1798. PUBLIC ENTHUSIASM. 197 and the Nile were in every mouth; and all men agreed that this was the greatest sea-fight England had yet won. There were not wanting competent judges deliberately to confirm the opinion which the multitude uttered in the fervency of their gratitude and joy. Lord Hood pronounced the victory 'the most complete and splendid history records.' Admiral Sir Roger Curtis described it as an unparalleled victory;'† and Collingwood, one of the noblest of England's illustrious warriors, pronounced it 'the most decisive, and, in its consequences, perhaps, the most important to Europe that was ever won.'‡ Among the numerous letters of praise and homage which Nelson received from kings and princes, down to persons in a private and humble walk of life, some of the most touching, and probably not the least acceptable congratulations, were those which he received from women. Englishmen, from habitual reserve, or dislike of demonstration, commonly express less than they feel; but Englishwomen, of whatever rank, when their sense of reverence and admiration is deeply moved, can seldom restrain the generous effusions of their hearts. There are two letters in the published collection of Nelson's correspondence which contrast forcibly with the measured and official style in which potentates, statesmen, and commanders convey their sense of the merits and services of the man who with just pride described his achievement as a conquest rather than a victory. They are letters of congratulation addressed to Nelson by the Countess Spencer, the wife of the First Lord of the Admiralty, and of Lady Parker, the wife of a gallant veteran, the Port-Admiral at Portsmouth. 'Joy, joy, joy to you, brave, gallant, immortalised Nelson'-thus wrote Lady Spencer,-. . . My heart is absolutely bursting with different sensations of joy, * Nelson Despatches, vol. iii. + Ibid. p. 86. p. 85. + Ibid. p. 87. 198 CONGRATULATIONS OF THE LADIES. CH. XXXIX. of gratitude, of pride; of every emotion that warmed the bosom of a British woman on hearing of her country's glory-and all produced by you, my dear, my good friend.' In this strain the letter proceeds; and the English matron fondly associates the name of her husband with the fame of the hero of his choice. What a fair and splendid page have you and your heroic companions added to the records of his administration of the navy! And, as wife of that excellent man, what do I not feel for you all as executors of his schemes and plans!' Lady Parker, whose husband, when commanding in the West Indies, had been one of the first to perceive and bring forward Nelson's merits, writes in a transport of maternal pride and affection: 'My dear and immortal Nelson-I am very sure that you know what I feel upon your unparalleled victory. Captain Cochrane will tell you that I am not yet come to my All Europe has cause to bless the day that you were born. I am very uneasy about the wound in your head. . . . . A few months' relaxation in a cold climate will soon fit you for another enterprise; but should you continue in constant exertion of both body and mind, years, not months, will be required for your recovery. Sir Peter and I ever regarded you as a son, and are, of course, truly happy at your well-earned honours.'* senses. a peer. The honours and rewards which the Government Nelson created thought sufficient for the services of Nelson were far from satisfying the gratitude and admiration of the country. The great Admiral was raised to the peerage by the title of Baron Nelson of the Nile, and received the pension of two thousand a year, which is generally conferred for eminent military services. Sir John Jervis had been thought worthy of an earldom for the victory of Cape St. * Nelson Correspondence, vol iii. pp. 74-83. 1798. PUBLIC ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. 199 * Vincent, in which Nelson himself bore a leading part. Duncan was made a viscount for Camperdown. Both Jervis and Duncan were well entitled to their advancement; but great as were the victories of St. Vincent and of Camperdown, the victory of the Nile was greater than either; yet Nelson was admitted only to the tail of the peerage. It is satisfactory to record that the great minister was not responsible for this ungracious parsimony. Pitt had recommended Nelson for a viscountcy; but the King objected, on the ground that Nelson was only second in command; and the narrow formal mind could not understand how any degree of merit should weigh against a technical point of etiquette. If, however, it had been a question whether an Irish boroughmonger should be bought with a barony or an earldom, the bargain would not have been suffered to go off upon a punctilio as to the man's pretensions to this or that degree of the peerage. All Europe rang with the fame of Nelson's victory. The great power itself which had been Exultation on awed; the minor nations which had been the Continent. deprived of their neutrality by that audacious democracy whose ambition was not content with ruling and domineering over one quarter of the globe, began to think the day of deliverance was at hand. Some of these could not refrain from openly expressing *Mr. Pitt told me, the day after Captain Capel arrived [with the despatches], that you would certainly be a viscount; which I made known to Lady Nelson. But it was objected to in a certain quarter, because your lordship was not a Commander-in-Chief. In my humble judgment, a more flimsy reason was never given. But, in fact, your lordship stood in the situation of Commanderin-Chief at the mouth of the Nile, and could not possibly receive any advice or assistance at the distance of near a thousand leagues from Earl St. Vincent, and conquered from your own personal zeal, ability, and judgment.' Admiral Lord Hcod to Nelson, October 15, 1798.-Nelson Despatches, vol. iii. p. 85. In fact, Nelson had only general orders to use his best endeavours to take, sink, burn, or destroy' the enemy's fleet, wherever he could find it.-Nelson Despatches, vol. iii. p. 25. 200 RESULTS OF THE BATTLE OF THE NILE. CH. XXXXI. their joy and hope. The Czar sent the British Admiral a box set in diamonds, with a complimentary letter. The grand Signior, by whose authority Bonaparte had proclaimed that he invaded Egypt to assert the authority of the Porte against the usurpation of the Beys-ordered a note to be addressed to the British plenipotentiary, with his congratulations on the joyful event, and his acknowledgment of the great service which Nelson had rendered to the Ottoman Empire. This unprecedented condescension was accompanied by a wreath of diamonds taken from the Imperial turban, and a fur pelisse, which he requested that the Admiral might be permitted to wear. The Sultan also sent a present of money to be distributed among the crew of Nelson's squadron. The Court of Naples, which had with difficulty been induced to give Nelson permission to victual and water his ships in a Sicilian port before he sailed for Alexandria, so great was their terror of the French, became delirious with joy when the great news arrived. The King of Sardinia, who had been subjected to every humiliation by the French, preparatory to his intended expulsion from his kingdom, and had been compelled to refuse the British fleet admission to his harbour, sent Nelson a letter of thanks, and a royal present. Naples. On the 7th of September, Nelson sailed for Naples. Nelson sails for He left a few ships, which he could ill spare, to watch the entrance to the Nile; and, before his departure, he addressed the most earnest entreaties to the Government at Constantinople to send bomb-ships and troops to destroy the French transports, and complete the destruction of the French army, already suffering severely from the climate, and the want of supplies. His primary object in returning to Naples was to obtain small craft, and to return to Alexandria to direct the destruction of the troop-ships. Had he effected this object, 1798. SERIOUS ILLNESS OF NELSON. 201 which seemed to be an easy undertaking, when compared with many things which he had done, Nelson had consummated a victory which would have altered the course of history, and prevented the fate of Europe. Before Nelson could reach Naples, he was at the point of death. For nearly five years he had experienced no intermission of severe and anxious professional toil, except during the period when he was laid up with the loss of a limb. His long and anxious pursuit of the French fleet, with the eyes of Europe upon him, had excited his enfeebled frame to a dangerous pitch; and the wound which he received at the battle of the Nile would have completed his prostration, had he not been sustained by the pressure of business which necessarily followed the action. But when this pressure ceased, and the wearied frame should have enjoyed an interval of ease, fever took possession of it, and for eighteen hours, during his voyage to Naples, his life was in imminent danger. Even when the crisis had passed, he was so weak and emaciated, that he thought his end approaching. He would have died gloriously, and with unblemished fame, had his eyes been closed in the cabin of the 'Vanguard' on that ill-omened voyage. But his work was not yet done. The conqueror of the Nile was welcomed at Naples with a passion of exultation and delight. Coerced and intimidated by Bonaparte, the Neapolitan Court had, in the first instance, refused the succours which Nelson required to enable him to proceed to Alexandria. And when they had yielded, with fear and trembling, to the influence of the British embassy, they felt they had staked their existence on Nelson's success. The Queen, a daughter of Maria Theresa, the sister of Marie Antoinette, and the wife of a Bourbon, who might well be excused for the implacable hatred which she bore towards the French, |