at five thousand dollars; and a diamond aigrette, valued at eighteen thousand: the most honourable badge among the Turks; and in this instance more especially honourable, because it was taken from one of the royal turbans. "If it were worth a million," said Nelson to his wife," my pleasure would be to see it in your possession." The sultan also sent, in a spirit worthy of imitation, a purse of two thousand sequins, to be distributed among the wounded. The mother of the sultan sent him a box, set with diamonds, valued at one thousand pounds. The czar Paul, in whom the better part of his strangely compounded nature at this time predominated, presented him with his portrait, set in diamonds, in a gold box, accompanied with a letter of congratulation, written by his own hand. The king of Sardinia also wrote to him, and sent a gold box, set with diamonds. Honours in profusion were awaiting him at Naples. In his own country the king granted these honourable augmentations to his armorial ensign; a chief undulated, argent.: thereon waves of the sea; from which a palm tree issuant, between a disabled ship on the dexter, and a ruinous battery on the sinister, all proper: and for his crest, on a naval crown, or, the chelengk, or plume, presented to him by the Turk, with the motto, Palmam qui meruit ferat.* And to his *It has been erroneously said that the motto was selected by the King-it was fixed on by Lord Grenville, and taken from an ode of Jortin's. The application was singularly fortunate; and the ode itself breathes a spirit, in which no man ever more truly sympathised than Nelson: Concurrant paribus cum ratibus rates, M supporters, being a sailor on the dexter, and a lion on the sinister, were given these honourable augmentations: a palm branch in the sailor's hand, and another in the paw of the lion, both proper ; with a tri-coloured flag and staff in the lion's mouth. He was created Baron Nelson of the Nile, and of Burnham Thorpe, with a pension of £2000 for his own life, and those of his two immediate successors. When the grant was moved in the house of commons, General Walpole expressed an opinion, that a higher degree of rank ought to be conferred. Mr. Pitt made answer, that he thought it needless to enter into that question. "Admiral Nelson's fame," he said, "would be co-equal with the British name; and it would be remembered that he had obtained the greatest naval victory on record, when no man would think of asking, Whether he had been created a baron, a viscount, or an earl." It was strange that, in the very act of conferring a title, the minister should have excused himself for not having conferred a higher one, by representing all titles, on such an occasion, as nugatory and superfluous. True, indeed, whatever title had been bestowed, whether viscount, earl, marquis, duke, or prince, if our laws had so permitted, he who received it would have been Nelson still. That name he had ennobled beyond all addition of nobility it was the name by which England loved him, France feared him, Italy, Egypt, and Turkey celebrated him: and by which he will continue to be known while the present kingdoms and languages of the world endure, and as long as their history after them shall be held in remembrance. It depended upon the degree of rank what should be the : fashion of his coronet, in what page of the red book his name was to be inserted, and what precedency should be allowed his lady in the drawing-room and at the ball. That Nelson's honours were affected thus far, and no farther, might be conceded to Mr. Pitt and his colleagues in administration : but the degree of rank which they thought proper to allot was the measure of their gratitude,* though not of his services. This Nelson felt; and this he expressed, with indignation, among his friends. Whatever may have been the motives of the ministry, and whatever the formalities with which they excused their conduct to themselves, the importance and magnitude of the victory were universally acknowledged. A grant of £10,000 was voted to Nelson by the East India Company; the. Turkish Company presented him with a piece of plate; the City of London presented a sword to him, and to each of his captains; gold medals were distributed to the captains; and the first lieutenants Mr. Windham must be exempted from this well-deserved censure. He, whose fate it seems to have been almost always to think and feel more generously than those with whom he acted, declared, when he contended against his own party for Lord Wellington's peerage, that he always thought Lord Nelson had been inadequately rewarded. The case was the more flagrant, because an earldom had so lately been granted for the battle of St. Vincent; an action which could never be compared with the battle of the Nile, if the very different manner in which it was rewarded did not necessarily force a comparison; especially when the part which Nelson bore in it was considered.-Lords Duncan and St. Vincent had each a pension of £1000 from the Irish goThis was not granted to Nelson, in consequence of the Union; though, surely, it would be more becoming to increase the British grant, than to save a thousand a year by the Union in such cases. vernment. "It of all the ships were promoted, as had been done after Lord Howe's victory. Nelson was exceedingly anxious that the captain and first lieutenant of the Culloden should not be passed over because of their misfortune. To Trowbridge himself he said, "Let us rejoice that the ship which got on shore was commanded by an officer whose character is so thoroughly established." To the admiralty he stated, that Captain Trowbridge's conduct was as fully entitled to praise as that of any one officer in the squadron, and as highly deserving of reward. was Trowbridge," said he, "who equipped the squadron so soon at Syracuse: it was Trowbridge who exerted himself for me after the action: it was Trowbridge who saved the Culloden, when none that I know in the service would have attempted it." The gold medal, therefore, by the king's express desire, was given to Captain Trowbridge "for his services both before and since, and for the great and wonderful exertion which he made at the time of the action, in saving and getting off his ship." The private letter from the admiralty to Nelson informed him, that the first lieutenants of all the ships engaged were to be promoted. Nelson instantly wrote to the commander-in-chief."I sincerely hope," said he, "this is not intended to exclude the first lieutenant of the Culloden.-For heaven's sake, for my sake,-if it be so, get it altered. Our dear friend Trowbridge has endured enough. His sufferings were, in every respect, more than any of us.' To the admiralty he wrote in terms equally warm. "I hope, and believe, the word engaged is not intended to exclude the Culloden. The merit of that ship, and her gallant cap tain, are too well known to benefit by anything I could say. Her misfortune was great in getting aground, while her more fortunate companions were in the full tide of happiness. No: I am confident that my good Lord Spencer will never add misery to misfortune. Captain Trowbridge on shore is superior to captains afloat: in the midst of his great misfortunes he made those signals which prevented certainly the Alexander and Swiftsure from running on the shoals. I beg your pardon for writing on a subject which, I verily believe, has never entered your lordship's head; but my heart, as it ought to be, is warm to my gallant friends." Thus feelingly alive was Nelson to the claims, and interests, and feelings of others. The admiralty replied, that the exception was necessary, as the ship had not been in action: but they desired the commander-in-chief to promote the lieutenant upon the first vacancy which should occur. Nelson, in remembrance of an old and uninterrupted friendship, appointed Alexander Davison sole prize agent for the captured ships: upon which Davison ordered medals to be struck in gold, for the captains; in silver, for the lieutenants and warrant officers; in gilt metal, for the petty officers; and in copper, for the seamen and marines. The cost of this act of liberality amounted nearly to £2000. It is worthy of record on another account ;-for some of the gallant men, who received no other honorary badge of their conduct on that memorable day, than this copper medal, from a private individual, years afterwards, when they died upon a foreign station, made it their last request, that the medals might carefully be sent home to their respective friends. |