April 6, 1803, Sir William Hamilton died, holding his wife's and
Nelson's hands, saying, "Protect my dear wife; and may God bless you,
and give you victory and protect you in battle!" He bequeathed to Nelson
a copy of a picture of his wife by Madame Le Brun in enamel. To her he
gave a legacy of £800, and an annuity of £800 for life. Sir William's
pension of £1,200 a year closed with his death, and, as the government
did not continue it, in spite of Sir William's dying wishes, Nelson gave
the amount to her, in monthly portions, while he lived.
A month after Sir William's death, Nelson was appointed to the command
of the Mediterranean squadron, to take part in the war between England
and France. He sailed from Spithead, May 20, in the Victory, and for two
years, lacking ten days, did not step out of his ship. They were long,
weary years of much illness and loneliness, but devotion to duty. He
returned to Merton on the morning of Aug. 20, 1805.
A month later he was again called to serve his country. A third
coalition had been formed by England, Russia, Austria, and Sweden
against France. Spain had become the ally of the latter.
"I will do my best," he wrote to a friend, "and I hope God Almighty will
go with me. I have much to lose, but little to gain; and I go because it
is right, and I will serve the country faithfully."
He left Merton Friday night, Sept. 13, at half-past ten, taking a sad
leave of his sisters and Lady Hamilton, and kneeling by the bedside of
their little girl, Horatia, earnestly prayed that God would protect and
bless her. This child was at that time about four and a half years old,
having been born in January, 1801.
Nelson writes in his private diary that evening, "At half-past ten drove
from dear, dear Merton, where I left all which I hold dear in this
world, to go to serve my king and country.... 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 that I may
leave behind. His will be done. Amen! Amen! Amen!"
A great crowd gathered to see him embark. Many were in tears, and many
knelt before him and blessed him as he passed. He remarked to his dear
friend, Captain Hardy, "I had their huzzas before; I have their hearts
now."
Sept. 28 the fleet anchored off Cadiz, on the coast of Spain. Nelson
knew there must be a fearful battle, and seems to have expected to be
killed in it. He took much exercise daily, generally walking the deck
for six or seven hours. Such was the activity of his mind that he rarely
slept more than two hours at a time. He never thought of himself. He
exposed his body, frail as it was, in all kinds of weather, and would
not change his clothing when wet through. He disliked to depend much on
others, as he was obliged to do, from having but one arm and one eye.
He was very prompt, and made good use of time. He once said to General
Twiss, "Time, Twiss, time is everything. Five minutes makes the
difference between a victory and a defeat."
He was extremely generous. When one of his men, Captain Parker, died, he
paid his debts and funeral expenses, about £200. He spent very little
for himself, and much for others.
It was thought that there would be a battle on Saturday, Oct. 19; and
Nelson wrote two letters, one to "my dearest angel," little Horatia, and
the other to Lady Hamilton, whom he would have married, had the divorce
laws of England permitted. To her he writes, "May the God of battles
crown my endeavors with success; at all events, I will take care that my
name shall ever be most dear to you and Horatia, both of whom I love as
much as my own life."
On Monday, Oct. 21, the fleets, now off Cape Trafalgar, below Cadiz,
were ready for action. The English had twenty-seven sail-of-the-line and
four frigates; the French and Spanish thirty-three sail-of-the-line and
seven frigates. The English had 2,542 guns; the French and Spanish,
3,042 guns.
Nelson told the men who removed the picture of Lady Hamilton, which
always hung in his cabin in the Victory, to "take care of his guardian
angel." He wore a miniature of her next his heart. Then he wrote an
earnest prayer, and a codicil to his will, in which he asked his country
to reward Lady Hamilton for her services, leaving her and his child,
Horatia, "a legacy to my king and country, that they will give her
[Lady Hamilton] an ample provision to maintain her rank in life. These
are the only favors I ask of my king and country, at this moment when I
am going to fight their battle."
He wore his admiral's coat, which bore on the left breast his
decorations. When fears were expressed that these would make him a mark
for the enemy, he said, "In honor I gained them, and in honor I will die
with them."
He gave orders for that well-known signal, "England expects that every
man will do his duty," which was received with tremendous cheering. "You
must be quick," he said to Lieutenant Pasco, "for I have one more to
make, which is for close action."
"Now," said Nelson, "I can do no more. We must trust to the great
Disposer of all events, and the justice of our cause. I thank God for
this great opportunity of doing my duty."
The Royal Sovereign, one hundred guns, under Vice-Admiral Collingwood,
was the first to get into action, a little past noon. The men were
ordered to lie down upon the decks as she swept into the foe. She gave
the great Spanish ship, Santa Ana, a broadside with double-shotted guns,
killing and wounding four hundred men. Nelson shouted, "Bravo! What a
glorious salute the Royal Sovereign is in!"
Seven or eight ships soon opened on the Victory. As Nelson and Captain
Hardy walked the deck a splinter struck the foot of the latter, tearing
the buckle from his shoe. "This is too warm work, Hardy, to last long,"
said Nelson with a smile.
About half-past one, as they were walking, Nelson was shot by Sergeant
Robert Guillemard of the French ship Redoubtable, who was stationed in
the rigging of his ship, singling out officers for his aim.
Nelson fell on his face, in the blood where his secretary, Scott, had
been killed. "They have done for me at last, Hardy," he said; "my
backbone is shot through."
He was lifted and carried below, among the dead and dying. On the way
thither, using one hand, he covered his face and his decorations with
his handkerchief, that his men might not see who had fallen.
He was laid on a midshipman's bed, and covered with a sheet. As often as
a ship surrendered, the men of the Victory cheered, and Nelson's dying
face would light up with joy. Nothing could be done for the hero, but to
fan him with paper and give him lemonade to quench his thirst. His
thoughtfulness of others was strong even in his dying hour. A poor
fellow near him was jarred or hurt by another in passing, and Nelson
reproved the man for his carelessness.
He frequently asked for Captain Hardy, whom he loved; but Hardy was not
able to leave his post till an hour and ten minutes after Nelson was
wounded.
When he came, they shook hands in silence, and Hardy turned away to
conceal his grief. "Well, Hardy, how goes the battle?"--"Very well, my
lord. We have got twelve or fourteen of the enemy's ships in our
possession."
"I hope," said Nelson, "that none of our ships have struck?"
"No, my lord, there is no fear of that."
"I am a dead man, Hardy. I am going fast--it will be all over with me
soon. Come nearer to me. Let my dear Lady Hamilton have my hair, and all
other things belonging to me."
Hardy hastened to the deck and returned in about fifty minutes. Nelson
exclaimed, "Anchor, Hardy, anchor! Don't throw me overboard, Hardy."
"Oh, no, certainly not," said Hardy.
"Then you know what to do. Take care of my dear Lady Hamilton, Hardy!
take care of poor Lady Hamilton. Kiss me, Hardy."
The captain knelt and pressed his lips to his cheek. "Now I am
satisfied," he said. "Thank God, I have done my duty." Hardy knelt again
and kissed his forehead. "Who is that?" he said faintly. "It is Hardy."
"God bless you, Hardy," said Nelson, and Hardy went again on deck.
To his chaplain, Dr. Scott, Nelson said, "Doctor, I have _not_ been a
_great_ sinner," and after a short pause, "Remember that I leave Lady
Hamilton and my daughter Horatia as a legacy to my country." His
speaking now became difficult. "Thank God, I have done my duty," were
his last words. At half-past four he passed away peacefully. He lived
long enough to know that a great victory had been won.
Of the thirty-three ships in the French and Spanish fleets, nineteen
were taken and destroyed by the English. Most of the rest became prizes,
but were wrecked in a gale. The English lost in killed and wounded about
three thousand; the French and Spanish about five thousand. "The
greatest sea victory that the world had ever known was won," says W.
Clark Russell, "but at such a cost, that there was no man throughout the
British fleet--there was no man indeed in all England--but would have
welcomed defeat sooner than have paid the price of this wonderful
conquest."
The body of Nelson was carried in a cask of brandy in the Victory till
she reached Spithead, Dec. 12, five weeks after the battle. It was
afterwards placed in the coffin made from the mast of L'Orient, enclosed
in a leaden coffin, with a handsome wooden coffin outside of these.
All England was bowed with grief at the death of Nelson. He was the idol
of the nation, despite his unhappy marriage and his unlawful love for
the devoted Lady Hamilton. The king was unable to speak for a long time
after he heard the news, and the queen wept aloud. In Naples, writes
Coleridge, "Numbers stopped and shook hands with me because they had
seen the tears on my cheek and conjectured that I was an Englishman; and
several, as they held my hand, themselves burst into tears."
Nelson was buried Jan. 9, 1806, in St. Paul's Cathedral, London, at a
public expense of £14,000. Ten thousand troops preceded the body of the
hero to the tomb. The streets were lined with thousands of troops and
hundreds of thousands of weeping spectators. The coffin was drawn
uncovered, under a canopy, upon a car, having at its front and back a
carved representation of the head and stern of the Victory.
At the burial, by a sudden impulse, the sailors who lowered the coffin
seized the flag which covered it and tore it in shreds, to keep as
mementoes of their great leader.
No such funeral had been seen in England. It was felt that the battle of
Trafalgar had saved the nation from an invasion by Bonaparte, and
therefore no honor was too great for her deliverer.
"The battle of Trafalgar," says Bourrienne, in his Memoirs of Napoleon,
"paralyzed our naval force, and banished all hope of any attempt against
England."
England raised monuments in many of her large cities to her heroic
dead. In Trafalgar Square, London, stands the Nelson column, fluted,
surmounted by his statue, while on the sides are representations of his
four great battles, St. Vincent, the Nile, Copenhagen, and Trafalgar,
cast in gun-metal taken from the enemy in these engagements. The four
lions by Landseer are at the base.
The government awarded various honors to Nelson's family. An earldom was
conferred on Nelson's brother, the Reverend William, with a pension of
£5,000 a year, with £120,000 that he might purchase an estate; £20,000
of this gift were to be divided between Nelson's sisters, Mrs. Bolton
and Mrs. Matcham. Lady Nelson received £2,000 per annum till her death,
May 4, 1831, twenty-five years after the death of Lord Nelson.
Nelson's dying request for Lady Hamilton and their child, Horatia, was
disregarded by the government. Nelson left her by will £2,000, an
annuity for life of £500 charged on the Bronte estate, Merton Place, and
the yearly interest on £4,000 settled on Horatia till she became
eighteen.
Lady Hamilton survived Nelson nine years, dying Jan. 16, 1815, in
apartments in the Rue Française at Calais, at the age of fifty-one. She
lost Merton Place, in Surrey, through debts. She was imprisoned for debt
at the King's Bench, 12 Temple Place, in 1813, and was discharged after
some months, by a city alderman, J. J. Smith, who felt that she had been
cruelly treated. Fearing re-arrest, she went to Calais in 1814, with
Horatia, and died in less than a year. Her daughter, who was devoted to
her, wrote, years later, "Although often certainly under very
distressing circumstances, she never experienced actual want."
Lady Hamilton was buried in a cemetery just outside the city limits,
which was soon after used as a timber-yard, and all traces of the graves
disappeared. In accordance with her mother's last wishes, Horatia was
taken to the home of Mrs. Matcham, Lord Nelson's sister, where she
remained two years, and then resided with Mr. Bolton, Lord Nelson's
brother-in-law, till her marriage, in February, 1822, to the Rev. Philip
Ward, Vicar of Tenterden in Kent. She became the mother of a large
family, and died March 6, 1881, in the eighty-first year of her age.
The Rev. William Nelson, made an earl by the successes of his brother,
was succeeded in 1835 by his nephew, Thomas Bolton, as second earl, who
took the name Nelson. Thomas was succeeded the same year by his son
Horatio, the third earl. Lord Nelson is a graduate of Cambridge, where
he took the degree of M.A. in 1844. He married a daughter of the second
earl of Normanton in 1845.
[Illustration: JOHN BUNYAN.]