amazon had been firing, en- 
 veloped 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 mourn- 
 ful 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 advan- 
 tage, because most of the vessels in their 
 line of defence were without masts ; the few 
 which had any standing, had their topmasts 
 struck, and the hulls could not be seen at
 
 26o THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 intervals. The Ists must have been destroyed 
 by the superior weight of her enemy's fire, 
 if Captain In man, in the Desiree frigate, 
 had not judiciously taken a situation which 
 enabled him to rake the Dane, and if the 
 Polyphemus had not also relieved her. Both 
 in the Bellona and the Ists 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 airholes. The 
 Bellona lost seventy-five men ; the IsiSy one 
 hundred and ten ; the Monarchy two hundred 
 and ten. 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 dis- 
 played 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 impoliticly
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 261 
 
 exerted in subserviency to the interest 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 con- 
 fusion, 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 re- 
 signed, on account of extreme ill-health, 
 answered in a feeble voice, **I will I*' 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 vol- 
 unteered 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 24 guns, and one
 
 262 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 an- 
 nounced, with such skill, as well as 
 courage, as to excite Nelson's warmest ad- 
 miration. 
 
 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, how- 
 ever, difficult to take possession of those 
 which struck, because the batteries on Amak 
 Island protected them ; and because an ir- 
 regular 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 
 Danhrog 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 263 
 
 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 Nyehorg 
 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 farther than a shoal called Stubben, 
 when she sank, and soon after he had worked 
 the Nyeborg up to the landing-place, that 
 vessel also sank 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 EUpiianty but not with the ships
 
 264 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 ahead and the Crown Batteries. Nelson, 
 seeing the manner in which his boats were 
 fired upon, when they went to take posses- 
 sion of the prizes, became angry, and said, 
 he must either send on shore 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 this massacre — for such he called it ; and, 
 with a presence of mind peculiar to him- 
 self, and never more signally displayed than 
 now, he retired into the stern - gallery, and 
 wrote thus to the Crown Prince: **Lord 
 Nelson has directions to spare Denmark when , 
 no longer resisting ; but if the firing is con- 
 tinued 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." 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 Frederic 
 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 LIFE OF NELSON. 265 
 
 the approach of the Ramilies 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 east- 
 ward of the Trekroner. That battery, how- 
 ever, 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 com- 
 paratively 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 advis- 
 able to advance, with those ships which had 
 sustained least damage, against the yet un- 
 injured 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
 
 f66 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 sending" on shore the flag of truce is 
 humanity : he, therefore, consents that hostili- 
 ties 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 my 
 most gracious sovereign and his majesty the 
 King of Denmark.** Sir Frederic 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 
 
 » It would have been well if the fleet, before thev went under the batten'es, 
 had left their soarc spars moored out of reach oi ahoL Many would have been 
 saved which were destroyed lying on the booms, and the hurt done by their 
 splinters would have been saved sdso. Small craft could have towed tk«D up
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 267 
 
 danger from which Nelson had extricated him- 
 self 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 action was 
 over, and that kind of feeling, which the sur- 
 rounding scene of havoc was so well fitted to 
 produce, pressed heavily upon his exhausted 
 spirits. The sky had suddenly become over- 
 cast ; white flags were waving from the 
 mastheads 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 
 
 when they were required ; and, after such an action, so many must necessarily 
 be wanted, that, if those which were not in use were wounded, it might hav« 
 rendered it impossible to refit the ships.
 
 268 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 predis- 
 posed 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 I " 
 
 This was the language of a man who, while 
 he is giving utterance to an uneasy thought, 
 clothes it half in jest, because he half repents 
 that it has been disclosed. His service* 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 269 
 
 express anything but satisfaction and grati- 
 tude : 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 SL 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, 74 guns, 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
 
 270 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 preced- 
 ing day : and one of the officers. Commodore 
 Steen Bille, 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 Copen- 
 hagen ! 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 refit- 
 ting their own ships, securing the prizes,
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 271 
 
 aid distributing the prisoners ; the Danes 
 in carrying on shore and disposing of the 
 wounded and the dead. It had been a 
 rr.urderous action. Our loss, in killed and 
 wounded, was nine hundred and fifty-three. 
 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 nego- 
 tiations meantime went on ; and it was 
 agreed than Nelson should have an inter- 
 view 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
 
 272 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 Denmark. But there were neither acclamatiors 
 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 receire 
 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 intro- 
 duced 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 273 
 
 ii 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 honour- 
 able 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.
 
 274 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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, 64 
 guns, 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, thcaigh he forebore from any public 
 expression of displeasure at seeing the proofs 
 and trophies of his victor^-- 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, 1 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 circum- 
 stances ; and, in my conscience, I think
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 275 
 
 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 con- 
 tinuance the armed ships and vessels of 
 Denmark were to remain in their then actual 
 situation, as to armament, equipment, and 
 hostile position ; and the treaty of armed 
 neutrality, as far as related to the co-opera- 
 tion 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
 
 276 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 com- 
 prehend 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 I" The conference, however, pro- 
 ceeded amicably on both sides ; and as the 
 commissioners could not agree upon 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 the 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 see all this 
 will burn very 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 re- 
 commencement 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 277 
 
 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 eye-witnesses 
 of the scene. Nelson was exceedingly in- 
 dignant at such a statement, and addressed 
 a letter, in confutation of it, to the Adjutant- 
 General Lindholm ; thinking this incumbent 
 upon 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 contending officers." After 
 pointing out and detecting some of the 
 misstatements in the account, he proceeds : 
 "As to his nonsense about victorj/^, his Royal 
 Highness will not much credit him. I sank, 
 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.
 
 278 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 unresist- 
 ing Dane ! When they became my prisoners, 
 I became their protector." 
 
 This letter was written in terms of great 
 asperity against the Danish commander. Lind- 
 holm 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 LIFE OF NELSON. 279 
 
 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 ps,rties, for his 
 own satisfaction, assured Lindhoiin 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-chief s 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.
 
 28o THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 CHAPTER VHL 
 1 801-1805. 
 
 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 the 
 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 say- 
 ing 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, 1 dare say, 
 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 281 
 
 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 east- 
 ward, 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 re- 
 paired, 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
 
 282 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 i8th, 
 to follow the fleet. The SL 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 immedi- 
 ately, and stepped into it. Night was setting 
 in — one of the cold spring nights of the 
 North, and it was discovered, soon after 
 they had 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 com- 
 panions 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 not think," said he presently, 
 *Uhat our fleet has quitted Bornholm? If
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 283 
 
 they are, we shall follow them to Carlscrona 
 in the boat." 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 per- 
 ceived 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 declara- 
 tion 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 
 i which did not come within the particular 
 j 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
 
 284 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 rein- 
 forced 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 betv/een 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 Petersburg ; but Nelson never trusted 
 anything to the uncertain events of time, 
 which could possibly be secured by prompti- 
 tude 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 despatches 
 arrived from home, on the 5th of May, 
 recalling Sir Hyde, and appointing Nelson 
 commander-in-chief.
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 285 
 
 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 assur- 
 ance 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
 
 286 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 i6th ; Nelson, 
 meantime, had exchanged visits with the 
 governor, and the most friendly intercourse
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 287 
 
 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 express- 
 ing what he felt: he told the court of 
 Petersburg, '^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 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,
 
 288 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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, seamanlike, 
 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 miscon- 
 ception between them ; informed him, that 
 the British vessels which Paul had detained 
 were ordered to be liberated, and invited 
 him to Petersburg in whatever mode might 
 be most agreeable to himself. Other honours 
 awaited him : the Duke of Mecklenburg- 
 Strelitz, the Queen's brother, came to visit 
 him on board his ship ; and towns of the 
 inland parts of Mecklenburg sent him deputa- 
 tions, 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 and 
 humble us to the dust.*' He saw also 
 that the Danish cabinet was completely 
 subservient to France ; a French officer was
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 289 
 
 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 every- 
 thing which is dirty and mean going on, 
 and the Prince Royal at the head of it. 
 Ships have been masted, guns taken on 
 j board, floating batteries prepared, and, except 
 hauling out and completing their rigging, 
 everything has been 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 
 K of the Danish cabinet, but the battle of
 
 290 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 291 
 
 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 we 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 
 I to tell your great news, that she could 
 utter nothing but tears of joy and tender- 
 ness. 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. In short, 
 except myself (and your lordship knows 
 that I have some phlegm), all the company, 
 which was considerable after dinner, 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 ecstasies I 
 But with calm reflection, I felt for my
 
 292 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 friend having got to the very summit of 
 gloiry ! 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 per- 
 suaded that an invasion could only be 
 effected by numerous and powerful fleets. 
 A general alarm was excited ; and, in con- 
 descension 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 293 
 
 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 English- 
 woman, 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 seems 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 
 firsts 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
 
 294 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 great attempt would be made, and which 
 the French, in fear of an attack them- 
 selves, were fortifying with all care. He 
 approached near enough to sink two of 
 their floating-batteries, and to destroy a few 
 gunboats which were without the pier ; what 
 damage was done within could not be ascer- 
 tained. ''Boulogne," he said, '*is certainly 
 not a very pleasant place this 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, there- 
 fore, if it came forth at all, the expedition 
 would come. **And what a forlorn under- 
 taking!*' said he; ** consider cross tides, etc. 
 As for rowing, that is impossible. It is 
 perfectly right to be prepared against 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 295 
 
 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 oiEf Harwich ; 
 and, when Nelson wished to get to the 
 Nore in her, the wind rendered it im- 
 possible to proceed there by the usual 
 channel. In haste to be at the Nore, re- 
 membering 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 four- 
 teen feet had ever before ventured over the 
 Naze. Mr. Spence, however, who had sur- 
 veyed 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 mean-
 
 296 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 time, he resolved upon attacking the flotilla 
 in the mouth of 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 con- 
 genial to his feelings. Into Helvoet or 
 Flushing, he should be happy to lead, 
 if Government turned their thoughts that 
 way. ** Whilst 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 297 
 
 by long poles, headed with iron spikes, pro- 
 jecting 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 tlje first 
 
 » In the former editions I had stated, upon what appeared authentic infor- 
 mation, that the boats were chained one to another. Nelson himsslf believed 
 this. But 1 have been assured that it was not the case, by M. de Bercet, 
 who, when I had the pleasure ot seeing- him in 1825, was (and I hope still is) com- 
 mandant of Boulogne. The word ot this brave and loyal soldier is as little to 
 be doubted as his north. He is the last survivor of Charette's band ; and his 
 own memoirs, could he be persuaded to write them (a duty which he owes to his 
 country as well as to himself), would form a redeeming- episode in the history of 
 the French Revolution.
 
 298 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 com- 
 mitted, 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 %-70u«d pi'oved mortal, after some weeks 
 of suffcriiig 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 to me ; — it shall 
 remain and be buried with me." **Poor 
 Mr. Parker I What a son has he lost! 
 If I were to say I was content, I should
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 299 
 
 lie ; but I shall endeavour to submit with 
 all the fortitude I am able. His loss has 
 made a wound in my heart, which time will 
 scarcely 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 im- 
 possible, 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 under- 
 take it. He was offended with the Admiralty 
 for refusing him leave to go to town
 
 30O THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 towards 
 Troubridge, who was now become, he 
 said, one of his lords and masters^-*'! 
 have a letter from him," he says, ** recom- 
 mending 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 dare 
 say 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 
 friends." In the same tone of bitterness he 
 complained that he was not able to promote 
 those whom he thought deserving: ** Trou- 
 bridge," he says, **has so completely pre- 
 vented 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 301 
 
 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 
 was 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 ratifica- 
 tion : 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
 
 302 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 ;^340o a year. From this he gave 
 ;^i8oo to Lady Nelson, ;^20O to a brother's 
 widow, and ;^i50 for the education of his 
 children ; and he paid ;^50O interest for 
 borrowed money ; so that Nelson was com- 
 paratively a poor man ; and though much 
 of the pecuniary embarrassment which he 
 
 I This is mentioned on the authority, and by the desire of Sir Humphrey 
 Davy (Jiiaimonia, p. 6), whose name I write with the respect to which it is so 
 justly entitled ; and, calling; to mind the time when we were in habits of daily 
 and intimate intercourse, with affectionate rcgrtt
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 303 
 
 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 attach- 
 ment, 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 weak- 
 ness, resembled his own. It did not, there- 
 fore, 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 
 sucesses in Egypt : in consequence of 
 which, the Common Council voted their
 
 304 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 thanks to the army and navy for bring- 
 ing the campaign to so glorious a con- 
 clusion. 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 Copen- 
 hagen ; and feeling that he and his com- 
 panions 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 
 either navy or army 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 the 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,
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 305 
 
 row 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. 
 Again, I disclaim for myself more merit 
 thar. naturally falls to the share of 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, 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 upon 
 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 services." 
 
 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 ist 
 of June, of Cape St. Vincent, at Camper- 
 down, and of the Nile. Then came the 
 victory of Copenhagen : which Nelson truly 
 called the most difficult achievement, the 
 hardest -fought batde, the most glorious
 
 3o6 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 im- 
 plying a suspicion, that it was withheld 
 by some feeling of jealousy ; and that 
 suspicion estranged him, during the re- 
 maining part 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, accomplished 
 man, who has thus in a letter described 
 his own philosophy : '* My study of anti- 
 quities," he says, '' 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 in- 
 comprehensible ; 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 307 
 
 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 ;^i20o 
 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 acknowledg- 
 ment 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 ijidependent in pecuniary 
 matters. 
 
 He took his station immediately off 
 Toulon ; and there, with incessant vig'ilancef 
 waited for the coming out of the enemy.
 
 3o8 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 
 ;^20,ooo, and I have not made ;^6ooo." 
 More than once he says that the prizes 
 taken in the Mediterranean had not paid 
 his expenses, and once he expresses him- 
 self 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 309 
 
 forget his unkindtiess 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." 
 
 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 Horatia to 
 drink my health. Forty-six years of toil 
 and trouble I How few more the common 
 lot of mankind leads us to expect I 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 him 
 self ** many, many happy years, when thai 
 Impediment," as he calls her, " shaJ
 
 3IO THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 expecta- 
 tions of our country." Nelson then r«=»marked 
 that the junior flag officers of his fleet 
 had been omitted in this vote of thanks ; 
 and his surprise at the omission was ex- 
 pressed with more asperity, perhaps, than
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 311 
 
 an offence, so entirely and manifestly un- 
 intentional, deserved ; but it arose from 
 that generous regard for the feelings as 
 well as 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 ; ha 
 never inflicted corporal punishment, if it 
 were possible to avoid it, and when com- 
 pelled 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 injuiy ; his was an 
 active and watchful benevolence, ever desirous 
 not only to render justice but to do 
 good. During the peace, he had spoken
 
 312 THE LIFF OF NELSON. 
 
 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 chat 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 toward those 
 who were under his command. " I have 
 just received your letter; and I am truly 
 sorry that any difference should arise between
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 313 
 
 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 dis- 
 position 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, ** We would 
 all do everything in our power to oblige so 
 gallant and good an officer as our friend 
 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 acknow- 
 ledgment 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
 
 314 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 order-book of the fleet, and read to all the 
 officers. The young man has pushed him- 
 self 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 sea- 
 man is for ever punished for contempt to 
 his superior.** 
 
 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 inde- 
 pendent 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 import- 
 ance 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 all at 
 deliance : speaking in the most disrespectful 
 
 I
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 315 
 
 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 com- 
 manded ! 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 pre- 
 venting such disputes, he suggested that 
 the navy should have its own corps of 
 artillery; and a corps of marine artillery 
 was accordingly established. 
 
 Instead of lessening the power of the
 
 3i6 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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. IMany 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, 'M 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 
 is the Victory ; she is full, and I have 
 twenty on my list ; but, whatever numbers 
 I have, the name of Rodney must cut
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 317 
 
 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 under- 
 stood 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 oppor- 
 tunities 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
 
 3i8 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 too 
 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 
 ;^50oo 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 else- 
 where. 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, v»'as 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 319 
 
 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 Buona- 
 parte, who now almost undisguisedly 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 Buona- 
 parte was meditating the destruction of Spain ; 
 and that, while the wretched court of Madrid 
 professed to remain neutral, the appearances
 
 320 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 miser- 
 able 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, con- 
 sented, the enemy's fleet did not venture to 
 put to sea. Nelson watched it with unremit- 
 ting and almost unexampled perseverance. The 
 station off Toulon he called his home. '*We 
 are in the right fighting trim," said he: 'Met 
 them come as soon as they please. I never 
 saw a fleet altogether so well officered and
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 321 
 
 manned ; would to God the ships were half as 
 good I 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 hers the same : 
 I believe they are all alike. Whatever in- 
 formation 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. La Touche - Tr^ville, who had com- 
 manded 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, 
 L Rear-Admiral Campbell, reconnoitring with
 
 322 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 the Canopus, Donegal^ and Amazon^ stood 
 iji close to the port ; and M. La Touche, 
 taking advantage of a breeze which sprang 
 up, pushed out with four ships of the line, 
 and three heavy frigates, and chased him 
 about four leagues. The Frenchman, de- 
 lighted 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 I 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, 'Mf 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. La Touche," said he to one of his 
 correspondents, ** his letter, with all his 
 ingenuity, must be dififerent 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 /rw", 
 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 
 Monsieur La Touche's letter of how he chased 
 me, and how I ran. I keep it: and, by God, 
 tf I take him, he shall eat it,"
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 323 
 
 Nelson, who used to say, that in sea 
 affairs nothing is impossible, and nothing 
 improbable, feared the more that this French- 
 man 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. La Touche, 
 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 des- 
 patches and letters fell into the hands of 
 the enemy. **A very pretty piece of 
 work I** 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
 
 324 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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.'" In a sub- 
 sequent 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 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 con- 
 veyance ; 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 

 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 325 
 
 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 rne? 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 con- 
 template without unhappiness. More alarming 
 symjDtoms he regarded with less appre- 
 hension ; 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 1 am 
 fast asleep." The fieet was in worsa trim
 
 326 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 appear- 
 ance 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 upon their tails." 
 
 Hostilities at length commenced between 
 Great Britain and Spain. That country, 
 whose miserable government made her sub- 
 servient 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 justifi- 
 able ; for those treasures were intended to 
 furnish means for France ; but the circum- 
 stances 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, there- 
 fore, 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 327 
 
 catastrophe might have been spared ; a 
 catastrophe which excited not more indignation 
 in Spain, than it did grief in those who 
 were its unwiHing instruments, in the English 
 government, and in the English people. On 
 the fifth 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 sup- 
 posed, 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, 
 *' I fancied — but nay ; it must have been a 
 dream, an idle dream ; yet, I confess it, 
 I did fancy that I had done my countr}^ 
 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."
 
 328 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 War between Spain and England was 
 now declared ; and, on the eicrhteenth 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 s?ght of 
 them in about four hours. The fleet im- 
 mediately 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 LIFE OF NELSON. 329 
 
 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 back in consequence of storms 
 which he had weathered, gave him a con- 
 soling sense of British superiority. ** These 
 gentlemen," said he, **are not accustomed
 
 330 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 
 2ist of January the fleet had remained 
 ready for battle, without a bulkhead 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 appear- 
 ance 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 Phosbe^ 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 toward the coast of Africa. 
 Nelson first covered the channel between 
 Sardinia and Barbary, so as to satisfy 
 himself that Villeneuve was not taking
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 331 
 
 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 nth, 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 1 Dead foul I But my mind is fully 
 made up what to do when I leave the 
 Straits, supposing there is no certain
 
 332 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 com- 
 manded 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 333 
 
 and momentous intelligence to the flag of 
 his country. He went on board the Victory, 
 and communicated to Nelson his certain know- 
 ledge 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 against 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 state of equip- 
 ment 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, came out to him, 
 and they sailed without a moment's loss 
 of time. They had about three thousand 
 French troops on board, and fitteen 
 hundred Spanish : six hundred were under 
 orders expecting them at Martinique, and 
 one thousand at Guadaloupe. General 
 Lauriston commanded the troops. The com- 
 bined fleet now consisted of eighteen sail 
 of the line, six 44-gun frigates, one of 
 26 guns, three corvettes, and a brig. They 
 were joined afterwards by two new French 
 line- of- battle ships, and one 44. Nelson 
 pursued them with ten sail of the line 
 and three frigates. ** Take you a French- 
 man apiece," said he to his captains, 
 *'and leave me the Spaniards; when I haul
 
 334 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 William Myers off"ered 
 to embark here with two thousand 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 
 Colonel Shipley of the Engineers to signify 
 that the enemy were at Trinidad ; and as 
 this was at the close of day, there was 
 00 opportunity of discovering the mistake.
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 335 
 
 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 dis- 
 covered that accident and artifice had com- 
 bined 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 com- 
 bined 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 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
 
 336 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 they were leaving it, and the battle vould 
 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 two hundred ships laden for Europe, 
 which would else have fallen into the enemy's 
 hands ; and he had the satisfaction of know- 
 ing 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^ 74 guns ; the only 
 addition to the squadron with which he was 
 pursuing so superior a force. Five days after- 
 wards the Amazon brought intelligence that 
 she had spoke a schooner which had seen 
 them, on the evening of the 15th, steering to 
 the N. ; 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 21st. Mid- 
 night, 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 i8th," 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 337 
 
 on shore for the first time since June i6th, 
 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 kiown 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 three or four-and-thirty 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 under- 
 taken 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 con- 
 jecture concerning the enemy ; and Nelson, 
 having victualled and watered at Tetuan, stood 
 for Ceuta on the 24th, still without informa- 
 tion 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
 
 338 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 priv^ateer, 
 deserted by her crew, which had been lun 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 
 manafacrure, 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 prize-master, 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 unaccOiSnted-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 delaj' (for I am
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 339 
 
 satisfied that those two ships were the ad- 
 vanced 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 persever- 
 ing 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.
 
 340 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 1805. 
 
 Sir Robert Calder falls in with the combined Fleets — 
 They form a Junction with the Fenol Squadron, 
 and get into Cadiz — Nelson is reappointec 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 west of 
 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 con- 
 sidered as no inconsiderable victory a few 
 years earlier ; but Nelson had introduced 
 a new era in our naval history ; and the
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 341 
 
 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 Black- 
 wood, 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 : *M am sure 
 you bring me news of the French and 
 Spanish fleets 1 I think I shall yet have to 
 beat them I" They had refitted at Vigo, 
 after the indecisive action with Sir Robert
 
 342 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 
 g^ive M. Villeneuve a drubbing." But, when 
 Blackwood had left him, he wanted resolu- 
 tion 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 sur- 
 rounded 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 343 
 
 eyes : — " Brave Emma I Good Emma I 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 persever- 
 ingly 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
 
 344 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 Vtclory.^* 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 vener- 
 able father. The state of his feelings now 
 was expressed in his private journal in these 
 words: ''Friday night, 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 
 whom I may leave behind. His will be 
 done. Amen I Amen! Araenl" 
 
 Early on the following morning be reached 
 Portsmouth ; and, having despatched his
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 345 
 
 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 tres- 
 passing 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
 
 346 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 them- 
 selves 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,
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 347 
 
 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. Mary's. At this distance he 
 hoped to decoy che 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 con- 
 veyed 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 prospect 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
 
 548 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 the country will soon be put to some expense 
 for my account — either a monument, or a 
 new pension and honours ; for I have not 
 the very smallest doubt but that a very few 
 days, almost hours, will put us in battle. 
 The success no man can ensure ; but the 
 fighting them, if they are to 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, 
 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 v/as not what he looked to, he 
 wanted to annihilate the enemy's fleet. The 
 Cartharsna squadron might effect a junction 
 with this fl»et on the ona side ; and on the 
 other it wcs to be expect^Kl that a similar 
 attempt would be made by thf^ 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 cai^gfhr the Agamemnon and 
 UAimable, on their way to reinforce the 
 British admiral. Yet Nelson at this time 
 weakened his own fleet. He had the un- 
 pleasant task to perform of sending home 
 Sir Robert Calder, whose conduct was to
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 349 
 
 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 90-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
 
 350 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 very 
 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 LIFE OF NELSON. 351 
 
 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 com- 
 munication with the frigates in shore, 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
 
 352 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 dis- 
 persed 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 *
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 353 
 
 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. Colling- 
 wood, in the Royal Sovereign^ led the lee line 
 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, 
 a(nd 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 pre- 
 dominant feature in the British fleet! For 
 myself individually, I commit my life to Him 
 who made me ; and may His blessing light 
 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 I Amen I " 
 
 Having thus discharged his devotional duties, 
 he annexed, in the same diary, the following 
 remarkable writing :— 
 
 ^^^ October 21, 1805. — Then m sight of the com" 
 hined fleets of France and Spain ^ distant about 
 ten miles. 
 
 ** Whereas the eminent services of Emma 
 A Hamilton, widow of the Right Honourable Sir
 
 354 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 com- 
 mand could never have returned the second 
 time to Egypt, had not Lady Hamilton's in- 
 fluence 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 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, 1 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 Thomson ; 
 and I desire she will use in future the name of 
 Nelson only.
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 355 
 
 " These are the only favours 1 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. 
 
 ** Nelson and Bronte. 
 ti TJTu tHenry Blackwood, 
 
 Wtiness, [rj.^ ^^ Hardy." 
 
 The child of whom this writing speaks was 
 believed to be his daughter, and so indeed he 
 called her the last time that 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 bim 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
 
 356 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 judici- 
 ously 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 con- 
 sider 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 
 anything short of 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
 
 L.N 
 
 " He wore his admiral's frock-coat." ^«i?«3w.
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 357 
 
 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 that every 
 MAN WILL DO HIS DUTY ! " It was received 
 throughout the fleet with a shout of answer- 
 ing 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 dcubted but that his life would 
 be particularly aimed at. They communicated 
 their fears to each other, and the surgeon, 
 Mr. Beaity,' 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, 
 
 » In this part of the work 1 have chiefly been Indebted to this gentleman's 
 Narrative cf Lord A elson s Death, a docuuifcot as interesling: as it is autbeolic
 
 358 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 oppor- 
 tunity. This was a point upon which Nelson's 
 officers knew that it was hopeless to remon- 
 strate or reason with him ; but both Black- 
 wood, 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 ^ be 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 formid- 
 able ; 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 359 
 
 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 Sirtus, 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 speak to you again." 
 
 Nelson's column was steered about two
 
 36o THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 points more to the north than Colllngwood'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 star- 
 board 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, r.nd exclaimed, ''Rotherham, Avhat 
 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 I " 
 said Nelson ; *' good terms with each other ! " Im- 
 mediately 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 Victoryy till they saw that a shot 
 had passed through her main -topgallant sail ; 
 then they opened their broadsides, aiming 
 chiefly at her rigging, in the hope of dis- 
 abling her before she could close with them.
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 361 
 
 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. Mean- 
 time 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, *Ms 
 that poor Scott that's gone?" and being 
 informed that it was indeed so, exclaimed, 
 **Poor fellow r* 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 sufiFer so much from 
 being together. A few minutes afterwards a 
 shot struck the fore-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."
 
 362 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 The Victory had not yet returned a single 
 gun. Fifty of her men had been by this 
 time killed or wounded, and her main- 
 topmast, 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 Redoutahle^ 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 boarded 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 the;i be picked off, 
 but which never can decide the fate of a 
 general engagement. 
 
 Captain Harvey, in the Tcmeraire, fell on 
 board the RedoutaUe on the other side.
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 363 
 
 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 Redoutahle 
 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 was 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 mizen-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
 
 364 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 backbone 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 handker- 
 chief, 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 difiSculty 
 conveyed, and laid upon a pallet in the mid- 
 shipmen'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
 
 IJN Page: 
 
 The Victory ran on board the RedoutabUr
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 365 
 
 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 ex- 
 pression 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 suppress 
 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 showed 
 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." *M 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 over with me soon. Come
 
 366 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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; ^Mt 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. 1 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 
 undertone, 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, re- 
 turned ; 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
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 367 
 
 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 endeavour- 
 ing 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 shoit 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
 
 368 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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, about 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 mizen-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 
 quartermaster 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. Colling- 
 wood 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 mizen-top, and found him dead, with
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 369 
 
 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 
 RedoutahlCy 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 werte 
 down. Some of our men went to Lieutenant
 
 370 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 them- 
 selves 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 Nepomiweno 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 victxiry 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 & little longer — 
 doubtless that he might hear the completion
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 371 
 
 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 retaking 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^
 
 372 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 one thousand five 
 hundred and eighty-seven. Twenty of the 
 enemy struck. But it was not possible^ to 
 anchor the fleet, as Nelson had enjoined ; a 
 gale came on from the south-west. 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 
 
 * In the former editions it was said that unhappily the fleet did not anchor, 
 implying- an opinion that Nelson's orders ought to have been followed by his 
 successor. From the recently published Memoirs and Correspondence of Lord 
 CoUingwood, it appears that this was not practicable, and that if it had been, 
 and had been done, the consequences, from the state of the weather (which 
 Nelson could not foresee), would in all likelihood have been more disastrous 
 than they were. 
 
 Having thus referred to Lord Collingwoods Life, I may be allowed to say 
 that the publication of that volume is indeed a nationJil good. It ought to be 
 •n ever>- oflScer's cabin, and in every statesman's cabinet.
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 373 
 
 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 per- 
 mitted to return to France. The French 
 government say that he destroyed himself 
 on the way to Paris, dreading the conse- 
 quences of a court-martial ; but there is every 
 reason to believe that the tyrant, who never 
 acknov/ledged 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 ;^6ooo a year ; ;^io,ooo were voted 
 to each of his sisters ; and ;^ioo,ooo for 
 the purchase of an estate. A public funeral 
 was decreed, and a public monument; statues 
 and monuments also were voted bv most of
 
 374 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 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 interment, 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,
 
 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 375 
 
 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 awakened 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 couiise of nature, he might have attained, 
 like his father, to a good old age. Yet he 
 cannot be said to have fallen permaturely 
 whose work was done ; nor ought he to be 
 lamented, who died so full of honours, and 
 at the height of human fame. The most 
 triumphant death is that of the martyr j the
 
 376 THE LIFE OF NELSON. 
 
 most awful that of the martyred patriot ; the 
 most splendid that of the hero in the hour 
 of victory : and if the chariot and the 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 : 
 
 Tot fxkv daifJLovis etffi, Aibs iJ.e)'d\ov 5id jSoi/Xds, 
 
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 36 The Old Curiosity Shop 
 
 37 Nicholas Nickleby 
 
 38 Piclavick Papers 
 
 39 Sketches by Boz 
 
 40 Dombey and Son — Vol. I. 
 40a Dombey and Son — Vol. II. 
 
 41 American Notes 
 
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 44 Christmas Books 
 
 45 Reprinted Pieces 
 
 46 Martin Chuzzlewit 
 
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 48 T,iUle Dorrit 
 
 49 Master Humphrev's Clock, etc 
 
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 73 Our Mutual Friend— Vol. I. 
 
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 154 The Uncommercial Traveller 
 220 Edwin Drood 
 
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 62 The Three Musketeers— Vol. I. 
 62a The Three Musketeers — Vol.11. 
 123 Twentv Years After 
 
 132 Count of Monte-Crist o — Vol. I. 
 
 133 Count of Monte-Cristo — Vol. IL 
 160 The Black Tulip 
 
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 173 Vicomte de Bragelonne 
 
 178 I^uise de la Valli^re 
 
 185 The Man in the Iron Mask 
 
 199 The Forty-Five Guardsmen 
 
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 214 Le Chevalier de Maison Rouge 
 
 247 The Countess de Chamy 
 
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 DUNCAN, JANE E. 
 
 211 A Summer Ride through 
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 32 Scenes of Clerical Life 
 
 68 Romola 
 
 96 FelLx Holt 
 
 223 Middlemarch — Vol. I. 
 
 224 Middlemarch— Vol. IL 
 
 EMERSON, R. W. 
 
 99 Essays and Representative Men 
 
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 209 The Conscript, and Waterloo 
 
 FROUDE, J. A. 
 125 Short Studies 
 
 GASKELL, Mas 
 
 54 North and South 
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 GOLDSMITH, OLIVER 
 
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 87 Harold 
 126 The Caxtons 
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 204 Devereus 
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 118 Historical Essays 
 
 119 Miscellaneous Essays — Vol. I. 
 119a MiscellaneoxisEssays — Vol. II. 
 
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 84 Mr Midshipman Easy 
 
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 222 Peter Simple 
 
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 OLIPHANT, Mas 
 
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 PAYN, JAMES 
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 201 Tales of Mystery and Imagina- 
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 PROCTER, ADELAIDE 
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 9 It is never too Late to Mend 
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 Johnstone 
 150 Love me Little, Love Me Long 
 170 Put Yourself in His Place 
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 RUSKIN, JOHN 
 
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 58 Waverley 
 
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 90 Old Mortality 
 101 Poetical Works 
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 203 The Black Dwarf, and The 
 
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 146a The Japs at Home 
 
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 THACKERAY, W. M. 
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 34 Vanity Fair — Vol. I. 
 34a Vanity Fair— Vol. II. 
 66 The Newcomes — Vol. I. 
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