tune still favoured his intrepidity, or rather his ardour struck a panic on the enemy, for the moment the British appeared on the quarter-deck of the second ship, her commander advanced, and dropping on his knee, delivered up his sword. His ship proved to be the San Josef, of 112 guns. The victory was now complete; and it may be scarcely requisite to observe, that the princi pal share of its glory had been earned by Commodore Nelson. The enthusiasm with which the news of this battle was received in England honourably corresponded with the spirit by which it was achieved. The officers were addressed in a vote of thanks by the two Houses of Parliament; Sir John Jervis was crowned with an Earldom; and Nelson was rewarded with the Order of the Bath, and a valuable gold chain and medal. In April, 1797, a general promotion took place in the Navy, through which, becoming Rear-admiral of the Blue, he relieved the garrison of Porto Ferajo. In the following month he shifted his flag into the Theseus, and assumed the command of the inner squadron, which at that moment was blockading Cadiz. Upon this station he distinguished himself by conducting, with his usual courage and resolution, two bombarding parties against the city on the nights of the 3d and 5th of July. These attacks were nobly resisted by the Spaniards, but enforced with a desperation which compelled the enemy to retire so discomfited on both occasions, that Lord St. Vincent declared it impossible to do justice to Nelson's merits. The next exploit to which we find him directed, was the unsuccessful enterprise against Teneriffe, during the month of July, in the same year. Of this expedition, the command was given to Nelson, who, upon the first assault, had his right arm shattered by a cannon-ball, and was left senseless on the ground, while the storming party carried the town. But though victorious in their first destination, the British found it impossible to seize the fort, and were, therefore, constrained to negotiate for a retreat to the fleet, on board of which Nelson had already been conveyed by his sonin-law, Lieutenant Nisbit. His condition being eminently dangerous, he was speedily conveyed to England; the arm was amputated, but some months elapsed before the physicians were enabled to speak favourably of his health. No sooner, however, did his recovery take place, than it was proposed to settle a pension of a thousand a-year upon him, and by that gratuity in some measure compensate for the mutilations 'to which his person had been subjected, and reward the indefatigable devotion with which he had so eminently served his country. But before the grant could be made, the forms of the admiralty required that a distinct account of the claims upon which the bounty was sought, should be presented to the King. Nelson, therefore, drew up a lusty statement, which is inserted here as the best possible evidence of his professional reputation and personal character. To the King's Most Excellent Majesty, The Memorial of Sir Horatio Nelson, K. B. and Rear-Admiral in your Majesty's Fleet. "Showeth-That during the present war your Memorialist has been in four actions with the fleets of the enemy: viz. on the 13th and 14th of March, 1795, and on the 14th of February, 1797; in three actions with frigates; in six engagements against batteries; in ten actions in boats employed in cutting out of harbours, in destroying vessels, and in taking three towns. Your Memorialist has also served on shore with the army four months, and commanded the batteries at the sieges of Bastia and Calvi. "That during the war he has assisted at the capture of seven sail of the line, six frigates, four corvettes, and eleven privateers, of different sizes; and taken and destroyed near fifty sail of merchantmen; and your Memorialist has actually been engaged against the enemy upwards of one hundred and twenty times. "In which service your Memorialist has lost his right eye and arm, and been severely wounded and bruised in his body. All of which services and wounds your Memorialist most humbly submits to your Majesty's most gracious consideration. "HORATIO NELSON." "October, 1797." Had such a desire ever held influence in his breast, it was now in Nelson's power to retire with credit from scenes of danger, and enjoy a life of ease and affluence, unchequered by the suffer ings of professional cares. He had an ample fortune, great honours, and unbounded popularity; and considering the disabled state of his person, might have given up the adversities of future service with the most decent propriety. But he seems to have been unalterably devoted to the navy, and quite unable to rest satisfied with the past, while the future presented a likelihood of augmenting the measure of his utility. Accordingly, he again joined the Earl of St. Vincent in the Mediterranean, and on the 7th of May, 1798, sailed to pursue the French fleet with which Bonaparte invaded Egypt. The destination of that extraordinary general was at first unknown, and Nelson, therefore, had to seek after him, at Naples, at Malta, at Sicily, at Alexandria, and at Syracuse. At length the enemy were discovered, on the 1st of August, moored in a compact line of battle, in the Bay of Aboukir. Their force consisted of 13 men-of-war, each mounting from 74 to 80 and 120 guns, and carrying from 700 to 1000 men, with four frigates, varying in the power of their ordnance, from 36 to 48 guns, and in the number of their men from 250 to 300. On an island, in their van, was a formidable battery of cannon and mortars, and at either side they were supported by a strong force of gun-boats. Nelson bore up with a fleet nearly equal in the number of ships, but much inferior in the number of guns, as well as of men, which it carried. The wind was high, and the day had far set in before he came close to his opponents, but he, nevertheless, resolved to proceed to battle on the instant. One after the other, the ships rode in upon the enemy at anchor, who discharged a tremendous fire from their van, and the fortifications on shore. But the opposition availed little: they laid themselves each alongside of an adversary, and the conflict soon became general. The day had passed, and only twilight remained, when, after a short but hot contest, Le Guerrier was dismasted; soon after Le Conquerant and La Spartiate were reduced to a similar state; ere long, L'Aquilon, Le Souverain Peuple, and Le Franklin, surrendered; and to close all, L'Orient, a noble ship with 120 guns, 1010 men, and the French admiral, commander-in-chief on board, took fire, and blew up with an awful explosion. Upon the following morning every ship had struck its colours, Le Guillaume Tell and Le General alone excepted: these, conscious of their danger, immediately cut their cables, and made sail; two frigates followed the example; and thus four out of seventeen vessels escaped from the hands of the victors. * The glory of this engagement, confirmed by the victories of Abercrombie on land, produced sensations the most vivid, and a Amongst the killed in this battle was Captain George Blagdon Westcott, who is commemorated in the north transept of St. Paul's Cathedral, by a monument from the chisel of Banks. The design, though somewhat simple, is inapt, representing upon a large pedestal, an almost naked figure of the deceased sinking into the arms of a clothed statue of Victory. Upon the pedestal appears a scene in basso-relievo, from the battle of Aboukir the explosion of the French ship L'Orient. The recumbent figure in front is copied from an ancient personification of the river Nile. This is the inscription: Erected at the Public Expense GEORGE BLAGdon Westcott, Captain of the Majestic, Who after 33 years of meritorious service, In the victory obtained over the French fleet, off Aboukir, Westcott was the son of a baker, at Honiton, in Devonshire, and is said to have been induced to become a seaman by the following simple circumstance. — On one occasion, being sent to the mill by his father, a rope happened to break in the machinery, and neither the miller nor his men could manage to repair the damage. In this dilemma young Westcott offered his services in splicing the rope, and completed the job, though attended with some danger as well as difficulty, so nicely, that the gratified miller exclaimed "By the Lord, lad, if you can splice so well, you must be only fit for a sailor; and if ever you feel an inclination to go to sea, why I'll try to get you a birth." Young Westcott soon did feel that inclination; and the miller proving as good as his word, he entered the naval service of his country in the humble capacity of a cabin boy. Here were no great provocatives to the vent of innate talent; nevertheless, he contrived to put himself forward with so much address, that he was in a comparatively short time introduced amongst the midshipmen. Study, perseverance, skill, and bravery, united, soon enabled him to appear with distinction; and he passed smoothly on through the intermediate grades of his profession, until he reached the command in which he lost his life. Had he survived this battle, he would have been entitled, by seniority, to the flag of an admiral — but his memory has received a more signal honour. result the most signal throughout all Europe. The Emperor of Germany broke off a treaty for peace; the Ottoman Porte declared war against the French, and transmitted a diamond plume of triumph, and a pelisse of rare value to Nelson; the King of Naples marched an army to Rome, and soon after conferred upon him the Dukedom of Bronte, and an estate; while at home the highest exultation was indulged in, and the dignity of a Baron of Great Britain, under the title of Lord Nelson of the Nile, was awarded to the conqueror. Instead of repairing to England, and enjoying the acclamations of popularity in its first generous bursts, Nelson proceeded to compose Sicily, and then Naples, places, which were at that moment distracted by armed parties, who were considered highly offensive to the interests of the British government. The people, discontented with their King, had lately driven him from his throne, and, emboldened by the influence of the French, had proclaimed a republic. After some encounters, however, the revolutionists were compelled to surrender, and a treaty guaranteed by the English, the Russian, and Turkish authorities, was signed by the Cardinal Ruffo, on the part of the King, through the conditions of which, those who laid down their arms were freely pardoned. But no sooner did the King resume possession of his capital, and see Lord Nelson at hand to protect him, than he publicly disavowed the authority upon which Cardinal Ruffo had appeased the insurgents, and issued an edict, by which martial law was left to take its brutal course with the offenders. In the perfidy of this conduct Lord Nelson was induced to concur, and so violently did he enforce its enactments, that even the British fleet was made a scene of execution! Room is not left to go into particulars upon this passage of his life; it was attended with some very moving circumstances; it was unjust and unfeeling; and, as censure is now unavailing, may be passed over as the only dark spot upon a bright and deserving character. In 1799, Lord Nelson arrived in England, after an absence of three years, and was hailed with the most flattering marks of distinction and regard. But amidst these gratulatory scenes of quiet he was not long permitted to repose: in 1800 the Northern Confederacy was cemented by the animosity of France, and the trade |