THE STORY OF NELSON.
The Story of Nelson. By Harold F. B. Wheeler. (George G. Harrap and Co. 3s. 6d. net.)—This seems to be a carefully executed bit of work. Mr. Wheeler has consulted many authorities. These are much more accessible now than they were when Southey wrote. Industry alone, however, would not fit anyone to write on such a subject. Mr. Wheeler is inspired by a whole-hearted admiration of his hero, and the inspiration makes itself felt in his book. Still he does not attempt to conceal the man's faults—his ill-judged conduct, for instance, in the Naples
affair—though he claims an acquittal on the serious charge of having ordered the execution of Caraceiolo to please Lady Hamil- ton. " Lady Hamilton did not converse with the Admiral during Caracciolo's detention." The man would certainly have been put to death if Nelson had not been there. We may even doubt whether any British admiral of the time would have interfered to save him. The story of Nelson's services—a period of thirty-two years—is well told, and in such a way that a landsman can get a. very fair comprehension of them. As we read wo cannot but feel how happily things were ordered so that Nelson was almost con- tinuously employed, for it was, at least in his early days, quite as much through private interest as from a recognition of his merits that he had not to " eat out his heart in chagrin and disappoint- ment," " as some of our modern naval officers have had to do," adds Mr. Wheeler. Surely there has been an improvement on the gross favouritism of the past. Nelson was a lieutenant at nine- teen, first lieutenant on the Admiral's flagship in the West Indies at twenty, commander in the came year, and post-captain at twenty-three.
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