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The Life of Horatio, Lord Nelson

by Robert Southey · English · Gutenberg #947 · 569,439 chars · public domain (US)

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Title: The Life of Horatio, Lord Nelson

Author: Robert Southey


        
Release date: February 5, 2006 [eBook #947]
                Most recently updated: October 23, 2012

Language: English

Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/947

Credits: Produced by John Hill and David Widger


*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LIFE OF HORATIO, LORD NELSON ***




Produced by John Hill and David Widger





THE LIFE

OF

HORATIO LORD NELSON





BY ROBERT SOUTHEY (1774-1843)

     TO JOHN WILSON CROKER ESQ.,
     LL.D., F.R.S.,
     SECRETARY OF THE ADMIRALTY;
     WHO, BY THE OFFICIAL SITUATION WHICH HE SO ABLY FILLS,
     IS QUALIFIED TO APPRECIATE ITS HISTORICAL ACCURACY;
     AND WHO,
     AS A MEMBER OF THE REPUBLIC OF LETTERS,
     IS EQUALLY QUALIFIED TO DECIDE UPON ITS
     LITERARY MERITS,
     THIS WORK
     IS RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED BY HIS FRIEND,
     THE AUTHOR



Many Lives of Nelson have been written; one is yet wanting, clear and
concise enough to become a manual for the young sailor, which he may
carry about with him till he has treasured it up for example in his
memory and in his heart. In attempting such a work I shall write the
eulogy of our great national hero, for the best eulogy of NELSON is the
faithful history of his actions, and the best history must be that which
shall relate them most perspicuously.




CHAPTER I

1758 - 1783


Nelson's Birth and Boyhood--He is entered on Board the RAISONABLE--Goes
to the West Indies in a Merchant-ship; then serves in the TRIUMPH--He
sails in Captain Phipps' Voyage of Discovery--Goes to the East Indies in
the SEAHORSE, and returns in ill Health--Serves as acting Lieutenant
in the WORCESTER, and is made Lieutenant into the LOWESTOFFE, Commander
into the BADGER Brig, and Post into the HINCHINBROKE--Expedition against
the Spanish Main--Sent to the North Seas in the ALBERMARLE--Services
during the American War.


HORATIO, son of Edmund and Catherine Nelson, was born September 29,
1758, in the parsonage-house of Burnham Thorpe, a village in the county
of Norfolk, of which his father was rector. His mother was a daughter of
Dr. Suckling, prebendary of Westminster, whose grandmother was sister
of Sir Robert Walpole, and this child was named after his godfather,
the first Lord Walpole. Mrs. Nelson died in 1767, leaving eight out
of eleven children. Her brother, Captain Maurice Suckling, of the navy
visited the widower upon this event, and promised to take care of one of
the boys. Three years afterwards, when HORATIO was only twelve years of
age, being at home during the Christmas holidays, he read in the county
newspaper that his uncle was appointed to the RAISONNABLE, of sixty-four
guns. "Do, William," said he to a brother who was a year and a half older
than himself, "write to my father, and tell him that I should like to go
to sea with uncle Maurice." Mr. Nelson was then at Bath, whither he had
gone for the recovery of his health: his circumstances were straitened,
and he had no prospect of ever seeing them bettered: he knew that it was
the wish of providing for himself by which Horatio was chiefly actuated,
and did not oppose his resolution; he understood also the boy's
character, and had always said, that in whatever station he might be
placed, he would climb if possible to the very top of the tree. Captain
Suckling was written to. "What," said he in his answer, "has poor Horatio
done, who is so weak, that he, above all the rest, should be sent to
rough it out at sea?--But let him come; and the first time we go into
action, a cannon-ball may knock off his head, and provide for him at
once."

It is manifest from these words that Horatio was not the boy whom his
uncle would have chosen to bring up in his own profession. He was never
of a strong body; and the ague, which at that time was one of the most
common diseases in England, had greatly reduced his strength; yet he had
already given proofs of that resolute heart and nobleness of mind
which, during his whole career of labour and of glory, so eminently
distinguished him. When a mere child, he strayed a-birds'-nesting
from his grandmother's house in company with a cowboy: the dinner-hour
elapsed; he was absent, and could not be found; and the alarm of the
family became very great, for they apprehended that he might have been
carried off by gipsies. At length, after search had been made for him in
various directions, he was discovered alone, sitting composedly by the
side of a brook which he could not get over. "I wonder, child," said the
old lady when she saw him, "that hunger and fear did not drive you home."
"Fear! grandmama:" replied the future hero, "I never saw fear:--What is
it?" Once, after the winter holidays, when he and his brother William
had set off on horseback to return to school, they came back, because
there had been a fall of snow; and William, who did not much like the
journey, said it was too deep for them to venture on. "If that be the
case," said the father, "you certainly shall not go; but make another
attempt, and I will leave it to your honour. If the road is dangerous
you may return: but remember, boys, I leave it to your honour!" The snow
was deep enough to have afforded them a reasonable excuse; but Horatio
was not to be prevailed upon to turn back. "We must go on," said he:
"remember, brother, it was left to our honour!"--There were some fine
pears growing in the schoolmaster's garden, which the boys regarded as
lawful booty, and in the highest degree tempting; but the boldest among
them were afraid to venture for the prize. Horatio volunteered upon this
service: he was lowered down at night from the bedroom window by some
sheets, plundered the tree, was drawn up with the pears, and then
distributed them among his school-fellows without reserving any for
himself. "He only took them," he said, "because every other boy was
afraid."

Early on a cold and dark spring morning Mr. Nelson's servant arrived at
this school, at North Walsham, with the expected summons for Horatio to
join his ship. The parting from his brother William, who had been for
so many years his playmate and bed-fellow, was a painful effort, and
was the beginning of those privations which are the sailor's lot through
life. He accompanied his father to London. The RAISONNABLE was lying in
the Medway. He was put into the Chatham stage, and on its arrival was
set down with the rest of the passengers, and left to find his way on
board as he could. After wandering about in the cold, without being able
to reach the ship, an officer observed the forlorn appearance of the
boy, questioned him; and happening to be acquainted with his uncle, took
him home and gave him some refreshments. When he got on board, Captain
Suckling was not in the ship, nor had any person been apprised of the
boy's coming. He paced the deck the whole remainder of the day without
being noticed by any one; and it was not till the second day that
somebody, as he expressed it, "took compassion on him." The pain which
is felt when we are first transplanted from our native soil--when the
living branch is cut from the parent tree is one of the most poignant
which we have to endure through life. There are after-griefs which wound
more deeply, which leave behind them scars never to be effaced, which
bruise the spirit, and sometimes break the heart; but never do we feel
so keenly the want of love, the necessity of being loved, and the sense
of utter desertion, as when we first leave the haven of home, and are,
as it were, pushed off upon the stream of life. Added to these feelings,
the sea-boy has to endure physical hardships, and the privation of every
comfort, even of sleep. Nelson had a feeble body and an affectionate
heart, and he remembered through life his first days of wretchedness in
the service.

The RAISONNABLE having been commissioned on account of the dispute
respecting the Falkland Islands, was paid off as soon as the difference
with the court of Spain was accommodated, and Captain Suckling was
removed to the TRIUMPH, seventy-four, then stationed as a guard-ship in
the Thames. This was considered as too inactive a life for a boy,
and Nelson was therefore sent a voyage to the West Indies in a
merchant-ship, commanded by Mr. John Rathbone, an excellent seaman, who
had served as master's mate under Captain Suckling in the Dreadnought.
He returned a practical seaman, but with a hatred of the king's service,
and a saying then common among the sailors--"Aft the most honour;
forward the better man." Rathbone had probably been disappointed and
disgusted in the navy; and, with no unfriendly intentions, warned Nelson
against a profession which he himself had found hopeless. His uncle
received him on board the TRIUMPH on his return, and discovering his
dislike to the navy, took the best means of reconciling him to it. He
held it out as a reward that, if he attended well to his navigation, he
should go in the cutter and decked long-boat, which was attached to the
commanding-officer's ship at Chatham. Thus he became a good pilot for
vessels of that description from Chatham to the Tower, and down the Swin
Channel to the North Foreland, and acquired a confidence among rocks and
sands of which he often felt the value.

Nelson had not been many months on board the TRIUMPH, when his love of
enterprise was excited by hearing that two ships were fitting out for
a voyage of discovery towards the North Pole. In consequence of the
difficulties which were expected on such a service, these vessels were
to take out effective men instead of the usual number of boys. This,
however, did not deter him from soliciting to be received, and, by his
uncle's interest, he was admitted as coxswain under Captain Lutwidge,
second in command. The voyage was undertaken in compliance with an
application from the Royal Society. The Hon. Captain Constantine John
Phipps, eldest son of Lord Mulgrave, volunteered his services. The
RACEHORSE and CARCASS bombs were selected as the strongest ships, and,
therefore, best adapted for such a voyage; and they were taken into dock
and strengthened, to render them as secure as possible against the ice.
Two masters of Greenlandmen were employed as pilots for each ship. No
expedition was ever more carefully fitted out; and the First Lord of
the Admiralty, Lord Sandwich, with a laudable solicitude, went on
board himself, before their departure, to see that everything had been
completed to the wish of the officers. The ships were provided with a
simple and excellent apparatus for distilling fresh from salt water, the
invention of Dr. Irving, who accompanied the expedition. It consisted
merely in fitting a tube to the ship's kettle, and applying a wet mop to
the surface as the vapour was passing. By these means, from thirty-four
to forty gallons were produced every day.

They sailed from the Nore on the 4th of June. On the 6th of July they
were in latitude 79d 56m 39s; longitude 9d 43m 30s E. The next day,
about the place where most of the old discoverers had been stopped,
the RACEHORSE was beset with ice; but they hove her through with
ice-anchors. Captain Phipps continued ranging along the ice, northward
and westward, till the 24th; he then tried to the eastward. On the 30th
he was in latitude 80d 13m; longitude 18d 48m E. among the islands and
in the ice, with no appearance of an opening for the ships. The weather
was exceedingly fine, mild, and unusually clear. Here they were becalmed
in a large bay, with three apparent openings between the islands which
formed it; but everywhere, as far as they could see, surrounded with
ice. There was not a breath of air, the water was perfectly smooth, the
ice covered with snow, low and even, except a few broken pieces near
the edge; and the pools of water in the middle of the ice-fields just
crusted over with young ice. On the next day the ice closed upon them,
and no opening was to be seen anywhere, except a hole, or lake as it
might be called, of about a mile and a half in circumference, where the
ships lay fast to the ice with their ice-anchors. From these ice-fields
they filled their casks with water, which was very pure and soft. The
men were playing on the ice all day; but the Greenland pilots, who were
further than they had ever been before, and considered that the season
was far advancing, were alarmed at being thus beset.

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

A party were now sent to an island, about twelve miles off (named
Walden's Island in the charts, from the midshipman who was intrusted
with this service), to see where the open water lay. They came back with
information that the ice, though close all about them, was open to the
westward, round the point by which they came in. They said also, that
upon the island they had had a fresh east wind. This intelligence
considerably abated the hopes of the crew; for where they lay it had
been almost calm, and their main dependence had been upon the effect
of an easterly wind in clearing the bay. There was but one alternative:
either to wait the event of the weather upon the ships, or to betake
themselves to the boats. The likelihood that it might be necessary
to sacrifice the ships had been foreseen. The boats accordingly were
adapted, both in number and size, to transport, in case of emergency,
the whole crew; and there were Dutch whalers upon the coast, in which
they could all be conveyed to Europe. As for wintering where they were,
that dreadful experiment had been already tried too often. No time was
to be lost; the ships had driven into shoal water, having but fourteen
fathoms. Should they, or the ice to which they were fast, take the
ground, they must inevitably be lost; and at this time they were driving
fast toward some rocks on the N.E. Captain Phipps sent for the officers
of both ships, and told them his intention of preparing the boats for
going away. They were immediately hoisted out, and the fitting begun.
Canvas bread-bags were made, in case it should be necessary suddenly to
desert the vessels; and men were sent with the lead and line to N. and
E., to sound wherever they found cracks in the ice, that they might have
notice before the ice took the ground; for in that case the ships must
instantly have been crushed or overset.

On the 7th of August they began to haul the boats over the ice, Nelson
having command of a four-oared cutter. The men behaved excellently
well, like true British seamen: they seemed reconciled to the thought
of leaving the ships, and had full confidence in their officers. About
noon, the ice appeared rather more open near the vessels; and as the
wind was easterly, though there was but little of it, the sails were
set, and they got about a mile to the westward. They moved very slowly,
and were not now nearly so far to the westward as when they were first
beset. However, all sail was kept upon them, to force them through
whenever the ice slacked the least. Whatever exertions were made, it
could not be possible to get the boats to the water's edge before the
14th; and if the situation of the ships should not alter by that time,
it would not be justifiable to stay longer by them. The commander
therefore resolved to carry on both attempts together, moving the boats
constantly, and taking every opportunity of getting the ships through. A
party was sent out next day to the westward to examine the state of
the ice: they returned with tidings that it was very heavy and close,
consisting chiefly of large fields. The ships, however, moved something,
and the ice itself was drifting westward. There was a thick fog, so
that it was impossible to ascertain what advantage had been gained. It
continued on the 9th; but the ships were moved a little through some
very small openings: the mist cleared off in the afternoon, and it
was then perceived that they had driven much more than could have been
expected to the westward, and that the ice itself had driven still
further. In the course of the day they got past the boats, and took them
on board again. On the morrow the wind sprang up to the N.N.E. All sail
was set, and the ships forced their way through a great deal of very
heavy ice. They frequently struck, and with such force that one stroke
broke the shank of the RACEHORSE's best bower-anchor, but the vessels
made way; and by noon they had cleared the ice, and were out at sea. The
next day they anchored in Smeerenberg Harbour, close to that island of
which the westernmost point is called Hakluyt's Headland, in honour of
the great promoter and compiler of our English voyages of discovery.

Here they remained a few days, that the men might rest after their
fatigue. No insect was to be seen in this dreary country, nor any
species of reptile--not even the common earth-worm. Large bodies of ice,
called icebergs, filled up the valleys between high mountains, so dark
as, when contrasted with the snow, to appear black. The colour of the
ice was a lively light green. Opposite to the place where they fixed
their observatory was one of these icebergs, above three hundred feet
high; its side toward the sea was nearly perpendicular, and a stream of
water issued from it. Large pieces frequently broke off and rolled down
into the sea. There was no thunder nor lightning during the whole time
they were in these latitudes. The sky was generally loaded with hard
white clouds, from which it was never entirely free even in the clearest
weather. They always knew when they were approaching the ice long
before they saw it, by a bright appearance near the horizon, which the
Greenlandmen called the blink of the ice. The season was now so far
advanced that nothing more could have been attempted, if indeed anything
had been left untried; but the summer had been unusually favourable,
and they had carefully surveyed the wall of ice, extending for more
than twenty degrees between the latitudes of 80d and 81d, without the
smallest appearance of any opening.

The ships were paid off shortly after their return to England; and
Nelson was then placed by his uncle with Captain Farmer, in the
SEAHORSE, of twenty guns, then going out to the East Indies in the
squadron under Sir Edward Hughes. He was stationed in the foretop at
watch and watch. His good conduct attracted the attention of the master
(afterwards Captain Surridge), in whose watch he was; and upon his
recommendation the captain rated him as midshipman. At this time his
countenance was florid, and his appearance rather stout and athletic;
but when he had been about eighteen months in India, he felt the effects
of that climate, so perilous to European constitutions. The disease
baffled all power of medicine; he was reduced almost to a skeleton; the
use of his limbs was for some time entirely lost; and the only hope
that remained was from a voyage home. Accordingly he was brought home by
Captain Pigot, in the DOLPHIN; and had it not been for the attentive
and careful kindness of that officer on the way, Nelson would never have
lived to reach his native shores. He had formed an acquaintance with Sir
Charles Pole, Sir Thomas Troubridge, and other distinguished officers,
then, like himself, beginning their career: he had left them pursuing
that career in full enjoyment of health and hope, and was returning,
from a country in which all things were to him new and interesting,
with a body broken down by sickness, and spirits which had sunk with his
strength. Long afterwards, when the name of Nelson was known as widely
as that of England itself, he spoke of the feelings which he at this
time endured. "I felt impressed," said he, "with a feeling that I should
never rise in my profession. My mind was staggered with a view of the
difficulties I had to surmount and the little interest I possessed. I
could discover no means of reaching the object of my ambition. After a
long and gloomy reverie, in which I almost wished myself overboard, a
sudden glow of patriotism was kindled within me, and presented my king
and country as my patron. 'Well then,' I exclaimed, 'I will be a hero!
and, confiding in Providence, I will brave every danger!'"

Long afterwards Nelson loved to speak of the feelings of that moment;
and from that time, he often said, a radiant orb was suspended in his
mind's eye, which urged him onward to renown. The state of mind in
which these feelings began, is what the mystics mean by their season of
darkness and desertion. If the animal spirits fail, they represent it
as an actual temptation. The enthusiasm of Nelson's nature had taken a
different direction, but its essence was the same. He knew to what the
previous state of dejection was to be attributed; that an enfeebled
body, and a mind depressed, had cast this shade over his soul; but he
always seemed willing to believe that the sunshine which succeeded
bore with it a prophetic glory, and that the light which led him on was
"light from heaven."

His interest, however, was far better than he imagined, During his
absence, Captain Suckling had been made Comptroller of the Navy; his
health had materially improved upon the voyage; and as soon as the
DOLPHIN was paid off, he was appointed acting lieutenant in the
WORCESTER, sixty-four, Captain Mark Robinson, then going out with convoy
to Gibraltar. Soon after his return, on the 8th of April 1777, he passed
his examination for a lieutenancy. Captain Suckling sat at the head
of the board; and when the examination had ended, in a manner highly
honourable to Nelson, rose from his seat, and introduced him to the
examining captains as his nephew. They expressed their wonder that he
had not informed them of this relationship before; he replied that he
did not wish the younker to be favoured; he knew his nephew would pass
a good examination, and he had not been deceived. The next day Nelson
received his commission as second lieutenant of the LOWESTOFFE frigate,
Captain William Locker, then fitting out for Jamaica.

American and French privateers, under American colours, were at that
time harassing our trade in the West Indies: even a frigate was not
sufficiently active for Nelson, and he repeatedly got appointed to the
command of one of the LOWESTOFFE's tenders. During one of their cruises
the LOWESTOFFE captured an American letter-of-marque: it was blowing
a gale, and a heavy sea running. The first lieutenant being ordered
to board the prize, went below to put on his hanger. It happened to
be mislaid; and while he was seeking it, Captain Locker came on deck.
Perceiving the boat still alongside, and in danger every moment of
being swamped, and being extremely anxious that the privateer should
be instantly taken in charge, because he feared that It would otherwise
founder, he exclaimed, "Have I no officer in the ship who can board
the prize?" Nelson did not offer himself immediately, waiting, with his
usual sense of propriety, for the first lieutenant's return; but hearing
the master volunteer, he jumped into the boat, saying, "It is my turn
now; and if I come back, it is yours." The American, who had carried a
heavy press of sail in hope of escaping, was so completely water-logged
that the LOWESTOFFE's boat went in on deck and out again with the sea.

About this time he lost his uncle. Captain Locker, however, who had
perceived the excellent qualities of Nelson, and formed a friendship for
him which continued during his life, recommended him warmly to Sir Peter
Parker, then commander-in-chief upon that station. In consequence of
this recommendation he was removed into the BRISTOL flag-ship, and
Lieutenant Cuthbert Collingwood succeeded him in the LOWESTOFFE. Sir
Peter Parker was the friend of both, and thus it happened that whenever
Nelson got a step in rank, Collingwood succeeded him. The former soon
became first lieutenant, and on the 8th of December 1778 was appointed
commander of the BADGER brig; Collingwood taking his place in the
BRISTOL. While the BADGER was lying in Montego Bay, Jamaica, the GLASGOW
of twenty guns came in and anchored there, and in two hours was in
flames, the steward having set fire to her while stealing rum out of the
after-hold. Her crew were leaping into the water, when Nelson came up in
his boats, made them throw their powder overboard and point their guns
upward; and by his presence of mind and personal exertions prevented the
loss of life which would otherwise have ensued. On the 11th of June 1779
he was made post into the HINCHINBROOK, of twenty-eight guns, an enemy's
merchantman, sheathed with wood, which had been taken into the service.
Collingwood was then made commander into the BADGER. A short time after
he left the LOWESTOFFE, that ship, with a small squadron, stormed the
fort of St. Fernando de Omoa, on the south side of the Bay of Honduras,
and captured some register ships which were lying under its guns. Two
hundred and fifty quintals of quicksilver and three millions of piastres
were the reward of this enterprise; and it is characteristic of Nelson
that the chance by which he missed a share in such a prize is never
mentioned in any of his letters; nor is it likely that it ever excited
even a momentary feeling of vexation.

Nelson was fortunate in possessing good interest at the time when it
could be most serviceable to him: his promotion had been almost as rapid
as it could be; and before he had attained the age of twenty-one he had
gained that rank which brought all the honours of the service within his
reach. No opportunity, indeed, had yet been given him of distinguishing
himself; but he was thoroughly master of his profession, and his zeal
and ability were acknowledged wherever he was known. Count d'Estaing,
with a fleet of one hundred and twenty-five sail, men of war and
transports, and a reputed force of five-and twenty thousand men,
threatened Jamaica from St. Domingo. Nelson offered his services to the
Admiral and to Governor-General Dalling, and was appointed to command
the batteries of Fort Charles, at Port Royal. Not more than seven
thousand men could be mustered for the defence of the island,--a number
wholly inadequate to resist the force which threatened them. Of this
Nelson was so well aware, that when he wrote to his friends in England,
he told them they must not be surprised to hear of his learning to speak
French. D'Estaing, however, was either not aware of his own superiority,
or not equal to the command with which he was intrusted: he attempted
nothing with his formidable armament; and General Dalling was thus left
to execute a project which he had formed against the Spanish colonies.

This project was, to take Fort San Juan on the river of that name, which
flows from Lake Nicaragua into the Atlantic; make himself master of the
lake itself, and of the cities of Granada and Leon; and thus cut off
the communication of the Spaniards between their northern and southern
possessions in America. Here it is that a canal between the two seas may
most easily be formed--a work more important in its consequences
than any which has ever yet been effected by human power. Lord George
Germaine, at that time secretary of state for the American Department,
approved the plan; and as discontents at that time were known to prevail
in the Nuevo Reyno, in Popayan, and in Peru, the more sanguine part
of the English began to dream of acquiring an empire in one part of
America, more extensive than that which they were on the point of losing
in another. General Dalling's plans were well formed; but the history
and the nature of the country had not been studied as accurately as its
geography: the difficulties which occurred in fitting out the expedition
delayed it till the season was too far advanced; and the men were thus
sent to adventure themselves, not so much against an enemy, whom they
would have beaten, as against a climate which would do the enemy's work.

Early in the year 1780, five hundred men destined for this service were
convoyed by Nelson from Port Royal to Cape Gracias a Dios, in Honduras.
Not a native was to be seen when they landed: they had been taught that
the English came with no other intent than that of enslaving them, and
sending them to Jamaica. After a while, however, one of them ventured
down, confiding in his knowledge of one of the party; and by his means
the neighbouring tribes were conciliated with presents, and brought in.
The troops were encamped on a swampy and unwholesome plain, where they
were joined by a party of the 79th regiment from Black River, who were
already in a deplorable state of sickness. Having remained here a month,
they proceeded, anchoring frequently, along the Mosquito shore, to
collect their Indian allies, who were to furnish proper boats for the
river, and to accompany them. They reached the river San Juan, March
24th; and here, according to his orders, Nelson's services were to
terminate; but not a man in the expedition had ever been up the river,
or knew the distance of any fortification from its mouth; and he not
being one who would turn back when so much was to be done, resolved to
carry the soldiers up. About two hundred, therefore, were embarked in
the Mosquito shore craft and in two of the HINCHINBROOK's boats, and
they began their voyage. It was the latter end of the dry season, the
worst time for such an expedition; the river was consequently low.
Indians were sent forward through narrow channels between shoals and
sandbanks, and the men were frequently obliged to quit the boats and
exert their utmost strength to drag or thrust them along. This labour
continued for several days; when they came into deeper water, they
had then currents and rapids to contend with, which would have been
insurmountable but for the skill of the Indians in such difficulties.
The brunt of the labour was borne by them and by the sailors--men never
accustomed to stand aloof when any exertion of strength or hardihood is
required. The soldiers, less accustomed to rely upon themselves, were
of little use. But all equally endured the violent heat of the sun,
rendered more intense by being reflected from the white shoals; while
the high woods, on both sides of the river, were frequently so close as
to prevent any refreshing circulation of air; and during the night all
were equally exposed to the heavy and unwholesome dews.

On the 9th of April they reached an island in the river, called San
Bartolomeo, which the Spaniards had fortified, as an outpost, with a
small semicircular battery, mounting nine or ten swivels, and manned
with sixteen or eighteen men. It commanded the river in a rapid and
difficult part of the navigation. Nelson, at the head of a few of his
seamen, leaped upon the beach. The ground upon which he sprung was so
muddy that he had some difficulty in extricating himself, and lost
his shoes: bare-footed, however, he advanced, and, in his own phrase,
BOARDED THE BATTERY. In this resolute attempt he was bravely supported
by Despard, at that time a captain in the army, afterward unhappily
executed for his schemes of revolutionary treason. The castle of San
Tuan is situated about 16 miles higher up; the stores and ammunition,
however, were landed a few miles below the castle, and the men had to
march through woods almost impassable. One of the men was bitten under
the eye by a snake which darted upon him from the bough of a tree. He
was unable to proceed from the violence of the pain; and when, after a
short while, some of his comrades were sent back to assist him, he was
dead, and the body already putrid. Nelson himself narrowly escaped a
similar fate. He had ordered his hammock to be slung under some trees,
being excessively fatigued, and was sleeping, when a monitory lizard
passed across his face. The Indians happily observed the reptile; and
knowing what it indicated, awoke him. He started up, and found one of
the deadliest serpents of the country coiled up at his feet. He suffered
from poison of another kind; for drinking at a spring in which some
boughs of the manchineel had been thrown, the effects were so severe as,
in the opinion of some of his friends, to inflict a lasting injury upon
his constitution.

The castle of San Juan is 32 miles below the point where the river
issues from the Lake of Nicaragua, and 69 from its mouth. Boats reach
the sea from thence in a day and a-half; but their navigation back, even
when unladen, is the labour of nine days. The English appeared before
it on the 11th, two days after they had taken San Bartolomeo. Nelson's
advice was, that it should instantly be carried by assault; but Nelson
was not the commander; and it was thought proper to observe all the
formalities of a siege. Ten days were wasted before this could be
commenced. It was a work more of fatigue than of danger; but fatigue
was more to be dreaded than the enemy; the rains set in; and could the
garrison have held out a little longer, diseases would have rid them of
their invaders. Even the Indians sunk under it, the victims of unusual
exertion, and of their own excesses. The place surrendered on the 24th.
But victory procured to the conquerors none of that relief which had
been expected; the castle was worse than a prison; and it contained
nothing which could contribute to the recovery of the sick, or the
preservation of those who were yet unaffected. The huts which served for
hospitals were surrounded with filth, and with the putrefying hides of
slaughtered cattle--almost sufficient of themselves to have engendered
pestilence; and when at last orders were given to erect a convenient
hospital, the contagion had become so general that there were none who
could work at it; for besides the few who were able to perform garrison
duty, there were not orderly men enough to assist the sick. Added to
these evils, there was the want of all needful remedies; for though the
expedition had been amply provided with hospital stores, river craft
enough had not been procured for transporting the requisite baggage; and
when much was to be left behind, provision for sickness was that which
of all things men in health would be most ready to leave. Now, when
these medicines were required, the river was swollen, and so turbulent
that its upward navigation was almost impracticable. At length even the
task of burying the dead was more than the living could perform, and the
bodies were tossed into the stream, or left for beasts of prey, and for
the gallinazos--those dreadful carrion birds, which do not always
wait for death before they begin their work. Five months the English
persisted in what may be called this war against nature; they then left
a few men, who seemed proof against the climate, to retain the castle
till the Spaniards should choose to retake it and make them prisoners.
The rest abandoned their baleful conquest. Eighteen hundred men were
sent to different posts upon this wretched expedition: not more than
three hundred and eighty ever returned. The HINCHINBROOK's complement
consisted of two hundred men; eighty-seven took to their beds in one
night, and of the whole crew not more than ten survived.

The transports' men all died, and some of the ships, having none left
to take care of them, sunk in the harbour: but transport ships were not
wanted, for the troops which they had brought were no more: they had
fallen, not by the hand of an enemy, but by the deadly influence of the
climate.

Nelson himself was saved by a timely removal. In a few days after the
commencement of the siege he was seized with the prevailing dysentery;
meantime Captain Glover (son of the author of LEONIDAS) died, and
Nelson was appointed to succeed him in the Janus, of forty-four guns;
Collingwood being then made post into the HINCHINBROOK. He returned to
the harbour the day before San Juan surrendered, and immediately sailed
for Jamaica in the sloop which brought the news of his appointment. He
was, however, so greatly reduced by the disorder, that when they reached
Port Royal he was carried ashore in his cot; and finding himself, after
a partial amendment, unable to retain the command of his new ship, he
was compelled to ask leave to return to England, as the only means of
recovery. Captain (afterwards Admiral) Cornwallis took him home in the
LION; and to his fare and kindness Nelson believed himself indebted for
his life. He went immediately to Bath, in a miserable state; so helpless
that he was carried to and from his bed; and the act of moving him
produced the most violent pain. In three months he recovered, and
immediately hastened to London, and applied for employment. After an
interval of about four months he was appointed to the ALBEMARLE, of
twenty-eight guns, a French merchantman which had been purchased from
the captors for the king's service.

His health was not yet thoroughly re-established; and while he was
employed in getting his ship ready, he again became so ill as hardly to
be able to keep out of bed. Yet in this state, still suffering from
the fatal effect of a West Indian climate, as if it might almost be
supposed, he said, to try his constitution, he was sent to the North
Seas, and kept there the whole winter. The asperity with which he
mentioned this so many years afterwards evinces how deeply he resented
a mode of conduct equally cruel to the individual and detrimental to the
service. It was during the armed neutrality; and when they anchored off
Elsinore, the Danish Admiral sent on board, desiring to be informed
what ships had arrived, and to have their force written down. "The
ALBEMARLE," said Nelson to the messenger, "is one of his Britannic
Majesty's ships: you are at liberty, sir, to count the guns as you go
down the side; and you may assure the Danish Admiral that, if necessary,
they shall all be well served." During this voyage he gained a
considerable knowledge of the Danish coast and its soundings, greatly
to the advantage of his country in after-times. The ALBEMARLE was not
a good ship, and was several times nearly overset in consequence of the
masts having been made much too long for her. On her return to England
they were shortened, and some other improvements made at Nelson's
suggestion. Still he always insisted that her first owners, the French,
had taught her to run away, as she was never a good sailer except when
going directly before the wind.

On their return to the Downs, while he was ashore visiting the senior
officer, there came on so heavy a gale that almost all the vessels
drove, and a store-ship came athwart-hawse of the ALBEMARLE. Nelson
feared she would drive on the Goodwin Sands; he ran to the beach; but
even the Deal boatmen thought it impossible to get on board, such was
the violence of the storm. At length some of the most intrepid offered
to make the attempt for fifteen guineas; and to the astonishment and
fear of all the beholders, he embarked during the height of the tempest.
With great difficulty and imminent danger he succeeded in reaching her.
She lost her bowsprit and foremast, but escaped further injury. He was
now ordered to Quebec, where his surgeon told him he would certainly be
laid up by the climate. Many of his friends urged him to represent this
to Admiral Keppel; but having received his orders from Lord Sandwich,
there appeared to him an indelicacy in applying to his successor to have
them altered.

Accordingly he sailed for Canada. During her first cruise on that
station the ALBEMARLE captured a fishing schooner which contained in her
cargo nearly all the property that her master possessed, and the poor
fellow had a large family at home, anxiously expecting him. Nelson
employed him as a pilot in Boston Bay, then restored him the schooner
and cargo, and gave him a certificate to secure him against being
captured by any other vessel. The man came off afterwards to the
ALBEMARLE, at the hazard of his life, with a present of sheep, poultry,
and fresh provisions. A most valuable supply it proved, for the scurvy
was raging on board: this was in the middle of August, and the ship's
company had not had a fresh meal since the beginning of April. The
certificate was preserved at Boston in memory of an act of unusual
generosity; and now that the fame of Nelson has given interest to
everything connected with his name, it is regarded as a relic. The
ALBEMARLE had a narrow escape upon this cruise. Four French sail of the
line and a frigate, which had come out of Boston harbour, gave chase to
her; and Nelson, perceiving that they beat him in sailing, boldly ran
among the numerous shoals of St. George's Bank, confiding in his own
skill in pilotage. Captain Salter, in the STA. MARGARETTA, had escaped
the French fleet by a similar manoeuvre not long before. The frigate
alone continued warily to pursue him; but as soon as he perceived that
this enemy was unsupported, he shortened sail and hove to; upon which
the Frenchman thought it advisable to give over the pursuit, and sail in
quest of his consorts.

At Quebec Nelson became acquainted with Alexander Davison, by whose
interference he was prevented from making what would have been called
an imprudent marriage. The ALBEMARLE was about to leave the station, her
captain had taken leave of his friends, and was gone down the river to
the place of anchorage; when the next morning, as Davison was walking on
the beach, to his surprise he saw Nelson coming back in his boat. Upon
inquiring the cause of this reappearance, Nelson took his arm to walk
towards the town, and told him that he found it utterly impossible
to leave Quebec without again seeing the woman whose society had
contributed so much to his happiness there, and offering her his hand.
"If you do," said his friend, "your ruin must inevitably follow." "Then
let it follow," cried Nelson, "for I am resolved to do it" "And I,"
replied Davison, "am resolved you shall not." Nelson, however, upon this
occasion, was less resolute than his friend, and suffered himself to be
led back to the boat.

The ALBEMARLE was under orders to convoy a fleet of transports to New
York. "A very pretty job" said her captain, "at this late season of
the year" (October was far advanced), "for our sails are at this moment
frozen to the yards." On his arrival at Sandy Hook, he waited on the
commander-in-chief, Admiral Digby, who told him he was come on a fine
station for making prize-money. "Yes, sir," Nelson made answer, "but the
West Indies is the station for honour." Lord Hood, with a detachment of
Rodney's victorious fleet, was at that time at Sandy Hook: he had been
intimate with Captain Suckling; and Nelson, who was desirous of nothing
but honour, requested him to ask for the ALBEMARLE, that he might go
to that station where it was most likely to be obtained. Admiral Digby
reluctantly parted with him. His professional merit was already well
known; and Lord Hood, on introducing him to Prince William Henry, as the
Duke of Clarence was then called, told the prince, if he wished to ask
any questions respecting naval tactics, Captain Nelson could give him as
much information as any officer in the fleet. The Duke--who, to his own
honour, became from that time the firm friend of Nelson--describes him
as appearing the merest boy of a captain he had ever seen, dressed in a
full laced uniform, an old-fashioned waistcoat with long flaps, and
his lank unpowdered hair tied in a stiff Hessian tail of extraordinary
length; making altogether so remarkable a figure, that, says the duke,
"I had never seen anything like it before, nor could I imagine who
he was, nor what he came about. But his address and conversation were
irresistibly pleasing; and when he spoke on professional subjects, it
was with an enthusiasm that showed he was no common being."

It was expected that the French would attempt some of the passages
between the Bahamas; and Lord Hood, thinking of this, said to Nelson, "I
suppose, sir, from the length of time you were cruising among the Bahama
Keys, you must be a good pilot there." He replied, with that constant
readiness to render justice to every man which was so conspicuous in all
his conduct through life, that he was well acquainted with them himself,
but that in that respect his second lieutenant was far his superior. The
French got into Puerto Cabello, on the coast of Venezuela. Nelson was
cruising between that port and La Guapra, under French colours, for the
purpose of obtaining information; when a king's launch, belonging to
the Spaniards, passed near, and being hailed in French, came alongside
without suspicion, and answered all questions that were asked concerning
the number and force of the enemy's ships. The crew, however, were not
a little surprised when they were taken on board and found themselves
prisoners. One of the party went by the name of the Count de Deux-Ponts.
He was, however, a prince of the German empire, and brother to the heir
of the Electorate of Bavaria: his companions were French officers of
distinction, and men of science, who had been collecting specimens in
the various branches of natural history. Nelson, having entertained them
with the best his table could afford, told them they were at liberty to
depart with their boat, and all that it contained: he only required
them to promise that they would consider themselves as prisoners if
the commander-in-chief should refuse to acquiesce in their being thus
liberated: a circumstance which was not likely to happen. Tidings
soon arrived that the preliminaries of peace had been signed; and the
ALBEMARLE returned to England and was paid off. Nelson's first business,
after he got to London, even before he went to see his relations, was to
attempt to get the wages due to his men for the various ships in which
they had served during the war. "The disgust of seamen to the navy," he
said, "was all owing to the infernal plan of turning them over from ship
to ship; so that men could not be attached to their officers, nor the
officers care the least about the men." Yet he himself was so beloved by
his men that his whole ship's company offered, if he could get a ship,
to enter for her immediately. He was now, for the first time, presented
at court. After going through this ceremony, he dined with his friend
Davison at Lincoln's Inn. As soon as he entered the chambers, he threw
off what he called his iron-bound coat; and, putting himself at ease
in a dressing gown, passed the remainder of the day in talking over all
that had befallen them since they parted on the shore of the River St.
Lawrence.




CHAPTER II

1784 - 1793

Nelson goes to France--Reappointed to the BOREAS at the Leeward Islands
in the BOREAS--His firm conduct concerning the American Interlopers
and the Contractors--Marries and returns to England--Is on the point
of quitting the Service in Disgust--Manner of Life while
unemployed--Appointed to the AGAMEMNON on the breaking out of the War of
the French Revolution.


"I HAVE closed the war," said Nelson in one of his letters, "without a
fortune; but there is not a speck in my character. True honour, I hope,
predominates in my mind far above riches." He did not apply for a ship,
because he was not wealthy enough to live on board in the manner which
was then become customary. Finding it, therefore, prudent to economise
on his half-pay during the peace, he went to France, in company with
Captain Macnamara of the navy, and took lodgings at St. Omer's. The
death of his favourite sister, Anne, who died in consequence of going
out of the ball-room at Bath when heated with dancing, affected his
father so much that it had nearly occasioned him to return in a few
weeks. Time, however, and reason and religion, overcame this grief in
the old man; and Nelson continued at St. Omer's long enough to fall in
love with the daughter of an English clergyman. This second attachment
appears to have been less ardent than the first, for upon weighing the
evils of a straitened income to a married man, he thought it better to
leave France, assigning to his friends something in his accounts as the
cause. This prevented him from accepting an invitation from the Count
of Deux-Ponts to visit him at Paris, couched in the handsomest terms
of acknowledgment for the treatment which he had received on board the
ALBEMARLE.

The self-constraint which Nelson exerted in subduing this attachment
made him naturally desire to be at sea; and when, upon visiting Lord
Howe at the Admiralty, he was asked if he wished to be employed, he
made answer that he did. Accordingly in March, he was appointed to the
BOREAS, twenty-eight guns, going to the Leeward Islands as a cruiser on
the peace establishment. Lady Hughes and her family went out with him to
Admiral Sir Richard Hughes, who commanded on that station. His ship was
full of young midshipmen, of whom there were not less than thirty on
board; and happy were they whose lot it was to be placed with such a
captain. If he perceived that a boy was afraid at first going aloft, he
would say to him in a friendly manner, "Well, sir, I am going a race
to the mast-head, and beg that I may meet you there." The poor little
fellow instantly began to climb, and got up how he could,--Nelson never
noticed in what manner, but when they met in the top, spoke cheerfully
to him, and would say how much any person was to be pitied who fancied
that getting up was either dangerous or difficult. Every day he went
into the school-room to see that they were pursuing their nautical
studies; and at noon he was always the first on deck with his quadrant.
Whenever he paid a visit of ceremony, some of these youths accompanied
him; and when he went to dine with the governor at Barbadoes, he took
one of them in his hand, and presented him, saying, "Your Excellency
must excuse me for bringing one of my midshipmen. I make it a rule to
introduce them to all the good company I can, as they have few to look
up to, besides myself, during the time they are at sea."

When Nelson arrived in the West Indies, he found himself senior captain,
and consequently second in command on that station. Satisfactory as this
was, it soon involved him in a dispute with the admiral, which a man
less zealous for the service might have avoided. He found the LATONA
in English Harbour, Antigua, with a broad pendant hoisted; and upon
inquiring the reason, was presented with a written order from Sir R.
Hughes, requiring and directing him to obey the orders of Resident
Commissioner Moutray during the time he might have occasion to remain
there; the said resident commissioner being in consequence, authorised
to hoist a broad pendant on board any of his Majesty's ships in that
port that he might think proper. Nelson was never at a loss how to act
in any emergency.

"I know of no superior officers," said he, "besides the Lords
Commissioners of the Admiralty, and my seniors on the post list."
Concluding, therefore, that it was not consistent with the service for a
resident commissioner, who held only a civil situation, to hoist a broad
pendant, the moment that he had anchored he sent an order to the captain
of the LATONA to strike it, and return it to the dock-yard. He went on
shore the same day, dined with the commissioner, to show him that he was
actuated by no other motive than a sense of duty, and gave him the
first intelligence that his pendant had been struck. Sir Richard sent an
account of this to the Admiralty; but the case could admit of no doubt,
and Captain Nelson's conduct was approved.

He displayed the same promptitude on another occasion. While the BOREAS,
after the hurricane months were over, was riding at anchor in Nevis
Roads, a French frigate passed to leeward, close along shore. Nelson had
obtained information that this ship was sent from Martinico, with two
general officers and some engineers on board, to make a survey of our
sugar islands. This purpose he was determined to prevent them from
executing, and therefore he gave orders to follow them. The next day he
came up with them at anchor in the roads of St. Eustatia, and anchored
at about two cables' length on the frigate's quarter. Being afterwards
invited by the Dutch governor to meet the French officers at dinner, he
seized that occasion of assuring the French captain that, understanding
it was his intention to honour the British possessions with a visit, he
had taken the earliest opportunity in his power to accompany him, in his
Majesty's ship the BOREAS, in order that such attention might be paid
to the officers of his Most Christian Majesty as every Englishman in
the islands would be proud to show. The French, with equal courtesy,
protested against giving him this trouble; especially, they said, as
they intended merely to cruise round the islands without landing on any.
But Nelson, with the utmost politeness, insisted upon paying them this
compliment, followed them close in spite of all their attempts to elude
his vigilance, and never lost sight of them; till, finding it impossible
either to deceive or escape him, they gave up their treacherous purpose
in despair, and beat up for Martinico.

A business of more serious import soon engaged his attention. The
Americans were at this time trading with our islands, taking advantage
of the register of their ships, which had been issued while they
were British subjects. Nelson knew that, by the Navigation Act, no
foreigners, directly or indirectly, are permitted to carry on any trade
with these possessions. He knew, also, that the Americans had made
themselves foreigners with regard to England; they had disregarded the
ties of blood and language when they acquired the independence which
they had been led on to claim, unhappily for themselves before they were
fit for it; and he was resolved that they should derive no profit from
those ties now. Foreigners they had made themselves, and as foreigners
they were to be treated. "If once," said he, "they are admitted to any
kind of intercourse with our islands, the views of the loyalists, in
settling at Nova Scotia, are entirely done away; and when we are again
embroiled in a French war, the Americans will first become the carriers
of these colonies, and then have possession of them. Here they come,
sell their cargoes for ready money, go to Martinico, buy molasses, and
so round and round. The loyalist cannot do this, and consequently must
sell a little dearer. The residents here are Americans by connection and
by interest, and are inimical to Great Britain. They are as great rebels
as ever were in America, had they the power to show it." In November,
when the squadron, having arrived at Barbadoes, was to separate, with
no other orders than those for examining anchorages, and the
usual inquiries concerning wood and water, Nelson asked his friend
Collingwood, then captain of the MEDIATOR, whose opinions he knew upon
the subject, to accompany him to the commander-in-chief, whom he then
respectfully asked, whether they were not to attend to the commerce
of the country, and see that the Navigation Act was respected--that
appearing to him to be the intent of keeping men-of-war upon this
station in time of peace? Sir Richard Hughes replied, he had no
particular orders, neither had the Admiralty sent him any Acts of
Parliament. But Nelson made answer, that the Navigation Act was
included in the statutes of the Admiralty, with which every captain was
furnished, and that Act was directed to admirals, captains, &c., to see
it carried into execution. Sir Richard said he had never seen the book.
Upon this Nelson produced the statutes, read the words of the Act, and
apparently convinced the commander-in-chief, that men-of-war, as he
said, "were sent abroad for some other purpose than to be made a show
of." Accordingly orders were given to enforce the Navigation Act.

Major-General Sir Thomas Shirley was at this time governor of the
Leeward Islands; and when Nelson waited on him, to inform him how he
intended to act, and upon what grounds, he replied, that "old generals
were not in the habit of taking advice from young gentlemen." "Sir,"
said the young officer, with that confidence in himself which never
carried him too far, and always was equal to the occasion, "I am as
old as the prime minister of England, and I think myself as capable of
commanding one of his Majesty's ships as that minister is of governing
the state." He was resolved to do his duty, whatever might be the
opinion or conduct of others; and when he arrived upon his station at
St. Kitt's, he sent away all the Americans, not choosing to seize them
before they had been well apprised that the Act would be carried into
effect, lest it might seem as if a trap had been laid for them.
The Americans, though they prudently decamped from St. Kitt's, were
emboldened by the support they met with, and resolved to resist his
orders, alleging that king's ships had no legal power to seize them
without having deputations from the customs. The planters were to a man
against him; the governors and the presidents of the different islands,
with only a single exception, gave him no support; and the admiral,
afraid to act on either side, yet wishing to oblige the planters, sent
him a note, advising him to be guided by the wishes of the president
of the council. There was no danger in disregarding this, as it came
unofficially, and in the form of advice. But scarcely a month after he
had shown Sir Richard Hughes the law, and, as he supposed, satisfied him
concerning it, he received an order from him, stating that he had now
obtained good advice upon the point, and the Americans were not to
be hindered from coming, and having free egress and regress, if the
governor chose to permit them. An order to the same purport had been
sent round to the different governors and presidents; and General
Shirley and others informed him, in an authoritative manner, that they
chose to admit American ships, as the commander-in-chief had left the
decision to them. These persons, in his own words, he soon "trimmed
up, and silenced;" but it was a more delicate business to deal with the
admiral: "I must either," said he, "disobey my orders, or disobey Acts
of Parliament. I determined upon the former, trusting to the uprightness
of my intentions, and believing that my country would not let me be
ruined for protecting her commerce." With this determination he wrote to
Sir Richard; appealed again to the plain, literal, unequivocal sense of
the Navigation Act; and in respectful language told him, he felt it
his duty to decline obeying these orders till he had an opportunity of
seeing and conversing with him. Sir Richard's first feeling was that of
anger, and he was about to supersede Nelson; but having mentioned
the affair to his captain, that officer told him he believed all the
squadron thought the orders illegal, and therefore did not know how far
they were bound to obey them. It was impossible, therefore, to bring
Nelson to a court-martial, composed of men who agreed with him in
opinion upon the point in dispute; and luckily, though the admiral
wanted vigour of mind to decide upon what was right, he was not
obstinate in wrong, and had even generosity enough in his nature to
thank Nelson afterwards for having shown him his error.

Collingwood in the MEDIATOR, and his brother, Wilfred Collingwood, in
the RATTLER, actively co-operated with Nelson. The custom-houses were
informed that after a certain day all foreign vessels found in the ports
would be seized; and many were, in consequence, seized, and condemned
in the Admiralty Court. When the BOREAS arrived at Nevis, she found four
American vessels deeply laden, and what are called the island colours
flying--white, with a red cross. They were ordered to hoist their proper
flag, and depart within 48 hours; but they refused to obey, denying that
they were Americans. Some of their crews were then examined in Nelson's
cabin, where the Judge of Admiralty happened to be present. The case was
plain; they confessed that they were Americans, and that the ships, hull
and cargo, were wholly American property; upon which he seized them.
This raised a storm: the planters, the custom-house, and the governor,
were all against him. Subscriptions were opened, and presently filled,
for the purpose of carrying on the cause in behalf of the American
captains; and the admiral, whose flag was at that time in the roads,
stood neutral. But the Americans and their abettors were not content
with defensive law. The marines, whom he had sent to secure the ships,
had prevented some of the masters from going ashore; and those persons,
by whose depositions it appeared that the vessels and cargoes were
American property, declared that they had given their testimony under
bodily fear, for that a man with a drawn sword in his hand had stood
over them the whole time. A rascally lawyer, whom the party employed,
suggested this story; and as the sentry at the cabin door was a man
with a drawn sword, the Americans made no scruple of swearing to
this ridiculous falsehood, and commencing prosecutions against him
accordingly. They laid their damages at the enormous amount of L40,000;
and Nelson was obliged to keep close on board his own ship, lest he
should be arrested for a sum for which it would have been impossible to
find bail. The marshal frequently came on board to arrest him, but was
always prevented by the address of the first lieutenant, Mr. Wallis. Had
he been taken, such was the temper of the people that it was certain he
would have been cast for the whole sum. One of his officers, one day,
in speaking of the restraint which he was thus compelled to suffer,
happened to use the word PITY! "Pity!" exclaimed Nelson: "Pity! did you
say? I shall live, sir, to be envied! and to that point I shall always
direct my course." Eight weeks remained in this state of duresse. During
that time the trial respecting the detained ships came on in the court
of Admiralty. He went on shore under a protection for the day from the
judge; but, notwithstanding this, the marshal was called upon to
take that opportunity of arresting him, and the merchants promised
to indemnify him for so doing. The judge, however, did his duty, and
threatened to send the marshal to prison if he attempted to violate the
protection of the court. Mr. Herbert, the president of Nevis, behaved
with singular generosity upon this occasion. Though no man was a greater
sufferer by the measures which Nelson had pursued, he offered in court
to become his bail for L10,000 if he chose to suffer the arrest. The
lawyer whom he had chosen proved to be an able as well as an honest man;
and notwithstanding the opinions and pleadings of most of the counsel
of the different islands, who maintained that ships of war were not
justified in seizing American vessels without a deputation from the
customs, the law was so explicit, the case so clear, and Nelson pleaded
his own cause so well, that the four ships were condemned. During
the progress of this business he sent a memorial home to the king, in
consequence of which orders were issued that he should be defended at
the expense of the crown. And upon the representation which he made at
the same time to the Secretary of State, and the suggestions with
which he accompanied it, the Register Act was framed. The sanction of
Government, and the approbation of his conduct which it implied, were
highly gratifying to him; but he was offended, and not without
just cause, that the Treasury should have transmitted thanks to the
commander-in-chief for his activity and zeal in protecting the commerce
of Great Britain. "Had they known all," said he, "I do not think they
would have bestowed thanks in that quarter, and neglected me. I feel
much hurt that, after the loss of health and risk of fortune, another
should be thanked for what I did against his orders. I either deserved
to be sent out of the service, or at least to have had some little
notice taken of what I had done. They have thought it worthy of
notice, and yet have neglected me. If this is the reward for a faithful
discharge of my duty, I shall be careful, and never stand forward again.
But I have done my duty, and have nothing to accuse myself of."

The anxiety which he had suffered from the harassing uncertainties of
law is apparent from these expressions. He had, however, something to
console him, for he was at this time wooing the niece of his friend
the president, then in her eighteenth year, the widow of Dr. Nisbet, a
physician. She had one child, a son, by name Josiah, who was three
years old. One day Mr. Herbert, who had hastened half-dressed to receive
Nelson, exclaimed, on returning to his dressing-room, "Good God! if
I did not find that great little man, of whom everybody is so afraid,
playing in the next room, under the dining-table, with Mrs. Nisbet's
child!" A few days afterwards Mrs. Nisbet herself was first introduced
to him, and thanked him for the partiality which he had shown to her
little boy. Her manners were mild and winning; and the captain, whose
heart was easily susceptible of attachment, found no such imperious
necessity for subduing his inclinations as had twice before withheld
him from marrying. They were married on March 11, 1787: Prince William
Henry, who had come out to the West Indies the preceding winter, being
present, by his own desire, to give away the bride. Mr. Herbert, her
uncle, was at this time so much displeased with his only daughter, that
he had resolved to disinherit her, and leave his whole fortune, which
was very great, to his niece. But Nelson, whose nature was too noble
to let him profit by an act of injustice, interfered, and succeeded in
reconciling the president to his child.

"Yesterday," said one of his naval friends the day after the wedding,
"the navy lost one of its greatest ornaments by Nelson's marriage. It is
a national loss that such an officer should marry: had it not been for
this, Nelson would have become the greatest man in the service." The
man was rightly estimated; but he who delivered this opinion did not
understand the effect of domestic love and duty upon a mind of the true
heroic stamp.

"We are often separate," said Nelson, in a letter to Mrs. Nisbet a few
months before their marriage; "but our affections are not by any means
on that account diminished. Our country has the first demand for our
services; and private convenience or happiness must ever give way to the
public good. Duty is the great business of a sea officer: all private
considerations must give way to it, however painful." "Have you not
often heard," says he in another letter, "that salt water and absence
always wash away love? Now I am such a heretic as not to believe that
article, for, behold, every morning I have had six pails of salt water
poured upon my head, and instead of finding what seamen say to be true,
it goes on so contrary to the prescription, that you may, perhaps, see
me before the fixed time." More frequently his correspondence breathed a
deeper strain. "To write letters to you," says he, "is the next greatest
pleasure I feel to receiving them from you. What I experience when I
read such as I am sure are the pure sentiments of your heart, my poor
pen cannot express; nor, indeed, would I give much for any pen or head
which could express feelings of that kind. Absent from you, I feel no
pleasure: it is you who are everything to me. Without you, I care not
for this world; for I have found, lately, nothing in it but vexation and
trouble. These are my present sentiments. God Almighty grant they may
never change! Nor do I think they will. Indeed there is, as far as human
knowledge can judge, a moral certainty that they cannot; for it must
be real affection that brings us together, not interest or compulsion."
Such were the feelings, and such the sense of duty, with which Nelson
became a husband.

During his stay upon this station he had ample opportunity of observing
the scandalous practices of the contractors, prize-agents, and other
persons in the West Indies connected with the naval service. When he
was first left with the command, and bills were brought him to sign for
money which was owing for goods purchased for the navy, he required the
original voucher, that he might examine whether those goods had been
really purchased at the market price; but to produce vouchers would not
have been convenient, and therefore was not the custom. Upon this
Nelson wrote to Sir Charles Middleton, then Comptroller of the Navy,
representing the abuses which were likely to be practised in this
manner. The answer which he received seemed to imply that the old
forms were thought sufficient; and thus, having no alternative, he was
compelled, with his eyes open, to submit to a practice originating in
fraudulent intentions. Soon afterwards two Antigua merchants informed
him that they were privy to great frauds which had been committed upon
government in various departments; at Antigua, to the amount of nearly
L500,000; at Lucie, L300,000; at Barbadoes, L250,000; at Jamaica,
upwards of a million. The informers were both shrewd sensible men of
business; they did not affect to be actuated by a sense of justice,
but required a percentage upon so much as government should actually
recover through their means. Nelson examined the books and papers
which they produced, and was convinced that government had been most
infamously plundered. Vouchers, he found, in that country, were no check
whatever: the principle was, that "a thing was always worth what it
would bring;" and the merchants were in the habit of signing vouchers
for each other, without even the appearance of looking at the articles.
These accounts he sent home to the different departments which had been
defrauded; but the peculators were too powerful, and they succeeded
not merely in impeding inquiry, but even in raising prejudices against
Nelson at the Board of Admiralty, which it was many years before he
could subdue.

Owing probably, to these prejudices, and the influence of the
peculators, he was treated, on his return to England, in a manner which
had nearly driven him from the service. During the three years that
the BOREAS had remained upon a station which is usually so fatal, not
a single officer or man of her whole complement had died. This almost
unexampled instance of good health, though mostly, no doubt, imputable
to a healthy season, must in some measure, also, be ascribed to the wise
conduct of the captain. He never suffered the ships to remain more
than three or four weeks at a time at any of the islands; and when the
hurricane months confined him to English Harbour, he encouraged all
kinds of useful amusements--music, dancing, and cudgelling among the
men; theatricals among the officers; anything which could employ their
attention, and keep their spirits cheerful. The BOREAS arrived in
England in June. Nelson, who had many times been supposed to be
consumptive when in the West Indies, and perhaps was saved from
consumption by that climate, was still in a precarious state of health;
and the raw wet weather of one of our ungenial summers brought on cold,
and sore throat, and fever; yet his vessel was kept at the Nore from the
end of June till the end of November, serving as a slop and receiving
ship. This unworthy treatment, which more probably proceeded from
inattention than from neglect, excited in Nelson the strongest
indignation. During the whole five months he seldom or never quitted the
ship, but carried on the duty with strict and sullen attention. On the
morning when orders were received to prepare the BOREAS for being paid
off, he expressed his joy to the senior officer in the Medway, saying,
"It will release me for ever from an ungrateful service; for it is my
firm and unalterable determination never again to set my foot on board
a king's ship. Immediately after my arrival in town I shall wait on the
First Lord of the Admiralty, and resign my commission." The officer to
whom he thus communicated his intentions behaved in the wisest and most
friendly manner; for finding it in vain to dissuade him in his present
state of feeling, he secretly interfered with the First Lord to save him
from a step so injurious to himself, little foreseeing how deeply
the welfare and honour of England were at that moment at stake. This
interference produced a letter from Lord Howe the day before the ship
was paid off, intimating a wish to see Captain Nelson as soon as
he arrived in town; when, being pleased with his conversation, and
perfectly convinced, by what was then explained to him, of the propriety
of his conduct, he desired that he might present him to the king on
the first levee-day; and the gracious manner in which Nelson was then
received effectually removed his resentment.

Prejudices had been, in like manner, excited against his friend, Prince
William Henry. "Nothing is wanting, sir," said Nelson, in one of his
letters, "to make you the darling of the English nation but truth. Sorry
am I to say, much to the contrary has been dispersed." This was not
flattery, for Nelson was no flatterer. The letter in which this passage
occurs shows in how wise and noble a manner he dealt with the prince.
One of his royal highness's officers had applied for a court-martial
upon a point in which he was unquestionably wrong. His royal highness,
however, while he supported his own character and authority, prevented
the trial, which must have been injurious to a brave and deserving man.
"Now that you are parted," said Nelson, "pardon me, my prince, when I
presume to recommend that he may stand in your royal favour as if he had
never sailed with you, and that at some future day you will serve him.
There only wants this to place your conduct in the highest point of
view. None of us are without failings--his was being rather too hasty;
but that, put in competition with his being a good officer, will not,
I am bold to say, be taken in the scale against him. More able friends
than myself your royal highness may easily find, and of more consequence
in the state; but one more attached and affectionate is not so easily
met with: Princes seldom, very seldom, find a disinterested person to
communicate their thoughts to: I do not pretend to be that person; but
of this be assured, by a man who, I trust, never did a dishonourable
act, that I am interested only that your royal highness should be the
greatest and best man this country ever produced."

Encouraged by the conduct of Lord Howe, and by his reception at court,
Nelson renewed his attack upon the peculators with fresh spirit. He had
interviews with Mr. Rose, Mr. Pitt, and Sir Charles Middleton, to all of
whom he satisfactorily proved his charges. In consequence, if is said,
these very extensive public frauds were at length put in a proper train
to be provided against in future; his representations were attended to;
and every step which he recommended was adopted; the investigation was
put into a proper course, which ended in the detection and punishment of
some of the culprits; an immense saving was made to government, and thus
its attention was directed to similar peculations in other arts of the
colonies. But it is said also that no mark of commendation seems to have
been bestowed upon Nelson for his exertion. It has been justly remarked
that the spirit of the navy cannot be preserved so effectually by the
liberal honours bestowed on officers when they are worn out in the
service, as by an attention to those who, like Nelson at this part of
his life, have only their integrity and zeal to bring them into notice.
A junior officer, who had been left with the command at Jamaica,
received an additional allowance, for which Nelson had applied in vain.
Double pay was allowed to every artificer and seaman employed in the
naval yard: Nelson had superintended the whole business of that yard
with the most rigid exactness, and he complained that he was neglected.
"It was most true," he said, "that the trouble which he took to detect
the fraudulent practices then carried on was no more than his duty; but
he little thought that the expenses attending his frequent journeys to
St. John's upon that duty (a distance of twelve miles) would have fallen
upon his pay as captain of the BOREAS." Nevertheless, the sense of what
he thought unworthy usage did not diminish his zeal. "I," said he, "must
buffet the waves in search of--What? Alas! that they called honour
is thought of no more. My fortune, God knows, has grown worse for the
service; so much for serving my country! But the devil, ever willing to
tempt the virtuous, has made me offer, if any ships should be sent to
destroy his Majesty of Morocco's ports, to be there; and I have some
reason to think that, should any more come of it, my humble services
will be accepted. I have invariably laid down, and followed close, a
plan of what ought to be uppermost in the breast of an officer,--that
it is much better to serve an ungrateful country than to give up his
own fame. Posterity will do him justice. A uniform course of honour and
integrity seldom fails of bringing a man to the goal of fame at last."

The design against the Barbary pirates, like all other designs
against them, was laid aside; and Nelson took his wife to his father's
parsonage, meaning only to pay him a visit before they went to France;
a project which he had formed for the sake of acquiring a competent
knowledge of the French language. But his father could not bear to lose
him thus unnecessarily. Mr. Nelson had long been an invalid, suffering
under paralytic and asthmatic affections, which, for several hours after
he rose in the morning, scarcely permitted him to speak. He had been
given over by his physicians for this complaint nearly forty years
before his death; and was, for many of his latter years, obliged to
spend all his winters at Bath. The sight of his son, he declared, had
given him new life. "But, Horatio," said he, "it would have been better
that I had not been thus cheered, if I am so soon to be bereaved of you
again. Let me, my good son, see you whilst I can. My age and infirmities
increase, and I shall not last long." To such an appeal there could be
no reply. Nelson took up his abode at the parsonage, and amused himself
with the sports and occupations of the country. Sometimes he busied
himself with farming the glebe; sometimes spent the greater part of the
day in the garden, where he would dig as if for the mere pleasure of
wearying himself. Sometimes he went a birds'-nesting, like a boy; and
in these expeditions Mrs. Nelson always, by his expressed desire,
accompanied him. Coursing was his favourite amusement. Shooting, as he
practised it, was far too dangerous for his companions; for he carried
his gun upon the full cock, as if he were going to board an enemy;
and the moment a bird rose, he let fly without ever putting the
fowling-piece to his shoulder. It is not, therefore, extraordinary that
his having once shot a partridge should be remembered by his family
among the remarkable events of his life.

But his time did not pass away thus without some vexatious cares to
ruffle it. The affair of the American ships was not yet over, and he was
again pestered with threats of prosecution. "I have written them word,"
said he, "that I will have nothing to do with them, and they must act as
they think proper. Government, I suppose, will do what is right, and not
leave me in the lurch. We have heard enough lately of the consequences
of the Navigation Act to this country. They may take my person; but if
sixpence would save me from a prosecution, I would not give it." It was
his great ambition at this time to possess a pony; and having resolved
to purchase one, he went to a fair for that purpose. During his absence
two men abruptly entered the parsonage and inquired for him: they then
asked for Mrs. Nelson; and after they had made her repeatedly declare
that she was really and truly the captain's wife, presented her with
a writ, or notification, on the part of the American captains, who now
laid their damages at L20,000, and they charged her to give it to her
husband on his return. Nelson, having bought his pony, came home with
it in high spirits. He called out his wife to admire the purchase and
listen to all its excellences: nor was it till his glee had in
some measure subsided that the paper could be presented to him. His
indignation was excessive; and in the apprehension that he should be
exposed to the anxieties of the suit and the ruinous consequences which
might ensue, he exclaimed, "This affront I did not deserve! But I'll be
trifled with no longer. I will write immediately to the Treasury, and
if government will not support me, I am resolved to leave the country."
Accordingly, he informed the Treasury that, if a satisfactory answer
were not sent him by return of post, he should take refuge in France.
To this he expected he should be driven, and for this he arranged
everything with his characteristic rapidity of decision. It was settled
that he should depart immediately, and Mrs. Nelson follow, under the
care of his elder brother Maurice, ten days after him. But the answer
which he received from government quieted his fears: it stated that
Captain Nelson was a very good officer, and needed to be under no
apprehension, for he would assuredly be supported.

Here his disquietude upon this subject seems to have ended. Still he
was not at ease; he wanted employment, and was mortified that his
applications for it produced no effect. "Not being a man of fortune," he
said, "was a crime which he was unable to get over, and therefore none
of the great cared about him." Repeatedly he requested the Admiralty
that they would not leave him to rust in indolence. During the armament
which was made upon occasion of the dispute concerning Nootka Sound, he
renewed his application; and his steady friend, Prince William, who had
then been created Duke of Clarence, recommended him to Lord Chatham.
The failure of this recommendation wounded him so keenly that he again
thought of retiring from the service in disgust; a resolution from which
nothing but the urgent remonstrances of Lord Hood induced him to desist.
Hearing that the RAISONNABLE, in which he had commenced his career,
was to be commissioned, he asked for her. This also was in vain; and a
coolness ensued, on his part, toward Lord Hood, because that excellent
officer did not use his influence with Lord Chatham upon this
occasion. Lord Hood, however, had certainly sufficient reasons for not
interfering; for he ever continued his steady friend. In the winter of
1792, when we were on the eve of the revolutionary war, Nelson once more
offered his services, earnestly requested a ship, and added, that if
their lordships should be pleased to appoint him to a cockle-boat he
should feel satisfied. He was answered in the usual official form:
"Sir, I have received your letter of the 5th instant, expressing your
readiness to serve, and have read the same to my Lords Commissioners
of the Admiralty." On the 12th of December he received this dry
acknowledgment. The fresh mortification did not, however, affect him
long; for, by the joint interest of the Duke and Lord Hood, he was
appointed, on the 30th of January following, to the AGAMEMNON, of
sixty-four guns.




CHAPTER III

1793 - 1795


The AGAMEMNON sent to the Mediterranean --Commencement of Nelson's
Aquaintance with Sir W. Hamilton--He is sent to Corsica, to cooperate
with Paoli--State of Affairs in that Island--Nelson undertakes the Siege
of Bastia, and reduces it--Takes a distinguished Part in the Siege of
Calvi, where he loses an Eye--Admiral Hotham's Action--The AGAMEMNON
ordered to Genoa, to co-operate with the Austrian and Sardinian
Forces--Gross Misconduct of the Austrian General.


"THERE are three things, young gentleman," said Nelson to one of his
midshipmen, "which you are constantly to bear in mind. First, you must
always implicitly obey orders, without attempting to form any opinion of
your own respecting their propriety; secondly, you must consider every
man your enemy who speaks ill of your king; and, thirdly, you must hate
a Frenchman as you do the devil." With these feelings he engaged in the
war. Josiah, his son-in-law, went with him as a midshipman.

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

Having accomplished this mission, Nelson received orders to join
Commodore Linzee at Tunis. On the way, five sail of the enemy were
discovered off the coast of Sardinia, and he chased them. They proved to
be three forty-four gun frigates, with a corvette of twenty-four and
a brig of twelve. The AGAMEMNON had only 345 men at quarters, having
landed part of her crew at Toulon, and others being absent in prizes.
He came near enough one of the frigates to engage her, but at great
disadvantage, the Frenchman manoeuvring well and sailing greatly better.
A running fight of three hours ensued, during which the other ships,
which were at some distance, made all speed to come up. By this time the
enemy was almost silenced, when a favourable change of wind enabled her
to get out of reach of the AGAMEMNON's guns; and that ship had received
so much damage in the rigging that she could not follow her. Nelson,
conceiving that this was but the forerunner of a far more serious
engagement, called his officers together, and asked them if the ship was
fit to go into action against such a superior force without some small
refit and refreshment for the men. Their answer was, that she certainly
was not. He then gave these orders,--"Veer the ship, and lay her head
to the westward: let some of the best men be employed in refitting the
rigging, and the carpenter in getting crows and capstan-bars to prevent
our wounded spars from coming down: and get the wine up for the people,
with some bread, for it may be half an hour good before we are again
in action." But when the French came up, their comrade made signals of
distress, and they all hoisted out their boats to go to her assistance,
leaving the AGAMEMNON unmolested.

Nelson found Commodore Linzee at Tunis, where he had been sent to
expostulate with the dey upon the impolicy of his supporting the
revolutionary government of France. Nelson represented to him the
atrocity of that government. Such arguments were of little avail
in Barbary; and when the Dey was told that the French had put their
sovereign to death, he drily replied, that "Nothing could be more
heinous; and yet, if historians told the truth, the English had once
done the same." This answer had doubtless been suggested by the
French about him: they had completely gained the ascendancy, and all
negotiation on our part proved fruitless. Shortly afterward, Nelson was
detached with a small squadron, to co-operate with General Paoli and the
Anti-Gallican party in Corsica.

Some thirty years before this time the heroic patriotism of the
Corsicans, and of their leader Paoli, had been the admiration of
England. The history of these brave people is but a melancholy tale. The
island which they inhabit has been abundantly blessed by nature; it
has many excellent harbours; and though the MALARIA, or pestilential
atmosphere, which is so deadly in many parts of Italy and of the Italian
islands, prevails on the eastern coast, the greater part of the country
is mountainous and healthy. It is about 150 miles long, and from 40
to 50 broad; in circumference, some 320; a country large enough, and
sufficiently distant from the nearest shores, to have subsisted as an
independent state, if the welfare and happiness of the human race
had ever been considered as the end and aim of policy. The Moors, the
Pisans, the kings of Aragon, and the Genoese, successively attempted,
and each for a time effected its conquest. The yoke of the Genoese
continued longest, and was the heaviest. These petty tyrants ruled
with an iron rod; and when at any time a patriot rose to resist their
oppressions, if they failed to subdue him by force they resorted to
assassination. At the commencement of the last century they quelled one
revolt by the aid of German auxiliaries, whom the Emperor Charles VI.
sent against a people who had never offended him, and who were fighting
for whatever is most dear to man. In 1734 the war was renewed; and
Theodore, a Westphalian baron, then appeared upon the stage. In that
age men were not accustomed to see adventurers play for kingdoms, and
Theodore became the common talk of Europe. He had served in the
French armies; and having afterwards been noticed both by Ripperda and
Alberoni, their example, perhaps, inflamed a spirit as ambitious and as
unprincipled as their own. He employed the whole of his means in raising
money and procuring arms; then wrote to the leaders of the Corsican
patriots, to offer them considerable assistance, if they would erect
Corsica into an independent kingdom, and elect him king. When he landed
among them, they were struck with his stately person, his dignified
manners, and imposing talents. They believed the magnificent promises of
foreign assistance which he held out, and elected him king accordingly.
Had his means been as he represented them, they could not have acted
more wisely than in thus at once fixing the government of their country,
and putting an end to those rivalries among the leading families, which
had so often proved pernicious to the public weal. He struck money,
conferred titles, blocked up the fortified towns which were held by the
Genoese, and amused the people with promises of assistance for about
eight months: then, perceiving that they cooled in their affections
towards him in proportion as their expectations were disappointed, he
left the island, under the plea of expediting himself the succours which
he had so long awaited. Such was his address, that he prevailed upon
several rich merchants in Holland, particularly the Jews, to trust him
with cannon and warlike stores to a great amount. They shipped these
under the charge of a supercargo. Theodore returned with this supercargo
to Corsica, and put him to death on his arrival, as the shortest way of
settling the account. The remainder of his life was a series of deserved
afflictions. He threw in the stores which he had thus fraudulently
obtained; but he did not dare to land, for Genoa had now called in the
French to their assistance, and a price had been set upon his head.
His dreams of royalty were now at an end; he took refuge in London,
contracted debts, and was thrown into the King's Bench. After lingering
there many years, he was released under an act of insolvency, in
consequence of which he made over the kingdom of Corsica for the use of
his creditors, and died shortly after his deliverance.

The French, who have never acted a generous part in the history of the
world, readily entered into the views of the Genoese, which accorded
with their own policy: for such was their ascendancy at Genoa, that in
subduing Corsica for these allies, they were in fact subduing it for
themselves. They entered into the contest, therefore, with their usual
vigour, and their usual cruelty. It was in vain that the Corsicans
addressed a most affecting memorial to the court of Versailles; that
remorseless government persisted in its flagitious project. They poured
in troops; dressed a part of them like the people of the country, by
which means they deceived and destroyed many of the patriots; cut down
the standing corn, the vines, and the olives; set fire to the villages,
and hung all the most able and active men who fell into their hands.
A war of this kind may be carried on with success against a country so
small and so thinly peopled as Corsica. Having reduced the island to
perfect servitude, which they called peace, the French withdrew their
forces. As soon as they were gone, men, women, and boys rose at once
against their oppressors. The circumstances of the times were now
favourable to them; and some British ships, acting as allies of
Sardinia, bombarded Bastia and San Fiorenzo, and delivered them into the
hands of the patriots. This service was long remembered with gratitude:
the impression made upon our own countrymen was less favourable. They
had witnessed the heartburnings of rival chiefs, and the dissensions
among the patriots; and perceiving the state of barbarism to which
continual oppression, and habits of lawless turbulence, had reduced the
nation, did not recollect that the vices of the people were owing to
their unhappy circumstances, but that the virtues which they displayed
arose from their own nature. This feeling, perhaps, influenced the
British court, when, in 1746, Corsica offered to put herself under
the protection of Great Britain: an answer was returned, expressing
satisfaction at such a communication, hoping that the Corsicans would
preserve the same sentiments, but signifying also that the present was
not the time for such a measure.

These brave islanders then formed a government for themselves, under two
leaders, Gaffori and Matra, who had the title of protectors. The latter
is represented as a partisan of Genoa, favouring the views of the
oppressors of his country by the most treasonable means. Gaffori was
a hero worthy of old times. His eloquence was long remembered with
admiration. A band of assassins was once advancing against him; he heard
of their approach, went out to meet them; and, with a serene dignity
which overawed them, requested them to hear him. He then spake to them
so forcibly of the distresses of their country, her intolerable wrongs,
and the hopes and views of their brethren in arms, that the very men
who had been hired to murder him, fell at his feet, implored his
forgiveness, and joined his banner. While he was besieging the Genoese
in Corte, a part of the garrison perceiving the nurse with his eldest
son, then an infant in arms, straying at a little distance from the
camp, suddenly sallied out and seized them. The use they made of their
persons was in conformity to their usual execrable conduct. When Gaffori
advanced to batter the walls, they held up the child directly over that
part of the wall at which the guns were pointed. The Corsicans stopped:
but Gaffori stood at their head, and ordered them to continue the fire.
Providentially the child escaped, and lived to relate, with becoming
feeling, a fact so honourable to his father. That father conducted
the affairs of the island till 1753, when he was assassinated by some
wretches, set on, it is believed, by Genoa, but certainly pensioned by
that abominable government after the deed. He left the country in such a
state that it was enabled to continue the war two years after his death
without a leader: the Corsicans then found one worthy of their cause in
Pasquale de Paoli.

Paoli's father was one of the patriots who effected their escape from
Corsica when the French reduced it to obedience. He retired to Naples,
and brought up his youngest son in the Neapolitan service. The Corsicans
heard of young Paoli's abilities, and solicited him to come over to
his native country, and take the command. He did not hesitate long:
his father, who was too far advanced in years to take an active part
himself, encouraged him to go; and when they separated, the old man fell
on his neck, and kissed him, and gave him his blessing. "My son," said
he, "perhaps I may never see you more; but in my mind I shall ever be
present with you. Your design is great and noble; and I doubt not
but God will bless you in it. I shall devote to your cause the little
remainder of my life in offering up my prayers for your success." When
Paoli assumed the command, he found all things in confusion: he formed
a democratical government, of which he was chosen chief: restored the
authority of the laws; established a university; and took such measures,
both for repressing abuses and moulding the rising generation, that, if
France had not interfered, upon its wicked and detestable principle of
usurpation, Corsica might at this day have been as free, and flourishing
and happy a commonwealth as any of the Grecian states in the days of
their prosperity. The Genoese were at this time driven out of their
fortified towns, and must in a short time have been expelled. France was
indebted some millions of livres to Genoa: it was not convenient to pay
this money; so the French minister proposed to the Genoese, that she
should discharge the debt by sending six battalions to serve in Corsica
for four years. The indignation which this conduct excited in all
generous hearts was forcibly expressed by Rousseau, who, with all his
errors, was seldom deficient in feeling for the wrongs of humanity. "You
Frenchmen," said he, writing to one of that people, "are a thoroughly
servile nation, thoroughly sold to tyranny, thoroughly cruel and
relentless in persecuting the unhappy. If you knew of a freeman at the
other end of the world, I believe you would go thither for the mere
pleasure of extirpating him."

The immediate object of the French happened to be purely mercenary: they
wanted to clear off their debt to Genoa; and as the presence of their
troops in the island effected this, they aimed at doing the people no
farther mischief. Would that the conduct of England had been at this
time free from reproach! but a proclamation was issued by the English
government, after the peace of Paris, prohibiting any intercourse with
the rebels of Corsica. Paoli said, he did not expect this from Great
Britain. This great man was deservedly proud of his country. "I defy
Rome, Sparta, or Thebes," he would say, "to show me thirty years of such
patriotism as Corsica can boast!" Availing himself of the respite which
the inactivity of the French and the weakness of the Genoese allowed,
he prosecuted his plans of civilising the people. He used to say, that
though he had an unspeakable pride in the prospect of the fame to which
he aspired; yet if he could but render his countrymen happy, he could
be content to be forgotten. His own importance he never affected to
undervalue. "We are now to our country," said he, "like the prophet
Elisha stretched over the dead child of the Shunamite,--eye to eye, nose
to nose, mouth to mouth. It begins to recover warmth, and to revive: I
hope it will yet regain full health and vigour."

But when the four years were expired, France purchased the sovereignty
of Corsica from the Genoese for forty millions of livres; as if the
Genoese had been entitled to sell it; as if any bargain and sale could
justify one country in taking possession of another against the will of
the inhabitants, and butchering all who oppose the usurpation! Among the
enormities which France has committed, this action seems but as a
speck; yet the foulest murderer that ever suffered by the hand of the
executioner has infinitely less guilt upon his soul than the statesman
who concluded this treaty, and the monarch who sanctioned and confirmed
it. A desperate and glorious resistance was made, but it was in vain;
no power interposed in behalf of these injured islanders, and the French
poured in as many troops as were required. They offered to confirm Paoli
in the supreme authority, only on condition that he would hold it under
their government. His answer was, that "the rocks which surrounded him
should melt away before he would betray a cause which he held in common
with the poorest Corsican." This people then set a price upon his
head. During two campaigns he kept them at bay: they overpowered him
at length; he was driven to the shore, and having escaped on shipboard,
took refuge in England. It is said that Lord Shelburne resigned his
seat in the cabinet because the ministry looked on without attempting to
prevent France from succeeding in this abominable and important act of
aggrandizement. In one respect, however, our country acted as became
her. Paoli was welcomed with the honours which he deserved, a pension of
L1200 was immediately granted him, and provision was liberally made for
his elder brother and his nephew.

About twenty years Paoli remained in England, enjoying the friendship of
the wise and the admiration of the good. But when the French Revolution
began, it seemed as if the restoration of Corsica was at hand. The whole
country, as if animated by one spirit, rose and demanded liberty;
and the National Assembly passed a decree recognising the island as a
department of France, and therefore entitled to all the privileges of
the new French constitution. This satisfied the Corsicans, which it
ought not to have done; and Paoli, in whom the ardour of youth was
passed, seeing that his countrymen were contented, and believing that
they were about to enjoy a state of freedom, naturally wished to return
to his native country. He resigned his pension in the year 1790, and
appeared at the bar of the Assembly with the Corsican deputies, when
they took the oath of fidelity to France. But the course of events in
France soon dispelled those hopes of a new and better order of things,
which Paoli, in common with so many of the friends of human-kind, had
indulged; and perceiving, after the execution of the king, that a civil
war was about to ensue, of which no man could foresee the issue,
he prepared to break the connection between Corsica and the French
Republic. The convention suspecting such a design, and perhaps
occasioning it by their suspicions, ordered him to their bar. That way
he well knew led to the guillotine; and returning a respectful answer,
he declared that he would never be found wanting in his duty, but
pleaded age and infirmity as a reason for disobeying the summons.
Their second order was more summary; and the French troops, who were in
Corsica, aided by those of the natives, who were either influenced by
hereditary party feelings, or who were sincere in Jacobinism, took the
field against him. But the people were with him. He repaired to Corte,
the capital of the island, and was again invested with the authority
which he had held in the noonday of his fame. The convention upon this
denounced him as a rebel, and set a price upon his head. It was not the
first time that France had proscribed Paoli.

Paoli now opened a correspondence with Lord Hood, promising, if the
English would make an attack upon St. Fiorenzo from the sea, he would at
the same time attack it by land. This promise he was unable to perform;
and Commodore Linzee, who, in reliance upon it, was sent upon this
service, was repulsed with some loss. Lord Hood, who had now been
compelled to evacuate Toulon, suspected Paoli of intentionally deceiving
him. This was an injurious suspicion. Shortly afterwards he dispatched
Lieutenant-Colonel (afterward Sir John) Moore and Major Koehler
to confer with him upon a plan of operations. Sir Gilbert Elliot
accompanied them; and it was agreed that, in consideration of the
succours, both military and naval, which his Britannic Majesty should
afford for the purpose of expelling the French, the island of Corsica
should be delivered into the immediate possession of his Majesty,
and bind itself to acquiesce in any settlement he might approve of
concerning its government, and its future relation with Great Britain.
While this negotiation was going on, Nelson cruised off the island with
a small squadron, to prevent the enemy from throwing in supplies. Close
to St. Fiorenzo the French had a storehouse of flour near their only
mill: he watched an opportunity, and landed 120 men, who threw the flour
into the sea, burnt the mill, and re-embarked before 1000 men, who were
sent against him, could occasion them the loss of a single man. While he
exerted himself thus, keeping out all supplies, intercepting despatches,
attacking their outposts and forts, and cutting out vessels from the
bay,--a species of warfare which depresses the spirit of an enemy
even more than it injures them, because of the sense of individual
superiority which it indicates in the assailants--troops were landed,
and St. Fiorenzo was besieged. The French finding themselves unable
to maintain their post sunk one of their frigates, burnt another,
and retreated to Bastia. Lord Hood submitted to General Dundas, who
commanded the land forces, a plan for the reduction of this place:
the general declined co-operating, thinking the attempt impracticable
without a reinforcement of 2000 men, which he expected from Gibraltar.
Upon this Lord Hood determined to reduce it with the naval force under
his command; and leaving part of his fleet off Toulon, he came with the
rest to Bastia.

He showed a proper sense of respect for Nelson's services, and of
confidence in his talents, by taking care not to bring with him any
older captain. A few days before their arrival, Nelson had had what he
called a brush with the enemy. "If I had had with me 500 troops," he
said, "to a certainty I should have stormed the town; and I believe it
might have been carried. Armies go so slow that seamen think they
never mean to get forward; but I daresay they act on a surer principle,
although we seldom fail." During this partial action our army appeared
upon the heights; and having reconnoitered the place, returned to
St. Fiorenzo. "What the general could have seen to make a retreat
necessary," said Nelson, "I cannot comprehend. A thousand men would
certainly take Bastia: with five hundred and the AGAMEMNON I would
attempt it. My seamen are now what British seamen ought to be--almost
invincible. They really mind shot no more than peas." General Dundas
had not the same confidence. "After mature consideration," he said in a
letter to Lord Hood, "and a personal inspection for several days of all
circumstances, local as well as others, I consider the siege of Bastia,
with our present means and force, to be a most visionary and rash
attempt; such as no officer would be justified in undertaking." Lord
Hood replied that nothing would be more gratifying to his feelings than
to have the whole responsibility upon himself; and that he was ready and
willing to undertake the reduction of the place at his own risk with
the force and means at present there. General D'Aubant, who succeeded
at this time to the command of the army, coincided in opinion with his
predecessor, and did not think it right to furnish his lordship with a
single soldier, cannon, or any stores. Lord Hood could only obtain a few
artillerymen; and ordering on board that part of the troops who, having
been embarked as marines, "were borne on the ships" books as part of
their respective complements, he began the siege with 1183 soldiers,
artillerymen, and marines, and 250 sailors. "We are but few," said
Nelson, "but of the right sort; our general at St. Fiorenzo not giving
us one of the five regiments he has there lying idle."

These men were landed on the 4th of April, under Lieutenant-Colonel
Villettes and Nelson, who had now acquired from the army the title of
brigadier. Guns were dragged by the sailors up heights where it appeared
almost impossible to convey them--a work of the greatest difficulty, and
which Nelson said could never, in his opinion, have been accomplished
by any but British seamen. The soldiers, though less dexterous in such
service, because not accustomed, like sailors, to habitual dexterity.
behaved with equal spirit. "Their zeal," said the brigadier, "is almost
unexampled. There is not a man but considers himself as personally
interested in the event, and deserted by the general. It has, I am
persuaded, made them equal to double their numbers." This is one proof,
of many, that for our soldiers to equal our seamen, it is only necessary
for them to be equally well commanded. They have the same heart and
soul, as well as the same flesh and blood. Too much may, indeed, be
exacted from them in a retreat; but set their face toward a foe, and
there is nothing within the reach of human achievement which they
cannot perform. The French had improved the leisure which our military
commander had allowed them; and before Lord Hood commenced his
operations, he had the mortification of seeing that the enemy were
every day erecting new works, strengthening old ones, and rendering the
attempt more difficult. La Combe St. Michel, the commissioner from the
national convention, who was in the city, replied in these terms to the
summons of the British admiral--"I have hot shot for your ships, and
bayonets for your troops. When two-thirds of our men are killed, I will
then trust to the generosity of the English." The siege, however, was
not sustained with the firmness which such a reply seemed to augur. On
the 19th of May a treaty of capitulation was begun; that same evening
the troops from St. Fiorenzo made their appearance on the hills; and, on
the following morning, General d'Aubant arrived with the whole army to
take possession of Bastia.

The event of the siege had justified the confidence of the sailors; but
they themselves excused the opinion of the generals when they saw what
they had done. "I am all astonishment," said Nelson, "when I reflect on
what we have achieved; 1000 regulars, 1500 national guards, and a large
party of Corsican troops, 4000 in all, laying down their arms to 1200
soldiers, marines, and seamen! I always was of opinion, have ever acted
up to it, and never had any reason to repent it, that one Englishman was
equal to three Frenchmen. Had this been an English town, I am sure it
would not have been taken by them." When it had been resolved to attack
the place, the enemy were supposed to be far inferior in number; and
it was not till the whole had been arranged, and the siege publicly
undertaken, that Nelson received certain information of the great
superiority of the garrison. This intelligence he kept secret,
fearing lest, if so fair a pretext were afforded, the attempt would be
abandoned. "My own honour," said he to his wife, "Lord Hood's honour,
and the honour of our country, must have been sacrificed had I mentioned
what I knew; therefore you will believe what must have been my feelings
during the whole siege, when I had often proposals made to me to write
to Lord Hood to raise it." Those very persons who thus advised him, were
rewarded for their conduct at the siege of Bastia: Nelson, by whom it
may truly be affirmed that Bastia was taken, received no reward. Lord
Hood's thanks to him, both public and private, were, as he himself said,
the handsomest which man could give; but his signal merits were not so
mentioned in the despatches as to make them sufficiently known to the
nation, nor to obtain for him from government those honours to which
they so amply entitled him. This could only have arisen from the haste
in which the despatches were written; certainly not from any deliberate
purpose, for Lord Hood was uniformly his steady and sincere friend.

One of the cartel's ships, which carried the garrison of Bastia to
Toulon, brought back intelligence that the French were about to sail
from that port;-such exertions had they made to repair the damage done
at the evacuation, and to fit out a fleet. The intelligence was speedily
verified. Lord Hood sailed in quest of them toward the islands of
Hieres. The AGAMEMNON was with him. "I pray God," said Nelson, writing
to his wife, "that we may meet their fleet. If any accident should
happen to me, I am sure my conduct will be such as will entitle you to
the royal favour; not that I have the least idea but I shall return to
you, and full of honour: if not, the Lord's will be done. My name shall
never be a disgrace to those who may belong to me. The little I have,
I have given to you, except a small annuity--I wish it was more; but
I have never got a farthing dishonestly: it descends from clean hands.
Whatever fate awaits me, I pray God to bless you, and preserve you, for
your son's sake." With a mind thus prepared, and thus confident, his
hopes and wishes seemed on the point of being gratified, when the enemy
were discovered close under the land, near St. Tropez. The wind fell,
and prevented Lord Hood from getting between them and the shore, as
he designed: boats came out from Antibes and other places to their
assistance, and towed them within the shoals in Gourjean Roads, where
they were protected by the batteries on isles St. Honore and St.
Marguerite, and on Cape Garousse. Here the English admiral planned a new
mode of attack, meaning to double on five of the nearest ships; but the
wind again died away, and it was found that they had anchored in compact
order, guarding the only passage for large ships. There was no way of
effecting this passage, except by towing or warping the vessels;
and this rendered the attempt impracticable. For this time the enemy
escaped; but Nelson bore in mind the admirable plan of attack which Lord
Hood had devised, and there came a day when they felt its tremendous
effects.

The AGAMEMNON was now despatched to co-operate at the siege of Calvi
with General Sir Charles Stuart; an officer who, unfortunately for his
country, never had an adequate field allotted him far the display of
those eminent talents which were, to all who knew him, so conspicuous.
Nelson had less responsibility here than at Bastia; and was acting with
a man after his own heart, who was never sparing of himself, and slept
every night in the advanced battery. But the service was not less hard
than that of the former siege. "We will fag ourselves to death," said he
to Lord Hood, "before any blame shall lie at our doors. I trust it will
not be forgotten, that twenty-five pieces of heavy ordnance have been
dragged to the different batteries, mounted, and, all but three, fought
by seamen, except one artilleryman to point the guns." The climate
proved more destructive than the service; for this was during the lion
sun, as they call our season of the dog-days. Of 2000 men, above half
were sick, and the rest like so many phantoms. Nelson described himself
as the reed among the oaks, bowing before the storm when they were laid
low by it. "All the prevailing disorders have attacked me," said he,
"but I have not strength enough for them to fasten on." The loss from
the enemy was not great; but Nelson received a serious injury: a shot
struck the ground near him, and drove the sand and small gravel into one
of his eyes. He spoke of it slightly at the time: writing the same day
to Lord Hood, he only said that he had got a little hurt that morning,
not much; and the next day, he said, he should be able to attend his
duty in the evening. In fact, he suffered it to confine him only one
day; but the sight was lost.

After the fall of Calvi, his services were, by a strange omission,
altogether overlooked; and his name was not even mentioned in the list
of wounded. This was no ways imputable to the admiral, for he sent
home to government Nelson's journal of the siege, that they might fully
understand the nature of his indefatigable and unequalled exertions. If
those exertions were not rewarded in the conspicuous manner which they
deserved, the fault was in the administration of the day, not in Lord
Hood. Nelson felt himself neglected. "One hundred and ten days," said
he, "I have been actually engaged at sea and on shore against the enemy;
three actions against ships, two against Bastia in my ship, four boat
actions, and two villages taken, and twelve sail of vessels burnt. I do
not know that any one has done more. I have had the comfort to be always
applauded by my Commander-in-Chief, but never to be rewarded; and, what
is more mortifying, for services in which I have been wounded, others
have been praised, who, at the same time, were actually in bed, far from
the scene of action. They have not done me justice. But never mind,
I'll have a GAZETTE of my own." How amply was this second-sight of glory
realised!

The health of his ship's company had now, in his own words, been
miserably torn to pieces by as hard service as a ship's crew ever
performed: 150 were in their beds when he left Calvi; of them he lost 54
and believed that the constitutions of the rest were entirely destroyed.
He was now sent with despatches to Mr. Drake, at Genoa, and had his
first interview with the Doge. The French had, at this time, taken
possession of Vado Bay, in the Genoese territory; and Nelson foresaw
that, if their thoughts were bent on the invasion of Italy, they would
accomplish it the ensuing spring. "The allied powers," he said, "were
jealous of each other; and none but England was hearty in the cause."
His wish was for peace on fair terms, because England he thought was
draining herself to maintain allies who would not fight for themselves.
Lord Hood had now returned to England, and the command devolved on
Admiral Hotham. The affairs of the Mediterranean wore at this time a
gloomy aspect. The arts, as well as the arms of the enemy, were gaining
the ascendancy there. Tuscany concluded peace relying upon the faith of
France, which was, in fact, placing itself at her mercy. Corsica was in
danger. We had taken that island for ourselves, annexed it formally to
the crown of Great Britain, and given it a constitution as free as our
own. This was done with the consent of the majority of the inhabitants;
and no transaction between two countries was ever more fairly or
legitimately conducted: yet our conduct was unwise;--the island is large
enough to form an independent state, and such we should have made
it, under our protection, as long as protection might be needed; the
Corsicans would then have felt as a nation; but when one party had given
up the country to England, the natural consequence was that the other
looked to France. The question proposed to the people was, to which
would they belong? Our language and our religion were against us; our
unaccommodating manners, it is to be feared, still more so. The French
were better politicians. In intrigue they have ever been unrivalled; and
it now became apparent that, in spite of old wrongs, which ought
never to have been forgotten nor forgiven, their partisans were daily
acquiring strength. It is part of the policy of France, and a wise
policy it is, to impress upon other powers the opinion of its strength,
by lofty language: and by threatening before it strikes; a system which,
while it keeps up the spirit of its allies, and perpetually stimulates
their hopes, tends also to dismay its enemies. Corsica was now loudly
threatened. "The French, who had not yet been taught to feel their own
inferiority upon the seas, braved us in contempt upon that element."
They had a superior fleet in the Mediterranean, and they sent it out
with express orders to seek the English and engage them. Accordingly,
the Toulon fleet, consisting of seventeen ships of the line and five
smaller vessels, put to sea. Admiral Hotham received this information
at Leghorn, and sailed immediately in search of them. He had with him
fourteen sail of the line, and one Neapolitan seventy-four; but his
ships were only half-manned, containing but 7650 men, whereas the
enemy had 16,900. He soon came in sight of them: a general action was
expected; and Nelson, as was his custom on such occasions, wrote a
hasty letter to his wife, as that which might possibly contain his last
farewell. "The lives of all," said he, "are in the hand of Him who knows
best whether to preserve mine or not; my character and good name are in
my own keeping."

But however confident the French government might be of their naval
superiority, the officers had no such feeling; and after manoeuvring
for a day in sight of the English fleet, they suffered themselves to
be chased. One of their ships, the CA IRA, of eighty-four guns, carried
away her main and fore top-masts. The INCONSTANT frigate fired at the
disabled ship, but received so many shot that she was obliged to leave
her. Soon afterwards a French frigate took the CA IRA in tow; and
the SANS-CULOTTES, one hundred and twenty, and the JEAN BARRAS,
seventy-four, kept about gunshot distance on her weather bow. The
AGAMEMNON stood towards her, having no ship of the line to support her
within several miles. As she drew near, the CA IRA fired her stern guns
so truly, that not a shot missed some part of the ship; and latterly,
the masts were struck by every shot. It had been Nelson's intention not
to fire before he touched her stern; but seeing how impossible it was
that he should be supported, and how certainly the AGAMEMNON must
be severely cut up if her masts were disabled, he altered his plan
according to the occasion. As soon, therefore, as he was within a
hundred yards of her stern, he ordered the helm to be put a-starboard,
and the driver and after-sails to be brailed up and shivered; and, as
the ship fell off, gave the enemy her whole broadside. They instantly
braced up the after-yards, put the helm a-port, and stood after her
again. This manoeuvre he practised for two hours and a quarter, never
allowing the CA IRA to get a single gun from either side to bear on him;
and when the French fired their after-guns now, it was no longer with
coolness and precision, for every shot went far ahead. By this time her
sails were hanging in tatters, her mizen-top-mast, mizen-top-sail, and
cross-jack-yards shot away. But the frigate which had her in tow hove in
stays, and got her round. Both these French ships now brought their
guns to bear, and opened their fire. The AGAMEMNON passed them within
half-pistol shot; almost every shot passed over her, for the French had
elevated their guns for the rigging, and for distant firing, and did not
think of altering the elevation. As soon as the AGAMEMNON's after-guns
ceased to bear, she hove in stays, keeping a constant fire as she came
round; and being worked, said Nelson, with as much exactness as if
she had been turning into Spithead. On getting round, he saw that the
Sans-Culottes, which had wore, with many of the enemy's ships, was under
his lee bow, and standing to leeward. The admiral, at the same time,
made the signal for the van ships to join him. Upon this Nelson bore
away, and prepared to set all sail; and the enemy, having saved their
ship, hauled close to the wind, and opened upon him a distant and
ineffectual fire. Only seven of the AGAMEMNON's men were hurt--a thing
which Nelson himself remarked as wonderful: her sails and rigging were
very much cut, and she had many shots in her hull, and some between wind
and water. The CA IRA lost 110 men that day, and was so cut up that she
could not get a top-mast aloft during the night.

At daylight on the following morning, the English ships were taken aback
with a fine breeze at N.W., while the enemy's fleet kept the southerly
wind. The body of their fleet was about five miles distant; the CA IRA
and the CENSEUR, seventy-four, which had her in tow, about three and
a half. All sail was made to cut these ships off; and as the French
attempted to save them, a partial action was brought on. The AGAMEMNON
was again engaged with her yesterday's antagonist; but she had to fight
on both sides the ship at the same time. The CA IRA and the CENSEUR
fought most gallantly: the first lost nearly 300 men, in addition to
her former loss; the last, 350. Both at length struck; and Lieutenant
Andrews, of the AGAMEMNON, brother to the lady to whom Nelson had become
attached in France, and, in Nelson's own words, "as gallant an officer
as ever stepped a quarter-deck," hoisted English colours on board them
both. The rest of the enemy's ships' behaved very ill. As soon as these
vessels had struck, Nelson went to Admiral Hotham and proposed that the
two prizes should be left with the ILLUSTRIOUS and COURAGEUX, which had
been crippled in the action, and with four frigates, and that the rest
of the fleet should pursue the enemy, and follow up the advantage to
the utmost. But his reply was--"We must be contented: we have done very
well."--"Now," said Nelson, "had we taken ten sail, and allowed the
eleventh to escape, when it had been possible to have got at her, I
could never have called it well done. Goodall backed me; I got him to
write to the admiral; but it would not do. We should have had such a day
as, I believe, the annals of England never produced." In this letter the
character of Nelson fully manifests itself. "I wish," said he, "to be
an admiral, and in the command of the English fleet: I should very soon
either do much, or be ruined: my disposition cannot bear tame and slow
measures. Sure I am, had I commanded on the 14th, that either the whole
French fleet would have graced my triumph, or I should have been in a
confounded scrape." What the event would have been, he knew from his
prophetic feelings and his own consciousness of power; and we also know
it now, for Aboukir and Trafalgar have told it.

The CA IRA and CENSEUR probably defended themselves with more obstinacy
in this action, from a persuasion that, if they struck, no quarter
would be given; because they had fired red-hot shot, and had also a
preparation sent, as they said, by the convention from Paris, which
seems to have been of the nature of the Greek fire; for it became liquid
when it was discharged, and water would not extinguish its flames. This
combustible was concealed with great care in the captured ships; like
the red-hot shot, it had been found useless in battle. Admiral Hotham's
action saved Corsica for the time; but the victory had been incomplete,
and the arrival at Toulon of six sail of the line, two frigates, and two
cutters from Brest, gave the French a superiority which, had they
known how to use it, would materially have endangered the British
Mediterranean fleet. That fleet had been greatly neglected at the
Admiralty during Lord Chatham's administration: and it did not, for some
time, feel the beneficial effect of his removal. Lord Hood had gone
home to represent the real state of affairs, and solicit reinforcements
adequate to the exigencies of the time, and the importance of the scene
of action. But that fatal error of under-proportioning the force to the
service; that ruinous economy, which, by sparing a little, renders all
that is spent useless, infected the British councils; and Lord Hood,
not being able to obtain such reinforcements as he knew were necessary,
resigned the command. "Surely," said Nelson, "the people at home have
forgotten us." Another Neapolitan seventy-four joined Admiral Hotham,
and Nelson observed with sorrow that this was matter of exultation to
an English fleet. When the store-ships and victuallers from Gibraltar
arrived, their escape from the enemy was thought wonderful; and yet, had
they not escaped, "the game," said Nelson, "was up here. At this moment
our operations are at a stand for want of ships to support the Austrians
in getting possession of the sea-coast of the king of Sardinia; and
behold our admiral does not feel himself equal to show himself, much
less to give assistance in their operations." It was reported that
the French were again out with 18 or 20 sail. The combined British and
Neapolitan were but sixteen; should the enemy be only eighteen, Nelson
made no doubt of a complete victory; but if they were twenty, he said,
it was not to be expected; and a battle, without complete victory, would
have been destruction, because another mast was not to be got on that
side Gibraltar. At length Admiral Man arrived with a squadron from
England. "What they can mean by sending him with only five sail of the
line," said Nelson, "is truly astonishing; but all men are alike, and
we in this country do not find any amendment or alteration from the old
Board of Admiralty. They should know that half the ships in the
fleet require to go to England; and that long ago they ought to have
reinforced us."

About this time Nelson was made colonel of marines; a mark of
approbation which he had long wished for rather than expected. It came
in good season, for his spirits were oppressed by the thought that his
services had not been acknowledged as they deserved; and it abated the
resentful feeling which would else have been excited by the answer to an
application to the War-office. During his four months' land service in
Corsica, he had lost all his ship furniture, owing to the movements of
a camp. Upon this he wrote to the Secretary at War, briefly stating what
his services on shore had been, and saying, he trusted it was not asking
an improper thing to request that the same allowance might be made to
him which would be made to a land officer of his rank, which, situated
as he was, would be that of a brigadier-general: if this could not be
accorded, he hoped that his additional expenses would be paid him. The
answer which he received was, that "no pay had ever been issued under
the direction of the War-office to officers of the navy serving with the
army on shore."

He now entered upon a new line of service. The Austrian and Sardinian
armies, under General de Vins, required a British squadron to co-operate
with them in driving the French from the Riviera di Genoa; and as Nelson
had been so much in the habit of soldiering, it was immediately fixed
that the brigadier should go. He sailed from St. Fiorenzo on this
destination; but fell in, off Cape del Mele, with the enemy's fleet, who
immediately gave his squadron chase. The chase lasted four-and-twenty
hours; and, owing to the fickleness of the wind, the British ships were
sometimes hard pressed; but the want of skill on the part of the French
gave Nelson many advantages. Nelson bent his way back to St. Fiorenzo,
where the fleet, which was in the midst of watering and refitting, had,
for seven hours, the mortification of seeing him almost in possession
of the enemy, before the wind would allow them to put out to his
assistance. The French, however, at evening, went off, not choosing to
approach nearer the shore. During the night, Admiral Hotham, by great
exertions, got under weigh; and, having sought the enemy four days, came
in sight of them on the fifth. Baffling winds and vexatious calms, so
common in the Mediterranean, rendered it impossible to close with them;
only a partial action could be brought on; and then the firing made
a perfect calm. The French being to windward, drew inshore; and the
English fleet was becalmed six or seven miles to the westward. L'ALCIDE,
of seventy-four guns, struck; but before she could be taken possession
of, a box of combustibles in her fore-top took fire, and the unhappy
crew experienced how far more perilous their inventions were to
themselves than to their enemies. So rapid was the conflagration, that
the French in their official account say, the hull, the masts, and
sails, all seemed to take fire at the same moment; and though the
English boats were put out to the assistance of the poor wretches on
board, not more than 200 could be saved. The AGAMEMNON, and Captain
Rowley in the CUMBERLAND, were just getting into close action a second
time, when the admiral called them off, the wind now blowing directly
into the Gulf of Frejus, where the enemy anchored after the evening
closed.

Nelson now proceeded to his station with eight sail of frigates under
his command. Arriving at Genoa, he had a conference with Mr. Drake, the
British envoy to that state; the result of which was, that the object
of the British must be to put an entire stop to all trade between Genoa,
France, and the places occupied by the French troops; for unless this
trade were stopped, it would be scarcely possible for the allied armies
to hold their situation, and impossible for them to make any progress in
driving the enemy out of the Riviera di Genoa. Mr. Drake was of opinion
that even Nice might fall for want of supplies, if the trade with Genoa
were cut off. This sort of blockade Nelson could not carry on without
great risk to himself. A captain in the navy, as he represented to the
envoy, is liable to prosecution for detention and damages. This danger
was increased by an order which had then lately been issued; by which,
when a neutral ship was detained, a complete specification of her cargo
was directed to be sent to the secretary of the Admiralty, and no legal
process instituted against her till the pleasure of that board should be
communicated. This was requiring an impossibility. The cargoes of ships
detained upon this station, consisting chiefly of corn, would be spoiled
long before the orders of the Admiralty could be known; and then, if
they should happen to release the vessel, the owners would look to
the captain for damages. Even the only precaution which could be taken
against this danger, involved another danger not less to be apprehended:
for if the captain should direct the cargo to be taken out, the freight
paid for, and the vessel released, the agent employed might prove
fraudulent, and become bankrupt; and in that case the captain became
responsible. Such things had happened: Nelson therefore required, as the
only means for carrying on that service, which was judged essential
to the common cause, without exposing the officers to ruin, that the
British envoy should appoint agents to pay the freight, release the
vessels, sell the cargo, and hold the amount till process was had upon
it: government thus securing its officers. "I am acting," said Nelson.
"not only without the orders of my commander-in-chief, but, in some
measure, contrary to him. However, I have not only the support of his
Majesty's ministers, both at Turin and Genoa, but a consciousness that
I am doing what is right and proper for the service of our king and
country. Political courage, in an officer abroad, is as highly necessary
as military courage."

This quality, which is as much rarer than military courage as it is more
valuable, and without which the soldier's bravery is often of little
avail, Nelson possessed in an eminent degree. His representations were
attended to as they deserved. Admiral Hotham commended him for what he
had done; and the attention of government was awakened to the injury
which the cause of the allies continually suffered from the frauds
of neutral vessels. "What changes in my life of activity!" said the
indefatigable man. "Here I am, having commenced a co-operation with an
old Austrian general, almost fancying myself charging at the head of
a troop of horse! I do not write less than from ten to twenty letters
every day; which, with the Austrian general and aides-de-camp, and my
own little squadron, fully employ my time. This I like; active service
or none." It was Nelson's mind which supported his feeble body through
these exertions. He was at this time almost blind, and wrote with very
great pain. "Poor AGAMEMNON," he sometimes said, "was as nearly worn out
as her captain; and both must soon be laid up to repair."

When Nelson first saw General de Vins, he thought him an able man, who
was willing to act with vigour. The general charged his inactivity upon
the Piedmontese and Neapolitans, whom, he said, nothing could induce
to act; and he concerted a plan with Nelson for embarking a part of the
Austrian army, and landing it in the rear of the French. But the English
commodore soon began to suspect that the Austrian general was little
disposed to any active operations. In the hope of spurring him on, he
wrote to him, telling him that he had surveyed the coast to the W. as
far as Nice, and would undertake to embark 4000 or 5000 men, with their
arms and a few days' provisions, on board the squadron, and land them
within two miles of St. Remo, with their field-pieces. Respecting
further provisions for the Austrian army, he would provide convoys, that
they should arrive in safety; and if a re-embarkation should be found
necessary, he would cover it with the squadron. The possession of St.
Remo, as headquarters for magazines of every kind, would enable the
Austrian general to turn his army to the eastward or westward. The enemy
at Oneglia would be cut off from provisions, and men could be landed
to attack that place whenever it was judged necessary. St. Remo was the
only place between Vado and Ville Franche where the squadron could lie
in safety, and anchor in almost all winds. The bay was not so good as
Vado for large ships; but it had a mole, which Vado had not, where all
small vessels could lie, and load and unload their cargoes. This bay
being in possession of the allies, Nice could be completely blockaded by
sea. General de Vins affecting, in his reply, to consider that Nelson's
proposal had no other end than that of obtaining the bay of St. Remo as
a station for the ships, told him, what he well knew, and had expressed
before, that Vado Bay was a better anchorage; nevertheless, if MONSIEUR
LE COMMANDANT NELSON was well assured that part of the fleet could
winter there, there was no risk to which he would not expose himself
with pleasure, for the sake of procuring a safe station for the vessels
of his Britannic Majesty. Nelson soon assured the Austrian commander
that this was not the object of his memorial. He now began to suspect
that both the Austrian Court and their general had other ends in view
than the cause of the allies. "This army," said he, "is slow beyond all
description; and I begin to think that the Emperor is anxious to touch
another L4,000,000 of English money. As for the German generals, war is
their trade, and peace is ruin to them; therefore we cannot expect that
they should have any wish to finish the war. The politics of courts are
so mean, that private people would be ashamed to act in the same way;
all is trick and finesse, to which the common cause is sacrificed. The
general wants a loop-hole; it has for some time appeared to me that
he means to go no further than his present position, and to lay the
miscarriage of the enterprise against Nice, which has always been held
out as the great object of his army, to the non-cooperation of the
British fleet and of the Sardinians."

To prevent this plea, Nelson again addressed De Vins, requesting only to
know the time, and the number of troops ready to embark; then he would,
he said, dispatch a ship to Admiral Hotham, requesting transports,
having no doubt of obtaining them, and trusting that the plan would be
successful to its fullest extent. Nelson thought at the time that, if
the whole fleet were offered him for transports, he would find some
other excuse; and Mr. Drake, who was now appointed to reside at the
Austrian headquarters, entertained the same idea of the general's
sincerity. It was not, however, put so clearly to the proof as it ought
to have been. He replied that, as soon as Nelson could declare himself
ready with the vessels necessary for conveying 10,000 men, with their
artillery and baggage, he would put the army in motion. But Nelson was
not enabled to do this: Admiral Hotham, who was highly meritorious in
leaving such a man so much at his own discretion, pursued a cautious
system, ill according with the bold and comprehensive views of Nelson,
who continually regretted Lord Hood, saying that the nation had suffered
much by his resignation of the Mediterranean command. The plan which
had been concerted, he said, would astonish the French, and perhaps the
English.

There was no unity in the views of the allied powers, no cordiality
in their co-operation, no energy in their councils. The neutral powers
assisted France more effectually than the allies assisted each other.
The Genoese ports were at this time filled with French privateers, which
swarmed out every night, and covered the gulf; and French vessels were
allowed to tow out of the port of Genoa itself, board vessels which were
coming in, and then return into the mole. This was allowed without
a remonstrance; while, though Nelson abstained most carefully from
offering any offence to the Genoese territory or flag, complaints were
so repeatedly made against his squadron, that, he says, it seemed a
trial who should be tired first; they of complaining, or he of answering
their complaints. But the question of neutrality was soon at an end. An
Austrian commissary was travelling from Genoa towards Vado; it was known
that he was to sleep at Voltri, and that he had L10,000 with him--a
booty which the French minister in that city, and the captain of a
French frigate in that port, considered as far more important than the
word of honour of the one, the duties of the other, and the laws of
neutrality. The boats of the frigate went out with some privateers,
landed, robbed the commissary, and brought back the money to Genoa. The
next day men were publicly enlisted in that city for the French army:
700 men were embarked, with 7000 stand of arms, on board the frigates
and other vessels, who were to land between Voltri and Savona. There
a detachment from the French army was to join them, and the Genoese
peasantry were to be invited to insurrection--a measure for which
everything had been prepared. The night of the 13th was fixed for the
sailing of this expedition; the Austrians called loudly for Nelson to
prevent it; and he, on the evening of the 13th, arrived at Genoa. His
presence checked the plan: the frigate, knowing her deserts, got within
the merchant-ships, in the inner mole; and the Genoese government did
not now even demand of Nelson respect to the neutral port, knowing that
they had allowed, if not connived at, a flagrant breach of neutrality,
and expecting the answer which he was prepared to return, that it was
useless and impossible for him to respect it longer.

But though this movement produced the immediate effect which was
designed, it led to ill consequences, which Nelson foresaw, but for want
of sufficient force was unable to prevent. His squadron was too small
for the service which it had to perform. He required two seventy-fours
and eight or ten frigates and sloops; but when he demanded this
reinforcement, Admiral Hotham had left the command. Sir Hyde Parker
had succeeded till the new commander should arrive; and he immediately
reduced it to almost nothing, leaving him only one frigate and a brig.
This was a fatal error. While the Austrian and Sardinian troops,
whether from the imbecility or the treachery of their leaders, remained
inactive, the French were preparing for the invasion of Italy. Not many
days before Nelson was thus summoned to Genoa, he chased a large convoy
into Alassio. Twelve vessels he had formerly destroyed in that port,
though 2000 French troops occupied the town. This former attack had made
them take new measures of defence; and there were now above 100 sail
of victuallers, gun-boats, and ships of war. Nelson represented to the
Admiral how important it was to destroy these vessels; and offered,
with his squadron of frigates, and the CULLODEN and COURAGEUX, to lead
himself in the AGAMEMNON, and take or destroy the whole. The attempt was
not permitted; but it was Nelson's belief that, if it had been made, it
would have prevented the attack upon the Austrian army, which took place
almost immediately afterwards.

General de Vins demanded satisfaction of the Genoese government for the
seizure of his commissary; and then, without waiting for their reply,
took possession of some empty magazines of the French, and pushed his
sentinels to the very gates of Genoa. Had he done so at first, he
would have found the magazines full; but, timed as the measure was, and
useless as it was to the cause of the allies, it was in character with
the whole of the Austrian general's conduct; and it is no small proof of
the dexterity with which he served the enemy, that in such circumstances
he could so act with Genoa as to contrive to put himself in the wrong.
Nelson was at this time, according to his own expression, placed in a
cleft stick. Mr. Drake, the Austrian minister, and the Austrian general,
all joined in requiring him not to leave Genoa; if he left that port
unguarded, they said, not only the imperial troops at St. Pier d'Arena
and Voltri would be lost, but the French plan for taking post between
Voltri and Savona would certainly succeed; if the Austrians should be
worsted in the advanced posts, the retreat of the Bocchetta would be cut
off; and if this happened, the loss of the army would be imputed to him,
for having left Genoa. On the other hand, he knew that if he were not
at Pietra, the enemy's gun-boats would harass the left flank of the
Austrians, who, if they were defeated, as was to be expected, from the
spirit of all their operations, would, very probably, lay their defeat
to the want of assistance from the AGAMEMNON. Had the force for which
Nelson applied been given him, he could have attended to both objects;
and had he been permitted to attack the convoy in Alassio, he would have
disconcerted the plans of the French, in spite of the Austrian general.
He had foreseen the danger, and pointed out how it might be prevented;
but the means of preventing it were withheld. The attack was made as
he foresaw; and the gun-boats brought their fire to bear upon the
Austrians. It so happened, however, that the left flank, which was
exposed to them, was the only part of the army that behaved well: this
division stood its ground till the centre and the right wing fled, and
then retreated in a soldier-like manner. General de Vins gave up the
command in the middle of the battle, pleading ill health. "From that
moment," says Nelson, "not a soldier stayed at his post: it was the
devil take the hindmost. Many thousands ran away who had never seen the
enemy; some of them thirty miles from the advanced posts. Had I not,
though I own, against my inclination, been kept at Genoa, from 8000 to
10,000 men would have been taken prisoners, and, amongst the number,
General de Vins himself; but by this means the pass of the Bocchetta
was kept open. The purser of the ship, who was at Vado, ran with
the Austrians eighteen miles without stopping; the men without arms,
officers without soldiers, women without assistance. The oldest officers
say they never heard of so complete a defeat, and certainly without
any reason. Thus has ended my campaign. We have established the French
republic: which but for us, I verily believe, would never have been
settled by such a volatile, changeable people. I hate a Frenchman: they
are equally objects of my detestation whether royalists or republicans:
in some points, I believe, the latter are the best." Nelson had a
lieutenant and two midshipmen taken at Vado: they told him, in their
letter, that few of the French soldiers were more than three or four
and twenty years old, a great many not more than fourteen, and all were
nearly naked; they were sure, they said, his barge's crew could have
beat a hundred of them; and that, had he himself seen them, he would not
have thought, if the world had been covered with such people, that they
could have beaten the Austrian army.

The defeat of General de Vins gave the enemy possession of the Genoese
coast from Savona to Voltri, and it deprived the Austrians of their
direct communication with the English fleet. The AGAMEMNON, therefore,
could no longer be useful on this station, and Nelson sailed for Leghorn
to refit. When his ship went into dock, there was not a mast, yard,
sail, or any part of the rigging, but what stood in need of repair,
having been cut to pieces with shot. The hull was so damaged that it
had for some time been secured by cables, which were served or thrapped
round it.



CHAPTER IV

1796 - 1797


Sir J. Jervis takes the Command--Genoa joins the French--Bounaparte
begins his Career--Evacuation of Corsica--Nelson hoists his broad
Pennant in the MINERVE--Action with the SABINA--Battle off Cape St.
Vincent--Nelson commands the inner Squadron at the Blockade of Cadiz
Boat Action in the Bay of Cadiz--Expedition against Teneriffe--Nelson
loses an Arm--His Sufferings in England, and Recovery.


SIR JOHN JERVIS had now arrived to take the command of the Mediterranean
fleet. The AGAMEMNON having, as her captain said, been made as fit for
sea as a rotten ship could be, Nelson sailed from Leghorn, and joined
the admiral in Fiorenzo Bay. "I found him," said he, "anxious to know
many things which I was a good deal surprised to find had not been
communicated to him by others in the fleet; and it would appear that he
was so well satisfied with my opinion of what is likely to happen, and
the means of prevention to be taken, that he had no reserve with me
respecting his information and ideas of what is likely to be done." The
manner in which Nelson was received is said to have excited some envy.
One captain observed to him: "You did just as you pleased in Lord Hood's
time, the same in Admiral Hotham's, and now again with Sir John Jervis:
it makes no difference to you who is commander-in-chief." A higher
compliment could not have been paid to any commander-in-chief than to
say of him that he understood the merits of Nelson, and left him, as far
as possible, to act upon his own judgment.

Sir John Jervis offered him the ST. GEORGE, ninety, or the ZEALOUS,
seventy-four, and asked if he should have any objection to serve under
him with his flag. He replied, that if the AGAMEMNON were ordered home,
and his flag were not arrived, he should, on many accounts, wish to
return to England; still, if the war continued, he should be very proud
of hoisting his flag under Sir John's command, "We cannot spare you,"
said Sir John, "either as captain or admiral." Accordingly, he resumed
his station in the Gulf of Genoa. The French had not followed up their
successes in that quarter with their usual celerity. Scherer, who
commanded there, owed his advancement to any other cause than his merit:
he was a favourite of the directory; but for the present, through
the influence of Barras, he was removed from a command for which his
incapacity was afterwards clearly proved, and Buonaparte was appointed
to succeed him. Buonaparte had given indications of his military talents
at Toulon, and of his remorseless nature at Paris; but the extent either
of his ability or his wickedness was at this time known to none, and
perhaps not even suspected by himself.

Nelson supposed, from the information which he had obtained, that one
column of the French army would take possession of Port Especia; either
penetrating through the Genoese territory, or proceeding coast-ways in
light vessels; our ships of war not being able to approach the coast,
because of the shallowness of the water. To prevent this, he said; two
things were necessary: the possession of Vado Bay, and the taking of
Port Especia; if either of these points were secured, Italy would be
safe from any attack of the French by sea. General Beaulieu, who had now
superseded De Vins in the command of the allied Austrian and Sardinian
army, sent his nephew and aide-de-camp to communicate with Nelson, and
inquire whether he could anchor in any other place than Vado Bay. Nelson
replied, that Vado was the only place where the British fleet could
lie in safety, but all places would suit his squadron; and wherever the
general came to the sea-coast, there he should find it. The Austrian
repeatedly asked, if there was not a risk of losing the squadron? and
was constantly answered, that if these ships should be lost, the admiral
would find others. But all plans of co-operation with the Austrians were
soon frustrated by the battle of Montenotte. Beaulieu ordered an attack
to be made upon the post of Voltri. It was made twelve hours before
the time which he had fixed, and before he arrived to direct it. In
consequence, the French were enabled to effect their retreat, and fall
back to Montenotte, thus giving the troops there a decisive superiority
in number over the division which attacked them. This drew on the defeat
of the Austrians. Buonaparte, with a celerity which had never before
been witnessed in modern war, pursued his advantages; and, in the course
of a fortnight, dictated to the court of Turin terms of peace, or rather
of submission; by which all the strongest places of Piedmont were put
into his bands.

On one occasion, and only on one, Nelson was able to impede the
progress of this new conqueror. Six vessels, laden with cannon and
ordnance-stores for the siege of Mantua, sailed from Toulon for St. Pier
d'Arena. Assisted by Captain Cockburn, in the MELEAGER, he drove them
under a battery; pursued them, silenced the batteries, and captured
the whole. Military books, plans and maps of Italy, with the different
points marked upon them where former battles had been fought, sent by
the directory for Buonaparte's use, were found in the convoy. The loss
of this artillery was one of the chief causes which compelled the French
to raise the siege of Mantua; but there was too much treachery, and too
much imbecility, both in the councils and armies of the allied powers,
for Austria to improve this momentary success. Buonaparte perceived that
the conquest of Italy was within his reach; treaties, and the rights of
neutral or of friendly powers, were as little regarded by him as by
the government for which he acted. In open contempt of both he entered
Tuscany, and took possession of Leghorn. In consequence of this
movement, Nelson blockaded that port, and landed a British force in
the Isle of Elba, to secure Porto Ferrajo. Soon afterwards he took the
Island of Capraja, which had formerly belonged to Corsica, being less
than forty miles distant from it; a distance, however, short as it was,
which enabled the Genoese to retain it, after their infamous sale of
Corsica to France. Genoa had now taken part with France: its government
had long covertly assisted the French, and now willingly yielded to the
first compulsory menace which required them to exclude the English from
their ports. Capraja was seized in consequence; but this act of vigour
was not followed up as it ought to have been. England at that time
depended too much upon the feeble governments of the Continent, and too
little upon itself. It was determined by the British cabinet to evacuate
Corsica, as soon as Spain should form an offensive alliance with France.
This event, which, from the moment that Spain had been compelled to make
peace, was clearly foreseen, had now taken place; and orders for the
evacuation of the island were immediately sent out. It was impolitic to
annex this island to the British dominions; but having done so, it was
disgraceful thus to abandon it. The disgrace would have been spared, and
every advantage which could have been derived from the possession of
the island secured, if the people had at first been left to form a
government for themselves, and protected by us in the enjoyment of their
independence.

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

Having thus ably effected this humiliating service, Nelson was ordered
to hoist his broad pendant on board the MINERVE frigate, Captain George
Cockburn, and with the BLANCHE under his command, proceed to Porto
Ferrajo, and superintend the evacuation of that place also. On his way,
he fell in with two Spanish frigates, the SABINA and the CERES. The
MINERVE engaged the former, which was commanded by D. Jacobo Stuart,
a descendent of the Duke of Berwick. After an action of three hours,
during which the Spaniards lost 164 men, the SABINA struck. The Spanish
captain, who was the only surviving officer, had hardly been conveyed on
board the MINERVE, when another enemy's frigate came up, compelled her
to cast off the prize, and brought her a second time into action. After
half an hour's trial of strength, this new antagonist wore and hauled
off; but a Spanish squadron of two ships of the line and two frigates
came in sight. The BLANCHE, from which the CERES had got off, was far
to windward, and the MINERVE escaped only by the anxiety of the enemy to
recover their own ship. As soon as Nelson reached Porto Ferrajo he sent
his prisoner in a flag of truce to Carthagena, having returned him
his sword; this he did in honour of the gallantry which D. Jacobo had
displayed, and not without some feeling of respect for his ancestry. "I
felt it," said he, "consonant to the dignity of my country and I always
act as I feel right, without regard to custom; he was reputed the best
officer in Spain, and his men were worthy of such a commander." By
the same flag of truce he sent back all the Spanish prisoners at Porto
Ferrajo; in exchange for whom he received his own men who had been taken
in the prize.

General de Burgh, who commanded at the Isle of Elba, did not think
himself authorised to abandon the place till he had received specific
instructions from England to that effect; professing that he was unable
to decide between the contradictory orders of government, or to guess at
what their present intentions might be; but he said, his only motive for
urging delay in this measure arose from a desire that his own conduct
might be properly sanctioned, not from any opinion that Porto Ferrajo
ought to be retained. But Naples having made peace, Sir John Jervis
considered his business with Italy as concluded; and the protection of
Portugal was the point to which he was now instructed to attend. Nelson,
therefore, whose orders were perfectly clear and explicit, withdrew
the whole naval establishment from that station, leaving the transports
victualled, and so arranged that all the troops and stores could be
embarked in three days. He was now about to leave the Mediterranean.
Mr. Drake, who had been our minister at Genoa, expressed to him, on
this occasion, the very high opinion which the allies entertained of his
conspicuous merit; adding, that it was impossible for any one, who
had the honour of co-operating with him, not to admire the activity,
talents, and zeal which he had so eminently and constantly displayed.
In fact, during this long course of services in the Mediterranean, the
whole of his conduct had exhibited the same zeal, the same indefatigable
energy, the same intuitive judgment, the same prompt and unerring
decision which characterised his after-career of glory. His name was as
yet hardly known to the English public; but it was feared and respected
throughout Italy. A letter came to him, directed "Horatio Nelson,
Genoa;" and the writer, when he was asked how he could direct it so
vaguely, replied, "Sir, there is but one Horatio Nelson in the world."
At Genoa, in particular, where he had so long been stationed, and where
the nature of his duty first led him to continual disputes with the
government, and afterwards compelled him to stop the trade of the port,
he was equally respected by the doge and by the people; for, while
he maintained the rights and interests of Great Britain with becoming
firmness, he tempered the exercise of power with courtesy and humanity
wherever duty would permit. "Had all my actions," said he, writing at
this time to his wife, "been gazetted, not one fortnight would have
passed, during the whole war, without a letter from me. One day or other
I will have a long GAZETTE to myself. I feel that such an opportunity
will be given me. I cannot, if I am in the field of glory, be kept out
of sight; wherever there is anything to be done, there Providence is
sure to direct my steps."

These hopes and anticipations were soon to be fulfilled. Nelson's mind
had long been irritated and depressed by the fear that a general action
would take place before he could join the fleet. At length he sailed
from Porto Ferrajo with a convoy for Gibraltar; and having reached that
place, proceeded to the westward in search of the admiral. Off the mouth
of the Straits he fell in with the Spanish fleet; and on the 13th of
February reaching the station off Cape St. Vincent, communicated this
intelligence to Sir John Jervis. He was now directed to shift his broad
pendant on board the CAPTAIN, seventy-four, Captain R.W. Miller; and
before sunset the signal was made to prepare for action, and to keep,
during the night, in close order. At daybreak the enemy were in sight.
The British force consisted of two ships of one hundred guns, two
of ninety-eight, two of ninety, eight of seventy-four, and one
sixty-four;-fifteen of the line in all; with four frigates, a sloop,
and a cutter. The Spaniards had one four-decker, of one hundred and
thirty-six guns; six three-deckers, of one hundred and twelve; two
eighty-four, eighteen seventy-four--in all, twenty-seven ships of the
line, with ten frigates and a brig. Their admiral, D. Joseph de Cordova,
had learnt from an American on the 5th, that the English had only nine
ships, which was indeed the case when his informer had seen them; for a
reinforcement of five ships from England, under Admiral Parker, had not
then joined, and the CULLODEN had parted company. Upon this information
the Spanish commander, instead of going into Cadiz, as was his intention
when he sailed from Carthagena, determined to seek an enemy so inferior
in force; and relying, with fatal confidence, upon the American account,
he suffered his ships to remain too far dispersed, and in some disorder.
When the morning of the 14th broke, and discovered the English fleet,
a fog for some time concealed their number. That fleet had heard their
signal-guns during the night, the weather being fine though thick and
hazy; soon after daylight they were seen very much scattered, while the
British ships were in a compact little body. The look-out ship of the
Spaniards, fancying that her signal was disregarded because so little
notice seemed to be taken of it, made another signal, that the English
force consisted of forty sail of the line. The captain afterwards said
he did this to rouse the admiral; it had the effect of perplexing him
and alarming the whole fleet. The absurdity of such an act shows what
was the state of the Spanish navy under that miserable government by
which Spain was so long oppressed and degraded, and finally betrayed. In
reality, the general incapacity of the naval officers was so well known,
that in a pasquinade, which about this time appeared at Madrid, wherein
the different orders of the state were advertised for sale, the greater
part of the sea-officers, with all their equipments, were offered as a
gift; and it was added, that any person who would please to take them,
should receive a handsome gratuity. When the probability that
Spain would take part in the war, as an ally of France, was first
contemplated, Nelson said that their fleet, if it were no better than
when it acted in alliance with us, would "soon be done for."

Before the enemy could form a regular order of battle, Sir J. Jervis, by
carrying a press of sail, came up with them, passed through their fleet,
then tacked, and thus cut off nine of their ships from the main body.
These ships attempted to form on the larboard tack, either with a design
of passing through the British line, or to leeward of it, and thus
rejoining their friends. Only one of them succeeded in this attempt; and
that only because she was so covered with smoke that her intention was
not discovered till she had reached the rear: the others were so warmly
received, that they put about, took to flight, and did not appear again
in the action to its close. The admiral was now able to direct his
attention to the enemy's main body, which was still superior in number
to his whole fleet, and greatly so in weight of metal. He made signal to
tack in succession. Nelson, whose station was in the rear of the British
line, perceived that the Spaniards were bearing up before the wind,
with an intention of forming their line, going large, and joining
their separated ships, or else of getting off without an engagement.
To prevent either of these schemes, he disobeyed the signal without
a moment's hesitation: and ordered his ship to be wore. This at once
brought him into action with the SANTISSIMA TRINIDAD, one hundred and
thirty-six; the SAN JOSEPH, one hundred and twelve; the SALVADOR DEL
MUNDO, one hundred and twelve; the SAN NICOLAS, eighty; the SAN ISIDRO,
seventy-four, another seventy-four, and another first-rate. Troubridge,
in the CULLODEN, immediately joined, and most nobly supported him; and
for nearly an hour did the CULLODEN and CAPTAIN maintain what Nelson
called "this apparently, but not really unequal contest;"--such was the
advantage of skill and discipline, and the confidence which brave men
derive from them. The BLENHEIM then passing between them and the enemy,
gave them a respite, and poured in her fire upon the Spaniards. The
SALVADOR DEL MUNDO and SAN ISIDRO dropped astern, and were fired into in
a masterly style by the EXCELLENT, Captain Collingwood. The SAN
ISIDRO struck; and Nelson thought that the SALVADOR struck also. "But
Collingwood," says he, "disdaining the parade of taking possession of
beaten enemies, most gallantly pushed up, with every sail set, to
save his old friend and messmate, who was to appearance in a critical
situation;" for the CAPTAIN was at this time actually fired upon by
three first-rates--by the SAN NICOLAS, and by a seventy-four, within
about pistol-shot of that vessel. The BLENHEIM was ahead, the CULLODEN
crippled and astern. Collingwood ranged up, and hauling up his mainsail
just astern, passed within ten feet of the SAN NICOLAS, giving her a
most tremendous fire, then passed on for the SANTISSIMA TRINIDAD. The
SAN NICOLAS luffing up, the SAN JOSEPH fell on board her, and Nelson
resumed his station abreast of them, and close alongside. The CAPTAIN
was now incapable of further service, either in the line or in chase:
she had lost her foretop-mast; not a sail, shroud, or rope was left, and
her wheel was shot away. Nelson therefore directed Captain Miller to
put the helm a-starboard, and calling for the boarders, ordered them to
board.

Captain Berry, who had lately been Nelson's first lieutenant, was the
first man who leaped into the enemy's mizen chains. Miller, when in the
very act of going, was ordered by Nelson to remain. Berry was supported
from the spritsail-yard, which locked in the SAN NICOLAS's main rigging.
A soldier of the 69th broke the upper quarter-gallery window, and jumped
in, followed by the commodore himself and by the others as fast as
possible. The cabin doors were fastened, and the Spanish officers fired
their pistols at them through the window; the doors were soon forced,
and the Spanish brigadier fell while retreating to the quarter-deck.
Nelson pushed on, and found Berry in possession of the poop, and the
Spanish ensign hauling down. He passed on to the forecastle, where
he met two or three Spanish officers, and received their swords. The
English were now in full possession of every part of the ship, when
a fire of pistols and musketry opened upon them from the admiral's
stern-gallery of the SAN JOSEPH. Nelson having placed sentinels at the
different ladders, and ordered Captain Miller to send more men into the
prize, gave orders for boarding that ship from the SAN NICOLAS. It
was done in an instant, he himself leading the way, and exclaiming,
"Westminster Abbey or victory!" Berry assisted him into the main chains;
and at that moment a Spanish officer looked over the quarter-deck
rail, and said they surrendered. It was not long before he was on the
quarter-deck, where the Spanish captain presented to him his sword,
and told him the admiral was below dying of his wounds. There, on the
quarter-deck of an enemy's first-rate, he received the swords of the
officers, giving them, as they were delivered, one by one to William
Fearney, one of his old AGAMEMNONs, who, with the utmost coolness, put
them under his arm, "bundling them up," in the lively expression of
Collingwood, "with as much composure as he would have made a faggot,
though twenty-two sail of their line were still within gunshot." One of
his sailors came up, and with an Englishman's feeling took him by the
hand, saying he might not soon have such another place to do it in, and
he was heartily glad to see him there. Twenty-four of the CAPTAIN's men
were killed, and fifty-six wounded; a fourth part of the loss sustained
by the whole squadron falling upon this ship. Nelson received only a few
bruises.

The Spaniards had still eighteen or nineteen ships which had suffered
little or no injury: that part of the fleet which had been separated
from the main body in the morning was now coming up, and Sir John
Jervis made signal to bring to. His ships could not have formed without
abandoning those which they had captured, and running to leeward: the
CAPTAIN was lying a perfect wreck on board her two prizes; and many of
the other vessels were so shattered in their masts and rigging as to
be wholly unmanageable. The Spanish admiral meantime, according to
his official account, being altogether undecided in his own opinion
respecting the state of the fleet, inquired of his captains whether it
was proper to renew the action; nine of them answered explicitly that it
was not; others replied that it was expedient to delay the business.
The PELAYO and the PRINCE CONQUISTADOR were the only ships that were for
fighting.

As soon as the action was discontinued, Nelson went on board the
admiral's ship. Sir John Jervis received him on the quarter-deck, took
him in his arms, and said he could not sufficiently thank him. For this
victory the commander-in-chief was rewarded with the title of Earl St.
Vincent. Nelson, who before the action was known in England had been
advanced to the rank of rear-admiral, had the Order of the Bath given
him. The sword of the Spanish rear-admiral, which Sir John Jervis
insisted upon his keeping, he presented to the Mayor and Corporation
of Norwich, saying that he knew no place where it could give him or his
family more pleasure to have it kept than in the capital city of the
county where he was born. The freedom of that city was voted him on this
occasion. But of all the numerous congratulations which he received,
none could have affected him with deeper delight than that which came
from his venerable father. "I thank my God," said this excellent man,
"with all the power of a grateful soul, for the mercies he has
most graciously bestowed on me in preserving you. Not only my few
acquaintance here, but the people in general, met me at every corner
with such handsome words, that I was obliged to retire from the public
eye. The height of glory to which your professional judgment, united
with a proper degree of bravery, guarded by Providence, has raised you,
few sons, my dear child, attain to, and fewer fathers live to see. Tears
of joy have involuntarily trickled down my furrowed cheeks: who could
stand the force of such general congratulation? The name and services
of Nelson have sounded through this city of Bath--from the common
ballad-singer to the public theatre." The good old man concluded by
telling him that the field of glory, in which he had so long been
conspicuous, was still open, and by giving him his blessing.

Sir Horatio, who had now hoisted his flag as rear-admiral of the blue,
was sent to bring away the troops from Porto Ferrajo; having performed
this, he shifted his flag to the THESEUS. That ship, had taken part in
the mutiny in England, and being just arrived from home, some danger was
apprehended from the temper of the men. This was one reason why Nelson
was removed to her. He had not been on board many weeks before a
paper, signed in the name of all the ship's company, was dropped on the
quarter-deck, containing these words: "Success attend Admiral Nelson!
God bless Captain Miller! We thank them for the officers they have
placed over us. We are happy and comfortable, and will shed every drop
of blood in our veins to support them; and the name of the THESEUS shall
be immortalised as high as her captain's." Wherever Nelson commanded,
the men soon became attached to him; in ten days' time he would have
restored the most mutinous ship in the navy to order. Whenever an
officer fails to win the affections of those who are under his command,
he may be assured that the fault is chiefly in himself.

While Sir Horatio was in the THESEUS, he was employed in the command of
the inner squadron at the blockade of Cadiz. During this service, the
most perilous action occurred in which he was ever engaged. Making a
night attack upon the Spanish gun-boats, his barge was attacked by an
armed launch, under their commander, D. Miguel Tregoyen, carrying 26
men. Nelson had with him only his ten bargemen, Captain Freemantle, and
his coxswain, John Sykes, an old and faithful follower, who twice saved
the life of his admiral by parrying the blows that were aimed at him,
and at last actually interposed his own head to receive the blow of a
Spanish sabre, which he could not by any other means avert; thus dearly
was Nelson beloved. This was a desperate service--hand to hand with
swords; and Nelson always considered that his personal courage was more
conspicuous on this occasion than on any other during his whole life.
Notwithstanding the great disproportion of numbers, 18 of the enemy were
killed, all the rest wounded, and their launch taken. Nelson would have
asked for a lieutenancy for Sykes, if he had served long enough; his
manner and conduct, he observed, were so entirely above his situation,
that Nature certainly intended him for a gentleman; but though he
recovered from the dangerous wound which he received in this act of
heroic attachment, he did not live to profit by the gratitude and
friendship of his commander.

Twelve days after this rencontre, Nelson sailed at the head of an
expedition against Teneriffe. A report had prevailed a few months
before, that the viceroy of Mexico, With the treasure ships, had put
into that island. This had led Nelson to meditate the plan of an attack
upon it, which he communicated to Earl St. Vincent. He was perfectly
aware of the difficulties of the attempt. "I do not," said he, "reckon
myself equal to Blake; but, if I recollect right, he was more obliged
to the wind coming off the land than to any exertions of his own. The
approach by sea to the anchoring-place is under very high land, passing
three valleys; therefore the wind is either in from the sea, or squally
with calms from the mountains:" and he perceived that if the Spanish
ships were won, the object would still be frustrated if the wind did
not come off shore. The land force, he thought, would render success
certain; and there were the troops from Elba, with all necessary stores
and artillery, already embarked. "But here," said he, "soldiers must be
consulted; and I know, from experience, they have not the same boldness
in undertaking a political measure that we have: we look to the benefit
of our country, and risk our own fame every day to serve her; a soldier
obeys his orders, and no more." Nelson's experience at Corsica justified
him in this harsh opinion: he did not live to see the glorious days of
the British army under Wellington. The army from Elba, consisting of
3700 men, would do the business, he said, in three days, probably in
much less time; and he would undertake, with a very small squadron, to
perform the naval part; for though the shore was not easy of access, the
transports might run in and land the troops in one day.

The report concerning the viceroy was unfounded: but a homeward-bound
Manilla ship put into Santa Cruz at this time, and the expedition was
determined upon. It was not fitted out upon the scale which Nelson had
proposed. Four ships of the line, three frigates, and the FOX cutter,
formed the squadron; and he was allowed to choose such ships and
officers as he thought proper. No troops were embarked; the seamen and
marines of the squadron being thought sufficient. His orders were, to
make a vigorous attack; but on no account to land in person, unless his
presence should be absolutely necessary. The plan was, that the boats
should land in the night, between the fort on the N.E. side of Santa
Cruz bay and the town, make themselves masters of that fort, and then
send a summons to the governor. By midnight, the three frigates, having
the force on board which was intended for this debarkation, approached
within three miles of the place; but owing to a strong gale of wind in
the offing, and a strong current against them in-shore, they were not
able to get within a mile of the landing-place before daybreak; and then
they were seen, and their intention discovered. Troubridge and Bowen,
with Captain Oldfield, of the marines, went upon this to consult with
the admiral what was to be done; and it was resolved that they should
attempt to get possession of the heights above the fort. The
frigates accordingly landed their men; and Nelson stood in with the
line-of-battle ships, meaning to batter the fort for the purpose of
distracting the attention of the garrison. A calm and contrary current
hindered him from getting within a league of the shore; and the heights
were by this time so secured, and manned with such a force, as to be
judged impracticable. Thus foiled in his plans by circumstances of wind
and tide, he still considered it a point of honour that some attempt
should be made. This was on the 22nd of July: he re-embarked his men
that night, got the ships on the 24th to anchor about two miles north of
the town, and made show as if he intended to attack the heights. At six
in the evening signal was made for the boats to prepare to proceed on
the service as previously ordered.

When this was done, Nelson addressed a letter to the
commander-in-chief--the last which was ever written with his right
hand. "I shall not," said he, "enter on the subject, why we are not in
possession of Santa Cruz. Your partiality will give credit, that all has
hitherto been done which was possible, but without effect. This night I,
humble as I am, command the whole destined to land under the batteries
of the town; and to-morrow my head will probably be crowned either with
laurel or cypress. I have only to recommend Josiah Nisbet to you and my
country. The Duke of Clarence, should I fall, will, I am confident,
take a lively interest for my son-in-law, on his name being mentioned."
Perfectly aware how desperate a service this was likely to prove, before
he left the THESEUS he called Lieutenant Nisbet, who had the watch on
deck, into the cabin, that he might assist in arranging and burning his
mother's letters. Perceiving that the young man was armed, he earnestly
begged him to remain behind. "Should we both fall, Josiah," said he,
"what will become of your poor mother! The care of the THESEUS falls to
you: stay, therefore, and take charge of her." Nisbet replied: "Sir, the
ship must take care of herself: I will go with you to-night, if I never
go again."

He met his captains at supper on board the SEAHORSE, Captain Freemantle,
whose wife, whom he had lately married in the Mediterranean, presided at
table. At eleven o'clock the boats, containing between 600 and 700 men,
with 180 on board the FOX cutter, and from 70 to 80 in a boat which had
been taken the day before, proceeded in six divisions toward the town,
conducted by all the captains of the squadron, except Freemantle and
Bowen, who attended with Nelson to regulate and lead the way to the
attack. They were to land on the mole, and thence hasten as fast as
possible into the great square; then form and proceed as should be found
expedient. They were not discovered till about half-past one o'clock,
when, being within half gun-shot of the landing-place, Nelson directed
the boats to cast off from each other, give a huzza, and push for the
shore. But the Spaniards were exceedingly well prepared; the alarm-bells
answered the huzza, and a fire of thirty or forty pieces of cannon,
with musketry from one end of the town to the other, opened upon the
invaders. Nothing, however, could check the intrepidity with which they
advanced. The night was exceedingly dark: most of the boats missed the
mole and went on shore through a raging surf, which stove all to the
left of it. The Admiral, Freemantle, Thompson, Bowen, and four or five
other boats, found the mole: they stormed it instantly, and carried it,
though it was defended, as they imagined, by 400 or 500 men. Its guns,
which were six-and-twenty pounders, were spiked; but such a heavy fire
of musketry and grape was kept up from the citadel and the houses at the
head of the mole, that the assailants could not advance, and nearly all
of them were killed or wounded.

In the act of stepping out of the boat, Nelson received a shot through
the right elbow, and fell; but as he fell he caught the sword, which he
had just drawn, in his left hand, determined never to part with it while
he lived, for it had belonged to his uncle, Captain Suckling, and he
valued it like a relic. Nisbet, who was close to him, placed him at the
bottom of the boat, and laid his hat over the shattered arm, lest the
sight of the blood, which gushed out in great abundance, should
increase his faintness. He then examined the wound, and taking some silk
handkerchiefs from his neck, bound them round tight above the lacerated
vessels. Had it not been for this presence of mind in his son-in-law,
Nelson must have perished. One of his bargemen, by name Level, tore his
shirt into shreds, and made a sling with them for the broken limb. They
then collected five other seamen, by whose assistance they succeeded at
length in getting the boat afloat; for it had grounded with the falling
tide. Nisbet took one of the oars and ordered the steersman to go
close under the guns of the battery, that they might be safe from its
tremendous fire. Hearing his voice, Nelson roused himself, and desired
to be lifted up in the boat that he might look about him. Nisbet raised
him up; but nothing could be seen except the firing of the guns on
shore, and what could be discerned by their flashes upon a stormy sea.
In a few minutes a general shriek was heard from the crew of the FOX,
which had received a shot under water, and went down. Ninety-seven men
were lost in her: 83 were saved, many by Nelson himself, whose exertions
on this occasion greatly increased the pain and danger of his wound. The
first ship which the boat could reach happened to be the SEAHORSE; but
nothing could induce him to go on board, though he was assured that if
they attempted to row to another ship it might be at the risk of
his life. "I had rather suffer death," he replied, "than alarm Mrs.
Freemantle, by letting her see me in this state, when I can give her no
tidings whatever of her husband." They pushed on for the THESEUS. When
they came alongside he peremptorily refused all assistance in getting on
board, so impatient was he that the boat should return, in hopes that
it might save a few more from the FOX. He desired to have only a single
rope thrown over the side, which he twisted round his left hand, saying
"Let me alone; I have yet my legs left and one arm. Tell the surgeon to
make haste and get his instruments. I know I must lose my right arm,
so the sooner it is off the better." The spirit which he displayed in
jumping up the ship's side astonished everybody.

Freemantle had been severely wounded in the right arm soon after the
admiral. He was fortunate enough to find a boat on the beach, and got
instantly to his ship. Thompson was wounded: Bowen killed, to the
great regret of Nelson: as was also one of his own officers, Lieutenant
Weatherhead, who had followed him from the AGAMEMNON, and whom he
greatly and deservedly esteemed. Troubridge, meantime, fortunately for
his party, missed the mole in the darkness, but pushed on shore under
the batteries, close to the south end of the citadel. Captain Waller, of
the EMERALD, and two or three other boats, landed at the same time. The
surf was so high that many others put back. The boats were instantly
filled with water and stove against the rocks; and most of the
ammunition in the men's pouches was wetted. Having collected a few men
they pushed on to the great square, hoping there to find the admiral
and the rest of the force. The ladders were all lost, so that they could
make no immediate attempt on the citadel; but they sent a sergeant with
two of the town's-people to summon it: this messenger never returned;
and Troubridge having waited about an hour in painful expectation of
his friends, marched to join Captains Hood and Miller, who had effected
their landing to the south-west. They then endeavoured to procure some
intelligence of the admiral and the rest of the officers, but without
success. By daybreak they had gathered together about eighty marines,
eighty pikemen, and one hundred and eighty small-arm seamen; all the
survivors of those who had made good their landing. They obtained some
ammunition from the prisoners whom they had taken, and marched on to try
what could be done at the citadel without ladders. They found all the
streets commanded by field-pieces, and several thousand Spaniards, with
about a hundred French, under arms, approaching by every avenue. Finding
himself without provisions, the powder wet, and no possibility of
obtaining either stores or reinforcements from the ships, the boats
being lost, Troubridge with great presence of mind, sent Captain Samuel
Hood with a flag of truce to the governor to say he was prepared to burn
the town, and would instantly set fire to it if the Spaniards approached
one inch nearer. This, however, if he were compelled to do it, he should
do with regret, for he had no wish to injure the inhabitants; and he
was ready to treat upon these terms--that the British troops should
reembark, with all their arms of every kind, and take their own boats,
if they were saved, or be provided with such others as might be wanting;
they, on their part, engaging that the squadron should not molest the
town, or any of the Canary Islands: all prisoners on both sides to be
given up. When these terms were proposed the governor made answer, that
the English ought to surrender as prisoners of war; but Captain Hood
replied, he was instructed to say, that if the terms were not accepted
in five minutes, Captain Troubridge would set the town on fire and
attack the Spaniards at the point of the bayonet. Satisfied with his
success, which was indeed sufficiently complete, and respecting, like
a brave and honourable man, the gallantry of his enemy, the Spaniard
acceded to the proposal, found boats to re-embark them, their own having
all been dashed to pieces in landing, and before they parted gave every
man a loaf and a pint of wine.

"And here," says Nelson in his journal, "it is right we should notice
the noble and generous conduct of Don Juan Antonio Gutierrez, the
Spanish governor. The moment the terms were agreed to, he directed our
wounded men to be received into the hospitals, and all our people to be
supplied with the best provisions that could be procured; and made
it known that the ships were at liberty to send on shore and purchase
whatever refreshments they were in want of during the time they might
be off the island." A youth, by name Don Bernardo Collagon, stripped
himself of his shirt to make bandages for one of those Englishmen
against whom, not an hour before, he had been engaged in battle. Nelson
wrote to thank the governor for the humanity which he had displayed.
Presents were interchanged between them. Sir Horatio offered to take
charge of his despatches for the Spanish Government, and thus actually
became the first messenger to Spain of his own defeat.

The total loss of the English in killed, wounded, and drowned, amounted
to 250. Nelson made no mention of his own wound in his official
despatches; but in a private letter to Lord St. Vincent--the first
which he wrote with his left hand--he shows himself to have been deeply
affected by the failure of this enterprise. "I am become," he said, "a
burthen to my friends, and useless to my country; but by my last letter
you will perceive my anxiety for the promotion of my son-in-law, Josiah
Nisbet. When I leave your command I become dead to the world--'I go
hence, and am no more seen.' If from poor Bowen's loss, you think it
proper to oblige me, I rest confident you will do it. The boy is under
obligations to me, but he repaid me by bringing me from the mole of
Santa Cruz. I hope you will be able to give me a frigate to convey the
remains of my carcass to England." "A left-handed admiral," he said in a
subsequent letter, "will never again be considered as useful; therefore
the sooner I get to a very humble cottage the better, and make room for
a sounder man to serve the state." His first letter to Lady Nelson was
written under the same opinion, but in a more cheerful strain. "It was
the chance of war," said he, "and I have great reason to be thankful:
and I know it will add much to your pleasure to find that Josiah, under
God's providence, was principally instrumental in saving my life. I
shall not be surprised if I am neglected and forgotten: probably I
shall no longer be considered as useful; however, I shall feel rich if
I continue to enjoy your affection. I beg neither you nor my father
will think much of this mishap; my mind has long been made up to such an
event."

His son-in-law, according to his wish, was immediately promoted; and
honours enough to heal his wounded spirit awaited him in England.
Letters were addressed to him by the first lord of the Admiralty, and
by his steady friend the Duke of Clarence, to congratulate him on his
return, covered as he was with glory. He assured the Duke, in his reply,
that not a scrap of that ardour

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