74 THE SEA. 



scene of action. They have not done me justice; but never mind I'll have a gazette 

 of my own ! " 



And what a gazette it was! 'When, in 1797, Nelson received a special grant for his 

 services, a memorial had to be drawn up, when it was found that he had been engaged 

 against the enemy upwards of one hundred and twenty times ! During the latest war up to the 

 above date he had assisted at the capture of seven sail of the line, six frigates, four corvettes, 

 and eleven privateers; he had taken or destroyed nearly fifty sail of merchant vessels. 



Then followed the great battle of the Nile. The French fleet having been discovered by 

 Captain Samuel Flood, the action commenced at sunset. The shores of the Bay of Aboukir 

 were lined with spectators, who beheld the approach of the English and the terrible conflict 

 which ensued, in silent and awe-stricken astonishment. A brisk fire was opened by the 

 Vanguard, which ship covered the approach of those in the rear ; in a few minutes every 

 man stationed at the first six guns in her fore part were all down, killed or wounded. Admiral 

 Nelson was so entirely resolved to conquer, or to perish in the attempt, that he led into action 

 with six ensigns, red, white, and blue he could not bear the idea of his colours being carried 

 away by a random shot from the enemy. 



Nelson long minus one eye and one arm in this battle received a severe wound in his 

 head, the skin of the forehead hanging down over his face. Captain Berry, who was standing 

 near, caught him in his arms. It was the opinion of everyone, including the sufferer, that he was 

 shot through the head. On being carried down in the cockpit, where several of his gallant 

 crew were stretched with shattered limbs and mangled wounds, the surgeon immediately came 

 with great anxietj to the admiral. "No/' replied the hero, " I will take my turn with my 

 brave fellows !" The agon}- of his wound increasing, he became convinced that he was dying, 

 and sent for the chaplain, begging him to remember him to Lady Nelson ; he even went so far 

 as to appoint Hardy post-captain for the Vanguard. When the surgeon came to examine and 

 dress the wound, it clearly appeared that it was not mortal, and the joyful intelligence spread 

 quickly through the ship. As soon as the operation was over, Nelson sat down, and that very 

 night wrote the celebrated official letter which appeared in the Gazette. He came on deck just 

 in time to witness the conflagration of IS Orient. So terrible was the carnage at the battle 

 of the Nile that the Bay of Aboukir was covered for a week with the floating corpses, and 

 though men were continually employed to sink them, many of the bodies, having slipped 

 from the shot, would re-appear on the surface. Al is ! the accounts of these horrible scenes, 

 painful as they are, yet pale before the latest horror in our own Thames the loss of the 

 Princess Alice, where more perished than in many a recorded sea-fight of days gone by. 



After the battle, the officers vied with each other in sending various presents to the admiral, 

 to show their delight that he had, though severely wounded, escaped death. Captain Hallo well, 

 who had long been on the most intimate terms with Nelson, hit on the extraordinary idea of 

 having an elegantly-furnished coffin constructed by his carpenter from the wreck of L' Orient, 

 a grim present, which he ordered to be made for the admiral. It was conveyed on board, 

 and it is stated that Nelson highly appreciated the present of his brave officer. Nelson kept it 

 for some months upright in his cabin, till at length an old servant tearfully entreating him, 

 he allowed it to be carried below. Nelson was now at the height of glory; never had 

 before, or has since, any admiral received honours from so many various nations and crowned 



