THE LIFE OF NELSON.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 13209, 16 February 1905, Page 2

THE LIFE OF NELSON.

THE NAVY LEAGUE PRIZE ESSAYS.

Tho following essay on " Tho Life of Nelson, ' by I l '. B. Barton, was marked equal with tho one published on Saturday for the naval' history competition among the upper form of the Boys' High School last under the auspices of the local branch of the Navy League: — Horatio Nelson was born in the year 1758 in the village of Burnhamfhorpo, 111 Norfolk. He was the sou of the Rev. I'ldmund Nelson, who was at the time of Horatio's birth the vicar of £he village.. When \vs rivfow the livesi of oiir groat dead Wo oanliot ho'.ji feeling.surprise on finding tllSt so hiaiiy of ohr national . heroes were, brought iip as children of plorgynion. . In-'Nelson's casewe nnist admit that his'homo influences arid environment had a great deal to do witli till) success of his future cnrcor. All that is best and noblest in a man must have been Engendered 111 his youth. Nelson's early training had a far-reaching influence over his character. Doubtless it was due very considerably to tho situation of Nelson's mrthplace that 110 ohosc tho profession 110 did. Norfolk has produced many a sailor, but none to equal Nelson. As a child lie was rattier deliculo, and he remained so all his _ days. Nowadays Nelson's poor puysiquc would most certainly debar him from ever obtaining a position in tho navy. But, fortunately for England and Her future, fcjie times were different then, aii.il iNclsxm, w ho was anxious'to bccomc a ■ sailor, obtained'with .little difficulty a berth 0.1 one of his Majesty's ships as a midshipman. The first fow weeks that ho spent were not too enjoyable, as lie suffered considerably from seasickness; and, strange to rcla e to the end of his life he Was subject to that complaint. However, nothing so trifling cou.d daunt Nelson's spirit. lie joined navy to succeed, and by his resolute determination and seal ho Worked ' » Wny rt- tlb tb P'" f ' lle -As a petty officer he did his work dutifully and well, and won tlie admiration and respect of the officers arid men alike. Consequently hp rapidly rose, and, by the influence of Ills superiors, who wished to seo such a capital youlig officer in a. good position, 1m received many promotions. During the first jcars of Jus life at sea ho saw many parts of the wol'ld, and while thus cruising about ho gained many valuable hints in soaman-s-iipwhich fitted him so Weil for the future. At tins timo Europe was in ii very disturbod stale, Atlibitkms Nalwlcon was endcavonring to carry out his plan of becoining Master of Europe." The 0110 stumbling block . 111 bis way was England-her money and her fleet. Again, there were the .Spaniards, who, since the time of tho Armada, had been quarrelling with Eng. land, ant now threatened her. It was theretore a busy time with tho British fleet, n/ani fr s spoil engaged..and from the 7 ! . > ""bnderful, coiirago rod tact. Ho had had several c-erious'oll- - with tho Spaniards in their South Sea colonics. In orio'engagement at Caivi ,o.on 'a* his eye, while at Sarita Cruz [luring a sharp fight with tho Spaniards he ivas un fortunately wounded in the right ' S W ti T' cn iV"" y l"" 1 to bo fated, thus handicapped, ho kept to his noble profession, and afterwards fought many a lierco battle for his eoiintb. His hist great engagement was off Capo St, V liiecnt against the Spanish fleet, which was Jiideavoiinng to joiii lho IVe'neh and act in MiiTOi't with it against, the formidable Biitish niivy. Difc plan was, however, frusby, tho complete defeat' of tlie jpanish ships at this, battle. Admiral lervis, a very good sealnan, was in com- : nand, with Nelson as second,. The victory •an undoubtedly be ascribed to Nelson's ludaeity ou this occasion. Certainly lie 1 ailed 111 hw duty to Jervis; but What of 1 il'.at when ho proved successful in his enter- 1 mse. Instead of acting upon. tho orders 1 fiyon by the Admiral, lie' boldly 'steered hii ! ■hip right into tho heart of tho Spanish 1 leet and, after taking one ship, he cap- ' urcd another from the deck of the vessel 1 10 had last subdued. In thia extraordinary ! lay no acllißvcd ii meritorious victory, anil 1 idded immensely to his fame. Hi(S next ; ingageinent comjilelelj' upsofc ono of ' japolfion s numerous projocts to weaken tho 1 Jritish power. This .was tho battle of ( Uioukir Bay, whore, tftor « long EO arch ' xtending over inany months, Nelson dis- ' overed the French fleet at anchor. Tho f nemys fleet was placed in a capital de- 1 ensivo position fairly close into the shore, s lilt Nelson was alert to evory emergency, " nd,. with characteristic boldness, lie su'r- v rised the French by sending a portion of us fleet between theirs and the land. Ins strategic-more placed'the enemy, he- c iveen two fires, which proved fib'destructive " liat a decisive victory was gained by our cet. r

Olson's next mission was to destroy tliit Danish fleet which was t ihougnt to bo preparing to co-operato with Napoleon, Tho British fleet sc-t out tiplili this undertaking with Sir Hyde Parker 111 chief command. at Copenhagen, theyfotind the Danes a waiting them, and a very- hot engagement followed. Many of tho British slutis ran aground oft the shoals* us tho Danes bad removed all tho bbaeotis in the. harbour. Added to this, the fire from tho shore batteries proved somewhat destructive to tlioso VteSqls which, liad stranded. Admiral Parker, seeing how matters stood, thought 1 it would be advisable for Nelson, whom lie had sent to do tho aoliial fighting,.to withdraw, and ho signalled him odo to. On learning this from the flag captain, Nelson put his telescope,to his blind eyo, and said thht they had better.fight on as he eoitlcl not See the signal. 'Hiis w'oii the battle for us. Now camo the greatest battle 111 his iife-the battle against the combined fleets of France and Spain. 'On-.tho issue of that great encounter the existence of our nation dejjended, and in 110 smalt measure may that glorious victory bo attributed' to Nelson. At this battle he was in supreme command! with Collingwood as second. After a great deal of manoeuvring, the fleets met off Cape Trafalgar, and the battle almost instantly commcnccd. The British fleet was divided into two lines, Nelson at the liead of one in Hie.Vietory, and Collingwood in the other in the Royal Sovereign; and in this formation tlley hore dowii upon the enemy. The fleets wore soon in acttoh, lind a fierce fight, ensued, in which the combined fle°ts lost about. 18 vo'sols. Although we lost no vessel, we unfortunately lost' our nobie fieaijjan Nelson.' During the fight he 'was struck by a bullet from u French sharp* shooter who was posted "villi "cmc others in the rigging of pre of the enemy's ve.vels. Nelson was .earned below, but. iu 0 few hours exnireti. Tlm<= ended the life, on the 2M of October. ]%. of Enaland's greatest admiral, Horatio Nelson. He left a motto '"hicli every British subject should revere ns the parting words of one of England's nobkfit beocs: "England that every -man will do duty."