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The Life of
Horatio Lord Nelson

A Biography
By
Robert Southey

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The Life of Horatio Lord Nelson
Chapter 1. 1758 – 1783.......................................................................................................3
Chapter 2. 1784 - 1793......................................................................................................17
Chapter 3. 1793 – 1795.....................................................................................................27
Chapter 4. 1796 – 1797.....................................................................................................45
Chapter 5. 1798.................................................................................................................59
Chapter 6. 1798 – 1800.....................................................................................................74
Chapter 7. 1800 – 1801.....................................................................................................99
Chapter 8. 1801 – 1805...................................................................................................118
Chapter 9. 1805...............................................................................................................136

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Chapter 1. 1758 – 1783
Nelson's Birth and Boyhood--He is entered on Board the RAISONABLE-- Goes to the West
Indies in a Merchant-ship; then serves in the TRIUMPH --He sails in Captain Phipps' Voyage
of Discovery--Goes to the East Indies in the SEAHORSE, and returns in ill Health--Serves as
acting Lieutenant in the WORCESTER, and is made Lieutenant into the LOWESTOFFE,
Commander into the BADGER Brig, and Post into the HINCHINBROKE-- Expedition
against the Spanish Main--Sent to the North Seas in the ALBERMARLE--Services during
the American War.
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HORATIO, son of Edmund and Catherine Nelson, was born September 29, 1758, in the
parsonage-house of Burnham Thorpe, a village in the county of Norfolk, of which his father
was rector. His mother was a daughter of Dr. Suckling, prebendary of Westminster, whose
grandmother was sister of Sir Robert Walpole, and this child was named after his godfather,
the first Lord Walpole. Mrs. Nelson died in 1767, leaving eight out of eleven children. Her
brother, Captain Maurice Suckling, of the navy visited the widower upon this event, and
promised to take care of one of the boys. Three years afterwards, when HORATIO was only
twelve years of age, being at home during the Christmas holidays, he read in the county
newspaper that his uncle was appointed to the RAISONNABLE, of sixty-four guns."Do,
William," said he to a brother who was a year and a half older than him- self, "write to my
father, and tell him that I should like to go to sea with uncle Maurice." Mr.Nelson was then at
Bath, whither he had gone for the recovery of his health: his circumstances were straitened,
and he had no prospect of ever seeing them bettered: he knew that it was the wish of
providing for himself by which Horatio was chiefly actuated, and did not oppose his
resolution; he understood also the boy's character, and had always said, that in whatever
station he might be placed, he would climb if possible to the very top of the tree. Captain
Suckling was written to. "What," said he in his answer,"has poor Horatio done, who is so
weak, that he, above all the rest, should be sent to rough it out at sea?--But let him come; and
the first time we go into action, a cannon-ball may knock off his head, and provide for him at
once."
It is manifest from these words that Horatio was not the boy whom his uncle would have
chosen to bring up in his own profession. He was never of a strong body; and the ague, which
at that time was one of the most common diseases in England, had greatly reduced his
strength; yet he had already given proofs of that resolute heart and nobleness of mind which,
during his whole career of labour and of glory, so eminently distinguished him. When a mere
child, he strayed a-birds'-nesting from his grandmother's house in company with a cowboy:
the dinner-hour elapsed; he was absent, and could not be found; and the alarm of the family
became very great, for they apprehended that he might have been carried off by gipsies. At
length, after search had been made for him in various directions, he was discovered alone,
sitting composedly by the side of a brook which he could not get over. "I wonder, child," said
the old lady when she saw him,"that hunger and fear did

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not drive you home." "Fear! grandmama:" replied the future hero,"I never saw fear:--What is
it?" Once, after the winter holidays, when he and his brother William had set off on
horseback to return to school, they came back, because there had been a fall of snow; and
William, who did not much like the journey, said it was too deep for them to venture on. "If
that be the case," said the father, "you certainly shall not go; but make another attempt, and I
will leave it to your honour. If the road is dangerous you may return: but remember, boys, I
leave it to your honour!" The snow was deep enough to have afforded them a reasonable
excuse; but Horatio was not to be prevailed upon to turn back. "We must go on," said he:
"remember, brother, it was left to our honour!"--There were some fine pears growing in the
schoolmaster's garden, which the boys regarded as lawful booty, and in the highest degree
tempting; but the boldest among them were afraid to venture for the prize. Horatio
volunteered upon this service: he was lowered down at night from the bedroom window by
some sheets, plundered the tree, was drawn up with the pears, and then distributed them
among his school-fellows without reserving any for himself. "He only took them," he said,
"because every other boy was afraid."
Early on a cold and dark spring morning Mr. Nelson's servant arrived at this school, at North
Walsham, with the expected summons for Horatio to join his ship. The parting from his
brother William, who had been for so many years his playmate and bed-fellow, was a painful
effort, and was the beginning of those privations which are the sailor's lot through life. He
accompanied his father to London. The RAISONNABLE was lying in the Medway. He was
put into the Chatham stage, and on its arrival was set down with the rest of the passengers,
and left to find his way on board as he could. After wandering about in the cold, without
being able to reach the ship, an officer observed the forlorn appearance of the boy,
questioned him; and happening to be acquainted with his uncle, took him home and gave him
some refreshments. When he got on board, Captain Suckling was not in the ship, nor had any
person been apprised of the boy's coming. He paced the deck the whole remainder of the day
without being noticed by any one; and it was not till the second day that somebody, as he
expressed it, "took compassion on him." The pain which is felt when we are first transplanted
from our native soil--when the living branch is cut from the parent tree is one of the most
poignant which we have to endure through life. There are after-griefs which wound more
deeply, which leave behind them scars never to be effaced, which bruise the spirit, and
sometimes break the heart; but never do we feel so keenly the want of love, the necessity of
being loved, and the sense of utter desertion, as when we first leave the haven of home, and
are, as it were, pushed off upon the stream of life. Added to these feelings, the sea-boy has to
endure physical hardships, and the privation of every comfort, even of sleep. Nelson had a
feeble body and an affectionate heart, and he remembered through life his first days of
wretchedness in the service.
The RAISONNABLE having been commissioned on account of the dispute respecting the
Falkland Islands, was paid off as soon as the difference with the court of Spain was
accommodated, and Captain Suckling was removed to the TRIUMPH, seventy-four, then
stationed as a guard-ship in the Thames. This was considered as too inactive a life for a boy,
and Nelson was therefore sent a voyage to the West Indies in a merchant- ship, commanded
by Mr. John Rathbone, an excellent seaman, who had served as master's

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mate under Captain Suckling in the Dreadnought. He returned a practical seaman, but with a
hatred of the king's service, and a saying then common among the sailors--"Aft the most
honour; forward the better man." Rathbone had probably been disappointed and disgusted in
the navy; and, with no unfriendly intentions, warned Nelson against a profession which he
himself had found hopeless. His uncle received him on board the TRIUMPH on his return,
and discovering his dislike to the navy, took the best means of reconciling him to it. He held
it out as a reward that, if he attended well to his navigation, he should go in the cutter and
decked long-boat, which was attached to the commanding-officer's ship at Chatham. Thus he
became a good pilot for vessels of that description from Chatham to the Tower, and down the
Swin Channel to the North Foreland, and acquired a confidence among rocks and sands of
which he often felt the value.
Nelson had not been many months on board the TRIUMPH, when his love of enterprise was
excited by hearing that two ships were fitting out for a voyage of discovery towards the North
Pole. In consequence of the difficulties which were expected on such a service, these vessels
were to take out effective men instead of the usual number of boys. This, however, did not
deter him from soliciting to be received, and, by his uncle's interest, he was admitted as
coxswain under Captain Lutwidge, second in command. The voyage was undertaken in
compliance with an application from the Royal Society. The Hon. Captain Constantine John
Phipps, eldest son of Lord Mulgrave, volunteered his services. The RACEHORSE and
CARCASS bombs were selected as the strongest ships, and, therefore, best adapted for such
a voyage; and they were taken into dock and strengthened, to render them as secure as
possible against the ice. Two masters of Greenlandmen were employed as pilots for each
ship. No expedition was ever more carefully fitted out; and the First Lord of the Admiralty,
Lord Sandwich, with a laudable solicitude, went on board himself, before their departure, to
see that everything had been completed to the wish of the officers. The ships were provided
with a simple and excellent apparatus for distilling fresh from salt water, the invention of Dr.
Irving, who accompanied the expedition. It consisted merely in fitting a tube to the ship's
kettle, and applying a wet mop to the surface as the vapour was passing. By these means,
from thirty-four to forty gallons were produced every day.
They sailed from the Nore on the 4th of June. On the 6th of July they were in latitude 79d
56m 39s; longitude 9d 43m 30s E. The next day, about the place where most of the old
discoverers had been stopped, the RACEHORSE was beset with ice; but they hove her
through with ice- anchors. Captain Phipps continued ranging along the ice, northward and
westward, till the 24th; he then tried to the eastward. On the 30th he was in latitude 80d 13m;
longitude 18d 48m E. among the islands and in the ice, with no appearance of an opening for
the ships. The weather was exceedingly fine, mild, and unusually clear. Here they were
becalmed in a large bay, with three apparent openings between the islands which formed it;
but everywhere, as far as they could see, surrounded with ice. There was not a breath of air,
the water was perfectly smooth, the ice covered with snow, low and even, except a few
broken pieces near the edge; and the pools of water in the middle of the ice-fields just crusted
over with young ice. On the next day the ice closed upon them, and no opening was to be
seen anywhere, except a hole, or lake as it might be called, of about a mile and a half in
circumference, where the ships lay fast to the ice with their ice-

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anchors. From these ice-fields they filled their casks with water, which was very pure and
soft. The men were playing on the ice all day; but the Greenland pilots, who were further
than they had ever been before, and considered that the season was far advancing, were
alarmed at being thus beset.
The next day there was not the smallest opening; the ships were within less than two lengths
of each other, separated by ice, and neither having room to turn. The ice, which the day
before had been flat and almost level with the water's edge, was now in many places forced
higher than the mainyard by the pieces squeezing together. A day of thick fog followed: it
was succeeded by clear weather; but the passage by which the ships had entered from the
westward was closed, and no open water was in sight, either in that or any other quarter. By
the pilots' advice the men were set to cut a passage, and warp through the small openings to
the westward. They sawed through pieces of ice twelve feet thick; and this labour continued
the whole day, during which their utmost efforts did not move the ships above three hundred
yards; while they were driven, together with the ice, far to the N.E. and E. by the current.
Sometimes a field of several acres square would be lifted up between two larger islands, and
incorporated with them; and thus these larger pieces continued to grow by aggregation.
Another day passed, and there seemed no probability of getting the ships out without a strong
E. or N.E. wind. The season was far advanced, and every hour lessened the chance of
extricating themselves. Young as he was, Nelson was appointed to command one of the boats
which were sent out to explore a passage into the open water. It was the means of saving a
boat belonging to the RACEHORSE from a singular but imminent danger. Some of the
officers had fired at and wounded a walrus. As no other animal has so human-like an
expression in its countenance, so also is there none that seems to possess more of the
passions of humanity. The wounded animal dived immediately, and brought up a number of
its companions; and they all joined in an attack upon the boat. They wrested an oar from one
of the men; and it was with the utmost difficulty that the crew could prevent them from
staving or upsetting her, till the CARCASS's boat came up; and the walruses, finding their
enemies thus reinforced, dispersed. Young Nelson exposed himself in a more daring manner.
One night, during the mid-watch, he stole from the ship with one of his comrades, taking
advantage of a rising fog, and set off over the ice in pursuit of a bear. It was not long before
they were missed. The fog thickened, and Captain Lutwidge and his officers became
exceedingly alarmed for their safety. Between three and four in the morning the weather
cleared, and the two adventurers were seen, at a considerable distance from the ship,
attacking a huge bear. The signal for them to return was immediately made; Nelson's
comrade called upon him to obey it, but in vain; his musket had flashed in the pan; their
ammunition was expended; and a chasm in the ice, which divided him from the bear,
probably preserved his life. "Never mind," he cried; "do but let me get a blow at this devil
with the butt-end of my musket, and we shall have him." Captain Lutwidge, however, seeing
his danger, fired a gun, which had the desired effect of frightening the beast; and the boy then
returned, somewhat afraid of the consequences of his trespass. The captain reprimanded him
sternly for conduct so unworthy of the office which he filled, and desired to know what
motive he could have for hunting a bear. "Sir," said he, pouting his lip, as he was wont to do
when agitated, "I wished to kill the bear, that I might carry the skin to my father."

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A party were now sent to an island, about twelve miles off (named Walden's Island in the
charts, from the midshipman who was intrusted with this service), to see where the open
water lay. They came back with information that the ice, though close all about them, was
open to the westward, round the point by which they came in. They said also, that upon the
island they had had a fresh east wind. This intelligence considerably abated the hopes of the
crew; for where they lay it had been almost calm, and their main dependence had been upon
the effect of an easterly wind in clearing the bay. There was but one alternative: either to wait
the event of the weather upon the ships, or to betake themselves to the boats. The likelihood
that it might be necessary to sacrifice the ships had been foreseen. The boats accordingly
were adapted, both in number and size, to transport, in case of emergency, the whole crew;
and there were Dutch whalers upon the coast, in which they could all be conveyed to Europe.
As for wintering where they were, that dreadful experiment had been already tried too often.
No time was to be lost; the ships had driven into shoal water, having but fourteen fathoms.
Should they, or the ice to which they were fast, take the ground, they must inevitably be lost;
and at this time they were driving fast toward some rocks on the N.E. Captain Phipps sent for
the officers of both ships, and told them his intention of preparing the boats for going away.
They were immediately hoisted out, and the fitting begun. Canvas bread-bags were made, in
case it should be necessary suddenly to desert the vessels; and men were sent with the lead
and line to N. and E., to sound wherever they found cracks in the ice, that they might have
notice before the ice took the ground; for in that case the ships must instantly have been
crushed or overset.
On the 7th of August they began to haul the boats over the ice, Nelson having command of a
four-oared cutter. The men behaved excellently well, like true British seamen: they seemed
reconciled to the thought of leaving the ships, and had full confidence in their officers. About
noon, the ice appeared rather more open near the vessels; and as the wind was easterly,
though there was but little of it, the sails were set, and they got about a mile to the westward.
They moved very slowly, and were not now nearly so far to the westward as when they were
first beset. However, all sail was kept upon them, to force them through whenever the ice
slacked the least. Whatever exertions were made, it could not be possible to get the boats to
the water's edge before the 14th; and if the situation of the ships should not alter by that time,
it would not be justifiable to stay longer by them. The commander therefore resolved to carry
on both attempts together, moving the boats constantly, and taking every opportunity of
getting the ships through. A party was sent out next day to the westward to examine the state
of the ice: they returned with tidings that it was very heavy and close, consisting chiefly of
large fields. The ships, however, moved something, and the ice itself was drifting westward.
There was a thick fog, so that it was impossible to ascertain what advantage had been gained.
It continued on the 9th; but the ships were moved a little through some very small openings:
the mist cleared off in the afternoon, and it was then perceived that they had driven much
more than could have been expected to the westward, and that the ice itself had driven still
further. In the course of the day they got past the boats, and took them on board again. On the
morrow the wind sprang up to the N.N.E. All sail was set, and the ships forced their way
through a great deal of very heavy ice. They frequently struck, and with such force that one
stroke broke the shank of the RACEHORSE's best bower- anchor, but the vessels made way;

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and by noon they had cleared the ice, and were out at sea. The next day they anchored in
Smeerenberg Harbour, close to that island of which the westernmost point is called Hakluyt's
Headland, in honour of the great promoter and compiler of our English voyages of discovery.
Here they remained a few days, that the men might rest after their fatigue. No insect was to
be seen in this dreary country, nor any species of reptile--not even the common earth-worm.
Large bodies of ice, called icebergs, filled up the valleys between high mountains, so dark as,
when contrasted with the snow, to appear black. The colour of the ice was a lively light
green. Opposite to the place where they fixed their observatory was one of these icebergs,
above three hundred feet high; its side toward the sea was nearly perpendicular, and a stream
of water issued from it. Large pieces frequently broke off and rolled down into the sea. There
was no thunder nor lightning during the whole time they were in these latitudes. The sky was
generally loaded with hard white clouds, from which it was never entirely free even in the
clearest weather. They always knew when they were approaching the ice long before they
saw it, by a bright appearance near the horizon, which the Greenlandmen called the blink of
the ice. The season was now so far advanced that nothing more could have been attempted, if
indeed anything had been left untried; but the summer had been unusually favourable, and
they had carefully surveyed the wall of ice, extending for more than twenty degrees between
the latitudes of 80d and 81d, without the smallest appearance of any opening.
The ships were paid off shortly after their return to England; and Nelson was then placed by
his uncle with Captain Farmer, in the SEAHORSE, of twenty guns, then going out to the East
Indies in the squadron under Sir Edward Hughes. He was stationed in the foretop at watch
and watch. His good conduct attracted the attention of the master (afterwards Captain
Surridge), in whose watch he was; and upon his recommendation the captain rated him as
midshipman. At this time his countenance was florid, and his appearance rather stout and
athletic; but when he had been about eighteen months in India, he felt the effects of that
climate, so perilous to European constitutions. The disease baffled all power of medicine; he
was reduced almost to a skeleton; the use of his limbs was for some time entirely lost; and the
only hope that remained was from a voyage home. Accordingly he was brought home by
Captain Pigot, in the DOLPHIN; and had it not been for the attentive and careful kindness of
that officer on the way, Nelson would never have lived to reach his native shores. He had
formed an acquaintance with Sir Charles Pole, Sir Thomas Troubridge, and other
distinguished officers, then, like himself, beginning their career: he had left them pursuing
that career in full enjoyment of health and hope, and was returning, from a country in which
all things were to him new and interesting, with a body broken down by sickness, and spirits
which had sunk with his strength. Long afterwards, when the name of Nelson was known as
widely as that of England itself, he spoke of the feelings which he at this time endured. "I felt
impressed," said he, "with a feeling that I should never rise in my profession. My mind was
staggered with a view of the difficulties I had to surmount and the little interest I possessed. I
could discover no means of reaching the object of my ambition. After a long and gloomy
reverie, in which I almost wished myself overboard, a sudden glow of patriotism was

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kindled within me, and presented my king and country as my patron. 'Well then,' I exclaimed,
'I will be a hero! and, confiding in Providence, I will brave every danger!'"
Long afterwards Nelson loved to speak of the feelings of that moment; and from that time, he
often said, a radiant orb was suspended in his mind's eye, which urged him onward to
renown. The state of mind in which these feelings began, is what the mystics mean by their
season of darkness and desertion. If the animal spirits fail, they represent it as an actual
temptation. The enthusiasm of Nelson's nature had taken a different direction, but its essence
was the same. He knew to what the previous state of dejection was to be attributed; that an
enfeebled body, and a mind depressed, had cast this shade over his soul; but he always
seemed willing to believe that the sunshine which succeeded bore with it a prophetic glory,
and that the light which led him on was "light from heaven."
His interest, however, was far better than he imagined, During his absence, Captain Suckling
had been made Comptroller of the Navy; his health had materially improved upon the
voyage; and as soon as the DOLPHIN was paid off, he was appointed acting lieutenant in the
WORCESTER, sixty-four, Captain Mark Robinson, then going out with convoy to Gibraltar.
Soon after his return, on the 8th of April 1777, he passed his examination for a lieutenancy.
Captain Suckling sat at the head of the board; and when the examination had ended, in a
manner highly honourable to Nelson, rose from his seat, and introduced him to the examining
captains as his nephew. They expressed their wonder that he had not informed them of this
relationship before; he replied that he did not wish the younker to be favoured; he knew his
nephew would pass a good examination, and he had not been deceived. The next day Nelson
received his commission as second lieutenant of the LOWESTOFFE frigate, Captain William
Locker, then fitting out for Jamaica.
American and French privateers, under American colours, were at that time harassing our
trade in the West Indies: even a frigate was not sufficiently active for Nelson, and he
repeatedly got appointed to the command of one of the LOWESTOFFE's tenders. During one
of their cruises the LOWESTOFFE captured an American letter-of-marque: it was blowing a
gale, and a heavy sea running. The first lieutenant being ordered to board the prize, went
below to put on his hanger. It happened to be mislaid; and while he was seeking it, Captain
Locker came on deck. Perceiving the boat still alongside, and in danger every moment of
being swamped, and being extremely anxious that the privateer should be instantly taken in
charge, because he feared that It would otherwise founder, he exclaimed, "Have I no officer
in the ship who can board the prize?" Nelson did not offer himself immediately, waiting, with
his usual sense of propriety, for the first lieutenant's return; but hearing the master volunteer,
he jumped into the boat, saying, "It is my turn now; and if I come back, it is yours." The
American, who had carried a heavy press of sail in hope of escaping, was so completely
water-logged that the LOWESTOFFE's boat went in on deck and out again with the sea
About this time he lost his uncle. Captain Locker, however, who had perceived the excellent
qualities of Nelson, and formed a friendship for him which continued during his

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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 Lieu- tenant Cuthbert Collingwood succeeded him in the LOWESTOFFE. Sir Peter
Parker was the friend of both, and thus it happened that whenever Nelson got a step in rank,
Collingwood succeeded him. The former soon became first lieutenant, and on the 8th of
December 1778 was appointed commander of the BADGER brig; Collingwood taking his
place in the BRISTOL. While the BADGER was lying in Montego Bay, Jamaica, the
GLASGOW of twenty guns came in and anchored there, and in two hours was in flames, the
steward having set fire to her while stealing rum out of the after-hold. Her crew were leaping
into the water, when Nelson came up in his boats, made them throw their powder overboard
and point their guns upward; and by his presence of mind and personal exertions prevented
the loss of life which would otherwise have ensued. On the 11th of June 1779 he was made
post into the HINCHINBROOK, of twenty-eight guns, an enemy's merchantman, sheathed
with wood, which had been taken into the service. Collingwood was then made commander
into the BADGER. A short time after he left the LOWESTOFFE, that ship, with a small
squadron, stormed the fort of St. Fernando de Omoa, on the south side of the Bay of
Honduras, and captured some register ships which were lying under its guns. Two hundred
and fifty quintals of quicksilver and three millions of piastres were the reward of this
enterprise; and it is characteristic of Nelson that the chance by which he missed a share in
such a prize is never mentioned in any of his letters; nor is it likely that it ever excited even a
momentary feeling of vexation.
Nelson was fortunate in possessing good interest at the time when it could be most
serviceable to him: his promotion had been almost as rapid as it could be; and before he had
attained the age of twenty-one he had gained that rank which brought all the honours of the
service within his reach. No opportunity, indeed, had yet been given him of distinguishing
himself; but he was thoroughly master of his profession, and his zeal and ability were
acknowledged wherever he was known. Count d'Estaing, with a fleet of one hundred and
twenty-five sail, men of war and transports, and a reputed force of five-and twenty thousand
men, threatened Jamaica from St. Domingo. Nelson offered his services to the Admiral and
to Governor-General Dalling, and was appointed to command the batteries of Fort Charles, at
Port Royal. Not more than seven thousand men could be mustered for the defence of the
island,--a number wholly inadequate to resist the force which threatened them. Of this Nelson
was so well aware, that when he wrote to his friends in England, he told them they must not
be surprised to hear of his learning to speak French. D'Estaing, however, was either not aware
of his own superiority, or not equal to the command with which he was intrusted: he
attempted nothing with his formidable armament; and General Dalling was thus left to
execute a project which he had formed against the Spanish colonies.
This project was, to take Fort San Juan on the river of that name, which flows from Lake
Nicaragua into the Atlantic; make himself master of the lake itself, and of the cities of
Granada and Leon; and thus cut off the communication of the Spaniards between their
northern and southern possessions in America. Here it is that a canal between the two seas
may most easily be formed--a work more important in its consequences than any

11
which has ever yet been effected by human power. Lord George Germaine, at that time
secretary of state for the American Department, approved the plan; and as discontents at that
time were known to prevail in the Nuevo Reyno, in Popayan, and in Peru, the more sanguine
part of the English began to dream of acquiring an empire in one part of America, more
extensive than that which they were on the point of losing in another. General Dalling's plans
were well formed; but the history and the nature of the country had not been studied as
accurately as its geography: the difficulties which occurred in fitting out the expedition
delayed it till the season was too far advanced; and the men were thus sent to adventure
themselves, not so much against an enemy, whom they would have beaten, as against a
climate which would do the enemy's work.
Early in the year 1780, five hundred men destined for this service were convoyed by Nelson
from Port Royal to Cape Gracias a Dios, in Honduras. Not a native was to be seen when they
landed: they had been taught that the English came with no other intent than that of enslaving
them, and sending them to Jamaica. After a while, however, one of them ventured down,
confiding in his knowledge of one of the party; and by his means the neighbouring tribes
were conciliated with presents, and brought in. The troops were encamped on a swampy and
unwholesome plain, where they were joined by a party of the 79th regiment from Black
River, who were already in a deplorable state of sickness. Having remained here a month,
they proceeded, anchoring frequently, along the Mosquito shore, to collect their Indian allies,
who were to furnish proper boats for the river, and to accompany them. They reached the
river San Juan, March 24th; and here, according to his orders, Nelson's services were to
terminate; but not a man in the expedition had ever been up the river, or knew the distance of
any fortification from its mouth; and he not being one who would turn back when so much
was to be done, resolved to carry the soldiers up. About two hundred, therefore, were
embarked in the Mosquito shore craft and in two of the HINCHINBROOK's boats, and they
began their voyage. It was the latter end of the dry season, the worst time for such an
expedition; the river was consequently low. Indians were sent forward through narrow
channels between shoals and sandbanks, and the men were frequently obliged to quit the
boats and exert their utmost strength to drag or thrust them along. This labour continued for
several days; when they came into deeper water, they had then currents and rapids to contend
with, which would have been 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 themselves, were of little use. But all equally endured
the violent heat of the sun, rendered more intense by being reflected from the white shoals;
while the high woods, on both sides of the river, were frequently so close as to prevent any
refreshing circulation of air; and during the night all were equally exposed to the heavy and
unwholesome dews.
On the 9th of April they reached an island in the river, called San Bartolomeo, which the
Spaniards had fortified, as an outpost, with a small semicircular battery, mounting nine or ten
swivels, and manned with sixteen or eighteen men. It commanded the river in a rapid and
difficult part of the navigation. Nelson, at the head of a few of his seamen, leaped upon the
beach. The ground upon which he sprung was so muddy that he had some

12
difficulty in extricating himself, and lost his shoes: bare-footed, however, he advanced, and,
in his own phrase, BOARDED THE BATTERY. In this resolute attempt he was bravely
supported by Despard, at that time a captain in the army, afterward unhappily executed for
his schemes of revolutionary treason. The castle of San Tuan is situated about 16 miles
higher up; the stores and ammunition, however, were landed a few miles below the castle,
and the men had to march through woods almost impassable. One of the men was bitten
under the eye by a snake which darted upon him from the bough of a tree. He was unable to
proceed from the violence of the pain; and when, after a short while, some of his comrades
were sent back to assist him, he was dead, and the body already putrid. Nelson himself
narrowly escaped a similar fate. He had ordered his hammock to be slung under some trees,
being excessively fatigued, and was sleeping, when a monitory lizard passed across his face.
The Indians happily observed the reptile; and knowing what it indicated, awoke him. He
started up, and found one of the deadliest serpents of the country coiled up at his feet. He
suffered from poison of another kind; for drinking at a spring in which some boughs of the
manchineel had been thrown, the effects were so severe as, in the opinion of some of his
friends, to inflict a lasting injury upon his constitution.
The castle of San Juan is 32 miles below the point where the river issues from the Lake of
Nicaragua, and 69 from its mouth. Boats reach the sea from thence in a day and a-half; but
their navigation back, even when unladen, is the labour of nine days. The English appeared
before it on the 11th, two days after they had taken San Bartolomeo. Nelson's advice was,
that it should instantly be carried by assault; but Nelson was not the commander; and it was
thought proper to observe all the formalities of a siege. Ten days were wasted before this
could be commenced. It was a work more of fatigue than of danger; but fatigue was more to
be dreaded than the enemy; the rains set in; and could the garrison have held out a little
longer, diseases would have rid them of their invaders. Even the Indians sunk under it, the
victims of unusual exertion, and of their own excesses. The place surrendered on the 24th.
But victory procured to the conquerors none of that relief which had been expected; the castle
was worse than a prison; and it contained nothing which could contribute to the recovery of
the sick, or the preservation of those who were yet unaffected. The huts which served for
hospitals were surrounded with filth, and with the putrefying hides of slaughtered cattle--
almost sufficient of themselves to have engendered pestilence; and when at last orders were
given to erect a convenient hospital, the contagion had become so general that there were
none who could work at it; for besides the few who were able to perform garrison duty, there
were not orderly men enough to assist the sick. Added to these evils, there was the want of all
needful remedies; for though the expedition had been amply provided with hospital stores,
river craft enough had not been procured for transporting the requisite baggage; and when
much was to be left behind, provision for sickness was that which of all things men in health
would be most ready to leave. Now, when these medicines were required, the river was
swollen, and so turbulent that its upward navigation was almost impracticable. At length even
the task of burying the dead was more than the living could perform, and the bodies were
tossed into the stream, or left for beasts of prey, and for the gallinazos--those dreadful carrion
birds, which do not always wait for death before they begin their work. Five months the
English persisted in what may be called this war

13
against nature; they then left a few men, who seemed proof against the climate, to retain the
castle till the Spaniards should choose to retake it and make them prisoners. The rest
abandoned their baleful conquest. Eighteen hundred men were sent to different posts upon
this wretched expedition: not more than three hundred and eighty ever returned. The
HINCHINBROOK's complement consisted of two hundred men; eighty-seven took to their
beds in one night, and of the whole crew not more than ten survived.
The transports' men all died, and some of the ships, having none left to take care of them,
sunk in the harbour: but transport ships were not wanted, for the troops which they had
brought were no more: they had fallen, not by the hand of an enemy, but by the deadly
influence of the climate.
Nelson himself was saved by a timely removal. In a few days after the commencement of the
siege he was seized with the prevailing dysentery; meantime Captain Glover (son of the
author of LEONIDAS) died, and Nelson was appointed to succeed him in the Janus, of forty-
four guns; Colling- wood being then made post into the HINCHINBROOK. He returned to
the har- bour the day before San Juan surrendered, and immediately sailed for Jamaica in the
sloop which brought the news of his appointment. He was, however, so greatly reduced by
the disorder, that when they reached Port Royal he was carried ashore in his cot; and finding
himself, after a partial amendment, unable to retain the command of his new ship, he was
compelled to ask leave to return to England, as the only means of recovery. Captain
(afterwards Admiral) Cornwallis took him home in the LION; and to his fare and kindness
Nelson believed himself indebted for his life. He went immediately to Bath, in a miserable
state; so helpless that he was carried to and from his bed; and the act of moving him produced
the most violent pain. In three months he recovered, and immediately hastened to London,
and applied for employment. After an interval of about four months he was appointed to the
ALBEMARLE, of twenty-eight guns, a French merchantman which had been purchased
from the captors for the king's service.
His health was not yet thoroughly re-established; and while he was employed in getting his
ship ready, he again became so ill. as hardly to be able to keep out of bed. Yet in this state,
still suffering from the fatal effect of a West Indian climate, as if it might almost be
supposed, he said, to try his constitution, he was sent to the North Seas, and kept there the
whole winter. The asperity with which he mentioned this so many years afterwards evinces
how deeply he resented a mode of conduct equally cruel to the individual and detrimental to
the service. It was during the armed neutrality; and when they anchored off Elsinore, the
Danish Admiral sent on board, desiring to be informed what ships had arrived, and to have
their force written down. "The ALBEMARLE," said Nelson to the messenger, "is one of his
Britannic Majesty's ships: you are at liberty, sir, to count the guns as you go down the side;
and you may assure the Danish Admiral that, if necessary, they shall all be well served."
During this voyage he gained a considerable knowledge of the Danish coast and its
soundings, greatly to the advantage of his country in after-times. The ALBEMARLE was not
a good ship, and was several times nearly overset in consequence of the masts having been
made much too long for her. On her return to England they were shortened, and some other
improvements made at Nelson's

14
suggestion. Still he always insisted that her first owners, the French, had taught her to run
away, as she was never a good sailer except when going directly before the wind.
On their return to the Downs, while he was ashore visiting the senior officer, there came on
so heavy a gale that almost all the vessels drove, and a store-ship came athwart-hawse of the
ALBEMARLE. Nelson feared she would drive on the Goodwin Sands; he ran to the beach;
but even the Deal boatmen thought it impossible to get on board, such was the violence of the
storm. At length some of the most intrepid offered to make the attempt for fifteen guineas;
and to the astonishment and fear of all the beholders, he embarked during the height of the
tempest. With great difficulty and imminent danger he succeeded in reaching her. She lost
her bowsprit and foremast, but escaped further injury. He was now ordered to Quebec, where
his surgeon told him he would certainly be laid up by the climate. Many of his friends urged
him to represent this to Admiral Keppel; but having received his orders from Lord Sandwich,
there appeared to him an indelicacy in applying to his successor to have them altered.
Accordingly he sailed for Canada. During her first cruise on that station the ALBEMARLE
captured a fishing schooner which contained in her cargo nearly all the property that her
master possessed, and the poor fellow had a large family at home, anxiously expecting him.
Nelson employed him as a pilot in Boston Bay, then restored him the schooner and cargo,
and gave him a certificate to secure him against being captured by any other vessel. The man
came off afterwards to the ALBEMARLE, at the hazard of his life, with a present of sheep,
poultry, and fresh provisions. A most valuable supply it proved, for the scurvy was raging on
board: this was in the middle of August, and the ship's company had not had a fresh meal
since the beginning of April. The certificate was preserved at Boston in memory of an act of
unusual generosity; and now that the fame of Nelson has given interest to everything
connected with his name, it is regarded as a relic. The ALBEMARLE had a narrow escape
upon this cruise. Four French sail of the line and a frigate, which had come out of Boston
harbour, gave chase to her; and Nelson, perceiving that they beat him in sailing, boldly ran
among the numerous shoals of St. George's Bank, confiding in his own skill in pilotage.
Captain Salter, in the STA. MARGARETTA, had escaped the French fleet by a similar
manoeuvre not long before. The frigate alone continued warily to pursue him; but as soon as
he perceived that this enemy was unsupported, he shortened sail and hove to; upon which the
Frenchman thought it advisable to give over the pursuit, and sail in quest of his consorts.
At Quebec Nelson became acquainted with Alexander Davison, by whose interference he
was prevented from making what would have been called an imprudent marriage. The
ALBEMARLE was about to leave the station, her captain had taken leave of his friends, and
was gone down the river to the place of anchorage; when the next morning, as Davison was
walking on the beach, to his surprise he saw Nelson coming back in his boat. Upon inquiring
the cause of this reappearance, Nelson took his arm to walk towards the town, and told him
that he found it utterly impossible to leave Quebec without again seeing the woman whose
society had contributed so much to his happiness there, and offering her his hand. "If you
do," said his friend, "your ruin must inevitably follow." "Then let it follow," cried Nelson,
"for I am resolved to do it" "And I," replied Davison,

15
"am resolved you shall not." Nelson, however, upon this occasion, was less resolute than his
friend, and suffered himself to be led back to the boat.
The ALBEMARLE was under orders to convoy a fleet of transports to New York. "A very
pretty job" said her captain, "at this late season of the year" (October was far advanced), "for
our sails are at this moment frozen to the yards." On his arrival at Sandy Hook, he waited on
the commander-in-chief, Admiral Digby, who told him he was come on a fine station for
making prize-money. "Yes, sir," Nelson made answer, "but the West Indies is the station for
honour." Lord Hood, with a detachment of Rodney's victorious fleet, was at that time at
Sandy Hook: he had been intimate with Captain Suckling; and Nelson, who was desirous of
nothing but honour, requested him to ask for the ALBEMARLE, that he might go to that
station where it was most likely to be obtained. Admiral Digby reluctantly parted with him.
His professional merit was already well known; and Lord Hood, on introducing him to Prince
William Henry, as the Duke of Clarence was then called, told the prince, if he wished to ask
any questions respecting naval tactics, Captain Nelson could give him as much information
as any officer in the fleet. The Duke--who, to his own honour, became from that time the firm
friend of Nelson--describes him as appearing the merest boy of a captain he had ever seen,
dressed in a full laced uniform, an old-fashioned waistcoat with long flaps, and his lank
unpowdered hair tied in a stiff Hessian tail of extraordinary length; making altogether so
remarkable a figure, that, says the duke, "I had never seen anything like it before, nor could I
imagine who he was, nor what he came about. But his address and conversation were
irresistibly pleasing; and when he spoke on professional subjects, it was with an enthusiasm
that showed he was no common being."
It was expected that the French would attempt some of the passages between the Bahamas;
and Lord Hood, thinking of this, said to Nelson, "I suppose, sir, from the length of time you
were cruising among the Bahama Keys, you must be a good pilot there." He replied, with that
constant readiness to render justice to every man which was so conspicuous in all his conduct
through life, that he was well acquainted with them himself, but that in that respect his
second lieutenant was far his superior. The French got into Puerto Cabello, on the coast of
Venezuela. Nelson was cruising between that port and La Guapra, under French colours, for
the purpose of obtaining information; when a king's launch, belonging to the Spaniards,
passed near, and being hailed in French, came alongside without suspicion, and answered all
questions that were asked concerning the number and force of the enemy's ships. The crew,
however, were not a little surprised when they were taken on board and found themselves
prisoners. One of the party went by the name of the Count de Deux-Ponts. He was, however,
a prince of the German empire, and brother to the heir of the Electorate of Bavaria: his
companions were French officers of distinction, and men of science, who had been collecting
specimens in the various branches of natural history. Nelson, having entertained them with
the best his table could afford, told them they were at liberty to depart with their boat, and all
that it contained: he only required them to promise that they would consider themselves as
prisoners if the commander-in-chief should refuse to acquiesce in their being thus liberated: a
circumstance which was not likely to happen. Tidings soon arrived that the preliminaries of
peace had been signed; and the ALBEMARLE returned to England and was paid off.

16
Nelson's first business, after he got to London, even before he went to see his relations, was
to attempt to get the wages due to his men for the various ships in which they had served
during the war. "The disgust of seamen to the navy," he said, "was all owing to the infernal
plan of turning them over from ship to ship; so that men could not be attached to their
officers, nor the officers care the least about the men." Yet he himself was so beloved by his
men that his whole ship's company offered, if he could get a ship, to enter for her
immediately. He was now, for the first time, presented at court. After going through this
ceremony, he dined with his friend Davison at Lincoln's Inn. As soon as he entered the
chambers, he threw off what he called his iron-bound coat; and, putting himself at ease in a
dressing gown, passed the remainder of the day in talking over all that had befallen them
since they parted on the shore of the River St. Lawrence.

17
Chapter 2. 1784 - 1793
Nelson goes to France-- Reappointed to the BOREAS at the Leeward Islands in the
BOREAS--His firm conduct concerning the American Interlopers and the Contractors--
Marries and returns to England--Is on the point of quitting the Service in Disgust--Manner of
Life while unemployed-- Appointed to the AGAMEMNON on the breaking out of the War of
the French Revolution.
*
"I HAVE closed the war," said Nelson in one of his letters, "without a fortune; but there is
not a speck in my character. True honour, I hope, predominates in my mind far above riches."
He did not apply for a ship, because he was not wealthy enough to live on board in the
manner which was then become customary. Finding it, therefore, prudent to economise on his
half-pay during the peace, he went to France, in company with Captain Macnamara of the
navy, and took lodgings at St. Omer's. The death of his favourite sister, Anne, who died in
consequence of going out of the ball-room at Bath when heated with dancing, affected his
father so much that it had nearly occasioned him to return in a few weeks. Time, however,
and reason and religion, overcame this grief in the old man; and Nelson continued at St.
Omer's long enough to fall in love with the daughter of an Eng- lish clergyman. This second
attachment appears to have been less ardent than the first, for upon weighing the evils of a
straitened income to a married man, he thought it better to leave France, assigning to his
friends something in his accounts as the cause. This prevented him from accepting an
invitation from the Count of Deux-Ponts to visit him at Paris, couched in the handsomest
terms of acknowledgment for the treatment which he had received on board the
ALBEMARLE.
The self-constraint which Nelson exerted in subduing this attachment made him naturally
desire to be at sea; and when, upon visiting Lord Howe at the Admiralty, he was asked if he
wished to be employed, he made answer that he did. Accordingly in March, he was appointed
to the BOREAS, twenty-eight guns, going to the Leeward Islands as a cruiser on the peace
establishment. Lady Hughes and her family went out with him to Admiral Sir Richard
Hughes, who commanded on that station. His ship was full of young midshipmen, of whom
there were not less than thirty on board; and happy were they whose lot it was to be placed
with such a captain. If he perceived that a boy was afraid at first going aloft, he would say to
him in a friendly manner, "Well, sir, I am going a race to the mast-head, and beg that I may
meet you there." The poor little fellow instantly began to climb, and got up how he could,--
Nelson never noticed in what manner, but when they met in the top, spoke cheerfully to him,
and would say how much any person was to be pitied who fancied that getting up was either
dangerous or difficult. Every day he went into the school-room to see that they were pursuing
their nautical studies; and at noon he was always the first on deck with his quadrant.
Whenever he paid a visit of ceremony, some of these youths accompanied him; and when he
went to dine with the governor at Barbadoes, he took one of them in his hand, and presented
him, saying, "Your Excellency must excuse me for bringing one of my midshipmen. I make
it a rule to

18
introduce them to all the good company I can, as they have few to look up to, besides myself,
during the time they are at sea."
When Nelson arrived in the West Indies, he found himself senior captain, and consequently
second in command on that station. Satisfactory as this was, it soon involved him in a dispute
with the admiral, which a man less zealous for the service might have avoided. He found the
LATONA in English Harbour, Antigua, with a broad pendant hoisted; and upon inquiring the
reason, was presented with a written order from Sir R. Hughes, requiring and directing him to
obey the orders of Resident Commissioner Moutray during the time he might have occasion
to remain there; the said resident commissioner being in consequence, authorised to hoist a
broad pendant on board any of his Majesty's ships in that port that he might think proper.
Nelson was never at a loss how to act in any emergency.
"I know of no superior officers," said he, "besides the Lords Commissioners of the
Admiralty, and my seniors on the post list." Concluding, therefore, that it was not consistent
with the service for a resident commissioner, who held only a civil situation, to hoist a broad
pendant, the moment that he had anchored he sent an order to the captain of the LATONA to
strike it, and return it to the dock-yard. He went on shore the same day, dined with the
commissioner, to show him that he was actuated by no other motive than a sense of duty, and
gave him the first intelligence that his pendant had been struck. Sir Richard sent an account
of this to the Admiralty; but the case could admit of no doubt, and Captain Nelson's conduct
was approved.
He displayed the same promptitude on another occasion. While the BOREAS, after the
hurricane months were over, was riding at anchor in Nevis Roads, a French frigate passed to
leeward, close along shore. Nelson had obtained information that this ship was sent from
Martinico, with two general officers and some engineers on board, to make a survey of our
sugar islands. This purpose he was determined to prevent them from executing, and therefore
he gave orders to follow them. The next day he came up with them at anchor in the roads of
St. Eustatia, and anchored at about two cables' length on the frigate's quarter. Being
afterwards invited by the Dutch governor to meet the French officers at dinner, he seized that
occasion of assuring the French captain that, understanding it was his intention to honour the
British possessions with a visit, he had taken the earliest opportunity in his power to
accompany him, in his Majesty's ship the BOREAS, in order that such attention might be
paid to the officers of his Most Christian Majesty as every Englishman in the islands would
be proud to show. The French, with equal courtesy, protested against giving him this trouble;
especially, they said, as they intended merely to cruise round the islands without landing on
any. But Nelson, with the utmost politeness, insisted upon paying them this compliment,
followed them close in spite of all their attempts to elude his vigilance, and never lost sight of
them; till, finding it impossible either to deceive or escape him, they gave up their
treacherous purpose in despair, and beat up for Martinico.
A business of more serious import soon engaged his attention. The Americans were at this
time trading with our islands, taking advantage of the register of their ships, which

19
had been issued while they were British subjects. Nelson knew that, by the Navigation Act,
no foreigners, directly or indirectly, are permitted to carry on any trade with these
possessions. He knew, also, that the Americans had made themselves foreigners with regard
to England; they had disregarded the ties of blood and language when they acquired the
independence which they had been led on to claim, unhappily for themselves before they
were fit for it; and he was resolved that they should derive no profit from those ties now.
Foreigners they had made themselves, and as foreigners they were to be treated. "If once,"
said he, "they are admitted to any kind of intercourse with our islands, the views of the
loyalists, in settling at Nova Scotia, are entirely done away; and when we are again embroiled
in a French war, the Americans will first become the carriers of these colonies, and then have
possession of them. Here they come, sell their cargoes for ready money, go to Martinico, buy
molasses, and so round and round. The loyalist cannot do this, and consequently must sell a
little dearer. The residents here are Americans by connection and by interest, and are inimical
to Great Britain. They are as great rebels as ever were in America, had they the power to
show it." In November, when the squadron, having arrived at Barbadoes, was to separate,
with no other orders than those for examining anchorages, and the usual inquiries concerning
wood and water, Nelson asked his friend Collingwood, then captain of the MEDIATOR,
whose opinions he knew upon the subject, to accompany him to the commander-in-chief,
whom he then respectfully asked, whether they were not to attend to the commerce of the
country, and see that the Navigation Act was respected--that appearing to him to be the intent
of keeping men-of-war upon this station in time of peace? Sir Richard Hughes replied, he had
no particular orders, neither had the Admiralty sent him any Acts of Parliament. But Nelson
made answer, that the Navigation Act was included in the statutes of the Admiralty, with
which every captain was furnished, and that Act was directed to admirals, captains, &c., to
see it carried into execution. Sir Richard said he had never seen the book. Upon this Nelson
produced the statutes, read the words of the Act, and apparently convinced the commander-
in-chief, that men-of-war, as he said, "were sent abroad for some other purpose than to be
made a show of." Accordingly orders were given to enforce the Navigation Act.
Major-General Sir Thomas Shirley was at this time governor of the Leeward Islands; and
when Nelson waited on him, to inform him how he intended to act, and upon what grounds,
he replied, that "old generals were not in the habit of taking advice from young gentlemen."
"Sir," said the young officer, with that confidence in himself which never carried him too far,
and always was equal to the occasion,"I am as old as the prime minister of England, and I
think myself as capable of commanding one of his Majesty's ships as that minister is of
governing the state." He was resolved to do his duty, whatever might be the opinion or
conduct of others; and when he arrived upon his station at St. Kitt's, he sent away all the
Americans, not choosing to seize them before they had been well apprised that the Act would
be carried into effect, lest it might seem as if a trap had been laid for them. The Americans,
though they prudently decamped from St. Kitt's, were emboldened by the support they met
with, and resolved to resist his orders, alleging that king's ships had no legal power to seize
them without having deputations from the customs. The planters were to a man against him;
the governors and the presidents of the different islands, with only a single exception, gave
him no support; and the admiral,

20
afraid to act on either side, yet wishing to oblige the planters, sent him a note, advising him to
be guided by the wishes of the president of the council. There was no danger in disregarding
this, as it came unofficially, and in the form of advice. But scarcely a month after he had
shown Sir Richard Hughes the law, and, as he supposed, satisfied him concerning it, he
received an order from him, stating that he had now obtained good advice upon the point, and
the Americans were not to be hindered from coming, and having free egress and regress, if
the governor chose to permit them. An order to the same purport had been sent round to the
different governors and presidents; and General Shirley and others informed him, in an
authoritative manner, that they chose to admit American ships, as the commander-in-chief
had left the decision to them. These persons, in his own words, he soon "trimmed up, and
silenced;" but it was a more delicate business to deal with the admiral: "I must either," said
he, "disobey my orders, or disobey Acts of Parliament. I determined upon the former, trusting
to the uprightness of my intentions, and believing that my country would not let me be ruined
for protecting her commerce." With this determination he wrote to Sir Richard; appealed
again to the plain, literal, unequivocal sense of the Navigation Act; and in respectful language
told him, he felt it his duty to decline obeying these orders till he had an opportunity of
seeing and conversing with him. Sir Richard's first feeling was that of anger, and he was
about to supersede Nelson; but having mentioned the affair to his captain, that officer told
him he believed all the squadron thought the orders illegal, and therefore did not know how
far they were bound to obey them. It was impossible, therefore, to bring Nelson to a court-
martial, composed of men who agreed with him in opinion upon the point in dispute; and
luckily, though the admiral wanted vigour of mind to decide upon what was right, he was not
obstinate in wrong, and had even generosity enough in his nature to thank Nelson afterwards
for having shown him his error.
Collingwood in the MEDIATOR, and his brother, Wilfred Collingwood, in the RATTLER,
actively co-operated with Nelson. The custom-houses were informed that after a certain day
all foreign vessels found in the ports would be seized; and many were, in consequence,
seized, and condemned in the Admiralty Court. When the BOREAS arrived at Nevis, she
found four American vessels deeply laden, and what are called the island colours flying--
white, with a red cross. They were ordered to hoist their proper flag, and depart within 48
hours; but they refused to obey, denying that they were Americans. Some of their crews were
then examined in Nelson's cabin, where the Judge of Admiralty happened to be present. The
case was plain; they confessed that they were Americans, and that the ships, hull and cargo,
were wholly American property; upon which he seized them. This raised a storm: the
planters, the custom-house, and the governor, were all against him. Subscriptions were
opened, and presently filled, for the purpose of carrying on the cause in behalf of the
American captains; and the admiral, whose flag was at that time in the roads, stood neutral.
But the Americans and their abettors were not content with defensive law. The marines,
whom he had sent to secure the ships, had prevented some of the masters from going ashore;
and those persons, by whose depositions it appeared that the vessels and cargoes were
American property, declared that they had given their testimony under bodily fear, for that a
man with a drawn sword in his hand had stood over them the whole time. A rascally lawyer,
whom the party employed, suggested this story; and as the sentry at the cabin door was a man

21
with a drawn sword, the Americans made no scruple of swearing to this ridiculous falsehood,
and commencing prosecutions against him accordingly. They laid their damages at the
enormous amount of L40,000; and Nelson was obliged to keep close on board his own ship,
lest he should be arrested for a sum for which it would have been impossible to find bail. The
marshal frequently came on board to arrest him, but was always prevented by the address of
the first lieutenant, Mr. Wallis. Had he been taken, such was the temper of the people that it
was certain he would have been cast for the whole sum. One of his officers, one day, in
speaking of the restraint which he was thus compelled to suffer, happened to use the word
PITY! "Pity!" exclaimed Nelson: "Pity! did you say? I shall live, sir, to be envied! and to that
point I shall always direct my course." Eight weeks remained in this state of duresse. During
that time the trial respecting the detained ships came on in the court of Admiralty. He went
on shore under a protection for the day from the judge; but, notwithstanding this, the marshal
was called upon to take that opportunity of arresting him, and the merchants promised to
indemnify him for so doing. The judge, however, did his duty, and threatened to send the
marshal to prison if he attempted to violate the protection of the court. Mr. Herbert, the
president of Nevis, behaved with singular generosity upon this occasion. Though no man was
a greater sufferer by the measures which Nelson had pursued, he offered in court to become
his bail for L10,000 if he chose to suffer the arrest. The lawyer whom he had chosen proved
to be an able as well as an honest man; and notwithstanding the opinions and pleadings of
most of the counsel of the different islands, who maintained that ships of war were not
justified in seizing American vessels without a deputation from the customs, the law was so
explicit, the case so clear, and Nelson pleaded his own cause so well, that the four ships were
condemned. During the progress of this business he sent a memorial home to the king, in
consequence of which orders were issued that he should be defended at the expense of the
crown. And upon the representation which he made at the same time to the Secretary of State,
and the suggestions with which he accompanied it, the Register Act was framed. The
sanction of Government, and the approbation of his conduct which it implied, were highly
gratifying to him; but he was offended, and not without just cause, that the Treasury should
have transmitted thanks to the commander-in-chief for his activity and zeal in protecting the
commerce of Great Britain. "Had they known all," said he, "I do not think they would have
bestowed thanks in that quarter, and neglected me. I feel much hurt that, after the loss of
health and risk of fortune, another should be thanked for what I did against his orders. I either
deserved to be sent out of the service, or at least to have had some little notice taken of what I
had done. They have thought it worthy of notice, and yet have neglected me. If this is the
reward for a faithful discharge of my duty, I shall be careful, and never stand forward again.
But I have done my duty, and have nothing to accuse myself of."
The anxiety which he had suffered from the harassing uncertainties of law is apparent from
these expressions. He had, however, something to console him, for he was at this time
wooing the niece of his friend the president, then in her eighteenth year, the widow of Dr.
Nisbet, a physician. She had one child, a son, by name Josiah, who was three years old. One
day Mr. Herbert, who had hastened half-dressed to receive Nelson, exclaimed, on returning
to his dressing-room, "Good God! if I did not find that great little man, of whom everybody is
so afraid, playing in the next room, under the dining- table, with Mrs.

22
Nisbet's child!" A few days afterwards Mrs. Nisbet herself was first introduced to him, and
thanked him for the partiality which he had shown to her little boy. Her manners were mild
and winning; and the captain, whose heart was easily susceptible of attachment, found no
such imperious necessity for subduing his inclinations as had twice before withheld him from
marrying. They were married on March 11, 1787: Prince William Henry, who had come out
to the West Indies the preceding winter, being present, by his own desire, to give away the
bride. Mr. Herbert, her uncle, was at this time so much displeased with his only daughter, that
he had resolved to disinherit her, and leave his whole fortune, which was very great, to his
niece. But Nelson, whose nature was too noble to let him profit by an act of injustice,
interfered, and succeeded in reconciling the president to his child.
"Yesterday," said one of his naval friends the day after the wedding, "the navy lost one of its
greatest ornaments by Nelson's marriage. It is a national loss that such an officer should
marry: had it not been for this, Nelson would have become the greatest man in the service."
The man was rightly estimated; but he who delivered this opinion did not understand the
effect of domestic love and duty upon a mind of the true heroic stamp.
"We are often separate," said Nelson, in a letter to Mrs. Nisbet a few months before their
marriage; "but our affections are not by any means on that account diminished. Our country
has the first demand for our services; and private convenience or happiness must ever give
way to the public good. Duty is the great business of a sea officer: all private considerations
must give way to it, however painful." "Have you not often heard," says he in another letter,
"that salt water and absence always wash away love ? Now I am such a heretic as not to
believe that article, for, behold, every morning I have had six pails of salt water poured upon
my head, and instead of finding what seamen say to be true, it goes on so contrary to the
prescription, that you may, perhaps, see me before the fixed time." More frequently his
correspondence breathed a deeper strain. "To write letters to you," says he,"is the next
greatest pleasure I feel to receiving them from you. What I experience when I read such as I
am sure are the pure sentiments of your heart, my poor pen cannot express; nor, indeed,
would I give much for any pen or head which could express feelings of that kind. Absent
from you, I feel no pleasure: it is you who are everything to me. Without you, I care not for
this world; for I have found, lately, nothing in it but vexation and trouble. These are my
present sentiments. God Almighty grant they may never change! Nor do I think they will.
Indeed there is, as far as human knowledge can judge, a moral certainty that they cannot; for
it must be real affection that brings us together, not interest or compulsion." Such were the
feelings, and such the sense of duty, with which Nelson became a husband.
During his stay upon this station he had ample opportunity of observing the scandalous
practices of the contractors, prize-agents, and other persons in the West Indies connected
with the naval service. When he was first left with the command, and bills were brought him
to sign for money which was owing for goods purchased for the navy, he required the
original voucher, that he might examine whether those goods had been really purchased at
the market price; but to produce vouchers would not have been convenient, and therefore was
not the custom. Upon this Nelson wrote to Sir Charles Middleton, then

23
Comptroller of the Navy, representing the abuses which were likely to be practised in this
manner. The answer which he received seemed to imply that the old forms were thought
sufficient; and thus, having no alternative, he was compelled, with his eyes open, to submit to
a practice originating in fraudulent intentions. Soon afterwards two Antigua merchants
informed him that they were privy to great frauds which had been committed upon
government in various departments; at Antigua, to the amount of nearly L500,000; at Lucie,
L300,000; at Barbadoes, L250,000; at Jamaica, upwards of a million. The informers were
both shrewd sensible men of business; they did not affect to be actuated by a sense of justice,
but required a per-centage upon so much as government should actually recover through their
means. Nelson examined the books and papers which they produced, and was convinced that
government had been most infamously plundered. Vouchers, he found, in that country, were
no check whatever: the principle was, that "a thing was always worth what it would bring;"
and the merchants were in the habit of signing vouchers for each other, without even the
appearance of looking at the articles. These accounts he sent home to the different
departments which had been defrauded; but the peculators were too powerful, and they
succeeded not merely in impeding inquiry, but even in raising prejudices against Nelson at
the Board of Admiralty, which it was many years before he could subdue.
Owing probably, to these prejudices, and the influence of the peculators, he was treated, on
his return to England, in a manner which had nearly driven him from the service. During the
three years that the BOREAS had remained upon a station which is usually so fatal, not a
single officer or man of her whole complement had died. This almost unexampled instance of
good health, though mostly, no doubt, imputable to a healthy season, must in some measure,
also, be ascribed to the wise conduct of the captain. He never suffered the ships to remain
more than three or four weeks at a time at any of the islands; and when the hurricane months
confined him to English Harbour, he encouraged all kinds of useful amusements--music,
dancing, and cudgelling among the men; theatricals among the officers; anything which
could employ their attention, and keep their spirits cheerful. The BOREAS arrived in
England in June. Nelson, who had many times been supposed to be consumptive when in the
West Indies, and perhaps was saved from consumption by that climate, was still in a
precarious state of health; and the raw wet weather of one of our ungenial summers brought
on cold, and sore throat, and fever; yet his vessel was kept at the Nore from the end of June
till the end of November, serving as a slop and receiving ship. This unworthy treatment,
which more probably proceeded from inattention than from neglect, excited in Nelson the
strongest indignation. During the whole five months he seldom or never quitted the ship, but
carried on the duty with strict and sullen attention. On the morning when orders were
received to prepare the BOREAS for being paid off, he expressed his joy to the senior officer
in the Medway, saying, "It will release me for ever from an ungrateful service; for it is my
firm and unalterable determination never again to set my foot on board a king's ship.
Immediately after my arrival in town I shall wait on the First Lord of the Admiralty, and
resign my commission." The officer to whom he thus communicated his intentions behaved
in the wisest and most friendly manner; for finding it in vain to dissuade him in his present
state of feeling, he secretly interfered with the First Lord to save him from a step so injurious
to himself, little foreseeing how deeply the welfare and honour of England were at that

24
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 convers- ation, and perfectly convinced, by what was then explained
to him, of the propriety of his conduct, he desired that he might present him to the king on the
first levee-day; and the gracious manner in which Nelson was then received effectually
removed his resentment.
Prejudices had been, in like manner, excited against his friend, Prince William Henry.
"Nothing is wanting, sir," said Nelson, in one of his letters, "to make you the darling of the
English nation but truth. Sorry am I to say, much to the contrary has been dispersed." This
was not flattery, for Nelson was no flatterer. The letter in which this passage occurs shows in
how wise and noble a manner he dealt with the prince. One of his royal highness's officers
had applied for a court-martial upon a point in which he was unquestionably wrong. His royal
highness, however, while he supported his own character and authority, prevented the trial,
which must have been injurious to a brave and deserving man. "Now that you are parted,"
said Nelson, "pardon me, my prince, when I presume to recommend that he may stand in
your royal favour as if he had never sailed with you, and that at some future day you will
serve him. There only wants this to place your conduct in the highest point of view. None of
us are without failings--his was being rather too hasty; but that, put in competition with his
being a good officer, will not, I am bold to say, be taken in the scale against him. More able
friends than myself your royal highness may easily find, and of more consequence in the
state; but one more attached and affectionate is not so easily met with: Princes seldom, very
seldom, find a disinterested person to communicate their thoughts to: I do not pretend to be
that person; but of this be assured, by a man who, I trust, never did a dishonourable act, that I
am interested only that your royal highness should be the greatest and best man this country
ever produced."
Encouraged by the conduct of Lord Howe, and by his reception at court, Nelson renewed his
attack upon the peculators with fresh spirit. He had interviews with Mr. Rose, Mr. Pitt, and
Sir Charles Middleton, to all of whom he satisfactorily proved his charges. In consequence, if
is said, these very extensive public frauds were at length put in a proper train to be provided
against in future; his representations were attended to; and every step which he recommended
was adopted; the investigation was put into a proper course, which ended in the detection and
punishment of some of the culprits; an immense saving was made to government, and thus its
attention was directed to similar peculations in other arts of the colonies. But it is said also
that no mark of commendation seems to have been bestowed upon Nelson for his exertion. It
has been justly remarked that the spirit of the navy cannot be preserved so effectually by the
liberal honours bestowed on officers when they are worn out in the service, as by an attention
to those who, like Nelson at this part of his life, have only their integrity and zeal to bring
them into notice. A junior officer, who had been left with the command at Jamaica, received
an additional allowance, for which Nelson had applied in vain. Double pay was allowed to
every artificer and seaman employed in the naval yard: Nelson had superintended the whole
business of that yard with the most rigid exactness, and he complained that he was neglected.
"It was most true," he said, "that the trouble which he took to detect the

25
fraudulent practices then carried on was no more than his duty; but he little thought that the
expenses attending his frequent journeys to St. John's upon that duty (a distance of twelve
miles) would have fallen upon his pay as captain of the BOREAS." Nevertheless, the sense of
what he thought unworthy usage did not diminish his zeal. "I," said he,"must buffet the waves
in search of--What? Alas! that they called honour is thought of no more. My fortune, God
knows, has grown worse for the service; so much for serving my country! But the devil, ever
willing to tempt the virtuous, has made me offer, if any ships should be sent to destroy his
Majesty of Morocco's ports, to be there; and I have some reason to think that, should any
more come of it, my humble services will be accepted. I have invariably laid down, and
followed close, a plan of what ought to be uppermost in the breast of an officer,--that it is
much better to serve an ungrateful country than to give up his own fame. Posterity will do
him justice. A uniform course of honour and integrity seldom fails of bringing a man to the
goal of fame at last."
The design against the Barbary pirates, like all other designs against them, was laid aside;
and Nelson took his wife to his father's parsonage, meaning only to pay him a visit before
they went to France; a project which he had formed for the sake of acquiring a competent
knowledge of the French language. But his father could not bear to lose him thus
unnecessarily. Mr. Nelson had long been an invalid, suffering under paralytic and asthmatic
affections, which, for several hours after he rose in the morning, scarcely permitted him to
speak. He had been given over by his physicians for this complaint nearly forty years before
his death; and was, for many of his latter years, obliged to spend all his winters at Bath. The
sight of his son, he declared, had given him new life. "But, Horatio," said he, "it would have
been better that I had not been thus cheered, if I am so soon to be bereaved of you again. Let
me, my good son, see you whilst I can. My age and infirmities increase, and I shall not last
long." To such an appeal there could be no reply. Nelson took up his abode at the parsonage,
and amused himself with the sports and occupations of the country. Sometimes he busied
himself with farming the glebe; sometimes spent the greater part of the day in the garden,
where he would dig as if for the mere pleasure of wearying himself. Sometimes he went a
birds'-nesting, like a boy; and in these expeditions Mrs. Nelson always, by his expressed
desire, accompanied him. Coursing was his favourite amusement. Shooting, as he practised
it, was far too dangerous for his companions; for he carried his gun upon the full cock, as if
he were going to board an enemy; and the moment a bird rose, he let fly without ever putting
the fowling-piece to his shoulder. It is not, therefore, extraordinary that his having once shot
a partridge should be remembered by his family among the remarkable events of his life.
But his time did not pass away thus without some vexatious cares to ruffle it. The affair of
the American ships was not yet over, and he was again pestered with threats of prosecution.
"I have written them word," said he, "that I will have nothing to do with them, and they must
act as they think proper. Government, I suppose, will do what is right, and not leave me in the
lurch. We have heard enough lately of the consequences of the Navigation Act to this
country. They may take my person; but if sixpence would save me from a prosecution, I
would not give it." It was his great ambition at this time to possess a pony; and having
resolved to purchase one, he went to a fair for that purpose. During his absence two men
abruptly entered the parsonage and inquired for him: they

26
then asked for Mrs. Nelson; and after they had made her repeatedly declare that she was
really and truly the captain's wife, presented her with a writ, or notification, on the part of the
American captains, who now laid their damages at L20,000, and they charged her to give it to
her husband on his return. Nelson, having bought his pony, came home with it in high spirits.
He called out his wife to admire the purchase and listen to all its excellences: nor was it till
his glee had in some measure subsided that the paper could be presented to him. His
indignation was excessive; and in the apprehension that he should be exposed to the anxieties
of the suit and the ruinous consequences which might ensue, he exclaimed, "This affront I did
not deserve! But I'll be trifled with no longer. I will write immediately to the Treasury, and if
government will not support me, I am resolved to leave the country." Accordingly, he
informed the Treasury that, if a satisfactory answer were not sent him by return of post, he
should take refuge in France. To this he expected he should be driven, and for this he
arranged everything with his characteristic rapidity of decision. It was settled that he should
depart immediately, and Mrs. Nelson follow, under the care of his elder brother Maurice, ten
days after him. But the answer which he received from government quieted his fears: it stated
that Captain Nelson was a very good officer, and needed to be under no apprehension, for he
would assuredly be supported.
Here his disquietude upon this subject seems to have ended. Still he was not at ease; he
wanted employment, and was mortified that his applications for it produced no effect. "Not
being a man of fortune," he said, "was a crime which he was unable to get over, and therefore
none of the great cared about him." Repeatedly he requested the Admiralty that they would
not leave him to rust in indolence. During the armament which was made upon occasion of
the dispute concerning Nootka Sound, he renewed his application; and his steady friend,
Prince William, who had then been created Duke of Clarence, recommended him to Lord
Chatham. The failure of this recommendation wounded him so keenly that he again thought
of retiring from the service in disgust; a resolution from which nothing but the urgent
remonstrances of Lord Hood induced him to desist. Hearing that the RAISONNABLE, in
which he had commenced his career, was to be commissioned, he asked for her. This also
was in vain; and a coolness ensued, on his part, toward Lord Hood, because that excellent
officer did not use his influence with Lord Chatham upon this occasion. Lord Hood,
however, had certainly sufficient reasons for not interfering; for he ever continued his steady
friend. In the winter of 1792, when we were on the eve of the revolutionary war, Nelson once
more offered his services, earnestly requested a ship, and added, that if their lordships should
be pleased to appoint him to a cockle-boat he should feel satisfied. He was answered in the
usual official form: "Sir, I have received your letter of the 5th instant, expressing your
readiness to serve, and have read the same to my Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty."
On the 12th of December he received this dry acknowledgment. The fresh mortification did
not, however, affect him long; for, by the joint interest of the Duke and Lord Hood, he was
appointed, on the 30th of January following, to the AGAMEMNON, of sixty-four guns.

27
Chapter 3. 1793 – 1795
The AGAMEMNON sent to the Mediteranean--Commencement of Nelson's Aquaintance
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 son-
in-law, went with him as a midshipman.
The AGAMEMNON was ordered to the Mediterranean under Lord Hood. The fleet arrived
in those seas at a time when the south of France would willingly have formed itself into a
separate republic, under the protection of England. But good principles had been at that time
perilously abused by ignorant and profligate men; and, in its fear and hatred of democracy,
the English Government abhorred whatever was republican. Lord Hood could not take
advantage of the fair occasion which presented itself; and which, if it had been seized with
vigour, might have ended in dividing France:--but he negotiated with the people of Toulon, to
take possession provisionally of their port and city; which, fatally for themselves, was done.
Before the British fleet entered, Nelson was sent with despatches to Sir William Hamilton,
our envoy at the Court of Naples. Sir William, after his first interview with him, told Lady
Hamilton he was about to introduce a little man to her, who could not boast of being very
handsome; but such a man as, he believed, would one day astonish the world. "I have never
before," he continued, "entertained an officer at my house; but I am determined to bring him
here. Let him be put in the room prepared for Prince Augustus." Thus that acquaintance
began which ended in the destruction of Nelson's domestic happiness. It seemed to threaten
no such consequences at its commencement. He spoke of Lady Hamilton, in a letter to his
wife, as a young woman of amiable manners, who did honour to the station to which she had
been raised; and he remarked, that she had been exceedingly kind to Josiah. The activity with
which the envoy exerted himself in procuring troops from Naples, to assist in garrisoning
Toulon, so delighted him, that he is said to have exclaimed, "Sir William, you are a man after
my own heart!--you do business in my own way:" and then to have added, "I am now only a
captain; but I will, if I live, be at the top of the tree." Here, also, that acquaintance with the
Neapolitan court commenced, which led to the only blot upon Nelson's public character. The
king, who was sincere at that time in his enmity to the French, called the English the saviours
of Italy, and of his dominions in particular. He paid the most flattering attentions to Nelson,
made him dine with him, and seated him at his right hand.

28
Having accomplished this mission, Nelson received orders to join Commodore Linzee at
Tunis. On the way, five sail of the enemy were discovered off the coast of Sardinia, and he
chased them. They proved to be three forty-four gun frigates, with a corvette of twenty-four
and a brig of twelve. The AGAMEMNON had only 345 men at quarters, having landed part
of her crew at Toulon, and others being absent in prizes. He came near enough one of the
frigates to engage her, but at great disadvantage, the Frenchman manoeuvring well and
sailing greatly better. A running fight of three hours ensued, during which the other ships,
which were at some distance, made all speed to come up. By this time the enemy was almost
silenced, when a favourable change of wind enabled her to get out of reach of the
AGAMEMNON's guns; and that ship had received so much damage in the rigging that she
could not follow her. Nelson, conceiving that this was but the forerunner of a far more
serious engagement, called his officers together, and asked them if the ship was fit to go into
action against such a superior force without some small refit and refreshment for the men.
Their answer was, that she certainly was not. He then gave these orders,--"Veer the ship, and
lay her head to the westward: let some of the best men be employed in refit- ting the rigging,
and the carpenter in getting crows and capstan-bars to prevent our wounded spars from
coming down: and get the wine up for the people, with some bread, for it may be half an hour
good before we are again in action." But when the French came up, their comrade made
signals of distress, and they all hoisted out their boats to go to her assistance, leaving the
AGAMEMNON unmolested.
Nelson found Commodore Linzee at Tunis, where he had been sent to expostulate with the
dey upon the impolicy of his supporting the revolutionary government of France. Nelson
represented to him the atrocity of that government. Such arguments were of little avail in
Barbary; and when the Dey was told that the French had put their sovereign to death, he drily
replied, that "Nothing could be more heinous; and yet, if historians told the truth, the English
had once done the same." This answer had doubtless been suggested by the French about
him: they had completely gained the ascendancy, and all negotiation on our part proved
fruitless. Shortly afterward, Nelson was detached with a small squadron, to co-operate with
General Paoli and the Anti-Gallican party in Corsica.
Some thirty years before this time the heroic patriotism of the Corsicans, and of their leader
Paoli, had been the admiration of England. The history of these brave people is but a
melancholy tale. The island which they inhabit has been abundantly blessed by nature; it has
many excellent harbours; and though the MALARIA, or pestilential atmosphere, which is so
deadly in many parts of Italy and of the Italian islands, prevails on the eastern coast, the
greater part of the country is mountainous and healthy. It is about 150 miles long, and from
40 to 50 broad; in circumference, some 320; a country large enough, and sufficiently distant
from the nearest shores, to have subsisted as an independent state, if the welfare and
happiness of the human race had ever been considered as the end and aim of policy. The
Moors, the Pisans, the kings of Aragon, and the Genoese, successively attempted, and each
for a time effected its conquest. The yoke of the Genoese continued longest, and was the
heaviest. These petty tyrants ruled with an iron rod; and when at any time a patriot rose to
resist their oppressions, if they failed to subdue him by force they resorted to assassination.
At the commencement of the last century they quelled one

29
revolt by the aid of German auxiliaries, whom the Emperor Charles VI. sent against a people
who had never offended him, and who were fighting for whatever is most dear to man. In
1734 the war was renewed; and Theodore, a Westphalian baron, then appeared upon the
stage. In that age men were not accustomed to see adventurers play for kingdoms, and
Theodore became the common talk of Europe. He had served in the French armies; and
having afterwards been noticed both by Ripperda and Alberoni, their example, perhaps,
inflamed a spirit as ambitious and as unprincipled as their own. He employed the whole of
his means in raising money and procuring arms; then wrote to the leaders of the Corsican
patriots, to offer them considerable assistance, if they would erect Corsica into an
independent kingdom, and elect him king. When he landed among them, they were struck
with his stately person, his dignified manners, and imposing talents. They believed the
magnificent promises of foreign assistance which he held out, and elected him king
accordingly. Had his means been as he represented them, they could not have acted more
wisely than in thus at once fixing the government of their country, and putting an end to those
rivalries among the leading families, which had so often proved pernicious to the public weal.
He struck money, conferred titles, blocked up the fortified towns which were held by the
Genoese, and amused the people with promises of assistance for about eight months: then,
perceiving that they cooled in their affections towards him in proportion as their expectations
were disappointed, he left the island, under the plea of expediting himself the succours which
he had so long awaited. Such was his address, that he prevailed upon several rich merchants
in Holland, particularly the Jews, to trust him with cannon and warlike stores to a great
amount. They shipped these under the charge of a supercargo. Theodore returned with this
supercargo to Corsica, and put him to death on his arrival, as the shortest way of settling the
account. The remainder of his life was a series of deserved afflictions. He threw in the stores
which he had thus fraudulently obtained; but he did not dare to land, for Genoa had now
called in the French to their assistance, and a price had been set upon his head. His dreams of
royalty were now at an end; he took refuge in London, contracted debts, and was thrown into
the King's Bench. After lingering there many years, he was released under an act of
insolvency, in consequence of which he made over the kingdom of Corsica for the use of his
creditors, and died shortly after his deliverance.
The French, who have never acted a generous part in the history of the world, readily entered
into the views of the Genoese, which accorded with their own policy: for such was their
ascendancy at Genoa, that in subduing Corsica for these allies, they were in fact subduing it
for themselves. They entered into the contest, therefore, with their usual vigour, and their
usual cruelty. It was in vain that the Corsicans addressed a most affecting memorial to the
court of Versailles; that remorseless government persisted in its flagitious project. They
poured in troops; dressed a part of them like the people of the country, by which means they
deceived and destroyed many of the patriots; cut down the standing corn, the vines, and the
olives; set fire to the villages, and hung all the most able and active men who fell into their
hands. A war of this kind may be carried on with success against a country so small and so
thinly peopled as Corsica. Having reduced the island to perfect servitude, which they called
peace, the French withdrew their forces. As soon as they were gone, men, women, and boys
rose at once against their oppressors. The circumstances of the times were now favourable to
them; and some British ships, acting

30
as allies of Sardinia, bombarded Bastia and San Fiorenzo, and delivered them into the hands
of the patriots. This service was long remembered with gratitude: the impression made upon
our own countrymen was less favourable. They had witnessed the heartburnings of rival
chiefs, and the dissensions among the patriots; and perceiving the state of barbarism to which
continual oppression, and habits of lawless turbulence, had reduced the nation, did not
recollect that the vices of the people were owing to their unhappy circumstances, but that the
virtues which they displayed arose from their own nature. This feeling, perhaps, influenced
the British court, when, in 1746, Corsica offered to put herself under the protection of Great
Britain: an answer was returned, expressing satisfaction at such a communication, hoping that
the Corsicans would preserve the same sentiments, but signifying also that the present was
not the time for such a measure.
These brave islanders then formed a government for themselves, under two leaders, Gaffori
and Matra, who had the title of protectors. The latter is represented as a partisan of Genoa,
favouring the views of the oppressors of his country by the most treasonable means. Gaffori
was a hero worthy of old times. His eloquence was long remembered with admiration. A
band of assassins was once advancing against him; he heard of their approach, went out to
meet them; and, with a serene dignity which overawed them, requested them to hear him. He
then spake to them so forcibly of the distresses of their country, her intolerable wrongs, and
the hopes and views of their brethren in arms, that the very men who had been hired to
murder him, fell at his feet, implored his forgiveness, and joined his banner. While he was
besieging the Genoese in Corte, a part of the garrison perceiving the nurse with his eldest
son, then an infant in arms, straying at a little distance from the camp, suddenly sallied out
and seized them. The use they made of their persons was in conformity to their usual
execrable conduct. When Gaffori advanced to batter the walls, they held up the child directly
over that part of the wall at which the guns were pointed. The Corsicans stopped: but Gaffori
stood at their head, and ordered them to continue the fire. Providentially the child escaped,
and lived to relate, with becoming feeling, a fact so honourable to his father. That father
conducted the affairs of the island till 1753, when he was assassinated by some wretches, set
on, it is believed, by Genoa, but certainly pensioned by that abominable government after the
deed. He left the country in such a state that it was enabled to continue the war two years
after his death without a leader: the Corsicans then found one worthy of their cause in
Pasquale de Paoli.
Paoli's father was one of the patriots who effected their escape from Corsica when the French
reduced it to obedience. He retired to Naples, and brought up his youngest son in the
Neapolitan service. The Corsicans heard of young Paoli's abilities, and solicited him to come
over to his native country, and take the command. He did not hesitate long: his father, who
was too far advanced in years to take an active part himself, encouraged him to go; and when
they separated, the old man fell on his neck, and kissed him, and gave him his blessing. "My
son," said he, "perhaps I may never see you more; but in my mind I shall ever be present with
you. Your design is great and noble; and I doubt not but God will bless you in it. I shall
devote to your cause the little remainder of my life in offering up my prayers for your
success." When Paoli assumed the command, he found all things in confusion: he formed a
democratical government, of which he was chosen chief: restored the authority of the laws;
established a university; and took such measures, both

31
for repressing abuses and moulding the rising generation, that, if France had not interfered,
upon its wicked and detestable principle of usurpation, Corsica might at this day have been as
free, and flourishing and happy a commonwealth as any of the Grecian states in the days of
their prosperity. The Genoese were at this time driven out of their fortified towns, and must
in a short time have been expelled. France was indebted some millions of livres to Genoa: it
was not convenient to pay this money; so the French minister proposed to the Genoese, that
she should discharge the debt by sending six battalions to serve in Corsica for four years. The
indignation which this conduct excited in all generous hearts was forcibly expressed by
Rousseau, who, with all his errors, was seldom deficient in feeling for the wrongs of
humanity. "You Frenchmen" said he, writing to one of that people, "are a thoroughly servile
nation, thoroughly sold to tyranny, thoroughly cruel and relentless in persecuting the
unhappy. If you knew of a freeman at the other end of the world, I believe you would go
thither for the mere pleasure of extirpating him."
The immediate object of the French happened to be purely mercenary: they wanted to clear
off their debt to Genoa; and as the presence of their troops in the island effected this, they
aimed at doing the people no farther mischief. Would that the conduct of England had been at
this time free from reproach! but a proclamation was issued by the English government, after
the peace of Paris, prohibiting any intercourse with the rebels of Corsica. Paoli said, he did
not expect this from Great Britain. This great man was deservedly proud of his country. "I
defy Rome, Sparta, or Thebes," he would say, "to show me thirty years of such patriotism as
Corsica can boast!" Availing himself of the respite which the inactivity of the French and the
weakness of the Genoese allowed, he prosecuted his plans of civilising the people. He used to
say, that though he had an unspeakable pride in the prospect of the fame to which he aspired;
yet if he could but render his countrymen happy, he could be content to be forgotten. His own
importance he never affected to undervalue. "We are now to our country," said he, "like the
prophet Elisha stretched over the dead child of the Shunamite,--eye to eye, nose to nose,
mouth to mouth. It begins to recover warmth, and to revive: I hope it will yet regain full
health and vigour."
But when the four years were expired, France purchased the sovereignty of Corsica from the
Genoese for forty millions of livres; as if the Genoese had been entitled to sell it; as if any
bargain and sale could justify one country in taking possession of another against the will of
the inhabitants, and butchering all who oppose the usurpation! Among the enormities which
France has committed, this action seems but as a speck; yet the foulest murderer that ever
suffered by the hand of the executioner has infinitely less guilt upon his soul than the
statesman who concluded this treaty, and the monarch who sanctioned and confirmed it. A
desperate and glorious resistance was made, but it was in vain; no power interposed in behalf
of these injured islanders, and the French poured in as many troops as were required. They
offered to confirm Paoli in the supreme authority, only on condition that he would hold it
under their government. His answer was, that "the rocks which surrounded him should melt
away before he would betray a cause which he held in common with the poorest Corsican."
This people then set a price upon his head. During two campaigns he kept them at bay: they
overpowered him at length; he was driven to the

32
shore, and having escaped on shipboard, took refuge in England. It is said that Lord
Shelburne resigned his seat in the cabinet because the ministry looked on without attempting
to prevent France from succeeding in this abominable and important act of aggrandizement.
In one respect, however, our country acted as became her. Paoli was welcomed with the
honours which he deserved, a pension of L1200 was immediately granted him, and provision
was liberally made for his elder brother and his nephew.
About twenty years Paoli remained in England, enjoying the friendship of the wise and the
admiration of the good. But when the French Revolution began, it seemed as if the
restoration of Corsica was at hand. The whole country, as if animated by one spirit, rose and
demanded liberty; and the National Assembly passed a decree recognising the island as a
department of France, and therefore entitled to all the privileges of the new French
constitution. This satisfied the Corsicans, which it ought not to have done; and Paoli, in
whom the ardour of youth was passed, seeing that his countrymen were contented, and
believing that they were about to enjoy a state of freedom, naturally wished to return to his
native country. He resigned his pension in the year 1790, and appeared at the bar of the
Assembly with the Corsican deputies, when they took the oath of fidelity to France. But the
course of events in France soon dispelled those hopes of a new and better order of things,
which Paoli, in common with so many of the friends of human-kind, had indulged; and
perceiving, after the execution of the king, that a civil war was about to ensue, of which no
man could foresee the issue, he prepared to break the connection between Corsica and the
French Republic. The convention suspecting such a design, and perhaps occasioning it by
their suspicions, ordered him to their bar. That way he well knew led to the guillotine; and
returning a respectful answer, he declared that he would never be found wanting in his duty,
but pleaded age and infirmity as a reason for disobeying the summons. Their second order
was more summary; and the French troops, who were in Corsica, aided by those of the
natives, who were either influenced by hereditary party feelings, or who were sincere in
Jacobinism, took the field against him. But the people were with him. He repaired to Corte,
the capital of the island, and was again invested with the authority which he had held in the
noonday of his fame. The convention upon this denounced him as a rebel, and set a price
upon his head. It was not the first time that France had proscribed Paoli.
Paoli now opened a correspondence with Lord Hood, promising, if the English would make
an attack upon St. Fiorenzo from the sea, he would at the same time attack it by land. This
promise he was unable to perform; and Commodore Linzee, who, in reliance upon it, was
sent upon this service, was repulsed with some loss. Lord Hood, who had now been
compelled to evacuate Toulon, suspected Paoli of intentionally deceiving him. This was an
injurious suspicion. Shortly afterwards he dispatched Lieutenant-Colonel (afterward Sir John)
Moore and Major Koehler to confer with him upon a plan of operations. Sir Gilbert Elliot
accompanied them; and it was agreed that, in consideration of the succours, both military and
naval, which his Britannic Majesty should afford for the purpose of expelling the French, the
island of Corsica should be delivered into the immediate possession of his Majesty, and bind
itself to acquiesce in any settlement he might approve of concern- ing its government, and its
future relation with Great Britain. While this negotiation was going on, Nelson cruised off the
island with a small squadron,

33
to prevent the enemy from throwing in supplies. Close to St. Fiorenzo the French had a
storehouse of flour near their only mill: he watched an opportunity, and landed 120 men, who
threw the flour into the sea, burnt the mill, and re-embarked before 1000 men, who were sent
against him, could occasion them the loss of a single man. While be exerted himself thus,
keeping out all supplies, intercepting despatches, attacking their outposts and forts, and
cutting out vessels from the bay,--a species of warfare which depresses the spirit of an enemy
even more than it injures them, because of the sense of individual superiority which it
indicates in the assailants--troops were landed, and St. Fiorenzo was besieged. The French
finding themselves unable to maintain their post sunk one of their frigates, burnt another, and
retreated to Bastia. Lord Hood submitted to General Dundas, who commanded the land
forces, a plan for the reduction of this place: the general declined co-operating, thinking the
attempt impracticable with- out a reinforcement of 2000 men, which he expected from
Gibraltar. Upon this Lord Hood determined to reduce it with the naval force under his
command; and leaving part of his fleet off Toulon, he came with the rest to Bastia.
He showed a proper sense of respect for Nelson's services, and of confidence in his talents,
by taking care not to bring with him any older captain. A few days before their arrival,
Nelson had had what he called a brush with the enemy. "If I had had with me 500 troops," he
said, "to a certainty I should have stormed the town; and I believe it might have been carried.
Armies go so slow that seamen think they never mean to get forward; but I daresay they act
on a surer principle, although we seldom fail." During this partial action our army appeared
upon the heights; and having reconnoitered the place, returned to St. Fiorenzo. "What the
general could have seen to make a retreat neces- sary," said Nelson, "I cannot comprehend. A
thousand men would certainly take Bastia: with five hundred and the AGAMEMNON I
would attempt it. My seamen are now what British seamen ought to be--almost invincible.
They really mind shot no more than peas." General Dundas had not the same confidence.
"After mature consideration," he said in a letter to Lord Hood,"and a personal inspection for
several days of all circumstances, local as well as others, I consider the siege of Bastia, with
our present means and force, to be a most visionary and rash attempt; such as no officer
would be justified in undertaking." Lord Hood replied that nothing would be more gratifying
to his feelings than to have the whole responsibility upon himself; and that he was ready and
willing to undertake the reduction of the place at his own risk with the force and means at
present there. General D'Aubant, who succeeded at this time to the command of the army,
coincided in opinion with his predecessor, and did not think it right to furnish his lordship
with a single soldier, cannon, or any stores. Lord Hood could only obtain a few artillerymen;
and ordering on board that part of the troops who, having been embarked as marines, "were
borne on the ships" books as part of their respective complements, he began the siege with
1183 soldiers, artillerymen, and marines, and 250 sailors. "We are but few," said Nelson,"but
of the right sort; our general at St. Fiorenzo not giving us one of the five regiments he has
there lying idle."
These men were landed on the 4th of April, under Lieutenant-Colonel Villettes and Nelson,
who had now acquired from the army the title of brigadier. Guns were dragged by the sailors
up heights where it appeared almost impossible to convey them--a work of

34
the greatest difficulty, and which Nelson said could never, in his opinion, have been
accomplished by any but British seamen. The soldiers, though less dexterous in such service,
because not accustomed, like sailors, to habitual dexterity. behaved with equal spirit. "Their
zeal," said the brigadier, "is almost unexampled. There is not a man but considers himself as
personally interested in the event, and deserted by the general. It has, I am persuaded, made
them equal to double their numbers." This is one proof, of many, that for our soldiers to equal
our seamen, it is only necessary for them to be equally well commanded. They have the same
heart and soul, as well as the same flesh and blood. Too much may, indeed, be exacted from
them in a retreat; but set their face toward a foe, and there is nothing within the reach of
human achievement which they cannot perform. The French had improved the leisure which
our military commander had allowed them; and before Lord Hood commenced his
operations, he had the mortification of seeing that the enemy were every day erecting new
works, strengthening old ones, and rendering the attempt more difficult. La Combe St.
Michel, the commissioner from the national convention, who was in the city, replied in these
terms to the summons of the British admiral--"I have hot shot for your ships, and bayonets
for your troops. When two-thirds of our men are killed, I will then trust to the generosity of
the English." The siege, however, was not sustained with the firmness which such a reply
seemed to augur. On the 19th of May a treaty of capitulation was begun; that same evening
the troops from St. Fiorenzo made their appearance on the hills; and, on the following
morning, General d'Aubant arrived with the whole army to take possession of Bastia.
The event of the siege had justified the confidence of the sailors; but they themselves excused
the opinion of the generals when they saw what they had done. "I am all astonishment," said
Nelson, "when I reflect on what we have achieved; 1000 regulars, 1500 national guards, and
a large party of Corsican troops, 4000 in all, laying down their arms to 1200 soldiers,
marines, and seamen! I always was of opinion, have ever acted up to it, and never had any
reason to repent it, that one Englishman was equal to three Frenchmen. Had this been an
English town, I am sure it would not have been taken by them." When it had been resolved to
attack the place, the enemy were supposed to be far inferior in number; and it was not till the
whole had been arranged, and the siege publicly undertaken, that Nelson received certain
information of the great superiority of the garrison. This intelligence he kept secret, fearing
lest, if so fair a pretext were afforded, the attempt would be abandoned. "My own honour,"
said he to his wife, "Lord Hood's honour, and the honour of our country, must have been
sacrificed had I mentioned what I knew; therefore you will believe what must have been my
feelings during the whole siege, when I had often proposals made to me to write to Lord
Hood to raise it." Those very persons who thus advised him, were rewarded for their conduct
at the siege of Bastia: Nelson, by whom it may truly be affirmed that Bastia was taken,
received no reward. Lord Hood's thanks to him, both public and private, were, as he himself
said, the handsomest which man could give; but his signal merits were not so mentioned in
the despatches as to make them sufficiently known to the nation, nor to obtain for him from
government those honours to which they so amply entitled him. This could only have arisen
from the haste in which the despatches were written; certainly not from any deliberate
purpose, for Lord Hood was uniformly his steady and sincere friend.

35
One of the cartel's ships, which carried the garrison of Bastia to Toulon, brought back
intelligence that the French were about to sail from that port;-such exertions had they made to
repair the damage done at the evacuation, and to fit out a fleet. The intelligence was speedily
verified. Lord Hood sailed in quest of them toward the islands of Hieres. The
AGAMEMNON was with him. "I pray God," said Nelson, writing to his wife, "that we may
meet their fleet. If any accident should happen to me, I am sure my conduct will be such as
will entitle you to the royal favour; not that I have the least idea but I shall return to you, and
full of honour: if not, the Lord's will be done. My name shall never be a disgrace to those
who may belong to me. The little I have, I have given to you, except a small annuity--I wish
it was more; but I have never got a farthing dishonestly: it descends from clean hands.
Whatever fate awaits me, I pray God to bless you, and preserve you, for your son's sake."
With a mind thus prepared, and thus confident, his hopes and wishes seemed on the point of
being gratified, when the enemy were discovered close under the land, near St. Tropez. The
wind fell, and prevented Lord Hood from getting between them and the shore, as he
designed: boats came out from Antibes and other places to their assistance, and towed them
within the shoals in Gourjean Roads, where they were protected by the batteries on isles St.
Honore and St. Marguerite, and on Cape Garousse. Here the English admiral planned a new
mode of attack, meaning to double on five of the nearest ships; but the wind again died away,
and it was found that they had anchored in compact order, guarding the only passage for
large ships. There was no way of effecting this passage, except by towing or warping the
vessels; and this rendered the attempt impracticable. For this time the enemy escaped; but
Nelson bore in mind the admirable plan of attack which Lord Hood had devised, and there
came a day when they felt its tremendous effects.
The AGAMEMNON was now despatched to co-operate at the siege of Calvi with General
Sir Charles Stuart; an officer who, unfortunately for his country, never had an adequate field
allotted him far the display of those eminent talents which were, to all who knew him, so
conspicuous. Nelson had less responsibility here than at Bastia; and was acting with a man
after his own heart, who was never sparing of himself, and slept every night in the advanced
battery. But the service was not less hard than that of the former siege. "We will fag
ourselves to death," said he to Lord Hood, "before any blame shall lie at our doors. I trust it
will not be forgotten, that twenty-five pieces of heavy ordnance have been dragged to the
different batteries, mounted, and, all but three, fought by seamen, except one artilleryman to
point the guns." The climate proved more destructive than the service; for this was during the
lion sun, as they call our season of the dog-days. Of 2000 men, above half were sick, and the
rest like so many phantoms. Nelson described himself as the reed among the oaks, bowing
before the storm when they were laid low by it. "All the prevailing disorders have attacked
me," said he, "but I have not strength enough for them to fasten on." The loss from the enemy
was not great; but Nelson received a serious injury: a shot struck the ground near him, and
drove the sand and small gravel into one of his eyes. He spoke of it slightly at the time:
writing the same day to Lord Hood, he only said that he bad 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.

36
After the fall of Calvi, his services were, by a strange omission, altogether overlooked; and
his name was not even mentioned in the list of wounded. This was no ways imputable to the
admiral, for he sent home to government Nelson's journal of the siege, that they might fully
understand the nature of his indefatigable and unequalled exertions. If those exertions were
not rewarded in the conspicuous manner which they deserved, the fault was in the
administration of the day, not in Lord Hood. Nelson felt himself neglected. "One hundred and
ten days," said he, "I have been actually engaged at sea and on shore against the enemy; three
actions against ships, two against Bastia in my ship, four boat actions, and two villages taken,
and twelve sail of vessels burnt. I do not know that any one has done more. I have had the
comfort to be always applauded by my Commander-in-Chief, but never to be rewarded; and,
what is more mortifying, for services in which I have been wounded, others have been
praised, who, at the same time, were actually in bed, far from the scene of action. They have
not done me justice. But never mind, I'll have a GAZETTE of my own." How amply was this
second-sight of glory realised!
The health of his ship's company had now, in his own words, been miserably torn to pieces
by as hard service as a ship's crew ever performed: 150 were in their beds when he left Calvi;
of them he lost 54 and believed that the constitutions of the rest were entirely destroyed. He
was now sent with despatches to Mr. Drake, at Genoa, and had his first interview with the
Doge. The French had, at this time, taken possession of Vado Bay, in the Genoese territory;
and Nelson foresaw that, if their thoughts were bent on the invasion of Italy, they would
accomplish it the ensuing spring. "The allied powers," he said, "were jealous of each other;
and none but England was hearty in the cause." His wish was for peace on fair terms, because
England he thought was draining herself to maintain allies who would not fight for
themselves. Lord Hood had now returned to England, and the command devolved on
Admiral Hotham. The affairs of the Mediterranean wore at this time a gloomy aspect. The
arts, as well as the arms of the enemy, were gaining the ascendancy there. Tuscany concluded
peace relying upon the faith of France, which was, in fact, placing itself at her mercy. Corsica
was in danger. We had taken that island for ourselves, annexed it formally to the crown of
Great Britain, and given it a constitution as free as our own. This was done with the consent
of the majority of the inhabitants; and no transaction between two countries was ever more
fairly or legitimately conducted: yet our conduct was unwise;--the island is large enough to
form an independent state, and such we should have made it, under our protection, as long as
protection might be needed; the Corsicans would then have felt as a nation; but when one
party had given up the country to England, the natural consequence was that the other looked
to France. The question proposed to the people was, to which would they belong? Our
language and our religion were against us; our unaccommodating manners, it is to be feared,
still more so. The French were better politicians. In intrigue they have ever been unrivalled;
and it now became apparent that, in spite of old wrongs, which ought never to have been
forgotten nor forgiven, their partisans were daily acquiring strength. It is part of the policy of
France, and a wise policy it is, to impress upon other powers the opinion of its strength, by
lofty language: and by threatening before it strikes; a system which, while it keeps up the
spirit of its allies, and perpetually stimulates their hopes, tends also to dismay its enemies.
Corsica was now loudly threatened. "The French, who had not yet

37
been taught to feel their own inferiority upon the seas, braved us in contempt upon that
element." They had a superior fleet in the Mediterranean, and they sent it out with express
orders to seek the English and engage them. Accordingly, the Toulon fleet, consisting of
seventeen ships of the line and five smaller vessels, put to sea. Admiral Hotham received this
information at Leghorn, and sailed immediately in search of them. He had with him fourteen
sail of the line, and one Neapolitan seventy-four; but his ships were only half-manned,
containing but 7650 men, whereas the enemy had 16,900. He soon came in sight of them: a
general action was expected; and Nelson, as was his custom on such occasions, wrote a hasty
letter to his wife, as that which might possibly contain his last farewell. "The lives of all,"
said he, "are in the hand of Him who knows best whether to preserve mine or not; my
character and good name are in my own keeping."
But however confident the French government might be of their naval superiority, the
officers had no such feeling; and after manoeuvring for a day in sight of the English fleet,
they suffered themselves to be chased. One of their ships, the CA IRA, of eighty-four guns,
carried away her main and fore top-masts. The INCONSTANT frigate fired at the disabled
ship, but received so many shot that she was obliged to leave her. Soon afterwards a French
frigate took the CA IRA in tow; and the SANS-CULOTTES, one hundred and twenty, and
the JEAN BARRAS, seventy- four, kept about gunshot distance on her weather bow. The
AGAMEMNON stood towards her, having no ship of the line to support her within several
miles. As she drew near, the CA IRA fired her stern guns so truly, that not a shot missed
some part of the ship; and latterly, the masts were struck by every shot. It had been Nelson's
intention not to fire before he touched her stern; but seeing how impossible it was that he
should be supported, and how certainly the AGAMEMNON must be severely cut up if her
masts were disabled, he altered his plan according to the occasion. As soon, therefore, as he
was within a hundred yards of her stern, he ordered the helm to be put a-starboard, and the
driver and after-sails to be brailed up and shivered; and, as the ship fell off, gave the enemy
her whole broadside. They instantly braced up the after- yards, put the helm a-port, and stood
after her again. This manoeuvre he practised for two hours and a quarter, never allowing the
CA IRA to get a single gun from either side to bear on him; and when the French fired their
after-guns now, it was no longer with coolness and precision, for every shot went far ahead.
By this time her sails were hanging in tatters, her mizen-top-mast, mizen-top-sail, and cross-
jack-yards shot away. But the frigate which had her in tow hove in stays, and got her round.
Both these French ships now brought their guns to bear, and opened their fire. The
AGAMEMNON passed them within half-pistol shot; almost every shot passed over her, for
the French had elevated their guns for the rigging, and for distant firing, and did not think of
altering the elevation. As soon as the AGAMEMNON's after-guns ceased to bear, she hove in
stays, keeping a constant fire as she came round; and being worked, said Nelson, with as
much exactness as if she had been turning into Spithead. On getting round, he saw that the
Sans-Culottes, which had wore, with many of the enemy's ships, was under his lee bow, and
standing to leeward. The admiral, at the same time, made the signal for the van ships to join
him. Upon this Nelson bore away, and prepared to set all sail; and the enemy, having saved
their ship, hauled close to the wind, and opened upon him a distant and ineffectual fire. Only
seven of the AGAMEMNON's men were hurt--a

38
thing which Nelson himself remarked as wonderful: her sails and rigging were very much
cut, and she had many shots in her hull, and some between wind and water. The CA IRA lost
110 men that day, and was so cut up that she could not get a top-mast aloft during the night.
At daylight on the following morning, the English ships were taken aback with a fine breeze
at N.W., while the enemy's fleet kept the southerly wind. The body of their fleet was about
five miles distant; the CA IRA and the CENSEUR, seventy-four, which had her in tow, about
three and a half. All sail was made to cut these ships off; and as the French attempted to save
them, a partial action was brought on. The AGAMEMNON was again engaged with her
yesterday's antagonist; but she had to fight on both sides the ship at the same time. The CA
IRA and the CENSEUR fought most gallantly: the first lost nearly 300 men, in addition to
her former loss; the last, 350. Both at length struck; and Lieutenant Andrews, of the
AGAMEMNON, brother to the lady to whom Nelson had become attached in France, and, in
Nelson's own words, "as gallant an officer as ever stepped a quarter-deck," hoisted English
colours on board them both. The rest of the enemy's ships' behaved very ill. As soon as these
vessels had struck, Nelson went to Admiral Hotham and proposed that the two prizes should
be left with the ILLUSTRIOUS and COURAGEUX, which had been crippled in the action,
and with four frigates, and that the rest of the fleet should pursue the enemy, and follow up
the advantage to the utmost. But his reply was--"We must be contented: we have done very
well."--"Now," said Nelson," had we taken ten sail, and allowed the eleventh to escape, when
it had been possible to have got at her, I could never have called it well done. Goodall backed
me; I got him to write to the admiral; but it would not do. We should have had such a day as,
I believe, the annals of England never produced." In this letter the character of Nelson fully
manifests itself. "I wish" said he, "to be an admiral, and in the command of the English fleet:
I should very soon either do much, or be ruined: my disposition cannot bear tame and slow
measures. Sure I am, had I commanded on the 14th, that either the whole French fleet would
have graced my triumph, or I should have been in a confounded scrape." What the event
would have been, he knew from his prophetic feelings and his own consciousness of power;
and we also know it now, for Aboukir and Trafalgar have told it.
The CA IRA and CENSEUR probably defended themselves with more obstinacy in this
action, from a persuasion that, if they struck, no quarter would be given; because they had
fired red-hot shot, and had also a preparation sent, as they said, by the convention from Paris,
which seems to have been of the nature of the Greek fire; for it became liquid when it was
discharged, and water would not extinguish its flames. This combustible was concealed with
great care in the captured ships; like the red-hot shot, it had been found useless in battle.
Admiral Hotham's action saved Corsica for the time; but the victory had been incomplete,
and the arrival at Toulon of six sail of the line, two frigates, and two cutters from Brest, gave
the French a superiority which, had they known how to use it, would materially have
endangered the British Mediterranean fleet. That fleet had been greatly neglected at the
Admiralty during Lord Chatham's administration: and it did not, for some time, feel the
beneficial effect of his removal. Lord Hood had gone home to represent the real state of
affairs, and solicit reinforcements adequate to the exigencies of

39
the time, and the importance of the scene of action. But that fatal error of under-
proportioning the force to the service; that ruinous economy, which, by sparing a little,
renders all that is spent useless, infected the British councils; and Lord Hood, not being able
to obtain such rein- forcements as he knew were necessary, resigned the command. "Surely,"
said Nelson, "the people at home have forgotten us." Another Neapolitan seventy-four joined
Admiral Hotham, and Nelson observed with sorrow that this was matter of exultation to an
English fleet. When the store- ships and victuallers from Gibraltar arrived, their escape from
the enemy was thought wonderful; and yet, had they not escaped, "the game," said Nelson,
"was up here. At this moment our operations are at a stand for want of ships to support the
Austrians in getting possession of the sea-coast of the king of Sardinia; and behold our
admiral does not feel himself equal to show himself, much less to give assistance in their
operations." It was reported that the French were again out with 18 or 20 sail. The combined
British and Neapolitan were but sixteen; should the enemy be only eighteen, Nelson made no
doubt of a complete victory; but if they were twenty, he said, it was not to be expected; and a
battle, without complete victory, would have been destruction, because another mast was not
to be got on that side Gibraltar. At length Admiral Man arrived with a squadron from
England. "What they can mean by sending him with only five sail of the line," said Nelson,
"is truly astonishing; but all men are alike, and we in this country do not find any amendment
or alteration from the old Board of Admiralty. They should know that half the ships in the
fleet require to go to England; and that long ago they ought to have reinforced us."
About this time Nelson was made colonel of marines; a mark of approbation which he had
long wished for rather than expected. It came in good season, for his spirits were oppressed
by the thought that his services had not been acknowledged as they deserved; and it abated
the resentful feeling which would else have been excited by the answer to an application to
the War-office. During his four months' land service in Corsica, he had lost all his ship
furniture, owing to the movements of a camp. Upon this he wrote to the Secretary at War,
briefly stating what his services on shore had been, and saying, he trusted it was not asking
an improper thing to request that the same allowance might be made to him which would be
made to a land officer of his rank, which, situated as he was, would be that of a brigadier-
general: if this could not be accorded, he hoped that his additional expenses would be paid
him. The answer which he received was, that "no pay had ever been issued under the
direction of the War-office to officers of the navy serving with the army on shore."
He now entered upon a new line of service. The Austrian and Sardinian armies, under
General de Vins, required a British squadron to co-operate with them in driving the French
from the Riviera di Genoa; and as Nelson had been so much in the habit of soldiering, it was
immediately fixed that the brigadier should go. He sailed from St. Fiorenzo on this
destination; but fell in, off Cape del Mele, with the enemy's fleet, who immediately gave his
squadron chase. The chase lasted four-and-twenty hours; and, owing to the fickleness of the
wind, the British ships were sometimes hard pressed; but the want of skill on the part of the
French gave Nelson many advantages. Nelson bent his way back to St. Fiorenzo, where the
fleet, which was in the midst of watering and refitting, had, for seven hours, the mortification
of seeing him almost in possession of the

40
enemy, before the wind would allow them to put out to his assist- ance. The French, however,
at evening, went off, not choosing to approach nearer the shore. During the night, Admiral
Hotham, by great exertions, got under weigh; and, having sought the enemy four days, came
in sight of them on the fifth. Baffling winds and vexatious calms, so common in the
Mediterranean, rendered it impossible to close with them; only a partial action could be
brought on; and then the firing made a perfect calm. The French being to windward, drew
inshore; and the English fleet was becalmed six or seven miles to the westward. L'ALCIDE,
of seventy-four guns, struck; but before she could be taken possession of, a box of
combustibles in her fore-top took fire, and the unhappy crew experienced how far more
perilous their inventions were to them- selves than to their enemies. So rapid was the
conflagration, that the French in their official account say, the hull, the masts, and sails, all
seemed to take fire at the same moment; and though the English boats were put out to the
assistance of the poor wretches on board, not more than 200 could be saved. The
AGAMEMNON, and Captain Rowley in the CUMBERLAND, were just getting into close
action a second time, when the admiral called them off, the wind now blowing directly into
the Gulf of Frejus, where the enemy anchored after the evening closed.
Nelson now proceeded to his station with eight sail of frigates under his command. Arriving
at Genoa, he had a conference with Mr. Drake, the British envoy to that state; the result of
which was, that the object of the British must be to put an entire stop to all trade between
Genoa, France, and the places occupied by the French troops; for unless this trade were
stopped, it would be scarcely possible for the allied armies to hold their situation, and
impossible for them to make any progress in driving the enemy out of the Riviera di Genoa.
Mr. Drake was of opinion that even Nice might fall for want of supplies, if the trade with
Genoa were cut off. This sort of blockade Nelson could not carry on without great risk to
himself. A captain in the navy, as he represented to the envoy, is liable to prosecution for
detention and damages. This danger was increased by an order which had then lately been
issued; by which, when a neutral ship was detained, a complete specification of her cargo
was directed to be sent to the secretary of the Admiralty, and no legal process instituted
against her till the pleasure of that board should be communicated. This was requiring an
impossibility. The cargoes of ships detained upon this station, consisting chiefly of corn,
would be spoiled long before the orders of the Admiralty could be known; and then, if they
should happen to release the vessel, the owners would look to the captain for damages. Even
the only precaution which could be taken against this danger, involved another danger not
less to be apprehended: for if the captain should direct the cargo to be taken out, the freight
paid for, and the vessel released, the agent employed might prove fraudulent, and become
bankrupt; and in that case the captain became responsible. Such things had happened: Nelson
therefore required, as the only means for carrying on that service, which was judged essential
to the common cause, without exposing the officers to ruin, that the British envoy should
appoint agents to pay the freight, release the vessels, sell the cargo, and hold the amount till
process was had upon it: government thus securing its officers. "I am acting," said Nelson.
"not only without the orders of my commander-in-chief, but, in some measure, contrary to
him. However, I have not only the support of his Majesty's ministers, both at Turin and
Genoa, but a consciousness that I am doing what is right and

41
proper for the service of our king and country. Political courage, in an officer abroad, is as
highly necessary as military courage."
This quality, which is as much rarer than military courage as it is more valuable, and without
which the soldier's bravery is often of little avail, Nelson possessed in an eminent degree. His
representations were attended to as they deserved. Admiral Hotham commended him for
what he had done; and the attention of government was awakened to the injury which the
cause of the allies continually suffered from the frauds of neutral vessels. "What changes in
my life of activity!" said the indefatigable man. "Here I am, having commenced a co-
operation with an old Austrian general, almost fancying myself charging at the head of a
troop of horse! I do not write less than from ten to twenty letters every day; which, with the
Austrian general and aides-de-camp, and my own little squadron, fully employ my time. This
I like; active service or none." It was Nelson's mind which supported his feeble body through
these exertions. He was at this time almost blind, and wrote with very great pain. "Poor
AGAMEMNON" he sometimes said, "was as nearly worn out as her captain; and both must
soon be laid up to repair."
When Nelson first saw General de Vins, he thought him an able man, who was willing to act
with vigour. The general charged his inactivity upon the Piedmontese and Neapolitans,
whom, he said, nothing could induce to act; and he concerted a plan with Nelson for
embarking a part of the Austrian army, and landing it in the rear of the French. But the
English commodore soon began to suspect that the Austrian general was little disposed to any
active operations. In the hope of spurring him on, he wrote to him, telling him that he had
surveyed the coast to the W. as far as Nice, and would undertake to embark 4000 or 5000
men, with their arms and a few days' provisions, on board the squadron, and land them within
two miles of St. Remo, with their field-pieces. Respecting further provisions for the Austrian
army, he would provide convoys, that they should arrive in safety; and if a re-embarkation
should be found necessary, he would cover it with the squadron. The possession of St. Remo,
as headquarters for magazines of every kind, would enable the Austrian general to turn his
army to the eastward or westward. The enemy at Oneglia would be cut off from provisions,
and men could be landed to attack that place whenever it was judged necessary. St. Remo
was the only place between Vado and Ville Franche where the squadron could lie in safety,
and anchor in almost all winds. The bay was not so good as Vado for large ships; but it had a
mole, which Vado had not, where all small vessels could lie, and load and unload their
cargoes. This bay being in possession of the allies, Nice could be completely blockaded by
sea. General de Vins affecting, in his reply, to consider that Nelson's proposal had no other
end than that of obtaining the bay of St. Remo as a station for the ships, told him, what he
well knew, and had expressed before, that Vado Bay was a better anchorage; nevertheless, if
MONSIEUR LE COMMANDANT NELSON was well assured that part of the fleet could
winter there, there was no risk to which he would not expose himself with pleasure, for the
sake of procuring a safe station for the vessels of his Britannic Majesty. Nelson soon assured
the Austrian commander that this was not the object of his memorial. He now began to
suspect that both the Austrian Court and their general had other ends in view than the cause
of the allies. "This army," said he, "is slow beyond all description; and I begin to think that
the Emperor is anxious to touch another L4,000,000

42
of English money. As for the German generals, war is their trade, and peace is ruin to them;
therefore we cannot expect that they should have any wish to finish the war. The politics of
courts are so mean, that private people would be ashamed to act in the same way; all is trick
and finesse, to which the common cause is sacrificed. The general wants a loop-hole; it has
for some time appeared to me that he means to go no further than his present position, and to
lay the miscarriage of the enterprise against Nice, which has always been held out as the
great object of his army, to the non-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, dispatch a ship to Admiral
Hotham, requesting transports, having no doubt of obtaining them, and trusting that the plan
would be successful to its fullest extent. Nelson thought at the time that, if the whole fleet
were offered him for transports, he would find some other excuse; and Mr. Drake, who was
now appointed to reside at the Austrian headquarters, entertained the same idea of the
general's sincerity. It was not, however, put so clearly to the proof as it ought to have been.
He replied that, as soon as Nelson could declare himself ready with the vessels necessary for
conveying 10,000 men, with their artillery and baggage, he would put the army in motion.
But Nelson was not enabled to do this: Admiral Hotham, who was highly meritorious in
leaving such a man so much at his own discretion, pursued a cautious system, ill according
with the bold and comprehensive views of Nelson, who continually regretted Lord Hood,
saying that the nation had suffered much by his resignation of the Mediterranean command.
The plan which had been concerted, he said, would astonish the French, and perhaps the
English.
There was no unity in the views of the allied powers, no cordiality in their co-operation, no
energy in their councils. The neutral powers assisted France more effectually than the allies
assisted each other. The Genoese ports were at this time filled with French privateers, which
swarmed out every night, and covered the gulf; and French vessels were allowed to tow out
of the port of Genoa itself, board vessels which were coming in, and then return into the
mole. This was allowed without a remonstrance; while, though Nelson abstained most
carefully from offering any offence to the Genoese territory or flag, complaints were so
repeatedly made against his squadron, that, he says, it seemed a trial who should be tired
first; they of complaining, or he of answering their complaints. But the question of neutrality
was soon at an end. An Austrian commissary was travelling from Genoa towards Vado; it
was known that he was to sleep at Voltri, and that he had L10,000 with him--a booty which
the French minister in that city, and the captain of a French frigate in that port, considered as
far more important than the word of honour of the one, the duties of the other, and the laws of
neutrality. The boats of the frigate went out with some privateers, landed, robbed the
commissary, and brought back the money to Genoa. The next day men were publicly enlisted
in that city for the French army: 700 men were embarked, with 7000 stand of arms, on board
the frigates and other vessels, who were to land between Voltri and Savona. There a
detachment from the French army was to join them, and the Genoese peasantry were to be
invited to insurrection--a measure for which everything had been prepared. The night of the
13th was fixed for the sailing of this expedition; the Austrians called loudly for Nelson to
prevent it; and he, on

43
the evening of the 13th, arrived at Genoa. His presence checked the plan: the frigate,
knowing her deserts, got within the merchant-ships, in the inner mole; and the Genoese
government did not now even demand of Nelson respect to the neutral port, knowing that
they had allowed, if not connived at, a flagrant breach of neutrality, and expecting the answer
which he was prepared to return, that it was useless and impossible for him to respect it
longer.
But though this movement produced the immediate effect which was designed, it led to ill
consequences, which Nelson foresaw, but for want of sufficient force was unable to prevent.
His squadron was too small for the service which it had to perform. He required two seventy-
fours and eight or ten frigates and sloops; but when he demanded this reinforcement, Admiral
Hotham had left the command. Sir Hyde Parker had succeeded till the new commander
should arrive; and he immediately reduced it to almost nothing, leaving him only one frigate
and a brig. This was a fatal error. While the Austrian and Sardinian troops, whether from the
imbecility or the treachery of their leaders, remained inactive, the French were preparing for
the invasion of Italy. Not many days before Nelson was thus summoned to Genoa, he chased
a large convoy into Alassio. Twelve vessels he had formerly destroyed in that port, though
2000 French troops occupied the town. This former attack had made them take new measures
of defence; and there were now above 100 sail of victuallers, gun-boats, and ships of war.
Nelson represented to the Admiral how important it was to destroy these vessels; and offered,
with his squadron of frigates, and the CULLODEN and COURAGEUX, to lead himself in
the AGAMEMNON, and take or destroy the whole. The attempt was not permitted; but it
was Nelson's belief that, if it had been made, it would have prevented the attack upon the
Austrian army, which took place almost immediately afterwards.
General de Vins demanded satisfaction of the Genoese government for the seizure of his
commissary; and then, without waiting for their reply, took possession of some empty
magazines of the French, and pushed his sentinels to the very gates of Genoa. Had he done so
at first, he would have found the magazines full; but, timed as the measure was, and useless
as it was to the cause of the allies, it was in character with the whole of the Austrian general's
conduct; and it is no small proof of the dexterity with which he served the enemy, that in
such circumstances he could so act with Genoa as to contrive to put himself in the wrong.
Nelson was at this time, according to his own expression, placed in a cleft stick. Mr. Drake,
the Austrian minister, and the Austrian general, all joined in requiring him not to leave
Genoa; if he left that port unguarded, they said, not only the imperial troops at St. Pier
d'Arena and Voltri would be lost, but the French plan for taking post between Voltri and
Savona would certainly succeed; if the Austrians should be worsted in the advanced posts,
the retreat of the Bocchetta would be cut off; and if this happened, the loss of the army would
be imputed to him, for having left Genoa. On the other hand, he knew that if he were not at
Pietra, the enemy's gun-boats would harass the left flank of the Austrians, who, if they were
defeated, as was to be expected, from the spirit of all their operations, would, very probably,
lay their defeat to the want of assistance from the AGAMEMNON. Had the force for which
Nelson applied been given him, he could have attended to both objects; and had he been
permitted to attack the convoy in Alassio, he would have disconcerted the plans of the
French, in spite of the

44
Austrian general. He had foreseen the danger, and pointed out how it might be prevented; but
the means of preventing it were withheld. The attack was made as he foresaw; and the gun-
boats brought their fire to bear upon the Austrians. It so happened, however, that the left
flank, which was exposed to them, was the only part of the army that behaved well: this
division stood its ground till the centre and the right wing fled, and then retreated in a
soldierlike manner. General de Vins gave up the command in the middle of the battle,
pleading ill health. "From that moment," says Nelson, "not a soldier stayed at his post: it was
the devil take the hindmost. Many thousands ran away who had never seen the enemy; some
of them thirty miles from the advanced posts. Had I not, though I own, against my
inclination, been kept at Genoa, from 8000 to 10,000 men would have been taken prisoners,
and, amongst the number, General de Vins himself; but by this means the pass of the
Bocchetta was kept open. The purser of the ship, who was at Vado, ran with the Austrians
eighteen miles without stopping; the men without arms, officers without soldiers, women
without assistance. The oldest officers say they never heard of so complete a defeat, and
certainly without any reason. Thus has ended my campaign. We have established the French
republic: which but for us, I verily believe, would never have been settled by such a volatile,
changeable people. I hate a Frenchman: they are equally objects of my detestation whether
royalists or republicans: in some points, I believe, the latter are the best." Nelson had a
lieutenant and two midshipmen taken at Vado: they told him, in their letter, that few of the
French soldiers were more than three or four and twenty years old, a great many not more
than fourteen, and all were nearly naked; they were sure, they said, his barge's crew could
have beat a hundred of them; and that, had he himself seen them, he would not have thought,
if the world had been covered with such people, that they could have beaten the Austrian
army.
The defeat of General de Vins gave the enemy possession of the Genoese coast from Savona
to Voltri, and it deprived the Austrians of their direct communication with the English fleet.
The AGAMEMNON, therefore, could no longer be useful on this station, and Nelson sailed
for Leghorn to refit. When his ship went into dock, there was not a mast, yard, sail, or any
part of the rigging, but what stood in need of repair, having been cut to pieces with shot. The
hull was so damaged that it had for some time been secured by cables, which were served or
thrapped round it.

45
Chapter 4. 1796 – 1797
Sir J. Jervis takes the Command--Genoa joins the French--Bounaparte begins his Career--
Evacuation of Corsica--Nelson hoists his broad Pennant in the MINERVE--Action with the
SABINA--Battle off Cape St. Vincent--Nelson commands the inner Squadron at the
Blockade of Cadiz Boat Action in the Bay of Cadiz--Expedition against Teneriffe--Nelson
loses an Arm--His Sufferings in England, and Recovery.
*
SIR JOHN JERVIS had now arrived to take the command of the Mediterranean fleet. The
AGAMEMNON having, as her captain said, been made as fit for sea as a rotten ship could
be, Nelson sailed from Leghorn, and joined the admiral in Fiorenzo Bay. "I found him," said
he, "anxious to know many things which I was a good deal surprised to find had not been
communicated to him by others in the fleet; and it would appear that he was so well satisfied
with my opinion of what is likely to happen, and the means of prevention to be taken, that he
had no reserve with me respecting his information and ideas of what is likely to be done."
The manner in which Nelson was received is said to have excited some envy. One captain
observed to him: "You did just as you pleased in Lord Hood's time, the same in Admiral
Hotham's, and now again with Sir John Jervis: it makes no difference to you who is
commander-in-chief." A higher compliment could not have been paid to any commander-in-
chief than to say of him that he understood the merits of Nelson, and left him, as far as
possible, to act upon his own judgment.
Sir John Jervis offered him the ST.GEORGE, ninety, or the ZEALOUS, seventy-four, and
asked if he should have any objection to serve under him with his flag. He replied, that if the
AGAMEMNON were ordered home, and his flag were not arrived, he should, on many
accounts, wish to return to England; still, if the war continued, he should be very proud of
hoisting his flag under Sir John's command, "We cannot spare you," said Sir John, "either as
captain or admiral." Accordingly, he resumed his station in the Gulf of Genoa. The French
had not followed up their successes in that quarter with their usual celerity. Scherer, who
commanded there, owed his advancement to any other cause than his merit: he was a
favourite of the directory; but for the present, through the influence of Barras, he was
removed from a command for which his incapacity was afterwards clearly proved, and
Buonaparte was appointed to succeed him. Buonaparte had given indications of his military
talents at Toulon, and of his remorseless nature at Paris; but the extent either of his ability or
his wickedness was at this time known to none, and perhaps not even suspected by himself.
Nelson supposed, from the information which he had obtained, that one column of the French
army would take possession of Port Especia; either penetrating through the Genoese territory,
or proceeding coast-ways in light vessels; our ships of war not being able to approach the
coast, because of the shallowness of the water. To prevent this, he said; two things were
necessary: the possession of Vado Bay, and the taking of Port Especia; if either of these
points were secured, Italy would be safe from any attack of the

46
French by sea. General Beaulieu, who had now superseded De Vins in the command of the
allied Austrian and Sardinian army, sent his nephew and aide-de-camp to communicate with
Nelson, and inquire whether he could anchor in any other place than Vado Bay. Nelson
replied, that Vado was the only place where the British fleet could lie in safety, but all places
would suit his squadron; and wherever the general came to the sea-coast, there he should find
it. The Austrian repeatedly asked, if there was not a risk of losing the squadron? and was
constantly answered, that if these ships should be lost, the admiral would find others. But all
plans of co-operation with the Austrians were soon frustrated by the battle of Montenotte.
Beaulieu ordered an attack to be made upon the post of Voltri. It was made twelve hours
before the time which he had fixed, and before he arrived to direct it. In consequence, the
French were enabled to effect their retreat, and fall back to Montenotte, thus giving the troops
there a decisive superiority in number over the division which attacked them. This drew on
the defeat of the Austrians. Buonaparte, with a celerity which had never before been
witnessed in modern war, pursued his advantages; and, in the course of a fortnight, dictated
to the court of Turin terms of peace, or rather of submission; by which all the strongest places
of Piedmont were put into his bands.
On one occasion, and only on one, Nelson was able to impede the progress of this new
conqueror. Six vessels, laden with cannon and ordnance-stores for the siege of Mantua, sailed
from Toulon for St. Pier d'Arena. Assisted by Captain Cockburn, in the MELEAGER, he
drove them under a battery; pursued them, silenced the batteries, and captured the whole.
Military books, plans and maps of Italy, with the different points marked upon them where
former battles had been fought, sent by the directory for Buonaparte's use, were found in the
convoy. The loss of this artillery was one of the chief causes which compelled the French to
raise the siege of Mantua; but there was too much treachery, and too much imbecility, both in
the councils and armies of the allied powers, for Austria to improve this momentary success.
Buonaparte perceived that the conquest of Italy was within his reach; treaties, and the rights
of neutral or of friendly powers, were as little regarded by him as by the government for
which he acted. In open contempt of both he entered Tuscany, and took possession of
Leghorn. In consequence of this movement, Nelson blockaded that port, and landed a British
force in the Isle of Elba, to secure Porto Ferrajo. Soon afterwards he took the Island of
Capraja, which had formerly belonged to Corsica, being less than forty miles distant from it;
a distance, however, short as it was, which enabled the Genoese to retain it, after their
infamous sale of Corsica to France. Genoa had now taken part with France: its government
had long covertly assisted the French, and now willingly yielded to the first compulsory
menace which required them to exclude the English from their ports. Capraja was seized in
consequence; but this act of vigour was not followed up as it ought to have been. England at
that time depended too much upon the feeble governments of the Continent, and too little
upon itself. It was determined by the British cabinet to evacuate Corsica, as soon as Spain
should form an offensive alliance with France. This event, which, from the moment that
Spain had been compelled to make peace, was clearly foreseen, had now taken place; and
orders for the evacuation of the island were immediately sent out. It was impolitic to annex
this island to the British dominions; but having done so, it was disgraceful thus to abandon it.
The disgrace would have been spared, and every advantage which could have been derived

47
from the possession of the island secured, if the people had at first been left to form a
government for themselves, and protected by us in the enjoyment of their independence.
The viceroy, Sir Gilbert Elliott, deeply felt the impolicy and ignominy of this evacuation. The
fleet also was ordered to leave the Mediterranean. This resolution was so contrary to the last
instructions which had been received, that Nelson exclaimed, "Do his majesty's ministers
know their own minds? They at home," said he, "do not know what this fleet is capable of
performing--anything and everything. Much as I shall rejoice to see England, I lament our
present orders in sack- cloth and ashes, so dishonourable to the dignity of England, whose
fleets are equal to meet the world in arms; and of all the fleets I ever saw, I never beheld one,
in point of officers and men, equal to Sir John Jervis's, who is a commander-in-chief able to
lead them to glory." Sir Gilbert Elliott believed that the great body of the Corsicans were
perfectly satisfied, as they had good reason to be, with the British Government, sensible of its
advantages, and attached to it. However this may have been, when they found that the
English intended to evacuate the island, they naturally and necessarily sent to make their
peace with the French. The partisans of France found none to oppose them. A committee of
thirty took upon them the government of Bastia, and sequestrated all the British property;
armed Corsicans mounted guard at every place, and a plan was laid for seizing the viceroy.
Nelson, who was appointed to superintend the evacuation, frustrated these projects. At a time
when every one else despaired of saving stores, cannon, provisions, or property of any kind,
and a privateer was moored across the mole-head to prevent all boats from passing, he sent
word to the committee, that if the slightest opposition were made to the embarkment and
removal of British property, he would batter the town down. The privateer pointed her guns
at the officer who carried this message, and muskets were levelled against his boats from the
mole-head. Upon this Captain Sutton, of the EGMONT, pulling out his watch, gave them a
quarter of an hour to deliberate upon their answer. In five minutes after the expiration of that
time, the ships, he said, would open their fire. Upon this the very sentinels scampered off,
and every vessel came out of the mole. A shipowner complained to the commodore that the
municipality refused to let him take his goods out of the custom-house. Nelson directed him
to say, that unless they were instantly delivered, he would open his fire. The committee
turned pale, and, without answering a word, gave him the keys. Their last attempt was to levy
a duty upon the things that were re-embarked. He sent them word, that he would pay them a
disagreeable visit, if there were any more complaints. The committee then finding that they
had to deal with a man who knew his own power, and was determined to make the British
name respected, desisted from the insolent conduct which they had assumed; and it was
acknowledged that Bastia never had been so quiet and orderly since the English were in
possession of it. This was on the 14th of October; during the five following days the work of
embarkation was carried on, the private property was saved, and public stores to the amount
of L200,000. The French, favoured by the Spanish fleet, which was at that time within twelve
leagues of Bastia, pushed over troops from Leghorn, who landed near Cape Corse on the
18th; and on the 20th, at one in the morning, entered the citadel, an hour only after the British
had spiked the guns and evacuated it. Nelson embarked at daybreak, being the last person
who left the shore; having thus, as he said, seen the first and the last of Corsica. Provoked at
the conduct of the municipality, and the disposition which the populace had shown to profit
by the

48
confusion, he turned towards the shore, as he stepped into his boat, and exclaimed: "Now,
John Corse, follow the natural bent of your detestable character --plunder and revenge." This,
however, was not Nelson's deliberate opinion of the people of Corsica; he knew that their
vices were the natural consequences of internal anarchy and foreign oppression, such as the
same causes would produce in any people; and when he saw, that of all those who took leave
of the viceroy there was not one who parted from him without tears, he acknowledged that
they manifestly acted not from dislike of the English, but from fear of the French. England
then might, with more reason, reproach her own rulers for pusillanimity than the Corsicans
for ingratitude.
Having thus ably effected this humiliating service, Nelson was ordered to hoist his broad
pendant on board the MINERVE frigate, Captain George Cockburn, and with the BLANCHE
under his command, proceed to Porto Ferrajo, and superintend the evacuation of that place
also. On his way, he fell in with two Spanish frigates, the SABINA and the CERES. The
MINERVE engaged the former, which was commanded by D. Jacobo Stuart, a descendent of
the Duke of Berwick. After an action of three hours, during which the Spaniards lost 164
men, the SABINA struck. The Spanish captain, who was the only surviving officer, had
hardly been conveyed on board the MINERVE, when another enemy's frigate came up,
compelled her to cast off the prize, and brought her a second time into action. After half an
hour's trial of strength, this new antagonist wore and hauled off; but a Spanish squadron of
two ships of the line and two frigates came in sight. The BLANCHE, from which the CERES
had got off, was far to windward, and the MINERVE escaped only by the anxiety of the
enemy to recover their own ship. As soon as Nelson reached Porto Ferrajo he sent his
prisoner in a flag of truce to Carthagena, having returned him his sword; this he did in honour
of the gallantry which D. Jacobo had displayed, and not without some feeling of respect for
his ancestry. "I felt it," said he, "consonant to the dignity of my country and I always act as I
feel right, without regard to custom; he was reputed the best officer in Spain, and his men
were worthy of such a commander." By the same flag of truce he sent back all the Spanish
prisoners at Porto Ferrajo; in exchange for whom he received his own men who had been
taken in the prize.
General de Burgh, who commanded at the Isle of Elba, did not think himself authorised to
abandon the place till he had received specific instructions from England to that effect;
professing that he was unable to decide between the contradictory orders of government, or
to guess at what their present intentions might be; but he said, his only motive for urging
delay in this measure arose from a desire that his own conduct might be properly sanctioned,
not from any opinion that Porto Ferrajo ought to be retained. But Naples having made peace,
Sir John Jervis considered his business with Italy as concluded; and the protection of Portugal
was the point to which he was now instructed to attend. Nelson, therefore, whose orders were
perfectly clear and explicit, withdrew the whole naval establishment from that station,
leaving the transports victualled, and so arranged that all the troops and stores could be
embarked in three days. He was now about to leave the Mediterranean. Mr. Drake, who had
been our minister at Genoa, expressed to him, on this occasion, the very high opinion which
the allies entertained of his conspicuous merit; adding, that it was impossible for any one,
who had the honour of co-operating with him, not to admire the activity, talents, and zeal
which he had so eminently and constantly

49
displayed. In fact, during this long course of services in the Mediterranean, the whole of his
conduct had exhibited the same zeal, the same indefatigable energy, the same intuitive
judgment, the same prompt and unerring decision which characterised his after-career of
glory. His name was as yet hardly known to the English public; but it was feared and
respected throughout Italy. A letter came to him, directed "Horatio Nelson, Genoa;" and the
writer, when he was asked how he could direct it so vaguely, replied, "Sir, there is but one
Horatio Nelson in the world." At Genoa, in particular, where he had so long been stationed,
and where the nature of his duty first led him to continual disputes with the government, and
afterwards compelled him to stop the trade of the port, he was equally respected by the doge
and by the people; for, while he maintained the rights and interests of Great Britain with
becoming firmness, he tempered the exercise of power with courtesy and humanity wherever
duty would permit. "Had all my actions," said he, writing at this time to his wife, "been
gazetted, not one fortnight would have passed, during the whole war, without a letter from
me. One day or other I will have a long GAZETTE to myself. I feel that such an opportunity
will be given me. I cannot, if I am in the field of glory, be kept out of sight; wherever there is
anything to be done, there Providence is sure to direct my steps."
These hopes and anticipations were soon to be fulfilled. Nelson's mind had long been irritated
and depressed by the fear that a general action would take place before he could join the fleet.
At length he sailed from Porto Ferrajo with a convoy for Gibraltar; and having reached that
place, proceeded to the westward in search of the admiral. Off the mouth of the Straits he fell
in with the Spanish fleet; and on the 13th of February reaching the station off Cape St.
Vincent, communicated this intelligence to Sir John Jervis. He was now directed to shift his
broad pendant on board the CAPTAIN, seventy-four, Captain R.W. Miller; and before sunset
the signal was made to prepare for action, and to keep, during the night, in close order. At
daybreak the enemy were in sight. The British force consisted of two ships of one hundred
guns, two of ninety-eight, two of ninety, eight of seventy- four, and one sixty-four;-fifteen of
the line in all; with four frigates, a sloop, and a cutter. The Spaniards had one four-decker, of
one hundred and thirty-six guns; six three-deckers, of one hundred and twelve; two eighty-
four, eighteen seventy-four--in all, twenty-seven ships of the line, with ten frigates and a brig.
Their admiral, D. Joseph de Cordova, had learnt from an American on the 5th, that the
English had only nine ships, which was indeed the case when his informer had seen them; for
a reinforcement of five ships from England, under Admiral Parker, had not then joined, and
the CULLODEN had parted company. Upon this information the Spanish commander,
instead of going into Cadiz, as was his intention when he sailed from Carthagena, deter-
mined to seek an enemy so inferior in force; and relying, with fatal confidence, upon the
American account, he suffered his ships to remain too far dispersed, and in some disorder.
When the morning of the 14th broke, and discovered the English fleet, a fog for some time
concealed their number. That fleet had heard their signal-guns during the night, the weather
being fine though thick and hazy; soon after daylight they were seen very much scattered,
while the British ships were in a compact little body. The look-out ship of the Spaniards,
fancying that her signal was disregarded because so little notice seemed to be taken of it,
made another signal, that the English force consisted of forty sail of the line. The captain
afterwards said he did this to rouse the admiral; it had the

50
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 pas- quinade, which about this time appeared at
Madrid, wherein the different orders of the state were advertised for sale, the greater part of
the sea-officers, with all their equipments, were offered as a gift; and it was added, that any
person who would please to take them, should receive a handsome gratuity. When the
probability that Spain would take part in the war, as an ally of France, was first contemplated,
Nelson said that their fleet, if it were no better than when it acted in alliance with us, would
"soon be done for."
Before the enemy could form a regular order of battle, Sir J. Jervis, by carrying a press of
sail, came up with them, passed through their fleet, then tacked, and thus cut off nine of their
ships from the main body. These ships attempted to form on the larboard tack, either with a
design of passing through the British line, or to leeward of it, and thus rejoining their friends.
Only one of them succeeded in this attempt; and that only because she was so covered with
smoke that her intention was not discovered till she had reached the rear: the others were so
warmly received, that they put about, took to flight, and did not appear again in the action to
its close. The admiral was now able to direct his attention to the enemy's main body, which
was still superior in number to his whole fleet, and greatly so in weight of metal. He made
signal to tack in succession. Nelson, whose station was in the rear of the British line,
perceived that the Spaniards were bearing up before the wind, with an intention of forming
their line, going large, and joining their separated ships, or else of getting off without an
engagement. To prevent either of these schemes, he disobeyed the signal without a moment's
hesitation: and ordered his ship to be wore. This at once brought him into action with the
SANTISSIMA TRINIDAD, one hundred and thirty-six; the SAN JOSEPH, one hundred and
twelve; the SALVADOR DEL MUNDO, one hundred and twelve; the SAN NICOLAS,
eighty; the SAN ISIDRO, seventy-four, another seventy-four, and another first-rate.
Troubridge, in the CULLODEN, immediately joined, and most nobly supported him; and for
nearly an hour did the CULLODEN and CAPTAIN maintain what Nelson called "this
apparently, but not really unequal contest;"--such was the advantage of skill and discipline,
and the confidence which brave men derive from them. The BLENHEIM then passing
between them and the enemy, gave them a respite, and poured in her fire upon the Spaniards.
The SALVADOR DEL MUNDO and SAN ISIDRO dropped astern, and were fired into in a
masterly style by the EXCELLENT, Captain Collingwood. The SAN ISIDRO struck; and
Nelson thought that the SALVADOR struck also. "But Collingwood," says he, "disdaining
the parade of taking possession of beaten enemies, most gallantly pushed up, with every sail
set, to save his old friend and messmate, who was to appearance in a critical situation;" for
the CAPTAIN was at this time actually fired upon by three first-rates--by the SAN
NICOLAS, and by a seventy-four, within about pistol-shot of that vessel. The BLENHEIM
was ahead, the CULLODEN crippled and astern. Collingwood ranged up, and hauling up his
mainsail just astern, passed within ten feet of the SAN NICOLAS, giving her a most
tremendous fire, then passed on for the SANTISSIMA TRINIDAD. The SAN NICOLAS
luffing up, the SAN JOSEPH fell on board her, and Nelson resumed his station abreast of
them, and close alongside. The CAPTAIN was now incapable of

51
further service, either in the line or in chase: she had lost her foretop-mast; not a sail, shroud,
or rope was left, and her wheel was shot away. Nelson therefore directed Captain Miller to
put the helm a-starboard, and calling for the boarders, ordered them to board.
Captain Berry, who had lately been Nelson's first lieutenant, was the first man who leaped
into the enemy's mizen chains. Miller, when in the very act of going, was ordered by Nelson
to remain. Berry was supported from the spritsail-yard, which locked in the SAN NICOLAS's
main rigging. A soldier of the 69th broke the upper quarter-gallery window, and jumped in,
followed by the commodore himself and by the others as fast as possible. The cabin doors
were fastened, and the Spanish officers fired their pistols at them through the window; the
doors were soon forced, and the Spanish brigadier fell while retreating to the quarter-deck.
Nelson pushed on, and found Berry in possession of the poop, and the Spanish ensign hauling
down. He passed on to the forecastle, where he met two or three Spanish officers, and
received their swords. The English were now in full possession of every part of the ship,
when a fire of pistols and musketry opened upon them from the admiral's stern- gallery of the
SAN JOSEPH. Nelson having placed sentinels at the different ladders, and ordered Captain
Miller to send more men into the prize, gave orders for boarding that ship from the SAN
NICOLAS. It was done in an instant, he himself leading the way. and exclaiming,
"Westminster Abbey or victory!" Berry assisted him into the main chains; and at that moment
a Spanish officer looked over the quarter-deck rail, and said they surrendered. It was not long
before he was on the quarter- deck, where the Spanish captain presented to him his sword,
and told him the admiral was below dying of his wounds. There, on the quarter-deck of an
enemy's first-rate, he received the swords of the officers, giving them, as they were delivered,
one by one to William Fearney, one of his old AGAMEMNONs, who, with the utmost
coolness, put them under his arm, "bundling them up," in the lively expression of
Collingwood, "with as much composure as he would have made a faggot, though twenty-two
sail of their line were still within gunshot." One of his sailors came up, and with an
Englishman's feeling took him by the hand, saying he might not soon have such another place
to do it in, and he was heartily glad to see him there. Twenty-four of the CAPTAIN's men
were killed, and fifty- six wounded; a fourth part of the loss sustained by the whole squadron
falling upon this ship. Nelson received only a few bruises.
The Spaniards had still eighteen or nineteen ships which had suffered little or no injury: that
part of the fleet which had been separated from the main body in the morning was now
coming up, and Sir John Jervis made signal to bring to. His ships could not have formed
without abandoning those which they had captured, and running to leeward: the CAPTAIN
was lying a perfect wreck on board her two prizes; and many of the other vessels were so
shattered in their masts and rigging as to be wholly unmanageable. The Spanish admiral
meantime, according to his official account, being altogether undecided in his own opinion
respecting the state of the fleet, inquired of his captains whether it was proper to renew the
action; nine of them answered explicitly that it was not; others replied that it was expedient to
delay the business. The PELAYO and the PRINCE CONQUISTADOR were the only ships
that were for fighting.

52
As soon as the action was discontinued, Nelson went on board the admiral's ship. Sir John
Jervis received him on the quarter-deck, took him in his arms, and said he could not
sufficiently thank him. For this victory the commander-in-chief was rewarded with the title of
Earl St. Vincent. Nelson, who before the action was known in England had been advanced to
the rank of rear-admiral, had the Order of the Bath given him. The sword of the Spanish rear-
admiral, which Sir John Jervis insisted upon his keeping, he presented to the Mayor and
Corporation of Norwich, saying that he knew no place where it could give him or his family
more pleasure to have it kept than in the capital city of the county where he was born. The
freedom of that city was voted him on this occasion. But of all the numerous congratulations
which he received, none could have affected him with deeper delight than that which came
from his venerable father. "I thank my God," said this excellent man, "with all the power of a
grateful soul, for the mercies he has most graciously bestowed on me in preserving you. Not
only my few acquaintance here, but the people in general, met me at every corner with such
handsome words, that I was obliged to retire from the public eye. The height of glory to
which your professional judgment, united with a proper degree of bravery, guarded by
Providence, has raised you, few sons, my dear child, attain to, and fewer fathers live to see.
Tears of joy have involuntarily trickled down my furrowed cheeks: who could stand the force
of such general congratulation? The name and services of Nelson have sounded through this
city of Bath--from the common ballad- singer to the public theatre." The good old man
concluded by telling him that the field of glory, in which he had so long been conspicuous,
was still open, and by giving him his blessing.
Sir Horatio, who had now hoisted his flag as rear-admiral of the blue, was sent to bring away
the troops from Porto Ferrajo; having performed this, he shifted his flag to the THESEUS.
That ship, had taken part in the mutiny in England, and being just arrived from home, some
danger was apprehended from the temper of the men. This was one reason why Nelson was
removed to her. He had not been on board many weeks before a paper, signed in the name of
all the ship's company, was dropped on the quarter-deck, containing these words: "Success
attend Admiral Nelson! God bless Captain Miller! We thank them for the officers they have
placed over us. We are happy and comfortable, and will shed every drop of blood in our
veins to support them; and the name of the THESEUS shall be immortalised as high as her
captain's." Wherever Nelson commanded, the men soon became attached to him; in ten days'
time he would have restored the most mutinous ship in the navy to order. Whenever an
officer fails to win the affections of those who are under his command, he may be assured
that the fault is chiefly in himself.
While Sir Horatio was in the THESEUS, he was employed in the command of the inner
squadron at the blockade of Cadiz. During this service, the most perilous action occurred in
which he was ever engaged. Making a night attack upon the Spanish gun-boats, his barge was
attacked by an armed launch, under their commander, D. Miguel Tregoyen, carrying 26 men.
Nelson had with him only his ten bargemen, Captain Freemantle, and his coxswain, John
Sykes, an old and faithful follower, who twice saved the life of his admiral by parrying the
blows that were aimed at him, and at last actually interposed his own head to receive the
blow of a Spanish sabre, which he could not by any other means avert; thus dearly was
Nelson beloved. This was a desperate service--hand to hand with

53
swords; and Nelson always considered that his personal courage was more conspicuous on
this occasion than on any other during his whole life. Notwithstanding the great disproportion
of numbers, 18 of the enemy were killed, all the rest wounded, and their launch taken. Nelson
would have asked for a lieutenancy for Sykes, if he had served long enough; his manner and
conduct, he observed, were so entirely above his situation, that Nature certainly intended him
for a gentleman; but though he recovered from the dangerous wound which he received in
this act of heroic attachment, he did not live to profit by the gratitude and friendship of his
commander.
Twelve days after this rencontre, Nelson sailed at the head of an expedition against Teneriffe.
A report had prevailed a few months before, that the viceroy of Mexico, With the treasure
ships, had put into that island. This had led Nelson to meditate the plan of an attack upon it,
which he communicated to Earl St. Vincent. He was perfectly aware of the difficulties of the
attempt. "I do not," said he, "reckon myself equal to Blake; but, if I recollect right, he was
more obliged to the wind coming off the land than to any exertions of his own. The approach
by sea to the anchoring-place is under very high land, passing three valleys; therefore the
wind is either in from the sea, or squally with calms from the mountains:" and he perceived
that if the Spanish ships were won, the object would still be frustrated if the wind did not
come off shore. The land force, he thought, would render success certain; and there were the
troops from Elba, with all necessary stores and artillery, already embarked. "But here," said
he, "soldiers must be consulted; and I know, from experience, they have not the same
boldness in undertaking a political measure that we have: we look to the benefit of our
country, and risk our own fame every day to serve her; a soldier obeys his orders, and no
more." Nelson's experience at Corsica justified him in this harsh opinion: he did not live to
see the glorious days of the British army under Wellington. The army from Elba, consisting
of 3700 men, would do the business, he said, in three days, probably in much less time; and
he would undertake, with a very small squadron, to perform the naval part; for though the
shore was not easy of access, the transports might run in and land the troops in one day.
The report concerning the viceroy was unfounded: but a homeward- bound Manilla ship put
into Santa Cruz at this time, and the expedition was determined upon. It was not fitted out
upon the scale which Nelson had proposed. Four ships of the line, three frigates, and the FOX
cutter, formed the squadron; and he was allowed to choose such ships and officers as he
thought proper. No troops were embarked; the seamen and marines of the squadron being
thought sufficient. His orders were, to make a vigorous attack; but on no account to land in
person, unless his presence should be absolutely necessary. The plan was, that the boats
should land in the night, between the fort on the N.E. side of Santa Cruz bay and the town,
make themselves masters of that fort, and then send a summons to the governor. By
midnight, the three frigates, having the force on board which was intended for this
debarkation, approached within three miles of the place; but owing to a strong gale of wind in
the offing, and a strong current against them in-shore, they were not able to get within a mile
of the landing-place before daybreak; and then they were seen, and their intention discovered.
Troubridge and Bowen, with Captain Oldfield, of the marines, went upon this to consult with
the admiral what was to be done; and it was resolved that they should attempt to get
possession of the heights above the fort. The

54
frigates accordingly landed their men; and Nelson stood in with the line-of-battle ships,
meaning to batter the fort for the purpose of distracting the attention of the garrison. A calm
and contrary current hindered him from getting within a league of the shore; and the heights
were by this time so secured, and manned with such a force, as to be judged impracticable.
Thus foiled in his plans by circumstances of wind and tide, he still considered it a point of
honour that some attempt should be made. This was on the 22nd of July: he re-embarked his
men that night, got the ships on the 24th to anchor about two miles north of the town, and
made show as if he intended to attack the heights. At six in the evening signal was made for
the boats to prepare to proceed on the service as previously ordered.
When this was done, Nelson addressed a letter to the commander-in- chief--the last which
was ever written with his right hand. "I shall not," said he,"enter on the subject, why we are
not in possession of Santa Cruz. Your partiality will give credit, that all has hitherto been
done which was possible, but without effect. This night I, humble as I am, command the
whole destined to land under the batteries of the town; and to-morrow my head will probably
be crowned either with laurel or cypress. I have only to recommend Josiah Nisbet to you and
my country. The Duke of Clarence, should I fall, will, I am confident, take a lively interest
for my son-in-law, on his name being mentioned." Perfectly aware how desperate a service
this was likely to prove, before he left the THESEUS he called Lieutenant Nisbet, who had
the watch on deck, into the cabin, that he might assist in arranging and burning his mother's
letters. Perceiving that the young man was armed, he earnestly begged him to remain behind.
"Should we both fall, Josiah," said he, "what will become of your poor mother! The care of
the THESEUS falls to you: stay, therefore, and take charge of her." Nisbet replied: "Sir, the
ship must take care of herself: I will go with you to-night, if I never go again."
He met his captains at supper on board the SEAHORSE, Captain Freemantle, whose wife,
whom he had lately married in the Mediterranean, presided at table. At eleven o'clock the
boats, containing between 600 and 700 men, with 180 on board the FOX cutter, and from 70
to 80 in a boat which had been taken the day before, proceeded in six divisions toward the
town, conducted by all the captains of the squadron, except Freemantle and Bowen, who
attended with Nelson to regulate and lead the way to the attack. They were to land on the
mole, and thence hasten as fast as possible into the great square; then form and proceed as
should be found expedient. They were not discovered till about half-past one o'clock, when,
being within half gun-shot of the landing-place, Nelson directed the boats to cast off from
each other, give a huzza, and push for the shore. But the Spaniards were exceedingly well
prepared; the alarm-bells answered the huzza, and a fire of thirty or forty pieces of cannon,
with musketry from one end of the town to the other, opened upon the invaders. Nothing,
however, could check the intrepidity with which they advanced. The night was exceedingly
dark: most of the boats missed the mole and went on shore through a raging surf, which stove
all to the left of it. The Admiral, Freemantle, Thompson, Bowen, and four or five other boats,
found the mole: they stormed it instantly, and carried it, though it was defended, as they
imagined, by 400 or 500 men. Its guns, which were six-and-twenty pounders, were spiked;
but such a heavy fire of musketry and grape was kept up from the citadel and the houses at
the

55
head of the mole, that the assailants could not advance, and nearly all of them were killed or
wounded.
In the act of stepping out of the boat, Nelson received a shot through the right elbow, and fell;
but as he fell he caught the sword, which he had just drawn, in his left hand, determined
never to part with it while he lived, for it had belonged to his uncle, Captain Suckling, and he
valued it like a relic. Nisbet, who was close to him, placed him at the bottom of the boat, and
laid his hat over the shattered arm, lest the sight of the blood, which gushed out in great
abundance, should increase his faintness. He then examined the wound, and taking some silk
handkerchiefs from his neck, bound them round tight above the lacerated vessels. Had it not
been for this presence of mind in his son-in-law, Nelson must have perished. One of his
bargemen, by name Level, tore his shirt into shreds, and made a sling with them for the
broken limb. They then collected five other seamen, by whose assistance they succeeded at
length in getting the boat afloat; for it had grounded with the falling tide. Nisbet took one of
the oars and ordered the steersman to go close under the guns of the battery, that they might
be safe from its tremendous fire. Hearing his voice, Nelson roused himself, and desired to be
lifted up in the boat that he might look about him. Nisbet raised him up; but nothing could be
seen except the firing of the guns on shore, and what could be discerned by their flashes upon
a stormy sea. In a few minutes a general shriek was heard from the crew of the FOX, which
had received a shot under water, and went down. Ninety-seven men were lost in her: 83 were
saved, many by Nelson himself, whose exertions on this occasion greatly increased the pain
and danger of his wound. The first ship which the boat could reach happened to be the
SEAHORSE; but nothing could induce him to go on board, though he was assured that if
they attempted to row to another ship it might be at the risk of his life. "I had rather suffer
death," he replied, "than alarm Mrs. Freemantle, by letting her see me in this state, when I
can give her no tidings whatever of her husband." They pushed on for the THESEUS. When
they came alongside he peremptorily refused all assistance in getting on board, so impatient
was he that the boat should return, in hopes that it might save a few more from the FOX. He
desired to have only a single rope thrown over the side, which he twisted round his left hand,
saying "Let me alone; I have yet my legs left and one arm. Tell the surgeon to make haste and
get his instruments. I know I must lose my right arm, so the sooner it is off the better." The
spirit which he displayed in jumping up the ship's side astonished everybody.
Freemantle had been severely wounded in the right arm soon after the admiral. He was
fortunate enough to find a boat on the beach, and got instantly to his ship. Thompson was
wounded: Bowen killed, to the great regret of Nelson: as was also one of his own officers,
Lieutenant Weatherhead, who had followed him from the AGAMEMNON, and whom he
greatly and deservedly esteemed. Troubridge, meantime, fortunately for his party, missed the
mole in the darkness, but pushed on shore under the batteries, close to the south end of the
citadel. Captain Waller, of the EMERALD, and two or three other boats, landed at the same
time. The surf was so high that many others put back. The boats were instantly filled with
water and stove against the rocks; and most of the ammunition in the men's pouches was
wetted. Having collected a few men they pushed on to the great square, hoping there to find
the admiral and the rest of the force. The ladders were all

56
lost, so that they could make no immediate attempt on the citadel; but they sent a sergeant
with two of the town's-people to summon it: this messenger never returned; and Troubridge
having waited about an hour in painful expectation of his friends, marched to join Captains
Hood and Miller, who had effected their landing to the south-west. They then endeavoured to
procure some intelligence of the admiral and the rest of the officers, but without success. By
daybreak they had gathered together about eighty marines, eighty pikemen, and one hundred
and eighty small-arm seamen; all the survivors of those who had made good their landing.
They obtained some ammunition from the prisoners whom they had taken, and marched on to
try what could be done at the citadel without ladders. They found all the streets commanded
by field-pieces, and several thousand Spaniards, with about a hundred French, under arms,
approaching by every avenue. Finding himself without provisions, the powder wet, and no
possibility of obtaining either stores or reinforcements from the ships, the boats being lost,
Troubridge with great presence of mind, sent Captain Samuel Hood with a flag of truce to the
governor to say he was prepared to burn the town, and would instantly set fire to it if the
Spaniards approached one inch nearer. This, however, if he were compelled to do it, he
should do with regret, for he had no wish to injure the inhabitants;and he was ready to treat
upon these terms--that the British troops should re- embark, with all their arms of every kind,
and take their own boats, if they were saved, or be provided with such others as might be
wanting; they, on their part, engaging that the squadron should not molest the town, or any of
the Canary Islands: all prisoners on both sides to be given up. When these terms were
proposed the governor made answer, that the English ought to surrender as prisoners of war;
but Captain Hood replied, he was instructed to say, that if the terms were not accepted in five
minutes, Captain Troubridge would set the town on fire and attack the Spaniards at the point
of the bayonet. Satisfied with his success, which was indeed sufficiently complete, and
respecting, like a brave and honourable man, the gallantry of his enemy, the Spaniard
acceded to the proposal, found boats to re-embark them, their own having all been dashed to
pieces in landing, and before they parted gave every man a loaf and a pint of wine.
"And here," says Nelson in his journal, "it is right we should notice the noble and generous
conduct of Don Juan Antonio Gutierrez, the Spanish governor. The moment the terms were
agreed to, he directed our wounded men to be received into the hospitals, and all our people
to be supplied with the best provisions that could be procured; and made it known that the
ships were at liberty to send on shore and purchase whatever refreshments they were in want
of during the time they might be off the island." A youth, by name Don Bernardo Collagon,
stripped himself of his shirt to make bandages for one of those Englishmen against whom,
not an hour before, he had been engaged in battle. Nelson wrote to thank the governor for the
humanity which he had displayed. Presents were interchanged between them. Sir Horatio
offered to take charge of his despatches for the Spanish Government, and thus actually
became the first messenger to Spain of his own defeat.
The total loss of the English in killed, wounded, and drowned, amounted to 250. Nelson
made no mention of his own wound in his official despatches; but in a private letter to Lord
St. Vincent--the first which he wrote with his left hand--he shows himself to have been
deeply affected by the failure of this enterprise. "I am become," he said, "a burthen

57
to my friends, and useless to my country; but by my last letter you will perceive my anxiety
for the promotion of my son-in-law, Josiah Nisbet. When I leave your command I become
dead to the world--"I go hence, and am no more seen." If from poor Bowen's loss, you think
it proper to oblige me, I rest confident you will do it. The boy is under obligations to me, but
he repaid me by bringing me from the mole of Santa Cruz. I hope you will be able to give me
a frigate to convey the remains of my carcass to England." "A left-handed admiral," he said
in a subsequent letter, "will never again be considered as useful; therefore the sooner I get to
a very humble cottage the better, and make room for a sounder man to serve the state." His
first letter to Lady Nelson was written under the same opinion, but in a more cheerful strain.
"It was the chance of war," said he, "and I have great reason to be thankful: and I know it will
add much to your pleasure to find that Josiah, under God's providence, was principally
instrumental in saving my life. I shall not be surprised if I am neglected and forgotten:
probably I shall no longer be considered as useful; however, I shall feel rich if I continue to
enjoy your affection. I beg neither you nor my father will think much of this mishap; my
mind has long been made up to such an event."
His son-in-law, according to his wish, was immediately promoted; and honours enough to
heal his wounded spirit awaited him in England. Letters were addressed to him by the first
lord of the Admiralty, and by his steady friend the Duke of Clarence, to congratulate him on
his return, covered as he was with glory. He assured the Duke, in his reply, that not a scrap of
that ardour with which he had hitherto served his king had been shot away. The freedom of
the cities of Bristol and London were transmitted to him; he was invested with the Order of
the Bath, and received a pension of L1000 a-year. The memorial which, as a matter of form,
he was called upon to present on this occasion, exhibited an extraordinary catalogue of
services performed during the war. It stated that he had been in four actions with the fleets of
the enemy, and in three actions with boats employed in cutting out of harbour, in destroying
vessels, and in taking three towns. He had served on shore with the army four months, and
commanded the batteries at the sieges of Basti and Calvi: he had assisted at the capture of
seven sail of the line, six frigates, four corvettes, and eleven privateers: taken and destroyed
near fifty sail of merchant vessels, and actually been engaged against the enemy upwards of a
hundred and twenty times, in which service he had lost his right eye and right arm, and been
severely wounded and bruised in his body.
His sufferings from the lost limb were long and painful. A nerve had been taken up in one of
the ligatures at the time of the operation; and the ligature, according to the practice of the
French surgeons, was of silk instead of waxed thread; this produced a constant irritation and
discharge; and the ends of the ligature being pulled every day, in hopes of bringing it away,
occasioned fresh agony. He had scarcely any intermission of pain, day or night, for three
months after his return to England. Lady Nelson, at his earnest request, attended the dressing
of his arm, till she had acquired sufficient resolution and skill to dress it herself. One night,
during this state of suffering, after a day of constant pain, Nelson retired early to bed, in hope
of enloymg some respite by means of laudanum. He was at that time lodging in Bond Street,
and the family were soon disturbed by a mob knocking loudly and violently at the door. The
news of Duncan's victory had been made

58
public, and the house was not illuminated. But when the mob were told that Admiral Nelson
lay there in bed, badly wounded, the foremost of them made answer: "You shall hear no more
from us to-night:" and in fact, the feeling of respect and sympathy was communicated from
one to another with such effect that, under the confusion of such a night, the house was not
molested again.
About the end of November, after a night of sound sleep, he found the arm nearly free from
pain. The surgeon was immediately sent for to examine it; and the ligature came away with
the slightest touch. From that time it began to heal. As soon as he thought his health
established, he sent the following form of thanksgiving to the minister of St. George's,
Hanover Square:--"An officer desires to return thanks to Almighty God for his perfect
recovery from a severe wound, and also for the many mercies bestowed on him."
Not having been in England till now, since he lost his eye, he went to receive a year's pay as
smart money; but could not obtain payment, because he had neglected to bring a certificate
from a surgeon that the sight was actually destroyed. A little irritated that this form should be
insisted upon, because, though the fact was not apparent, he thought it was sufficiently
notorious, he procured a certificate at the same time for the loss of his arm; saying, they
might just as well doubt one as the other. This put him in good humour with himself, and
with the clerk who had offended him. On his return to the office, the clerk, finding it was
only the annual pay of a captain, observed, he thought it had been more. "Oh!" replied
Nelson,"this is only for an eye. In a few days I shall come for an arm; and in a little time
longer, God knows, most probably for a leg." Accordingly he soon afterwards went, and with
perfect good humour exhibited the certificate of the loss of his arm.

59
Chapter 5. 1798
Nelson rejoins Earl St. Vincent in the VANGUARD--Sails in Pursuit of the French in Egypt-
-Returns to Sicily, and sails again to Egypt-- Battle of the Nile.
*
EARLY in the year 1798, Sir Horatio Nelson hoisted his flag in the VANGUARD, and was
ordered to rejoin Earl St. Vincent. Upon his departure, his father addressed him with that
affectionate solemnity by which all his letters were distinguished. "I trust in the Lord," said
he, "that He will prosper your going out and your coming in. I earnestly desired once more to
see you, and that wish has been heard. If I should presume to say, I hope to see you again, the
question would be readily asked, How old art thou? VALE! VALE! DOMINE, VALE!" It is
said that a gloomy foreboding hung on the spirits of Lady Nelson at their parting. This could
have arisen only from the dread of losing him by the chance of war. Any apprehension of
losing his affections could hardly have existed, for all his correspondence to this time shows
that he thought himself happy in his marriage; and his private character had hitherto been as
spotless as his public conduct. One of the last things he said to her was, that his own ambition
was satisfied, but that he went to raise her to that rank in which he had long wished to see
her.
Immediately on his rejoining the fleet, he was despatched to the Mediterranean with a small
squadron, in order to ascertain, if possible, the object of the great expedition which at that
time was fitting out under Buonaparte at Toulon. The defeat of this armament, whatever
might be its destination, was deemed by the British government an object paramount to every
other; and Earl St. Vincent was directed, if he thought it necessary, to take his whole force
into the Mediterranean, to relinquish, for that purpose, the blockade of the Spanish fleet, as a
thing of inferior moment; but if he should deem a detachment sufficient, "I think it almost
necessary," said the first lord of the Admiralty in his secret instructions, "to suggest to you
the propriety of putting it under Sir Horatio Nelson." It is to the honour of Earl St. Vincent
that he had already made the same choice. This appointment to a service in which so much
honour might be acquired, gave great offence to the senior admirals of the fleet. Sir William
Parker, who was a very excellent naval officer, and as gallant a man as any in the navy, and
Sir John Orde, who on all occasions of service had acquitted himself with great honour, each
wrote to Lord Spencer, complaining that so marked a preference should have been given to a
junior of the same fleet. This resentment is what most men in a like case would feel; and if
the preference thus given to Nelson had not originated in a clear perception that (as his friend
Collingwood said of him a little while before) his spirit was equal to all undertakings, and his
resources fitted to all occasions, an injustice would have been done to them by his
appointment. But if the service were conducted with undeviating respect to seniority, the
naval and military character would soon be brought down to the dead level of mediocrity.

60
The armament at Toulon consisted of thirteen ships of the line, seven forty-gun frigates, with
twenty-four smaller vessels of war, and nearly 200 transports. Mr. Udney, our consul at
Leghorn, was the first person who procured certain intelligence of the enemy's design against
Malta; and, from his own sagacity, foresaw that Egypt must be their after object. Nelson
sailed from Gibraltar on the 9th of May, with the VANGUARD, ORION, and
ALEXANDER, seventy-fours; the CAROLINE, FLORA, EMERALD, and TERPSICHORE,
frigates; and the BONNE CITOYENNE, sloop of war, to watch this formidable armament.
On the 19th, when they were in the Gulf of Lyons, a gale came on from the N.W. It
moderated so much on the 20th as to enable them to get their top-gallant masts and yards
aloft. After dark it again began to blow strong, but the ships had been prepared for a gale, and
therefore Nelson's mind was easy. Shortly after midnight, however, his main-topmast went
over the side, and the mizen- topmast soon afterward. The night was so tempestuous that it
was impossible for any signal either to be seen or heard; and Nelson determined, as soon as it
should be daybreak, to wear, and scud before the gale; but at half-past three the fore-mast
went in three pieces, and the bowsprit was found to be sprung in three places.
When day broke they succeeded in wearing the ship with a remnant of the spritsail. This was
hardly to have been expected. The VANGUARD was at that time twenty-five leagues south
of the island of Hieres; with her head lying to the N.E., and if she had not wore, the ship must
have drifted to Corsica. Captain Ball, in the ALEXANDER, took her in tow, to carry her into
the Sardinian harbour of St. Pietro. Nelson, apprehensive that this attempt might endanger
both vessels, ordered him to cast off; but that excellent officer, with a spirit like his
commanders, replied, he was confident he could save the VANGUARD, and, by God's help,
he would do it. There had been a previous coolness between these great men; but from this
time Nelson became fully sensible of the extraordinary talents of Captain Ball, and a sincere
friendship subsisted between them during the remainder of their lives. "I ought not," said the
admiral, writing to his wife--"I ought not to call what has happened to the VANGUARD by
the cold name of accident: I believe firmly it was the Almighty's goodness, to check my
consummate vanity. I hope it has made me a better officer, as I feel confident it has made me
a better man. Figure to yourself, on Sunday evening at sunset, a vain man walking in his
cabin, with a squadron around him, who looked up to their chief to lead them to glory, and in
whom their chief placed the firmest reliance that the proudest ships of equal numbers
belonging to France would have lowered their flags; figure to yourself, on Monday morning,
when the sun rose, this proud man, his ship dismasted, his fleet dispersed, and himself in such
distress that the meanest frigate out of France would have been an unwelcome guest." Nelson
had, indeed, more reason to refuse the cold name of accident to this tempest than he was then
aware of, for on that very day the French fleet sailed from Toulon, and must have passed
within a few leagues of his little squadron, which was thus preserved by the thick weather
that came on.
The British Government at this time, with a becoming spirit, gave orders that any port in the
Mediterranean should be considered as hostile where the governor or chief magistrate should
refuse to let our ships of war procure supplies of provisions, or of any article which they
might require.

61
In these orders the ports of Sardinia were excepted. The continental possessions of the King
of Sardinia were at this time completely at the mercy of the French, and that prince was now
discovering, when too late, that the terms to which he had consented, for the purpose of
escaping immediate danger, necessarily involved the loss of the dominions which they were
intended to preserve. The citadel of Turin was now occupied by French troops; and his
wretched court feared to afford the common rights of humanity to British ships, lest it should
give the French occasion to seize on the remainder of his dominions--a measure for which it
was certain they would soon make a pretext, if they did not find one. Nelson was informed
that he could not be permitted to enter the port of St Pietro. Regardless of this interdict,
which, under his circumstances, it would have been an act of suicidal folly to have regarded,
he anchored in the harbour; and, by the exertions of Sir James Saumarez, Captain Ball, and
Captain Berry, the VANGUARD was refitted in four days; months would have been
employed in refitting her in England. Nelson, with that proper sense of merit, wherever it was
found, which proved at once the goodness and the greatness of his character, especially
recommended to Earl St. Vincent the carpenter of the ALEXANDER, under whose directions
the ship had been repaired; stating, that he was an old and faithful servant of the Crown, who
had been nearly thirty years a warrant carpenter, and begging most earnestly that the
Commander-in-Chief would recommend him to the particular notice of the Board of
Admiralty. He did not leave the harbour without expressing his sense of the treatment which
he had received there, in a letter to the Viceroy of Sardinia. "Sir," it said, "having, by a gale
of wind, sustained some trifling damages, I anchored a small part of his Majesty's fleet under
my orders off this island, and was surprised to hear, by an officer sent by the governor, that
admittance was to be refused to the flag of his Britannic Majesty into this port. When I
reflect, that my most gracious sovereign is the oldest, I believe, and certainly the most
faithful ally which the King of Sardinia ever had, I could feel the sorrow which it must have
been to his majesty to have given such an order; and also for your excellency, who had to
direct its execution. I cannot but look at the African shore, where the followers of Mahomet
are performing the part of the good Samaritan, which I look for in vain at St. Peter's, where it
is said the Christian religion is professed."
The delay which was thus occasioned was useful to him in many respects; it enabled him to
complete his supply of water, and to receive a reinforcement which Earl St. Vincent, being
himself reinforced from England, was enabled to send him. It consisted of the best ships of
his fleet; the CULLODEN, seventy-four, Captain T.Troubridge; GOLIATH, seventy-four,
Captain T.Foley; MINOTAUR, seventy-four, Captain T. Louis; DEFENCE, seventy-four,
Captain John Peyton; BELLEROPHON, seventy-four, Captain H.D.E.Darby; MAJESTIC,
seventy-four, Captain G. B. Westcott; ZEALOUS, seventy-four, Captain S. Hood;
SWIFTSURE, seventy-four, Captain B. Hallowell; THESEUS, seventy-four, Captain R. W.
Miller; AUDACIOUS, seventy-four, Captain Davidge Gould. The LEANDER, fifty, Captain
T. E. Thompson, was afterwards added. These ships were made ready for the service as soon
as Earl St. Vincent received advice from England that he was to be reinforced. As soon as the
reinforcement was seen from the mast-head of the admiral's ship, off Cadiz Bay, signal was
immediately made to Captain Troubridge to put to sea; and he was out of sight before the
ships from home cast anchor in the British station. Troubridge took with him no instructions
to Nelson as to the course

62
he was to steer, nor any certain account of the enemy's destination; everything was left to his
own judgment. Unfortunately, the frigates had been separated from him in the tempest and
had not been able to rejoin: they sought him unsuccessfully in the Bay of Naples, where they
obtained no tidings of his course: and he sailed without them.
The first news of the enemy's armament was that it had surprised Malta, Nelson formed a
plan for attacking it while at anchor at Gozo; but on the 22nd of June intelligence reached
him that the French had left that island on the 16th, the day after their arrival. It was clear that
their destination was eastward--he thought for Egypt--and for Egypt, therefore, he made all
sail. Had the frigates been with him, he could scarcely have failed to gain information of the
enemy; for want of them, he only spoke three vessels on the way: two came from Alexandria,
one from the Archipelago, and neither of them had seen anything of the French. He arrived
off Alexandria on the 28th, and the enemy were not there, neither was there any account of
them; but the governor was endeavouring to put the city in a state of defence, having received
advice from Leghorn that the French expedition was intended against Egypt, after it had
taken Malta. Nelson then shaped his course to the northward for Caramania, and steered from
thence along the southern side of Candia, carrying a press of sail both night and day, with a
contrary wind. It would have been his delight, he said, to have tried Bonaparte on a wind. It
would have been the delight of Europe, too, and the blessing of the world, if that fleet had
been overtaken with its general on board. But of the myriads and millions of human beings
who would have been preserved by that day's victory, there is not one to whom such essential
benefit would have resulted as to Bonaparte himself. It would have spared him his defeat at
Acre--his only disgrace; for to have been defeated by Nelson upon the seas would not have
been disgraceful; it would have spared him all his after enormities. Hitherto his career had
been glorious; the baneful principles of his heart had never yet passed his lips; history would
have represented him as a soldier of fortune, who had faithfully served the cause in which he
engaged; and whose career had been distinguished by a series of successes unexampled in
modern times. A romantic obscurity would have hung over the expedition to Egypt, and he
would have escaped the perpetration of those crimes which have incarnadined his soul with a
deeper dye than that of the purple for which he committed them--those acts of perfidy,
midnight murder, usurpation, and remorseless tyranny, which have consigned his name to
universal execration, now and for ever.
Conceiving that when an officer is not successful in his plans it is absolutely necessary that
he should explain the motives upon which they were founded, Nelson wrote at this time an
account and vindication of his conduct for having carried the fleet to Egypt. The objection
which he anticipated was that he ought not to have made so long a voyage without more
certain information. "My answer," said he, "is ready. Who was I to get it from? The
governments of Naples and Sicily either knew not, or chose to keep me in ignorance. Was I
to wait patiently until I heard certain accounts? If Egypt were their object, before I could hear
of them they would have been in India. To do nothing was disgraceful; therefore I made use
of my understanding. I am before your lordships' judgment; and if, under all circumstances, it
is decided that I am wrong, I ought, for the sake of our country, to be superseded; for at this
moment, when I know the French are not in Alexandria, I hold the same opinion as off Cape
Passaro--that, under all

63
circumstances, I was right in steering for Alexandria; and by that opinion I must stand or
fall." Captain Ball, to whom he showed this paper, told him he should recommend a friend
never to begin a defence of his conduct before he was accused of error: he might give the
fullest reasons for what he had done, expressed in such terms as would evince that he had
acted from the strongest conviction of being right; and of course he must expect that the
public would view it in the same light. Captain Ball judged rightly of the public, whose first
impulses, though, from want of sufficient information, they must frequently be erroneous, are
generally founded upon just feelings. But the public are easily misled, and there are always
persons ready to mislead them. Nelson had not yet attained that fame which compels envy to
be silent; and when it was known in England that he had returned after an unsuccessful
pursuit, it was said that he deserved impeachment; and Earl St. Vincent was severely
censured for having sent so young an officer upon so important a service.
Baffled in his pursuit, he returned to Sicily. The Neapolitan ministry had determined to give
his squadron no assistance, being resolved to do nothing which could possibly endanger their
peace with the French Directory; by means, however, of Lady Hamilton's influence at court,
he procured secret orders to the Sicilian governors; and under those orders obtained
everything which he wanted at Syracuse--a timely supply; without which, he always said, he
could not have recommenced his pursuit with any hope of success. "It is an old saying," said
he in his letter, "that the devil's children have the devil's luck. I cannot to this moment learn,
beyond vague conjecture, where the French fleet have gone to; and having gone a round of
600 leagues, at this season of the year, with an expedition incredible, here I am, as ignorant
of the situation of the enemy as I was twenty-seven days ago. Every moment I have to regret
the frigates having left me; had one-half of them been with me, I could not have wanted
information. Should the French be so strongly secured in port that I cannot get at them, I shall
immediately shift my flag into some other ship, and send the VANGUARD to Naples to be
refitted; for hardly any person but myself would have continued on service so long in such a
wretched state." Vexed, however, and disappointed as he was, Nelson, with the true spirit of a
hero, was still full of hope. "Thanks to your exertions," said he, writing to Sir. William and
Lady Hamilton, "we have victualled and watered; and surely watering at the fountain of
Arethusa, we must have victory. We shall sail with the first breeze; and be assured I will
return either crowned with laurel or covered with cypress." Earl St. Vincent he assured, that if
the French were above water he would find them out: he still held his opinion that they were
bound for Egypt: "but," said he to the First Lord of the Admiralty, "be they bound to the
Antipodes, your lordship may rely that I will not lose a moment in bringing them to action."
On the 25th of July he sailed from Syracuse for the Morea. Anxious beyond measure, and
irritated that the enemy should so long have eluded him, the tediousness of the nights made
him impatient; and the officer of the watch was repeatedly called on to let him know the
hour, and convince him, who measured time by his own eagerness, that it was not yet
daybreak. The squadron made the Gulf of Coron on the 28th. Troubridge entered the port,
and returned with intelligence that the French fleet had been seen about four weeks before
steering to the S.E. from Candia. Nelson then determined immediately to

64
return to Alexandria; and the British fleet accordingly, with every sail set, stood once more
for the coast of Egypt. On the 1st of August, about 10 in the morning, they came in sight of
Alexandria: the port had been vacant and solitary when they saw it last; it was now crowded
with ships; and they perceived with exultation that the tri-coloured flag was flying upon the
walls. At four in the afternoon, Captain Hood, in the ZEALOUS, made the signal for the
enemy's fleet. For many preceding days Nelson had hardly taken either sleep or food: he now
ordered his dinner to be served, while preparations were making for battle; and when his
officers rose from table, and went to their separate stations, he said to them, "Before this time
to-morrow I shall have gained a peerage or Westminster Abbey."
The French, steering direct for Candia, had made an angular passage for Alexandria; whereas
Nelson, in pursuit of them, made straight for that place, and thus materially shortened the
distance. The comparative smallness of his force made it necessary to sail in close order, and
it covered a less space than it would have done if the frigates had been with him: the weather
also was constantly hazy. These circumstances prevented the English from discovering the
enemy on the way to Egypt, though it appeared, upon examining the journals of the French
officers taken in the action, that the two fleets must actually have crossed on the night of the
22nd of June. During the return to Syracuse, the chances of falling in with them were become
fewer.
Why Buonaparte, having effected his landing, should not have suffered the fleet to return, has
never yet been explained. This much is certain, that it was detained by his command, though,
with his accustomed falsehood, he accused Admiral Brueys, after that officer's death, of
having lingered on the coast contrary to orders. The French fleet arrived at Alexandria on the
1st of July, and Brueys, not being able to enter the port, which time and neglect had ruined,
moored his ships in Aboukir Bay, in a strong and compact line of battle; the headmost vessel,
according to his own account, being as close as possible to a shoal on the N.W., and the rest
of the fleet forming a kind of curve along the line of deep water, so as not to be turned by any
means in the S.W. By Buonaparte's desire he had offered a reward of 10,000 livres to any
pilot of the country who would carry the squadron in, but none could be found who would
venture to take charge of a single vessel drawing more than twenty feet. He had therefore
made the best of his situation, and chosen the strongest position which he could possibly take
in an open road. The commissary of the fleet said they were moored in such a manner as to
bid defiance to a force more than double their own. This presumption could not then be
thought unreasonable. Admiral Barrington, when moored in a similar manner off St. Lucia, in
the year 1778, beat off the Comte d'Estaign in three several attacks, though his force was
inferior by almost one-third to that which assailed it. Here, the advantage in numbers, both in
ships, guns, and men, was in favour of the French. They had thirteen ships of the line and
four frigates, carrying 1196 guns and 11,230 men. The English had the same number of ships
of the line and one fifty-gun ship, carrying 1012 guns and 8068 men. The English ships were
all seventy-fours; the French had three eighty-gun ships, and one three-decker of one hundred
and twenty.

65
During the whole pursuit it had been Nelson's practice, whenever circumstances would
permit, to have his captains on board the VANGUARD, and explain to them his own ideas of
the different and best modes of attack, and such plans as he proposed to execute on falling in
with the enemy, whatever their situation might be. There is no possible position, it is said,
which he did not take into calculation. His officers were thus fully acquainted with his
principles of tactics; and such was his confidence in their abilities that the only thing
determined upon, in case they should find the French at anchor, was for the ships to form as
most convenient for their mutual support, and to anchor by the stern. "First gain the victory,"
he said,"and then make the best use of it you can." The moment he perceived the position of
the French, that intuitive genius with which Nelson was endowed displayed itself; and it
instantly struck him that where there was room for an enemy's ship to swing, there was room
for one of ours to anchor. The plan which he intended to pursue, therefore, was to keep
entirely on the outer side of the French line, and station his ships, as far as he was able, one
on the outer bow, and another on the outer quarter, of each of the enemy's. This plan of
doubling on the enemy's ships was projected by Lord Hood, when he designed to attack the
French fleet at their anchorage in Gourjean Road. Lord Hood found it impossible to make the
attempt; but the thought was not lost upon Nelson, who acknowledged himself, on this
occasion, indebted for it to his old and excellent commander. Captain Berry, when he
comprehended the scope of the design, exclaimed with transport, "If we succeed, what will
the world say ?" "There is no IF in the case," replied the admiral: "that we shall succeed is
certain; who may live to tell the story is a very different question."
As the squadron advanced, they were assailed by a shower of shot and shells from the
batteries on the island, and the enemy opened a steady fire from the starboard side of their
whole line, within half gunshot distance, full into the bows of our van ships. It was received
in silence: the men on board every ship were employed aloft in furling sails, and below in
tending the braces and making ready for anchoring. A miserable sight for the French; who,
with all their skill, and all their courage, and all their advantages of numbers and situation,
were upon that element on which, when the hour of trial comes, a Frenchman has no hope.
Admiral Brueys was a brave and able man; yet the indelible character of his country broke
out in one of his letters, wherein he delivered it as his private opinion, that the English had
missed him, because, not being superior in force, they did not think it prudent to try their
strength with him. The moment was now come in which he was to be undeceived.
A French brig was instructed to decoy the English by manoeuvring so as to tempt them
toward a shoal lying off the island of Bekier; but Nelson either knew the danger or suspected
some deceit; and the lure was unsuccessful. Captain Foley led the way in the GOLIATH,
outsailing the ZEALOUS, which for some minutes disputed this post of honour with him. He
had long conceived that if the enemy were moored in line of battle in with the land, the best
plan of attack would be to lead between them and the shore, because the French guns on that
side were not likely to be manned, nor even ready for action. Intending, therefore, to fix
himself on the inner bow of the GUERRIER, he kept as near the edge of the bank as the
depth of water would admit; but his anchor hung, and having opened his fire he drifted to the
second ship, the CONQUERANT, before it was

66
clear; then anchored by the stern inside of her, and in ten minutes shot away her mast. Hood,
in the ZEALOUS, perceiving this, took the station which the GOLIATH intended to have
occupied, and totally disabled the GUERRIER in twelve minutes. The third ship which
doubled the enemy's van was the ORION, Sir J. Saumarez; she passed to windward of the
ZEALOUS, and opened her larboard guns as long as they bore on GUERRIER; then, passing
inside the GOLIATH, sunk a frigate which annoyed her, hauled round toward the French
line, and anchoring inside, between the fifth and sixth ships from the GUERRIER, took her
station on the larboard bow of the FRANKLIN and the quarter of the PEUPLE
SOUVERAIN, receiving and returning the fire of both. The sun was now nearly down. The
AUDACIOUS, Captain Could, pouring a heavy fire into the GUERRIER and the
CONQUERANT, fixed herself on the larboard bow of the latter, and when that ship struck,
passed on to the PEUPLE SOUVERAIN. The THESEUS, Capt Miller, followed, brought
down the GUERRIER's remaining main and mizzen masts, then anchored inside of the
SPARTIATE, the third in the French line.
While these advanced ships doubled the French line, the VANGUARD was the first that
anchored on the outer side of the enemy, within half pistol-shot of their third ship, the
SPARTIATE. Nelson had six colours flying in different parts of his rigging, lest they should
be shot away; that they should be struck, no British admiral considers as a possibility. He
veered half a cable, and instantly opened a tremendous fire; under cover of which the other
four ships of his division, the MINOTAUR, BELLEROPHON, DEFENCE, and MAJESTIC,
sailed on ahead of the admiral. In a few minutes, every man stationed at the first six guns in
the fore part of the VANGUARD's deck was killed or wounded. These guns were three times
cleared. Captain Louis, in the MINOTAUR, anchored just ahead, and took off the fire of the
AQUILON, the fourth in the enemy's line. The BELLEROPHON, Captain Darby, passed
ahead, and dropped her stern anchor on the starboard bow of the ORIENT, seventh in the
line, Brueys' own ship, of one hundred and twenty guns, whose difference of force was in
proportion of more than seven to three, and whose weight of ball, from the lower deck alone,
exceeded that from the whole broadside of the BELLEROPHON. Captain Peyton, in the
DEFENCE, took his station ahead of the MINOTAUR, and engaged the FRANKLIN, the
sixth in the line, by which judicious movement the British line remained unbroken. The
MAJESTIC, Captain Westcott, got entangled with the main rigging of one of the French
ships astern of the ORIENT, and suffered dreadfully from that three-decker's fire; but she
swung clear, and closely engaging the HEUREUX, the ninth ship on the starboard bow,
received also the fire of the TONNANT, which was the eighth in the line. The other four
ships of the British squadron, having been detached previous to the discovery of the French,
were at a considerable distance when the action began. It commenced at half after six; about
seven night closed, and there was no other light than that from the fire of the contending
fleets.
Troubridge, in the CULLODEN, then foremost of the remaining ships, was two leagues
astern. He came on sounding, as the others had done: as he advanced, the increasing darkness
increased the difficulty of the navigation; and suddenly, after having found eleven fathoms
water, before the lead could be hove again he was fast aground; nor could all his own
exertions, joined with those of the LEANDER and the MUTINE brig, which came to his
assistance, get him off in time to bear a part in the action. His ship, however,

67
served as a beacon to the ALEXANDER and SWIFTSURE, which would else, from the
course which they were holding, have gone considerably further on the reef, and must
inevitably have been lost. These ships entered the bay, and took their stations in the darkness,
in a manner still spoken of with admiration by all who remember it. Captain Hallowell, in the
SWIFTSURE, as he was bearing down, fell in with what seemed to be a strange sail. Nelson
had directed his ships to hoist four lights horizontally at the mizzen peak as soon as it became
dark; and this vessel had no such distinction. Hallowell, however, with great judgment,
ordered his men not to fire: if she was an enemy, he said, she was in too disabled a state to
escape; but from her sails being loose, and the way in which her head was, it was probable
she might be an English ship. It was the BELLEROPHON, overpowered by the huge
ORIENT: her lights had gone overboard, nearly 200 of her crew were killed or wounded, all
her masts and cables had been shot away; and she was drifting out of the line toward the
leeside of the bay. Her station, at this important time, was occupied by the SWIFTSURE,
which opened a steady fire on the quarter of the FRANKLIN and the bows of the French
admiral. At the same instant, Captain Ball, with the ALEXANDER, passed under his stern,
and anchored within-side on his larboard quarter, raking; him, and keeping up a severe fire of
musketry upon his decks. The last ship which arrived to complete the destruction of the
enemy was the LEANDER. Captain Thompson, finding that nothing could be done that night
to get off the CULLODEN, advanced with the intention of anchoring athwart-hawse of the
ORIENT. The FRANKLIN was so near her ahead that there was not room for him to pass
clear of the two; he therefore took his station athwart-hawse of the latter in such a position as
to rake both.
The two first ships of the French line had been dismasted within a quarter of an hour after the
commencement of the action; and the others had in that time suffered so severely that victory
was already certain. The third, fourth, and fifth were taken possession of at half-past eight.
Meantime Nelson received a severe wound on the head from a piece of langridge shot.
Captain Berry caught him in his arms as he was falling. The great effusion of blood
occasioned an apprehension that the wound was mortal: Nelson himself thought so; a large
flap of the skin of the forehead, cut from the bone, had fallen over one eye; and the other
being blind, he was in total darkness. When he was carried down, the surgeon--in the midst
of a scene scarcely to be conceived by those who have never seen a cockpit in time of action,
and the heroism which is displayed amid its horrors,--with a natural and pardonable
eagerness, quitted the poor fellow then under his hands, that he might instantly attend the
admiral. "No!" said Nelson, "I will take my turn with my brave fellows." Nor would he suffer
his own wound to be examined till every man who had been previously wounded was
properly attended to. Fully believing that the wound was mortal, and that he was about to die,
as he had ever desired, in battle, and in victory, he called the chaplain, and desired him to
deliver what he supposed to be his dying remembrance to lady Nelson; he then sent for
Captain Louis on board from the MINOTAUR, that he might thank him personally for the
great assistance which he had rendered to the VANGUARD; and ever mindful of those who
deserved to be his friends, appointed Captain Hardy from the brig to the command of his own
ship, Captain Berry

68
having to go home with the news of the victory. When the surgeon came in due time to exa-
mine his wound (for it was in vain to entreat him to let it be examined sooner), the most
anxious silence prevailed; and the joy of the wounded men, and of the whole crew, when they
heard that the hurt was merely superficial, gave Nelson deeper pleasure than the unexpected
assurance that his life was in no danger. The surgeon requested, and as far as he could,
ordered him to remain quiet; but Nelson could not rest. He called for his secretary, Mr.
Campbell, to write the despatches. Campbell had himself been wounded, and was so affected
at the blind and suffering state of the admiral that he was unable to write. The chaplain was
then sent for; but before he came, Nelson with his characteristic eagerness took the pen, and
contrived to trace a few words, marking his devout sense of the success which had already
been obtained. He was now left alone; when suddenly a cry was heard on the deck that the
ORIENT was on fire. In the confusion he found his way up, unassisted and unnoticed; and, to
the astonishment of every one, appeared on the quarter-decks where he immediately gave
order that the boats should be sent to the relief of the enemy.
It was soon after nine that the fire on, board the ORIENT broke out. Brueys was dead; he had
received three wounds, yet would not leave his post: a fourth cut him almost in two. He
desired not to be carried below, but to be left to die upon deck. The flames soon mastered his
ship. Her sides had just been painted; and the oil-jars and paint buckets were lying on the
poop. By the prodigious light of this conflagration, the situation of the two fleets could now
be perceived, the colours of both being clearly distinguishable. About ten o'clock the ship
blew up, with a shock which was felt to the very bottom of every vessel. Many of her officers
and men jumped overboard, some clinging to the spars and pieces of wreck with which the
sea was strewn, others swimming to escape from the destruction which they momently
dreaded. Some were picked up by our boats; and some even in the heat and fury of the action
were dragged into the lower ports of the nearest British ships by the British sailors. The
greater part of her crew, however, stood the danger till the last, and continued to fire from the
lower deck. This tremendous explosion was followed by a silence not less awful: the firing
immediately ceased on both sides; and the first sound which broke the silence, was the dash
of her shattered masts and yards, falling into the water from the vast height to which they had
been exploded. It is upon record that a battle between two armies was once broken off by an
earthquake. Such an event would be felt like a miracle; but no incident in war, produced by
human means, has ever equalled the sublimity of this co-instantaneous pause, and all its
circumstances.
About seventy of the ORIENT's crew were saved by the English boats. Among the many
hundreds who perished were the commodore, Casa-Bianca, and his son, a brave boy, only ten
years old. They were seen floating on a shattered mast when the ship blew up. She had
money on board (the plunder of Malta) to the amount of L600,000 sterling. The masses of
burning wreck, which were scattered by the explosion, excited for some moments
apprehensions in the English which they had never felt from any other danger. Two large
pieces fell into the main and fore tops of the SWIFTSURE without injuring any person. A
port-fire also fell into the main-royal of the ALEXANDER; the fire which it occasioned was
speedily extinguished. Captain Ball had provided, as far as human foresight could provide,
against any such danger. All the shrouds and sails of his ship, not

69
absolutely necessary for its immediate management, were thoroughly wetted, and so rolled
up that they were as hard and as little inflammable as so many solid cylinders.
The firing recommenced with the ships to leeward of the centre, and continued till about
three. At daybreak, the GUILLAUME TELL and the GENEREUX, the two rear ships of the
enemy, were the only French ships of the line which had their colours flying; they cut their
cables in the forenoon, not having been engaged, and stood out to sea, and two frigates with
them. The ZEALOUS pursued; but as there was no other ship in a condition to support
Captain Hood, he was recalled. It was generally believed by the officers that if Nelson had
not been wounded, not one of these ships could have escaped. The four certainly could not if
the CULLODEN had got into action; and if the frigates belonging to the squadron had been
present, not one of the enemy's fleet would have left Aboukir Bay. These four vessels,
however, were all that escaped; and the victory was the most complete and glorious in the
annals of naval history. "Victory," said Nelson, "is not a name strong enough for such a
scene:" he called it a conquest. Of thirteen sail of the line, nine were taken and two burned.
Of the four frigates, one was sunk, another, the ARTEMISE, was burned in a villanous
manner by her captain, M. Estandlet, who, having fired a broadside at the THESEUS, struck
his colours, then set fire to the ship and escaped with most of his crew to shore. The British
loss, in killed and wounded, amounted to 895 Westcott was the only captain who fell; 3105
of the French, including the wounded, were sent on shore by cartel, and 5225 perished.
As soon as the conquest was completed, Nelson sent orders through the fleet to return
thanksgiving in every ship for the victory with which Almighty God had blessed his majesty's
arms. The French at Rosetta, who with miserable fear beheld the engagement, were at a loss
to understand the stillness of the fleet during the performance of this solemn duty; but it
seemed to affect many of the prisoners, officers as well as men; and graceless and godless as
the officers were, some of them remarked that it was no wonder such order was Preserved in
the British navy, when the minds of our men could be Impressed with such sentiments after
so great a victory, and at a moment of such confusion. The French at Rosetta, seeing their
four ships sail out of the bay unmolested, endeavoured to persuade themselves that they were
in possession of the place of battle. But it was in vain thus to attempt, against their own secret
and certain conviction, to deceive themselves; and even if they could have succeeded in this,
the bonfires which the Arabs kindled along the whole coast, and over the country, for the
three following nights, would soon have undeceived them. Thousands of Arabs and
Egyptians lined the shore, and covered the house tops during the action, rejoicing in the
destruction which had overtaken their invaders. Long after the battle, innumerable bodies
were seen floating about the bay, in spite of all the exertions which were made to sink them,
as well from fear of pestilence as from the loathing and horror which the sight occasioned.
Great numbers were cast up upon the Isle of Bekier (Nelson's Island, as it has since been
called), and our sailors raised mounds of sand over them. Even after an interval of nearly
three years Dr. Clarke saw them, and assisted in interring heaps of human bodies, which,
having been thrown up by the sea where there were no jackals to devour them, presented a
sight loathsome to humanity. The shore, for an extent of four leagues, was covered with
wreck; and the Arabs found employment for many days in burning on the beach the

70
fragments which were cast up, for the sake of the iron. Part of the ORIENT's main-mast was
picked up by the SWIFTSURE. Captain Hallowell ordered his carpenter to make a coffin of
it; the iron, as well as the wood, was taken from the wreck of the same ship; it was finished as
well and handsomely as the workman's skill and materials would permit; and Hallowell then
sent it to the admiral with the following letter:--"Sir, I have taken the liberty of presenting
you a coffin made from the main mast of L'ORIENT, that when you have finished your
military career in this world you may be buried in one of your trophies. But that that period
may be far distant is the earnest wish of your sincere friend, Benjamin Hallowell."--An
offering so strange, and yet so suited to the occasion, was received by Nelson in the spirit
with which it was sent. As if he felt it good for him, now that he was at the summit of his
wishes, to have death before his eyes, he ordered the coffin to be placed upright in his cabin.
Such a piece of furniture, however, was more suitable to his own feelings than to those of his
guests and attendants; and an old favourite servant entreated him so earnestly to let it be
removed, that at length he consented to have the coffin carried below; but he gave strict
orders that it should be safely stowed, and reserved for the purpose for which its brave and
worthy donor had designed it.
The victory was complete; but Nelson could not pursue it as he would have done for want of
means. Had he been provided with small craft, nothing could have prevented the destruction
of the store-ships and transports in the port of Alexandria: four bomb-vessels would at that
time have burned the whole in a few hours. "Were I to die this moment." said he in his
despatches to the Admiralty, "WANT OF FRIGATES would be found stamped on my heart!
No words of mine can express what I have suffered, and am suffering, for want of them." He
had also to bear up against great bodily suffering: the blow had so shaken his head, that from
its constant and violent aching, and the perpetual sickness which accompanied the pain, he
could scarcely persuade himself that the skull was not fractured. Had it not been for
Troubridge, Ball, Hood, and Hallowell, he declared that he should have sunk under the
fatigue of refitting the squadron. "All," he said, "had done well; but these officers were his
supporters." But, amidst his sufferings and exertions, Nelson could yet think of all the
consequences of his victory; and that no advantage from it might be lost, he despatched an
officer overland to India, with letters to the governor of Bombay, informing him of the arrival
of the French in Egypt, the total destruction of their fleet, and the consequent preservation of
India from any attempt against it on the part of this formidable armament. "He knew that
Bombay," he said, "was their first object, if they could get there; but he trusted that Almighty
God would overthrow in Egypt these pests of the human race. Buonaparte had never yet had
to contend with an English officer, and he would endeavour to make him respect us." This
despatch he sent upon his own responsibility, with letters of credit upon the East India
Company, addressed to the British consuls, vice-consuls, and merchants on his route; Nelson
saying, "that if he had done wrong, he hoped the bills would be paid, and he would repay the
Company; for, as an Englishman, he should be proud that it had been in his power to put our
settlements on their guard." The information which by this means reached India was of great
importance. Orders had just been received for defensive preparations, upon a scale
proportionate to the apprehended danger; and the extraordinary expenses which would
otherwise have been incurred were thus prevented.

71
Nelson was now at the summit of glory; congratulations, rewards, and honours were
showered upon him by all the states, and princes, and powers to whom his victory gave a
respite. The first communication of this nature which he received was from the Turkish
sultan, who, as soon as the invasion of Egypt was known, had called upon "all true believers
to take arms against those swinish infidels the French, that they might deliver these blessed
habitations from their accursed hands;" and who had ordered his "pashas to turn night into
day in their efforts to take vengeance." The present of "his imperial majesty, the powerful,
formidable, and most magnificent Grand Seignior," was a pelisse of sables, with broad
sleeves, valued at 5000 dols.; and a diamond aigrette, valued at 18,000 dols., the most
honourable badge among the Turks; and in this instance more especially honourable, because
it was taken from one of the royal turbans. "If it were worth a million," said Nelson to his
wife, "my pleasure would be to see it in your possession." The sultan also sent, in a spirit
worthy of imitation, a purse of 2000 sequins, to be distributed among the wounded. The
mother of the sultan sent him a box, set with diamonds, valued at L1000. The Czar Paul, in
whom the better part of his strangely compounded nature at this time predominated,
presented him with his portrait, set in diamonds, in a gold box, accompanied with a letter of
congratulation, written by his own hand. The king of Sardinia also wrote to him, and sent a
gold box set with diamonds. Honours in profusion were awaiting him at Naples. In his own
country the king granted these honourable augmentations to his armorial ensign: a chief
undulated, ARGENT: thereon waves of the sea; from which a palm tree issuant, between a
disabled ship on the dexter, and a ruinous battery on the sinister all proper; and for his crest,
on a naval crown, OR, the chelengk, or plume, presented to him by the Turk, with the motto,
PALMAM QUI MERUIT FERAT. And to his supporters, being a sailor on the dexter, and a
lion on the sinister, were given these honourable augmentations: a palm branch in the sailor's
hand, and another in the paw of the lion, both proper; with a tri-coloured flag and staff in the
lion's mouth. He was created Baron Nelson of the Nile, and of Burnham Thorpe, with a
pension of L2000 for his own life, and those of his two immediate successors. When the
grant was moved in the House of Commons, General Walpole expressed an opinion that a
higher degree of rank ought to be conferred. Mr. Pitt made answer, that he thought it needless
to enter into that question. "Admiral Nelson's fame," he said,"would be co-equal with the
British name; and it would be remembered that he had obtained the greatest naval victory on
record, when no man would think of asking whether he had been created a baron, a viscount,
or an earl." It was strange that, in the very act of conferring a title, the minister should have
excused himself for not having conferred a higher one, by representing all titles, on such an
occasion, as nugatory and superfluous. True, indeed, whatever title had been bestowed,
whether viscount, earl, marquis, duke, or prince, if our laws had so permitted, he who
received it would have been Nelson still. That name he had ennobled beyond all addition of
nobility; it was the name by which England loved him, France feared him, Italy, Egypt, and
Turkey celebrated him, and by which he will continue to be known while the present
kingdoms and languages of the world endure, and as long as their history after them shall be
held in remembrance. It depended upon the degree of rank what should be the fashion of his
coronet, in what page of the red book his name was to be inserted, and what precedency
should be allowed his lady in the drawing-room and at the ball. That Nelson's honours were
affected thus far, and no further, might be conceded to Mr. Pitt and his colleagues in
administration; but the degree of rank which

72
they thought proper to allot was the measure of their gratitude, though not of his service. This
Nelson felt, and this he expressed, with indignation, among his friends.
Whatever may have been the motives of the ministry, and whatever the formalities with
which they excused their conduct to themselves, the importance and magnitude of the victory
were universally acknowledged. A grant of L10,000 was voted to Nelson by the East India
Company; the Turkish Company presented him with a piece of plate; the City of London
presented a sword to him, and to each of his captains; gold medals were distributed to the
captains; and the first lieutenants of all the ships were promoted, as had been done after Lord
Howe's victory. Nelson was exceedingly anxious that the captain and first lieutenant of the
CULLODEN should not be passed over because of their misfortune. To Troubridge himself
he said, "Let us rejoice that the ship which got on shore was commanded by an officer whose
character is so thoroughly established." To the Admiralty he stated that Captain Troubridge's
conduct was as fully entitled to praise as that of any one officer in the squadron, and as
highly deserving of reward. "It was Troubridge," said he, "who equipped the squadron so
soon at Syracuse; it was Troubridge who exerted himself for me after the action; it was
Troubridge who saved the CULLODEN, when none that I know in the service would have
attempted it." The gold medal, therefore, by the king's express desire, was given to Captain
Troubridge, "for his services both before and since, and for the great and wonderful exertion
which he made at the time of the action in saving and getting off his ship." The private letter
from the Admiralty to Nelson informed him that the first lieutenants of all the ships
ENGAGED were to be promoted. Nelson instantly wrote to the commander-in-chief: "I
sincerely hope," said he, "this is not intended to exclude the first lieutenant of the
CULLODEN. For heaven's sake--for my sake, if it be so--get it altered. Our dear friend
Troubridge has endured enough. His sufferings were, in every respect, more than any of us."
To the Admiralty he wrote in terms equally warm. "I hope, and believe, the word ENGAGED
is not intended to exclude the CULLODEN. The merits of that ship, and her gallant Captain,
are too well known to benefit by anything I could say. Her misfortune was great in getting
aground, while her more fortunate companions were in the full tide of happiness. No: I am
confident that my good Lord Spencer will never add misery to misfortune. Captain
Troubridge on shore is superior to captains afloat: in the midst of his great misfortunes he
made those signals which prevented certainly the ALEXANDER and SWIFTSURE from
running on the shoals. I beg your pardon for writing on a subject which, I verily believe, has
never entered your lordship's head; but my heart, as it ought to be, is warm to my gallant
friends." Thus feelingly alive was Nelson to the claims, and interests, and feelings of others.
The Admiralty replied, that the exception was necessary, as the ship had not been in action;
but they desired the commander-in-chief to promote the lieutenant upon the first vacancy
which should occur.
Nelson, in remembrance of an old and uninterrupted friendship, ap- pointed Alexander
Davison sole prize agent for the captured ships: upon which Davison ordered medals to be
struck in gold, for the captains; in silver, for the lieutenants and warrant officers; in gilt metal
for the petty officers; and in copper for the seamen and marines. The cost of this act of
liberality amounted nearly to L2000. It is worthy of record on another account;--for some of
the gallant men, who received no other honorary badge of their

73
conduct on that memorable day than this copper medal from a private individual, years
afterwards, when they died upon a foreign station, made it their last request, that the medals
might carefully be sent home to their respective friends. So sensible are brave men of honour,
in whatever rank they may be placed.
Three of the frigates, whose presence would have been so essential a few weeks sooner,
joined the squadron on the twelfth day after the action. The fourth joined a few days after
them. Nelson thus received despatches, which rendered it necessary for him to return to
Naples. Before he left Egypt he burned three of the prizes; they could not have been fitted for
a passage to Gibraltar in less than a month, and that at a great expense, and with the loss of
the services of at least two sail of the line. "I rest assured," he said to the Admiralty, "that
they will be paid for, and have held out that assurance to the squadron. For if an admiral,
after a victory, is to look after the captured ships, and not to the distressing of the enemy,
very dearly, indeed, must the nation pay for the prizes. I trust that L60,000 will be deemed a
very moderate sum for them: and when the services, time, and men, with the expense of
fitting the three ships for a voyage to England, are considered, government will save nearly
as much as they are valued at. Paying for prizes," he continued, "is no new idea of mine, and
would often prove an amazing saving to the state, even without taking into calculation what
the nation loses by the attention of admirals to the property of the captors; an attention
absolutely necessary, as a recompence for the exertions of the officers and men. An admiral
may be amply rewarded by his own feelings, and by the approbation of his superiors; but
what reward have the inferior officers and men but the value of the prizes? If an admiral
takes that from them, on any consideration, he cannot expect to be well supported." To Earl
St. Vincent he said, "If he could have been sure that government would have paid a
reasonable value for them, he would have ordered two of the other prizes to be burnt, for they
would cost more in refitting, and by the loss of ships attending them, than they were worth."
Having sent the six remaining prizes forward, under Sir James Saumarez, Nelson left Captain
Hood, in the ZEALOUS off Alexandria, with the SWIFTSURE, GOLIATH, Alcmene,
ZEALOUS, and EMERALD, and stood out to sea himself on the seventeenth day after the
battle.

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Chapter 6. 1798 – 1800
Nelson returns to Naples--State of that Court and Kingdom-- General Mack--The French
approach Naples--Flight of the Royal Family--Successes of the Allies in Italy--Transactions
in the Bay of Naples--Expulsion of the French from the Neapolitan and Roman States--
Nelson is made Duke of Bronte--He leaves the Mediterranean and returns to England.
*
NELSON's health had suffered greatly while he was in the AGAMEMNON. "My
complaint," he said, "is as if a girth were buckled taut over my breast, and my endeavour in
the night is to get it loose." After the battle of Cape St. Vincent he felt a little rest to be so
essential to his recovery, that he declared he would not continue to serve longer than the
ensuing summer, unless it should be absolutely necessary; for in his own strong language, he
had then been four years and nine months without one moment's repose for body or mind. A
few months' intermission of labour he had obtained--not of rest, for it was purchased with the
loss of a limb; and the greater part of the time had been a season of constant pain. As soon as
his shattered frame had sufficiently recovered for him to resume his duties, he was called to
services of greater importance than any on which he had hitherto been employed, which
brought with them commensurate fatigue and care.
The anxiety which he endured during his long pursuit of the enemy, was rather changed in its
direction than abated by their defeat; and this constant wakefulness of thought, added to the
effect of his wound, and the exertions from which it was not possible for one of so ardent and
wide-reaching a mind to spare himself,nearly proved fatal. On his way back to Italy he was
seized with fever. For eighteen hours his life was despaired of; and even when the disorder
took a favourable turn, and he was so far recovered as again to appear on deck, he himself
thought that his end was approaching--such was the weakness to which the fever and cough
had reduced him. Writing to Earl St. Vincent on the passage, he said to him, "I never expect,
my dear lord, to see your face again. It may please God that this will be the finish to that
fever of anxiety which I have endured from the middle of June; but be that as it pleases his
goodness. I am resigned to his will."
The kindest attentions of the warmest friendship were awaiting him at Naples. "Come here,"
said Sir William Hamilton, "for God's sake, my dear friend, as soon as the service will permit
you. A pleasant apartment is ready for you in my house, and Emma is looking out for the
softest pillows to repose the few wearied limbs you have left." Happy would it have been for
Nelson if warm and careful friendship had been all that waited him there. He himself saw at
that time the character of the Neapolitan court, as it first struck an Englishman, in its true
light; and when he was on the way, he declared that he detested the voyage to Naples, and
that nothing but necessity could have forced him to it. But never was any hero, on his return
from victory, welcomed with more heartfelt joy. Before the battle of Aboukir the Court at
Naples had been trembling for its existence. The

75
language which the Directory held towards it was well described by Sir William Hamilton as
being exactly the language of a highwayman. The Neapolitans were told that Benevento
might be added to their dominions, provided they would pay a large sum, sufficient to satisfy
the Directory; and they were warned, that if the proposal were refused, or even if there were
any delay in accepting it, the French would revolutionise all Italy. The joy, therefore, of the
Court at Nelson's success was in proportion to the dismay from which that success relieved
them. The queen was a daughter of Maria Theresa, and sister of Maria Antoinette. Had she
been the wisest and gentlest of her sex, it would not have been possible for her to have
regarded the French without hatred and horror; and the progress of revolutionary opinions,
while it perpetually reminded her of her sister's fate, excited no unreasonable apprehensions
for her own. Her feelings, naturally ardent, and little accustomed to restraint, were excited to
the highest pitch when the news of the victory arrived. Lady Hamilton, her constant friend
and favourite, who was present, says, "It is not possible to describe her transports; she wept,
she kissed her husband, her children, walked frantically about the room, burst into tears
again, and again kissed and embraced every person near her; exclaiming,"O brave Nelson! O
God! bless and protect our brave deliverer! O Nelson! Nelson! what do we not owe you! O
conqueror--saviour of Italy! O that my swollen heart could now tell him personally what we
owe to him!" She herself wrote to the Neapolitan ambassador at London upon the occasion,
in terms which show the fulness of her joy, and the height of the hopes which it had excited.
"I wish I could give wings," said she, "to the bearer of the news, and at the same time to our
most sincere gratitude. The whole of the sea-coast of Italy saved; and this is owing alone to
the generous English. This battle, or, to speak more correctly, this total defeat of the regicide
squadron, was obtained by the valour of this brave admiral, seconded by a navy which is the
terror of its enemies. The victory is so complete that I can still scarcely believe it; and if it
were not the brave English nation, which is accustomed to perform prodigies by sea, I could
not persuade myself that it had happened. It would have moved you to have seen all my
children, boys and girls, hanging on my neck, and crying for joy at the happy news.
Recommend the hero to his master: he has filled the whole of Italy with admiration of the
English. Great hopes were entertained of some advantages being gained by his bravery, but
no one could look for so total a destruction. All here are drunk with joy."
Such being the feelings of the royal family, it may well be supposed with what delight, and
with what honours Nelson would be welcomed. Early on the 22nd of September the poor
wretched VANGUARD, as he called his shattered vessel, appeared in sight of Naples. The
CULLODEN and ALEXANDER had preceded her by some days, and given notice of her
approach. Many hundred boats and barges were ready to go forth and meet him, with music
and streamers and every demonstration of joy and triumph. Sir William and Lady Hamilton
led the way in their state barge. They had seen Nelson only for a few days, four years ago,
but they then perceived in him that heroic spirit which was now so fully and gloriously
manifested to the world. Emma Lady Hamilton, who from this time so greatly influenced his
future life, was a woman whose personal accomplishments have seldom been equalled, and
whose powers of mind were not less fascinating than her person. She was passionately
attached to the queen; and by her influence the British fleet had obtained those supplies at
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battle of Aboukir could not have been fought. During the long interval which passed before
any tidings were received, her anxiety had been hardly less than that of Nelson himself, while
pursuing an enemy of whom he could obtain no information; and when the tidings were
brought her by a joyful bearer, open-mouthed, its effect was such that she fell like one who
had been shot. She and Sir William had literally been made ill by their hopes and fears, and
joy at a catastrophe so far exceeding all that they had dared to hope for. Their admiration for
the hero necessarily produced a degree of proportionate gratitude and affection; and when
their barge came alongside the VANGUARD, at the sight of Nelson, Lady Hamilton sprang
up the ship's side, and exclaiming,"O God! is it possible!" fell into his arms more, he says,
like one dead than alive. He described the meeting as "terribly affecting." These friends had
scarcely recovered from their tears, when the king, who went out to meet him three leagues in
the royal barge, came on board and took him by the hand, calling him his deliverer and
preserver. From all the boats around he was saluted with the same appellations: the multitude
who surrounded him when he landed repeated the same enthusiastic cries; and the lazzaroni
displayed their joy by holding up birds in cages, and giving them their liberty as he passed.
His birth-day, which occurred a week after his arrival, was celebrated with one of the most
splendid fetes ever beheld at Naples. But, notwithstanding the splendour with which he was
encircled, and the flattering honours with which all ranks welcomed him, Nelson was fully
sensible of the depravity, as well as weakness, of those by whom he was surrounded. "What
precious moments" said he, "the courts of Naples and Vienna are losing! Three months would
liberate Italy! but this court is so enervated that the happy moment will be lost. I am very
unwell; and their miserable conduct is not likely to cool my irritable temper. It is a country of
fiddlers and poets, whores and scoundrels." This sense of their ruinous weakness he always
retained; nor was he ever blind to the mingled folly and treachery of the Neapolitan ministers,
and the complication in iniquities under which the country groaned; but he insensibly, under
the influence of Lady Hamilton, formed an affection for the court, to whose misgovernment
the miserable condition of the country was so greatly to be imputed. By the kindness of her
nature, as well as by her attractions, she had won his heart. Earl St. Vincent, writing to her at
this time, says, "Pray do not let your fascinating Neapolitan dames approach too near our
invaluable friend Nelson, for he is made of flesh and blood, and cannot resist their
temptations." But this was addressed to the very person from whom he was in danger.
The state of Naples may be described in few words. The king was one of the Spanish
Bourbons. As the Caesars have shown us to what wickedness the moral nature of princes may
be perverted, so in this family, the degradation to which their intellectual nature can be
reduced has been not less conspicuously evinced. Ferdinand, like the rest of his race, was
passionately fond of field sports, and cared for nothing else. His queen had all the vices of the
house of Austria, with little to mitigate, and nothing to ennoble them--provided she could
have her pleasures, and the king his sports, they cared not in what manner the revenue was
raised or administered. Of course a system of favouritism existed at court, and the vilest and
most impudent corruption prevailed in every department of state, and in every branch of
administration, from the highest to the lowest. It is only the institutions of Christianity, and
the vicinity of better-regulated states, which prevent

77
kingdoms, under such circumstances of misrule, from sinking into a barbarism like that of
Turkey. A sense of better things was kept alive in some of the Neapolitans by literature, and
by their intercourse with happier countries. These persons naturally looked to France, at the
commencement of the Revolution, and during all the horrors of that Revolution still
cherished a hope that, by the aid of France, they might be enabled to establish a new order of
things in Naples. They were grievously mistaken in supposing that the principles of liberty
would ever be supported by France, but they were not mistaken in believing that no
government could be worse than their own; and therefore they considered any change as
desirable. In this opinion men of the most different characters agreed. Many of the nobles,
who were not in favour, wished for a revolution, that they might obtain the ascendancy to
which they thought themselves entitled; men of desperate fortunes desired it, in the hope of
enriching themselves; knaves and intriguers sold themselves to the French to promote it; and
a few enlightened men, and true lovers of their country, joined in the same cause, from the
purest and noblest motives. All these were confounded under the common name of Jacobins;
and the Jacobins of the continental kingdoms were regarded by the English with more hatred
than they deserved. They were classed with Phillippe Egalite, Marat, and Hebert; whereas
they deserved rather to be ranked, if not with Locke, and Sydney, and Russell, at least with
Argyle and Monmouth, and those who, having the same object as the prime movers of our
own Revolution, failed in their premature but not unworthy attempt.
No circumstances could be more unfavourable to the best interests of Europe, than those
which placed England in strict alliance with the superannuated and abominable governments
of the continent. The subjects of those governments who wished for freedom thus became
enemies to England, and dupes and agents of France. They looked to their own grinding
grievances, and did not see the danger with which the liberties of the world were threatened.
England, on the other hand, saw the danger in its true magnitude, but was blind to these
grievances, and found herself compelled to support systems which had formerly been equally
the object of her abhorrence and her contempt. This was the state of Nelson's mind; he knew
that there could be no peace for Europe till the pride of France was humbled, and her strength
broken; and he regarded all those who were the friends of France as traitors to the common
cause, as well as to their own individual sovereigns. There are situations in which the most
opposite and hostile parties may mean equally well, and yet act equally wrong. The court of
Naples, unconscious of committing any crime by continuing the system of misrule to which
they had succeeded, conceived that, in maintaining things as they were, they were
maintaining their own rights, and preserving the people from such horrors as had been
perpetrated in France. The Neapolitan revolutionists thought that without a total change of
system, any relief from the present evils was impossible, and they believed themselves
justified in bringing about that change by any means. Both parties knew that it was the fixed
intention of the French to revolutionise Naples. The revolutionists supposed that it was for
the purpose of establishing a free government; the court, and all disinterested persons, were
perfectly aware that the enemy had no other object than conquest and plunder.

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The battle of the Nile shook the power of France. Her most successful general, and her finest
army, were blocked up in Egypt-- hopeless, as it appeared, of return; and the government was
in the hands of men without talents, without character, and divided among themselves.
Austria, whom Buonaparte had terrified into a peace, at a time when constancy on her part
would probably have led to his destruction, took advantage of the crisis to renew the war.
Russia also was preparing to enter the field with unbroken forces, led by a general, whose
extraordinary military genius would have entitled him to a high and honourable rank in
history, if it had not been sullied by all the ferocity of a barbarian. Naples, seeing its
destruction at hand, and thinking that the only means of averting it was by meeting the
danger, after long vacillations, which were produced by the fears and treachery of its council,
agreed at last to join this new coalition with a numerical force of 80,000 men. Nelson told the
king, in plain terms, that he had his choice, either to advance, trusting to God for his blessing
on a just cause, and prepared to die sword in hand, or to remain quiet, and be kicked out of
his kingdom; one of these things must happen. The king made answer he would go on, and
trust in God and Nelson; and Nelson, who would else have returned to Egypt, for the purpose
of destroying the French shipping in Alexandria, gave up his intention at the desire of the
Neapolitan court, and resolved to. remain on that station, in the hope that he might be useful
to the movements of the army. He suspected also, with reason, that the continuance of his
fleet was so earnestly requested, because the royal family thought their persons would be
safer, in case of any mishap, under the British flag, than under their own.
His first object was the recovery of Malta--an island which the King of Naples pretended to
claim. The Maltese, whom the villanous knights of their order had betrayed to France, had
taken up arms against their rapacious invaders, with a spirit and unanimity worthy of the
highest praise. They blockaded the French garrison by land, and a small squadron, under
Captain Ball, began to blockade them by sea, on the 12th of October. Twelve days afterwards
Nelson arrived. "It is as I suspected," he says: "the ministers at Naples know nothing of the
situation of the island. Not a house or bastion of the town is in possession of the islanders:
and the Marquis de Niza tells us they want arms, victuals, and support. He does not know that
any Neapolitan officers are on the island; perhaps, although I have their names, none are
arrived; and it is very certain, by the marquis's account, that no supplies have been sent by the
governors of Syracuse and Messina." The little island of Gozo, dependent upon Malta, which
had also been seized and garrisoned by the French, capitulated soon after his arrival, and was
taken possession of by the British, in the name of his Sicilian Majesty--a power who had no
better claim to it than France. Having seen this effected, and reinforced Captain Ball, he left
that able officer to perform a most arduous and important part, and returned himself to 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 coward or a traitor. At that time he was assiduously extolled as
a most consummate commander, to whom Europe might look for deliverance. And when he
was introduced by the king and queen to the British admiral, the queen said to him, "Be to us
by land, general, what my hero Nelson has been by sea." Mack, on his part, did not fail to
praise the force which he was appointed to command. "It

79
was," he said,"the finest army in Europe." Nelson agreed with him that there could not be
finer men; but when the general, at a review, so directed the operations of a mock fight, that
by an unhappy blunder his own troops were surrounded, instead of those of the enemy, he
turned to his friends and exclaimed with bitterness, that the fellow did not understand his
business. Another circumstance, not less characteristic, confirmed Nelson in his judgment.
"General Mack:" said he, in one of his letters, "cannot move without five carriages! I have
formed my opinion. I heartily pray I may be mistaken."
While Mack, at the head of 32,000 men, marched into the Roman state, 5000 Neapolitans
were embarked on board the British and Portuguese squadron, to take possession of Leghorn.
This was effected without opposition; and the Grand Duke of Tuscany, whose neutrality had
been so outrageously violated by the French, was better satisfied with the measure than some
of the Neapolitans themselves. Nasseli, their general, refused to seize the French vessels at
Leghorn, because he and the Duke di Sangro, who was ambassador at the Tuscan court,
maintained that the king of Naples was not at war with France. "What!" said Nelson, "has not
the king received, as a conquest made by him, the republican flag taken at Gozo? Is not his
own flag flying there, and at Malta, not only by his permission, but by his order? Is not his
flag shot at every day by the French, and their shot returned from batteries which bear that
flag? Are not two frigates and a corvette placed under my orders ready to fight the French,
meet them where they may? Has not the king sent publicly from Naples guns, mortars, &c.,
with officers and artillery, against the French in Malta? If these acts are not tantamount to
any written paper, I give up all knowledge of what is war." This reasoning was of less avail
than argument addressed to the general's fears. Nelson told him that, if he permitted the many
hundred French who were then in the mole to remain neutral, till they had a fair opportunity
of being active, they had one sure resource, if all other schemes failed, which was to set one
vessel on fire; the mole would be destroyed, probably the town also, and the port ruined for
twenty years. This representation made Naselli agree to the half measure of laying an
embargo on the vessels; among them were a great number of French privateers, some of
which were of such force as to threaten the greatest mischief to our commerce, and about
seventy sail of vessels belonging to the Ligurian republic, as Genoa was now called, laden
with corn, and ready to sail for Genoa and France; where their arrival would have expedited
the entrance of more French troops into Italy. "The general," said Nelson, "saw, I believe, the
consequence of permitting these vessels to depart, in the same light as myself; but there is
this difference between us: he prudently, and certainly safely, waits the orders of his court,
taking no responsibility upon himself; I act from the circumstances of the moment, as I feel
may be most advantageous for the cause which I serve, taking all responsibility on myself." It
was in vain to hope for anything vigorous or manly from such men as Nelson was compelled
to act with. The crews of the French ships and their allies were ordered to depart in two days.
Four days elapsed and nobody obeyed the order; nor, in spite of the representations of the
British minister, Mr. Wyndham, were any means taken to enforce it: the true Neapolitan
shuffle, as Nelson called it, took place on all occasions. After an absence of ten days he
returned to Naples; and receiving intelligence there from Mr. Wyndham that the privateers
were at last to be disarmed, the corn landed, and the crews sent away, he expressed his
satisfaction at the news in characteristic language, saying, "So far I am content. The enemy
will be

80
distressed; and, thank God, I shall get no money. The world, I know, think that money is our
god; and now they will be undeceived as far as relates to us. Down, down with the French! is
my constant prayer."
Odes, sonnets, and congratulatory poems of every description were poured in upon Nelson on
his arrival at Naples. An Irish Franciscan, who was one of the poets, not being content with
panegyric upon this occasion, ventured on a flight of prophecy, and predicted that Lord
Nelson would take Rome with his ships. His lordship reminded Father M'Cormick that ships
could not ascend the Tiber; but the father, who had probably forgotten this circumstance, met
the objection with a bold front, and declared he saw that it would come to pass
notwithstanding. Rejoicings of this kind were of short duration. The King of Naples was with
the army which had entered Rome; but the castle of St. Angelo was held by the French, and
13,000 French were strongly posted in the Roman states at Castallana. Mack had marched
against them with 20,000 men. Nelson saw that the event was doubtful, or rather that there
could be very little hope of the result. But the immediate fate of Naples, as he well knew,
hung upon the issue. "If Mack is defeated," said he, "in fourteen days this country is lost; for
the emperor has not yet moved his army, and Naples has not the power of resisting the
enemy. It was not a case for choice, but of necessity, which induced the king to march out of
his kingdom, and not wait till the French had collected a force sufficient to drive him out of it
in a week." He had no reliance upon the Neapolitan officers, who, as he described them,
seemed frightened at a drawn sword or a loaded gun; and he was perfectly aware of the
consequences which the sluggish movements and deceitful policy of the Austrians were
likely to bring down upon themselves and all their continental allies. "A delayed war on the
part of the emperor," said he, writing to the British minister at Vienna, "will be destructive to
this monarchy of Naples; and, of course, to the newly-acquired dominions of the Emperor in
Italy. Had the war commenced in September or October, all Italy would, at this moment,
have been liberated. This month is worse than the last; the next will render the contest
doubtful; and, in six months, when the Neapolitan republic will be organised, armed, and
with its numerous resources called forth, the emperor will not only be defeated in Italy, but
will totter on his throne at Vienna. DOWN, DOWN WITH THE FRENCH! ought to be
written in the council-room of every country in the world; and may Almighty God give right
thoughts to every sovereign, is my constant prayer!" His perfect foresight of the immediate
event was clearly shown in this letter, when he desired the ambassador to assure the empress
(who was a daughter of the house of Naples) that, notwithstanding the councils which had
shaken the throne of her father and mother, he would remain there, ready to save their
persons, and her brothers and sisters; and that he had also left ships at Leghorn to save the
lives of the grand duke and her sister: "For all," said he, "must be a republic, if the emperor
does not act with expedition and vigour."
His fears were soon verified. "The Neapolitan officers," said Nelson, "did not lose much
honour, for, God knows, they had not much to lose; but they lost all they had." General St.
Philip commanded the right wing, of 19,000 men. He fell in with 3000 of the enemy; and, as
soon as he came near enough, deserted to them. One of his men had virtue enough to level a
musket at him, and shot him through the arm; but the wound was not sufficient to prevent
him from joining with the French in pursuit of his own countrymen. Cannon,

81
tents, baggage, and military chest, were all forsaken by the runaways, though they lost only
forty men; for the French having put them to flight and got possession of everything, did not
pursue an army of more than three times their own number. The main body of the
Neapolitans, under Mack, did not behave better. The king returned to Naples, where every
day brought with it tidings of some new disgrace from the army and the discovery of some
new treachery at home; till, four days after his return, the general sent him advice that there
was no prospect of stopping the progress of the enemy, and that the royal family must look to
their own personal safety. The state of the public mind at Naples was such, at this time, that
neither the British minister nor the British Admiral thought it prudent to appear at court.
Their motions were watched; and the revolutionists had even formed a plan for seizing and
detaining them as hostages, to prevent an attack on the city after the French should have
taken possession of it. A letter which Nelson addressed at this time to the First Lord of the
Admiralty, shows in what manner he contemplated the possible issue of the storm. it was in
these words:--"My dear lord, there is an old saying, that when things are at the worst they
must mend: now the mind of man cannot fancy things worse than they are here. But, thank
God! my health is better, my mind never firmer, and my heart in the right trim to comfort,
relieve, and protect those whom it is my duty to afford assistance to. Pray, my lord, assure
our gracious sovereign that while I live, I will support his glory; and that if I fall, it shall be in
a manner worthy of your lordship's faithful and obliged Nelson. I must not write more. Every
word may be a text for a long letter."
Meantime Lady Hamilton arranged every thing for the removal of the royal family. This was
conducted on her part with the greatest address, and without suspicion, because she had been
in habits of constant correspondence with the queen. It was known that the removal could not
be effected without danger; for the mob, and especially the lazzaroni, were attached to the
king; and as at this time they felt a natural presumption in their own numbers and strength,
they insisted that he should not leave Naples. Several persons fell victims to their fury;
among others was a messenger from Vienna, whose body was dragged under the windows of
the palace in the king's sight. The king and queen spoke to the mob, and pacified them; but it
would not have been safe, while they were in this agitated state, to have embarked the effects
of the royal family openly. Lady Hamilton, like a heroine of modern romance, explored with
no little danger a subterraneous passage leading from the palace to the sea-side: through this
passage the royal treasures, the choicest pieces of painting and sculpture, and other property
to the amount of two millions and a half, were conveyed to the shore, and stowed safely on
board the English ships. On the night. of the 21st, at half-past eight, Nelson landed, brought
out the whole royal family, embarked them in three barges, and carried them safely, through
a tremendous sea, to the VANGUARD. Notice was then immediately given to the British
merchants, that they would be received on board any ships in the squadron. Their property
had previously been embarked in transports. Two days were passed in the bay, for the
purpose of taking such persons on board as required an asylum; and, on the night of the 23rd,
the fleet sailed. The next day a more violent storm arose than Nelson had ever before
encountered. On the 25th, the youngest of the princes was taken ill, and died in Lady
Hamilton's arms. During this whole trying season, Lady Hamilton waited upon

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the royal family with the zeal of the most devoted servant, at a time when, except one man,
no person belonging to the court assisted them.
On the morning of the 26th the royal family were landed at Palermo. It was soon seen that
their flight had not been premature. Prince Pignatelli, who had been left as vicar-general and
viceroy, with orders to defend the kingdom to the last rock in Calabria, sent plenipotentiaries
to the French camp before Capua; and they, for the sake of saving the capital, signed an
armistice, by which the greater part of the kingdom was given up to the enemy: a cession that
necessarily led to the loss of the whole. This was on the 10th of January. The French
advanced towards Naples. Mack, under pretext of taking shelter from the fury of the
lazzaroni, fled to the French General Championet, who sent him under an escort to Milan; but
as France hoped for further services from this wretched traitor, it was thought prudent to treat
him apparently as a prisoner of war. The Neapolitan army disappeared in a few days: of the
men, some, following their officers, deserted to the enemy; the greater part took the
opportunity of disbanding themselves. The lazzaroni proved true to their country; they
attacked the enemy's advanced posts, drove them in, and were not dispirited by the
murderous defeat which they suffered from the main body. Flying into the city, they
continued to defend it, even after the French had planted their artillery in the principal streets.
Had there been a man of genius to have directed their enthusiasm, or had there been any
correspondent feelings in the higher ranks, Naples might have set a glorious example to
Europe, and have proved the grave of every Frenchman who entered it. But the vices of the
government had extinguished all other patriotism than that of the rabble, who had no other
than that sort of loyalty which was like the fidelity of a dog to its master. This fidelity the
French and their adherents counteracted by another kind of devotion: the priests affirmed that
St. Januarius had declared in favour of the revolution. The miracle of his blood was
performed with the usual success, and more than usual effect, on the very evening when, after
two days of desperate fighting, the French obtained possession of Naples. A French guard of
honour was stationed at his church. Championet gave, "Respect for St. Januarius!" as the
word for the army; and the next day TE DEUM was sung by the archbishop in the cathedral;
and the inhabitants were invited to attend the ceremony, and join in thanksgiving for the
glorious entry of the French; who, it was said, being under the peculiar protection of
Providence, had regenerated the Neapolitans, and were come to establish and consolidate
their happiness.
It seems to have been Nelson's opinion that the Austrian cabinet regarded the conquest of
Naples with complacency, and that its measures were directed so as designedly not to prevent
the French from overrunning it. That cabinet was assuredly capable of any folly, and of any
baseness; and it is not improbable that at this time, calculating upon the success of the new
coalition, it indulged a dream of adding extensively to its former Italian possessions; and,
therefore, left the few remaining powers of Italy to be overthrown, as a means which would
facilitate its own ambitious views. The King of Sardinia, finding it impossible longer to
endure the exactions of France and the insults of the French commissary, went to Leghorn,
embarked on board a Danish frigate, and sailed, under British protection, to Sardinia--that
part of his dominions which the maritime supremacy of England rendered a secure asylum.
On his arrival he published a

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protest against the conduct of France, declaring, upon the faith and word of a king, that he
had never infringed, even in the slightest degree, the treaties which he had made with the
French republic. Tuscany was soon occupied by French troops--a fate which bolder policy
might, perhaps, have failed to avert, but which its weak and timid neutrality rendered
inevitable. Nelson began to fear even for Sicily. "Oh, my dear sir," said he, writing to
Commodore Duckworth, "one thousand English troops would save Messina; and I fear
General Stuart cannot give me men to save this most important island!" But his
representations were not lost upon Sir Charles Stuart. This officer hastened immediately from
Minorca with 1000 men, assisted in the measures of defence which were taken, and did not
return before he had satisfied himself that, if the Neapolitans were excluded from the
management of affairs, and the spirit of the peasantry properly directed, Sicily was safe.
Before his coming, Nelson had offered the king, if no resources should arrive, to defend
Messina with the ship's company of an English man-of-war.
Russia had now entered into the war. Corfu, surrendered to a Russian and Turkish fleet,
acting now, for the first time, in strange confederacy yet against a power which was certainly
the common and worst enemy of both. Troubridge having given up the blockade of
Alexandria to Sir Sidney Smith, joined Nelson, bringing with him a considerable addition of
strength; and in himself what Nelson valued more, a man, upon whose sagacity, indefatigable
zeal, and inexhaustible resources, he could place full reliance. Troubridge was intrusted to
commence the operations against the French in the bay of Naples. Meantime Cardinal Ruffo,
a man of questionable character, but of a temper fitted for such times, having landed in
Calabria, raised what he called a Christian army, composed of the best and the vilest
materials--loyal peasants, enthusiastic priests and friars, galley slaves, the emptying of the
jails, and banditti. The islands in the bay of Naples were joyfully delivered up by the
inhabitants, who were in a state of famine already, from the effect of this baleful revolution.
Troubridge distributed among them all his flour, and Nelson pressed the Sicilian court
incessantly for supplies; telling them that L10,000 given away in provisions would, at this
time, purchase a kingdom. Money, he was told, they had not to give; and the wisdom and
integrity which might have supplied its wants were not to be found. "There is nothing," said
he, "which I propose, that is not, so far as orders go, implicitly complied with; but the
execution is dreadful, and almost makes me mad. My desire to serve their majesties
faithfully, as is my duty, has been such that I am almost blind and worn out; and cannot in
my present state hold out much longer."
Before any government can be overthrown by the consent of the people, the government
must be intolerably oppressive, or the people thoroughly corrupted. Bad as the misrule at
Naples had been, its consequences had been felt far less there than in Sicily; and the
peasantry had that attachment to the soil which gives birth to so many of the noblest as well
as of the happiest feelings. In all the islands the people were perfectly frantic with joy when
they saw the Neapolitan colours hoisted. At Procida, Troubridge could not procure even a rag
of the tri-coloured flag to lay at the king's feet: it was rent into ten thousand pieces by the
inhabitants, and entirely destroyed. "The horrid treatment of the French," he said, "had made
them mad." It exasperated the ferocity of a character which neither the laws nor the religion
under which they lived tended to mitigate. Their hatred

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was especially directed against the Neapolitan revolutionists; and the fishermen, in concert
among themselves, chose each his own victim, whom he would stiletto when the day of
vengeance should arrive. The head of one was sent off one morning to Troubridge, with his
basket of grapes for breakfast; and a note from the Italian who had, what he called, the glory
of presenting it, saying, he had killed the man as he was running away, and begging his
excellency to accept the head, and consider it as a proof of the writer's attachment to the
crown. With the first successes of the court the work of punishment began. The judge at
Ischia said it was necessary to have a bishop to degrade the traitorous priests before he could
execute them; upon which Troubridge advised him to hang them first, and send them to him
afterwards, if he did not think that degradation sufficient. This was said with the
straightforward feeling of a sailor, who cared as little for canon-law as he knew about it; but
when he discovered that the judge's orders were to go through the business in a summary
manner, under his sanction, he told him at once that could not be, for the prisoners were not
British subjects; and he declined having anything to do with it. There were manifestly
persons about the court, who, while they thirsted for the pleasure of vengeance, were
devising how to throw the odium of it upon the English. They wanted to employ an English
man-of-war to carry the priests to Palermo for degradation, and then bring them back for
execution; and they applied to Troubridge for a hangman, which he indignantly refused. He,
meantime, was almost heart- broken by the situation in which he found himself. He had
promised relief to the islanders, relying upon the queen's promise to him. He had distributed
the whole of his private stock,--there was plenty of grain at Palermo, and in its
neighbourhood, and yet none was sent him: the enemy, he complained, had more interest
there than the king; and the distress for bread which he witnessed was such, he said, that it
would move even a Frenchman to pity.
Nelson's heart, too, was at this time a-shore. "To tell you," he says, writing to Lady Hamilton,
"how dreary and uncomfortable the VANGUARD appears, is only telling you what it is to go
from the pleasantest society to a solitary cell, or from the dearest friends to no friends. I am
now perfectly the GREAT MAN--not a creature near me. >From my heart I wish myself the
little man again. You and good Sir William have spoiled me for any place but with you."
His mind was not in a happier state respecting public affairs. "As to politics," said he, "at this
time they are my abomination: the ministers of kings and princes are as great scoundrels as
ever lived. The brother of the emperor is just going to marry the great Something of Russia,
and it is more than expected that a kingdom is to be found for him in Italy, and that the king
of Naples will be sacrificed." Had there been a wise and manly spirit in the Italian states, or
had the conduct of Austria been directed by anything like a principle of honour, a more
favourable opportunity could not have been desired for restoring order and prosperity in
Europe, than the misconduct of the French Directory at this time afforded. But Nelson
perceived selfishness and knavery wherever he looked; and even the pleasure of seeing a
cause prosper, in which he was so zealously engaged, was poisoned by his sense of the
rascality of those with whom he was compelled to act. At this juncture intelligence arrived
that the French fleet had escaped from Brest, under cover of a fog, passed Cadiz unseen by
Lord Keith's squadron, in hazy weather, and entered the Mediterranean. It was said to consist
of twenty-four sail of the line, six

85
frigates, and three sloops. The object of the French was to liberate the Spanish fleet, form a
junction with them, act against Minorca and Sicily, and overpower our naval force in the
Mediterranean, by falling in with detached squadrons, and thus destroying it in detail. When
they arrived off Carthagena, they requested the Spanish ships to make sail and join; but the
Spaniards replied they had not men to man them. To this it was answered that the French had
men enough on board for that purpose. But the Spaniards seem to have been apprehensive of
delivering up their ships thus entirely into the power of such allies, and refused to come out.
The fleet from Cadiz, however, consisting of from seventeen to twenty sail of the line, got
out, under Masaredo, a man who then bore an honourable name, which he has since rendered
infamous by betraying his country. They met with a violent storm off the coast of Oran,
which dismasted many of their ships, and so effectually disabled them as to prevent the
junction, and frustrate a well-planned expedition.
Before this occurred, and while the junction was as probable as it would have been
formidable, Nelson was in a state of the greatest anxiety. "What a state am I in!" said he to
Earl St. Vincent. "If I go, I risk, and more than risk, Sicily; for we know, from experience,
that more depends upon opinion than upon acts themselves; and, as I stay, my heart is
breaking." His first business was to summon Troubridge to join him, with all the ships of the
line under his command, and a frigate, if possible. Then hearing that the French had entered
the Mediterranean, and expecting them at Palermo, where he had only his own ship--with that
single ship he prepared to make all the resistance possible. Troubridge having joined him, he
left Captain E. J. Foote, of the SEAHORSE, to command the smaller vessels in the bay of
Naples, and sailed with six ships--one a Portuguese, and a Portuguese corvette--telling Earl
St. Vincent that the squadron should never fall into the hands of the enemy. "And before we
are destroyed," said he, "I have little doubt but they will have their wings so completely
clipped that they may be easily overtaken." It was just at this time that he received from
Captain Hallowell the present of the coffin. Such a present was regarded by the men with
natural astonishment. One of his old shipmates in the AGAMEMNON said, "We shall have
hot work of it indeed! You see the admiral intends to fight till he is killed; and there he is to
be buried." Nelson placed it upright against the bulkhead of his cabin, behind his chair, where
he sat at dinner. The gift suited him at this time. It is said that he was disappointed in the
step-son whom he had loved so dearly from his childhood, and who had saved his life at
Teneriffe; and it is certain that he had now formed an infatuated attachment for Lady
Hamilton, which totally weaned his affections from his wife. Farther than this, there is no
reason to believe that this most unfortunate attachment was criminal; but this was criminality
enough, and it brought with it its punishment. Nelson was dissatisfied with himself, and
therefore weary of the world. This feeling he now frequently expressed. "There is no true
happiness in this life," said he, "and in my present state I could quit it with a smile." And in a
letter to his old friend Davison he said, "Believe me, my only wish is to sink with honour into
the grave; and when that shall please God, I shall meet death with a smile. Not that I am
insensible to the honours and riches my king and country have heaped upon me--so much
more than any officer could deserve; yet am I ready to quit this world of trouble, and envy
none but those of the estate six feet by two."

86
Well had it been for Nelson if he had made no other sacrifices to this unhappy attachment
than his peace of mind; but it led to the only blot upon his public character. While he sailed
from Palermo, with the intention of collecting his whole force, and keeping off Maretimo,
either to receive reinforcements there if the French were bound upwards, or to hasten to
Minorca if that should be their destination, Captain Foote, in the Sea-horse, with the
Neapolitan frigates, and some small vessels, under his command, was left to act with a land
force consisting of a few regular troops, of four different nations, and with the armed rabble
which Cardinal Ruffo called the Christian army. His directions were to co-operate to the
utmost of his power with the royalists, at whose head Ruffo had been placed, and he had no
other instructions whatever. Ruffo advancing without any plan, but relying upon the enemy's
want of numbers, which prevented them from attempting to act upon the offensive, and ready
to take advantage of any accident which might occur, approached Naples. Fort St. Elmo,
which commands the town, was wholly garrisoned by the French troops; the castles of Uovo
and Nuovo, which commanded the anchorage, were chiefly defended by Neapolitan
revolutionists, the powerful men among them having taken shelter there. If these castles were
taken, the reduction of Fort St. Elmo would be greatly expedited. They were strong places,
and there was reason to apprehend that the French fleet might arrive to relieve them. Ruffo
proposed to the garrison to capitulate, on condition that their persons and property should be
guaranteed, and that they should, at their own option, either be sent to Toulon or remain at
Naples, without being molested either in their persons or families. This capitulation was
accepted: it was signed by the cardinal, and the Russian and Turkish commanders; and lastly,
by Captain Foote, as commander of the British force. About six-and-thirty hours afterwards
Nelson arrived in the bay with a force which had joined him during his cruise, consisting of
seventeen sail of the line, with 1700 troops on board, and the Prince Royal of Naples in the
admiral's ship. A flag of truce was flying on the castles, and on board the SEAHORSE.
Nelson made a signal to annul the treaty; declaring that he would grant rebels no other terms
than those of unconditional submission. The cardinal objected to this: nor could all the
arguments of Nelson, Sir W. Hamilton, and Lady Hamilton, who took an active part in the
conference, convince him that a treaty of such a nature, solemnly concluded, could
honourably be set aside. He retired at last, silenced by Nelson's authority, but not convinced.
Captain Foote was sent out of the bay; and the garrisons, taken out of the castles under
pretence of carrying the treaty into effect, were delivered over as rebels to the vengeance of
the Sicilian court. A deplorable transaction! a stain upon the memory of Nelson and the
honour of England! To palliate it would be in vain; to justify it would be wicked: there is no
alternative, for one who will not make himself a participator in guilt, but to record the
disgraceful story with sorrow and with shame.
Prince Francesco Caraccioli, a younger branch of one of the noblest Neapolitan families,
escaped from one of these castles before it capitulated. He was at the head of the marine, and
was nearly seventy years of age, bearing a high character, both for professional and personal
merit. He had accompanied the court to Sicily; but when the revolutionary government, or
Parthenopean Republic, as it was called, issued an edict, ordering all

87
absent Neapolitans to return on pain of confiscation of their property, he solicited and
obtained permission of the king to return, his estates being very great. It is said that the king,
when he granted him this permission, warned him not to take any part in politics; expressing
at the same time his own persuasion that he should recover his kingdom. But neither the king,
nor he himself, ought to have imagined that, in such times, a man of such reputation would be
permitted to remain inactive; and it soon appeared that Caraccioli was again in command of
the navy, and serving under the republic against his late sovereign. The sailors reported that
he was forced to act thus; and this was believed, till it was seen that he directed ably the
offensive operations of the revolutionists, and did not avail himself of opportunities for
escaping when they offered. When the recovery of Naples was evidently near, he applied to
Cardinal Ruffo, and to the Duke of Calvirrano, for protection; expressing his hope that the
few days during which he had been forced to obey the French would not outweigh forty years
of faithful services; but perhaps not receiving such assurances as he wished, and knowing too
well the temper of the Sicilian court, he endeavoured to secrete himself, and a price was set
upon his head. More unfortunately for others than for himself, he was brought in alive,
having been discovered in the disguise of a peasant, and carried one morning on board Lord
Nelson's ship, with his hands tied behind him.
Caraccioli was well known to the British officers, and had been ever highly esteemed by all
who knew him. Captain Hardy ordered him immedi- ately to be unbound, and to be treated
with all those attentions which he felt due to a man who, when last on board the
FOUDROYANT, had been received as an admiral and a prince. Sir William and Lady
Hamilton were in the ship; but Nelson, it is affirmed, saw no one except his own officers
during the tragedy which ensued. His own determination was made; and he issued an order to
the Neapolitan commodore, Count Thurn, to assemble a court-martial of Neapolitan officers,
on board the British flag-ship, proceed immediately to try the prisoner, and report to him, if
the charges were proved, what punishment he ought to suffer. These proceedings were as
rapid as possible; Caraccioli was brought on board at nine in the forenoon, and the trial began
at ten. It lasted two hours: he averred in his defence that he had acted under compulsion,
having been compelled to serve as a common soldier, till he consented to take command of
the fleet. This, the apologists of Lord Nelson say, he failed in proving. They forget that the
possibility of proving it was not allowed him, for he was brought to trial within an hour after
he was legally in arrest; and how, in that time, was he to collect his witnesses? He was found
guilty, and sentenced to death; and Nelson gave orders that the sentence should be carried
into effect that evening, at five o'clock, on board the Sicilian frigate, LA MINERVA, by
hanging him at the fore-yard-arm till sunset; when the body was to be cut down and thrown
into the sea. Caraccioli requested Lieut. Parkinson, under whose custody he was placed, to
intercede with Lord Nelson for a second trial--for this, among other reasons, that Count
Thurn, who presided at the court-martial, was notoriously his personal enemy. Nelson made
answer, that the prisoner had been fairly tried by the officers of his own country, and he
could not interfere; forgetting that, if he felt himself justified in ordering the trial and the
execution, no human being could ever have questioned the propriety of his interfering on the
side of mercy. Caraccioli then entreated that he might be shot. "I am an old man, sir," said he:
"I leave no family to lament me, and therefore cannot be supposed

88
to be very anxious about prolonging my life; but the disgrace of being hanged is dreadful to
me." When this was repeated to Nelson, he only told the lieutenant, with much agitation, to
go and attend his duty. As a last hope, Caraccioli asked the lieutenant if he thought an
application to Lady Hamilton would be beneficial? Parkinson went to seek her; she was not
to be seen on this occasion; but she was present at the execution. She had the most devoted
attachment to the Neapolitan court; and the hatred which she felt against those whom she
regarded as its enemies, made her at this time forget what was due to the character of her sex
as well as of her country. Here, also, a faithful historian is called upon to pronounce a severe
and unqualified condemnation of Nelson's conduct. Had he the authority of his Sicilian
majesty for proceeding as he did? If so, why was not that authority produced? If not, why
were the proceedings hurried on without it? Why was the trial precipitated, so that it was
impossible for the prisoner, if he had been innocent, to provide the witnesses, who might
have proved him so? Why was a second trial refused, when the known animosity of the
president of the court against the prisoner was considered? Why was the execution hastened,
so as to preclude any appeal for mercy, and render the prerogative of mercy useless?
Doubtless, the British Admiral seemed to himself to be acting under a rigid sense of justice;
but to all other persons it was obvious that he was influenced by an infatuated attachment--a
baneful passion, which destroyed his domestic happiness, and now, in a second instance,
stained ineffaceably his public character.
The body was carried out to a considerable distance, and sunk in the bay, with three double-
headed shot, weighing 250 lbs., tied to its legs. Between two or three weeks afterward, when
the king was on board the FOUDROYANT, a Neapolitan fisherman came to the ship, and
solemnly declared that Caraccioli had risen from the bottom of the sea, and was coming as
fast as he could to Naples, swimming half out of the water. Such an account was listened to
like a tale of idle credulity. The day being fair, Nelson, to please the king, stood out to sea;
but the ship had not proceeded far before a body was distinctly seen, upright in the water, and
approaching them. It was soon recognised to be indeed the corpse of Caraccioli, which had
risen and floated, while the great weights attached to the legs kept the body in a position like
that of a living man. A fact so extraordinary astonished the king, and perhaps excited some
feeling of superstitious fear, akin to regret. He gave permission for the body to be taken on
shore and receive Christian burial. It produced no better effect. Naples exhibited more
dreadful scenes than it had witnessed in the days of Massaniello. After the mob had had their
fill of blood and plunder, the reins were given to justice--if that can be called justice which
annuls its own stipulations, looks to the naked facts alone, disregarding all motives and all
circumstances; and without considering character, or science, or sex, or youth, sacrifices its
victims, not for the public weal, but for the gratification of greedy vengeance.
The castles of St. Elmo, Gaieta, and Capua remained to be subdued. On the land side there
was no danger that the French in these garrisons should be relieved, for Suvarof was now
beginning to drive the enemy before him; but Nelson thought his presence necessary in the
bay of Naples: and when Lord Keith, having received intelligence that the French and
Spanish fleets had formed a junction, and sailed for Carthagena, ordered him to repair to
Minorca with the whole or the greater part of his force, he sent Admiral

89
Duckworth with a small part only. This was a dilemma which he had foreseen. "Should such
an order come at this moment," he said, in a letter previously written to the Admiralty, "it
would be a case for some consideration, whether Minorca is to be risked, or the two
kingdoms of Naples and Sicily; I rather think my decision would be to risk the former." And
after he had acted upon this opinion, he wrote in these terms to the Duke of Clarence, with
whose high notions of obedience he was well acquainted: "I am well aware of the
consequences of disobeying my orders; but as I have often before risked my life for the good
cause, so I with cheerfulness did my commission; for although a military tribunal may think
me criminal, the world will approve of my conduct; and I regard not my own safety when the
honour of my king is at stake."
Nelson was right in his judgment: no attempt was made on Minorca: and the expulsion of the
French from Naples may rather be said to have been effected than accelerated by the English
and Portuguese of the allied fleet, acting upon shore, under Troubridge. The French
commandant at St. Elmo, relying upon the strength of the place, and the nature of the force
which attacked it, had insulted Captain Foote in the grossest terms; but CITOYEN Mejan
was soon taught better manners, when Trou- bridge, in spite of every obstacle, opened five
batteries upon the fort. He was informed that none of his letters, with the insolent printed
words at the top, LIBERTE EQALITE, GUERRE AUX TYRANS, &c. would be received;
but that if he wrote like a soldier and a gentleman he would be answered in the same style.
The Frenchman then began to flatter his antagonist upon the BIENFAISANCE and
HUMANITE which, he said, were the least of the many virtues which distinguished
Monsieur Troubridge. Monsieur Troubridge's BIENFAISANCE was at this time thinking of
mining the fort. "If we can accomplish that," said he,"I am a strong advocate to send them,
hostages and all, to Old Nick, and surprise him with a group of nobility and republicans.
Meantime," he added,"it was some satisfaction to perceive that the shells fell well, and broke
some of their shins." Finally, to complete his character, Mejan offered to surrender for
150,000 ducats. Great Britain, perhaps, has made but too little use of this kind of artillery,
which France has found so effectual towards subjugating the continent: but Troubridge had
the prey within his reach; and in the course of a few days, his last battery, "after much trouble
and palaver," as he said, "brought the vagabonds to their senses."
Troubridge had more difficulties to overcome this siege, from the character of the
Neapolitans who pretended to assist him, and whom he made useful, than even from the
strength of the place and the skill of the French. "Such damned cowards and villains," he
declared, "he had never seen before." The men at the advanced posts carried on, what he
called, "a diabolical good understanding" with the enemy, and the workmen would
sometimes take fright and run away. "I make the best I can," said he, "of the degenerate race I
have to deal with; the whole means of guns, ammunition, pioneers, &c., with all materials,
rest with them. With fair promises to the men, and threats of instant death if I find any one
erring, a little spur has been given." Nelson said of him with truth, upon this occasion, that he
was a first-rate general. "I find, sir," said he afterwards in a letter to the Duke of Clarence,
"that General Koehler does not approve of such irregular proceedings as naval officers
attacking and defending fortifications. We have but one idea--to get close alongside. None
but a sailor would have placed a battery only 180 yards from the

90
Castle of St. Elmo; a soldier must have gone according to art, and the /\/\/\/\ way. My brave
Troubridge went straight on, for we had no time to spare."
Troubridge then proceeded to Capua, and took the command of the motley besieging force.
One thousand of the best men in the fleet were sent to assist in the siege. Just at this time
Nelson received a peremptory order from Lord Keith to sail with the whole of his force for
the protection of Minorca; or, at least, to retain no more than was absolutely necessary at
Sicily. "You will easily conceive my feelings," said he in communicating this to Earl St.
Vincent; "but my mind, as your lordship knows, was perfectly prepared for this order; and it
is now, more than ever, made up. At this moment I will not part with a single ship; as I
cannot do that without drawing a hundred and twenty men from each ship, now at the siege
of Capua. I am fully aware of the act I have committed; but I am prepared for any fate which
may await my disobedience. Capua and Gaieta will soon fall; and the moment the scoundrels
of French are out of this kingdom I shall send eight or nine ships of the line to Minorca. I
have done what I thought right--others may think differently; but it will be my consolation
that I have gained a kingdom, seated a faithful ally of his Majesty firmly on his throne, and
restored happiness to millions."
At Capua, Troubridge had the same difficulties as at St. Elmo; and being farther from Naples,
and from the fleet, was less able to overcome them. The powder was so bad that he suspected
treachery; and when he asked Nelson to spare him forty casks from the ships, he told him it
would be necessary that some Englishmen should accompany it, or they would steal one-half,
and change the other. "All the men you see," said he, "gentle and simple, are such notorious
villains, that it is misery to be with them." Capua, however, soon fell; Gaieta immediately
afterwards surrendered to Captain Louis of the MINOTAUR. Here the commanding officer
acted more unlike a Frenchman, Captain Louis said, than any one he had ever met; meaning
that he acted like a man of honour. He required, however, that the garrison should carry away
their horses, and other pillaged property: to which Nelson replied, "That no property which
they did not bring with them into the country could be theirs: and that the greatest care should
be taken to prevent them from carrying it away." "I am sorry," said he to Captain Louis, "that
you have entered into any altercation. There is no way of dealing with a Frenchman but to
knock him down; to be civil to them is only to be laughed at, when they are enemies."
The whole kingdom of Naples was thus delivered by Nelson from the French. The Admiralty,
however, thought it expedient to censure him for disobeying Lord Keith's orders, and thus
hazarding Minorca, without, as it appeared to them, any sufficient reason; and also for having
landed seamen for the siege of Capua, to form part of an army employed in operations at a
distance from the coast; where, in case of defeat, they might have been prevented from
returning to their ships; and they enjoined him, "not to employ the seamen in like manner in
future." This reprimand was issued before the event was known; though, indeed, the event
would not affect the principle upon which it proceeded. When Nelson communicated the
tidings of his complete success, he said, in his public letter, "that it would not be the less
acceptable for having been principally brought about by British sailors." His judgment in thus
employing them had been justified by the result; and his joy was evidently heightened by the
gratification of a professional and becoming

91
pride. To the first lord he said, at the same time, "I certainly, from having only a left hand,
cannot enter into details which may explain the motives that actuated my conduct. My
principle is, to assist in driving the French to the devil, and in restoring peace and happiness
to mankind. I feel that I am fitter to do the action than to describe it." He then added that he
would take care of Minorca.
In expelling the French from Naples, Nelson had, with characteristic zeal and ability,
discharged his duty; but he deceived himself when he imagined that he had seated Ferdinand
firmly on his throne, and that he had restored happiness to millions. These objects might have
been accomplished if it had been possible to inspire virtue and wisdom into a vicious and
infatuated court; and if Nelson's eyes had not been, as it were, spell-bound by that unhappy
attachment, which had now completely mastered him, he would have seen things as they
were; and might, perhaps, have awakened the Sicilian court to a sense of their interest, if not
of their duty. That court employed itself in a miserable round of folly and festivity, while the
prisons of Naples were filled with groans, and the scaffolds streamed with blood. St.
Januarius was solemnly removed from his rank as patron saint of the kingdom, having been
convicted of Jacobinism; and St. Antonio as solemnly installed in his place. The king, instead
of re-establishing order at Naples by his presence, speedily returned to Palermo, to indulge in
his favourite amusements. Nelson, and the ambassador's family, accompanied the court; and
Troubridge remained, groaning over the villany and frivolity of those with whom he was
compelled to deal. A party of officers applied to him for a passage to Palermo, to see the
procession of St. Rosalia: he recommended them to exercise their troops, and not behave like
children. It was grief enough for him that the court should be busied in these follies, and
Nelson involved in them. "I dread, my lord," said he, "all the feasting, &c. at Palermo. I am
sure your health will be hurt. If so, all their saints will be damned by the navy. The king
would be better employed digesting a good government; everything gives way to their
pleasures. The money spent at Palermo gives discontent here; fifty thousand people are
unemployed, trade discouraged, manufactures at a stand. It is the interest of many here to
keep the king away: they all dread reform. Their villanies are so deeply rooted, that if some
method is not taken to dig them out, this government cannot hold together. Out of twenty
millions of ducats, collected as the revenue, only thirteen millions reach the treasury; and the
king pays four ducats where he should pay one. He is surrounded by thieves; and none of
them have honour or honesty enough to tell him the real and true state of things." In another
letter he expressed his sense of the miserable state of Naples. "There are upwards of forty
thousand families," said he,"who have relations confined. If some act of oblivion is not
passed, there will be no end of persecution; for the people of this country have no idea of
anything but revenge, and to gain a point would swear ten thousand false oaths. Constant
efforts are made to get a man taken up, in order to rob him. The confiscated property does not
reach the king's treasury. All thieves! It is selling for nothing. His own people, whom he
employs, are buying it up, and the vagabonds pocket the whole. I should not be surprised to
hear that they brought a bill of expenses against him for the sale."
The Sicilian court, however, were at this time duly sensible of the services which had been
rendered them by the British fleet, and their gratitude to Nelson was shown with

92
proper and princely munificence. They gave him the dukedom and domain of Bronte, worth
about L3000 a year. It was some days before he could be persuaded to accept it; the argument
which finally prevailed is said to have been suggested by the queen, and urged, at her request,
by Lady Hamilton upon her knees. "He considered his own honour too much," she said, "if
he persisted in refusing what the king and queen felt to be absolutely necessary for the
preservation of theirs." The king himself, also, is said to have addressed him in words, which
show that the sense of rank will sometimes confer a virtue upon those who seem to be most
unworthy of the lot to which they have been born: "Lord Nelson, do you wish that your name
alone should pass with honour to posterity; and that I, Ferdinand Bourbon, should appear
ungrateful?" He gave him also, when the dukedom was accepted, a diamond- hilted sword,
which his father, Char. III. of Spain, had given him on his accession to the throne of the two
Sicilies. Nelson said, "the reward was magnificent, and worthy of a king, and he was
determined that the inhabitants on the domain should be the happiest in all his Sicilian
majesty's dominions. Yet," said he, speaking of these and the other remunerations which
were made him for his services, "these presents, rich as they are, do not elevate me. My pride
is, that at Constantinople, from the grand seignior to the lowest Turk, the name of Nelson is
familiar in their mouths; and in this country I am everything which a grateful monarch and
people can call me." Nelson, however, had a pardonable pride in the outward and visible
signs of honour which he had so fairly won. He was fond of his Sicilian title; the
signification, perhaps, pleased him; Duke of Thunder was what in Dahomy would be called a
STRONG NAME; it was to a sailor's taste; and certainly, to no man could it ever be more
applicable. But a simple offering, which he received not long afterwards, from the island of
Zante, affected him with a deeper and finer feeling. The Greeks of that little community sent
him a golden-headed sword and a truncheon, set round with all the diamonds that the island
could furnish, in a single row. They thanked him "for having, by his victory, preserved that
part of Greece from the horrors of anarchy; and prayed that his exploits might accelerate the
day, in which, amidst the glory and peace of thrones, the miseries of the human race would
cease." This unexpected tribute touched Nelson to the heart. "No officer," he said, "had ever
received from any country a higher acknowledgment of his services."
The French still occupied the Roman states; from which, according to their own admission,
they had extorted in jewels, plate, specie, and requisitions of every kind, to the enormous
amount of eight millions sterling; yet they affected to appear as deliverers among the people
whom they were thus cruelly plundering; and they distributed portraits of Buonaparte, with
the blasphemous inscription, "This is the true likeness of the holy saviour of the world!" The
people, detesting the impiety, and groaning beneath the exactions of these perfidious robbers,
were ready to join any regular force that should come to their assistance; but they dreaded
Cardinal Ruffo's rabble, and declared they would resist him as a banditti, who came only for
the purpose of pillage. Nelson perceived that no object was now so essential for the
tranquillity of Naples as the recovery of Rome; which in the present state of things, when
Suvarof was driving the French before him, would complete the deliverance of Italy. He
applied, therefore, to Sir James St. Clair Erskine, who in the absence of General Fox
commanded at Minorca, to assist in this great object with 1200 men. "The field of glory,"
said he, "is a large one, and

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was never more open to any one than at this moment to you. Rome would throw open her
gates and receive you as her deliverer; and the pope would owe his restoration to a heretic."
But Sir James Erskine looked only at the difficulties of the undertaking. "Twelve hundred
men, he thought, would be too small a force to be committed in such an enterprise; for Civita
Vecchia was a regular fortress; the local situation and climate also were such, that even if this
force were adequate, it would be proper to delay the.expedition till October. General Fox,
too, was soon expected; and during his absence, and under existing circumstances, he did not
feel justified in sending away such a detachment."
What this general thought it imprudent to attempt, Nelson and Troubridge effected without
his assistance, by a small detachment from the fleet. Troubridge first sent Captain Hallowell
to Civita Vecchia to offer the garrison there and at Castle St. Angelo the same terms which
had been granted to Gaieta. Hallowell perceived, by the overstrained civility of the officers
who came off to him, and the compliments which they paid to the English nation, that they
were sensible of their own weakness and their inability to offer any effectual resistance; but
the French know, that while they are in a condition to serve their government, they can rely
upon it for every possible exertion in their support; and this reliance gives them hope and
confidence to the last. Upon Hallowell's report, Troubridge, who had now been made Sir
Thomas for his services, sent Captain Louis with a squadron to enforce the terms which he
had offered; and, as soon as he could leave Naples, he himself followed. The French, who
had no longer any hope from the fate of arms, relied upon their skill in negotiation, and
proposed terms to Troubridge with that effrontery which characterises their public
proceedings; but which is as often successful as it is impudent. They had a man of the right
stamp to deal with. Their ambassador at Rome began by saying, that the Roman territory was
the property of the French by right of conquest. The British commodore settled that point, by
replying, "It is mine by reconquest." A capitulation was soon concluded for all the Roman
states, and Captain Louis rowed up the Tiber in his barge, hoisted English colours on the
capitol, and acted for the time as governor of Rome. The 4prophecy of the Irish poet was thus
accomplished, and the friar reaped the fruits; for Nelson, who was struck with the oddity of
the circumstance, and not a little pleased with it, obtained preferment for him from the King
of Sicily, and recommended him to the Pope.
Having thus completed his work upon the continent of Italy, Nelson's whole attention was
directed towards Malta; where Captain Ball, with most inadequate means, was besieging the
French garrison. Never was any officer engaged in more anxious and painful service: the
smallest reinforcement from France would, at any moment, have turned the scale against
him; and had it not been for his consummate ability, and the love and veneration with which
the Maltese regarded him, Malta must have remained in the hands of the enemy. Men,
money, food--all things were wanting. The garrison consisted of 5000 troops; the besieging
force of 500 English and Portuguese marines, and about 1500 armed peasants. Long and
repeatedly did Nelson solicit troops to effect the reduction of this important place. "It has
been no fault of the navy," said he, "that Malta has not been attacked by land; but we have
neither the means ourselves nor influence with those who have." The same causes of
demurral existed which prevented British

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troops from assisting in the expulsion of the French from Rome. Sir James Erskine was
expecting General Fox; he could not act without orders; and not having, like Nelson, that
lively spring of hope within him, which partakes enough of the nature of faith to work
miracles in war, he thought it "evident that unless a respectable land force, in numbers
sufficient to undertake the siege of such a garrison, in one of the strongest places of Europe,
and supplied with proportionate artillery and stores, were sent against it, no reasonable hope
could be entertained of its surrender." Nelson groaned over the spirit of over-reasoning
caution and unreasoning obedience. "My heart," said he, "is almost broken. If the enemy gets
supplies in, we may bid adieu to Malta; all the force we can collect would then be of little use
against the strongest place in Europe. To say that an officer is never, for any object, to alter
his orders, is what I cannot comprehend. The circumstances of this war so often vary, that an
officer has almost every moment to consider, what would my superiors direct, did they know
what was passing under my nose?" "But, sir," said he writing to the Duke of Clarence, "I find
few think as I do. To obey orders is all perfection. To serve my king, and to destroy the
French, I consider as the great order of all, from which little ones spring; and if one of these
militate against it (for who can tell exactly at a distance?) I go back and obey the great order
and object, to down--down with the damned French villains!--my blood boils at the name of
Frenchmen!"
At length, General Fox arrived at Minorca--and at length permitted Col. Graham to go to
Malta, but with means miserably limited. In fact, the expedition was at a stand for want of
money; when Troubridge arriving at Messina to co-operate in it, and finding this fresh delay,
immediately offered all that he could command of his own. "I procured him, my lord," said
he to Nelson,"1500 of my cobs--every farthing and every atom of me shall be devoted to the
cause." "What can this mean?" said Nelson, when he learned that Col. Graham was ordered
not to incur any expenses for stores, or any articles except provisions!--"the cause cannot
stand still for want of a little money. If nobody will pay it, I will sell Bronte and the Emperor
of Russia's box." And he actually pledged Bronte for L6600 if there should be any difficulty
about paying the bills. The long-delayed expedition was thus, at last, sent forth; but
Troubridge little imagined in what scenes of misery he was to bear his part. He looked to
Sicily for supplies: it was the interest, as well as the duty of the Sicilian government to use
every exertion for furnishing them; and Nelson and the British ambassador were on the spot
to press upon them the necessity of exertion. But, though Nelson saw with what a knavish
crew the Sicilian court was surrounded, he was blind to the vices of the court itself; and
resigning himself wholly to Lady Hamilton's influence, never even suspected the crooked
policy which it was remorselessly pursuing. The Maltese and the British in Malta severely
felt it. Troubridge, who had the truest affection for Nelson, knew his infatuation, and feared
that it might prove injurious to his character, as well as fatal to an enterprise which had begun
so well, and been carried on so patiently.
"My lord," said he, writing to him from the siege, "we are dying off fast for want. I learn that
Sir William Hamilton says Prince Luzzi refused corn some time ago, and Sir William does
not think it worth while making another application. If that be the case, I wish he commanded
this distressing scene instead of me. Puglia had an immense harvest; near

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thirty sail left Messina before I did, to load corn. Will they let us have any? If not, a short
time will decide the business. The German interest prevails. I wish I was at your Lordship's
elbow for an hour. ALL, ALL, will be thrown on you!- I will parry the blow as much as in
my power: I foresee much mischief brewing. God bless your Lordship; I am miserable I
cannot assist your operations more. Many happy returns of the day to you--(it was the first of
the new year)-- I never spent so miserable a one. I am not very tender-hearted; but really the
distress here would even move a Neapolitan." Soon afterwards he wrote,"I have this day
saved thirty thousand people from starving; but with this day my ability ceases. As the
government are bent on starving us, I see no alternative but to leave these poor unhappy
people to perish, without our being witnesses of their distress. I curse the day I ever served
the Neapolitan government. We have characters, my lord, to lose; these people have none. Do
not suffer their infamous conduct to fall on us. Our country is just, but severe. Such is the
fever of my brain this minute, that I assure you, on my honour, if the Palermo traitors were
here, I would shoot them first, and then myself. Girgenti is full of corn; the money is ready to
pay for it; we do not ask it as a gift. Oh! could you see the horrid distress I daily experience,
something would be done. Some engine is at work against us at Naples; and I believe I hit on
the proper person. If you complain he will be immediately promoted, agreeably to the
Neapolitan custom. All I write to you is known at the queen's. For my own part, I look upon
the Neapolitans as the worst of intriguing enemies: every hour shows me their infamy and
duplicity. I pray your lordship be cautious: your honest, open manner of acting will be made
a handle of. When I see you, and tell of their infamous tricks, you will be as much surprised
as I am. The whole will fall on you."
Nelson was not, and could not be, insensible to the distress which his friend so earnestly
represented. He begged, almost on his knees, he said, small supplies of money and corn, to
keep the Maltese from starving. And when the court granted a small supply, protesting their
poverty, he believed their protestations, and was satisfied with their professions, instead of
insisting that the restrictions upon the exportation of corn should be withdrawn. The anxiety,
however, which he endured, affected him so deeply that he said it had broken his spirit for
ever. Happily, all that Troubridge with so much reason foreboded, did not come to pass. For
Captain Ball, with more decision than Nelson himself would have shown at that time and
upon that occasion, ventured upon a resolute measure, for which his name would deserve
always to be held in veneration by the Maltese, even if it had no other claims to the love and
reverence of a grateful people. Finding it hopeless longer to look for succour or common
humanity from the deceitful and infatuated court of Sicily, which persisted in prohibiting by
sanguinary edicts the exportation of supplies, at his own risk, he sent his first lieutenant to the
port of Girgenti, with orders to seize and bring with him to Malta the ships which were there
lying laden with corn; of the numbers of which he had received accurate information. These
orders were executed to the great delight and advantage of the shipowners and proprietors:
the necessity of raising the siege was removed, and Captain Ball waited in calmness for the
consequences to himself. The Neapolitan government complained to the English ambassador,
and the complaint was communicated to Nelson, who, in return, requested Sir William
Hamilton would fully and plainly state, that the act ought not to be considered as any
intended disrespect to his Sicilian Majesty, but as of the most absolute and imperious
necessity; the alternative

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being either of abandoning Malta to the French, or of anticipating the king's orders for
carrying the corn in those vessels to Malta. "I trust," he added, "that the government of the
country will never again force any of our royal master's servants to so unpleasant an
alternative." Thus ended the complaint of the Neapolitan court. "The sole result was," says
Mr. Coleridge, "that the governor of Malta became an especial object of its hatred, its fears,
and its respect."
Nelson himself, at the beginning of February, sailed for that island. On the way he fell in with
a French squadron bound for its relief, and consisting of the GENEREUX seventy-four, three
frigates, and a corvette. One of these frigates and the line-of-battle ship were taken; the others
escaped, but failed in their purpose of reaching La Valette. This success was peculiarly
gratifying to Nelson, for many reasons. During some months he had acted as commander-in-
chief in the Mediterranean, while Lord Keith was in England. Lord Keith was now returned;
and Nelson had, upon his own plan, and at his own risk, left him to sail for Malta, "for
which," said he, "if I had not succeeded, I might have been broke: and if I had not acted thus,
the GENEREUX never would have been taken." This ship was one of those which had
escaped from Aboukir. Two frigates, and the GUILLAUME TELL, eighty-six were all that
now remained of the fleet which Buonaparte had conducted to Egypt. The GUILLAUME
TELL was at this time closely watched in the harbour of La Valette; and shortly afterwards,
attempting to make her escape from thence, was taken after an action, in which greater skill
was never displayed by British ships, nor greater gallantry by an enemy. She was taken by
the FOUDROYANT, LION, and PENELOPE frigate. Nelson, rejoicing at what he called this
glorious finish to the whole French Mediterranean fleet, rejoiced also that he was not present
to have taken a sprig of these brave men's laurels. "They are," said he, "and I glory in them,
my children; they served in my school; and all of us caught our professional zeal and fire
from the great and good Earl St. Vincent. What a pleasure, what happi- ness, to have the Nile
fleet all taken, under my orders and regul- ations!" The two frigates still remained in La
Valette; before its sur- render they stole out; one was taken in the attempt; the other was the
only ship of the whole fleet which escaped capture or destruction.
Letters were found on board the GUILLAUME TELL showing that the French were now
become hopeless of preserving the conquest which they had so foully acquired. Troubridge
and his brother officers were anxious that Nelson should have the honour of signing the
capitulation. They told, him that they absolutely, as far as they dared, insisted on his staying
to do this; but their earnest and affectionate entreaties were vain. Sir William Hamilton had
just been superseded: Nelson had no feeling of cordiality towards Lord Keith; and thinking
that after Earl St. Vincent no man had so good a claim to the command in the Mediterranean
as himself, he applied for permission to return to England; telling the First Lord of the
Admiralty that his spirit could not submit patiently, and that he was a broken-hearted man.
From the time of his return from Egypt, amid all the honours which were showered upon
him, he had suffered many mortifications. Sir Sidney Smith had been sent to Egypt with
orders to take under his command the squadron which Nelson had left there. Sir Sidney
appears to have thought that this command was to be independent of Nelson; and Nelson
himself thinking so, determined to return, saying to Earl St. Vincent, "I do feel, for I am a
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me to serve in these seas with a squadron under a junior officer." Earl St. Vincent seems to
have dissuaded him from this resolution: some heart-burnings, however, still remained, and
some incautious expressions of Sir Sidney's were noticed by him in terms of evident
displeasure. But this did not continue long, as no man bore more willing testimony than
Nelson to the admirable defence of Acre.
He differed from Sir Sidney as to the policy which ought to be pursued toward the French in
Egypt; and strictly commanded him, in the strongest language, not, on any pretence, to permit
a single Frenchman to leave the country, saying that he considered it nothing short of
madness to permit that band of thieves to return to Europe. "No," said he, "to Egypt they
went with their own consent, and there they shall remain while Nelson commands this
squadron; for never, never, will he consent to the return of one ship or Frenchman. I wish
them to perish in Egypt, and give an awful lesson to the world of the justice of the
Almighty." If Nelson had not thoroughly understood the character of the enemy against
whom he was engaged, their conduct in Egypt would have disclosed it. After the battle of the
Nile he had landed all his prisoners, upon a solemn engagement made between Troubridge on
one side and Captain Barre on the other, that none of them should serve until regularly
exchanged. They were no sooner on shore than part of them were drafted into the different
regiments, and the remainder formed into a corps, called the Nautic Legion. This occasioned
Captain Hallowell to say that the French had forfeited all claim to respect from us. "The army
of Buonaparte," said he, "are entirely destitute of every principle of honour: they have always
acted like licentious thieves." Buonaparte's escape was the more regretted by Nelson,
because, if he had had sufficient force, he thought it would certainly have been prevented. He
wished to keep ships upon the watch to intercept anything coming from Egypt; but the
Admiralty calculated upon the assistance of the Russian fleet, which failed when it was most
wanted. The ships which should have been thus employed were then required for more
pressing services;and the bloody Corsican was thus enabled to reach Europe in safety; there
to become the guilty instrument of a wider-spreading destruction than any with which the
world had ever before been visited.
Nelson had other causes of chagrin. Earl St. Vincent, for whom he felt such high respect, and
whom Sir John Orde had challenged for having nominated Nelson instead of himself to the
command of the Nile squadron, laid claim to prize money, as commander-in-chief, after he
had quitted the station. The point was contested, and decided against him. Nelson, perhaps,
felt this the more, because his own feelings, with regard to money, were so different. An
opinion had been given by Dr. Lawrence, which would have excluded the junior flag-officers
from prize-money. When this was made known to him, his reply was in these words:
"Notwithstanding Dr. Lawrence's opinion, I do not believe I have any right to exclude the
junior flag-officers; and if I have, I desire that no such claim may be made: no, not if it were
sixty times the sum--and, poor as I am, I were never to see prize-money."
A ship could not be spared to convey him to England; he therefore travelled through
Germany to Hamburgh, in company with his inseparable friends, Sir William and Lady
Hamilton. The Queen of Naples went with them to Vienna. While they were at Leghorn,

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upon a report that the French were approaching (for, through the folly of weak courts and the
treachery of venal cabinets, they had now recovered their ascendancy in Italy), the people
rose tumultuously, and would fain have persuaded Nelson to lead them against the enemy.
Public honours, and yet more gratifying testimonials of public admiration, awaited Nelson
wherever he went. The Prince of Esterhazy entertained him in a style of Hungarian
magnificence--a hundred grenadiers, each six feet in height, constantly waiting at table. At
Madgeburgh, the master of the hotel where he was entertained contrived to show him for
money--admitting the curious to mount a ladder, and peep at him through a small window. A
wine merchant at Hamburgh, who was above seventy years of age, requested to speak with
Lady Hamilton; and told her he had some Rhenish wine, of the vintage of 1625, which had
been in his own possession more than half-a-century: he had preserved it for some
extraordinary occasion; and that which had now arrived was far beyond any that he could
ever have expected. His request was, that her ladyship would prevail upon Lord Nelson to
accept six dozen of this incomparable wine: part of it would then have the honour to flow
into the heart's blood of that immortal hero; and this thought would make him happy during
the remainder of his life. Nelson, when this singular request was reported to him, went into
the room, and taking the worthy old gentleman kindly by the hand, consented to receive six
bottles, provided the donor would dine with him next day. Twelve were sent; and Nelson,
saying that he hoped yet to win half-a-dozen more great victories, promised to lay by six
bottles of his Hamburgh friend's wine, for the purpose of drinking one after each. A German
pastor, between seventy and eighty years of age, travelled forty miles, with the Bible of his
parish church, to request that Nelson would write his name on the first leaf of it. He called
him the Saviour of the Christian world. The old man's hope deceived him. There was no
Nelson upon shore, or Europe would have been saved; but in his foresight of the horrors with
which all Germany and all Christendom were threatened by France, the pastor could not
possibly have apprehended more than has actually taken place.

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Chapter 7. 1800 – 1801
Nelson separates himself from his Wife--Northern Confederacy-- He goes to the Baltic,
under Sir Hyde Parker--Battle of Copenhagen, and subsequent Negotiation--Nelson is made a
Viscount.
*
NELSON was welcomed in England with every mark of popular honour. At Yarmouth,
where he landed, every ship in the harbour hoisted her colours. The mayor and corporation
waited upon him with the freedom of the town, and accompanied him in procession to
church, with all the naval officers on shore, and the principal inhabitants. Bonfires and
illuminations concluded the day; and on the morrow, the volunteer cavalry drew up, and
saluted him as he departed, and followed the carriage to the borders of the county. At
Ipswich, the people came out to meet him, drew him a mile into the town, and three miles
out. When he was in the AGAMEMNON, he wished to represent this place in parliament,
and some of his friends had consulted the leading men of the corporation--the result was not
successful; and Nelson, observing that he would endeavour to find out a preferable path into
parliament, said there might come a time when the people of Ipswich would think it an
honour to have had him for their representative. In London, he was feasted by the City,
drawn by the populace from Ludgate-hill to Guildhall, and received the thanks of the
common-council for his great victory, and a golden-hilted sword studded with diamonds.
Nelson had every earthly blessing except domestic happiness; he had forfeited that for ever.
Before he had been three months in England he separated from Lady Nelson. Some of his last
words to her were--"I call God to witness, there is nothing in you, or your conduct, that I
wish otherwise." This was the consequence of his infatuated attachment to Lady Hamilton. It
had before caused a quarrel with his son-in-law, and occasioned remonstrances from his
truest friends, which produced no other effect than that of making him displeased with them,
and more dissatisfied with himself.
The Addington administration was just at this time formed; and Nelson, who had solicited
employment, and been made vice-admiral of the blue, was sent to the Baltic, as second in
command, under Sir Hyde Parker, by Earl St. Vincent, the new First Lord of the Admiralty.
The three Northern courts had formed a confederacy for making England resign her naval
rights. Of these courts, Russia was guided by the passions of its emperor, Paul, a man not
without fits of generosity, and some natural goodness, but subject to the wildest humours of
caprice, and erased by the possession of greater power than can ever be safely, or perhaps
innocently, possessed by weak humanity. Denmark was French at heart: ready to co-operate
in all the views of France, to recognise all her usurpations, and obey all her injunctions.
Sweden, under a king whose principles were right, and whose feelings were generous, but
who had a taint of hereditary insanity, acted in acquiescence with the dictates of two powers
whom it feared to offend. The Danish navy, at this time, consisted of 23 ships of the line,
with about 31 frigates and smaller vessels, exclusive of guard-ships. The Swedes had 18
ships of the line, 14 frigates and sloops, seventy-four galleys and smaller vessels, besides
gun-boats; and this force was in a far better state of

100
equipment than the Danish. The Russians had 82 sail of the line and 40 frigates. Of these
there were 47 sail of the line at Cronstadt, Revel, Petersburgh, and Archangel; but the
Russian fleet was ill-manned, ill- officered, and ill-equipped. Such a combination under the
influence of France would soon have become formidable; and never did the British Cabinet
display more decision than in instantly preparing to crush it. They erred, however, in
permitting any petty consideration to prevent them from appointing Nelson to the command.
The public properly murmured at seeing it intrusted to another; and he himself said to Earl St.
Vincent that, circumstanced as he was, this expedition would probably be the last service that
he should ever perform. The earl, in reply, besought him, for God's sake, not to suffer himself
to be carried away by any sudden impulse.
The season happened to be unusually favourable; so mild a winter had not been known in the
Baltic for many years. When Nelson joined the fleet at Yarmouth, he found the admiral "a
little nervous about dark nights and fields of ice." "But we must brace up," said he; "these are
not times for nervous systems. I hope we shall give our northern enemies that hailstorm of
bullets which gives our dear country the dominion of the sea. We have it, and all the devils in
the north cannot take it from us, if our wooden walls have fair play." Before the fleet left
Yarmouth, it was sufficiently known that its destination was against Denmark. Some Danes,
who belonged to the AMAZON frigate, went to Captain Riou, and telling him what they had
heard, begged that he would get them exchanged into a ship bound on some other destination.
"They had no wish," they said,"to quit the British service; but they entreated that they might
not be forced to fight against their own country." There was not in our whole navy a man
who had a higher and more chivalrous sense of duty than Riou. Tears came into his eyes
while the men were speaking. Without making any reply, he instantly ordered his boat, and
did not return to the AMAZON till he could tell them that their wish was effected. The fleet
sailed on the 12th of March. Mr. Vansittart sailed in it; the British Cabinet still hoping to
attain its end by negotiation. It was well for England that Sir Hyde Parker placed a fuller
confidence in Nelson than the government seems to have done at this most important crisis.
Her enemies might well have been astonished at learning that any other man should for a
moment have been thought of for the command. But so little deference was paid, even at this
time, to his intuitive and all-commanding genius, that when the fleet had reached its first
rendezvous, at the entrance of the Cattegat, he had received no official communication
whatever of the intended operations. His own mind had been made up upon them with its
accustomed decision. "All I have gathered of our first plans," said he, "I disapprove most
exceedingly. Honour may arise from them; good cannot. I hear we are likely to anchor
outside of Cronenburgh Castle, instead of Copenhagen, which would give weight to our
negotiation. A Danish minister would think twice before he would put his name to war with
England, when the next moment he would probably see his master's fleet in flames, and his
capital in ruins. The Dane should see our flag every moment he lifted up his head."
Mr Vansittart left the fleet at the Scaw, and preceded it in a frigate with a flag of truce.
Precious time was lost by this delay, which was to be purchased by the dearest blood of
Britain and Denmark: according to the Danes themselves, the intelligence that a British fleet
was seen off the Sound produced a much more general alarm in Copenhagen than its

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actual arrival in the Roads; for the means of defence were at that time in such a state that they
could hardly hope to resist, still less to repel an enemy. On the 21st Nelson had a long
conference with Sir Hyde; and the next day addressed a letter to him, worthy of himself and
of the occasion. Mr. Vansittart's report had then been received. It represented the Danish
government as in the highest degree hostile, and their state of preparation as exceeding what
our cabinet had supposed possible; for Denmark had profited with all activity of the leisure
which had so impoliticly been given her. "The more I have reflected," said Nelson to his
commander, "the more I am confirmed in opinion, that not a moment should be lost in
attacking the enemy. They will every day and every hour be stronger; we shall never be so
good a match for them as at this moment. The only consideration is, how to get at them with
the least risk to our ships. Here you are, with almost the safety, certainly with the honour of
England, more entrusted to you than ever yet fell to the lot of any British officer. On your
decision depends whether our country shall be degraded in the eyes of Europe, or whether
she shall rear her head higher than ever. Again, I do repeat, never did our country depend so
much upon the success of any fleet as on this. How best to honour her and abate the pride of
her enemies, must be the subject of your deepest consideration."
Supposing him to force the passage of the Sound, Nelson thought some damage might be
done among the masts and yards; though, perhaps, not one of them but would be serviceable
again. "If the wind be fair," said he, "and you determined to attack the ships and Crown
Islands, you must expect the natural issue of such a battle-- ships crippled, and perhaps one or
two lost for the wind which carries you in will most probably not bring out a crippled ship.
This mode I call taking the bull by the horns. It, however, will not prevent the Revel ships, or
the Swedes, from joining the Danes and to prevent this is, in my humble opinion, a measure
absolutely necessary, and still to attack Copenhagen." For this he proposed two modes. One
was to pass Cronenburg, taking the risk of danger; take the deepest and straightest channel
along the middle grounds, and then coming down to Garbar, or King's Channel, attack the
Danish line of floating batteries and ships as might be found convenient. This would prevent
a junction, and might give an opportunity of bombarding Copenhagen. Or to take the passage
of the Belt, which might be accomplished in four or five days; and then the attack by Draco
might be made, and the junction of the Russians prevented. Supposing them through the Belt,
he proposed that a detachment of the fleet should be sent to destroy the Russian squadron at
Revel; and that the business at Copenhagen should be attempted with the remainder. "The
measure," he said, "might be thought bold; but the boldest measures are the safest."
The pilots, as men who had nothing but safety to think of, were terrified by the formidable
report of the batteries of Elsinore, and the tremendous preparations which our negotiators,
who were now returned from their fruitless mission, had witnessed. They, therefore,
persuaded Sir Hyde to prefer the passage of the Belt. "Let it be by the Sound, by the Belt, or
anyhow," cried Nelson,"only lose not an hour!" On the 26th they sailed for the Belt. Such
was the habitual reserve of Sir Hyde that his own captain, the captain of the fleet, did not
know which course he had resolved to take till the fleet were getting under weigh. When
Captain Domett was thus apprised of it, he felt it his duty to represent to the admiral his
belief that if that course were persevered in, the ultimate object would

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be totally defeated: it was liable to long delays, and to accidents of ships grounding; in the
whole fleet there were only one captain and one pilot who knew anything of this formidable
passage (as it was then deemed), and their knowledge was very slight--their instructions did
not authorise them to attempt it. Supposing them safe through the Belts, the heavy ships
could not come over the GROUNDS to attack Copenhagen; and light vessels would have no
effect on such a line of defence as had been prepared against them. Domett urged these
reasons so forcibly that Sir Hyde's opinion was shaken, and he consented to bring the fleet to
and send for Nelson on board. There can be little doubt but that the expedition would have
failed if Captain Domett had not thus timeously and earnestly given his advice. Nelson
entirely agreed with him; and it was finally determined to take the passage of the Sound, and
the fleet returned to its former anchorage.
The next day was more idly expended in despatching a flag of truce to the governor of
Cronenburg Castle, to ask whether he had received orders to fire at the British fleet; as the
admiral must consider the first gun to be a declaration of war on the part of Denmark. A
soldier-like and becoming answer was returned to this formality. The governor said that the
British minister had not been sent away from Copenhagen, but had obtained a passport at his
own demand. He himself, as a soldier, could not meddle with politics; but he was not at
liberty to suffer a fleet, of which the intention was not yet known, to approach the guns of the
castle which he had the honour to command: and he requested, "if the British admiral should
think proper to make any proposals to the King of Denmark, that he might be apprised of it
before the fleet approached nearer." During this intercourse, a Dane, who came on board the
commander's ship, having occasion to express his business in writing, found the pen blunt;
and, holding it up, sarcastically said, "If your guns are not better pointed than your pens, you
will make little impression on Copenhagen!"
On that day intelligence reached the admiral of the loss of one of his fleet, the INVINCIBLE,
seventy-four, wrecked on a sand-bank, as she was coming out of Yarmouth: four hundred of
her men perished in her. Nelson, who was now appointed to lead the van, shifted his flag to
the ELEPHANT, Captain Foley--a lighter ship than the ST. GEORGE, and, there- fore, fitter
for the expected operations. The two following days were calm. Orders had been given to
pass the Sound as soon as the wind would permit; and, on the afternoon of the 29th, the ships
were cleared for action, with an alacrity characteristic of British seamen. At daybreak on the
30th it blew a topsail breeze from N.W. The signal was made, and the fleet moved on in
order of battle; Nelson's division in the van, Sir Hyde's in the centre, and Admiral Graves' in
the rear.
Great actions, whether military or naval, have generally given celebrity to the scenes from
whence they are denominated; and thus petty villages, and capes and bays known only to the
coasting trader, become associated with mighty deeds, and their names are made conspicuous
in the history of the world. Here, however, the scene was every way worthy of the drama.
The political importance of the Sound is such, that grand objects are not needed there to
impress the imagination; yet is the channel full of grand and interesting objects, both of art
and nature. This passage, which Denmark had so long considered as the key of the Baltic, is,
in its narrowest part, about three miles wide; and

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here the city of Elsinore is situated; except Copenhagen, the most flourishing of the Danish
towns. Every vessel which passes lowers her top-gallant sails and pays toll at Elsinore; a toll
which is believed to have had its origin in the consent of the traders to that sea, Denmark
taking upon itself the charge of constructing lighthouses, and erecting signals, to mark the
shoals and rocks from the Cattegat to the Baltic; and they, on their part, agreeing that all
ships should pass this way in order that all might pay their shares: none from that time using
the passage of the Belt, because it was not fitting that they who enjoyed the benefit of the
beacons in dark and stormy weather, should evade contributing to them in fair seasons and
summer nights. Of late years about ten thousand vessels had annually paid this contribution
in time of peace. Adjoining Elsinore, and at the edge of the peninsular promontory, upon the
nearest point of land to the Swedish coast, stands Cronenburgh Castle, built after Tycho
Brahe's design; a magnificent pile--at once a palace, and fortress, and state-prison, with its
spires, and towers, and battlements, and batteries. On the left of the strait is the old Swedish
city of Helsinburg, at the foot, and on the side of a hill. To the north of Helsinburg the shores
are steep and rocky; they lower to the south; and the distant spires of Lanscrona, Lund, and
Malmoe are seen in the flat country. The Danish shores consist partly of ridges of sand; but
more frequently they are diversified with cornfields, meadows, slopes, and are covered with
rich wood, and villages, and villas, and summer palaces belonging to the king and the
nobility, and denoting the vicinity of a great capital. The isles of Huen, Statholm, and Amak,
appear in the widening channel; and at the distance of twenty miles from Elsinore stands
Copenhagen in full view; the best city of the north, and one of the finest capitals of Europe,
visible, with its stately spires, far off. Amid these magnificent objects there are some which
possess a peculiar interest for the recollections which they call forth. The isle of Huen, a
lovely domain, about six miles in circumference, had been the munificent gift of Frederick
the Second to Tycho Brahe. It has higher shores than the near coast of Zealand, or than the
Swedish coast in that part. Here most of his discoveries were made; and here the ruins are to
be seen of his observatory, and of the mansion where he was visited by princes; and where,
with a princely spirit, he received and entertained all comers from all parts, and promoted
science by his liberality as well as by his labours. Elsinore is a name familiar to English ears,
being inseparably associated with HAMLET, and one of the noblest works of human genius.
Cronenburgh had been the scene of deeper tragedy: here Queen Matilda was confined, the
victim of a foul and murderous court intrigue. Here, amid heart-breaking griefs, she found
consolation in nursing her infant. Here she took her everlasting leave of that infant, when, by
the interference of England, her own deliverance was obtained; and as the ship bore her away
from a country where the venial indiscretions of youth and unsuspicious gaiety had been so
cruelly punished, upon these towers she fixed her eyes, and stood upon the deck, obstinately
gazing toward them till the last speck had disappeared.
The Sound being the only frequented entrance to the Baltic, the great Mediterranean of the
North, few parts of the sea display so frequent a navigation. In the height of the season not
fewer than a hundred vessels pass every four-and-twenty hours for many weeks in
succession; but never had so busy or so splendid a scene been exhibited there as on this day,
when the British fleet prepared to force that passage where, till now, all ships had vailed their
topsails to the flag of Denmark. The whole force consisted of fifty-one

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sail of various descriptions, of which sixteen were of the line. The greater part of the bomb
and gun vessels took their stations off Cronenburgh Castle, to cover the fleet; while others on
the larboard were ready to engage the Swedish shore. The Danes, having improved every
moment which ill-timed negotiation and baffling weather gave them, had lined their shores
with batteries; and as soon as the MONARCH, which was the leading ship, came abreast of
them, a fire was opened from about a hundred pieces of cannon and mortars; our light vessels
immediately, in return, opened their fire upon the castle. Here was all the pompous
circumstance and exciting reality of war, without its effects; for this ostentatious display was
but a bloodless prelude to the wide and sweeping destruction which was soon to follow. The
enemy's shot fell near enough to splash the water on board our ships: not relying upon any
forbearance of the Swedes, they meant to have kept the mid channel; but when they
perceived that not a shot was fired from Helsinburg, and that no batteries were to be seen on
the Swedish shore, they inclined to that side, so as completely to get out of reach of the
Danish guns. The uninterrupted blaze which was kept up from them till the fleet had passed,
served only to exhilarate our sailors, and afford them matter for jest, as the shot fell in
showers a full cable's length short of its destined aim. A few rounds were re- turned from
some of our leading ships, till they perceived its in- utility: this, however, occasioned the only
bloodshed of the day, some of our men being killed and wounded by the bursting of a gun.
As soon as the main body had passed, the gun vessels followed, desisting from their
bombardment, which had been as innocent as that of the enemy; and, about mid-day, the
whole fleet anchored between the island of Huen and Copen- hagen. Sir Hyde, with Nelson,
Admiral Graves, some of the senior captains, and the commanding officers of the artillery
and the troops, then proceeded in a lugger to reconnoitre the enemy's means of defence; a
formidable line of ships, radeaus, pontoons, galleys, fire-ships and gun-boats, flanked and
supported by extensive batteries, and occupying, from one extreme point to the other, an
extent of nearly four miles.
A council of war was held In the afternoon. It was apparent that the Danes could not be
attacked without great difficulty and risk; and some of the members of the council spoke of
the number of the Swedes and the Russians whom they should afterwards have to engage, as
a consideration which ought to be borne in mind. Nelson, who kept pacing the cabin,
impatient as he ever was of anything which savoured of irresolution, repeatedly said, "The
more numerous the better: I wish they were twice as many,--the easier the victory, depend on
it." The plan upon which he had determined; if ever it should be his fortune to bring a Baltic
fleet to action, was, to attack the head of their line and confuse their movements. "Close with
a Frenchman," he used to say, "but out manoeuvre a Russian." He offered his services for the
attack, requiring ten sail of the line and the whole of the smaller craft. Sir Hyde gave him two
more line-of-battle ships than he asked, and left everything to his judgment.
The enemy's force was not the only, nor the greatest, obstacle with which the British fleet had
to contend: there was another to be overcome before they could come in contact with it. The
channel was little known and extremely intricate: all the buoys had been removed; and the
Danes considered this difficulty as almost insuperable, thinking the channel impracticable for
so large a fleet. Nelson himself saw the soundings made and the buoys

105
laid down, boating it upon this exhausting service, day and night, till it was effected. When
this was done he thanked God for having enabled him to get through this difficult part of his
duty. "It had worn him down," he said, "and was infinitely more grievous to him than any
resistance which he could experience from the enemy."
At the first council of war, opinions inclined to an attack from the eastward; but the next day,
the wind being southerly, after a second examination of the Danish position, it was
determined to attack from the south, approaching in the manner which Nelson had suggested
in his first thoughts. On the morning of the 1st of April the whole fleet removed to an
anchorage within two leagues of the town, and off the N.W. end of the Middle Ground; a
shoal lying exactly before the town, at about three quarters of a mile distance, and extending
along its whole sea-front. The King's Channel, where there is deep water, is between this
shoal and the town; and here the Danes had arranged their line of defence, as near the shore
as possible: nineteen ships and floating batteries, flanked, at the end nearest the town, by the
Crown Batteries, which were two artificial islands, at the mouth of the harbour--most
formidable works; the larger one having, by the Danish account, 66 guns; but, as Nelson
believed, 88. The fleet having anchored, Nelson, with Riou, in the AMAZON, made his last
examination of the ground; and about one o'clock, returning to his own ship, threw out the
signal to weigh. It was received with a shout throughout the whole division; they weighed
with a light and favourable wind: the narrow channel between the island of Saltholm and the
Middle Ground had been accurately buoyed; the small craft pointed out the course distinctly;
Riou led the way: the whole division coasted along the outer edge of the shoal, doubled its
further extremity, and anchored there off Draco Point, just as the darkness closed--the
headmost of the enemy's line not being more than two miles distant. The signal to prepare for
action had been made early in the evening; and as his own anchor dropt, Nelson called out, "I
will fight them the moment I have a fair wind!" It had been agreed that Sir Hyde, with the
remaining ships, should weigh on the following morning, at the same time as Nelson, to
menace the Crown Batteries on his side, and the four ships of the line which lay at the
entrance of the arsenal; and to cover our own disabled ships as they came out of action.
The Danes, meantime, had not been idle: no sooner did the guns of Cronenburgh make it
known to the whole city that all negotiation was at an end, that the British fleet was passing
the Sound, and that the dispute between the two crowns must now be decided by arms, than a
spirit displayed itself most honourable to the Danish character. All ranks offered themselves
to the service of their country; the university furnished a corps of 1200 youth, the flower of
Denmark--it was one of those emergencies in which little drilling or discipline is necessary to
render courage available: they had nothing to learn but how to manage the guns, and day and
night were employed in practising them. When the movements of Nelson's squadron were
perceived, it was known when and where the attack was to be expected, and the line of
defence was manned indiscriminately by soldiers, sailors, and citizens. Had not the whole
attention of the Danes been directed to strengthen their own means of defence, they might
most materially have annoyed the invading squadron, and perhaps frustrated the impending
attack; for the British ships were crowded in an anchoring ground of little extent:--it was
calm, so that mortar-boats might have acted against them to the utmost advantage; and they
were within range of

106
shells from Amak Island. A few fell among them; but the enemy soon ceased to fire. It was
learned afterwards, that, fortunately for the fleet, the bed of the mortar had given way; and
the Danes either could not get it replaced, or, in the darkness, lost the direction.
This was an awful night for Copenhagen--far more so than for the British fleet, where the
men were accustomed to battle and victory, and had none of those objects before their eyes
which rendered death terrible. Nelson sat down to table with a large party of his officers: he
was, as he was ever wont to be when on the eve of action, in high spirits, and drank to a
leading wind, and to the success of the morrow. After supper they returned to their respective
ships, except Riou, who remained to arrange the order of battle with Nelson and Foley, and to
draw up instructions. Hardy, meantime, went in a small boat to examine the channel between
them and the enemy; approaching so near that he sounded round their leading ship with a
pole, lest the noise of throwing the lead should discover him. The incessant fatigue of body,
as well as mind, which Nelson had undergone during the last three days, had so exhausted
him that he was earnestly urged to go to his cot; and his old servant, Allen, using that kind of
authority which long and affectionate services entitled and enabled him to assume on such
occasions, insisted upon his complying. The cot was placed on the floor, and he continued to
dictate from it. About eleven Hardy returned, and reported the practicability of the channel,
and the depth of water up to the enemy's line. About one the orders were completed; and half-
a-dozen clerks, in the foremost cabin, proceeded to transcribe them, Nelson frequently calling
out to them from his cot to hasten their work, for the wind was becoming fair. Instead of
attempting to get a few hours' sleep, he was constantly receiving reports on this important
point. At daybreak it was announced as becoming perfectly fair. The clerks finished their
work about six. Nelson, who was already up, breakfasted, and made signal for all captains.
The land forces and five hundred seamen, under Captain Freemantle and the Hon. Colonel
Stewart, were to storm the Crown Battery as soon as its fire should be silenced: and Riou--
whom Nelson had never seen till this expedition, but whose worth he had instantly perceived,
and appreciated as it deserved--had the BLANCHE and ALCMENE frigates, the DART and
ARROW sloops. and the ZEPHYR and OTTER fire-ships, given him, with a special
command to act as circumstances might require--every other ship had its station appointed.
Between eight and nine, the pilots and masters were ordered on board the admirals' ships.
The pilots were mostly men who had been mates in Baltic traders; and their hesitation about
the bearing of the east end of the shoal, and the exact line of deep water, gave ominous
warning of how little their knowledge was to be trusted. The signal for action had been made,
the wind was fair--not a moment to be lost. Nelson urged them to be steady, to be resolute,
and to decide; but they wanted the only ground for steadiness and decision in such cases; and
Nelson had reason to regret that he had not trusted to Hardy's single report. This was one of
the most painful moments of his life; and he always spoke of it with bitterness. "I
experienced in the Sound," said he, "the misery of having the honour of our country entrusted
to a set of pilots, who have no other thought than to keep the ships clear of danger, and their
own silly heads clear of shot. Everybody knows what I must have suffered; and if any merit
attaches itself to me, it was for combating the dangers of the shallows in defiance of them."
At length Mr. Bryerly, the master of the

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BELLONA, declared that he was prepared to lead the fleet; his judgment was acceded to by
the rest; they returned to their ships; and at half-past nine the signal was made to weigh in
succession.
Captain Murray, in the EDGAR, led the way; the AGAMEMNON was next in order; but on
the first attempt to leave her anchorage, she could not weather the edge of the shoal; and
Nelson had the grief to see his old ship, in which he had performed so many years' gallant
services, immovably aground at a moment when her help was so greatly required. Signal was
then made for the POLYPHEMUS; and this change in the order of sailing was executed with
the utmost promptitude: yet so much delay had thus been unavoidably occasioned, that the
EDGAR was for some time unsupported, and the POLYPHEMUS, whose place should have
been at the end of the enemy's line, where their strength was the greatest, could get no further
than the beginning, owing to the difficulty of the channel: there she occupied, indeed, an
efficient station, but one where her presence was less required. The ISIS followed with better
fortune, and took her own berth. The BELLONA, Sir Thomas Boulden Thompson, kept too
close on the starboard shoal, and grounded abreast of the outer ship of the enemy: this was
the more vexatious, inasmuch as the wind was fair, the room ample, and three ships had led
the way. The RUSSELL, following the BELLONA, grounded in like manner: both were
within reach of shot; but their absence from their intended stations was severely felt. Each
ship had been ordered to pass her leader on the starboard side, because the water was
supposed to shoal on the larboard shore. Nelson, who came next after these two ships,
thought they had kept too far on the starboard direction, and made signal for them to close
with the enemy, not knowing that they were aground; but when he perceived that they did not
obey the signal, he ordered the ELEPHANT's helm to starboard, and went within these ships:
thus quitting the appointed order of sailing, and guiding those which were to follow. The
greater part of the fleet were probably, by this act of promptitude on his part, saved from
going on shore. Each ship, as she arrived nearly opposite to her appointed station, let her
anchor go by the stern, and presented her broadside to the Danes. The distance between each
was about half a cable. The action was fought nearly at the distance of a cable's length from
the enemy. This, which rendered its continuance so long, was owing to the ignorance and
consequent indecision of the pilots. In pursuance of the same error which had led the
BELLONA and the RUSSELL aground, they, when the lead was at a quarter less five,
refused to approach nearer, in dread of shoaling their water on the larboard shore: a fear
altogether erroneous, for the water deepened up to the very side of the enemy's line of battle.
At five minutes after ten the action began. The first half of our fleet was engaged in about
half an hour; and by half-past eleven the battle became general. The plan of the attack had
been complete: but seldom has any plan been more disconcerted by untoward accidents. Of
twelve ships of the line, one was entirely useless, and two others in a situation where they
could not render half the service which was required of them. Of the squadron of gun-brigs,
only one could get into action; the rest were prevented, by baffling currents, from weathering
the eastern end of the shoal; and only two of the bomb-vessels could reach their station on the
Middle Ground, and open their mortars on the arsenal, firing over both fleets. Riou took the
vacant station against the Crown Battery, with his

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frigates: attempting, with that unequal force, a service in which three sail of the line had been
directed to assist.
Nelson's agitation had been extreme when he saw himself, before the action began, deprived
of a fourth part of his ships of the line; but no sooner was he in battle, where his squadron
was received with the fire of more than a thousand guns, than, as if that artillery, like music,
had driven away all care and painful thoughts, his countenance brightened; and, as a
bystander describes him, his conversation became joyous, animated, elevated, and delightful.
The Commander-in-Chief meantime, near enough to the scene of action to know the
unfavourable accidents which had so materially weakened Nelson, and yet too distant to
know the real state of the contending parties, suffered the most dreadful anxiety. To get to his
assistance was impossible; both wind and current were against him. Fear for the event, in
such circumstances, would naturally preponderate in the bravest mind; and at one o'clock,
perceiving that, after three hours' endurance, the enemy's fire was unslackened, he began to
despair of success. "I will make the signal of recall," said he to his captain, "for Nelson's
sake. If he is in a condition to continue the action successfully, he will disregard it; if he is
not, it will be an excuse for his retreat, and no blame can be imputed to him." Captain Domett
urged him at least to delay the signal till he could communicate with Nelson; but in Sir
Hyde's opinion the danger was too pressing for delay. "The fire," he said,"was too hot for
Nelson to oppose; a retreat he thought must be made; he was aware of the consequences to
his own personal reputation, but it would be cowardly in him to leave Nelson to bear the
whole shame of the failure, if shame it should be deemed." Under, a mistaken judgment,
therefore, but with this disinterested and generous feeling, he made the signal for retreat.
Nelson was at this time, in all the excitement of action, pacing the quarter-deck. A shot
through the mainmast knocked the splinters about; and he observed to one of his officers with
a smile, "It is warm work, and this day may be the last to any of us at a moment:"--and then
stopping short at the gangway, added, with emotion--"But mark you! I would not be
elsewhere for thousands." About this time the signal- lieutenant called out that number
Thirty-nine (the signal for discontinuing the action) was thrown out by the Commander-in-
Chief. He continued to walk the deck, and appeared to take no notice of it. The signal officer
met him at the next turn, and asked if he should repeat it. "No," he replied, "acknowledge it."
Presently he called after him to know if the signal for close action was still hoisted; and being
answered in the affirmative, said, "Mind you keep it so." He now paced the deck, moving the
stump of his lost arm in a manner which always indicated great emotion. "Do you know,"
said he to Mr. Ferguson, "what is shown on board the Commander-in-Chief? Number Thirty-
nine!" Mr. Ferguson asked what that meant. "Why, to leave off action!" Then shrugging up
his shoulders, he repeated the words--"Leave off action? Now, damn me if I do! You know,
Foley," turning to the captain, "I have only one eye,--I have a right to be blind sometimes:"
and then putting the glass to his blind eye, in that mood of mind which sports with bitterness,
he exclaimed, "I really do not see the signal!" Presently he exclaimed, "Damn the signal!
Keep mine for closer battle flying! That's the way I answer signals! Nail mine to the mast!"
Admiral Graves, who was so situated that he could not discern what was done on board the
ELEPHANT, disobeyed Sir Hyde's signal in like manner; whether by fortunate mistake,

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or by a like brave intention, has not been made known. The other ships of the line, looking
only to Nelson, continued the action. The signal, however, saved Riou's little squadron, but
did not save its heroic leader. This squadron, which was nearest the Commander-in-Chief,
obeyed and hauled off. It had suffered severely in its most unequal contest. For a long time
the AMAZON had been firing, enveloped in smoke, when Riou desired his men to stand fast,
and let the smoke clear off, that they might see what they were about. A fatal order--for the
Danes then got clear sight of her from the batteries, and pointed their guns with such
tremendous effect that nothing but the signal for retreat saved this frigate from destruction.
"What will Nelson think of us?" was Riou's mournful exclamation when he unwillingly drew
off. He had been wounded in the head by a splinter, and was sitting on a gun, encouraging his
men, when, just as the AMAZON showed her stern to the Trekroner battery, his clerk was
killed by his side; and another shot swept away several marines who were hauling in the
main-brace. "Come, then, my boys!" cried Riou; "let us die all together!" The words had
scarcely been uttered before a raking shot cut him in two. Except it had been Nelson himself,
the British navy could not have suffered a severer loss.
The action continued along the line with unabated vigour on our side, and with the most
determined resolution on the part of the Danes. They fought to great advantage, because most
of the vessels in their line of defence were without masts; the few which had any standing
had their top-masts struck, and the hulls could not be seen at intervals. The ISIS must have
been destroyed by the superior weight of her enemy's fire, if Captain Inman, in the DESIREE
frigate, had not judiciously taken a situation which enabled him to rake the Dane, if the
POLYPHEMUS had not also relieved her. Both in the BELLONA and the ISIS many men
were lost by the bursting of their guns. The former ship was about forty years old, and these
guns were believed to be the same which she had first taken to sea: they were, probably,
originally faulty, for the fragments were full of little air-holes. The BELLONA lost 75 men;
the ISIS, 110; the MONARCH, 210. She was, more than any other line-of-battle ship,
exposed to the great battery; and supporting, at the same time, the united fire of the
HOLSTEIN and the ZEALAND, her loss this day exceeded that of any single ship during the
whole war. Amid the tremendous carnage in this vessel, some of the men displayed a singular
instance of coolness: the pork and peas happened to be in the kettle; a shot knocked its
contents about; they picked up the pieces, and ate and fought at the same time.
The Prince-Royal had taken his station upon one of the batteries, from whence he beheld the
action and issued his orders. Denmark had never been engaged in so arduous a contest, and
never did the Danes more nobly display their national courage--a courage not more unhappily
than impolitically exerted in subserviency to the interests of France. Captain Thura, of the
INDFOEDSRETTEN, fell early in the action; and all his officers, except one lieutenant and
one marine officer, were either killed or wounded In the confusion, the colours were either
struck or shot away; but she was moored athwart one of the batteries in such a situation that
the British made no attempt to board her; and a boat was despatched to the prince, to inform
him of her situation. He turned to those about him, and said, "Gentlemen, Thura is killed;
which of you will take the command?" Schroedersee, a captain who had lately resigned on
account of extreme ill-health,

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answered in a feeble voice, "I will!" and hastened on board. The crew, perceiving a new
commander coming alongside, hoisted their colours again, and fired a broadside.
Schroedersee, when he came on deck, found himself surrounded by the dead and wounded,
and called to those in the boat to get quickly on board: a ball struck him at that moment. A
lieutenant, who had accompanied him, then took the command, and continued to fight the
ship. A youth of seventeen, by name Villemoes, particularly distinguished himself on this
memorable day. He had volunteered to take the command of a floating battery, which was a
raft, consisting merely of a number of beams nailed together, with a flooring to support the
guns: it was square, with a breast-work full of port-holes, and without masts-- carrying
twenty-four guns, and one hundred and twenty men. With this he got under the stern of the
ELEPHANT, below the reach of the stern- chasers; and under a heavy fire of small-arms
from the marines, fought his raft, till the truce was announced, with such skill as well as
courage, as to excite Nelson's warmest admiration.
Between one and two the fire of the Danes slackened; about two it ceased from the greater
part of their line, and some of their lighter ships were adrift. It was, however, difficult to take
possession of those which struck, because the batteries on Amak Island protected them; and
because an irregular fire was kept up from the ships themselves as the boats approached. This
arose from the nature of the action: the crews were continually reinforced from the shore; and
fresh men coming on board, did not inquire whether the flag had been struck, or, perhaps, did
not heed it; many or most of them never having been engaged in war before--knowing
nothing, therefore, of its laws, and thinking only of defending their country to the last
extremity. The DANBROG fired upon the ELEPHANT's boats in this manner, though her
commodore had removed her pendant and deserted her, though she had struck, and though
she was in flames. After she had been abandoned by the commodore, Braun fought her till he
lost his right hand, and then Captain Lemming took the command. This unexpected renewal
of her fire made the ELEPHANT and GLATTON renew theirs, till she was not only silenced,
but nearly every man in the praams, ahead and astern of her, was killed. When the smoke of
their guns died away, she was seen drifting in flames before the wind: those of her crew who
remained alive, and able to exert themselves, throwing themselves out at her port-holes.
Captain Bertie of the ARDENT sent his launch to their assistance, and saved three-and-
twenty of them.
Captain Rothe commanded the NYEBORG praam; and perceiving that she could not much
longer be kept afloat, made for the inner road. As he passed the line, he found the
AGGERSHUUS praam in a more miserable condition than his own; her masts had all gone
by the board, and she was on the point of sinking. Rothe made fast a cable to her stern, and
towed her off; but he could get her no further than a shoal called Stubben, when she sunk,
and soon after he had worked the NYEBORG up to the landing-place, that vessel also sunk to
her gunwale. Never did any vessel come out of action in a more dreadful plight. The stump of
her foremast was the only stick standing; her cabin had been stove in; every gun, except a
single one, was dismounted; and her deck was covered with shattered limbs and dead bodies.

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By half-past two the action had ceased along that part of the line which was astern of the
ELEPHANT, but not with the ships ahead and the Crown Batteries. Nelson, seeing the
manner in which his boats were fired upon when they went to take possession of the prizes,
became angry, and said he must either send ashore to have this irregular proceeding stopped,
or send a fire-ship and burn them. Half the shot from the Trekroner, and from the batteries at
Amak, at this time, struck the surrendered ships, four of which had got close together; and the
fire of the English, in return, was equally or even more destructive to these poor devoted
Danes. Nelson, who was as humane as he was brave, was shocked at the massacre--for such
he called it; and with a presence of mind peculiar to himself, and never more signally
displayed than now, he retired into the stern gallery, and wrote thus to the Crown Prince:--
"Vice-Admiral Lord Nelson has been commanded to spare Denmark when she no longer
resists. The line of defence which covered her shores has struck to the British flag; but if the
firing is continued on the part of Denmark, he must set on fire all the prizes that he has taken,
without having the power of saving the men who have so nobly defended them. The brave
Danes are the brothers, and should never be the enemies, of the English." A wafer was given
him, but he ordered a candle to be brought from the cockpit, and sealed the letter with wax,
affixing a larger seal than he ordinarily used. "This," said he, "is no time to appear hurried
and informal." Captain Sir Frederick Thesiger, who acted as his aide-de-camp, carried this
letter with a flag of truce. Meantime the fire of the ships ahead, and the approach of the
RAMILLIES and DEFENCE from Sir Hyde's division, which had now worked near enough
to alarm the enemy, though not to injure them, silenced the remainder of the Danish line to
the eastward of the Trekroner. That battery, however, continued its fire. This formidable
work, owing to the want of the ships which had been destined to attack it, and the inadequate
force of Riou's little squadron, was comparatively uninjured. Towards the close of the action
it had been manned with nearly fifteen hundred men; and the intention of storming it, for
which every preparation had been made, was abandoned as impracticable.
During Thesiger's absence, Nelson sent for Freemantle, from the GANGES, and consulted
with him and Foley whether it was advisable to advance, with those ships which had
sustained least damage, against the yet uninjured part of the Danish line. They were
decidedly of opinion that the best thing which could be done was, while the wind continued
fair, to remove the fleet out of the intricate channel from which it had to retreat. In somewhat
more than half an hour after Thesiger had been despatched, the Danish adjutant-general,
Lindholm came, bearing a flag of truce, upon which the Trekroner ceased to fire, and the
action closed, after four hours' continuance. He brought an inquiry from the prince,--What
was the object of Nelson's note? The British admiral wrote in reply:--"Lord Nelson's object in
sending the flag of truce was human- ity; he therefore consents that hostilities shall cease, and
that the wounded Danes may be taken on shore. And Lord Nelson will take his prisoners out
of the vessels, and burn or carry off his prizes as he shall think fit. Lord Nelson, with humble
duty to his royal highness the prince, will consider this the greatest victory he has ever
gained, if it may be the cause of a happy reconciliation and union between his own most
gracious sovereign and his majesty the King of Denmark." Sir Frederick Thesiger was
despatched a second time with the reply; and the Danish adjutant-general was referred to the
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for a conference upon this overture. Lindholm assenting to this, proceeded to the LONDON,
which was riding at anchor full four miles off and Nelson, losing not one of the critical
moments which he had thus gained, made signal for his leading ships to weigh in succession;
they had the shoal to clear, they were much crippled, and their course was immediately under
the guns of the Trekroner.
The MONARCH led the way. This ship had received six-and-twenty shot between wind and
water. She had not a shroud standing; there was a double-headed shot in the heart of her
foremast, and the slightest wind would have sent every mast over her side. The imminent
danger from which Nelson had extricated himself soon became apparent: the MONARCH
touched immediately upon a shoal, over which she was pushed by the GANGES taking her
amidships; the GLATTON went clear; but the other two, the DEFIANCE and the
ELEPHANT, grounded about a mile from the Trekroner, and there remained fixed for many
hours, in spite of all the exertions of their wearied crews. The DESIREE frigate also, at the
other end of the line, having gone toward the close of the action to assist the BELLONA,
became fast on the same shoal. Nelson left the ELEPHANT soon after she took the ground,
to follow Lindholm. The heat of the action was over, and that kind of feeling which the
surrounding scene of havoc was so well fitted to produce, pressed heavily upon his exhausted
spirits. The sky had suddenly become overcast; white flags were waving from the mast-heads
of so many shattered ships; the slaughter had ceased, but the grief was to come; for the
account of the dead was not yet made up, and no man could tell for what friends he might
have to mourn. The very silence which follows the cessation of such a battle becomes a
weight upon the heart at first, rather than a relief; and though the work of mutual destruction
was at an end, the DANBROG was at this time drifting about in flames; presently she blew
up; while our boats, which had put off in all directions to assist her, were endeavouring to
pick up her devoted crew, few of whom could be saved. The fate of these men, after the
gallantry which they had displayed, particularly affected Nelson; for there was nothing in this
action of that indignation against the enemy, and that impression of retributive justice, which
at the Nile had given a sterner temper to his mind, and a sense of austere delight in beholding
the vengeance of which he was the appointed minister. The Danes were an honourable foe;
they were of English mould as well as English blood; and now that the battle had ceased, he
regarded them rather as brethren than as enemies. There was another reflection also which
mingled with these melancholy thoughts, and predisposed him to receive them. He was not
here master of his own movements, as at Egypt; he had won the day by disobeying his orders;
and in so far as he had been successful, had convicted the commander-in-chief of an error in
judgment. "Well," said he, as he left the ELEPHANT, "I have fought contrary to orders, and I
shall perhaps be hanged. Never mind: let them!"
This was the language of a man who, while he is giving utterance to uneasy thought, clothes
it half in jest, because he half repents that it has been disclosed. His services had been too
eminent on that day, his judgment too conspicuous, his success too signal, for any
commander, however jealous of his own authority, or envious of another's merits, to express
anything but satisfaction and gratitude: which Sir Hyde heartily felt, and sincerely expressed.
It was speedily agreed that there should be a suspension of hostilities for four-and-twenty
hours; that all the prizes should be surrendered, and the wounded

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Danes carried on shore. There was a pressing necessity for this, for the Danes, either from too
much confidence in the strength of their position and the difficulty of the channel, or
supposing that the wounded might be carried on shore during the action, which was found
totally impracticable, or perhaps from the confusion which the attack excited, had provided
no surgeons; so that, when our men boarded the captured ships, they found many of the
mangled and mutilated Danes bleeding to death for want of proper assistance--a scene, of all
others, the most shocking to a brave man's feelings.
The boats of Sir Hyde's division were actively employed all night in bringing out the prizes,
and in getting afloat the ships which were on shore. At daybreak, Nelson, who had slept in
his own ship, the St. George, rowed to the ELEPHANT; and his delight at finding her afloat
seemed to give him new life. There he took a hasty breakfast, praising the men for their
exertions, and then pushed off to the prizes, which had not yet been removed. The
ZEALAND, seventy-four, the last which struck, had drifted on the shoal under the Trekroner;
and relying, as it seems, upon the protection which that battery might have afforded, refused
to acknowledge herself captured; saying, that though it was true her flag was not to be seen,
her pendant was still flying. Nelson ordered one of our brigs and three long-boats to approach
her, and rowed up himself to one of the enemy's ships, to communicate with the com-
modore. 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 urban- ity as well as decision which
always characterised him, urged his claim to the ZEALAND so well that it was admitted. The
men from the boats lashed a cable round her bowsprit, and the gun-vessel towed her away. It
is affirmed, and probably with truth, that the Danes felt more pain at beholding this than at all
their misfortunes on the preceding day; and one of the officers, Commodore Steen Rille, went
to the Trekroner battery, and asked the commander why he had not sunk the ZEALAND,
rather than suffer her thus to be carried off by the enemy?
This was, indeed, a mournful day for Copenhagen! It was Good Friday; but the general
agitation, and the mourning which was in every house, made all distinction of days be
forgotten. There were, at that hour, thousands in that city who felt, and more perhaps who
needed, the consolations of Christianity, but few or none who could be calm enough to think
of its observances. The English were actively employed in refitting their own ships, securing
the prizes, and distributing the prisoners; the Danes, in carrying on shore and disposing of the
wounded and the dead. It had been a murderous action. Our loss, in killed and wounded, was
953. Part of this slaughter might have been spared. The commanding officer of the troops on
board one of our ships asked where his men should be stationed? He was told that they could
be of no use! that they were not near enough for musketry, and were not wanted at the guns;
they had, therefore, better go below. This, he said, was impossible; it would be a disgrace that
could never be wiped away. They were, therefore, drawn up upon the gangway, to satisfy this
cruel point of honour; and there, without the possibility of annoying the enemy, they were
mowed down! The loss of the Danes, including prisoners, amounted to about six thousand.
The negotiations, meantime, went on; and it was agreed that Nelson should have an interview
with the prince the following day. Hardy and Freemantle landed with him. This was a thing
as unexampled as the other circumstances of the battle. A strong guard was appointed to
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the palace, as much for the purpose of security as of honour. The populace, according to the
British account, showed a mixture of admiration, curiosity, and displeasure, at beholding that
man in the midst of them who had inflicted such wounds upon Denmark. But there were
neither acclamations nor murmurs. "The people," says a Dane, "did not degrade themselves
with the former, nor disgrace themselves with the latter: the admiral was received as one
brave enemy ever ought to receive another--he was received with respect." The preliminaries
of the negotiation were adjusted at this interview. During the repast which followed, Nelson,
with all the sincerity of his character, bore willing testimony to the valour of his foes. He told
the prince that he had been in a hundred and five engagements, but that this was the most
tremendous of all. "The French," he said, "fought bravely; but they could not have stood for
one hour the fight which the Danes had supported for four." He requested that Villemoes
might be introduced to him; and, shaking hands with the youth, told the prince that he ought
to be made an admiral. The prince replied: "If, my lord, I am to make all my brave officers
admirals, I should have no captains or lieutenants in my service."
The sympathy of the Danes for their countrymen who had bled in their defence, was not
weakened by distance of time or place in this instance. Things needful for the service, or the
comfort of the wounded, were sent in profusion to the hospitals, till the superintendents gave
public notice that they could receive no more. On the third day after the action, the dead were
buried in the naval churchyard: the ceremony was made as public and as solemn as the
occasion required; such a procession had never before been seen in that, or perhaps in any
other city. A public monument was erected upon the spot where the slain were gathered
together. A subscription was opened on the day of the funeral for the relief of the sufferers,
and collections in aid of it made throughout all the churches in the kingdom. This appeal to
the feelings of the people was made with circumstances which gave it full effect. A
monument was raised in the midst of the church, surmounted by the Danish colours: young
maidens, dressed in white, stood round it, with either one who had been wounded in the
battle, or the widow and orphans of some one who had fallen: a suitable oration was
delivered from the pulpit, and patriotic hymns and songs were afterwards performed. Medals
were distributed to all the officers, and to the men who had distinguished themselves. Poets
and painters vied with each other in celebrating a battle which, disastrous as it was, had yet
been honourable to their country: some, with pardonable sophistry, represented the advantage
of the day as on their own side. One writer discovered a more curious, but less disputable
ground of satisfaction, in the reflection that Nelson, as may be inferred from his name, was of
Danish descent, and his actions therefore, the Dane argued, were attributable to Danish
valour.
The negotiation was continued during the five following days; and in that interval the prizes
were disposed of, in a manner which was little approved by Nelson. Six line-of-battle ships
and eight praams had been taken. Of these the HOLSTEIN, sixty-four, was the only one
which was sent home. The ZEALAND was a finer ship; but the ZEALAND and all the others
were burned, and their brass battering cannon sunk with the hulls in such shoal water, that,
when the fleet returned from Revel, they found the Danes, with craft over the wrecks,
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from any public expression of displeasure at seeing the proofs and trophies of his victory
destroyed, did not forget to represent to the Admiralty the case of those who were thus
deprived of their prize-money. "Whether," said he to Earl St. Vincent, "Sir Hyde Parker may
mention the subject to you, I know not; for he is rich, and does not want it: nor is it, you will
believe me, any desire to get a few hundred pounds that actuates me to address this letter to
you; but justice to the brave officers and men who fought on that day. It is true our opponents
were in hulks and floats, only adapted for the position they were in; but that made our battle
so much the harder, and victory so much the more difficult to obtain. Believe me, I have
weighed all circumstances; and, in my conscience, I think that the king should send a
gracious message to the House of Commons for a gift to this fleet; for what must be the
natural feelings of the officers and men belonging to it, to see their rich commander-in-chief
burn all the fruits of their victory, which, if fitted up and sent to England (as many of them
might have been by dismantling part of our fleet), would have sold for a good round sum."
On the 9th, Nelson landed again, to conclude the terms of the armistice. During its
continuance the armed ships and vessels of Denmark were to remain in their actual situation,
as to armament, equipment, and hostile position; and the treaty of armed neutrality, as far as
related to the co-operation of Denmark, was suspended. The prisoners were to be sent on
shore; an acknowledgment being given for them, and for the wounded also, that: they might
be carried to Great Britain's credit in the account of war, in case hostilities should be
renewed. The British fleet was allowed to provide itself with all things requisite for the health
and comfort of its men. A difficulty arose respecting the duration of the armistice. The
Danish commissioners fairly stated their fears of Russia; and Nelson, with that frankness
which sound policy and the sense of power seem often to require as well as justify in
diplomacy, told them his reason for demanding a long term was, that he might have time to
act against the Russian fleet, and then return to Copenhagen. Neither party would yield upon
this point; and one of the Danes hinted at the renewal of hostilities. "Renew hostilities!" cried
Nelson to one of his friends--for he understood French enough to comprehend what was said,
though not to answer it in the same language --"tell him we are ready at a moment! ready to
bombard this very night!" The conference, however, proceeded amicably on both sides; and
as the commissioners could not agree on this head, they broke up, leaving Nelson to settle it
with the prince. A levee was held forthwith in one of the state-rooms, a scene well suited for
such a consultation; for all these rooms had been stripped of their furniture, in fear of a
bombardment. To a bombardment also Nelson was looking at this time: fatigue and anxiety,
and vexation at the dilatory measures of the commander-in-chief, combined to make him
irritable; and as he was on his way to the prince's dining-room, he whispered to the officer on
whose arm he was leaning, "Though I have only one eye, I can see that all this will burn
well." After dinner he was closeted with the prince; and they agreed that the armistice should
continue fourteen weeks; and that, at its termination, fourteen days' notice should be given
before the recommencement of hostilities.

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An official account of the battle was published by Olfert Fischer, the Danish commander-in-
chief in which it was asserted that our force was greatly superior; nevertheless, that two of
our ships of the line had struck; that the others were so weakened, and especially Lord
Nelson's own ship, as to fire only single shots for an hour before the end of the action; and
that this hero himself, in the middle and very heat of the conflict, sent a flag of truce on
shore, to propose a cessation of hostilities. For the truth of this account the Dane appealed to
the prince, and all those who, like him, had been eyewitnesses of the scene. Nelson was
exceedingly indignant at such a statement, and addressed a letter in confutation of it to the
Adjutant- General Lindholm; thinking this incumbent on him for the information of the
prince, since His Royal Highness had been appealed to as a witness: "Otherwise," said he,
"had Commodore Fischer confined himself to his own veracity, I should have treated his
official letter with the contempt it deserved, and allowed the world to appreciate the merits of
the two commanding officers." After pointing out and detecting some of the misstatements in
the account, he proceeds: "As to his nonsense about victory, His Royal Highness will not
much credit him. I sunk, burnt, captured, or drove into the harbour, the whole line of defence
to the southward of the Crown Islands. He says he is told that two British ships struck. Why
did he not take possession of them? I took possession of his as fast as they struck. The reason
is clear, that he did not believe it: he must have known the falsity of the report. He states that
the ship in which I had the honour to hoist my flag fired latterly only single guns. It is true;
for steady and cool were my brave fellows, and did not wish to throw away a single shot. He
seems to exult that I sent on shore a flag of truce. You know, and His Royal Highness knows,
that the guns fired from the shore could only fire through the Danish ships which had
surrendered; and that, if I fired at the shore, it could only be in the same manner. God forbid
that I should destroy an unresisting Dane! When they become my prisoners, I become their
protector."
This letter was written in terms of great asperity to the Danish commander. Lindholm replied
in a manner every way honourable to himself. He vindicated the commodore in some points,
and excused him in others; reminding Nelson that every commander-in-chief was liable to
receive incorrect reports. With a natural desire to represent the action in the most favourable
light to Denmark, he took into the comparative strength of the two parties the ships which
were aground, and which could not get into action; and omitted the Trekroner and the
batteries upon Amak Island. He disclaimed all idea of claiming as a victory, "what, to every
intent and purpose," said he, "was a defeat--but not an inglorious one. As to your lordship's
motive for sending a flag of truce, it never can be misconstrued and your subsequent conduct
has sufficiently shown that humanity is always the companion of true valour. You have done
more: you have shown yourself a friend to the re-establishment of peace and good harmony
between this country and Great Britain. It is, therefore, with the sincerest esteem I shall
always feel myself attached to your lordship." Thus handsomely winding up his reply, he
soothed and contented Nelson; who drawing up a memorandum of the comparative force of
the two parties for his own satisfaction, assured Lindholm that, if the commodore's statement
had been in the same manly and honourable strain, he would have been the last man to have
noticed any little inaccuracies which might get into a commander-in-chiefs public letter.

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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.

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Chapter 8. 1801 – 1805
Sir Hyde Parker is recalled and Nelson appointed Commander-- He goes to Revel--
Settlement of Affairs in the Baltic--Un- successful Attempt upon the Flotilla at Boulogne--
Peace of Amiens--Nelson takes Command in the Mediterranean on the Renewal of the War--
Escape of the Toulon Fleet--Nelson chases them to the West Indies and back--Delivers up his
Squadron to Admiral Cornwallis and lands in England.
*
WHEN Nelson informed Earl St. Vincent that the armistice had been concluded, he told him
also, without reserve, his own discontent at the dilatoriness and indecision which he
witnessed, and could not remedy. "No man," said he, "but those who are on the spot, can tell
what I have gone through, and do suffer. I make no scruple in saying, that I would have been
at Revel fourteen days ago! that, without this armistice, the fleet would never have gone, but
by order of the Admiralty; and with it, I daresay, we shall not go this week. I wanted Sir
Hyde to let me, at least, go and cruise off Carlscrona, to prevent the Revel ships from getting
in. I said I would not go to Revel to take any of those laurels which I was sure he would reap
there. Think for me, my dear lord: and if I have deserved well, let me return; if ill, for
Heaven's sake supersede me, for I cannot exist in this state."
Fatigue, incessant anxiety, and a climate little suited to one of a tender constitution, which
had now for many years been accustomed to more genial latitudes, made him at this time
seriously determine upon returning home. "If the northern business were not settled," he
said,"they must send more admirals; for the keen air of the north had cut him to the heart."
He felt the want of activity and decision in the commander-in-chief more keenly; and this
affected his spirits, and, consequently, his health, more than the inclemency of the Baltic.
Soon after the armistice was signed, Sir Hyde proceeded to the eastward with such ships as
were fit for service, leaving Nelson to follow with the rest, as soon as those which had
received slight damages should be repaired, and the rest sent to England. In passing between
the isles of Amak and Saltholm, most of the ships touched the ground, and some of them
stuck fast for a while: no serious injury, however, was sustained. It was intended to act
against the Russians first, before the breaking up of the frost should enable them to leave
Revel; but learning on the way that the Swedes had put to sea to effect a junction with them,
Sir Hyde altered his course, in hopes of intercepting this part of the enemy's force. Nelson
had, at this time, provided for the more pressing emergencies of the service, and prepared on
the 18th to follow the fleet. The ST. GEORGE drew too much water to pass the channel
between the isles without being lightened; the guns were therefore taken out, and put on
board an American vessel; a contrary wind, however, prevented Nelson from moving; and on
that same evening, while he was thus delayed, information reached him of the relative
situation of the Swedish and British fleets, and the probability of an action. The fleet was
nearly ten leagues distant, and both wind and current contrary, but it was not possible that
Nelson could wait for a favourable season under such an expectation. He ordered his boat
immediately, and stepped into it. Night was setting in, one of the cold spring nights of the
north; and it was

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discovered, soon after they left the ship, that in their haste they had forgotten to provide him
with a boat-cloak. He, however, forbade them to return for one; and when one of his
companions offered his own great-coat, and urged him to make use of it, he replied, "I thank
you very much; but, to tell you the truth, my anxiety keeps me sufficiently warm at present."
"Do you think," said he presently,"that our fleet has quitted Bornholm? If it has, we must
follow it to Carlscrona." About midnight he reached it, and once more got on board the
ELEPHANT. On the following morning the Swedes were discovered; as soon, however, as
they perceived the English approaching, they retired, and took shelter in Carlscrona, behind
the batteries on the island, at the entrance of that port. Sir Hyde sent in a flag of truce, stating
that Denmark had concluded an armistice, and requiring an explicit declaration from the
court of Sweden, whether it would adhere to or abandon the hostile measures which it had
taken against the rights and interests of Great Britain? The commander, Vice-Admiral
Cronstadt, replied, "That he could not answer a question which did not come within the
particular circle of his duty; but that the king was then at Maloe, and would soon be at
Carlscrona." Gustavus shortly afterwards arrived, and an answer was then returned to this
effect: "That his Swedish majesty would not, for a moment, fail to fulfil, with fidelity and
sincerity, the engagements he had entered into with his allies; but he would not refuse to
listen to equitable proposals made by deputies furnished with proper authority by the King of
Great Britain to the united northern powers." Satisfied with this answer, and with the known
disposition of the Swedish court, Sir Hyde sailed for the Gulf of Finland; but he had not
proceeded far before a despatch boat from the Russian ambassador at Copenhagen arrived,
bringing intelligence of the death of the Emperor Paul, and that his successor Alexander had
accepted the offer made by England to his father of terminating the dispute by a convention:
the British admiral was, therefore, required to desist from all further hostilities.
It was Nelson's maxim, that, to negotiate with effect, force should be at hand, and in a
situation to act. The fleet, having been reinforced from England, amounted to eighteen sail of
the line, and the wind was fair for Revel. There he would have sailed immediately to place
himself between that division of the Russian fleet and the squadron at Cronstadt, in case this
offer should prove insincere. Sir Hyde, on the other hand, believed that the death of Paul had
effected all which was necessary. The manner of that death, indeed, rendered it apparent that
a change of policy would take place in the cabinet of Petersburgh; but Nelson never trusted
anything to the uncertain events of time, which could possibly be secured by promptitude or
resolution. It was not, therefore, without severe mortification, that he saw the commander-in-
chief return to the coast of Zealand, and anchor in Kioge Bay, there to wait patiently for what
might happen.
There the fleet remained till dispatches arrived from home, on the 5th of May, recalling Sir
Hyde, and appointing Nelson commander-in- chief.
Nelson wrote to Earl St. Vincent that he was unable to hold this honourable station. Admiral
Graves also was so ill as to be confined to his bed; and he entreated that some person might
come out and take the command. "I will endeavour," said he, "to do my best

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while I remain; but, my dear lord, I shall either soon go to heaven, I hope, or must rest quiet
for a time. If Sir Hyde were gone, I would now be under sail." On the day when this was
written, he received news of his appointment. Not a moment was now lost. His first signal, as
commander- in-chief, was to hoist in all launches and prepare to weigh; and on the 7th he
sailed from Kioge. Part of his fleet was left at Bornholm, to watch the Swedes, from whom
he required and obtained an assurance that the British trade in the Cattegat and in the Baltic
should not be molested; and saying how unpleasant it would be to him if anything should
happen which might for a moment disturb the returning harmony between Sweden and Great
Britain, he apprised them that he was not directed to abstain from hostilities should he meet
with the Swedish fleet at sea. Meantime he himself; with ten sail of the line, two frigates, a
brig, and a schooner, made for the Gulf of Finland. Paul, in one of the freaks of his tyranny,
had seized upon all the British effects in Russia, and even considered British subjects as his
prisoners. "I will have all the English shipping and property restored," said Nelson, "but I will
do nothing violently, neither commit the affairs of my country, nor suffer Russia to mix the
affairs of Denmark or Sweden with the detention of our ships." The wind was fair, and
carried him in four days to Revel Roads. But the Bay had been clear of firm ice on the 29th
of April, while the English were lying idly at Kioge. The Russians had cut through the ice in
the mole six feet thick, and their whole squadron had sailed for Cronstadt on the 3rd. Before
that time it had lain at the mercy of the English. "Nothing," Nelson said, "if it had been right
to make the attack, could have saved one ship of them in two hours after our entering the
bay."
It so happened that there was no cause to regret the opportunity which had been lost, and
Nelson immediately put the intentions of Russia to the proof. He sent on shore, to say that he
came with friendly views, and was ready to return a salute. On their part the salute was
delayed, till a message was sent to them to inquire for what reason; and the officer whose
neglect had occasioned the delay, was put under arrest. Nelson wrote to the emperor,
proposing to wait on him personally and congratulate him on his accession, and urged the
immediate release of British subjects, and restoration of British property.
The answer arrived on the 16th: Nelson, meantime, had exchanged visits with the governor,
and the most friendly intercourse had subsisted between the ships and the shore. Alexander's
ministers, in their reply, expressed their surprise at the arrival of a British fleet in a Russian
port, and their wish that it should return: they professed, on the part of Russia, the most
friendly disposition towards Great Britain; but declined the personal visit of Lord Nelson,
unless he came in a single ship. There was a suspicion implied in this which stung Nelson;
and he said the Russian ministers would never have written thus if their fleet had been at
Revel. He wrote an immediate reply, expressing what he felt; he told the court of
Petersburgh, "That the word of a British admiral, when given in explanation of any part of his
conduct, was as sacred as that of any sovereign's in Europe." And he repeated, "that, under
other circumstances, it would have been his anxious wish to have paid his personal respects
to the emperor, and signed with his own hand the act of amity between the two countries."
Having despatched this, he stood out to sea immediately, leaving a brig to bring off the
provisions which had been contracted for, and to settle the accounts. "I hope all is right," said
he, writing to our ambassador at

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Berlin; "but seamen are but bad negotiators; for we put to issue in five minutes what
diplomatic forms would be five months doing."
On his way down the Baltic, however, he met the Russian admiral, Tchitchagof, whom the
emperor, in reply to Sir Hyde's overtures, had sent to communicate personally with the
British commander-in-chief. The reply was such as had been wished and expected; and these
negotiators going, seamen-like, straight to their object, satisfied each other of the friendly
intentions of their respective governments. Nelson then anchored off Rostock; and there he
received an answer to his last despatch from Revel, in which the Russian court expressed
their regret that there should have been any misconception between them; informed him that
the British vessels which Paul had detained were ordered to be liberated, and invited him to
Petersburgh, in whatever mode might be most agreeable to himself. Other honours awaited
him: the Duke of Mecklenburgh Strelitz, the queen's brother, came to visit him on board his
ship; and towns of the inland parts of Mecklenburgh sent deputations, with their public books
of record, that they might have the name of Nelson in them written by his own hand.
From Rostock the fleet returned to Kioge Bay. Nelson saw that the temper of the Danes
towards England was such as naturally arose from the chastisement which they had so
recently received. "In this nation," said he, "we shall not be forgiven for having the upper
hand of them: I only thank God we have, or they would try to humble us to the dust." He saw
also that the Danish cabinet was completely subservient to France: a French officer was at
this time the companion and counsellor of the Crown Prince; and things were done in such
open violation of the armistice, that Nelson thought a second infliction of vengeance would
soon be necessary. He wrote to the Admiralty, requesting a clear and explicit reply to his
inquiry, Whether the commander-in-chief was at liberty to hold the language becoming a
British admiral? "Which, very probably," said he, "if I am here, will break the armistice, and
set Copenhagen in a blaze. I see everything which is dirty and mean going on, and the Prince
Royal at the head of it. Ships have been masted, guns taken on board, floating batteries
prepared, and except hauling out and completing their rigging, everything is done in defiance
of the treaty. My heart burns at seeing the word of a prince, nearly allied to our good king, so
falsified; but his conduct is such, that he will lose his kingdom if he goes on; for Jacobins
rule in Denmark. I have made no representations yet, as it would be useless to do so until I
have the power of correction. All I beg, in the name of the future commander-in- chief, is,
that the orders may be clear; for enough is done to break twenty treaties, if it should be
wished, or to make the Prince Royal humble himself before British generosity."
Nelson was not deceived in his judgment of the Danish cabinet, but the battle of Copenhagen
had crippled its power. The death of the Czar Paul had broken the confederacy; and that
cabinet, therefore, was compelled to defer till a more convenient season the indulgence of its
enmity towards Great Britain. Soon afterwards Admiral Sir Charles Maurice Pole arrived to
take the command. The business, military and political, had by that time been so far
completed that the presence of the British fleet soon became no longer necessary. Sir Charles,
however, made the short time of his command memorable, by passing the Great Belt for the
first time with line-of-battle ships, working

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through the channel against adverse winds. When Nelson left the fleet, this speedy
termination of the expedition, though confidently expected, was not certain; and he, in his
unwillingness to weaken the British force, thought at one time of traversing Jutland in his
boat, by the canal to Tonningen on the Eyder and finding his way home from thence. This
intention was not executed; but he returned in a brig, declining to accept a frigate, which few
admirals would have done, especially if, like him, they suffered from sea-sickness in a small
vessel. On his arrival at Yarmouth, the first thing he did was to visit the hospital and see the
men who had been wounded in the late battle--that victory which had added new glory to the
name of Nelson, and which was of more importance even than the battle of the Nile to the
honour, the strength, and security of England.
The feelings of Nelson's friends, upon the news of his great victory at Copenhagen, were
highly described by Sir William Hamilton in a letter to him. "We can only expect," he says,
"what me know well, and often said before, that Nelson WAS, IS, and to the LAST WILL
EVER BE, THE FIRST. Emma did not know whether she was on her head or heels--in such
a hurry to tell your great news, that she could utter nothing but tears of joy and tenderness. I
went to Davison, and found him still in bed, having had a severe fit of the gout, and with your
letter, which he had just received; and he cried like a child; but, what was very extraordin-
ary, assured me that, from the instant he had read your letter, all pain had left him, and that he
felt himself able to get up and walk about. Your brother, Mrs. Nelson, and Horace dined with
us. Your brother was more extraordinary than ever. He would get up suddenly and cut a
caper, rubbing his hands every time that the thought of your fresh laurels came into his head.
But I am sure that no one really rejoiced more at heart than I did. I have lived too long to
have ecstasies! But with calm reflection, I felt for my friend having got to the very summit of
glory! the NE PLUS ULTRA! that he has had another opportunity of rendering his country
the most important service, and manifesting again his judgment, his intrepidity, and his
humanity."
He had not been many weeks on shore before he was called upon to undertake a service, for
which no Nelson was required. Buonaparte, who was now first consul, and in reality sole
ruler of France, was making preparations, upon a great scale, for invading England; but his
schemes in the Baltic had been baffled; fleets could not be created as they were wanted; and
his armies, therefore, were to come over in gun-boats, and such small craft as could be
rapidly built or collected for the occasion. From the former governments of France such
threats have only been matter of insult and policy: in Buonaparte they were sincere; for this
adventurer, intoxicated with success, already began to imagine that all things were to be
submitted to his fortune. We had not at that time proved the superiority of our soldiers over
the French; and the unreflecting multitude were not to be persuaded that an invasion could
only be effected by numerous and powerful fleets. A general alarm was excited; and, in
condescension to this unworthy feeling, Nelson was appointed to a command, extending from
Orfordness to Beachy Head, on both shores--a sort of service, he said, for which he felt no
other ability than what might be found in his zeal.
To this service, however, such as it was, he applied with his wonted alacrity; though in no
cheerful frame of mind. To Lady Hamilton, his only female correspondent, he says at this
time; "I am not in very good spirits; and, except that our country demands all our services

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and abilities to bring about an honourable peace, nothing should prevent my being the bearer
of my own letter. But, my dear friend, I know you are so true and loyal an Englishwoman,
that you would hate those who would not stand forth in defence of our king, laws, religion,
and all that is dear to us. It is your sex that makes us go forth, and seem to tell us, "None but
the brave deserve the fair"; and if we fall, we still live in the hearts of those females. It is your
sex that rewards us; it is your sex who cherish our memories; and you, my dear honoured
friend, are, believe me, the first, the best of your sex. I have been the world around, and in
every corner of it, and never yet saw your equal, or even one who could be put in comparison
with you. You know how to reward virtue, honour, and courage, and never to ask if it is
placed in a prince, duke, lord, or peasant." Having hoisted his flag in the MEDUSA frigate,
he went to reconnoitre Boulogne the point from which it was supposed the great attempt
would be made, and which the French, in fear of an attack themselves, were fortifying with
all care. He approached near enough to sink two of their floating batteries, and to destroy a
few gun-boats which were without the pier. What damage was done within could not be
ascertained. "Boulogne," he said, "was certainly not a very pleasant place that morning; but,"
he added, "it is not my wish to injure the poor inhabitants; and the town is spared as much as
the nature of the service will admit." Enough was done to show the enemy that they could
not, with impunity, come outside their own ports. Nelson was satisfied by what he saw, that
they meant to make an attempt from this place, but that it was impracticable; for the least
wind at W.N.W. and they were lost. The ports of Flushing and Flanders were better points:
there we could not tell by our eyes what means of transport were provided. From thence,
therefore, if it came forth at all, the expedition would come. "And what a forlorn
undertaking!" said he: "consider cross tides, &c. As for rowing, that is impossible. It Is
perfectly right to be prepared for a mad government; but with the active force which has been
given me, I may pronounce it almost impracticable."
That force had been got together with an alacrity which has seldom been equalled. On the
28th of July, we were, in Nelson's own words, literally at the foundation of our fabric of
defence, and twelve days afterwards we were so prepared on the enemy's coast that he did not
believe they could get three miles from their ports. The MEDUSA, returning to our own
shores, anchored in the rolling ground off Harwich; and when Nelson wished to get to the
Nore in her, the wind rendered it impossible to proceed there by the usual channel. In haste to
be at the Nore, remembering that he had been a tolerable pilot for the mouth of the Thames in
his younger days, and thinking it necessary that he should know all that could be known of
the navigation, he requested the maritime surveyor of the coast, Mr. Spence, to get him into
the Swin by any channel; for neither the pilots which he had on board, nor the Harwich ones,
would take charge of the ship. No vessel drawing more than fourteen feet had ever before
ventured over the Naze. Mr. Spence, however, who had surveyed the channel, carried her
safely through. The channel has since been called Nelson's, though he himself wished it to be
named after the MEDUSA: his name needed no new memorial.
Nelson's eye was upon Flushing. "To take possession of that place," he said, "would be a
week's expedition for four or five thousand troops." This, however, required a consultation
with the Admiralty; and that something might be done, meantime he

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resolved upon attacking the flotilla in the mouth of the Boulogne harbour. This resolution
was made in deference to the opinion of others, and to the public feeling, which was so
preposterously excited. He himself scrupled not to assert that the French army would never
embark at Boulogne for the invasion of England; and he owned that this boat warfare was not
exactly congenial to his feelings. Into Helvoet or Flushing he should be happy to lead, if
Government turned their thoughts that way. "While I serve," said he, "I will do it actively,
and to the very best of my abilities. I require nursing like a child," he added; "my mind
carries me beyond my strength, and will do me up; but such is my nature."
The attack was made by the boats of the squadron in five divisions, under Captains
Somerville, Parker, Cotgrave, Jones, and Conn. The previous essay had taught the French the
weak parts of their position; and they omitted no means of strengthening it, and of guarding
against the expected attempt. The boats put off about half-an-hour before midnight; but,
owing to the darkness, and tide and half-tide, which must always make night attacks so
uncertain on the coasts of the Channel, the divisions separated. One could not arrive at all;
another not till near daybreak. The others made their attack gallantly; but the enemy were
fully prepared: every vessel was defended by long poles, headed with iron spikes, projecting
from their sides: strong nettings were braced up to their lower yards; they were moored by
the bottom to the shore, they were strongly manned with soldiers, and protected by land
batteries, and the shore was lined with troops. Many were taken possession of; and, though
they could not have been brought out, would have been burned, had not the French resorted
to a mode of offence, which they have often used, but which no other people have ever been
wicked enough to employ. The moment the firing ceased on board one of their own vessels
they fired upon it from the shore, perfectly regardless of their own men.
The commander of one of the French divisions acted like a generous enemy. He hailed the
boats as they approached, and cried out in English: "Let me advise you, my brave
Englishmen, to keep your distance: you can do nothing here; and it is only uselessly shedding
the blood of brave men to make the attempt." The French official account boasted of the
victory. "The combat," it said, "took place in sight of both countries; it was the first of the
kind, and the historian would have cause to make this remark." They guessed our loss at four
or five hundred; it amounted to one hundred and seventy-two. In his private letters to the
Admiralty, Nelson affirmed, that had our force arrived as he intended, it was not all the
chains in France which could have prevented our men from bringing off the whole of the
vessels. There had been no error committed, and never did Englishmen display more courage.
Upon this point Nelson was fully satisfied; but he said he should never bring himself again to
allow any attack wherein he was not personally concerned; and that his mind suffered more
than if he had had a leg shot off in the affair. He grieved particularly for Captain Parker, an
excellent officer, to whom he was greatly attached, and who had an aged father looking to
him for assistance. His thigh was shattered in the action; and the wound proved mortal, after
some weeks of suffering and manly resignation. During this interval, Nelson's anxiety was
very great. "Dear Parker is my child," said he; "for I found him in distress." And when he
received the tidings of his death, he replied: "You will judge of my feelings: God's will be
done. I beg that his hair

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may be cut off and given me; it shall be buried in my grave. Poor Mr. Parker! What a son has
he lost! If I were to say I was content, I should lie; but I shall endeavour to submit with all the
fortitude in my power. His loss has made a wound in my heart, which time will hardly heal."
"You ask me, my dear friend," he says to Lady Hamilton, "if I am going on more
expeditions? and even if I was to forfeit your friendship, which is dearer to me than all the
world, I can tell you nothing. For, I go out: I see the enemy, and can get at them, it is my
duty: and you would naturally hate me, if I kept back one moment. I long to pay them for
their tricks t'other day, the debt of a drubbing, which surely I'll pay: but WHEN, WHERE or
HOW, it is impossible, your own good sense must tell you, for me or mortal man to say." Yet
he now wished to be relieved from this service. The country, he said, had attached a
confidence to his name, which he had submitted to, and therefore had cheerfully repaired to
the station; but this boat business, though it might be part of a great plan of invasion, could
never be the only one, and he did not think it was a command for a vice-admiral. It was not
that he wanted a more lucrative situation; for, seriously indisposed as he was, and low-
spirited from private considerations, he did not know, if the Mediterranean were vacant, that
he should be equal to undertake it. He was offended with the Admiralty for refusing him
leave to go to town when he had solicited: in reply to a friendly letter from Troubridge he
says, "I am at this moment as firmly of opinion as ever, that Lord St. Vincent and yourself
should have allowed of my coming to town for my own affairs, for every one knows I left it
without a thought for myself."
His letters at this time breathe an angry feeling toward Troubridge, who was now become, he
said, one of his lords and masters. "I have a letter from him," he says, "recommending me to
wear flannel shirts. Does he care for me? NO: but never mind. They shall work hard to get
me again. The cold has settled in my bowels. I wish the Admiralty had my complaint: but
they have no bowels, at least for me. I daresay Master Troubridge is grown fat; I know I am
grown lean with my complaint, which, but for their indifference about my health, could never
have happened; or, at least, I should have got well long ago in a warm room with a good fire
and sincere friend." In the same tone of bitterness he complained that he was not able to
promote those whom he thought deserving. "Troubridge," he says, "has so completely
prevented my ever mentioning anybody's service, that I am become a cipher, and he has
gained a victory over Nelson's spirit. I am kept here, for what?--he may be able to tell, I
cannot. But long it cannot, shall not be." An end was put to this uncomfortable state of mind
when, fortunately (on that account) for him, as well as happily for the nation, the peace of
Amiens was just at this time signed. Nelson rejoiced that the experiment was made, but was
well aware that it was an experiment. He saw what he called the misery of peace, unless the
utmost vigilance and prudence were exerted; and he expressed, in bitter terms, his proper
indignation at the manner in which the mob of London welcomed the French general who
brought the ratification saying, "that they made him ashamed of his country."

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He had purchased a house and estate at Merton, in Surrey, meaning to pass his days there in
the society of Sir William and Lady Hamilton. He had indulged in pleasant dreams when
looking on to this as his place of residence and rest. "To be sure," he says, "we shall employ
the tradespeople of our village in preference to any others in what we want for common use,
and give them every encouragement to be kind and attentive to us." "Have we a nice church
at Merton? We will set an example of goodness to the under-parishioners. I admire the pigs
and poultry. Sheep are certainly most beneficial to eat off the grass. Do you get paid for
them, and take care that they are kept on the premises all night, for that is the time they do
good to the land. They should be folded. Is your head-man a good person, and true to our
interest? I intend to have a farming-book. I expect that all animals will increase where you
are, for I never expect that you will suffer any to be killed. No person can take amiss our not
visiting. The answer from me will always be very civil thanks, but that I wish to live retired.
We shall have our sea-friends; and I know Sir William thinks they are the best." This place he
had never seen till he was now welcomed there by the friends to whom he had so
passionately devoted himself, and who were not less sincerely attached to him. The place,
and everything which Lady Hamilton had done to it, delighted him; and he declared that the
longest liver should possess it all. Here he amused himself with angling in the Wandle,
having been a good fly-fisher in former days, and learning now to practise with his left hand
what he could no longer pursue as a solitary diversion. His pensions for his victories, and for
the loss of his eye and arm, amounted with his half-pay to about L3400 a-year. From this he
gave L1800 to Lady Nelson, L200 to a brother's widow, and L150 for the education of his
children; and he paid L500 interest for borrowed money; so that Nelson was comparatively a
poor man; and though much of the pecuniary embarrassment which he endured was
occasioned by the separation from his wife--even if that cause had not existed, his income
would not have been sufficient for the rank which he held, and the claims which would
necessarily be made upon his bounty. The depression of spirits under which he had long
laboured arose partly from this state of his circumstances, and partly from the other
disquietudes in which his connection with Lady Hamilton had involved him--a connection
which it was not possible his father could behold without sorrow and displeasure. Mr.
Nelson, however, was soon persuaded that the attachment, which Lady Nelson regarded with
natural jealousy and resentment, did not in reality pass the bounds of ardent and romantic
admiration: a passion which the manners and accomplishments of Lady Hamilton, fascinating
as they were, would not have been able to excite, if they had not been accompanied by more
uncommon intellectual endowments, and by a character which, both in its strength and in its
weakness, resembled his own. It did not, therefore, require much explanation to reconcile
him to his son--an event the more essential to Nelson's happiness, because, a few months
afterwards, the good old man died at the age of seventy-nine.
Soon after the conclusion of peace, tidings arrived of our final and decisive successes in
Egypt; in consequence of which, the common council voted their thanks to the army and
navy for bringing the campaign to so glorious a conclusion. When Nelson, after the action of
Cape St. Vincent, had been entertained at a city feast, he had observed to the lord mayor,
"that, if the city continued its generosity, the navy would ruin them in gifts." To which the
lord mayor replied, putting his hand upon the admiral's shoulder: "Do you

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find victories and we will find rewards." Nelson, as he said, had kept his word, had doubly
fulfilled his part of the contract, but no thanks had been voted for the battle of Copenhagen;
and feeling that he and his companions in that day's glory had a fair and honourable claim to
this reward, he took the present opportunity of addressing a letter to the lord mayor,
complaining of the omission and the injustice. "The smallest services," said he, "rendered by
the army or navy to the country, have always been noticed by the great city of London with
one exception--the glorious 2nd of April--a day when the greatest dangers of navigation were
overcome; and the Danish force, which they thought impregnable, totally taken or destroyed,
by the consummate skill of our commanders, and by the undaunted bravery of as gallant a
band as ever defended the rights of this country. For myself, if I were only personally
concerned, I should bear the stigma, attempted to be now first placed upon my brow, with
humility. But, my lord, I am the natural guardian of the fame of all the officers of the navy,
army, and marines who fought, and so profusely bled, under my command on that day. Again
I disclaim for myself more merit than naturally falls to a successful commander; but when I
am called upon to speak of the merits of the captains of his Majesty's ships, and of the
officers and men, whether seamen, marines, or soldiers, whom I that day had the happiness to
command, I then say, that never was the glory of this country upheld with more determined
bravery than on that occasion: and if I may be allowed to give an opinion as a Briton, then I
say, that more important service was never rendered to our king and country. It is my duty,
my lord, to prove to the brave fellows, my companions in danger, that I have not failed at
every proper place to represent, as well as I am able, their bravery and meritorious conduct."
Another honour, of greater import, was withheld from the conquerors. The king had given
medals to those captains who were engaged in the battles of the 1st of June, of Cape St.
Vincent, of Camperdown, and of the Nile. Then came the victory at Copenhagen, which
Nelson truly called the most difficult achievement, the hardest-fought battle, the most
glorious result that ever graced the annals of our country. He, of course, expected the medal;
and in writing to Earl St. Vincent, said, "He longed to have it, and would not give it up to be
made an English duke." The medal, however, was not given:--"For what reason," said
Nelson, "Lord St. Vincent best knows." Words plainly implying a suspicion that it was
withheld by some feeling of jealousy; and that suspicion estranged him, during the remaining
period of his life, from one who had at one time been essentially, as well as sincerely, his
friend; and of whose professional abilities he ever entertained the highest opinion.
The happiness which Nelson enjoyed in the society of his chosen friends was of no long
continuance. Sir William Hamilton, who was far advanced in years, died early in 1803; a
mild, amiable, and accomplished man, who has thus in a letter described his own philosophy:
"My study of antiquities," he says, "has kept me in constant thought of the perpetual
fluctuation of everything. The whole art is really to live all the DAYS of our life; and not
with anxious care disturb the sweetest hour that life affords--which is the present. Admire the
Creator, and all His works, to us incomprehensible; and do all the good you can upon earth;
and take the chance of eternity without dismay." He expired in his wife's arms, holding
Nelson by the hand; and almost in his last words, left her to his

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protection; requesting him that he would see justice done her by the government, as he knew
what she had done for her country. He left him her portrait in enamel, calling him his dearest
friend; the most virtuous, loyal, and truly brave character he had ever known. The codicil,
containing this bequest, concluded with these words, "God bless him, and shame fall on those
who do not say amen." Sir William's pension of L1200 a year ceased with his death. Nelson
applied to Mr. Addington in Lady Hamilton's behalf, stating the important service which she
had rendered to the fleet at Syracuse; and Mr. Addington, it is said, acknowledged that she
had a just claim upon the gratitude of the country. This barren acknowledgment was all that
was obtained; but a sum, equal to the pension which her husband had enjoyed, was settled on
her by Nelson, and paid in monthly payments during his life. A few weeks after this event,
the war was renewed; and the day after his Majesty's message to Parliament, Nelson departed
to take the command of the Mediterranean fleet. The war he thought, could not be long; just
enough to make him independent in pecuniary matters.
He took his station immediately off Toulon; and there, with incessant vigilance, waited for
the coming out of the enemy. The expectation of acquiring a competent fortune did not last
long. "Somehow," he says,"my mind is not sharp enough for prize-money. Lord Keith would
have made L20,000, and I have not made L6000." More than once he says that the prizes
taken in the Mediterranean had not paid his expenses; and once he expresses himself as if it
were a consolation to think that some ball might soon close all his accounts with this world of
care and vexation. At this time the widow of his brother, being then blind and advanced in
years, was distressed for money, and about to sell her plate; he wrote to Lady Hamilton,
requesting of her to find out what her debts were, and saying that, if the amount was within
his power, he would certainly pay it, and rather pinch himself than that she should want.
Before he had finished the letter, an account arrived that a sum was payable to him for some
neutral taken four years before, which enabled him to do this without being the poorer; and
he seems to have felt at the moment that what was thus disposed of by a cheerful giver, shall
be paid to him again. One from whom he had looked for very different conduct, had
compared his own wealth, in no becoming manner, with Nelson's limited means. "I know,"
said he to Lady Hamilton, "the full extent of the obligation I owe him, and he may be useful
to me again; but I can never forget his unkindness to you. But, I guess many reasons
influenced his conduct in bragging of his riches and my honourable poverty; but, as I have
often said, and with honest pride, what I have is my own: it never cost the widow a tear, or
the nation a farthing. I got what I have with my pure blood, from the enemies of my country.
Our house, my own Emma, is built upon a solid foundation; and will last to us, when his
houses and lands may belong to others than his children."
His hope was that peace might soon be made, or that he should be relieved from his
command, and retire to Merton, where at that distance he was planning and directing
improvements. On his birthday he writes, "This day, my dearest Emma, I consider as more
fortunate than common days, as by my coming into this world it has brought me so intimately
acquainted with you. I well know that you will keep it, and have my dear Horatio to drink my
health. Forty-six years of toil and trouble! How few more the common lot of mankind leads
us to expect! and therefore it is almost time to think of

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spending the few last years in peace and quietness." It is painful to think that this language
was not addressed to his wife, but to one with whom he promised himself "many many happy
years, when that impediment," as he calls her, "shall be removed, if God pleased; and they
might be surrounded by their children's children."
When he had been fourteen months off Toulon, he received a vote of thanks from the city of
London for his skill and perseverance in blockading that port, so as to prevent the French
from putting to sea. Nelson had not forgotten the wrong which the city had done to the Baltic
fleet by their omission, and did not lose the opportunity which this vote afforded of recurring
to that point. "I do assure your lordship," said he, in his answer to the lord mayor, "that there
is not that man breathing who sets a higher value upon the thanks of his fellow-citizens of
London than myself; but I should feel as much ashamed to receive them for a particular
service marked in the resolution, if I felt that I did not come within that line of service, as I
should feel hurt at having a great victory passed over without notice. I beg to inform your
lordship, that the port of Toulon has never been blockaded by me; quite the reverse. Every
opportunity has been offered the enemy to put to sea; for it is there that we hope to realise the
hopes and expectations of our country." Nelson then remarked that the junior flag-officers of
his fleet had been omitted in this vote of thanks; and his surprise at the omission was
expressed with more asperity, perhaps, than an offence so entirely and manifestly
unintentional deserved; but it arose from that generous regard for the feelings as well as the
interests of all who were under his command, which made him as much beloved in the fleets
of Britain as he was dreaded in those of the enemy.
Never was any commander more beloved. He governed men by their reason and their
affections; they knew that he was incapable of caprice or tyranny and they obeyed him with
alacrity and joy, because he possessed their confidence as well as their love. "Our Nel," they
used to say, "is as brave as a lion and as gentle as a lamb." Severe discipline he detested,
though he had been bred in a severe school. He never inflicted corporal punishment if it were
possible to avoid it; and when compelled to enforce it, he, who was familiar with wounds and
death, suffered like a woman. In his whole life, Nelson was never known to act unkindly
towards an officer. If he was asked to prosecute one for ill behaviour, he used to answer,
"That there was no occasion for him to ruin a poor devil who was sufficiently his own enemy
to ruin himself." But in Nelson there was more than the easiness and humanity of a happy
nature: he did not merely abstain from injury; his was an active and watchful benevolence,
ever desirous not only to render justice, but to do good. During the peace he had spoken in
parliament upon the abuses respecting prize-money, and had submitted plans to government
for more easily manning the navy, and preventing desertion from it, by bettering the
condition of the seamen. He proposed that their certificates should be registered, and that
every man who had served, with a good character, five years in war, should receive a bounty
of two guineas annually after that time, and of four guineas after eight years. "This," he said,
"might, at first sight, appear an enormous sum for the state to pay; but the average life of
seamen is, from hard service, finished at forty- five. He cannot, therefore, enjoy the annuity
many years, and the interest of the money saved by their not deserting would go far to pay
the whole expense."

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To his midshipmen he ever showed the most winning kindness, encouraging the diffident,
tempering the hasty, counselling and befriending both. "Recollect," he used to say, "that you
must be a seaman to be an officer; and also that you cannot be a good officer without being a
gentleman." A lieutenant wrote to him to say that he was dissatisfied with his captain.
Nelson's answer was in that spirit of perfect wisdom and perfect goodness which regulated
his whole conduct towards those who were under his command. "I have just received your
letter, and am truly sorry that any difference should arise between your captain, who has the
reputation of being one of the bright officers of the service, and yourself, a very young man,
and a very young officer, who must naturally have much to learn; therefore the chance is that
you are perfectly wrong in the disagreement. However, as your present situation must be very
disagreeable, I will certainly take an early opportunity of removing you, provided your
conduct to your present captain be such that another may not refuse to receive you." The
gentleness and benignity of his disposition never made him forget what was due to discipline.
Being on one occasion applied to, to save a young officer from a court-martial, which he had
provoked by his misconduct, his reply was, "That he would do everything in his power to
oblige so gallant and good an officer as Sir John Warren," in whose name the intercession
had been made. "But what," he added, "would he do if he were here? Exactly what I have
done, and am still willing to do. The young man must write such a letter of contrition as
would be an acknowledgment of his great fault; and with a sincere promise, if his captain will
intercede to prevent the impending court-martial, never to so misbehave again. On his
captain's enclosing me such a letter, with a request to cancel the order for the trial, I might be
induced to do it; but the letters and reprimand will be given in the public order-book of the
fleet, and read to all the officers. The young man has pushed himself forward to notice, and
he must take the consequence. It was upon the quarter-deck, in the face of the ship's
company, that he treated his captain with contempt; and I am in duty bound to support the
authority and consequence of every officer under my command. A poor ignorant seaman is
for ever punished for contempt to HIS superiors."
A dispute occurred in the fleet while it was off Toulon, which called forth Nelson's zeal for
the rights and interests of the navy. Some young artillery officers, serving on board the bomb
vessels, refused to let their men perform any other duty but what related to the mortars. They
wished to have it established that their corps was not subject to the captain's authority. The
same pretensions were made in the Channel fleet about the same time, and the artillery rested
their claims to separate and independent authority on board, upon a clause in the act, which
they interpreted in their favour. Nelson took up the subject with all the earnestness which its
importance deserved. "There is no real happiness in this world," said he, writing to Earl St.
Vincent, as first lord. "With all content and smiles around me, up start these artillery boys (I
understand they are not beyond that age), and set us at defiance; speaking in the most
disrespectful manner of the navy and its commanders. I know you, my dear lord, so well, that
with your quickness the matter would have been settled, and perhaps some of them been
broke. I am perhaps more patient, but I do assure you not less resolved, if my plan of
conciliation is not attended to. You and I are on the eve of quitting the theatre of our exploits;
but we hold it due to our successors never, whilst we have a tongue to speak or a hand to
write, to allow the navy to be in the smallest degree injured in its discipline by our conduct."
To Troubridge he

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wrote in the same spirit: "It is the old history, trying to do away the act of parliament; but I
trust they will never succeed; for when they do, farewell to our naval superiority. We should
be prettily commanded! Let them once gain the step of being independent of the navy on
board a ship, and they will soon have the other, and command us. But, thank God! my dear
Troubridge, the king himself cannot do away the act of parliament. Although my career is
nearly run, yet it would embitter my future days, and expiring moments, to hear of our navy
being sacrificed to the army." As the surest way of preventing such disputes, he suggested
that the navy should have it's own corps of artillery; and a corps of marine artillery was
accordingly established.
Instead of lessening the power of the commander, Nelson would have wished to see it
increased: it was absolutely necessary, he thought, that merit should be rewarded at the
moment, and that the officers of the fleet should look up to the commander-in-chief for their
reward. He himself was never more happy than when he could promote those who were
deserving of promotion. Many were the services which he thus rendered unsolicited; and
frequently the officer, in whose behalf he had interested himself with the Admiralty, did not
know to whose friendly interference he was indebted for his good fortune. He used to say, "I
wish it to appear as a God-send." The love which he bore the navy made him promote the
interests, and honour the memory, of all who had added to its glories. "The near relations of
brother officers," he said, "he considered as legacies to the service." Upon mention being
made to him of a son of Rodney, by the Duke of Clarence, his reply was: "I agree with your
Royal Highness most entirely, that the son of a Rodney ought to be the PROTEGE of every
person in the kingdom, and particularly of the sea-officers. Had I known that there had been
this claimant, some of my own lieutenants must have given way to such a name, and he
should have been placed in the VICTORY: she is full, and I have twenty on my list; but,
whatever numbers I have, the name of Rodney must cut many of them out." Such was the
proper sense which Nelson felt of what was due to splendid services and illustrious names.
His feelings toward the brave men who had served with him are shown by a note in his diary,
which was probably not intended for any other eye than his own: "Nov. 7. I had the comfort
of making an old AGAMEMNON, George Jones, a gunner into the CHAMELEON brig."
When Nelson took the command, it was expected that the Mediterranean would be an active
scene. Nelson well understood the character of the perfidious Corsican, who was now sole
tyrant of France; and knowing that he was as ready to attack his friends as his enemies, knew,
therefore, that nothing could be more uncertain than the direction of the fleet from Toulon,
whenever it should put to sea. "It had as many destinations," he said, "as there were
countries." The momentous revolutions of the last ten years had given him ample matter for
reflection, as well as opportunities for observation: the film was cleared from his eyes; and
now, when the French no longer went abroad with the cry of liberty and equality, he saw that
the oppression and misrule of the powers which had been opposed to them, had been the
main causes of their success, and that those causes would still prepare the way before them.
Even in Sicily, where, if it had been possible longer to blind himself, Nelson would willingly
have seen no evil, he perceived that the people wished for a change, and acknowledged that
they had reason to wish for it. In Sardinia the same burden of misgovernment was felt; and
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impoverished by a government so utterly incompetent to perform its first and most essential
duties that it did not protect its own coasts from the Barbary pirates. He would fain have had
us purchase this island (the finest in the Mediterranean) from its sovereign, who did not
receive L5000 a year from it after its wretched establishment was paid. There was reason to
think that France was preparing to possess herself of this important point, which afforded our
fleet facilities for watching Toulon, not to be obtained elsewhere. An expedition was
preparing at Corsica for the purpose; and all the Sardes, who had taken part with
revolutionary France, were ordered to assemble there. It was certain that if the attack were
made it would succeed. Nelson thought that the only means to prevent Sardinia from
becoming French was to make it English, and that half a million would give the king a rich
price, and England a cheap purchase. A better, and therefore a wiser policy, would have been
to exert our influence in removing the abuses of the government, for foreign dominion is
always, in some degree, an evil and allegiance neither can nor ought to be made a thing of
bargain and sale. Sardinia, like Sicily and Corsica, is large enough to form a separate state.
Let us hope that these islands may one day be made free and independent. Freedom and
independence will bring with them industry and prosperity;and wherever these are found, arts
and letters will flourish, and the improvement of the human race proceed.
The proposed attack was postponed. Views of wider ambition were opening upon
Buonaparte, who now almost undisguisedldy aspired to make himself master of the continent
of Europe; and Austria was preparing for another struggle, to be conducted as weakly and
terminated as miserably as the former. Spain, too, was once more to be involved in war by
the policy of France: that perfidious government having in view the double object of
employing the Spanish resources against England, and exhausting them in order to render
Spain herself finally its prey. Nelson, who knew that England and the Peninsula ought to be
in alliance, for the common interest of both, frequently expressed his hopes that Spain might
resume her natural rank among the nations. "We ought," he said, "by mutual consent, to be
the very best friends, and both to be ever hostile to France." But he saw that Buonaparte was
meditating the destruction of Spain; and that, while the wretched court of Madrid professed
to remain neutral, the appearances of neutrality were scarcely preserved, An order of the year
1771, excluding British ships of war from the Spanish ports, was revived, and put in force:
while French privateers, from these very ports, annoyed the British trade, carried their prizes
in, and sold them even at Barcelona. Nelson complained of this to the captain-general of
Catalonia, informing him that he claimed, for every British ship or squadron, the right of
lying, as long as it pleased, in the ports of Spain, while that right was allowed to other
powers. To the British Ambassador he said: "I am ready to make large allowances for the
miserable situation Spain has placed herself in; but there is a certain line, beyond which I
cannot submit to be treated with disrespect. We have given up French vessels taken within
gunshot of the Spanish shore, and yet French vessels are permitted to attack our ships from
the Spanish shore. Your excellency may assure the Spanish government that, in whatever
place the Spaniards allow the French to attack us, in that place I shall order the French to be
attacked."

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During this state of things, to which the weakness of Spain, and not her will, consented, the
enemy's fleet did not venture to put to sea. Nelson watched it with unremitting and almost
unexampled perseverance. The station off Toulon he called his home. "We are in the right
fighting trim," said he: "let them come as soon as they please. I never saw a fleet altogether
so well officered and manned; would to God the ships were half as good! The finest ones in
the service would soon be destroyed by such terrible weather. I know well enough that if I
were to go into Malta I should save the ships during this bad season; but if I am to watch the
French I must be at sea; and if at sea, must have bad weather; and if the ships are not fit to
stand bad weather, they are useless." Then only he was satisfied and at ease when he had the
enemy in view. Mr. Elliot, our minister at Naples, seems at this time to have proposed to send
a confidential Frenchman to him with information. "I should be very happy," he replied, "to
receive authentic intelligence of the destination of the French squadron, their route, and time
of sailing. Anything short of this is useless; and I assure your excellency, that I would not
upon any consideration have a Frenchman in the fleet, except as a prisoner. I put no
confidence in them. You think yours good; the queen thinks the same; I believe they are all
alike. Whatever information you can get me I shall be very thankful for; but not a Frenchman
comes here. Forgive me, but my mother hated the French."
M. Latouche Treville, who had commanded at Boulogne, commanded now at Toulon. "He
was sent for on purpose," said Nelson, "as he BEAT ME at Boulogne, to beat me again; but
he seems very loath to try." One day, while the main body of our fleet was out of sight of
land, Rear-Admiral Campbell, reconnoitring with the CANOPUS, DONEGAL, and
AMAZON, stood in close to the port; and M. Latouche, taking advantage of a breeze which
sprung up, pushed out with four ships of the line and three heavy frigates, and chased him
about four leagues. The Frenchman, delighted at having found himself in so novel a situation,
published a boastful account, affirming that he had given chase to the whole British fleet, and
that Nelson had fled before him! Nelson thought it due to the Admiralty to send home a copy
of the VICTORY's log upon this occasion. "As for himself," he said, "if his character was not
established by that time for not being apt to run away, it was not worth his while to put the
world right."--"If this fleet gets fairly up with M. Latouche," said he to one of his
correspondents, "his letter, with all his ingenuity, must be different from his last. We had
fancied that we chased him into Toulon; for, blind as I am, I could see his water line, when he
clued his topsails up, shutting in Sepet. But from the time of his meeting Captain Hawker in
the ISIS, I never heard of his acting otherwise than as a poltroon and a liar. Contempt is the
best mode of treating such a miscreant." In spite, however, of contempt, the impudence of
this Frenchman half angered him. He said to his brother: "You will have seen Latouche's
letter; how he chased me and how I ran. I keep it; and if I take him, by God he shall eat it."
Nelson, who used to say, that in sea affairs nothing is impossible, and nothing improbable,
feared the more that this Frenchman might get out and elude his vigilance; because he was so
especially desirous of catching him, and administering to him his own lying letter in a
sandwich. M. Latouche, however, escaped him in another way. He died, according to the
French papers, in consequence of walking so often up to the signal-post

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upon Sepet, to watch the British fleet. "I always pronounced that would be his death," said
Nelson. "If he had come out and fought me, it would at least have added ten years to my life."
The patience with which he had watched Toulon, he spoke of, truly, as a perseverance at sea
which had never been surpassed. From May, 1803, to August, 1805, he himself went out of
his ship but three times; each of those times was upon the king's service, and neither time of
absence exceeded an hour. In 1804 the SWIFT cutter going out with despatches was taken,
and all the despatches and letters fell into the hands of the enemy. "A very pretty piece of
work," says Nelson; "I am not surprised at the capture, but am very much so that any
despatches should be sent in a vessel with twenty-three men, not equal to cope with any row-
boat privateer. The loss of the HINDOSTAN was great enough; but for importance it is lost
in comparison to the probable knowledge the enemy will obtain of our connexions with
foreign countries. Foreigners for ever say, and it is true, we dare not trust England: one way
or other we are sure to be committed." In a subsequent letter he says, speaking of the same
capture: "I find, my dearest Emma, that your picture is very much admired by the French
Consul at Barcelona, and that he has not sent it to be admired, which I am sure it would be,
by Buonaparte. They pretend that there were three pictures taken. I wish I had them; but they
are all gone as irretrievably as the despatches, unless we may read them in a book, as we
printed their correspondence from Egypt. But from us what can they find out? That I love
you most dearly, and hate the French most damnably. Dr. Scott went to Barcelona to try to
get the private letters, but I fancy they are all gone to Paris. The Swedish and American
Consuls told him that the French Consul had your picture and read your letters; and the
Doctor thinks one of them, probably, read the letters. By the master's account of the cutter, I
would not have trusted an old pair of shoes in her. He tells me she did not sail, but was a
good sea-boat. I hope Mr. Marsden will not trust any more of my private letters in such a
conveyance: if they choose to trust the affairs of the public in such a thing, I cannot help it."
While he was on this station, the weather had been so unusually severe that he said the
Mediterranean seemed altered. It was his rule never to contend with the gales; but either run
to the southward to escape their violence, or furl all the sails, and make the ships as easy as
possible. The men, though he said flesh and blood could hardly stand it, continued in
excellent health, which he ascribed, in great measure, to a plentiful supply of lemons and
onions. For himself, he thought he could only last till the battle was over. One battle more it
was his hope that he might fight. "However," said he, "whatever happens, I have run a
glorious race." "A few months" rest," he says, "I must have very soon. If I am in my grave,
what are the mines of Peru to me? But to say the truth, I have no idea of killing myself. I
may, with care, live yet to do good service to the state. My cough is very bad, and my side,
where I was struck on the 14th of February, is very much swelled: at times a lump as large as
my fist, brought on occasionally by violent coughing. But I hope and believe my lungs are
yet safe." He was afraid of blindness and this was the only evil which he could not
contemplate without unhappiness. More alarming symptoms he regarded with less
apprehension, describing his own "shattered carcass" as in the worst plight of any in the fleet;
and he says,"I have felt the blood gushing up the left side of my head; and, the moment it
covers the brain, I am fast asleep." The fleet was in worse trim than the men; but when he
compared it with the enemy's, it was with a right English feeling. "The French fleet
yesterday," said he, in one of his letters, "was to

135
appearance in high feather, and as fine as paint could make them; but when they may sail, or
where they may go, I am very sorry to say is a secret I am not acquainted with. Our weather-
beaten ships, I have no fear, will make their sides like a plum-pudding." "Yesterday," he says,
on another occasion, "a rear-admiral and seven sail of ships put their nose outside the
harbour. If they go on playing this game, some day we shall lay salt on their tails."
Hostilities at length commenced between Great Britain and Spain. That country, whose
miserable government made her subservient to France, was once more destined to lavish her
resources and her blood in furtherance of the designs of a perfidious ally. The immediate
occasion of the war was the seizure of four treasure-ships by the English. The act was
perfectly justifiable, for those treasures were intended to furnish means for France; but the
circumstances which attended it were as unhappy as they were unforeseen. Four frigates had
been despatched to intercept them. They met with an equal force. Resistance, therefore,
became a point of honour on the part of the Spaniards, and one of their ships soon blew up
with all on board. Had a stronger squadron been sent, this deplorable catastrophe might have
been spared: a catastrophe which excited not more indignation in Spain than it did grief in
those who were its unwilling instruments, in the English government, and in the English
people. On the 5th of October this unhappy affair occurred, and Nelson was not apprised of it
till the twelfth of the ensuing month. He had, indeed, sufficient mortification at the breaking
out of this Spanish war; an event which, it might reasonably have been supposed, would
amply enrich the officers of the Mediterranean fleet, and repay them for the severe and
unremitting duty on which they had been so long employed. But of this harvest they were
deprived; for Sir John Orde was sent with a small squadron, and a separate command, to
Cadiz. Nelson's feelings were never wounded so deeply as now. "I had thought," said he,
writing in the first flow and freshness of indignation; "Fancied--but nay; it must have been a
dream, an idle dream; yet I confess it, I DID fancy that I had done my country service; and
thus they use me! And under what circumstances, and with what pointed aggravation? Yet, if
I know my own thoughts, it is not for myself, or on my own account chiefly, that I feel the
sting and the disappointment. No! it is for my brave officers: for my noble minded friends
and comrades. Such a gallant set of fellows! Such a band of brothers! My heart swells at the
thought of them."

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Chapter 9. 1805
Sir Robert Calder falls in with the combined Fleets--They form a Junction with the Ferrol
Squadron, and get into Cadiz--Nelson is reappointed to the Command--Battle of Trafalgar--
Victory, and Death of Nelson.
*
At Portsmouth, Nelson at length found news of the combined fleet. Sir Robert Calder, who
had been sent out to intercept their return, had fallen in with them on the 22nd of July, sixty
leagues off Cape Finisterre. Their force consisted of twenty sail of the line, three fifty-gun
ships, five frigates, and two brigs: his, of fifteen line-of- battle ships, two frigates, a cutter,
and a lugger. After an action of four hours he had captured an eighty-four and a seventy-four,
and then thought it necessary to bring-to the squadron, for the purpose of securing their
prizes. The hostile fleets remained in sight of each other till the 26th, when the enemy bore
away. The capture of two ships from so superior a force would have been considered as no
inconsider- able victory, a few years earlier; but Nelson had introduced a new era in our
naval history; and the nation felt respecting this action as he had felt on a somewhat similar
occasion. They regretted that Nelson, with his eleven ships, had not been in Sir Robert
Calder's place; and their disappointment was generally and loudly expressed.
Frustrated as his own hopes had been, Nelson had yet the high satisfaction of knowing that
his judgment had never been more conspicuously approved, and that he had rendered
essential service to his country, by driving the enemy from those Islands where they expected
there could be no force capable of opposing them. The West India merchants in London, as
men whose interests were more immediately benefited, appointed a deputation to express
their thanks for his great and judicious exertions. It was now his intention to rest awhile from
his labours, and recruit himself, after all his fatigues and cares, in the society of those whom
he loved. All his stores were brought up from the VICTORY; and he found in his house at
Merton the enjoyment which he had anticipated. Many days had not elapsed before Captain
Blackwood, on his way to London with despatches, called on him at five in the morning.
Nelson, who was already dressed, exclaimed, the moment he saw him: "I am sure you bring
me news of the French and Spanish fleets! I think I shall yet have to beat them!" They had
refitted at Vigo, after the indecisive action with Sir Robert Calder; then proceeded to Ferrol,
brought out the squadron from thence, and with it entered Cadiz in safety. "Depend on it,
Blackwood:" he repeatedly said, "I shall yet give M. Villeneuve a drubbing." But when
Blackwood had left him, he wanted resolution to declare his wishes to Lady Hamilton and his
sisters, and endeavoured to drive away the thought. He had done enough, he said: "Let the
man trudge it who has lost his budget!" His countenance belied his lips; and as he was pacing
one of the walks in the garden, which he used to call the quarter-deck, Lady Hamilton came
up to him, and told him she saw he was uneasy. He smiled, and said: "No, he was as happy as
possible; he was surrounded by his family, his health was better since he had been an shore,
and he would not give sixpence to call the king his uncle." She replied,

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that she did not believe him, that she knew that he was longing to get at the combined fleets,
that he considered them as his own property, that he would be miserable if any man but
himself did the business; and that he ought to have them, as the price and reward of his two
years' long watching, and his hard chase. "Nelson," said she, "however we may lament your
absence, offer your services; they will be accepted, and you will gain a quiet heart by it: you
will have a glorious victory, and then you may return here, and be happy." He looked at her
with tears in his eyes: "Brave Emma! Good Emma! If there were more Emmas there would
be more Nelsons."
His services were as willingly accepted as they were offered; and Lord Barham, giving him
the list of the navy, desired him to choose his own officers. "Choose yourself, my lord," was
his reply: "the same spirit actuates the whole profession: you cannot choose wrong." Lord
Barham then desired him to say what ships, and how many, he would wish, in addition to the
fleet which he was going to command, and said they should follow him as soon as each was
ready. No appointment was ever more in unison with the feelings and judgment of the whole
nation. They, like Lady Hamilton, thought that the destruction of the combined fleets ought
properly to be Nelson's work; that he who had been
"Half around the sea-girt ball, The hunter of the recreant Gaul,"
ought to reap the spoils of the chase which he had watched so long, and so perseveringly
pursued.
Unremitting exertions were made to equip the ships which he had chosen, and especially to
refit the VICTORY, which was once more to bear his flag. Before he left London he called at
his upholsterer's, where the coffin which Captain Hallowell had given him was deposited;
and desired that its history might be engraven upon the lid, saying that it was highly probable
he might want it on his return. He seemed, indeed, to have been impressed with an
expectation that he should fall in the battle. In a letter to his brother, written immediately
after his return, he had said: "We must not talk of Sir Robert Calder's battle--I might not have
done so much with my small force. If I had fallen in with them, you might probably have
been a lord before I wished; for I know they meant to make a dead set at the VICTORY."
Nelson had once regarded the prospect of death with gloomy satisfaction: it was when he
anticipated the upbraidings of his wife, and the displeasure of his venerable father. The state
of his feelings now was expressed in his private journal in these words: "Friday night (Sept.
13), at half-past ten, I drove from dear, dear Merton; where I left all which I hold dear in this
world, to go and serve my king and country. May the great GOD, whom I adore, enable me
to fulfil the expectations of my country! and if it is His good pleasure that I should return, my
thanks will never cease being offered up to the throne of His mercy. If it is His good
providence to cut short my days upon earth, I bow with the greatest submission; relying that
he will protect those so dear to me whom I may leave behind! His will be done. Amen!
Amen! Amen!"

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Early on the following morning he reached Portsmouth; and having despatched his business
on shore, endeavoured to elude the populace by taking a by-way to the beach; but a crowd
collected in his train, pressing forward to obtain a sight of his face: many were in tears, and
many knelt down before him and blessed him as he passed. England has had many heroes;
but never one who so entirely possessed the love of his fellow-countrymen as Nelson. All
men knew that his heart was as humane as it was fearless; that there was not in his nature the
slightest alloy of selfishness or cupidity; but that with perfect and entire devotion he served
his country with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his strength; and, therefore,
they loved him as truly and as fervently as he loved England. They pressed upon the parapet
to gaze after him when his barge pushed off, and he was returning their cheers by waving his
hat. The sentinels, who endeavoured to prevent them from trespassing upon this ground, were
wedged among the crowd; and an officer who, not very prudently upon such an occasion,
ordered them to drive the people down with their bayonets, was compelled speedily to
retreat; for the people would not be debarred from gazing till the last moment upon the hero--
the darling hero of England!
He arrived off Cadiz on the 29th of September--his birthday. Fearing that if the enemy knew
his force they might be deterred from venturing to sea, he kept out of sight of land, desired
Collingwood to fire no salute and hoist no colours, and wrote to Gibraltar to request that the
force of the fleet might not be inserted there in the GAZETTE. His reception in the
Mediterranean fleet was as gratifying as the farewell of his countrymen at Portsmouth: the
officers who came on board to welcome him forgot his rank as commander in their joy at
seeing him again. On the day of his arrival, Villeneuve received orders to put to sea the first
opportunity. Villeneuve, however, hesitated when he heard that Nelson had resumed the
command. He called a council of war; and their determination was, that it would not be
expedient to leave Cadiz, unless they had reason to believe themselves stronger by one-third
than the British force. In the public measures of this country secrecy is seldom practicable,
and seldomer attempted: here, however, by the precautions of Nelson and the wise measures
of the Admiralty, the enemy were for once kept in ignorance; for as the ships appointed to
reinforce the Mediterranean fleet were despatched singly, each as soon as it was ready, their
collected number was not stated in the newspapers, and their arrival was not known to the
enemy. But the enemy knew that Admiral Louis, with six sail, had been detached for stores
and water to Gibraltar. Accident also contributed to make the French admiral doubt whether
Nelson himself had actually taken the command. An American, lately arrived from England,
maintained that it was impossible, for he had seen him only a few days before in London, and
at that time there was no rumour of his going again to sea.
The station which Nelson had chosen was some fifty or sixty miles to the west of Cadiz, near
Cape St. Marys. At this distance, he hoped to decoy the enemy out while he guarded against
the danger of being caught with a westerly wind near Cadiz and driven within the Straits. The
blockade of the port was rigorously enforced, in hopes that the combined fleet might be
forced to sea by want. The Danish vessels, therefore, which were carrying provisions from
the French ports in the bay, under the name of Danish property, to all the little ports from
Ayamonte to Algeziras, from whence they were conveyed in coasting

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boats to Cadiz, were seized. Without this proper exertion of power, the blockade would have
been rendered nugatory by the advantage thus taken of the neutral flag. The supplies from
France were thus effectually cut off. There was now every indication that the enemy would
speedily venture out: officers and men were in the highest spirits at the prospects of giving
them a decisive blow; such, indeed, as would put an end to all further contest upon the seas.
Theatrical amusements were performed every evening in most of the ships; and God save the
King was the hymn with which the sports concluded. "I verily believe," said Nelson (writing
on the 6th of October), "that the country will soon be put to some expense on my account;
either a monument, or a new pension and honours; for I have not the smallest doubt but that a
very few days, almost hours, will put us in battle. The success no man can ensure; but for the
fighting them, if they can be got at, I pledge myself. The sooner the better: I don't like to have
these things upon my mind."
At this time he was not without some cause of anxiety: he was in want of frigates, and the
eyes of the fleet, as he always called them; to the want of which the enemy before were
indebted for their escape, and Buonaparte for his arrival in Egypt. He had only twenty-three
ships; others were on the way, but they might come too late; and though Nelson never
doubted of victory, mere victory was not what he looked to; he wanted to annihilate the
enemy's fleet. The Carthagena squadron might effect a junction with this fleet on the one
side; and on the other it was to be expected that a similar attempt would be made by the
French from Brest; in either case a formidable contingency to be apprehended by the
blockading force. The Rochefort squadron did push out, and had nearly caught the
AGAMEMNON and L'AIMABLE in their way to reinforce the British admiral. Yet Nelson
at this time weakened his own fleet. He had the unpleasant task to perform of sending home
Sir Robert Calder, whose conduct was to be made the subject of a court-martial, in
consequence of the general dissatisfaction which had been felt and expressed at his imperfect
victory. Sir Robert Calder and Sir John Orde, Nelson believed to be the only two enemies
whom he had ever had in his profession; and from that sensitive delicacy which distinguished
him, this made him the more scrupulously anxious to show every possible mark of respect
and kindness to Sir Robert. He wished to detain him till after the expected action, when the
services which he might perform, and the triumphant joy which would be excited, would
leave nothing to be apprehended from an inquiry into the previous engagement. Sir Robert,
however, whose situ- ation was very painful, did not choose to delay a trial from the result of
which he confidently expected a complete justification; and Nelson, instead of sending him
home in a frigate, insisted on his returning in his own ninety-gun ship--ill as such a ship
could at that time be spared. Nothing could be more honourable than the feeling by which
Nelson was influenced; but, at such a crisis, it ought not to have been indulged.
On the 9th Nelson sent Collingwood what he called, in his diary, the Nelson-touch. "I send
you," said he, "my plan of attack, as far as a man dare venture to guess at the very uncertain
position the enemy may be found in; but it is to place you perfectly at ease respecting my
intentions, and to give full scope to your judgment for carrying them into effect. We can, my
dear Coll, have no little jealousies. We have only one great object in view, that of
annihilating our enemies, and getting a glorious peace for our country. No man has more
confidence in another than I have in you; and no man will render your

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services more justice than your very old friend Nelson and Bronte." The order of sailing was
to be the order of battle: the fleet in two lines, with an advanced squadron of eight of the
fastest-sailing two-deckers. The second in command, having the entire direction of his line,
was to break through the enemy, about the twelfth ship from their rear: he would lead
through the centre, and the advanced squadron was to cut off three or four ahead of the
centre. This plan was to be adapted to the strength of the enemy, so that they should always
be one-fourth superior to those whom they cut off. Nelson said, "That his admirals and
captains, knowing his precise object to be that of a close and decisive action, would supply
any deficiency of signals, and act accordingly. In case signals cannot be seen or clearly
understood, no captain can do wrong if he places his ship alongside that of an enemy." One
of the last orders of this admirable man was, that the name and family of every officer,
seaman, and marine, who might be killed or wounded in action, should be, as soon as
possible, returned to him, in order to be transmitted to the chairman of the Patriotic Fund, that
the case might be taken into consideration for the benefit of the sufferer or his family.
About half-past nine in the morning of the 19th, the MARS, being the nearest to the fleet of
the ships which formed the line of communication with the frigates inshore, repeated the
signal that the enemy were coming out of port. The wind was at this time very light, with
partial breezes, mostly from the S.S.W. Nelson ordered the signal to be made for a chase in
the south-east quarter. About two, the repeating ships announced that the enemy were at sea.
All night the British fleet continued under all sail, steering to the south-east. At daybreak they
were in the entrance of the Straits, but the enemy were not in sight. About seven one of the
frigates made signal that the enemy were bearing north. Upon this the VICTORY hove to;
and shortly afterwards Nelson made sail again to the northward. In the afternoon-the wind
blew fresh from the south-west, and the English began to fear that the foe might be forced to
return to port. A little before sunset, however, Blackwood, in the EURYALUS, telegraphed
that they appeared determined to go to the westward, "And that," said the admiral in his
diary, "they shall not do, if it is in the power of Nelson and Bronte to prevent them." Nelson
had signified to Blackwood that he depended upon him to keep sight of the enemy. They
were observed so well that all their motions were made known to him; and as they wore
twice, he inferred that they were aiming to keep the port of Cadiz open, and would retreat
there as soon as they saw the British fleet; for this reason he was very careful not to approach
near enough to be seen by them during the night. At daybreak the combined fleets were
distinctly seen from the VICTORY's deck, formed in a close line of battle ahead, on the
starboard tack, about twelve miles to leeward, and standing to the south. Our fleet consisted
of twenty-seven sail of the line and four frigates; theirs of thirty- three and seven large
frigates. Their superiority was greater in size and weight of metal than in numbers. They had
four thousand troops on board; and the best riflemen who could be procured, many of them
Tyrolese, were dispersed through the ships. Little did the Tyrolese, and little did the
Spaniards, at that day, imagine what horrors the wicked tyrant whom they served was
preparing for their country.

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Soon after daylight Nelson came upon deck. The 21st of October was a festival in his family,
because on that day his uncle, Captain Suckling, in the DREADNOUGHT, with two other
line-of-battle ships, had beaten off a French squadron of four sail of the line and three
frigates. Nelson, with that sort of superstition from which few persons are entirely exempt,
had more than once expressed his persuasion that this was to be the day of his battle also; and
he was well pleased at seeing his prediction about to be verified. The wind was now from the
west, light breezes, with a long heavy swell. Signal was made to bear down upon the enemy
in two lines; and the fleet set all sail. Collingwood, in the ROYAL SOVEREIGN, led the
leeline of thirteen ships; the VICTORY led the weather line of fourteen. Having seen that all
was as it should be, Nelson retired to his cabin, and wrote the following prayer:--
"May the great GOD whom I worship, grant to my country, and for the benefit of Europe in
general, a great and glorious victory, and may no misconduct in any one tarnish it; and may
humanity after victory be the predominant feature in the British fleet! For myself
individually, I commit my life to Him that made me; and may His blessing alight on my
endeavours for serving my country faithfully! To Him I resign myself, and the just cause
which is entrusted to me to defend. Amen! Amen! Amen!"
Having thus discharged his devotional duties, he annexed, in the same diary, the following
remarkable writing:---
OCTOBER 21, 1805.--. THEN IN SIGHT OF THE COMBINED FLEETS OF FRANCE
AND SPAIN, DISTANT ABOUT TEN MILES.
"Whereas the eminent services of Emma Hamilton, widow of the Right Hon. Sir W.
Hamilton, have been of the very greatest service to my king and country, to my knowledge,
without ever receiving any reward from either our king or country.
1. That she obtained the King of Spain's letter, in 1796, to his brother, the King of Naples,
acquainting him of his intention to declare war against England from which letter the
ministry sent out orders to the then Sir John Jervis to strike a stroke, if opportunity offered,
against either the arsenals of Spain or her fleets. That neither of these was done is not the
fault of Lady Hamilton; the opportunity might have been offered.
2. The British fleet under my command could never have returned the second time to Egypt,
had not Lady Hamilton's influence with the Queen of Naples caused letters to be wrote to the
governor of Syracuse that he was to encourage the fleet's being supplied with everything,
should they put into any port in Sicily. We put into Syracuse, and received every supply;
went to Egypt and destroyed the French fleet.

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"Could I have rewarded these services, I would not now call upon my country; but as that has
not been in my power, I leave Emma Lady Hamilton therefore a legacy to my king and
country, that they will give her an ample provision to maintain her rank in life. "I also leave
to the beneficence of my country my adopted daughter, Horatio Nelson Thomson; and I
desire she will use in future the name of Nelson only.
"These are the only favours I ask of my king and country, at this moment, when I am going to
fight their battle. May God bless my king and country, and all those I hold dear! My relations
it is needless to mention; they will of course be amply provided for.
"NELSON AND BRONTE.
"WITNESS, ( HENRY BLACKWOOD.
( T.M.HARDY.
The child of whom this writing Speaks was believed to be his daughter, and so, indeed, he
called her the last time he pronounced her name. She was then about five years old, living at
Merton, under Lady Hamilton's care. The last minutes which Nelson passed at Merton were
employed in praying over this child, as she lay sleeping. A portrait of Lady Hamilton hung in
his cabin; and no Catholic ever beheld the picture of his patron saint with devouter reverence.
The undisguised and romantic passion with which he regarded it amounted almost to
superstition; and when the portrait was now taken down in clearing for action, he desired the
men who removed it to "take care of his guardian angel." In this manner he frequently spoke
of it, as if he believed there were a virtue in the image. He wore a miniature of her, also, next
his heart.
Blackwood went on board the VICTORY about six. He found him in good spirits, but very
calm; not in that exhilaration which he had felt upon entering into battle at Aboukir and
Copenhagen: he knew that his own life would be particularly aimed at, and seems to have
looked for death with almost as sure an expectation as for victory. His whole attention was
fixed upon the enemy. They tacked to the northward, and formed their line on the larboard
tack; thus bringing the shoals of Trafalgar and St. Pedro under the lee of the British, and
keeping the port of Cadiz open for themselves. This was judiciously done; and Nelson, aware
of all the advantages which it gave them. made signal to prepare to anchor.
Villeneuve was a skilful seaman: worthy of serving a better master, and a better cause. His
plan of defence was as well conceived, and as original, as the plan of attack. He formed the
fleet in a double line; every alternate ship being about a cable's length to windward of her
second ahead and astern. Nelson, certain of a triumphant issue to the day, asked Blackwood
what he should consider as a victory. That officer answered, that, considering the handsome
way in which battle was offered by the enemy, their apparent determination for a fair trial of
strength, and the situation of the land, he thought it would be a glorious result if fourteen
were captured. He replied: "I shall not be satisfied with less than twenty." Soon afterwards he
asked him if he did not think there was a signal

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wanting. Captain Blackwood made answer, that he thought the whole fleet seemed very
clearly to understand what they were about. These words were scarcely spoken before that
signal was made, which will be remembered as long as the language, or even the memory, of
England shall endure; Nelson's last signal:--"ENGLAND EXPECTS EVERY MAN TO DO
HIS DUTY!" It was received throughout the fleet with a shout of answering acclamation,
made sublime by the spirit which it breathed, and the feeling which it expressed. "Now," said
Lord Nelson, "I can do no more. We must trust to the great Disposer of all events, and the
justice of our cause. I thank God for this great opportunity of doing my duty."
He wore that day, as usual, his admiral's frock-coat, bearing on the left breast four stars, of
the different orders with which he was invested. Ornaments which rendered him so
conspicuous a mark for the enemy were beheld with ominous apprehensions by his officers.
It was known that there were riflemen on board the French ships, and it could not be doubted
but that his life would be particularly aimed at. They communicated their fears to each other;
and the surgeon, Mr. Beatty, spoke to the chaplain Dr. Scott, and to Mr. Scott the public
secretary, desiring that some person would entreat him to change his dress, or cover the stars;
but they knew that such a request would highly displease him. "In honour I gained them," he
had said when such a thing had been hinted to him formerly, "and in honour I will die with
them." Mr. Beatty, however, would not have been deterred by any fear of exciting his
displeasure from speaking to him himself upon a subject in which the weal of England, as
well as the life of Nelson, was concerned; but he was ordered from the deck before he could
find an opportunity. This was a point upon which Nelson's officers knew that it was hopeless
to remonstrate or reason with him; but both Blackwood, and his own captain, Hardy,
represented to him how advantageous to the fleet it would be for him to keep out of action as
long as possible; and he consented at last to let the LEVIATHAN and the TEMERAIRE,
which were sailing abreast of the VICTORY, 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 formidable; but the British sailors
only admired the beauty and the splendour of the spectacle; and in full confidence of winning
what they saw, remarked to each other what a fine sight yonder ships would make at
Spithead!
The French admiral, from the BUCENTAURE, beheld the new manner in which his enemy
was advancing--Nelson and Collingwood each leading his line; and pointing them out; to his
officers, he is said to have exclaimed that such conduct could not fail to be successful. Yet
Villeneuve had made his own dispositions with the utmost skill and the fleets under his
command waited for the attack with perfect coolness. Ten minutes before twelve they opened
their fire. Eight or nine of the ships immediately ahead of the VICTORY, and across her
bows, fired single guns at her, to ascertain whether she was yet within their range. As soon as
Nelson perceived that their shot passed over him, he

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desired Blackwood and Captain Prowse, of the SIRIUS, to repair to their respective frigates;
and, on their way, to tell all the captains of the line-of-battle ships that he depended on their
exertions; and that if, by the prescribed mode of attack, they found it impracticable to get into
action immediately, they might adopt whatever they thought best, provided it led them
quickly and closely alongside an enemy. As they were standing on the front of the poop,
Blackwood took him by the hand, saying, he hoped soon to return and find him in possession
of twenty prizes. He replied, "God bless you, Blackwood; I shall never see you again."
Nelson's column was steered about two points more to the north than Collingwood's, in order
to cut off the enemy's escape into Cadiz: the lee line, therefore, was first engaged. "See,"
cried Nelson, pointing to the ROYAL SOVEREIGN, as she steered right for the centre of the
enemy's line, cut through it astern of the SANTA ANNA three-decker, and engaged her at the
muzzle of her guns on the starboard side--"see how that noble fellow, Collingwood, carries
his ship into action!" Collingwood, delighted at being first in the heat of the fire, and
knowing the feelings of his commander and old friend, turned to his captain, and exclaimed:
"Rotherham, what would Nelson give to be here?" Both these brave officers, perhaps, at this
moment, thought of Nelson with gratitude, for a circumstance which had occurred on the
preceding day. Admiral Collingwood, with some of the captains, having gone on board the
VICTORY to receive instructions, Nelson inquired of him where his captain was and was
told, in reply, that they were not upon good terms with each other. "Terms!" said Nelson,--
"good terms with each other!" Immediately he sent a boat for Captain Rotherham; led him, as
soon as he arrived, to Collingwood; and saying,"Look; yonder are the enemy!" bade them
shake hands like Englishmen.
The enemy continued to fire a gun at a time at the VICTORY, till they saw that a shot had
passed through her main-top-gallant sail; then they opened their broadsides, aiming chiefly at
her rigging, in the hope of disabling her before she could close with them. Nelson, as usual,
had hoisted several flags, lest one should be shot away. The enemy showed no colours till
late in the action, when they began to feel the necessity of having them to strike. For this
reason, the SANTISSIMA TRINIDAD, Nelson's old acquaintance, as he used to call her, was
distinguishable only by her four decks; and to the bow of this opponent he ordered the
VICTORY to be steered. Meantime an incessant raking fire was kept up upon the VICTORY.
The admiral's secretary was one of the first who fell; he was killed by a cannon-shot while
conversing with Hardy. Captain Adair of the marines, with the help of a sailor, endeavoured
to remove the body from Nelson's sight, who had a great regard for Mr. Scott; but he
anxiously asked: "Is that poor Scott that's gone?" and being informed that was indeed so,
exclaimed: "Poor fellow!" Presently, a double-headed shot struck a party of marines who
were drawn up on the poop, and killed eight of them; upon which Nelson immediately
desired Captain Adair to disperse his men round the ship, that they might not suffer so much
from being together. A few minutes afterwards a shot struck the four-brace bits on the
quarter-deck, and passed between Nelson and Hardy, a splinter from the bit tearing off
Hardy's buckle, and bruising his foot. Both stopped, and looked anxiously at each other, each
supposed the

145
other to be wounded. Nelson then smiled, and said, "This is too warm work, Hardy, to last
long."
The VICTORY had not yet returned a single gun: fifty of her men had been by this time
killed or wounded, and her main-top-mast, with all her studding-sails and her booms, shot
away. Nelson declared, that, in all his battles, he had seen nothing which surpassed the cool
courage of his crew on this occasion. At four minutes after twelve she opened her fire from
both sides of her deck. It was not possible to break the enemy's line without running on board
one of their ships: Hardy informed him of this, and asked him which he would prefer. Nelson
replied: "Take your choice, Hardy, it does not signify much." The master was ordered to put
the helm to port, and the VICTORY ran on board the REDOUTABLE, just as her tiller ropes
were shot away. The French ship received her with a broadside; then instantly let down her
lower-deck ports, for fear of being bearded through them, and never afterwards fired a great
gun during the action. Her tops, like those of all the enemy's ships, were filled with riflemen.
Nelson never placed musketry in his tops; he had a strong dislike to the practice; not merely
because it endangers setting fire to the sails, but also because it is a murderous sort of
warfare, by which individuals may suffer, and a commander now and then be picked off; but
which never can decide the fate of a general engagement.
Captain Harvey, in the TEMERAIRE, fell on board the REDOUTABLE on the other side.
Another enemy was in like manner on board the TEMERAIRE; so that these four ships
formed as compact a tier as if they had been moored together, their heads lying all the same
way. The lieutenants of the VICTORY, seeing this, depressed their guns of the middle and
lower decks, and fired with a diminished charge, lest the shot should pass through, and injure
the TEMERAIRE. And because there was danger that the REDOUBTABLE might take fire
from the lower-deck guns, the muzzles of which touched her side when they were run out, the
fireman of each gun stood ready with a bucket of water; which, as soon as the gun was
discharged, he dashed into the hole made by the shot. An incessant fire was kept up from the
VICTORY from both sides; her larboard guns playing upon the BUCENTAURE and the
huge SANTISSIMA TRINIDAD.
It had been part of Nelson's prayer that the British fleet might be distinguished by humanity
in the victory which he expected. Setting an example himself, he twice gave orders to cease
firing upon the REDOUTABLE, supposing that she had struck, because her great guns were
silent; for as she carried no flag, there were no means of instantly ascertaining the fact. From
this ship, which he had thus twice spared, he received his death. A ball fired from her
mizzen-top, which, in the then situation of the two vessels, was not more than fifteen yards
from that part of the deck where he was standing, struck the epaulette on his left shoulder,
about a quarter after one, just in the heat of action. He fell upon his face, on the spot which
was covered with his poor secretary's blood. Hardy, who was a few steps from him, turning
round, saw three men raising him up.--"They have done for me at last, Hardy," said he.--"I
hope not," cried Hardy.--"Yes!" he replied,"my back-bone is shot through." Yet even now,
not for a moment losing his presence of mind, he observed, as they were carrying him down
the ladder, that the tiller

146
ropes, which had been shot away, were not yet replaced, and ordered that new ones should be
rove immediately. Then, that he might not be seen by the crew, he took out his handkerchief,
and covered his face and his stars. Had he but concealed these badges of honour from the
enemy, England, perhaps, would not have had cause to receive with sorrow the news of the
battle of Trafalgar. The cockpit was crowded with wounded and dying men, over whose
bodies he was with some difficulty conveyed, and laid upon a pallet in the midshipmen's
berth. It was soon perceived, upon examination, that the wound was mortal. This, however,
was concealed from all except Captain Hardy, the chaplain, and the medical attendants. He
himself being certain, from the sensation in his back, and the gush of blood he felt momently
within his breast, that no human care could avail him, insisted that the surgeon should leave
him, and attend to those to whom he might be useful; "For," said he, "you can do nothing for
me." All that could be done was to fan him with paper, and frequently to give him lemonade
to alleviate his intense thirst. He was in great pain, and expressed much anxiety for the event
of the action, which now began to declare itself. As often as a ship struck, the crew of the
VICTORY hurrahed; and at every hurrah a visible expression of joy gleamed in the eyes, and
marked the countenance of the dying hero. But he became impatient to see Captain Hardy;
and as that officer, though often sent for, could not leave the deck, Nelson feared that some
fatal cause prevented him, and repeatedly cried, "Will no one bring Hardy to me? He must be
killed! He is surely dead!" An hour and ten minutes elapsed from the time when Nelson
received his wound before Hardy could come to him. They shook hands in silence, Hardy in
vain struggling to repress the feelings of that most painful and yet sublimest moment. "Well,
Hardy," said Nelson, "how goes the day with us?"--"Very well," replied Hardy; "ten ships
have struck, but five of the van have tacked, and show an intention to bear down upon the
VICTORY, I have called two or three of our fresh ships round, and have no doubt of giving
them a drubbing."--"I hope," said Nelson, "none of our ships have struck?" Hardy answered,
"There was no fear of that." Then, and not till then, Nelson spoke of himself. "I am a dead
man, Hardy," said he: "I am going fast: it will be all over with me soon. Come nearer to me.
Let my dear Lady Hamilton have my hair, and all other things belonging to me." Hardy
observed that he hoped Mr. Beatty could yet hold out some prospect of life. "Oh, no!" he
replied, "it is impossible. My back is shot through. Beatty will tell you so." Captain Hardy
then, once more, shook hands with him; and, with a heart almost bursting, hastened upon
deck.
By this time all feeling below the breast was gone; and Nelson, having made the surgeon
ascertain this, said to him: "You know I am gone, I know it. I feel something rising in my
breast,"-- putting his hand on his left side,--"which tells me so." And upon Beatty's inquiring
whether his pain was very great, he replied, "So great, that he wished he was dead. Yet," said
he, in a lower voice, "one would like to live a little longer too!" And after a few minutes, in
the same under tone, he added--"What would become of poor Lady Hamilton, if she knew
my situation!" Next to his country she occupied his thoughts. Captain Hardy, some fifty
minutes after he had left the cockpit, returned; and, again taking the hand of his dying friend
and commander, congratulated him on having gained a complete victory. How many of the
enemy were taken he did not know, as it was impossible to perceive them distinctly; but
fourteen or fifteen at least. "That's well," cried Nelson, "but I bargained for twenty." And
then, in a stronger voice, he said: "Anchor,

147
Hardy; anchor." Hardy, upon this, hinted that Admiral Collingwood would take upon himself
the direction of affairs. "Not while I live, Hardy," said the dying Nelson, ineffectually
endeavouring to raise himself from the bed: "Do you anchor." His previous order for
preparing to anchor had shown how clearly he foresaw the necessity of this. Presently, calling
Hardy back, he said to him in a low voice, "Don't throw me overboard:" and he desired that
he might be buried by his parents, unless it should please the king to order otherwise. Then
reverting to private feelings: "Take care of my dear Lady Hamilton, Hardy take care of poor
Lady Hamilton. Kiss me, Hardy," said he. Hardy knelt down and kissed his cheek; and
Nelson: said, "Now I am satisfied. Thank God I have done my duty." Hardy stood over him
in silence for a moment or two, then knelt again and kissed his forehead. "Who is that?" said
Nelson; and being informed, he replied, "God bless you, Hardy." And Hardy then left him --
for ever.
Nelson now desired to be turned upon his right side, and said, "I wish I had not left the deck;
for I shall soon be gone." Death was, indeed, rapidly approaching. He said to the chaplain,
"Doctor, I have NOT been a GREAT sinner;" and after a short pause, "Remember that I leave
Lady Hamilton and my daughter Horatia as a legacy to my country." His articulation now
became difficult; but he was distinctly heard to say, "Thank God I have done my duty."
These words he repeatedly pronounced; and they were the last words which he uttered. He
expired at thirty minutes after four--three hours and a quarter after he had received his
wound.
Within a quarter of an hour after Nelson was wounded, above fifty of the VICTORY's men
fell by the enemy's musketry. They, however, on their part, were not idle; and it was not long
before there were only two Frenchmen left alive in the mizzen-top of the REDOUTABLE.
One of them was the man who had given the fatal wound: he did not live to boast of what he
had done. An old quarter-master had seen him fire; and easily recognised him, because he
wore a glazed cocked hat and a white frock. This quarter-master and two midshipmen, Mr.
Collingwood and Mr. Pollard, were the only persons left in the VICTORY's poop; the two
midshipmen kept firing at the top, and he supplied them with cartridges. One of the
Frenchmen, attempting to make his escape down the rigging, was shot by Mr. Pollard, and
fell on the poop. But the old quarter- master, as he cried out, "That's he, that's he," and
pointed at the other who was coming forward to fire again, received a shot in his mouth, and
fell dead. Both the midshipmen then fired at the same time, and the fellow dropped in the top.
When they took possession of the prize, they went into the mizzen-top, and found him dead,
with one ball through his head, and another through his breast.
The REDOUTABLE struck within twenty minutes after the fatal shot had been fired from
her. During that time she had been twice on fire in her fore-chains and in her forecastle. The
French, as they had done in other battles, made use in this, of fire-balls and other
combustibles; implements of destruction which other nations, from a sense of honour and
humanity, have laid aside; which add to the, sufferings of the wounded, without determining
the issue of the combat: which none but the cruel would employ, and which never can be
successful against the brave. Once they succeeded in setting fire, from the REDOUTABLE,
to some ropes and canvas on the VICTORY's booms. The cry

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ran through the ship, and reached the cockpit; but even this dreadful cry produced no
confusion: the men displayed that perfect self-possession in danger by which English seamen
are characterised; they extinguished the flames on board their own ship, and then hastened to
extinguish them in the enemy, by throwing buckets of water from the gangway. When the
REDOUTABLE had struck, it was not practicable to board her from the VICTORY; for,
though the two ships touched, the upper works of both fell in so much, that there was a great
space between their gangways; and she could not be boarded from the lower or middle decks
because her ports were down. Some of our men went to Lieutenant Quilliam, and offered to
swim under her bows, and get up there; but it was thought unfit to hazard brave lives in this
manner.
What our men would have done from gallantry, some of the crew of the SANTISSIMA
TRINIDAD did to save themselves. Unable to stand the tremendous fire of the VICTORY,
whose larboard guns played against this great four-decker, and not knowing how else to
escape them, nor where else to betake themselves for protection, many of them leaped
overboard and swam to the VICTORY; and were actually helped up her sides by the English
during the action. The Spaniards began the battle with less vivacity than their unworthy
allies, but they continued it with greater firmness. The ARGONAUTA and BAHAMA were
defended till they had each lost about four hundred men; the SAN JUAN NEPOMUCENO
lost three hundred and fifty. Often as the superiority of British courage has been proved
against France upon the seas, it was never more conspicuous than in this decisive conflict.
Five of our ships were engaged muzzle to muzzle with five of the French. In all five the
Frenchmen lowered their lower-deck ports, and deserted their guns; while our men continued
deliberately to load and fire till they had made the victory secure.
Once, amidst his sufferings, Nelson had expressed a wish that he were dead; but immediately
the spirit subdued the pains of death, and he wished to live a little longer, doubtless that he
might hear the completion of the victory which he had seen so gloriously begun. That
consolation, that joy, that triumph, was afforded him. He lived to know that the victory was
decisive; and the last guns which were fired at the flying enemy were heard a minute or two
before he expired. The ships which were thus flying were four of the enemy's van, all French,
under Rear-Admiral Dumanoir. They had borne no part in the action; and now, when they
were seeking safety in flight, they fired not only into the VICTORY and ROYAL
SOVEREIGN as they passed, but poured their broadsides into the Spanish captured ships;
and they were seen to back their topsails for the purpose of firing with more precision. The
indignation of the Spaniards at this detestable cruelty from their allies, for whom they had
fought so bravely, and so profusely bled, may well be conceived. It was such that when, two
days after the action, seven of the ships which had escaped into Cadiz came out in hopes of
re-taking some of the disabled prizes, the prisoners in the ARGONAUTA, in a body, offered
their services to the British prize-master, to man the guns against any of the French ships,
saying, that if a Spanish ship came alongside, they would quietly go below; but they
requested that they might be allowed to fight the French in resentment for the murderous
usage which they had suffered at their hands. Such was their earnestness, and such the
implicit confidence which could be placed in Spanish honour, that the offer was accepted and
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actually stationed at the lower-deck guns. Dumanoir and his squadron were not more
fortunate than the fleet from whose destruction they fled. They fell in with Sir Richard
Strachan, who was cruising for the Rochefort squadron, and were all taken. In the better days
of France, if such a crime could then have been committed, it would have received an
exemplary punishment from the French government. Under Buonaparte it was sure of
impunity, and perhaps might be thought deserving of reward. But if the Spanish court had
been independent, it would have become us to have delivered Dumanoir and his captains up
to Spain, that they might have been brought to trial, and hanged in sight of the remains of the
Spanish fleet.
The total British loss in the battle of Trafalgar amounted to 1587. Twenty of the enemy
struck; but it was not possible to anchor the fleet, as Nelson had enjoined. A gale came on
from the S.W., some of the prizes went down, some went on shore; one effected its escape
into Cadiz; others were destroyed; four only were saved, and those by the greatest exertions.
The wounded Spaniards were sent ashore, an assurance being given that they should not
serve till regularly exchanged; and the Spaniards, with a generous feeling, which would not
perhaps have been found in any other people, offered the use of their hospitals for our
wounded, pledging the honour of Spain that they should be carefully attended there. When
the storm, after the action, drove some of the prizes upon the coast, they declared that the
English who were thus thrown into their hands should not be considered as prisoners of war;
and the Spanish soldiers gave up their own beds to their shipwrecked enemies. The Spanish
vice-admiral, Alva, died of his wounds. Villeneuve was sent to England, and permitted to
return to France. The French Government say that he destroyed himself on the way to Paris,
dreading the consequences of a court-martial; but there is every reason to believe that the
tyrant, who never acknowledged the loss of the battle of Trafalgar, added Villeneuve to the
numerous victims of his murderous policy.
It is almost superfluous to add, that all the honours which a grateful country could bestow
were heaped upon the memory of Nelson. His brother was made an earl, with a grant of
L6000 a year. L10,000 were voted to each of his sisters; and L100,000 for the purchase of an
estate. A public funeral was decreed, and a public monument. Statues and monuments also
were voted by most of our principal cities. The leaden coffin in which he was brought home
was cut in pieces, which were distributed as relics of Saint Nelson,--so the gunner of the
VICTORY called them; and when, at his internment, his flag was about to be lowered into
the grave, the sailors who assisted at the ceremony with one accord rent it in pieces, that each
might preserve a fragment while he lived.
The death of Nelson was felt in England as something more than a public calamity; men
started at the intelligence, and turned pale, as if they had heard of the loss of a dear friend. An
object of our admiration and affection, of our pride and of our hopes, was suddenly taken
from us; and it seemed as if we had never, till then, known how deeply we loved and
reverenced him. What the country had lost in its great naval hero--the greatest of our own,
and of all former times--was scarcely taken into the account of grief. So perfectly, indeed,
had he performed his part, that the maritime war, after the battle of Trafalgar, was considered
at an end: the fleets of the enemy were not merely defeated but

150
destroyed; new navies must be built, and a new race of seamen reared for them, before the
possibility of their invading our shores could again be contemplated. It was not, therefore,
from any selfish reflection upon the magnitude of our loss that we mourned for him: the
general sorrow was of a higher character. The people of England grieved that funeral
ceremonies, and public monuments, and posthumous rewards, were all which they could now
bestow upon him, whom the king, the legislature, and the nation would have alike delighted
to honour; whom every tongue would have blessed; whose presence in every village through
which he might have passed would have wakened the church bells, have given schoolboys a
holiday, have drawn children from their sports to gaze upon him, and "old men from the
chimney corner" to look upon Nelson ere they died. The victory of Trafalgar was celebrated,
indeed, with the usual forms of rejoicing, but they were without joy; for such already was the
glory of the British navy, through Nelson's surpassing genius, that it scarcely seemed to
receive any addition from the most signal victory that ever was achieved upon the seas: and
the destruction of this mighty fleet, by which all the maritime schemes of France were totally
frustrated, hardly appeared to add to our security or strength; for, while Nelson was living, to
watch the combined squadrons of the enemy, we felt ourselves as secure as now, when they
were no longer in existence.
There was reason to suppose, from the appearances upon opening the body, that in the course
of nature he might have attained, like his father, to a good old age. Yet he cannot be said to
have fallen prematurely whose work was done; nor ought he to be lamented who died so full
of honours, at the height of human fame. The most triumphant death is that of the martyr; the
most awful that of the martyred patriot; the most splendid that of the hero in the hour of
victory: and if the chariot and horses of fire had been vouchsafed for Nelson's translation, he
could scarcely have departed in a brighter blaze of glory. He has left us, not indeed his
mantle of inspiration, but a name and an example which are at this hour inspiring thousands
of the youth of England: a name which is our pride, and an example which will continue to
be our shield and our strength. Thus it is that the spirits of the great and the wise continue to
live and to act after them; verifying, in this sense, the language of the old mythologist:--

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