5 What should I say? Thou knowest that mine was an arduous station, Full of cares, and with perils beset. How Thou alone canst tell! Short-sighted and The desire of my heart hath been alway 10 Pardon my errors, O Lord! and in mercy accept the intention: As in Thee I have trusted, so let me not now be confounded.' Bending forward, he spake with earnest humility. "Well done, Good and faithful servant!" then said a Voice from the Brightness; "Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."2 The ministering Spirits 15 Clapped their pennons therewith, and from that whole army of Angels Songs of thanksgiving and joy resounded, and loud hallelujahs; While, on the wings of Winds upraised, the pavilion of splendor, Where inscrutable light enveloped the Holy of Holies, Moved, and was borne away, through the empyrean ascending. 1 George III. See Matthew, 25:21. Then methought we approached the gate. In front of the portal, From a rock where the standard of man's redemption was planted, Issued the Well of Life, where whosoever would enter So it was written-must drink, and put away all that is earthly. 30 Earth among its gems, its creations of art and of nature, Offers not aught whereto that marvellous Even in dim similitude, such was its won- Pure it was and diaphanous. It had no visible lustre; Yet from it alone whole Heaven was illuminate alway: 35 Day and night being none in the upper firmament, neither Sun nor moon nor stars; but from that Flowed the Light uncreated; light all- Light which was, and which is, and which will be forever and ever;1 Light of light, which, if daringly gazed on, would blind an Archangel, 40 Yet the eye of weak man may behold, and beholding is strengthened; 45 Yea, while we wander below, oppressed with our bodily burden, And in the shadow of death, this Light is in mercy vouchsafed us; So we seek it with humble heart; and the soul that receives it Hath with it healing and strength, peace, love, and life everlasting. Thither the King drew nigh, and kneeling he drank of the water. Oh, what a change was wrought! In the semblance of age he had risen, Such as at last he appeared, with the traces of time and affliction See Revelation, 22:5. DESCRIBED IN RHYMES FOR THE NURSERY 45 In sun and in shade, And through the wood-shelter, Among crags in its flurry, Helter-skelter, Hurry-scurry. Here it comes sparkling, And there it lies darkling; Now smoking and frothing Its tumult and wrath in, Till in this rapid race On which it is bent, It reaches the place 50 Of its steep descent. 55 60 65 The cataract strong Flying and flinging, Writhing and ringing, 70 Dizzying and deafening the ear with its sound. laureate in 1813. small lake 5 moor • brooks Collecting, projecting, 10 15 don he called at his upholsterer's, where the coffin which Captain Hallowell had given him was deposited, and desired that its history might be engraven upon the lid, 5 saying it was highly probable he might want it on his return. He seemed, indeed, to have been impressed with an expectation that he should fall in the battle. In a letter to his brother, written immediately after his return,2 he had said: "We must not talk of Sir Robert Calder's battle.3 I might not have done so much with my small force. If I had fallen in with them, you wished, for I know they meant to make a might probably have been a lord before I dead set at the Victory." Nelson had once regarded the prospect of death with gloomy satisfaction; it was when he anticipated the upbraidings of his wife and the displeasure of his venerable father. The state of his feelings now was expressed in his private journal in these words: "Friday night (Sept. 13th), 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!" 20 25 30 35 40 Early on the following morning he reached Portsmouth; and, having despatched his business on shore, endeavored to elude the populace by taking a byway 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 50 was not in his nature the slightest alloy of selfishness or cupidity; but that, with per 45 1 It had been made from the mainmast of the French ship. L'Orient, destroyed by Nelson in the Battle of the Nile, Aug. 1, 1798. 2 From his search for the French fleet in September, 1805. 3 An engagement with the French and Spanish fleets, which was fought without a victory for either side, on July 22, 1805. 4 On account of his relations with Lady Hamilton, a noted adventuress. fect 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 was returning their cheers by waving his hat. The sentinels, who endeavored 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 not be debarred from gazing, till the last moment, upon the hero, the darling hero of England. 25 30 About half-past nine in the morning of the 19th, the Mars, being the nearest to 20 the fleet of the ships which formed the line of communication with the frigates in shore, repeated the signal that the enemy were coming out of port.2 The wind was at this time very light, with partial breezes, mostly from the S.S.W. Nelson ordered the signal to be made for a chase in the south-east quarter. About two, the repeating ships announced that the enemy were at sea. All night the British fleet continued under all sail, steering to the south-east. At daybreak3 they were in the entrance of the Straits, but the enemy were not in sight. About seven, one of the frigates made signal that the enemy were bearing north. Upon this the Victory hove-to, and shortly afterwards Nelson made sail again to the northward. In the afternoon the wind blew fresh from the south-west, and the English began to fear that the foe 40 might be forced to return to port. 35 45 A little before sunset, however, Blackwood, in the Euryalus, telegraphed that they appeared determined to go to the westward. And that," said the Admiral in his diary, "they shall not do, if it is in the power of Nelson and Bronte to prevent them." Nelson had signified to Blackwood that he depended upon him to keep sight of the enemy. They were observed so well that all their motions were made known to him, and, as they wore twice, he inferred that they were aiming to keep the port of Cadiz open, and would retreat there as soon as they saw the British fleet; for this rea- 55 son he was very careful not to approach near enough to be seen by them during the 50 night. At daybreak the combined fleets were distinctly seen from the Victory's deck, formed in a close line of battle ahead, on the starboard tack, about twelve miles to leeward, and standing to the south. Our fleet consisted of twenty-seven sail of the line and four frigates; theirs of thirtythree and seven large frigates. Their superiority was greater in size and weight of metal than in numbers. They had four thousand troops on board; and the best riflemen who could be procured, many of them Tyrolese, were dispersed through the ships. Little did the Tyrolese, and little did the Spaniards at that day, imagine what horrors the wicked tyrant whom they served was preparing for their country.2 Soon after daylight Nelson came upon deck. The 21st of October was a festival in his family, because on that day his uncle, Captain Suckling, in the Dreadnought, with two other line-of-battle ships. had beaten off a French squadron of four sail of the line and three frigates. Nelson, with that sort of superstition from which few persons are entirely exempt, had more than once expressed his persuasion that this was to be the day of his battle also; and he was well pleased at seeing his prediction about to be verified. The wind was now from the west,-light breezes, with a long heavy swell. Signal was made to bear down upon the enemy in two lines; and the fleet set all sail. Collingwood, in the Royal Sovereign, led the lee-line of thirteen ships; the Victory led the weather-line of fourteen. Having seen that all was as it should be, Nelson retired to his cabin, and wrote this prayer: "May the Great God, whom I worship, grant to my country, and for the benefit of Europe in general, a great and glorious victory; and may no misconduct in any one tarnish it; and may humanity after victory be the predominant feature in the British fleet. For myself individually, I commit my life to Him that made me, and may His blessing alight on my endeavors for serving my country faithfully! To Him I resign myself, and the just cause which is intrusted to me to defend. Amen, Amen, Amen. 1 The sail of the line carried much heavier armament than did the frigates. When the Tyrolese were fighting for freedom from the Bavarians in 1809, Napoleon aided the Bavarians. In 1808, he made his brother Joseph king of Spain, Blackwood went on board the Victory about six. He found him in good spirits, but very calm; not in that exhilaration which he had felt upon entering into battle at Aboukir and Copenhagen; he knew that his own life would be particularly aimed at, and seems to have looked for death with almost as sure an expectation as for victory. His whole attention was fixed upon the enemy. They tacked to the northward, and formed their line on the larboard tack; thus bringing the shoals of Trafalgar and St. Pedro under the lee of the British, and keeping the port of Cadiz open for themselves. This was judiciously done: and 15 Nelson, aware of all the advantages which it gave them, made signal to prepare to anchor. 10 25 30 85 Villeneuve was a skilful seaman, worthy of serving a better master and a better 20 cause. His plan of defence was as well conceived, and as original, as the plan of attack. He formed the fleet in a double line, every alternate ship being about a cable's length1 to windward of her second ahead and astern. Nelson, certain of a triumphant issue to the day, asked Blackwood what he should consider as a victory. That officer answered that, considering the handsome way in which battle was offered by the enemy, their apparent determination for a fair trial of strength, and the situation of the land, he thought it would be a glorious result if fourteen were captured. He replied: "I shall not be satisfied with less than twenty." Soon afterwards he asked him if he did not think there was a signal wanting. Captain Blackwood made answer that he thought the whole fleet seemed very clearly to understand what they were about. These words were scarcely spoken before that signal was made which will be remembered as long as the language or even the memory of England shall endure-Nelson's last signal: "ENGLAND EXPECTS EVERY 45 MAN TO DO HIS DUTY!" It was received throughout the fleet with a shout of answering acclamation, made sublime by the spirit which it breathed and the feeling which it expressed. "Now,' ," said Lord 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." He wore that day, as usual, his Admiral's frock-coat, bearing on the left breast four stars of the different orders with which he was invested. Ornaments which rendered 1 Six hundred feet. 40 50 55 Mr. him so conspicuous a mark for the enemy were beheld with ominous apprehensions by his officers. It was known that there were riflemen on board the French ships, and it could not be doubted but that his life would be particularly aimed at. They communicated their fears to each other, and the surgeon, Mr. Beatty, spoke to the chaplain, Dr. Scott, and to Mr. Scott, the public secretary, desiring that some person would entreat him to change his dress or cover the stars; but they knew that such a request would highly displease him. "In honor I gained them, he had said when such a thing had been hinted to him formerly, "and in honor I will die with them." Beatty, however, would not have been deterred by any fear of exciting his displeasure from speaking to him himself upon a subject in which the weal of England, as well as the life of Nelson, was concerned; but he was ordered from the deck before he could find an opportunity. This was a point upon which Nelson's officers knew that it was hopeless to remonstrate or reason with him; but both Blackwood and his own captain, Hardy, represented to him how advantageous to the fleet it would be for him to keep out of action as long as possible; and he consented at last to let the Leviathan and the Téméraire, which were sailing abreast of the Victory, be ordered to pass ahead. Yet even here the last infirmity of this noble mind1 was indulged; for these ships could not pass ahead if the Victory continued to carry all her sail; and so far was Nelson from shortening sail, that it was evident he took pleasure in pressing on, and rendering it impossible for them to obey his own orders. A long swell was setting into the Bay of Cadiz: our ships, crowding all sail, moved majestically before it, with light winds from the south-west. The sun shone on the sails of the enemy; and their well-formed line, with their numerous three-deckers, made an appearance which any other assailants would have thought formidable; but the British sailors only admired the beauty and the splendor of the spectacle; and, in full confidence of winning what they saw, remarked to each other, what a fine sight yonder ships would make at Spithead! The French admiral, from the Bucentaure, beheld the new manner in which his enemy was advancing, Nelson and Collingwood each leading his line; and, pointing them out to his officers, he is said to have 1 That is, ambition. See Lycidas, 71. |