Chapter IX (11)

"Agamemnon, Belleisle, and Superb, and very probably the London,
are at this moment on their passage: therefore," he jocosely says,
"if Mr. Decreés means to come forth, (if he would take my advice,
which I dare say he will not) he had better come out directly.
Those," he adds, "who know more of Cadiz than you or I do, say
that, after these Levanters, come several days of fine weather;
westerly winds for sea-breezes, and a land wind at night: and that,
if the enemy are bound into the Mediterranean, they would come out
in the night, which they have always done; placing lights on the
Porpoises and the Diamond, and the shoal off Cadiz; run to the
southward, and catch the sea breeze off the mouth of the Gut, and
push through, whilst we might have little winds in the offing. In
short, watch all points, and all winds and weathers. Remember me to
Capel, Parker, Mundy, and Captain Prowse; and, be assured, I ever
am your's most faithfully,

Nelson and Bronte.

The following short letter, written the following day, is too peculiarly characteristic, and impressive, to admit of any curtailment.

Oct. 10, 1805. Victory.

"MY DEAR BLACKWOOD,

Keep your five frigates, Weazle and Pickle, and let me know every
movement. I rely, we cannot miss getting hold of them, and I will
give them such a shaking as they never yet experienced; at least,
_I will lay down my life in the attempt!_ We are a very powerful
fleet, and not to be held cheap. I have told Parker, and do you
direct, that ships bringing information of their coming out, are to
fire guns every three minutes by the watch; and, in the night, to
fire rockets, if they have them, from the mast-head. I have nothing
more to say; they will, I hope, sail to-night. Ever your's,
faithfully,

Nelson and Bronte.

Cadiz East Thirteen Leagues, 6 A.M.

"The Honourable Captain Blackwood."

It was on this day, that Lord Nelson issued his celebrated instructions for attacking the combined fleet, of which the following is a correct copy.

Victory, off Cadiz, Oct. 10,1805.

Thinking it almost impossible to bring a fleet of forty sail of the
line into battle, in variable winds, thick weather, and other
circumstances which must occur, without such a loss of time that
the opportunity would probably be lost of bringing the enemy to
battle in such a manner as to make the business decisive; I have,
therefore, made up my mind, to keep the fleet in that position of
sailing, with the exception of the first and second in command,
that the order of sailing is to be the order of the battle: placing
the fleet in two lines, of sixteen ships each, with an advanced
squadron of eight of the fastest sailing two-decked ships; which
will always make, if wanted, a line of twenty-four sail on which
ever line the commander in chief may direct. The second in command
will, after my intentions are made known to him, have the entire
direction of his line, to make the attack upon the enemy, and to
follow up the blow, until they are captured or destroyed. If the
enemy's fleet are seen to windward in line of battle, and that the
two lines and advanced squadron could fetch them, they will
probably be so extended that their van could not succour their
rear. I should therefore, probably, make the second in command's
signal to lead through about the twelfth ship from their rear; or
wherever he could fetch, if not able to get so far advanced: my
line would lead through about their centre, and the advanced
squadron two, three, or four, ships a-head of their centre, so as
to ensure getting at their commander in chief, whom every effort
must be made to capture. The whole impression of the British fleet
must be, to overpower from two or three ships a-head of their
commander in chief, supposed to be their centre, to the rear of
their fleet. I will suppose twenty sail of the line to be
untouched; it must be some time before, they could perform a
manoeuvre to bring their force compact to attack any part of the
British fleet, or succour their own ships: which, indeed, would be
impossible, without mixing with the ships engaged. The enemy's
fleet is supposed to consist of forty-six sail of the line, British
forty: if either is less, only a proportion of the enemy to be cut
off. British to to be one-fourth superior to the enemy cut off.
Something must be left to chance. Nothing is sure in a sea-fight,
beyond all others; shots will carry away masts and yards of friends
as well as foes. But I look with confidence to a victory, before
the van of the enemy could succour the rear: and, then, that the
British fleet would be ready to receive the twenty sail of the
line; or to pursue them, should they endeavour to make off. If the
van of the enemy tacks, the captured ships must run to leeward of
the British fleet. If the enemy wear, the British fleet must place
themselves between the enemy and the captured, and the disabled
British ships; and, should the enemy close, I have no fear as to
the result. The second in command will, in all possible things,
direct the movements of his line, by keeping them as compact as the
nature of the circumstances will admit. Captains are to look to
their particular line as their rallying point; but, in case signals
cannot be seen, or clearly understood, _no captain can do wrong, if
he places his ship alongside that of an enemy_.

/Advanced Squadron 8\
British Divisions { Weather Line ... 16 } 40.
\Lee Line ... 16/

Enemy ... 46.

The Divisions of the British fleet will be brought nearly within
gunshot of the enemy's centre. The signal will, most probably, then
be made for the lee line to bear up together; to set all their
sails, even the steering sails, in order to get as quickly as
possible to the enemy's line; and to cut through, begining at the
twelfth ship from the enemy's rear. Some ships may not get through
their expected place, but they will always be at hand to assist
their friends. If any are thrown in the rear of the enemy, they
will compleat the business of twelve sail of the enemy. Should the
enemy wear together, or bear up and sail large, still the twelve
ships composing in the first position the enemy's rear, are to be
the object of attack of the lee line, unless otherwise directed by
the commander in chief; which is scarcely to be expected, as the
entire management of the lee line, after the intentions of the
commander in chief are signified, is intended to be left to the
admiral commanding that line. The remainder of the enemy's fleet,
thirty-five, sail of the line, are to be left to the management of
the commander in chief, who will endeavour to take care that the
movements of the second in command are as little interrupted as
possible.

"Nelson and Bronte."

About this period, the following admired extract of a letter to Alexander Davison, Esq. his lordship's most confidential friend, appears also to have been written; which, though published in most of the newspapers, and other periodical journals, cannot be too often reprinted.

"Day by day, my dear friend, I am expecting the fleet to put to
sea; every day, hour, and moment: and you may rely that, if it is
in the power of man to get at them, it shall be done; and, I am
sure, that all my brethren look to that day, as the finish of our
laborious cruise. The event, no man can say exactly; but I must
think,--or render great injustice to those under me, that let the
battle be when it may, it will never have been surpassed! My
shattered frame, if I survive that day, will require rest, and that
is all I shall ask for. If I fall on such a glorious occasion, it
shall be my pride to take care that my friends shall not blush for
me. These things are in the hands of a good and wise Providence;
and, his will be done! I have got some trifle, thank God, to leave
to those I hold most dear, and I have taken care not to neglect it.
Do not think I am low-spirited on this account, or fancy any thing
is to happen to me; quite the contrary: my mind is calm, and I have
only to think of destroying our inveterate foe. I have two frigates
gone for more information, and we all hope for a meeting with the
enemy. Nothing can be finer than the fleet under my command.
Whatever be the event, believe me ever, my dear Davison, your much
obliged and sincere friend,

"Nelson and Bronte."

As, however, the combined fleet did not immediately come out, his lordship soon grew apprehensive that they were very little disposed speedily to venture from port; and, therefore, began to consider how he might annoy them even there.

"If they do not come forth soon," writes his lordship, on the 14th, to the Honourable Captain Blackwood, "I shall then rather incline to think they will detach squadrons: but, I hope, either in the whole, or in part, we shall get at them. I am confident in your look out upon them. I expect three stout fire-ships from England; then, with a good breeze, so that the gun-boats cannot move, and yet not so much but that a gig can with ease row out, I should hope that, at least, the gentry might be disturbed: and I should not be surprised if Mr. Francis and his catamarans were sent, and Colonel Congreve and his rockets. But, all this keep to yourself; for officers will talk, and there is no occasion to put the enemy upon their guard. When those things arrive, we will consult how to manage them, and I shall have the two bombs ready by that time."

On Lord Nelson's arrival in the Mediterranean, he had felt it his most difficult task to send home Sir Robert Calder. "I had never," said his lordship, speaking on this subject to his confidential friends, "but two enemies in the profession, that I know of, Sir Robert Calder, and Sir John Orde; nor do I feel conscious of having ever given either of them any just cause of offence. However," added this excellent and exalted man, "I will, at least, endeavour to make Sir Robert love me." Accordingly, on communicating his orders to this unfortunate commander, he earnestly advised him not to return home immediately; but to serve with himself on the expected glorious occasion, after which, there could be nothing to apprehend from any trivial enquiry respecting what might previously have happened. Sir Robert, however, though he could not but feel sensible of his lordship's kindness, was resolved by no means to protract his justification; and Lord Nelson, finding him determined to go home, as a last proof of tenderness and respectful consideration for a brother officer thus disagreeably situated, insisted that, instead of Sir Robert's departing in a frigate, as directed, he should at least have the honour of returning in his own ninety-gun ship, ill as it could at this eventful crisis be spared from that station. Thus did the hero willingly hazard a degree of censure from his country, through excess of feeling for Sir Robert Calder; nor is it altogether an extravagant impossibility that, to this generous action, he owed even his own death, which the addition of a ship of such force might perhaps have prevented. In writing to the Honourable Captain Blackwood a second letter, dated the, 14th, soon after Sir Robert Calder's departure, his lordship feelingly says--"Sir Robert is gone. Poor fellow! I hope he will get well over the enquiry." What a lesson is here of Christian virtue, left by our incomparable hero for the contemplation and admiration of mankind. It is asserted, on no light authority, that Sir. Robert Calder had formerly, rather rashly, advised a court-martial on our hero, for his departure from his commander in chief's orders on the memorable 14th of February; when the great Earl of St. Vincent, with a generous, noble, and dignified disdain, instantly replied--"You would, then, try a man for knowing better how to act than yourself."

Lord Nelson, in the foregoing letter to the Honourable Captain Blackwood, thanks him for some observations on the Salvages, which he will get inserted in the charts; and tells him, that the Defence and Agamemnon will be this day placed seven to ten leagues distant from Cadiz, and two or three ships between the fleet and them: "therefore," says his lordship, "you will be speedily supported, in case of an attempt to drive you off." Characteristically adding--"_I should like, most amazingly, to see them try it_!"

It has been said, that Lord Nelson, who was in hourly expectation of being reinforced by seven ships of the line from England, and impatient to encounter the enemy, purposely detached Rear-Admiral Louis, with that number of ships, in the most public manner, by way of encouraging them to risk an action with his apparently so diminished force; and, that this stratagem actually induced Admiral Villeneuve immediately to sail from Cadiz. That the expected reinforcement had arrived, and Admiral Louis had been thus detached to Tetuan, for fresh provisions and water, is most certain; and it is equally certain that the combined fleet, greatly to our hero's wish, however it might be to his expectation, he had the pleasure to learn, next morning; Sunday, October the 20th, on communicating with the Phoebe, Defence, and Colossus, were the evening before seen by them outside of Cadiz; but, the wind being southerly, the enemy, consisting of nearly forty sail, could not get to the mouth of the Straits. "We were," writes his lordship, for this is transcribed from his own private memorandum of that day, "between Trafalgar and Cape Spartel. The frigates made the signal, that they saw nine sail outside the harbour. I gave the frigates instructions for their guidance; and placed Defenced Colossus, and Mars, between me and the frigates. At noon, fresh gales, and heavy rain. Cadiz north-east nine leagues. In the afternoon, Captain Blackwood telegraphed, that the enemy seemed determined to go to the westward--_and that they shall not do, if in the power of Nelson and Bronte to prevent them_! At five, telegraphed Captain Blackwood, that I relied on his keeping sight of the enemy. At five o'clock, Naiad made the signal for thirty-one sail of the enemy north north-east. The frigates and look-out ships kept sight of the enemy most admirably, all night; and told me, by signals, which tack they were upon. At eight, we wore, and stood to the south-west; and, at four A.M. wore, and stood to the north-east."

To what an eventful period is the reader now conducted, by the hand of our immortal hero himself, in the forcible and unaffected language of his own manly and matchless heart; of that heart, which was, at this aweful moment, glowing with all the heroism of patriotic ardour for his king and country, and anxiously waiting the first dawn of light by which he might be enabled to discover the enemy! It came; and, with it, brought the welcome sight of those whom his whole soul burned to behold. Few, and simple, are the words which immediately follow in his lordship's memorandum.

"Monday, October 21, 1805. At day-light, saw the enemy's combined fleet, from east to east south-east. Bore away; made the signal for order of sailing, and to prepare for battle: the enemy with their heads to the southward."

But now, at the very crisis when he is hastening into a battle for his king and country, which he feels confident must end in a glorious victory, though he might not himself survive it, with that potent patriotism and never-ceasing loyalty to his king and country, and that constantly tender regard for those who were nearest to his heart in the bonds of private affection, he thus piously invokes Heaven's protection for his king and country; and the protection of his king and country, should he fall in their service, for those most dear to his heart who would thus be deprived of his own. To add to the solemnity, though thus introduced in his lordship's private journal, it has the form, and in some respects the substance, of a codicil of his last will and testament; and is, accordingly, thereto annexed, having been duly proved in Doctors Commons.

"At seven," continues, and unfortunately concludes, his lordship--for these seem to have been the last words written by his own hand, which no man who deserves the name of a Briton will ever cease to remember and to regard--"the enemy wearing in succession--

"_May the great God whom I worship, grant to my country, and for
the benefit of Europe in general, a great and glorious victory! and
may no misconduct in any one tarnish it! and may humanity, after
victory, be the predominant feature in the British fleet! For
myself, individually, I Commend my life to Him who made me; and may
his blessing light upon my endeavours for serving my country
faithfully! To him I resign myself, and the just cause which is
entrusted to me to defend._

Amen! Amen! Amen!

"October the 21st, 1805, then in sight of the
combined Fleets of France and Spain,
distant about ten miles.

"Whereas the eminent services of Emma Hamilton, widow of the Right
Honourable Sir William Hamilton, have been of the very greatest
service to our King and Country, to my knowledge, without her
receiving any reward from either our King or Country--

"First, that she obtained the King of Spain's letter, in 1796, to
his brother the King of Naples, acquainting him of his intention to
declare war against England; from which letter the ministry sent
out orders to the then Sir John Jervis, to strike a stroke, if
opportunity offered, against either the arsenals of Spain or her
fleets: that neither of these was done, is not the fault of Lady
Hamilton; the opportunity might have been offered.

"Secondly, The British fleet under my command could never have
returned the second time to Egypt, had not Lady Hamilton's
influence with the Queen of Naples caused letters to be wrote to
the Governor of Syracuse, that he was to encourage the fleet being
supplied with every thing, should they put into any port in
Sicily. We put into Syracuse, and received every supply; went to
Egypt, and destroyed the French fleet.

"Could I have rewarded these services, I would not now call upon my
country! But, as that has not been in my power, I leave Emma
Hamilton, therefore, a legacy to my King and Country; that they
will give her an ample provision, to maintain her rank in life.

"I also leave to the beneficence of my country, my adopted
daughter, Horatia Nelson Thompson; and I desire she will use, in
future, the name of Nelson only.

"These are the only favours I ask of my King and Country, at this
moment, when I am going to fight their battle.

"May God bless my King and Country, and all those I hold dear! My
relations it is needless to mention; they will, of course, be amply
provided for.

"Nelson and Bronte."
"Witness,

Henry Blackwood,

T.M. Hardy."

This solemn call on his country can require no comment. Woe to the nation, which could dare to neglect such strong claims on it's justice and beneficence! The proverbial generosity of Britons will, no doubt, in due time, bountifully display it's accustomed munificence in favour of the parties.

The Honourable Captain Blackwood, who is a subscribing witness to the above codicil, after watching the enemy all night, had got on board the Victory about seven in the morning: and, with Captain, Capel, of the Phoebe; and Captain Prowse, of the Sirius; remained several hours in consultation with Lord Nelson. When his lordship became convinced, that the enemy could not possibly avoid an engagement, he displayed the highest degree of animation. Confident of victory, he said to Captain Hardy, and the other officers by whom he was surrounded--"They cannot now escape us! I think, we shall, at least, make sure of twenty of them. I may, probably, lose a leg; but that will be cheaply purchasing a victory." However, it is an undoubted fact, that when the Honourable Captain Blackwood, in taking leave of his lordship, previous to the action, observed that, he hoped they should, in a few hours, meet again; the hero replied, in a firm tone--"My dear Blackwood, I shall never again speak to you!" This was no sentiment of despondency, but a strong sense of the danger to be apprehended from so unequal a contest. The enemy's line consisting of thirty-three ships, eighteen of which were French, and fifteen Spanish; and the British fleet only twenty-seven: and, by the advantage of size, as well as numbers, they had a superiority of about three hundred and fifty guns. Ten thousand of their choicest troops were also distributed throughout the fleet, to ensure success by boarding; and their ships were furnished with fire-balls and combustibles of every description, in the hope of setting our's on fire. The French were commanded, in chief, by Admiral Villeneuve; and not by Admiral Decrées, as Lord Nelson had lately supposed would be the case; with Rear-Admirals Dumanoir and Magon: The Spaniards, by Admiral Gravina, commander in chief; with Admirals Don Ignacio Morea D'Alva, Don Domingo Guadalharas, and Commodore Don Baltazar. The structure of the enemy's line was somewhat new, as well as the intended mode of attacking them. It formed a crescent, convexing to leeward: every alternate ship being about a cable's length to windward of it's second a-head and a-stern, so as to seem a kind of double-line; leaving between them, when on their beam, a very small interval, and this without crouding their ships. Admiral Villeneuve, in the Bucentaure, occupied the centre; and Admiral Gravina's flag was borne by the Prince of Asturias, in the rear: but the French and Spanish ships appear to have been mixed, without any regard to national arrangement.

The mode of attack having been long determined on by Lord Nelson, and recently communicated, as has been seen, on the 10th instant, to the flag officers and captains, few signals were necessary. On first discovering the combined fleet, his lordship had immediately made the signal to bear up in two columns, as formed in the order of sailing, to avoid the inconvenience and delay of forming a line of battle in the usual manner. Lord Nelson, as commander in chief, led the weather column, in the Victory; and Vice-Admiral Collingwood, as second in command, that of the lee, in the Royal Sovereign. The following are the respective ships of which the two British lines were composed--

BRITISH VAN, OR WEATHER COLUMN.

Ships. Guns. Commanders.

1. Victory 110 Admiral Lord Nelson, and Capt Hardy.
2. Temeraire 98 Capt. Harvey.
3. Neptune 98 Capt. Freemantle.
4. Conqueror 74 Capt. Pellew.
5. Leviathan 74 Capt. Bayntun.
6. Ajax 74 Lieut. Pilfold.
7. Orion 74 Capt. Codrington.
8. Agamemnon 64 Capt. Sir Edward Berry.
9. Minotaur 74 Capt. Mansfield.
10. Spartiate 74 Capt. Sir Francis Laforey.
11. Britannia 100 Rear-Admiral Northesk, and Capt. Bullen.
12. Africa 64 Capt. Digby.

REAR, OR LEE COLUMN.

13. Royal Sovereign 100 Admiral Collingwood, and Capt. Rotheran.
14. Mars 74 Capt. Duff.
15. Belleisle 74 Capt. Hargood.
16. Tonnant 80 Capt. Tyler.
17. Bellerophon 74 Capt. Cooke.
18. Colossus 74 Capt. Morris.
19. Achille 74 Capt. King.
20. Polyphemus 64 Capt. Redmill.
21. Revenge 74 Capt. Moorson.
22. Swiftsure 74 Capt. Rutherford.
23. Defence 74 Capt. Hope.
24. Thunderer 74 Lieut. Stockham.
25. Defiance 74 Capt. Durham.
26. Prince 74 Capt. Grindall.
27. Dreadnought 98 Capt. Conn.

Senior Lieutenants Pilfold and Stockham commanded for Captains
Brown and Lechmere, who were called home to give evidence
on the enquiry into the conduct of Sir Robert Calder.

FRIGATES, &c.
Ships. Guns. Commanders.
1. Euryalus 36 The Honourable Capt. Blackwood.
2. Sirius 36 Capt. Prowse.
3. Phoebe 36 Capt. Capel.
4. Naiad 36 Capt. Parker.
5. Pickle schooner 10 Lieut. Lapenotiere.
6. Entreprenante cutter 10 Lieut. Puyer.

While they were approaching the enemy's line, Lord Nelson repeatedly declared, that it was the happiest day of his life; and that, from the plan of his intended attack, he entertained not the smallest doubt that, before night, he should gain possession of at least twenty of their ships. The last signal which preceded the battle, was an emanation from his great mind which will long be remembered; this was a private signal to the fleet, communicating by telegraph the following most emphatic sentiment--

"England expects every man to do his duty."

This took place exactly at twelve o'clock, and the battle instantly commenced by the leading ships of the columns attempting to break through the enemy's line: Lord Nelson, in the Victory, about the tenth ship from the van; Vice-Admiral Collingwood, in the Royal Sovereign, about the twelfth from the rear. When Vice-Admiral Collingwood, at the head of the division under his orders, began the attack, and broke through the enemy's line, Lord Nelson, turning round to his officers, with the highest exultation, said--"Look at that noble fellow! Observe the stile in which he carries his ship into action!" The Victory, at four minutes past twelve, opened it's fire on the enemy's van, while passing down their line; in about a quarter of an hour after which, finding it impossible to penetrate through, the Victory fell on board the eleventh and twelfth ships. The Temeraire, Captain Harvey, by which the Victory was seconded, in consequence of the closeness of this part of the enemy's line, fell also on board one of them. These four ships were thus, for a considerable time, engaged together as in a single mass; so that the flash of almost every gun fired from the Victory set fire to the Redoutable, it's more immediate opponent. In this state, amidst the hottest fire of the enemy, was beheld a very singular spectacle; that of numerous British seamen employed, at intervals, in very coolly throwing buckets of water to extinguish the flames on board their enemy's ship, that both might not be involved in one common destruction. His lordship had been particularly desirous to have began the action, by passing a-head of the Bucentaure, Admiral Villeneuve's ship, that the Victory might be a-head of the French commander in chief, and a-stern of the Spanish Santissima Trinidada of a hundred and thirty-six guns, the largest ship in the world. The Bucentaure, however, shooting a-head, his lordship, who was thus obliged to go under that ship's stern, immediately raked it, and luffed up on the starboard side. The Bucentaure fired four broadsides at the Victory, before our hero ordered his ports to be opened; when the whole broadside, which was double shotted, being poured in, the discharge made such a tremendous crash, that the ship was instantly seen to heel. Lord Nelson now shot a-head to the Santissima Trinidada. In contending with this ship, on the celebrated 14th of February 1797, our hero had already acquired considerable renown. Having got alongside his tremendous opponent, which he familiarly called his old acquaintance, he ordered the ships to be lashed together. The battle was now raging with a fury not to be described; and the enemy's ships being full of men, and many of them engaged muzzle to muzzle of the guns with our's, the carnage was most horrible. The crash, too, of the falling masts, yards, &c. incessantly mowed down, by the respective shots on both sides, with the almost general blaze, and incessantly tremendous roar, had an aweful grandeur which no verbal or graphic description or delineation can ever faithfully convey to the eye and ear. Our hero, amidst this most terrific scene, appeared to be literally in his glory. He was quite enraptured with the bravery and skill of all under his command: he was not displeased to find, that the enemy, in general, fought like men worthy of being conquered; of being themselves conquerors, in a better cause. In a dress richly covered with the honours which he had acquired by his prowess in former battles, he stood a conspicuous object of emulative worth to all the heroic men who surrounded him in this. Never had his aspiring and enraptured heart beheld a victory more brilliantly glorious awaiting their noble exertions. Ineffable delight, blended with a divine benignity, beamed over the hero's countenance. He felt conscious of being engaged in contending for all that is dear to man; and, consequently, struggling in a cause which could by no means be displeasing to Heaven. He doubted little the success of his country, for he knew in what he confided; but he was not presumptuous, for he had early been instructed, that "the battle is not always to the strong." His own personal fate was ever humbly resigned to the will of the Great Disposer; live, or die, he was alone solicitous that he should live or die in glory. While victory, however, from all observation, appeared within his grasp, he could not but be conscious that individual danger every where hovered around. The Santissima Trinidada carried full sixteen hundred men; including a corps of troops, among whom were several sharp-shooters. Many other ships had, also, Tyrolese riflemen on board. Amidst the conflict of cannon, fired muzzle to muzzle, showers of bullets were directed on the quarter-deck; where the distinguished hero stood, fearlessly giving his orders, and chearfully abiding every peril. His heart was animated, and his spirits were gay. The stump of his right arm, which he always pleasantly denominated his fin, moved the shoulder of his sleeve up and down with the utmost rapidity, as was customary when he felt greatly pleased. Captain Hardy, apprehensive that Lord Nelson's peculiar attire pointed him out as too obvious a mark, advised the hero to change his dress, or cover himself with a great-coat; but he no otherwise regarded the precautionary advice, than by observing that he had not yet time to do so. It probably struck his great mind, that such an act might evince too much personal attention for a commander in chief to possess. In the mean while, the murderous desire of the enemy to single out the officers, continued growing more and more manifest. Of a hundred and ten marines stationed on the poop and quarter-deck, upwards of eighty were either killed or wounded. Mr. Pascoe, first-lieutenant of the Victory, received a very severe wound, while conversing with his lordship; and John Scott, Esq. his lordship's secretary, was shot through the head, by a musket-ball, at his side, Captain Adair of the marines, almost at the same instant, experienced a similar fate. This was about a quarter of an hour past one o'clock; and, a few minutes afterward, Captain Hardy, who was standing near his lordship, observed a marksman in the mizen-top of the Bucentaure, which then lay on the Victory's quarter, in the very act of taking a deliberate aim at his beloved commander. Scarcely had he time to exclaim--"Change your position, my lord! I see a rascal taking aim at you!" when the fatal bullet unhappily smote the hero; and, having entered near the top of his left shoulder, penetrated through his lungs, carrying with it part of the adhering epaulette, and lodged in the spinal marrow of his back. A shout of horrid joy, from the enemy, seemed to announce their sense of the cruel success. His lordship was prevented from falling, by Captain Hardy; to whom he said, with a smile--"They have done for me, at last!"

As the officers were conducting him below, his lordship deliberately remarked that the tiller-rope was too slack, and requested that Captain Hardy might be told to get it tightened. In the mean time, Mr. Pollard, a young midshipman of the Victory, not more than sixteen years of age, having levelled a musket at the man who shot his lordship, the fellow was seen instantly to fall. All the surgeons being busily engaged with the wounded, our hero, as usual, insisted on waiting till his turn. The surgeon who examined the wound soon clearly discovered what must be it's fatal effect. Lord Nelson had attentively regarded his countenance; and, on beholding him turn pale, calmly said--"It is, I perceive, mortal!"

The Reverend Dr. Scott, who was looking for his wounded friend, Lieutenant Pascoe, in the cockpit, to his utter astonishment and horror, discovered that his lordship had that moment been brought down. He immediately seated himself on the floor, and supported his pillow during the whole time of the surgeon's operations; indeed, except for a few moments, when he was sent to call Captain Hardy, he never left him. After enquiring about the state of the battle, which the dying hero far more regarded than that of his wound, his lordship, who was much agitated, and evidently suffering the most extreme agony, suddenly exclaimed, in a hurried manner--"Doctor, remember me to Lady Hamilton, remember me to Horatia! Remember me to Lady Hamilton, remember me to Horatia! Tell her, I have made a will, and left her a legacy to my country." This was afterward repeated, in a calmer tone, to Dr. Scott; with whom he conversed, at intervals, in a low voice, but perfectly collected. At times, the pain seizing him more violently, he suddenly and loudly expressed a wish to die. Then, again, he would grow calm and collected, and address himself to Dr. Scott; speaking in low, though broken and unconnected, sentences. At first, he expressed an eager desire for drink; saying--"Drink! drink! drink, doctor!" and continually had lemonade given him. After each time of drinking, he was a short time calm and collected, and spoke a few sentences to Dr. Scott; then, the pain again seizing him, he would hastily call out--"Drink! drink!" His lower extremities soon grew cold and insensible, and the copious effusion of blood from his lungs frequently threatened suffocation. His eyes, however, appeared to brighten, and his spirits to revive, on hearing the cheers given by the crew of the Victory as the different ships of the enemy surrendered. He frequently expressed much desire to have his face wiped; repeating, to Dr. Scott--"Wipe my face, doctor! Doctor, wipe my face!" This being done, for a considerable time, he seemed to receive some comfort; but soon grew prodigiously anxious to see Captain Hardy. His lordship had several times sent for him; and, not finding him come, began to imagine that he was no more. It was found difficult to efface this idea; and Dr. Scott felt it necessary himself to call Captain Hardy, who had been unwilling to quit his post at such an interesting period. About half past four, however, Captain Hardy attended on his lordship; who eagerly enquired, how many ships were captured. On being informed, by the captain, that twelve, which he could see, had certainly struck; and that, probably, more might have surrendered, as the victory seemed nearly compleat: the dying hero hastily exclaimed--"What, only twelve! there should have been, at least, fifteen or sixteen, by my calculation! However," added he, after, a short pause, "twelve are pretty well!" He requested that Captain Hardy would bear his kindest remembrances to Lady Hamilton, and to Horatia; and inform them that he had left them as a legacy to his king and country, in whose service he willingly yielded up his life. "Will you, my dear Hardy?" anxiously demanded his lordship. "Kiss me, then!" Captain Hardy immediately kneeling, respectfully kissed the wan cheek of his adored commander. The dying hero now desired that his affectionate regards might be presented to his brave officers and men: and said, that he could have wished once more to have beheld his beloved relatives and friends, or even to have survived till he had seen the fleet in safety; but, as neither was possible, he felt resigned, and thanked God for having enabled him to do his duty to his king and country. His lordship had, latterly, most vehemently directed Dr. Scott to rub his breast and pit of the stomach; where, it seems probable, he now felt the blood beginning more painfully to flow, in a state of commencing congelation--"Rub me, rub me, doctor!" he often and loudly repeated. This melancholy office was continued to be almost incessantly performed by Dr. Scott, till his lordship expired; and, indeed, for some time, afterward. The last words the immortal hero uttered, were--

"Thank God, I have done my duty!"

He had, before, pronounced them in a lower tone of voice: saying--"Doctor, I have not been a great sinner; and, thank God, I have done my duty!" Then, as if asking the question, he repeated--"Doctor, I have not been a great sinner?" Doctor Scott was too much affected immediately to answer. "Have I?" he again eagerly interrogated. A paroxysm of pain now suddenly seizing him, he exclaimed, in a loud and most solemnly impressive tone--"_Thank God, I have done my duty! Thank God,_ _I have done my duty!_" After pronouncing these words, he had, apparently, suffered no pain; but gradually went off, as if asleep. Indeed, every person who surrounded him, except Dr. Scott, who had long felt the current of life sensibly chilling beneath his hand, actually thought, for some time, that he was only in a state of somnolency. It was, however, the sleep of death, the blood having entirely choaked up his incomparable heart.

Thus died the greatest naval hero, "take him for all in all," that ever lived. This will probably be said, as long as the world endures. It is not likely that he can ever be equalled, it is impossible that he should be surpassed.

The victory of this day, off Trafalgar, was one of the most compleatly glorious ever atchieved by Britons. About three o'clock, many of the enemy's ships having struck their colours, their line had every where given way, and as many as possible endeavoured to effect their escape. Eighteen men of war were taken; and three flag-officers, with a general, made prisoners of war. Among the ships captured, were the Santissima Trinidada of a hundred and thirty-six guns, the Santa Anna of a hundred and twenty, and the Bucentaure of seventy-four: the last having Admiral Villeneuve, the French commander in chief, on board; as well as General Contamin, who had four thousand select troops embarked under his command; and the two former, the Spanish Vice-Admiral Don Ignatio Morea D'Alva, who died of his wounds, with Rear-Admiral Don Baltazar Hidalgo de Cisneros. The Santissima Trinidada, soon after the action, sunk; and L'Achille, a French seventy-four, by some mismanagement of the crew, almost immediately on striking, took fire, and blew up. The number of killed, wounded, and taken prisoners, was most prodigious. The French Admiral Dumanoir, with three French ships, which had no share in the action, iniquitously fired, for some time, while making their ignominious retreat, on the Santissima Trinidada and other Spanish prizes which had struck their colours to our fleet; thus wantonly massacreing their defenceless friends and allies. Many of the ships taken or destroyed had upwards of four hundred men killed and wounded on board; and more than three thousand Spanish prisoners were liberally sent back to their own country, by the generous conquerors. The Bucentaure, it is said, had three hundred and sixty-five killed, and two hundred and nineteen wounded. Our loss, too, in killed and wounded, was far from inconsiderable; and many of our ships were materially damaged. The Royal Sovereign, in particular, was so cut up, that Vice-Admiral Collingwood, after the action, shifted his flag to the Euryalus, the Honourable Captain Blackwood, and towed his own ship out seaward. Besides Lord Nelson, two other brave and estimable commanders lost their lives on this most memorably fatal day: Captain Duff, of the Mars; and Captain Cooke, of the Bellerophon. Captain Duff had two sons on board his own ship; one only twelve years of age, the other about fifteen: early in the engagement, a shot carried away both legs of the youngest; the elder soon afterwards fell; and, finally, their unfortunate father. Not even these distressing circumstances were capable of exciting any great degree of generous commiseration for those worthy and gallant victims, so entirely was each heart occupied by agonizing reflections on the loss of him who had, in himself, ever been considered as alone a host. It was a victory the most compleatly brilliant, but never had a victory been gained which conveyed so little gladness to the hearts of the conquerors. Every bosom felt oppressed with sorrow, on a day of such triumph to their country; and not an eye closed, in the whole fleet, on the sad night by which it was succeeded, without pouring an affectionate tribute of manly tears to the memory of the godlike hero by whose merits it had been so certainly obtained, and by whose death it had been so dearly purchased. "He will never again lead us to conquest!" sobbed many a bursting heart. "Our commander, our master, our father, our friend, our companion, is no more, and when shall we behold his equal? Never, never, never!" Such was their love of the adored hero, that every virtuous individual in the fleet would gladly have lost his own life to have saved him. It is, indeed, stated as a positive fact, that a seaman of the Victory, who was, a little before the fatal catastrophe, suffering the amputation of an arm, actually said to the surgeon--"Well, this might, by some men, be considered as a sad misfortune; but I shall be proud of the accident, as it will make me the more resemble our brave commander in chief." Before the operation was finished, the sad tidings arrived below, that Lord Nelson was wounded. The seaman, who had never once shrunk, amidst all the pain he endured, now suddenly started from his seat; and vehemently exclaimed--"Good God! I would rather the shot had taken off my head, and spared his precious life!"

Vice-Admiral Collingwood, in his letter to the Admiralty, describing this great victory, says--"I have not only to lament, in common with the British navy, and the British nation, in the fall of the commander in chief, the loss of a hero, whose name will be immortal, and his memory ever dear to his country; but my heart is rent with the most poignant grief for the death of a friend, to whom, by many years intimacy, and a perfect knowledge of the virtues of his mind, which inspired ideas superior to the common race of men, I was bound by the strongest ties of affection: a grief, to which even the glorious occasion on which he fell, does not bring the consolation which, perhaps, it ought!"

When the dispatches, containing an account of the glorious victory off Cape Trafalgar, with the death of our chief hero, arrived in England, and were perused by his majesty, the king was greatly affected. Tears flowed from the royal eyes; and his majesty pathetically exclaimed--"We have lost more than we have gained!" They were read, at Windsor, by the queen, to the assembled princesses, and the whole royal group most affectionately wept the fall of the hero. His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, with a dignified excess of grief, most acutely felt the loss of the heroic supporter of his father's house; and a private letter of condolence, which his royal highness wrote to Alexander Davison, Esq. on the death of their inestimable friend, is replete with sentiments which augur highly for the probably future sovereign's adding new lustre to the brilliant throne of his most renowned ancestors. The Duke of Clarence, too, long united in friendship to the hero, whom he venerated with an almost paternal regard, lamented him with little less than the truest filial sorrow. In short, from the entire royal family, through every subordinate degree of rank and virtue, to the humblest class of existence, wherever the tidings came, tears overflowed every eye, and grief took entire possession of every heart. The glorious victory, though one of the greatest ever obtained by mortal, and though the last, as well as the most splendid, of the hero so beloved; was scarcely considered, by the nation, as an object worthy of those public rejoicings with which very inferior triumphs are constantly attended. Cannon, indeed, as usual, announced the intelligence, but their sound conveyed a deep melancholy to the heart; the bells were rung, but their peals inspired no hilarity, and seemed little less than the mournful knells of death; nocturnal illuminations were displayed, but the transparencies which they discovered, amidst the gloom, presented only so many sad memorials of the universal loss, expressed by ingenious devices to the hero's memory, which the spectators beheld with sensations of augmented grief, and one general aspect of expressive but unutterable woe. If such was the state of the public feeling, what must have been that of the hero's dearest relatives and friends; of those who had to sustain all the superadded pangs of a loss so difficult to be supplied for the service of the country, so impossible for the felicities of themselves! Several months elapsed, before Lady Hamilton quitted her bed; and Mrs. Bolton and Mrs. Matcham, for a long time, suffered similar anguish and affliction. Indeed, even all the younger branches of this amiable and interesting family, as well as their respective parents, evinced the highest possible degree of sensibility and sorrow for their irretrievable calamity; a calamity which, to them, all the honours and emoluments a grateful nation may bestow, extending to his remotest kindred, at present as well as in future, can scarcely be considered as affording any adequate recompence.

The great council of the country failed not to express solemnly their strong sense of the irreparable loss, by unanimously voting all the grand ceremonials of a public interment beneath the centre of the dome in St. Paul's cathedral, and a monumental erection of commensurate grandeur to rise immediately above the hero's honoured remains.

His majesty, on the 9th of November, was also graciously pleased to elevate his lordship's brother and heir, the Reverend Dr. William Nelson, to the dignity of a Viscount and Earl of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, by the names, stiles, and titles, of Viscount Merton and Earl Nelson, of Trafalgar, and of Merton in the county of Surrey; the same to descend to his heirs male; and, in their default, to the heirs male, successively, of Susannah, wife of Thomas Bolton, Esq., and Catharine, wife of George Matcham, Esq. sisters of the late Lord Viscount Nelson.

The city of London, the Committee of Merchants at Lloyd's Coffee-House, and the respective corporations of several cities and chief towns in different parts of the united kingdom, publicly expressed their sense of the national loss, by the death of it's principal hero; and proposed various plans for perpetuating the remembrance of his transcendent services, by monumental erections, &c.

The body of the hero, which had been preserved in spirits, was brought to England in the Victory; the crew having positively refused to part with the corpse of their adored commander, till it should be safely landed in their native country. They were resolved, they said, one and all, to accompany him, as it should please Heaven, either to the bottom of the ocean, or see his sacred remains deposited in the honoured tomb which would, doubtless, be proudly prepared for them by a grateful nation; and could not suffer the corpse to be sent home in any ship subject to capture by the enemy.

After laying in state, a few days, at Greenwich Hospital, the body was conveyed, with all possible aquatic grandeur and solemnity, to the Admiralty; from whence, the next day, Thursday, January 9, 1806, borne on a grand funeral car, and with a pomp of procession scarcely ever equalled the illustrious hero's hallowed remains were finally deposited beneath the dome of St. Paul's cathedral.

Never, perhaps, were the mournful obsequies of any hero so numerously and so respectably attended; never was any human being deposited in the earth more universally and sincerely wept by every eye which beheld any part of the solemn ceremony. The tears of millions, on that melancholy day, bore testimony to his matchless worth; to the truth of that sentiment which he had piously pronounced, in his last moments--"Thank God, I have been enabled to do my duty to my King and Country!"

May the same Almighty Power inspire the hearts of his King and Country, to fulfil, in their utmost extent, every wish and expectation of the Dying Hero! And may each virtuous individual, in whom the blood of the Nelsons shall flow, to the last drop which can be traced, for ever find friendly patronage among the rulers of a nation, which has certainly, at an eventful crisis, been powerfully exalted, and perhaps preserved, by the example and influence of the immortal hero, who so freely and fatally shed his own last drop in the faithful service of his King and Country!

THE END.

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