PATER'S CHATS WITH THE BOYS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2692, 18 October 1905, Page 84

PATER'S CHATS WITH THE BOYS.

THE CENT* NARY OF TRAFALGAR. The special issue of the Witness is now published, and I would suggest to all boys and girls that they buy a copy to keep for reference and as a memento. In 10 years more the centenary of Waterloo will be celebrated, whtn, no doubt a centenary number on Waterloo will be published; then it will be interesting to see the two &ido by side. I happened to have facsimiles of several issues of the London Times by me, and they have been objects of interest to hundreds'. In the Centenary number it is pointed' out that 1757 saw I'lassey lay tho foundation of our Indian Empire, and 1759 Quebec laid the foundation of our Canadian Empire ; and in both eases it was French power that was overthrown. In the inteivening year Nelsoa was born, and he all but- half a centurylater was tc repeat the performance, but on sea. So 1757, 1758, 1759, and 1805 are dates that ought to be easily remembered by schoolboys. Here is another rather interesting association. It is taken from "Horatio Nelson: England's Sailor Hero," by Richard H. Holme: — "Nelson's history is woven ifltQ

the story of two others, and in thinking of that trio — those three little men, for each was of small stature— -I think also of the mysterious ways in which Divine Providence shapes the ways of men — Shapes our ends, rough hew them as we will! Little did the wcrldJ reck when, m the year 1769, two boys were born — one in tbo village of Ajaccio, in Corsica, an islan-l iv ike blue Mediterranean, and one in. Mirion street, Dublin— that these were eventually to bold the destinies of tho world ia their hands: that one was to Lecome the scourge of Europe, and tihe ether was to meet and overthrow him and make free the Continent. Little, too, did those think who saw "a weakly, almost Bickly, youngster rambling about the lanes of Norfolk or playing in rLe parsonage grounds at Bumham Thorpe, a lad of 11 years of age, imagine they were looking at one who was predestined to be the mighty naval heiio who by his genius vrould make possible tOie meeting of the two in after years. Yet at was so." This, from the 6ame book, may also be added: — "It is noteworthy that in. the very year in which Nelson won his captaincy Napoleon, entered into the Brienne School for military - training, preliminary to becoming a gentleman cadet in the Military School at Paris, and began the career winch had to end at Waterloo. - It; is also remarkable that in that s&Jf-same' school was a young man named- Sydney Smit^-a man destined before many /years to face Napoleon at_Acr.e, and mete out to lum his first great- punishment, and to hurl his -forces backward into the desert through, which, centuries ' before, Mosas led the children, of Israel." The horrors of war are vividly pictured in this brief extract from/ one of tlxe books% used by the ' writer sof tha Centenary number : t~ "Over the heads of the three Admirals-in-Chief of the three, fleets about to join -battle Death, hovered menacingly. Nelsoa was £o die in the full glory of his success ; Villeneuve to perish by a strange and mysterious fate in melancholy disgrace; Gravina to languish, for mouths, before the end came, of a mortal wound. The waste stretches of the Atlantic were to beat that Might" red with human blood and heavy with bodies upon, the "reefs of Andalusia. ' The painted ships were to be wrecked and torn and shattered before the sun went down upon the greatest sea-fight that the world has ever known." From Ihe. same source the next selection is obtained : — "At Trafalgar, amid thej-oar of guns and the terrible impressiveness that belongs to tfia critical moments of the world's story, 4 tho flower of- the navies of France and Spain were destroyed. After Trafalgar, . more' "quietlyv-'but.- not less surely ,' what remained 'of th!e' colonies, the commerce,' the and tho resources .of Great . Britain's allied foes was slowly taken from -them,' until, they were rendered so weak by the steady denial to them of any^us© of -the «ea~ that'" even the small army of Great Britain 'was able to- take a decisive "share ia the- 3Jxaihilation< of the military horde which for years' had terrorised- Europe." But the following, •written either by Wilson or Lord Charles Beresford, is more comprehensive, and conveys a warning: — 'If we look for. Nelson's true nicununtent w« shall find it in the British Empire of our day. TheC sovereignty of the seas which; he won for us and tha prestige of Trafalgar, strong even, npw after the lapse of a century, made it possible and protected its development We can best do" him honour and repay the immeasurable debt which we owe Mm by remember' ng Ms teaching, by refusing to sacrifice duty to comfort, and by persistently strengthening the great) force which he led to victory. . "Tho years pass, and danger again threatens England. Her honour, lier greatness, "her intereste are threatened) in every direction. But now, as of old, if we are true' to ourselves, ire need have no fears. Nelson's example remains to all time to inspire us with lofty devotion. His body may be dust, but still ia all the worthy eons of this country — Bis high faith burns on to light men's feet, Where death N for en'Q.s makes dying sweet. . . •Perhaps no reference to Nelson's life could jwncludie better tliam with Lord" Chafles^Beresford's estimate of Nelson : — "'The distinguishing trait of Nelson's genius as a seaman was the unerring judgment which enabled him, even as an officer of inferior rank, to realise in an action what his admiral's real aim was : the courage with which, when the occasion warranted, he would accept the responsibility of breaking the letter of an order so that he might the better carry out what was really its spirit. At St. Vincent he realised that if he did not instantly take the initiative, and break the order of formation of the British fleet, the object of his admiral must be defeated, as the Spanish fleet woukT escape. Under Keith in the Mediterianean he cruised in a direction exactly opposite to that prescribed in his instructions, and by so doing he was able ' to intercept the French squadron, and so literally carry out his admiral's wishes. At Copenhagen his foresight and rapidity of decision enabled him to turn into a brilliant success vrhat might otherwise have been an abortive and bloody battle, and so again to realise his admiral's intentions. So it was throughout his career. Nelson had the ability to plan, the boldness to execute, and the fearless audacity of youth, combined with that enthusiasm which is so essential in a great commander." Have any of you read Tennyson's poem -"pan Wellington? As the funeral of Wellington approaches St. Paul's, Nelson is made to ask who it is that is breaking lus rest, and he is told. — Nelson and Wellington.— IWho is he that cometh, like aa lionour'cli guest, BSith banner and •wj(li music, with soldier aad with jy"***-

With a nation weeping, and breaking on. ray

rest? Mighty Seaman, this is he Was great by land as thou by sea. Thine island loves thee well, thou famous

ma.n, The greatest sailor since om world began. Now, to the roll of muffled drums, To thee the greatest soldier comes; For this is he was great by land as tlioii by

sea; His foes were thine; he kept us free; O give him. welcome, this is he Worthy of our gorgeous rites, And worthy to be laid by thee. • • • • y Mighty Seaman, tender and true, And pure as ho from taint of craven guile, O saviour of the silver-coasted isle O shaker of the Baltic and the Nile, If aught of things that here befall Touch a spirit among tiling's divine, If love of country move thee there at all, Be glad because his bones are laid by thine!

FROUDE ON SEA POWER. Now I'll conclude with an extract from Froude's " Elizabethan Seamen," and with a suggestion that when you have obtained the Centenary Number you will cut out all references to Nelson in other papers you may come across, and carefully gum them into the Centenary Number.

"Jean Paul, the German poet, said that God had given to France the empire of the land, to England the empire of the sea, and to his own country the empire of the air. The v.orld has changed since Jean Paul's days. The wings of France have been clipped; the German Empire has become a solid tiling; but England ■still holds her watery dominion; Britain still does rule the waves, and in this pioud position she has spread the English race over the globe; she has created the great Amelican nation; she is peopling new Englands at the Antipodes; she has made hec Queen Empress of India; and is, in fact, a very considerable phenomenon in the social and political world, which all acknowledge her to be. And all this she has achieved in the course of three centimes, entirely in consequence of her predominance as an ocean Power. Take away her merchant fleets; take away the navy that guards them : her Empire will come to an end, her colonies will fall off like leaves from a withered tree, and Britain will become once more an insignificant island in the North Sea."