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the other by a figure of Britannia, directing the eyes of two naval scholars to his Lordship. This allegory is miserable; and there is nothing in its style to redeem the fault of its introduction. On the cornice of the pedestal are inscribed the words:

Copenhagen. Nile. Trafalgar.

and on the pedestal itself is this poor epitaph :

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Erected at the Public Expense
To the Memory of

Vice-Admiral HORATIO VISCOUNT NELSON, K. B.
To record his splendid and unparalleled Achievements
During a life spent in the service of his Country,

And terminated in the moment of a glorious Victory by a glorious
Death,

In the memorable action off Cape Trafalgar,

On the xxi of October, MDCCCV.

Lord Nelson was born on xxix of September, MDCCLVIII. The battle of the Nile was fought on the 1st of August, MDCCXCVIII.

The battle of Copenhagen on the 11th of April, MDCCCI.

Lord Nelson's birth-place was the Parsonage House of Burnham Thorpe, in the County of Norfolk, a parish of which his father, the Reverend Edmund Nelson, was rector. His mother was Catherine, the second daughter of the Reverend Maurice Suckling, D.D. a Prebendary of Westminster; and Horatio was their fourth son. He was sent to the High School of Norwich, and afterwards to North Walsham; but could not have acquired much learning, for when only twelve years old, he entered as a midshipman on board the Raisonable, of sixty-four guns, then commanded by his maternal uncle, Captain Maurice Suckling. This ship was put into commission in consequence of a dispute with Spain, respecting the Falkland Islands; but the difference being adjusted without arms, the Raisonable was paid off before young Nelson had completed his outfit. For this dis.

appointment, however, his parents consoled themselves by adopting the advice of Captain Suckling, and sending him on a voyage to the West Indies in a merchantship. It has been stated, that when the life of a sailor was first proposed to young Nelson, he by no means relished the prospects it held out to him; and, it is moreover added, that upon his return from this first voyage, he was highly disgusted with the discipline and privations of the service. But his father, who had a large family, saw no other way of providing for him, and he was therefore prevailed upon, with some difficulty, once more to join his uncle, who was now stationed on board the Triumph, a guard-ship of seventy-four guns, at Chatham. The pains which this officer took to subdue his prejudices, and the zeal with which he fostered the inherent spirit of his character, have been noticed by all the biographers, as the circumstances which secured the glory of his subsequent career to the service of his country. This grateful desire was, to all appearances, soon accomplished, for when the expedition to explore a passage into the South Seas, through the North Pole, was undertaken by Captain Phipps, of the Race-Horse, in 1773, young Nelson volunteered to encounter the dangers of discovery. Here, however, his designs were again thwarted for a time: he had not yet completed his fifteenth year, and an order was issued by the Admiralty, which forbad all boys to be received on board. To overcome this obstacle, he offered to become coxswain of the Captain's barge, and was ultimately admitted to that humble post by Captain Lutwidge, who accompanied Captain Phipps, as second in command, on board of the Carcass sloop of war.

The history of this expedition is briefly told: the ships sailed from the Nore on the 4th of June, and made land at Spitsbergen on the 28th of the same month. Proceeding slowly forward through the frozen seas, they found themselves, on the 31st July, impenetrably blocked up by the ice at 81 degrees North latitude. In this state the officers not only abandoned all hopes of advancing farther, but began to entertain serious doubts of the practicability of a return. For five succeeding days the ships were bound immovably; a general destruction seemed to be the inevitable lot of the adventurers; and yet, amidst all these circumstances of imminent peril, did Nelson afford an early instance of that buoyant intrepidity, and utter recklessness of danger, which o

greatly distinguished his future actions. One night he was missed from the ships, and considerable apprehensions were felt for his safety. In the morning, however, he appeared on board with a broken musket, and a huge bear, which the intense cold of the night had not prevented him from hunting, and which, having broken the lock of his gun in the chase, he had finally mastered by beating its head with the but-end. The Captain took him to task in rather harsh terms for his absence, but he only pointed to his victim, and observed, that he merely wished to obtain the skin for his father.

To return to the expedition, however-a fortunate change of weather took place on the 10th of August; a strong wind parted the blockading ice; the ships got clear of all impediment, and returned to England without delay. They were paid off at the Nore, in September, but Nelson, now fully seized with naval ardour, immediately petitioned for employment, and was appointed to the Sea Horse frigate, commanded by Captain Farmer. Under this officer he repaired to the East Indies, and visited the Bay of Bengal, Bussora, and the Gulf of Persia. But this sudden transition from an extremely cold to an intensely warm climate affected his health. He fell seriously ill, and became so much enervated, that the Commodore on the station sent him home to England. Nor was this a mere passing malady, for his constitution was injured by the effects of the climate, and to his sufferings upon this occasion was attributed the delicate state in which he ever after lived.

On the 8th of April, 1777, after passing the usual examination before the board at the Admiralty, Nelson received a Lieutenant's commission, and was appointed to serve in the Lowestoffe, as the second officer of his rank. From this vessel, in which he cruised against the Americans, he was removed during the following year, to the Bristol, in which he became first Lieutenant, and was then made Captain of the Badger. On the 11th of June, 1779, he rose to the rank of Post Captain of the Hinchinbroke, and was stationed in the West Indies. A favourable opportunity for displaying his talents, as a commander, now presented itself; for an attack upon Fort San Juan, in the Gulf of Mexico, being determined upon, the Hinchinbroke was required to convey the troops which were ordered to carry the place. The enterprise succeeded⚫

and a sentence extracted from the dispatch in which the news was communicated, will serve to convey an idea of Nelson's conduct"There was scarcely a gun fired," states the dispatch, "but what was pointed by the Captain of the Hinchinbroke, or the chief engineer."

After this little conquest, the Hinchinbroke was paid off, and her late Captain made a visit to his family. He did not, however, remain long inactive, for being put into the command of the Boreas, he sailed to the Leeward Islands, with his Royal Highness the Duke of Clarence, then Captain of the Pegasus, under his authority. It was upon this station that he married Frances, the widow of Dr. Nisbet, and daughter of William Woodward, Senior Judge of the Island of Nevis. The ceremony was performed on the 11th of March, 1787, and soon after the young couple returned from the Indies, and established themselves in quiet at the parsonage of Burnham Thorpe.

The English ministry had no sooner determined to interfere with the domestic affairs of France, than Nelson hastened up to London, and tendered his services at the Admiralty. They were accepted; and he was forthwith appointed to the Agamemnon, of 64 guns, and attached to the squadron under Lord Hood, in the Mediterranean. The achievements which he now, either in part aided, or solely effected, were various and highly gallant. After being present at the occupation of Toulon, he led a body of men at the siege of Bastia, and then lost an eye at Calvi. Increasing the brilliancy of his exploits as he proceeded, he next manned the boats of three ships which were placed under his command, and cut out four large store ships from Laona, and soon after captured several vessels laden with cannon and stores near Oneglia. For all these services, his name was successively mentioned with particular approbation by the Admiral, and was circulated with no mean respect amongst the enemy.

Passing over the action between Lord Hotham and the French fleet, on the 15th of March, 1795, in which the intrepidity of Nelson was twice checked by signals from the admiral, and merely recording the ease with which he subsequently took possession of the Island of Elba, we find him hoisting a Commodore's broad pendant on board of the frigate La Minerva, and capturing La Sabina, a forty-gun ship, in December, 1756. Early on the following year was the first to descry the enemy's fleet, and report

their force and state to Admiral Sir John Jervis. The English had only fifteen, the Spaniards seven and twenty sail of the line, but, notwithstanding this inequality of numbers, the blockade of Cadiz was abandoned, and a general engagement took place on the 14th of February, 1797. Upon this occasion, Nelson carried his pendant on board of the Captain, of 74 guns, commanded by Captain Miller, and performed feats the most desperate. The scheme of battle fixed upon by Sir John Jervis, was to break through the enemy, and this design was carried completely into effect before the Spanish Admiral had time to form his lines. While the disorder created by this successful movement was at its height, the signal for close fight was given, and Nelson encountered the Santissima Trinidada, a ship reputed the largest in the world, for she carried 136 guns, and mounted four decks. The intrepidity of this assault soon brought assistance to his relief, and he found himself required to engage a three decker, which acted as the Santissima's second. He therefore abandoned his first choice, and fought closely with the latter, until she lost her mizen-mast, and fell aboard a two decker, which had come up to her support. This third vessel, therefore, became Nelson's opponent, at a conjuncture, when he had nearly expended all his ammunition, and received so much damage that his ship was almost unmanageable. In this extreme, to board was the only alternative that presented itself to his mind, and desperate as the attempt appeared, he lost no time in putting it into execution. The word had scarcely been given, when it was triumphantly obeyed; and Nelson had barely time to pass from the forechains of his own ship, to the quarter-gallery of the enemy, and thence to her quarter-deck, before her Captain, who was mortally wounded, surrendered his sword, and the San Nicholas, of 80 guns, surrendered. But by this advantage a fresh emergency was created: the three decker, which had lately opposed him, being now placed directly amid-ships of the prize, poured a sharp volley from her poop and galleries upon the conquerors. Thus, to abandon the San Nicholas, or board again, were the only steps between which he had to choose. The former was speedily preferred, and after ordering a fresh body from the Captain to retain possession of the San Nicholas, he once more rushed forward at the head of his men, crying out aloud Victory! or Westminster Abbey.' For

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