THIS eminent commander, younger son of Thomas, Earl of Dundonald, and uncle of Lord Cochrane, was born on the 23rd of April, 1758; and, having entered the naval service at an early age, was wounded, while acting as signal lieutenant to Rodney, in the battle fought between the British and French fleets, on the 17th of April, 1780. Having shortly after been promoted to the rank of commander, and on the 17th of December, 1782, to that of postcaptain, he was commissioned to the Kangaroo, and, subsequently, to the Caroline, in which he served, for some time, on the American station.

In 1790, he obtained the command of the Hind frigate, with which, in 1793, he took eight of the enemy's privateers. He next served on the Halifax station, in the Thetis, of forty-four guns; and, on the 17th of May, 1795, signalised himself, by taking, with the assistance of Captain Beresford, in the Hussar, two out of a squadron of five French ships, off the Chesapeake. After having captured several of the enemy's privateers, he was appointed, in February, 1799, chief officer of the Ajax, of eighty guns, in which he served in the expedition against Quiberon, Belleisle, and Ferrol. He subsequently acted under Lord Keith, on the Mediterranean station; and, in 1801, superintended the landing of the British troops in Egypt, where, by his conduct, as commander of a squadron of armed vessels, appointed to support the operations of the land forces against Alexandria, he obtained the most flattering notice from his superior officers. In 1803, he was coinmissioned to the Northumberland, seventy-four; and, in the next year, became rear-admiral of the blue. Early in 1805, he sailed, with a small squadron, from off the port of Ferrol, which he had been employed to blockade, to the West Indies, in pursuit of a French fleet, commanded by Mussiessy; who, however, contrived to elude him, and return to port.

He was next appointed commanderin-chief on the Leeward Islands station;

and shortly afterwards, joined the force under Lord Nelson, then in search of the combined fleets of France and Spain. He subsequently served under Sir John Duckworth; and displayed so much talent and intrepidity, in the battle fought between the squadron commanded by that admiral, and the French fleet, off St. Domingo, that he was made a knight commander of the Bath, and obtained the thanks of both houses of parliament; the freedom of the city of London, with a sword of the value of one hundred guineas; a vase, worth £300, from the patriotic fund; and a piece of plate, value £500, from the underwriters at Bridge-Town, Barbadoes.

In 1807, he commanded the naval part of the successful armament against St. Thomas, St. John, and Santa Cruz; and, in 1809, jointly with Lieutenantgeneral Beckwith, effected the reduction of Martinique, for which service he received the thanks of both houses of parliament. From Martinique, he went in pursuit of a small French squadron, and succeeded in capturing Le D'Hautpole, of seventy-four guns, and six hundred and eighty men. In 1809, he attained the rank of vice-admiral; and, early in 1810, after some of his squadron had destroyed two French frigates, at Basse-terre, he co-operated with Lieutenant-general Beckwith, in the reduction of Guadaloupe, of which he was constituted governor.

In 1814, he hoisted his flag in the Tonnant, of eighty guns, as commanderin-chief on the North American station; and in the following year, assisted the land forces in an unsuccessful attack on New Orleans; whence, in conjunction with General Lambert, he proceeded against Mobile; shortly after the surrender of which, he returned to England. On the 12th of August, 1819, he was made admiral of the blue; and, on the 1st of February, 1821, hoisted his flag on board the Impregnable, ninety-eight, as commander-in-chief on the Plymouth station. He was subsequently promoted to the rank of admiral of the

He

white; and, in addition to other distinctions, had obtained, prior to the death of George the Fourth, a grand cross of the order of the Bath. was, at one time, the representative in parliament of a district of Scotch burghs, for which, however, he appears to have lost his election, in 1806. By his wife, Maria, widow of Captain Sir

Jacob Wheate, whom he married in April, 1788, he has had several children.

Among the naval commanders of his country, Admiral Cochrane is certainly entitled to a very honourable rank. The British Museum, as it appears, is indebted to him for a human skeleton, embedded in clay, which he procured at Guadaloupe.

HORATIO NELSON was born on the 29th of September, 1758, at Burnham Thorpe, a village in Norfolk, of which his father was rector. He lost his mother in childhood, and grew up a weakly boy, his strength being much reduced by the ague. He, however, gave early proofs of a daring character. It has been related of him, that having one day strayed into the woods, and remained out beyond the usual hour, a messenger was despatched in search of him, who found him tranquilly sitting by the side of a brook, over which he was unable to pass; and that his grandmother, on his return, having expressed her surprise that he had not been driven home by hunger and fear, he replied," Fear, grandmamma! never saw fear: what is it?" At the school of North Walsham, where he acquired the rudiments of learning, he, one night, made a hazardous descent from a window, and stole from the master's garden, some fine pears; not to gratify his own appetite, for he refused all share in the booty himself, but because every other boy was afraid to make the attempt. While on his way to school, one morning, with his elder brother, William, a heavy fall of snow came on,which rendered their journey so wearisome, that they agreed to return. Their father desired them to set out again, and left it to their honour whether to come back or to proceed. The snow was deep enough to have justified their return a second time, and William began to falter, but Horatio persevered, saying," We must go on: remember, brother, it was left to our honour."

He quitted school, at the age of twelve, for the purpose of joining the

In 1772, when Captain Phipps was about to sail on a voyage of discovery towards the North Pole, Nelson, by his uncle's interest, was admitted as cockswain under Captain Lutwidge, the second in command. In a few weeks after the vessels had sailed from the Nore, they became surrounded by ice. One night, he left the ship with a companion; and, early the next morning, was seen by his captain, at some distance, attacking an enormous bear. Disregarding the signal for his immediate return, he was about to strike the animal a blow on the head with the butt-end of his musket, when a gun was fired from the ship, which scared the bear away. On his return,

he received a severe rebuke from his commander, who demanded his reason for engaging in so rash an adventure. "Sir," replied he, "I wished to kill the bear, that I might carry the skin to my father."

He next served on board the Seahorse, in the East Indies; where, by his attentive conduct, he soon got rated as a midshipman; but suffered so severely from the climate, that, to save his life, he was compelled to return to Europe. This unwelcome departure from India saddened his spirits for a

time, and he felt impressed with an idea that he should never rise in his profession. The voyage, however, strengthened him so much, that, on his arrival in England, he was sufficiently restored to accept the nomination of acting lieutenant to the Worcester, then going out with a convoy to Gibraltar.

In April, 1777, he was appointed second lieutenant of the Lowestoffe frigate, and served, for some time, on the Jamaica station; where, his senior lieutenant, having gone below to search for his hanger, when ordered to take possession of an American letter of marque, which had struck to the Lowestoffe, in a strong gale of wind, and in a heavy sea, the captain, impatient of delay, which he feared might deprive him of the advantage he had gained, said, in a tone of reproach, to those about him, "Have I, then, no officer who can board the prize?" Nelson generously waited a few minutes, in expectation of the first lieutenant's return; but, at length, hearing the master volunteer his services, he leaped into the boat, exclaiming,-" It is my turn now; if I come back, it will be yours!"

From the Lowestoffe, he was removed into the British, a flag-ship, of which he soon became first lieutenant. In 1778, he was appointed commander of the Badger brig, lying off Jamaica, where, by his presence of mind, he saved the crew of the Glasgow, which had caught fire. On the 11th of June, 1779, he attained the rank of postcaptain, and soon after succeeded to the command of the Hinchinbrook.

When a French armament threatened to invade Jamaica, Nelson undertook to command the batteries at Port Royal; but the enemy's project being abandoned, he was employed in convoying to the Honduras, a body of troops destined for an attack on Fort San Juan, which surrendered, after a siege of eleven days. In the course of this enterprise, he drank some water at a poisoned spring, and his constitution never recovered from the effects of the draught. He was attacked with dysentery; and would, probably, have fallen a victim to the climate, had he not, fortunately, been recalled. He now obtained the command of the Janus, of forty-four guns: fatigue, poison, and

disease had, however, so reduced him, that he was soon compelled to resign his ship, and return to England for the recovery of his health.

He was next appointed to the Albemarle, and proceeded to the North Seas, where he remained the whole winter, which proved a severe trial to his constitution. On returning to the Downs, he landed, for the purpose of visiting a senior officer; and while ashore, so violent a hurricane came on, as to threaten the wreck of his ship; which, having, by the offer of a reward of fifteen guineas, induced some boatmen to put to sea with him, he reached amid the violence of the storm.

He now sailed to Canada; where, having taken an American schooner which contained the entire wealth of the master, a poor man with a large family, he generously abandoned the prize; and, by a certificate, protected her against any future capture. The American afterwards showed his gratitude, by risking his life to supply the Albemarle with fresh provisions. At Quebec, Nelson was prevented, by a friend, from entering into an improvident marriage. In October, 1782, he accompanied Lord Hood to the West Indies, where he became known to his future friend, Prince William, afterwards Duke of Clarence. At the conclusion of the war, in 1783, he returned to England; but, his income being limited, he went to reside at St. Omer, in France,

In March, 1784, he was appointed to the Boreas, of twenty-eight guns, and, proceeding to the West Indies, held the second command on that station; where, contrary to the orders of Admiral Hughes, he compelled the resident commissioner at Antigua to strike a broad pendant which he had hoisted. For the purpose of checking the fraudulent trading of the Americans with our islands, he seized upon four of their vessels; which, after a vexatious legal prosecution against him, were condemned by the judge of Nevis, before whom he ably pleaded his own cause; and afterwards threw out such suggestions, with regard to the proceedings, as led to the framing of the register act.

On the 11th of March, 1787, he was married, at Nevis, to Mrs. Nisbet, the widow of a physician, and the niece

of President Herbert. Prince William gave away the bride; and Nelson commenced his married life, by reconciling the president to his only daughter, whom he had threatened to disinherit in his niece's favour. While Nelson continued on the West India station, he transmitted to government accounts of frauds he had detected on the part of the navy agents abroad; but his information was ungraciously received by the board of admiralty. This treatment, together with a long detention of the Boreas, after her return to England, as a slop and receiving ship, at the Nore, so disgusted him, that he retired with his wife to Burnham Thorpe, where he devoted a great portion of his time to rustic sports; in which, however, he appears to have been so unskilful, that his shooting a partridge was considered, by his friends, as a remarkable

Occurrence.

In 1793, he obtained the command of the Agamemnon, of sixty-four guns; and highly distinguished himself, under Lord Hood, at the taking of Toulon; at the siege of Bastia, where, with the rank of brigadier, he superintended the landing of the troops; and at the successful attack on Calvi, in which he lost an eye. His services were, however, so completely overlooked by the commander-in-chief, that his name did not appear even in the list of wounded. Soon after, while serving under Admiral Hotham, he singly attacked, and compelled two of the enemy's ships, the Ca Ira and the Censeur, to surrender. In 1795, he became a colonel of marines; and, hoisting a commodore's pendant on board the Captain, proceeded, with a squadron of eight frigates under his command, to the coast of Italy. After having assisted the Austrian forces, at Genoa, blockaded Leghorn, and taken Porto Ferrajo, he superintended the evacuation of Corsica; and, in December, 1796, proceeded to perform a similar duty at Porto Ferrajo, in the Minerve frigate; which, on her way thither, after an action of three hours' duration, compelled the Sabina, a Spanish ship, to strike, and beat off another of the enemy's frigates; by which, however, she was compelled to abandon her prize.

He next proceeded with a convoy to

Gibraltar; and gave Sir John Jervis such intelligence, as led to the decisive battle of the 13th of February, 1797, off Cape St. Vincent, in which he took a most distinguished part. In disobedience to the admiral's signals, he bore gallantly down upon seven of the enemy's fleet; and, on being asked if he had reckoned them, replied, "No; it will be time enough to do that when they have struck." After having attacked the Santissima Trinidada, of one hundred and thirty-six guns, he passed on to the San Nicholas, of eighty guns, and, compelling her to surrender, proceeded from her deck to board the San Josef, of one hundred and twelve guns, which speedily submitted. For his brilliant services on this occasion, he was made a knight of the Bath, rear-admiral of the blue, and appointed to the chief command of the inner squadron at the blockade of Cadiz; where, shortly afterwards, he was attacked, one night, in his barge, by a Spanish launch; which, however, although her crew amounted to double the number of his own, after a most desperate encounter, he succeeded in taking. In the following July, he commanded the expedition sent against Santa Cruz; where, while heading a midnight attack on the mole, he received a shot in his elbow, which compelled him to return to his ship; and the expedition entirely failed in its object, with a loss of two hundred and fifty men. On his return to England, he was, however, presented with the freedom of the cities of London and Bristol; and, on account of his having been compelled to suffer the amputation of his arm, obtained a pension of £1,000 per annum. When restored to health, he sent a form of thanksgiving to the clergyman of St. George's, Hanover-square, which ran thus:"An officer desires to return thanks to Almighty God for his perfect recovery from a severe wound, and also for the many mercies bestowed on him."

In 1798, he hoisted his flag on board the Vanguard, and joined Earl St. Vincent, who detached him, with a small squadron, to ascertain the destination of a great armament, which was then fitting out at Toulon. After a narrow escape from shipwreck in the

Gulph of Lyons, and a delay caused by the refitting of his ship, he received a reinforcement, and went in pursuit of the French, who had, in the interim, put to sea, and proceeded with Buonaparte and a large body of troops to Egypt. Nelson, however, was unable to discover what precise course the enemy had taken, and proceeded to Sicily for the purpose of procuring supplies, which he fortunately obtained, through the influence of Lady Hamilton, wife of the British resident at the Neapolitan court.

On the 25th of July, 1798, he sailed for the Morea; and, on the 1st of August, received the joyful tidings that the enemy were discovered riding at anchor in Aboukir Bay. His anxiety, for many preceding days, had been intense; but he now resumed his usual cheerfulness, and dined with several of his officers, to whom, on their quitting his table to repair to their different ships, he said, "Before this time tomorrow, I shall have gained a peerage, or Westminster-abbey." The French fleet was moored in a very advantageous position: it consisted of four frigates, one ship of one hundred and twenty guns, three of eighty, and nine of inferior force. Nelson had the same number of ships of the line, but all of them were seventy-fours. When the advanced ships of the British squadron had doubled the French line, (a plan projected, but never executed, by Lord Hood,) Nelson, in the Vanguard, with six colours flying from different parts of the rigging, lest they should be shot away, opened a dreadful fire against the Spartiate, which returned it with such effect, as to clear the first six guns on the fore part of the Vanguard's deck three times. In a quarter of an hour, the French ships were rapidly striking to the British flag, and victory was placed beyond a doubt, when Nelson received a wound on his head from a piece of langridge shot. The skin of the forehead fell over his remaining eye; the blood flowed copiously; and Captain Berry, into whose arms he fell, believed the wound to be mortal. When he was carried down into the cockpit, the surgeon instantly left a sailor whom he was attending, and flew to Nelson; who, though he supposed himself dying, declined his services, saying,

"I will take my turn with my brave fellows." On examination, his wound was pronounced to be by no means dangerous. Hearing that the Orient was in flames, he now groped his way up to the quarter-deck, without assistance, and, forgetful of his own sufferings, ordered boats to be sent off for the relief of the enemy. Besides the Orient, another line-of-battle ship and a frigate were burnt: of the remainder of the French force, one frigate and nine sail of the line were taken. The British loss amounted to eight hundred men; that of their opponents, including prisoners, to as many thousands. As soon as the tumult of battle had subsided, the admiral ordered that, in every ship, thanksgivings should be returned to Almighty God for the victory; which would have been attended with even more important results, had Nelson been provided with small craft. "Were I to die this minute," said he, "want of frigates' would be stamped on my heart."

Soon after the victory, he was created a British baron, and further rewarded with a pension of £2,000 per annum, for his own life and that of his two immediate successors. He also received, from the sultan, a pelisse of sables, valued at five thousand dollars, and a diamond aigrette, taken from the royal turban, valued at eighteen thousand; from the Czar, and the King of Sardinia, their respective portraits, in gold boxes, set with diamonds; from the city of Palermo, a gold box and chain, brought on a silver waiter; a sword from the fleet under his command, and another from the city of London; a present of £10,000 from the East India Company; and a valuable piece of plate from the merchants trading to Turkey.

After burning three of his prizes, and sending the remainder to England, he sailed from the scene of action, on the 18th of August, to assist the King of Naples against the French. About this period he is supposed to have commenced a criminal intimacy with Lady Hamilton; and soon afterwards, under her pernicious influence, he committed an act of the most revolting barbarity. Prince Carracioli, a Neapolitan nobleman of distinguished character, but of revolutionary principles, and who had been at the head of the Neapolitan navy,