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LORD COLLINGWOOD-AGAIN AT SEA.

myself. Very frequently have they slept together on a gun; from which Admiral Collingwood would rise from time to time, to sweep the horizon with his night-glass, lest the enemy should escape in the dark."

In 1805 he was moved to the station off Cadiz, and condemned to the same weary task of watching and observation. He here writes to his father-in-law as follows:

"How happy should I be, could I but hear from home, and know how my dear girls are going on! Bounce is my only pet now, and he is indeed a good fellow; he sleeps by the side of my cot, whenever I lie in one, until near the time of tacking, and then marches off, to be out of the hearing of the guns, for he is not reconciled to them yet. I am fully determined, if I can get home and manage it properly, to go on shore next spring for the rest of my life, for I am very weary. There is no end to my business; I am at work from morning till even; but I dare say Lord Nelson will be out next month. He told me he should; and then what will become of me I do not know. I should wish to go home but I must go or stay as the exigencies of the times require."

At last, towards the close of the year, the enemy gave some signs of an intention to come out and the day of Trafalgar was at hand. In anticipation of it, Lord Nelson addressed the following characteristic note to his friend, which breathes in every line the noble frankness and magnanimous confidence of his soul:

"They surely cannot escape us. I wish we could get a fine day. I send you my plan of attack, as far as a man dare venture to guess at the very uncertain position the enemy may be found in: but, my dear friend, it is to place you perfectly at ease respecting my intentions, and to give full scope to your judgment for carrying them into effect. We can, my dear Coll., have no little jealousies: we have only one great object in view — that of annihilating our enemies, and getting a glorious peace for our country. No man has more confidence in another than I have in you; and no man will render your services more justice than your very old friend,

"NELSON AND BRONTE."

The day at last came; and though it is highly characteristic of its author, we will not indulge ourselves by transcribing any part of the memorable despatch, in which Lord Collingwood, after the fall of his heroic commander, announced its result to his country. We cannot, however, withhold from our readers the following

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particulars as to his personal conduct and deportment, for which they would look in vain in that singularly modest and generous detail. The first part, the editor informs us, is from the statement of his confidential servant.

"I entered the Admiral's cabin,' he observed, about daylight, and found him already up and dressing. He asked if I had seen the French fleet; and on my replying that I had not, he told me to look out at them, adding, that, in a very short time, we should see a great deal more of them. I then observed a crowd of ships to leeward; but I could not help looking, with still greater interest, at the Admiral, who, during all this time, was shaving himself with a composure that quite astonished me!' Admiral Collingwood dressed himself that morning with peculiar care; and soon after, meeting Lieutenant Clavell, advised him to pull off his boots. You had better,' he said, 'put on silk stockings, as I have done for if one should get a shot in the leg, they would be so much more manageable for the surgeon.' He then proceeded to visit the decks, encouraged the men to the discharge of their duty, and addressing the officers, said to them, 'Now, gentlemen, let us do something to-day which the world may talk of hereafter.'

"He had changed his flag about ten days before the action, from the Dreadnought; the crew of which had been so constantly practised in the exercise of the great guns, under his daily superintendence, that few ships' companies could equal them in rapidity and precision of firing. He had begun by telling them, that if they could fire three well-directed broadsides in five minutes, no vessel could resist them; and, from constant practice, they were enabled to do so in three minutes and a half. But though he left a crew which had thus been disciplined under his own eye, there was an advantage in the change; for the Royal Sovereign, into which he went, had lately returned from England, and as her copper was quite clean, she much outsailed the other ships of the lee division. While they were running down, the well-known telegraphic signal was made of England expects every man to do his duty.' When the Admiral observed it first, he said that he wished Nelson would make no more signals, for they all understood what they were to do: but when the purport of it was communicated to him he expressed great delight and admiration, and made it known to the officers and ship's company. Lord Nelson had been requested by Captain Blackwood (who was anxious for the preservation of so invaluable a life) to allow some other vessel to take the lead, and at last gave permission that the Téméraire should go a-head of him; but resolving to defeat the order which he had given, he crowded more sail on the Victory, and maintained his place. The Royal Sovereign was far in advance when Lieutenant Clavell observed that the Victory was setting her studding sails, and with that spirit of honourable emulation which prevailed between the squadrons, and particularly between these two ships, he pointed it out to Admiral

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ships of our division,' replied the Admiral, ‘are not yet sufficiently up for us to do so now; but you may be getting ready.' The studding sail and royal halliards were accordingly manned, and in about ten minutes the Admiral, observing Lieutenant Clavell's eyes fixed upon him with a look of expectation, gave him a nod; on which that officer went to Captain Rotherham and told him that the Admiral desired him to make all sail. The order was then given to rig out and hoist away, and in one instant the ship was under a crowd of sail, and went rapidly a-head. The Admiral then directed the officers to see that all the men lay down on the decks, and were kept quiet. At this time the Fougueux, the ship astern of the Santa Anna, had closed up with the intention of preventing the Royal Sovereign from going through the line; and when Admiral Collingwood observed it, he desired Captain Rotherham to steer immediately for the Frenchman and carry away his bowsprit. To avoid this the Fougueux backed her main top sail, and suffered the Royal Sovereign to pass, at the same time beginning her fire; when the Admiral ordered a gun to be occasionally fired at her, to cover his ship with smoke.

"The nearest of the English ships was now distant about a mile from the Royal Sovereign; and it was at this time, while she was pressing alone into the midst of the combined fleets, that Lord Nelson said to Captain Blackwood, 'See how that noble fellow, Collingwood, takes his ship into action. How I envy him!' On the other hand, Admiral Collingwood, well knowing his commander and friend, observed, 'What would Nelson give to be here!' and it was then, too, that Admiral Villeneuve, struck with the daring manner in which the leading ships of the English squadrons came down, despaired of the issue of the contest. In passing the Santa Anna, the Royal Sovereign gave her a broadside and a half into her stern, tearing it down, and killing and wounding 400 of her men; then, with her helm hard a-starboard, she ranged up alongside so closely that the lower yards of the two vessels were locked together. The Spanish admiral, having seen that it was the intention of the Royal Sovereign to engage to leeward, had collected all his strength on the starboard; and such was the weight of the Santa Anna's metal, that her first broadside made the Sovereign heel two streaks out of the water. Her studding-sails and halliards were now shot away; and as a top-gallant studding-sail was hanging over the gangway hammocks, Admiral Collingwood called out to Lieutenant Clavell to come and help him to take it in, observing that they should want it again some other day. These two officers accordingly rolled it carefully up and placed it in the boat."

"Of his economy, at all times, of the ship's stores, an instance was often mentioned in the navy as having occurred at the battle of St. Vincent. The Excellent shortly before the action had bent a new fore-topsail: and when she was closely engaged with the St. Isidro, Captain Collingwood called out to his boatswain, a very gallant man, who was shortly afterwards killed, ‘Bless me! Mr. Peffers, how came we to forget to bend our old top-sail? They will quite ruin that new one. It will never be worth a farthing again.'"

HIS FEELINGS ON HIS PEERAGE.

429

We shall add only what he says in his letter to Mr. Blackett of Lord Nelson:

"When my dear friend received his wound, he immediately sent an officer to me to tell me of it,—and give his love to me! Though the officer was directed to say the wound was not dangerous, I read in his countenance what I had to fear; and before the action was over, Captain Hardy came to inform me of his death. I cannot tell you how deeply I was affected; my friendship for him was unlike anything that I have left in the navy; a brotherhood of more than thirty years. In this affair he did nothing without my counsel: we made our line of battle together, and concerted the mode of attack, which was put in execution in the most admirable style. I shall grow very tired of the sea soon; my health has suffered so much from the anxious state I have been in, and the fatigue I have undergone, that I shall be unfit for service. The severe gales which immediately followed the day of victory ruined our prospect of prizes."

He was now elevated to the peerage, and a pension of 2000l. was settled on him by parliament for his own life, with 10007. in case of his death to Lady Collingwood, and 500l. to each of his daughters. His His Royal Highness the Duke of Clarence also honoured him with a very kind letter, and presented him with a sword. The way in which he received all those honours, is as admirable as the services by which they were earned. On the first tidings of his peerage he writes thus to Lady Collingwood:

"It would be hard if I could not find one hour to write a letter to my dearest Sarah, to congratulate her on the high rank to which she has been advanced by my success. Blessed may you be, my dearest love, and may you long live the happy wife of your happy husband! I do not know how you bear your honours; but I have so much business on my hands, from dawn till midnight, that I have hardly time to think of mine, except it be in gratitude to my King, who has so graciously conferred them upon me. But there are so many things of which I might justly be a little proud-for extreme pride is follythat I must share my gratification with you. The first is the letter from Colonel Taylor, his Majesty's private secretary to the Admiralty, to be communicated to me. I enclose you a copy of it. It is considered the highest compliment the King can pay; and, as the King's personal compliment, I value it above everything. But I will tell you what I feel nearest to my heart, after the honour which his Majesty has done me, and that is the praise of every officer of the fleet. There is a thing which has made a considerable impression upon me. A week before the war, at Morpeth, I dreamed distinctly many of the circumstances of our late battle off the enemy's port, and I believe I told you

430 LD COLLINGWOOD-LOFTY INDIFFERENCE ABOUT MONEY.

of it at the time: but I never dreamed that I was to be a peer of the realm! How are my darlings? I hope they will take pains to make themselves wise and good, and fit for the station to which they are raised."

And again, a little after:

"I labour from dawn till midnight, till I can hardly see; and as my hearing fails me too, you will have but a mass of infirmities in your poor Lord, whenever he returns to you. I suppose I must not be seen to work in my garden now! but tell old Scott that he need not be unhappy on that account. Though we shall never again be able to plant the Nelson potatoes, we will have them of some other sort, and right noble cabbages to boot, in great perfection. You see I am styled of Hethpoole and Caldburne. Was that by your direction? I should prefer it to any other title, if it was; and I rejoice, my love, that we are an instance that there are other and better sources of nobility than wealth."

At this time he had not heard that it was intended to accompany his dignity with any pension; and though the éditor assures us that his whole income, even including his full pay, was at this time scarcely 1100l. a year, he never seems to have wasted a thought on such a consideration. Not that he was not at all times a prudent and considerate person; but, with the high spirit of a gentleman, and an independent Englishman, who had made his own way in the world, he disdained all sordid considerations. Nothing can be nobler, or more natural, than the way in which he expresses this sentiment, in another letter to his wife, written a few weeks after the preceding:

"Many of the Captains here have expressed a desire that I would give them a general notice whenever I go to court; and if they are within 500 miles, they will come up to attend me! Now all this is very pleasing; but, alas! my love, until we have peace, I shall never be happy and yet, how we are to make it out in peace, I know not, with high rank and no fortune. At all events, we can do as we did before. It is true I have the chief command, but there are neither French nor Spaniards on the sea, and our cruisers find nothing but neutrals, who carry on all the trade of the enemy. Our prizes, you see, are lost. Villeneuve's ship had a great deal of money in her, but it all went to the bottom. I am afraid the fees for this patent will be large, and pinch me: But never mind; let others solicit pensions, I am an Englishman, and will never ask for money as a favour. How do my darlings go on? I wish you would make them write to me by turns, and give me the whole history of their proceedings. Oh! how