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time is coming when a gale of west wind will disperse our light squadrons. Under Dungeness, Downs, Margate Road, and Hoseley Bay are good stations. When men of such good sense and such great sea officers differ so widely, is it not natural that I should wish the mode of defence to be well arranged by the mature consideration of men of judgment? I mean not to detract from my judgment; such as it is, it is well known. But I boast of nothing but my zeal; in that I will give way to no man upon earth." (MS. letters.)

Again he writes, August 12, 1801.

"In my command I can tell you with truth that I find much zeal and good humour; and should Mr. Buonaparte put himself in our way, I believe he will wish himself even in Corsica. I only hope, if he means to come, that it will be before the 14th of September, my stamina is but ill suited for equinoctial gales and cold weather." (MS. letters).

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The peace of Amiens was now concluded, and Lord Nelson, whose health was always bad when an object of glory was not full in view to animate his frame, came on shore almost " worn up," as he said, and retired to his villa at Merton.

"MY DEAR SIR,

(Original Letter, V.)

"Amazon, October 10th, 1801.

"Every wish of yours I shall always be happy in complying with; and were there a probable chance that even a boat of the enemy's could get into the Channel, I should stay with pleasure 'till hostilities cease. But we are so covered that they cannot, if we all do our duty. After hostilities cease, the thing for me is over; but if you cannot get a definitive peace, I shall be getting health again to take up the cudgels; and in the good cause I hope to be able to be as fortunate as I have been the whole war.

"NELSON & BRONTE." Always warm in his country's cause, his mind was constantly at work for the benefit of the service.

Upon first hearing of the preliminaries of peace he writes"I trust the treaty will answer the expectation of the country, but I am aware of the necessity of all good men guarding against the influx of Frenchmen- and their detestable principles into this happy country." (MS. letters.)

His confined income was also at this time a source of uneasiness to him, as appears from the letters in our possession. It would likewise have been a reproach to his country, had it not principally arisen from the large annuity granted by him to

Lady Nelson for her separate maintenance-a deficiency which, under all the circumstances, the country was in no respect bound to make good.

His pensions for his victories, and for the loss of his limb and eye, together with his half-pay, amounted to about 34007. a year; of which he gave 1800l. to Lady Nelson; 2001. to his brother's widow; 150l. to educate his nephews; and paid 500/. interest for money borrowed; leaving for himself only about 768/. per annum, for charities necessary to his station, housekeeping, &c. besides his house and place at Merton; an income certainly too small, but which ought to be reckoned at 2500l. including Lady Nelson's 18007.

But from these causes of vexation and remorse let us turn to the bright spots in this period of his history. On the 25th October, 1802, when the first rumours of a renewal of hostilities began to spread, he sent to government the following letter and plan for expeditiously manning the navy, which was followed up by another, suggesting all that was necessary to be done for inproving the sailors' condition while on service.

"MY DEAR SIR,

(Original Letter, VI.)

"Martin, October 25th, 1802.

"I need scarcely tell you that my mind is ever at work for the honour and safety of our country; and therefore when these rumours of wars are flying about, it is natural that those who feel as I do should seriously reflect on the best mode of bringing our naval force into action. Last Thursday I saw Lord St. Vincent, and as I told him, having only one object in view-that of giving an early and knock-down blow to our enemy, and getting again the blessings of peace, I ventured to throw out to those who were pleased to hear me such observations and little knowledge as I had; and that if any idea of mine was useful, he or any other man was heartily welcome to it. Lord St. Vincent seemed to approve of my ideas. The plan I send you. It is simple in its execution, (but will have opposition from some,) but bold, and if executed well, in my opinion, will be a blessing to the country. The chance of not finding you at home made me write this letter; the subject of it flows from love to my country.

66

My earnest wish is, if we are forced into a war, that it should be more vigorous and shorter than any we have yet waged. To ac complish these points no exertion shall be wanting on the part of, my "Dear Sir, your really attached friend,

"NELSON & BRONTE"

(Enclosure in the above.)

"Under the providence of God, the safety, honour, and wealth of

• VOL. V. NO. IX.

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this country chiefly depends on the navy. Therefore, whenever either of these are attacked, the quickest mode possible should be adopted to call forth this defence.

Many have turned their thoughts to this subject, and as many plans have been proposed as there are points in the compass. One more may venture to be added. Those proposed have been all found, ed in a slow system, and of avoiding an impress; mine is the contrary : bold, quick, and a measure so strong, that although it may not be palatable to all at the moment, yet in a week I expect the whole country will approve of it. I presume that my first assertion will be admitted, viz. That under the providence of God, this country chiefly depends on the navy. If not, throw aside my paper-it is not worth reading. Whatever objections may be made to my plan, I am ready, and I think able to defend it; therefore shall not be prolix by answering what interested people may object to it.

"1. Not a soldier to be raised until the fleet is manned.

"2. An embargo to be laid on every port in the kingdom. N. B. No protections, of course, wanted.

66 3. The largest bounty offered.

"4. Every soldier, every magistrate, and every good man to exert themselves in taking up every sea-faring man in the united kingdom.

"I shall only mention two descriptions of persons who will, if my plan be adopted, be forced to wish the speedy fitting out of the fleet. Those who wish to raise regiments and augment their regiments; the other, the merchants, that commerce may go on again.

"As I have before stated that I feel myself adequate to answer any objections that may be started, therefore I shall only say, in my opinion," do this," and the fleet of England will be at sea, well manned, in a much shorter time than ever was known.

"NELSON & BRONTE.”

We trust that these original documents are not entirely devoid of interest and utility. But the length of this article calls aloud to us to hasten to a close.

After one more visit to the Mediterranean, the scene of his former glories, where he invigorated, as far as in him lay, the renewed opposition to the French power and influence, and whence he chased the Toulon fleet to the West Indies and back again, he returned for the last time to England, after “a pursuit which for its extent, rapidity, and perseverance, no parallel can be produced."

"Half around the sea-girt ball,

The hunter of the recreant Gaul."

After a few days feverish repose at Merton he again offered his services, which were accepted in the most handsome and gratifying manner by Lord Barham, then at the head of the Admiralty. He was desired to refit the Victory, to choose his

own fleet and officers, and to proceed to the destruction of the combined fleets of France and Spain. He had certainly an impression on his mind that this cruise would be his last. He wrote to his brother that he knew the enemy "meant to make a dead set at the Victory," and he thus expressed the state of his feelings in his private journal upon setting off to join the fleet; and thus did the English people express theirs.

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"Friday night, (Sept. 13,) at half past ten, I drove from dear dear Merton; where I left all which I hold dear in this world, to go to serve my king and country. May the great God, whom I adore, enable me to fulfil the expectations of my country! and, if it is his good pleasure that I should return, my thanks will never cease being offered up to the throne of his mercy. If it is his good providence to cut short my days upon earth, I bow with the greatest submission; relying that he will protect those so dear to me, whom I may leave behind! His will be done! Amen! Amen! Amen!'

"Early on the following morning he reached Portsmouth; and, having dispatched his business on shore, endeavoured to elude the populace by taking a by-way to the beach; but a crowd collected in his train, pressing forward, to obtain a sight of his face :—many were in tears, and many knelt down before him, and blessed him as he passed. England has had many heroes; but never one who so entirely possessed the love of his fellow-countrymen as Nelson. All men knew that his heart was as humane as it was fearless; that there was not in his nature the slightest alloy of selfishness or cupidity; but that, with perfect and entire devotion, he served his country with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his strength; and, therefore, they loved him as truly and as fervently as he loved England. They pressed upon the parapet, to gaze after him when his barge pushed off, and he returned their cheers by waving his hat. The sentinels, who endeavoured to prevent them from trespassing upon this ground, were wedged among the crowd; and an officer, who, not very prudently upon such an occasion, ordered them to drive the people down with their bayonets, was compelled speedily to retreat; for the people would no the debarred from gazing, till the last moment, upon the hero, the darling hero of England,"

The battle of Trafalgar and the affecting story of the hero's death are yet fresh in the recollection of every Englishnan. It will flourish green and vigorous so long as Britain stands erect among the nations and her language exists in the world. More than nine years have now rolled over our heads since the event, and the absolute freedom of the ocean from the contamination of a French fleet during the whole period, evinces that the hero lived long enough effectually to perform his work. Every honour that could be conferred by a grateful nation upon his memory and upon his family were profusely heaped upon them.

A pompous and public funeral was decreed; and when at his interment under the centre of the dome of St. Paul's, the ensign of the Victory was about to be lowered into the grave, the immense crowd which filled the place with one accord rushed upon the relic, tore it into a million of pieces, that each might preserve a fragment while he lived.

"The people of England," as Mr. Southey eloquently remarks, "grieved that funeral ceremonies, public monuments, and posthumous rewards were all which they could now bestow on HIM whom the king, the legislature, and the nation alike have delighted to honour; whom every tongue would have blessed; whose presence in every village, through which he might have passed, would have wakened the church bells, have given schoolboys a holiday, have drawn children from their sports to gaze upon him, and old men from their chimney corner to look upon Nelson ere they died."

Such were the feelings of his countrymen. With respect to foreign nations, it is scarcely enough to say of his fame-late nomen in ultimas

Extendat oras; quâ medius liquor

Secernet Europen ab Afro

Quâ tumidus rigat arva NILUS.

ART. X.-A Sermon preached at the Parish Church of Christ's Church, Newgate Street, on Thursday, May 6, 1813, before the Prayer Book and Homily Society, instituted by Members of the established Church, being their first Anniversary. By the Rev. J. W. Cunningham, M.A. Vicar of Harrow on the Hill, and late Fellow of St. John's College, Cambridge. Also, the Report of the Committee to the Annual Meeting, held on the same Day. Printed by Order of the General Meeting. London: published for the Society by their Agents, Taylor and Hessey, where Subscriptions and Donations are received, and which is the Society's Depository, 93, Fleet Street, as well as at J. Hatchard's, 190, Piccadilly. 1813.

THE British Review has not been an idle spectator of those efforts, exceeding all human expectation, which, within these few years, have been used for multiplying and diffusing the Holy Scriptures. That so soon after the Bible had been encountered by its most artful enemy with a more pernicious success than had attended any former attacks upon it, and infidelity had thrown off the garb of the philosopher to assume a popular and

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