SPECTATOR'S LIBRARY.

A17TOBIOGHAPHY, The Dispatches and Letters of Vice-Admiral Lord Viscount Nelson ; with Notes by Sir Nicholas Harris Nicolas, G. C. M. G. The Fourth Volume—September 1799 to

December 1801 Colbarn.

T1AVELS,

Travels in Luristan and Arabistan. By the Baron C. A. De Bode. In two volumes.

STATISTICS, Madden and Co• The New Statistical Account of Scotland. By the Ministers of the respective Pa- rishes, under the Superintendence of a Committee of the Society for the benefit of the Sons and Daughters of the Clergy. Vols. I—XV Blackwood and Sons.

THE NELSON DISPATCHES.

THE spirit inspired by the national undertaking of Sir Harris Nicolas has induced so large an exhumation of hitherto buried stores, that the third volume, to which the materials of Sir Harris in the outset extended, has already given place to a fourth. Sir William Parker has consented to allow the use of the St. Vincent correspondence ; Colonel Hugh Percy Davison has furnished Sir Harris with nearly a hundred original letters written by Nelson to Mr. Alexander Davison, the Admiral's agent and most intimate friend; and others have been procured from other quar- ters. Some of those from Colonel Davison came too late for chronological insertion ; and, we suppose, they will form part of a final appendix with possibly others that may turn up. There is no knowing when a com- plete collection of letters is completed. Within these few months, the Lyttleton Papers presented some additional epistles of Chesterfield, just after Lord Mahon's edition had appeared. The same kind of reason for delay or suppression does not, indeed, exist in the case of the sailor as in that of the arbiter elegantiarum,—whose hymeneal congratulations even to the respectable Lord Lyttleton Mr. Phillimore felt bound to expurgate: but it is possible that stray epistles of Nelson may yet come in, and fu- ture editions be required to present the whole in regular order.

The despatches and letters in the volume before us extend from Sep- tember 1799 to December 1801. They embrace the remainder of Nel- son's command in the Mediterranean, till bad health, and soreness because Lord Keith had been placed over him, induced the Admiral to retire. He returned home through Italy and Germany, with the occasional risk of capture by the French, apparently for no other reason than to accompany the Queen of Naples and the Hamiltons. Soon after reaching England, Nelson was appointed second in command to the expedition against Copen- hagen ; and on Sir Hyde Parker's return, he succeeded to the command of the Baltic fleet; which he held till his health sank under the cutting winds of the North. He had not been long at home before he was ap- pointed, by public opinion it may be said, to command the flotilla des- tined to baffle Napoleon's threatened invasion. A few months afterwards, the peace enabled him to retire to Merton; with which event, and the contemplated sale of his diamonds to raise money, the volume closes, in December 1801.

As in the last volume, the possession of high command and the ma- nagement of numerous affairs have introduced a good many letters of a business kind, involving repetitions of the same subject. Nelson, how- ever, could scarcely write on the most common matter without infusing into it something of his own quick nature, exhibiting his character in whatever temperament the subject-matter induced, from guileless and simple affection to an anger which if it always had dignity very seldom had discretion. Success, or, as Sir Harris intimated, the wound in his head re- ceived at the battle of the Nile, may have given him more direct freedom of style ; but the transparency is the same as ever. Nothing restrained him when moved. Neither usage, nor prudence, nor pride in the shape of dignity, nor even the rules of the service, prevented him from speaking his mind. When calm, he could write a formal complimentary letter to a Grand Signior, a Pope, or a Minister,—though, if he did not dis- like the individual, his epistles had a free nautical or Nelson air : but if anything displeased him, his displeasure came out "without mixture, without measure." How a "Board" must have stared at the receipt of this 1 "To the Commissioners of the Victualling Board.

[Letter-book.] "Palermo, 14th November 1799.

" Gentlemen—I have received by post your answer to my letter from the Bay of Naples, in which you beg me to accept your acknowledgments for the trouble I had taken in investigating the report made by Mr. Lock on the subject of the purchase of fresh beef. I must own, that I conceived your letter coached in terms of such coldness as a little surprised me; but it was not till this moment of the departure of Captain Hardy, that I have heard a report, circulated by Mr. Lock, that you had received a letter from him on this subject, and that you had thanked him for having saved Government forty per cent. If it is true, which I cannot believe, that you have wrote Mr. Lock any letters on this subject, I de- sire to say, and not to be misunderstood, that the conduct of the Board is very reprehensible, and scandalous in its treatment to me, the Commanding Officer of his Majesty's Fleet in the Mediterranean. I hope you will send these expressions to our superiors the Board of Admiralty ; for if it is true, which I cannot believe, it would make it more scandalous not to have sent me copies of these letters. I will never, for any power on earth, retract a syllable of what I have wrote in this letter. I defy any insinuations against my honour. Nelson is as far from doing a scandalous or mean action as the heavens are above the earth. I will now tell you the result of the inquiry of an honest man, a faithful servant of his King and country, was, (from the papers I sent to your Board,) that the accu- sation of Mr. Lock was malicious and scandalous; and if any Board or individual apply any softer terms to the papers sent you by me, I desire to apply the same terms to them.

"I have ever treated all Boards, and every individual, with the greatest respect and consideration; but when my honour, or that of my brave friends is concerned, I will never stop till the examination is made: for Mr. Lock would not, or could not, (which I believe,) but both are equally criminal, bring forward any single point of accusation. I therefore demand that you will direct (subject to my inspection) a strict and impartial inquiry to be made into this saving of forty per cent. I have only to observe, that Mr. Lock never made any complaint of the price, until I wrote a note to say that I should not interfere in the purchase —that he that sold the best and cheapest would of course be the seller. I have desired Captain Hardy to call on your Board on this subject, as he was Captain of the Foudroyant at this time, and knows perfectly my opinion of Mr. Lock. I bad every inclination to emu' him, but never at the expense of the state, by giving a monopoly against a competition. I am, Gentlemen, your moat obedient servant, BEONTE NELSON." The "thanks " of "the Board" had not exactly been given; • but two polite Commissioners, one of them dining with Mr. Consul Lock's father and sister, had privately chanted Mr. Lock's praises, and the story of the forty percent : which enabled the officials to reply thus— After declaring to your Lordship that we never had any correspondence with Mr. Lock on the subject to which it [the letterl relates, we submit to your i Lordship's own reflection the manner in which you have thought proper to ar- raign the conduct of this Board, merely upon a rumour, the authenticity of which you twice profess yourself to disbelieve.

Nelson, however, was not to be overcome by phrases : he insisted on Lock producing his public correspondence ; threatened him with the Admiralty and all sorts of things ; got to the truth at last ; and thus wound up the matter.

" To the Commissioners for Victualling his Majesty's Navy.

[Letter-book.] "Palermo, 5th December 1799.

"Gentlemen—Letters which had passed between Mr. Lock and myself, brought forward yesterday, in the presence of Sir William Hamilton, a meeting between us; and as it torus out that false friends in this country, and nonsensical ones in England, have been the cause of Mr. Lock's highly improper conduct, and as any inquiry can only end in the ruin of Mr. Lock's character, I consent not to desire the inquiry demanded in my letter of the 14th November, by Captain Hardy. It was justice to the public and a vindication of my own honour that I sought, and not ruin to a young man setting of in life with a family of children. This lesson will, I trust and believe, be of more use to Mr. Lock than the approbation of ignorant people. I do not mean to withdraw a syllable of my last letter to the Board, for they will see that I did not believe them capable of such conduct; only to that part which gives up the demand for inquiry. If there are those re- siding in Somerset Place who merit the full force of some of my words, let them have it. One of my greatest boasts is, that no man can ever say I have told a lie. With every sentiment of proper respect to the Board, I am, Gentlemen, your most obedient servant, BRONTE NELSON." It is no assumption, after this, to say that Nelson was not in official favour. Indeed, the obvious and open indifference with which he was treated is one of the most striking points of the correspondence, even allowing for his occasional demand of things that could not be granted. Whilst popular honours were awaiting him wherever he appeared, public opinion demanding his employment, and the public anxiety retaining him in command of the flotilla when he wanted to retire, (as deeming the danger past, and the post therefore somewhat below his rank,) he could not, according to his own account, get the slightest attention paid even to a commander's usual recommendation for promotions, though latterly his friends -St. Vincent and Troubridge were at the Admiralty. His com- plaints of both these officers, especially of Troubridge, are indeed very carious ; and either Nelson must have measured his demands rather by what he wanted than by what he was likely to get, or "official reponsi- bility " changes the nature of men, taking out the heart and putting in the regulations of "this office." The remark rather applies to Troubridge than to St. Vincent ; who was ty nature as much of an administrator or statesman as he was an admiral, and was not likely to permit any personal feelings to stand in the way of general objects ; he, besides, had always commanded Nelson, whereas Nelson had commanded Troubridge. We can- not, however, but think that Nelson's quickness of temper, with his health broken by long service, severe exposure, and many wounds, must have caused him to torture things into offences that were never so intended. Thus, he writes to Lady Hamilton, from the Downs, in October 1801.

"Troubridge has so completely prevented my ever mentioning anybody's ser- vice, that I am become a cipher, and he has gained a victory over Nelson s spirit. I am kept here; for what, he may be able to tell—I cannot; but long it cannot— shall not be."

And again— "This is the coldest place in England, most assuredly. Troubridge writes me, that, as the weather is set in fine again, he hopes I shall get walks on shore. He is, I suppose, laughing at me: but never mind."

" To Lady Collier.

[Autograph In the possession of Commodore Sir Francis Augustus Collier, K.C.H.] "Merton, October 24th, 1801. "Dear Madam—If your son has served his time, I hope, if he is still in the Fou droyant, that he is promoted, as many will be made by the capture of the French ships at Alexandria. If he has not served, he stands no chance, for it cannot be done; and if you will inquire of Lord St. Vincent or Sir Thomas Troubridge, they will tell you that I cannot get a Lieutenant made. If he has served his time and quitted a flag-ship, he is wrong, unless with the approbation of Lord Keith. With every good wish for your son, I have the honour to be, Madam, your most

obedient servant. NELSON AND BRONTe The refusal to grant himself and his officers medals for Copenhagen

was an equally sore subject. As regards the Government, he declares, in a letter to Davison, " Either Lord St. Vincent, or myself, are liars;— so my affairs stand." He was also unguarded enough to write a sort of letter of remonstrance to the Lord Mayor, on the City thanking Lord Keith for services in Egypt, though it had never noticed what Campbell calls " the Battle of the Baltic' : but this he withdrew, at the persuasion of Mr. Addington, to whom he had sent a copy. Yet, amid all these strange displays of weakness, the writer is never lowered in the esti- mation of the reader. All he does is so natural, so evidently from the heart, so prompted by a keen sense of right and honour " unmixed with baser matter," whilst he so obviously believes that he is contending for others rather than himself, that the reader only smiles to see the common humanity of the hero. Heart, indeed, is visible in everything that drops from his pen. Here, for instance, is a letter to Ball, whom he had left blockading Malta.

" To Alexander John Ball, Esq., Commissioner of his Majesty's Navy, Gibraltar.

[Autograph in the possession of Sir William Keith Ball, Bart.] "St. George, Kioge Bay, June 4th, 1001-

" My dear invaluable Friend—Although I may not answer letters regularly, or perform many other little acts which the world deem as of the very utmost im- portance, and for the omission of which it is necessary to cut each other's duvets, although I own I fail most miserably (towards my real friends in particular) in those things, yet believe me, Ball, my heart entertains the very warmest affection for you•' and it has been no fault of mine, and not a little mortification, that you have not the red ribbon and other rewards that would have kept you afloat, and not to have made you a Commissioner: but as, I trust, the war is at a close, you must, like Lord Hood, take your flag when it comes to you; for who is to com-

mend our fleets in a future war? for whatever peace we may make under the pre- sent Government of France cannot be lasting. I pity the poor Maltese; they have sustained an irreparable loss in your friendly counsel and an able director in their public concerns: you was truly their father, and, I agree with you, they may not like step-fathers: however, I hope that you will find as much pleasure in your new office as it is possible for it to afford, although I am sure it will not be equal to your merit. As I know you have always been kind to me, I know you will be sorry to hear that I have been even at Death's door, apparently in a consumption. I am now rallied a little; but the disorder is in itself so flattenng that I know not whether I am really better, and no one will tell me; but all in the fleet are so truly kind to me, that I should be a wretch not to cheer up. Foley has put me under a regimen of milk, at four in the morning; Murray has given me lozenges; and all have proved their desire to keep my mind easy; for I hear of no complaints, or other wishes than to have me with them."

And again, in this official reply to a rebuke which he had received, as we mentioned in our notice of the third volume, for disobeying Lord Keith's orders, under Neapolitan influence.

"I have also received their Lordships' disapprobation of my conduct in having sent a part of the crews of the squadron against Capua, and their direction not to employ them in like manner in future. And I also observe, and with great pain, that their Lordships see no cause which could justify my disobeying the or dems of my commanding officer, Lord Keith, or for leaving Minorca exposed to the risk of being attacked. "I have to request that you will have the goodness to assure their Lordships, that I knew when I decided on those important points, that perhaps my life, certainly my commission, was at stake by my decision : but, being firmly of opi- nion that the honour of my King and country, the dearest object of my heart, [were involved,) and that to have deserted the cause and person of his Majesty's faithful ally, his Sicilian Majesty, would have been unworthy my name and their Lordships' former opinion of me, I determined at all risks to support the honour of my gracious Sovereign and country, and not to shelter myself under the letter of the law; which I shall never do when put in competition with the public service. "I only wish to appeal to his Sicilian Majesty, Sir John Acton, Bart., and his Excellency Sir William Hamilton, whether they are not clearly of opinion, that if I had drawn any part of the force landed from the squadron from the shore, that Capua and Gaeta would at this moment have been in the hands of the French; and wbo can say what evil consequences might not have ensued from it? "

HONOURS AND HOW TO WEAR THEM.

To Sir Isaac Heard, Garter King of Arms. [Autograph in the possession of James rutman, Esq., Richmond Herald.]

" Palermo, tat November 1799.

"My dear Sir—I am not certain that I answered your kind congratulatory letter on my elevation to the Peerage: if not, I beg your pardon, and probably deferred it at the moment in expectation of receiving the plan of the arms you sent to Lard Grenville, but which has never reached me. I should be much obliged to you for them; but now I suppose the ducal arms of Bronte must have a place. If his Majesty approves of my taking the title of Bronte, I must have your opinion how I am to sign my name. At present I describe myself Lord Nelson, Duke of Bronte in Sicily.' As the pelises given to me and Sir Sidney Smith are novel, I must beg you will turn in your mind how I am to wear it when I first go to the King; and as the aigrette is directed to be worn, where am Ito put it? In my hat, having only one arm, is impossible, as I must have my hand at liberty; there- fore, I think, on my outward garment, I shall have much pleasure in putting myself into your management, for, believe me, dear Sir, your most obliged servant,

" BRONTE NELSON.

"I have just received the Imperial Order of the Crescent from the Grand Sig- nior,—a diamond star; in the centre, the crescent and a small star."

Memorandum.

[Order-book.]

"By my patent of creation, I find that my family name of Nelson has been lengthened by the words of the Nile.' Therefore, in future my signature will be, Bronte Nelson of the Nile.'

" Given on board the Foudroyant, at Palermo, 21st March 1800.

" BRONTE NELSON OF THE NILE."

" To the respective Captains, &c."

Sir Harris Nicolas is again entitled to the praise of complete editing without overdoing; whilst the illustrative fragments he quotes from the Nelson papers render us desirous of seeing our suggestion for a supple- ment to the Dispatches and Letters carried out. Here, for example, is a striking account, from those papers, of our Neapolitan allies, by Trow- bridge—before he became a Lord of the Admiralty.

"5th January 1800.

"I have this day saved 30,000 people from dying ; but with this day my ability ceases. As the King of Naples, or rather the Queen and her party, are bent on starving us, I see no alternative but to leave these poor unhappy people to starve, without our being witnesses to their distress. I curse the day I ever served the King of Naples. I, who know your Lordship so well, can pity the distress you must suffer: what must be our situation, on the spot ? if the Neapolitan Go- vernment will not supply corn, I pray your Lordship to recall us. We are of no use. The Maltese soldiers must call on the French in Valetta, who have the ability to relieve them. The consequence will be, General Graham and his troops will be cut up to a man, if I do not withdraw them. I hourly expect him to apply to me for that purpose. All we brought, I shall leave—I mean the guns, &c. belonging to his Sicilian Majesty. I never expected to be treated in this manner by General Acton, who certainly influences the King's council. He complains he cannot get his orders put in force: how can he expect it, when he never punishes any of the traitors? On the contrary, is he not daily promoting the traitors we exposed to him? We have characters, my Lord, to lose; these people have none. Do not suffer their infamous conduct to fall on us. Our country is just, but severe. I foresee we shall forfeit the little we have gained. Before supplies can possibly come, many thousands must perish, even if these supplies arrive in two days. The situation is worse than ever: there are not even locusts. Such is the fever of my brain this minute, that I assure you, on my honour, if the Palermo traitors were here, I would shoot them first, and then thyself. Girgenti, I beg to inform you, is full of corn—the money is ready to pay for it—we do not ask it as a gift The moment the Transfer arrives, I shall send her, with Italinsky, to Palermo ; who, I suppose, will tell the Government the Russian troops cannot go to Malta to be starved, and I hope influence the Ge- nerals to withdraw their men from the country. I know well how things will then go. God bless your Lordship, is the prayer of the most unhappy being existing at present, your ever faithful and sincere, T. TROUBRIDGE. Oh, could You see the horrid distress I daily experience, something would be done. I 'rote you long letters, via Messina, by the Strombolo, who is gone to seize corn, If any can be got hold of; money first to be offered. I have called on the Go- vernor of Girgenti to fulfil the treaty, and not shut their ports against us."— Autograph in the Nelson Papers.