HISTORY OF EUROPE. 



237 



I manifest this fa6t. The obstinate re- 

 . sistahcc of the Spanish vessels, the 

 Argonauta and Bahama, as well as 

 that of the San Juau Nepomuceno, 

 raises the chara<5ter of that nation 

 very high : they were not surrender- 

 ed till the last extremity, the former 

 two having lost 400 men each, in 

 killed and wounded, the latter 350 

 nearly ! 



Such a vi6tory could not be gain- 

 ed without a serious loss in men and 

 otficers, yet not, upon the whole, so 

 great as might have been expected 

 in so severe an action. Captains 

 Cook, of the Bellerophon, and Duff, 

 of the iVIars, will be long and deep- 

 ly lar.ented. But all other regrets, 

 and even the natural joy which 

 would have resulted from this glori- 

 ous viftory, were swallowed up by 

 the irreparable loss his country and 

 tlie British navy sustained in the 

 death of the great lord Nelson ! 



1: The heroic commander in chief 

 ' had been engaged in tiic Victory, 

 I with the Uedoubtable of 74 guns, 

 and subsequently with his old anta- 

 . gouist, the Santissima Trinidada, of 

 . J 40, for more than an hour, and, lat- 

 terly, having the Bucenfaure of 80 

 guns, carrying the J'rench admiral 

 Villeneuve, on his quarter; when, at 

 about fifteen minutes after one, 

 standing on the quarter deck, mov- 

 ing, as was his custom, whenever he 

 was much pleased, the shoulder, or 

 rather sleeve of his right arm up aiid 

 j down with great rapidity, he roceiv- 

 I ed a wound from a musket-ball dis- 

 charged by a marksman on the poop 

 of the Biicentanre, which entered 

 his left breast, and which he imme- 

 diately (le(;lared to be mortal ! To 

 the last moment of his life, which 

 now ebbed fast, his solicitude for 

 the event of the a(5tion never ceased ; 

 every consideration, save thcanxious 

 wish for the glory of his country, 

 Imng dormant in hi«i. He constant- 



ly, while below, demanded the news ^ 

 of the battle, and expressed the most 

 lively satisfaftion, on being to^d it 

 went well. About four his anxiety- 

 became extreme, and he repeatedly- 

 sent for captain Ilardy, who fought 

 his ship. That officer, however^ 

 could not, consistently with pru- 

 dence, then quit the deck : at length, 

 however, seeing, the enemy striking 

 their colours on every side, or fly- 

 ing the scene of action in confusion, 

 assured of vi6tory, captain Hardy 

 carried the glad tidings to the dying 

 hero, who, after thanking God most 

 fervently for the event, that he had 

 survived long enough to have it mad« 

 known to him, and that he had been 

 enabled once more to do his duly to 

 his country ; — he shortly after expir- 

 ed without a groan ! 



In cur next volume, it will be our 

 duty to give such a sketch of tha 

 life and character of this great man, 

 as our materials will abundantly- 

 supply, in the part of the work ap- 

 propriated for that purpose; at pre- 

 sent, a very faint outline of the lat- 

 ter must contpntus, and faint indeed 

 it must, at all events prove, for who 

 shall delineate tiie mind and actions 

 of a Nelson, in such terms as shall 

 not fall short af his merit ? Happily 

 for his memory, his exploits form his 

 best eulogium, and so long as there 

 shall exist a record of the events of 

 British history during the period of 

 his life, so long will he be remem- 

 bered as one of the greatest patriots, 

 heroes, and men, England ever pro- 

 duced ! 



By a reference to our account of 

 the French campaign on the conti- 

 nent, it will be found that the city 

 of Ulm was entered by thorn in tri- 

 umph on the 20th of October, the 

 day on which the English fleet was 

 seeking that of France and Spain, 

 and but the one before the battle of 

 Trafalgar. In the dismay and con. 



fitcraation 



