that delineation may be; as I am conscious of having, to the utmost of my power, endeavoured to give it the characters of truth and fidelity, I am not without the pleasing hope, that with these fair intentions, the utility of the purpose may plead in excuse for the errors and defects of its execution.-A biographical account of a man of letters is necessarily, in a great measure, the history of his writings: But as a natural curiosity thence arises for every thing that personally regards an eminent character, a separate department is opened to the biographer, in the details of his public and private life; his manners, his habits, and his occupations. Nor are these without their use; for they realize and embody the image in the mind, and

give form and features to that picture, which would otherwise be too vague and abstract to be distinctly figured by the imagination. If to both of these sources of rational interest, another should yet be added, and the labours and the life of an individual should be found to extend their influence in a most sensible degree to his age and country, the subject they present becomes altogether one of the most useful and engaging that are to be found in the varied fields of literature. But in proportion to the magnitude, is the difficulty of treating such a subject ; and how justly may he who has rashly adventured on this srduous task, dread the sterm reproof,

“Tecum habita, et nôris quám sit tibi curta suppellex !"

"L°

ORD NELSON sailed from St. Helen's in the Victory, with the Euryalus frigate, on the morning of the 15th of September 1805, to take the command of the British fleet cruising before Cadiz. On the 18th he appeared off Plymouth; where he was joined by his Majesty's ships Thunderer and Ajax, with which he proceeded for

his destined station. On the 20th he communicated by private signal with the squadron under the command of Rear-admiral Stirling, which passed within a few miles of the Victory; and the same day at noon, spoke his majesty's ship Le Decade, having on board rear-admiral Sir Richard Bickerton, who was on his return to England for the recovery of his health.

"Some bad weather and adverse winds were experienced by the Victory in crossing the Bay of Biscay, and on the 27th Cape St. Vincent was seen. Lord Nelson had dispatched the Euryalus ahead on the preceding day, to acquaint admiral Collingwood with his approach; and to direct, that no salute should take place, nor any public compliments be paid to his flag, on his assuming the command, as he wished the enemy to be kept ignorant of a reinforcement being received by the British fleet. In the evening of the 28th, the Victory joined the fleet, now consisting of twenty-seven ships of the line, including the Victory, Ajax, and Thunderer; the city of Cadiz was seen distant about fifteen miles, with the combined fleets at

anchor;

anchor; and admiral Louis, with five or six ships under his command, close in shore, watching the motions of the enemy.

"On the 29th, prompt and decisive measures were adopted to prevent the enemy from receiving any supplies of provisions by sea, which his lordship was informed they were very much distressed for: cruisers were stationed off the Capes St. Vincent, St. Mary's, and Trafalgar; and the frigates Euryalus and Hydra were ordered to keep off the entrance of Cadiz. His lordship now retired with the fleet to the vicinity of Cape St. Mary's, about fifty or sixty miles westward of Cadiz; keeping up a constant communication with the frigates in shore, by means of three or four ships of the line placed at convenient intervals for distinguishing the signals of each other. This distance from the enemy's port was preserved by his lordship, to prevent them from being speedily acquainted with the force of the fleet under his command; and that he might avoid the necessity of bearing up in bad weather, and running with the fleet through the straits of Gibraltar when the westerly gales prevailed: as the inconvenience of being forced into the Mediterranean, had been felt by the former commanders-inchief; and would now have afforded a favourable opportunity to the enemy of effecting their escape from Cadiz, or at all events have rendered their obtaining supplies less difficult.

"On the 1st of October admiral Louis joined the fleet, with a part of his squadron (the Canopus, Spencer, and Tigre), from before Cadiz ; and departed the next day with those ships, the Queen and the Zealous, for Gibraltar, to procure a supply of provisions, stores, and water, which

they were much in want of. Ou the 4th he rejoined with his squadron; having received intelligence from the Euryalus by telegraph, that the French ships in Cadiz were embarking their troops, and preparing to sail. Lord Nelson, however, conceived this to be merely intended as a stratagem to draw him nearer to Cadiz, for the purpose of obtaining a knowledge of his force; and therefore directed admiral Louis to proceed in the execution of the orders before delivered to him.

"Between the 7th and the 13th his lordship was reinforced by the Royal Sovereign, Bellisle, Defiance, Agamemnon, and Africa, from England, and the Leviathan from Gibraltar. The Agamemnon, sir Edward Berry, joined on the 13th; with intelligence that she had been chased on the coast of Portugal a few days before by an enemy's squadron, consisting of six sail of the line.

On the 13th in the evening, sir Robert Calder, in his majesty's ship the Prince of Wales, parted company with the fleet, on his return to England. His departure lord Nelson had some days before evinced ap anxious wish to procrastinate, and was heard that very day to declare his firm belief that the combined fleets would be at sea in the course of ten days or a fortnight.

"On the 18th the Donegal, captain Malcolm, left the fleet for Gibraltar. On the 19th his majesty's ships the Colossus, Mars, Defence, and Agamemnon, formed the cordon of communication with the frigates in shore: the fleet was lying to. About half past nine in the morning, the Mars, being one of the ships nearest the fleet, repeated the signal from the ship, further in shore, that "the enemy were com ing out of port." Lord Nelson immediately ordered the general signat

to be made, with two guns, for a chace in the south-east quarter. The wind was now very light, and the breezes partial, mostly from the south-south-west. The fleet made all possible sail: and about two o'clock the Colossus and Mars repeated signals from the ships in shore, communicating the welcome intelligence of the enemy being at sea." This cheered the minds of all on board, with the prospect of realizing those hopes of meeting the enemy which had been so long and so sanguinely entertained. It was well known to his lordship, that all the enemy's ships had the iron hoops on their masts painted black; whereas the British ships, with the exception of the Bellisle and Polyphemus, had theirs painted yellow and as he considered that this would serve for a very good mark of distinction in the heat of battle, he made known this circumstance to the fleet, and ordered the Bellisle and Polyphemus to paint their hoops yellow; but the evening being far advanced when the signal was made to them for this purpose, his lordship, fearing that it might not be distinctly understood, sent the Entreprenante cutter to them to communicate the order.

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During the night the fleet continued steering to the south-east under all sail, in expectation of seeing the enemy; and at day-break on the 20th found itself in the entrance of the straits of Gibraltar, but nothing of the enemy to be discovered. The fleet now wore, and made sail to the north-west; and at seven in the morning, the Phobe was seen making signals for "the enemy bearing north.” At eight o'clock the Victory hove to; and admiral Collingwood, with the captains of the Mars, Colossus, and Defence, came on board, to receive instructions from his lordship at eleven

minutes past nine they returned to their respective ships, and the fleet made sail again to the northward.

"In the afternoon the wind increased, and blew fresh from the south-west; which excited much apprehension on board the Victory, lest the enemy might be forced to return to port. The look-out ships, however, made several signals for seeing them, and to report their force and bearings. His lordship was at this time on the poop; and turning round, and observing a group of midshipmen assembled together, he said to them with a smile, "This day or to-morrow will be a fortunate one for you, young men," alluding to their being promoted in the event of a victory.

"A little before sun-set the Euryalus communicated intelligence by telegraph, that " the enemy appeared determined to go to the westward." His lordship upon this, ordered it to be signified to captain Blackwood (of that ship) by signal, that "he depended on the Euryalus for keeping sight of the enemy during the night." The night signals were so clearly and distinctly arranged by his lordship, and so well understood by the respective captains, that the enemy's motions continued to be made known to him with the greatest facility throughout the night: a certain number of guns, with false fires and blue lights, announced their altering their course, wearing, and making or shortening sail; and signals communicating such changes were repeated by the look-out ships, from the Euryalus to the Victory.

"The enemy wore twice during the night: which evolution was considered by his lordship as shewing an intention, on their part, of keeping the port of Cadiz open; and made him apprehend that on

seeing the British fleet, they would effect their retreat thither before he could bring them to a general action. He was therefore very careful not to approach their fleet near enough to be seen by them before morning.

"The British fleet wore, about two o'clock in the morning; and stood on the larboard tack with their heads to the northward, carrying their topsails and foresails, and anxiously expecting the dawn of day. When that period arrived, the combined fleets were distinctly seen from the Victory's deck, formed in a close line of battle ahead on the starboard tack, standing to the south, and about twelve miles to leeward. They consisted of thirty-three ships of the line; four of which were three-deckers, and one of seventy guns: the strength of the British feet was twenty-seven ships of the line; seven of which were threedeckers, and three of sixty-four guns. Lord Nelson had, on the 10th, issued written instructions to the admirals and captains of the fleet individually, pointing out his intended mode of attack in the event of meeting the enemy; and now, previously to appearing himself on deck, he directed captain Hardy to make the necessary signals for the order and disposition of the fleet accordingly.

His lordship came upon deck soon after day-light: he was dressed as usual in his admiral's frock-coat, bearing on the left breast four stars of different orders, which he always wore with his common apparel. He displayed excellent spirits, and expressed his pleasure at the prospect of giving a fatal blow to the naval power of France and Spain; and spoke with confidence of obtaining a signal victory, notwithstanding the inferiority of the British fleet, declaring to captain Hardy that "he 1807.

would not be contented with capturing less than twenty sail of the line." He afterwards pleasantly observed that "the 21st of October was the happiest day in the year among his family," but did not assign the reason of this. His lordship had previously entertained a strong presentiment that this would prove the auspicious day; and had several times said to captain Hardy and Dr. Scott (chaplain of the ship, and foreign secretary to the commander in chief, whose intimate friendship he enjoyed,) the 21st of October will be our day."

"The wind was now from the west; but the breezes were very light, with a long heavy swell running. The signal being made for bearing down upon the enemy in two lines, the British fleet set all possible sail. The lee line, consisting of thirteen ships, was led by admiral Collingwood in the Royal Sovereign; and the weather line, composed of fourteen ships, by the commander-in-chief in the Victory. His lordship had ascended the poop, to have a better view of both lines of the British fleet; and while there, gave particular directions for taking down from his cabin the different fixtures, and for being very careful in removing the portrait of lady Hamilton: "Take care of my guardian angel," said he, addressing himself to the persons to be employed in this business. Immediately after this he quitted the poop, and retired to his cabin for a few minutes: where he committed to paper the following short but devout and fervent ejaculation, which must be universally admired as truly characteristic of the christian hero, and the codicil to his will, which follows it:

"May the great God whom I "worship, grant to my country,

H

"and

"and for the benefit of Europe in "general, a great and glorious victory; and may no misconduct in "any one tarnish it, and may hu"manity after victory be the predo"minant feature in the British fleet! "For myself individually, I commit "my life to Him that made me ; "and may His blessing alight on "my endeavours for serving my "country faithfully! To Him I re"sign myself, and the just cause "which is entrusted to me to de"fend. Amen, Amen, Amen.”

"October 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 hon. sir William Hamilton, "have been of the very greatest ser"vice to my king and country, to my knowledge, without ever re"ceiving any reward from either our king or country:

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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:

"I also leave to the beneficence of my country my adopted daugh"ter, Horatio 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 need"less to mention: they will of "course be amply provided for.

"NELSON and BRONTE. "Witness, HENRY BLACKWOOD, T. M. HARDY."

The prayer and codicil were both written with his lordship's own hand, within three hours before the commencement of the engagement.

As the Victory drew near to the enemy, his lordship, accompanied by captain Hardy, and the captains of the four frigates (Euryalus, Naiad, Sirius, and Phoebe) who had been called on board by signal to receive instructions, visited the different decks of the ship. He addressed the crew at their several quarters, admonishing them against firing a single shot without being sure of their object; and expressed himself to the officers highly satisfied with the arrangements made at their respective stations.