43S 



Memoirs of Lord Nelfon. 



TDec. I, 



that he was pronounced out of danger. — ■ 

 On his firft appearance at Court, His 

 Mijefty received him in the mort gracious 

 manner, and was pleafed to exprefs 

 regret that his ftate of health and wounds 

 were likely to deprive the nation of h-s 

 future fervices. On this the galhnt and 

 undaunted tir replied, with all that en- 

 thulialm peculiar to his charatler, " I can 

 never think, that a lofs which the perfor- 

 mance of my duty has occafioned ; and 

 lb long as I have a foot to Itnnd on, I will 

 combat for my king and country." 



As it was propofed at this period to 

 confer a penfion of loool. per annum up- 

 01 him, on accoimt of his exploits and 

 his lofl'es, it became necefloty, according 

 to tlie cultom of the navy, thu he fhould 

 f;Ive in a diltinft (tatement of his claims. 

 In confcquence of this he drew up the 

 following paiier, which Oands unrivalled 

 in its kind either in our own or any other 

 fervice whatlocvcr. 



" To thf. King"! Mo/t Excellent Majejly. 

 " The Memorial of Sir Horatio Nelfon, 

 K- B., and a Rear-Admiral in your Mi- 

 jefly's Fleet. 



*' Tlut during the prefcnt war your Me- 

 nioriallft has been in four adions ivith the 

 fleets Qt the enemy, viz., on the 13th a.id 

 14th of .March, 179; ; on the ijthof July, 

 1795 ; and on the 14th of February, 1797 ; 

 in tlitee aflions with frigates ; in fix engage- 

 ments againll batteries ; in ten afiions in 

 boats employed in cutting out of harbours ; 

 in deftroying vflVeh, ana in talcing three 

 towns. Your Memorialift has alfo lerved on 

 Acre with the army four months, and com- 

 manded tlie batteries at the fieges of Battia 

 and Calvi. 



" Tliat during the war he has afilfted at 

 the capture of leven fail of the line, fix fri- 

 gates, four corvettes, and elevc.i privateers 

 of diflei-ent fizes ; and tiken and aeftioyed 

 near fitly fail of merdnnt-veflels ; ar.d your 

 Memo-ialift hasattualiy been engaged agsinfi: 

 the enemy upwards of one hundred and iiumty 

 times. 



" In which fervice your Memorialift has 

 loft his right eye and arm, and been feverely 

 wounaed and bruifed in his body. Ail of 

 v;hich fervices and wounds your Memorial ift 

 moll humbly fubmits to yoar P^lajefty's moft 

 gracious coiihcleration. 



*« Horatio Nelson. 

 " OBober, 1797." 



He «as now enabled, had he been fo 

 inclined, to hive retired altoeeiher from the 

 fervice, and lived tqmilv exempt fiom 

 danger and from want, on his penfion and 

 half pay. But his heait ftill panted after 

 glory J and having rejoined Lord St. Vin- 

 ttnfs fleet, a new icenc ojicneJ for the 



folate of his ambition and the difplay of 

 his talents. 



The eyes of all Europe were at that mo- 

 ment fixed m Bon^pjr:e. After conquer- 

 ing It:ily, and eff ifins; a pt-ace on the 

 Continent, he had fitted out a large fleet, 

 and e.iil^nrked an arny of veterar. fo.diers. 

 Xheimme iiate obje '. of hi* attack was 

 as yet unknown ; and while mankind re- 

 mained involved in fufpenfc, the Engiifh 

 Miniftry deemed it prudent to fit out a 

 fquadron in purluitoi him. 



Sir Horatio Nelfon, the officer fixed wpon 

 for the commanH, was detacied by Esrl 

 St. Vincent into the Mediterranean, on 

 on the 7th of May, 1798, with his fiag 

 flyuig on botrd the Vanguard, of 74. guns, 

 tug'fther with the Orion snd Alexander, of 

 equal force, the Einerald and Terpfichore 

 fri:',atev and La Bonne Citovenne (loop of 

 war. Having reached the Gulph of Ly- 

 ons, they were Jiffailed by a very violent 

 gale of V ind, «hich carried away a rop- 

 nialf, as vv;ll as the foiemalf, of the Rear- 

 Admiral's (hip, on the 23d, the very day 

 on which the French fleet with Bonaparte 

 on bo.trd, failed ir 'in 'Ionian. Having 

 refitted in St. Pierre's road, in the ifland of 

 Sardinia, the harbour of which they were 

 not allowed to enter, the Engiifh fquadron 

 reached the place of renviezvoiis on the 4tti 

 of June, and were joined, on the 8th, by 

 ten (ail of the line under Captain Trow- 

 bridge. 



VVith thi<. force, which he deemed fuf- 

 ficicnt to encounter any fleet of the ene- 

 \ my. Admiral Nelfon pr p.)fed to (leer 

 after ti'e.m immtdiaitly, and knowing that 

 they htd failed with the wind at N.W., 

 he was induced to think that thev weic 

 deftined up the Mediterrmr-rn. Neither 

 on the coalt of Italy, iior in the port of 

 N;pies, eould any intelligence be obtained 

 of iheuilimate indentions cf the Fiench ; 

 all that was learned .amounted to a mere 

 fuppofition that rhey had proceeded to- 

 wards iVIaUa. To facilitate the pafT ge 

 thither, it was determined to pi Is through 

 the Straits of Mefiina, and .his was ac- 

 complifhed on the 20th witli a fair wind j 

 and two days after i.Ttelfgence was re- 

 ceived that the French iiad capuired Mal- 

 ta, and failed thtnce on the i8;hvvitha 

 frefn breeze at N.V/. 



On this Sir Horatio took an oppofite 

 dirciM. 'on, and was not a little m rdfied, 

 on diCcovenng Alexandria, that not a 

 finp-!e Freiicn (li'p was anchored there. In 

 this date of uncertainty, he inlfantly re- 

 turned to Sicily, entered the port of Syra- 

 ciife, took in a fupply o^ ficih *ater, 

 fleered on the 25th of July for the Morea, 



and. 



