9th of April, 1777, and signed M. S., John Campbell, and Abraham North, captains. M. S. were the initials of Captain Maurice Suckling, Nelson's uncle, the comptroller of the navy, who was present at the examination by virtue of his office. Nelson's biographers relate the following interesting anecdote. "At the head of the table sat his uncle Maurice, as comptroller of the navy, who had purposely concealed his relationship from the examining captain. When his nephew had recovered from his confusion, his answers were prompt and satisfactory, and indicated the talents he so eminently possessed. The examination ended in a manner very honourable to him, upon which his uncle immediately threw off his reserve, and rising from his seat, introduced his nephew. The examining captains expressed their surprise at his not having informed them of this before. No,' replied the independent comptroller, I did not wish the younker to be favoured; I felt convinced that he would pass a good examination, and you see, gentlemen, I have not been disappointed.'

No sooner had our hero passed this ordeal than an appointment awaited him to the 32-gun frigate Lowestoffe. Here he had the good fortune to be placed under a very intelligent, experienced, and kind-hearted commander. Captain William Locker, who was destined to nourish the seeds of greatness inherent in his lieutenant, not only commanded his respect, but laid the foundation of a friendship which terminated only with death. The Lowestoffe was sent to the Jamaica station, to protect the British trade from the depredations of French and American privateers, and Nelson was frequently employed in the Lowestoffe's tenders, in which he made several captures. It was here that he gained particular notice by volunteering, in a gale of wind, to board an American letter of marque, which had been nearly swamped by carrying a heavy press of sail. The master of the Lowestoffe also volunteered, but was told that it would be his turn next.† While serving in the Lowestoffe, Nelson had the misfortune to lose his kind patron, Captain Suckling; but he had already established for himself a good reputation as * Clarke and M'Arthur, vol. i. p. 14.

Clarke and M'Arthur, and their copyist Southey, state the marvellous fact (?) that "the Lowestoffe's boat went in on deck and out again in the scud."

a seaman and officer; and Sir Peter Parker, who commanded on the station, generously supplied the lost place of his uncle. Sir Peter took our hero into the 50-gun ship Bristol, and on the 8th of December, 1778, appointed him master and commander of the Badger brig. In this vessel he rendered considerable service to the merchants, by the protection of the trade from the privateers.

While the Badger was lying in Montego Bay, Jamaica, the Glasgow frigate, Captain Thomas Lloyd, anchored in the bay, and two hours afterwards was discovered to be on fire. The boats of the different ships in the bay were quickly alongside, and those of the Badger, in command of Nelson. He boarded the Glasgow, and assisted Captain Lloyd in his endeavours to preserve order, and to save the lives of the crew. The magazine was cleared under his superintendence, and the beds and quoins removed from under the guns, which, by elevating their muzzles, prevented damage to the ships in the bay, as the guns were discharged by the heat.

Promotion kept pace with our hero's merits, and on the 11th of June, 1779, being then in his twenty-first year, he was made a post captain, and appointed to command the 28-gun frigate Hinchinbrook. The Hinchinbrook was a wretched tub-an old merchant ship sheathed with wood, and about the last description of ship to suit a man like Nelson. D'Estaing having threatened Jamaica, Nelson tendered his services to Governor-General Dalling, and was appointed to command the batteries of Fort Charles and Port Royal.

But D'Estaing abandoned the project, and General Dalling was free to attempt the execution of a design he had formed against Fort Juan, situated on the river Juan, leading to Lake Nicaragua. The plan, which embraced the acquisition of a small empire, was well conceived; but unforeseen delays and important omissions occurred in the equipment of the expedition. These causes were fatal. The delay exposed those engaged in the expedition to the deadly effects of the sickliest season. The Hinchinbrook was selected for this service, and Nelson appointed to command the naval portion. On the 24th of March, 1780, the expedition, consisting of 500 men, regulars and volunteers, under Major Polson, entered the San Juan. Here Nelson's instructions ended; but so blind had been the projectors,

that no pilots for the river had been provided, and no one appeared to know anything of the navigation or position of the fort to be attacked. It was not Nelson's nature to desert his countrymen in their difficulties, nor to turn back while anything remained to be done or attempted. It was the dry season; the river was low, and impeded with banks and shallows; the Indian allies were nearly useless, and the soldiers could hardly contend with the heat. On Nelson and his sailors, therefore, devolved the labour and danger of the toilsome passage. At length the small out-fort of San Bartholomew was reached, where, on an island, a semicircular battery of ten small swivels commanded the approaches. At the head of a few seamen Nelson leaped on shore, left his shoes on the muddy bank, and, barefooted, "boarded the battery." San Juan was still sixteen miles distant, and two days' more hard labour elapsed before its fortifications were reached. Nelson advised an immediate attack, but his counsel unhappily was not followed, and the slow formalities of a siege commenced in a low, marshy place, under a scorching sun.

The neighbouring woods were infested with all sorts of venomous reptiles. One of the men was bitten by a snake, and in a few hours his body was putrid. Nelson, who slept in a hammock suspended to the bough of a tree, nearly shared the same fate. A snake was found coiled away at the foot of his hammock, and he escaped only through the watchfulness of the Indians. He experienced another escape from death, having drunk from a fountain poisoned by the boughs of manchineel. Fort San Juan surrendered on the 24th April, but the gain was little other than a severe loss. Previously to this, the besiegers were so much in want of provisions, that they lived upon monkey broth. A pestilence ravaged the conquerors as well as the conquered; and the castle, after a few months, reverted to its original possessors-disease and death having done infinitely more than Spanish bullets. Out of 1,800 men despatched on this service, not more than 380 returned. The Hinchinbrook's crew comprised 200 men, of whom eighty-seven fell sick in one night, and very few, -not more than ten,-survived this service.* Fortunately for the subject of our memoir, he was withdrawn before

* Clarke and M'Arthur, vol. i. p. 38.

it was too late. A vacancy occurred in the command of the 44-gun ship Janus, which Sir Peter Parker bestowed upon him.

It is a singular coincidence, that up to this period, and, in fact, throughout the whole of his career, Nelson was followed by his friend Collingwood. On Nelson leaving the Lowestoffe, Collingwood was appointed to that ship, and the same with reference to his joining the Bristol, and promotion into the Badger, and Hinchinbrook. In the last scene of Nelson's eventful life also, Collingwood was still his friend and successor. The removal of Nelson from the pestilential region of San Juan, saved him from sharing the fate which attended most of his companions. He had been attacked with dysentery, and was recalled barely in time to save his life. He reached Jamaica more dead than alive the day prior to the surrender of San Juan. He was conveyed on shore in his cot, and although he had recovered in some degree the use of his limbs, he found himself quite unable to continue in command of the Janus. He therefore invalided, and took a passage for England in the Lion, commanded by the Honourable William Cornwallis, who treated him with that humane attention which was never forgotten. On his return to England, Nelson, according to the fashion of the day, resorted to Bath. He was so helpless that he was obliged to be lifted in and out of his bed, and it took three months before he recovered the use of his limbs.

But no sooner had he acquired strength enough to move about, than he was to be seen again an eager candidate for employment. The war was still proceeding, and his request was not denied. On the 16th of August, 1781, he was appointed to command the 28-gun frigate Albemarle, at Woolwich. This ship had been a short time previously captured from the French, and purchased into the service. The fatigue attendant upon equipping the ship for sea was almost too much for Nelson's enfeebled frame. Writing to his friend Captain Locker he said, “I have been so ill as hardly to be kept out of bed, and have been but twice out of the ship." The Albemarle was ordered to proceed to Elsineur, to protect the homewardbound trade from the Baltic; and the Argo and Enterprise were also placed under Nelson's orders for this purpose. It was the period of armed neutrality when the squadron

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anchored off Elsineur. A Danish midshipman was despatched by the admiral to take down the particulars of the ships. This," said Nelson, to the young officer, on his boarding the Albemarle, "is one of His Britannic Majesty's ships; you are at liberty to count the guns as you go down the side, and you may assure your admiral that if necessary they shall all be well served."* The asperities, however, soon wore off, salutes were exchanged, and reciprocal civilities ensued. The service was safely performed under the orders of Captain Dickson in the Sampson, he being the senior officer, and the Albemarle arrived in the Downs on the 3rd of January, 1782.

While the Albemarle was riding in the Downs, it came on to blow a heavy gale, and Nelson being on shore, witnessed its effects in the driving of most of the ships at the anchorage. A large store-ship had drifted athwart hawse of the Albemarle, and her destruction appeared inevitable. His anxiety to reach his ship, which had by this time lost her bowsprit and foremast, was extreme; but the Deal boatmen hesitated to go out. The offer of fifteen guineas tempted them, and Nelson, while the gale was raging furiously, after considerable difficulty, regained his ship. Had his ship gone ashore on the Goodwin, as anticipated, the probability is that all would have been lost. The Albemarle proceeded to Portsmouth, when she received new lower masts of a reduced size, and had her damages repaired, and in April received orders to join Captain Pringle's squadron, bound to Quebec.

Understanding that it was intended the Albemarle was to winter at Quebec, Nelson was advised to apply to be removed to another ship, upon the ground that it would be injurious to his health; but having received his orders, he felt bound to obey them, and he accordingly sailed with the convoy on the 26th of April, and reached Capelin Bay on the 5th of June. After performing this service, the Albemarle was sent to cruise for the enemy's privateers. One of the vessels fallen in with was a trading schooner, comprising all the worldly worth of the poor fellow who commanded her. Nelson wished to avail himself of the local knowledge of the master in Boston Bay. The man, Nathaniel Carver, had a large family dependent on his

* Clarke and M'Arthur, vol. i. p. 44.