LORD NELSON.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 22, 21 October 1907, Page 4

LORD NELSON.

BRITAIN'S , GREATEST NAVAL HERO. 1 A SKETCH OF HIS CAREER., ;•'"'' : To writo about Nelson is to run tho risl of perpetrating platitudes, so oft in soni and story have his deathless deeds boon told And mere pen and ink are too-paltry to. pa , tribute to his memory. 'His name is writtei in letters of fadeless gold deep in the hear of every Briton, and it noeds no spur to stj tbo Empire's pride. .',.".' Tho purpose of this brief, article, then, i to limn lightly the salient-features of hi illustrious career, rather than to pen pane gyrics in purple prose. ~ Boyhood. ''.'".- -"'';.,' Like so many of the deathless heroes win have ' made Old England's name,"- Nelsoi was the son of a peacerloving parson , Bon in the quiet little Norfolk village , " of Burnhan Thorpe, on September 29, 1758, he spent hi first young years m an atmosphere of cloistra cairn, securely sheltered from the shock am glamour of the bravo fighting world withou that was soon to ring to the tune ofhis tin rivalled renown. But the boy early sliowei that the noiseless tenor of the placid rusti* way was not for him. The clarion , call of thi sesi'sang in his oars, fired his adventurou b100d,,, and filled his , droams- with ricl romantic pictures. ; And so, at the age'o twelve, wo find him, as a tiny midshipmite putting-his foot on-tho lowest'rung-of the ladder, which led to the topmost pinnacle o undying-: fame Of his earliest years at sci it is not necessary to dwell in detail. As'mid shipman and lieutenant ho saw. service n almost every part of the globe; giving abun dant proof of signal courage,; "remarkable energy, and surprising fertility of resource The qualities'that wero destined to cbnfoum a hostile world in arms were already mani fest when, at the age of - twenty-one; - tie wa: niado a post-captain—a romarkable tribute in those days, when merit was not recog nised as readily as the gilded charms of. aris tocraey.-.'o This was riot a;goldrjii period for tlu • English navy. Despite Rodney's gloriou! victory in 1782, the flag of France flauntec defiantly over the West Indies and the Indiar Seas; Gibraltar ,: was assailed by France anc Spain.- Nelson took,no commanding'part ir tho, great operations of this time,,- but wai chiefly engaged in protecting convoy's and ehas nig cruisers of his own.class.. But hisreputation grpiv and spread,: and King "William IV then a midshipman,, voiced the general feeling when ho said Nelson ■ was "a , boy captair with an enthusiasms that' showed , ho was nc common , ibojng." , . ■'. >■■ ■: -■■'. '.-.'• ■:.. ■!:..:•■-,; :■■-. First Groat Opportunity. ■■'■,:■" i Following'.the , ; , peace 'of {Versailles'"'in 178,3. Nelson Was m the West Indies''for several y ear ?v, b , ut ifc. ten xeariJater.iefore'th'c future -.Admiral 'had this, first."great'loppor- • 1, , ," 1 >, m ifJ'M.J)%' SftWUs,'") England! and Francp;had flowii afeacS otlief's ffiroats again at the , beginning ..of, that year,' aiid on the recommendation. ,of'. Lord'. Hpqd," Nelson, was iiiiade. captain/of tho. Agamemnon-rliis first ship of fjhe the Mediterjaneanj his. deeds of daring, and,splendid seamanship i—with', a. vessel' that was one of the. worst ''in ,tho.fleet--7singled him out'at'.oiice for honours and distinction.' Ho was equally redoubtable ; on land.. :.At the' siego of Bastia". he {, led .-a detachment' of sailors, who,' ho saidj " minded shot as little as peas," and it was mostly to thoir valorous determination that the capitulation, of the;placo was due. Again, at, the siege of Calyi, :'he"playe > d\d" ! notablo;part, hie .seamen fighting the the assistance only of a'single artilleryman. , It was in ,thip encounter that he lost But it was on the water that.Nclson'naturally'revelled, and it was not long after when lie set the seal of transcendent brilliance, pn his career', It was in ilarch, 1795, when the, British fleet', undor Admiral Hotharii,. was - partially engaged off the coasts of Italy, with a'French fleet of superior.! strength. A 'French, eighty,four, haviiig .been-! dismastcd,' sheered ' off, towed by a, powerful ingate and covered by. two : large; ships \o\ the" lmb. 'Nelson's" vessel' —tho Agamemnon.—was']" only a .'.'■ sixty-four. Fearless aud resourceful,. however,,' Nelson wont boldly ufter the retiring enemy, an<} : so skilful, were. his tactics that, he.'-well .riigli destroyed the.disabled Frenchman, and'hold the whole hostile squadron at i bay,! without suffering any serious loss himself. .The, crippled.', French vessel..', and ,ono' of her consorts were,easily captured a few hours.later,' and the.wholo opposing fleet would have been brought to action," and probably complete de-.. feat, had Nelson's, advice been'followed by. his Admiral. . The winter 0f,1795r(5 Nelson engaged cutting off the, supplies, of the French army on the'ltalian spa board, and soon'after he.was made a.commodore,. This, paved, the way for another glorious exploit,, and ono so splendidly, audacious that none but a Nelson-would have , dared attpinpt.it. Cape St. Vincent. Drawn into her old a]liancp-with France, Spain had declared war: against England in 1796., On February 13,1797,, Spanish ? and. English fleets came into conflict off Cape St. , Vincent. The British force was only fifteen against twenty-seven ships: of tho, line, but: Admiral . Jervis sailed > into action • without hesitation,, broke, tho op'posingl line, arid cut off nine slups.i The Spanish" Admiral tried to rejoin this detachment'by.wheeluig round his van, and seemed likely to succeed. But Nelson, placod at tho British rear; audaciously abandoned : his own liiioj disregarding lii's , superior's orders, and with his .single ship attacked tho oncoming, squadron. "Though ably seconded by tho; three'-nearest'British' ships of tho line, Nelson, on tho Captain, was ongaged for over half an'hour with a force immeasurably superior. -But, as on so many other occasions, British pluck' and discipline triumphed, and the Spaniards retreated, beaten. And Nelson, leading his dare-dovil crew to tho cry of ■" Westminster Abbey or Victory, , '- boarded and captured two sliip!- : each bigger and more powerful than the Captain. Nelson had disobeyed orders—but ie had succeeded-gloriously. As a reward, ho received tho Order of the Bath and was mndo an Admiral. Had ho failed.-siii ,, . liisdaring enterprise, his disobedience would almost assuredly been punished with disgrace. : And what of Trafalgar then?—it opons up n suggcstivo.voin of thought. Tho months that ollowcd, saw him again harrying Spain and her. colonies, and he, lost an arm during an attack on Santa Cruz. Battle.of the Nile. With bis. first independent command came perhaps his greatest victory. In May. lvv. ho was despatched to intercept a groat French armament, which, under:the guidance of Bonaparte, was intended to reach Egypt'and to menace India. His jquiidron haying been , crippled in n. gale, tho hostile fleet Escaped from Toulon, and reached Alexandria, lint Nelson foliowod in pursuit, and on August 1 descried the enemy. The Frenchmen lay in front of tho roads of Aboukir, tho rear supported by coast batteries, and the centre and van .composed of new and formidable vi>sse):s. As. shoals stretched botweon tho fleet and the neighbouring shore, tho French Admiral, Brucys,, was convinced that no foe could thread a: way between and attack frofii that siilo. But' Nelson had been a cunning pilot from boyhood, and he saw that the feat was possible, with fine steering. So bo made Iris plans and directed part of bis fleet to attack through that devious ■■ passage, and the remainder to give battle from the "seaward;

Tho plan wns brilliantly successful. The shoal stopped only oiie of tho British ships, and beforo an hour had passed Nelson's divided line had encompassed more than half the opposing lleet. The French fought heroically, but in vain. By daybreak the British victory was complete. Of tuc thirteen French vessels only two 1 , escaped. This ' out'standine triumph—the Battle of the Nile—raised Nelson to an unparalleled pinnacle of distinction, and oponed a now era in the history of the . British navy. k Trafalgar. Tliero remains only one word to be Written —Irafalgar. Whole volumes could "not say ': '. more than that ono magic word. 1 Nelson's ' ' 3 hallowed dust lies in St. Paul's Cathedral," where,the nation's idol was carried to rest on ' January 9, 1806. But heroes never die.' They live for aye in the heart's of proud 1 j posterity.' ■ •'• '• -

I' CONCERT IN THE TOWN ! HALL.

In commemoration; of tho' greatest, naval "? I .victory iii our history an entertainment is : to'-'' , . jh tho' Town Hall' this evening, at' ' which His Excellency the' Governor will' bbye >y ; present. A guard of honour will bo detailed from tho training-ship Amofcira' to ' receive' ' ' His Excellency at 7.80 p.m. As a prelude, 'Mr. llowloy Hill will play' : a ■patriotic fantasia " of British and. French. natir.ial airs on,the- > grand organ: Mr.- A. S. Bdlance will sing > 1 "Tho Death of. Nelson" (Bialnns), -and the ! presentation! of -tho, League's prizes will then . take place.- Folloiying . this-there will , be p short, addresses by His Excellency tho Gov-., i ernoy,, and Sir Joseph' Ward,, and> tho pro-,.,, ' granimo.will,conclude with a display,.by the. <- bluejackets of H'.M.S. Challenger. Arrange-..;,: ments. have been made whereby-school mem-,-,, i. :bers. of the .Navy ~Leaguo: and their parents -.' i .will, bo able.,to'..pbtain seaty .upstairs until ' -, 7.50 p.m.., The,front, portion downstairs, is to,"J be reserved for League .members .and\friends.,V Permission has been giyen by tho Officer Coin- .7 manding tlje , District.(lJieut.-Colonel.'. Bau- ,' .chop's), for officers to attend in uniform. Or-. dcrly duties' .will be carried oiit.'by.a party of i ■: bluojackets from/H3I.S, Challenger. Those ' ; . attending tlie function will reccivo souvenirs ' , containing some; interesting details of. the • I .Cattle of Trafalgar'and the life of Nelson. > ; AT THE SCHOOLS. I - In. conncction with the anniversarv, of tho , Battleof Trafalgar,,Mr.,G.-W. Palmer, sec- | rotary to the Wellington Branca or.tne iNavy, J- League, has. written to the, Education Board ,- re the observance of the .daythe schools. ,' t t, It' \yas .suggested . thaA about. 3, p.m. or at some convenient timo af.tor. tho scliobl work; - - [ was oyer, a'pprbpriato sp'ecches'niiglit bo given' : by the 'headmaster'or thc.'chairhiaii' of com-';'. mitteo. " The ceremdny' 'of' saluting -the'.'-' [ fla^,and the singing of tho National. Anthem, I '' and patriotic-songs' was also suggested!; The , 1 Board has decided 1 to leave tlie. matter in the":'' ; hands of tho headmasters.' As , tho anniiiil ! inspection, of the city schools'will; begin'next ' V . :. week, it' 'is; doubtful '"whether'"tho Navj-.v 1 . League's' suggestions' will be given effect 'to. '