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LADT HAMILTON

THE MEMOIR LIBRARY.

INDER this title it is intended to issue from
time to time a series of Memoirs that
will, it is hoped, be of universal interest.
It will embrace the most celebrated works
in this department of literature as well as a
number of less known books that are either of
historical or literary importance, or sought after
as presenting a picture of life at different epochs.

£/i^r'a''^ b^^Yaysr ojfOr- ^^tuf^p

MEMOIRS

OF

MMA

ADY lilAMILTON

A.NECDOTES OF HER FRIENDS
AND CONTEMPORARIES

NEW EDITION
EDITED AND ANNOTATED
BV
W. H. LONG
Editor of the " Oglandee Memoirs," &c.

friTH PORIRjlirS

SECOND EDITION

WILLIAM W, GIBBINGS
i8, BURY STREET, LONDON, W.C
189^

PREFACE TO SECOND ANNOTATED
EDITION.

1

2i

1

IHE favourable reception accorded by
the public to the first edition of
the annotated " Memoirs of Lady
Hamilton," which is now quite out
of print, all the copies on large
paper having been disposed of before publication,
and the ordinary copies within a week after their
appearance, has encouraged the publisher to issue a
new and cheaper edition, revised, being the fourth of
the " Memoirs." By the courtesy of Major-General
Montgomery Moore, the grandson of Mrs. Matcham,
Lord Nelson's sister, the editor has been enabled to
correct a statement referring to the behaviour of the
Admiral's relatives towards Lady Hamilton, after he
had fallen at Trafalgar ; and also to utterly disprove
another falsification concerning the conduct of Earl
Nelson at Calais, after the death of Lady Hamilton.
These assertions, now it is to be hoped effectually

v» P REI' ACE.
refuted, have been repeated, with more or less
variation and fulness of detail, by almost every writer
on the subject, from the decease of Lady Hamilton
to the present time.
January, 1892. W. H. L.

EDITOR'S PREFACE.

HE general and increasing interest
shown in the history of Emma,
Lady Hamilton, who, with all her
shortcomings, and in some measure
through them, was one of the most
celebrated women of her age, and
who combined with the acknowledged charms of her
person mental powers of no common range and ver
satility, is the principal reason for the republication
of her much-maligned " Memoirs," with corrections
and annotations. The story of her wonderfully
chequered career from her cradle to her grave, and
her connection with the greatest naval commander the
world has ever seen, is as attractive and thrilling as a
romance, and will serve for all time — " to point a
moral, or adorn a tale." The first edition of the
"Memoirs of Lady Hamilton," by an anonymous
author, was published by H. Colburn in 1815, and a
second edition, corrected and enlarged, a few weeks
later in the same year. The present edition is a
reprint of the second, with the exception that a long
introduction, written in the most prosy style of

viii PREFACE.
moralizing, and two or three short passages in diffe
rent places, written in a similar general strain, of no
interest, and containing little or nothing bearing on
the story, have been omitted, it is hoped with ad
vantage. The work has been disparaged, but used,
more or less, by almost every author writing on
the story of Lady Hamilton ; and the larger propor
tion of the facts it records have never been contro
verted, but many of them confirmed, by authorities
appearing since its first publication. The notes have
been drawn from various sources ; the chief being —
Clarke and M'Arthur's "Life of Lord Nelson,"
Pettigrew's " Memoirs," and Sir H. Nicolas's well-
known " Dispatches and Letters " of the hero ; but
the editor must specially acknowledge his obligations
to the exhaustive work of Mr. J. C. Jeaffreson, on
" Lady Hamilton and Lord Nelson."
March, 1891. W. H. L.

PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION.

ss

1

^HE favourable reception which this
volume has experienced from the
public, manifested by the sale of a
large impression in a few weeks,
and by the most honourable testi
monies in its behalf, expressed in
different periodical publications, has enabled the
Author to fulfil the promise made in the preface of
his first edition, of making such corrections in the
narrative as should be called for by the communica
tion of authentic facts and specific information. But
while he returns his thanks to several obliging corre
spondents for some friendly hints and additional circum
stances, of which he has not failed to avail himself in
the present impression, he feels a honest satisfaction
in finding that the integrity of his memoir remains
unaffected.

August ist, 1815.

LIST OF PLATES.

Lady Hamilton. Engraved by Mayer, after Romney.
{Frontispiece.)
Lady Hamilton as Sensibility. From an Engraving by
Rd. Earlom, after Romney. .Face page '^z.
Lady Hamilton as Bacchante. From an Engraving by
C. Knight, after Romney. Face page 1 60.

CHAPTER I.

Honour and shame from no condition
rise :
Act well your part ; there all the honour
lies. Pope.

NE of our greatest moralists,
who owed more to himself
than to his relations, has said,
in his strong manner, that
there is a " scoundrelism about
persons of low birth." No
man knew better than he did how to appreciate
worth in all stations, and no man ever acted
with less servility to the great, or with more
kindness to the poor. His observation, there
fore, must be taken in a qualified sense, as
expressing only what he had commonly met
with, and proving that the influence of pristine
meanness will, more or less, continue through
life. Of the truth of this remark, we shall
meet with some striking proofs in the following
2

2 MEMOIRS OF
memoirs, throughout the whole of which, the
want of early instruction and example will be
seen, and the force of low habits and improper
connections will be completely understood. ,
The person whose adventures we are now to
report, as far as they can be traced, and with
every allowance for the uncertainty in which
the early history of such characters is always
involved, owed her origin to a couple that lived
together in a menial capacity, in the county
Palatine of Chester. The man, whose name
was Lyon, survived this marriage only a short
time, leaving, in 1761, a young widow, and an
infant daughter, named Emma,' wholly without
support. In consequence of this melancholy
change in her circumstances, the poor woman
retired to Hawarden, in Flintshire, which was
her native place, and where she was now enabled
by her industry, and the kindness of friends, to
maintain herself and this child, whose education
was such as might be expected from the poverty
of her mother's circumstances, and the little time
that could be allowed from domestic occupa-
"^ Her father was Henry Lyon, smith, of Great Neston,
Cheshire, and his daughter was baptized there, by the
name of Am;j, May 12, 1765. She was probably born
April 26 (the date she always celebrated as her birthday),
1763. Her father died June 21, 1765.

LAD Y HAMIL TON. 3
tions. In an account of herself, however, which
the subject of this narrative thought proper to
¦dictate at the request of an enterprizing book
seller, for a collection of what he called " Public
Characters," it is stated that she received an
education superior to damsels of her condition,
at the expense of the late Earl of Halifax. This
was one of those instances of deception in which
she was too apt to indulge, and by which she
foolishly hoped to impose upon the credulity of
mankind. The truth is, that all the instruction
-which she ever obtained in childhood consisted
in the simple article of reading, and that so very
imperfectly, as to be unaccompanied by correct
ness in spelling,! g, qualification which she never
properly acquired to the end of her days, though
¦she mixed so much with polished society, and
had an extensive correspondence.
Yet, in justice to the energies of her mind, it
should be observed that she supplied the defects
of her original condition by voluntary applica
tion and uncommon diligence, at that period
-when gaiety and business may be supposed to
' This was a defect she often lamented in later life,
but her orthography was fully equal to that of her friend
¦Caroline, Queen of Naples, who could spell neither
Italian nor French correctly, and who could not plead the
deficiencies of her early education as an excuse.

4 MEMOIRS OF
furnish plausible excuses for neglecting the-
labour of intellectual improvement.
At the age of twelve or thirteen she was.
received into the family of Mr. Thomas, a
respectable medical practitioner at Hawarden,.
who was the brother-in-law of the late Alderman
Boydell, and father of the eminent surgeon in-
Leicester Square. Her situation in this place-
was that of a nursery-maid ; and it is worthy
of remark, that in her subsequent changes, she
ever preserved a gratefiil sense of the kindness
which she had experienced from the friends of
her youth, who were well disposed to give her
the instruction that was suited to her condition'
in life.Happy certainly would it have been for
Emma, had she been suffered to remain in her
original state of servitude, but still more so if
she had never been transplanted from her native
mountains, to breathe the contaminating air,
and to witness the licentious manners of an
overgrown and luxurious city.
At sixteen she visited London, where she
obtained a place with a tradesman ' in St. James's
' On first coming to London, probably in the year
1778, she obtained a situation as nursemaid in the family
of Dr. Budd, who resided in Chatham Place, Blackfriars
and who was one of the Physicians of St. Bartholomew's

LADY HAMILTON. 5
Market : and it is said, that when some years
afterwards she moved in a sphere of splendour,
she called in her carriage at this shop, and ex
pressed a strong sense of gratitude to her old
master and mistress.
In her next situation, which was with a lady
¦of fortune, she had ample opportunities of grati
fying her love of reading, by the books obtained
from the circulating library for the amusement
of her mistress : but the information derived
-from these volumes was ill adapted to moderate
i:he ebullitions of vanity, to mortify the im
petuosity of passion, to chasten the mind, by a
"Consideration of the duties of life, or to point out
the dangerous rocks and hidden shoals, which
are certain of proving destructive to those who
are impelled by emotions, instead of being
<iirected by the sense of religion.
Hospital. Her fellow-servant here, as housemaid, after
wards became Mrs. Powell, the well-known and highly-
¦popular actress at Drury Lane Theatre. Some degree of
intimacy was long maintained between these two remark-
;able women, both destined to rise so far above their
¦ original status of domestic service, that their change of
fortune reminds one of the favourites in a fairy tale.
Years afterwards, when Lady Hamilton was at the height
-of her celebrity and beauty, she visited Drury Lane with
her husband, and the attention and admiration of the
.audience were divided between the favourite actress and
.<he still more famous wife of the minister.

.6 MEMOIRS OF
Novels and romances, in rapid succession,,
without reflection or discrimination, constituted
the chief delight of this young person, who had
been sent out into the world unarmed, either by
prudent counsel or parental example. Here it
would be wrong to omit the very remarkable
and feeling censure which was passed on this
pernicious waste of time, by the very person of
whom we are speaking, and who, as we shall find,
suffered so much from the evil. Adverting to-
what had been her own practice in early life,^
she used to condemn very pointedly those who,.
from design or carelessness, threw such allure
ments in the way of their domestics. So strong,
indeed, was her sense of the mischievous ten
dency of those productions on the minds of the
giddy and uninformed, as to declare that if she
had the choice, her preference would be given
to a servant that could not read at all, to one
that was so qualified. This, to be sure, was
carrying matters to the utmost extremity ; and
the reason she was pleased to assign for her
opinion, though ingenious enough, cannot be
admitted as a sufficient justification of the deci
sion founded upon it. " Wherever," she would
observe, " a female servant, especially if she is
young, and has a turn for reading, can indulge
her inclination by the books which lie in the

LADY HAMILTON. 7
apartments of her mistress, the business in which
she should be employed will surely be neglected,
and her mind be raised, by the perusal, above
the sphere in which it is her province to move."
An inordinate attachment to books, exhibit
ing the falsest pictures of human nature, and to
the playhouse, where the passions are inflamed
rather than corrected, had the most baneful
influence on the mind of this giddy adventurer
on the perilous ocean of life. That which com
menced at the outset in the laxity of discipline,
became habitual by the want of monition in the
progress ; and this being confirmed by the total
absence of example in the heads of the house
hold, had the effect of lessening that delicacy of
sentiment, and dread of shame, which will ever
prove an adamantine shield to the female heart,
and the most powerful guard of its honour.
The next place to which she removed was
one that flattered her vanity, and gave a latitude
to her inclinations. Her appearance became
almost as powerful a recommendation as her
character to a lady who figured in the fashion
able world, and whose house was the resort of
gay persons, among whom were some writers
for the stage, and others, who stood high in the
public esteem as singers and performers. This
was exactly the place that best suited the peculiar

S MEMOIRS OF
inclination of the lively Emma, whose heart was
but too susceptible of the allurements which
-were now most amply spread before her by the
folly of the vain, and the designs of the vicious.
The family into which she thought herself
happy in being admitted as housemaid, presented
to her view a perpetual round of bustling
activity, which had no other object than to
provide luxury for those who thought only of
indulging their love of pleasure, by pampering
the senses with new supplies of extravagance.
The day was occupied in preparations for the
festivities of the evening ; and those hours
which should have been devoted to rest and
reflection, were sacrificed to scenes of dissipation.
One part of the week was nearly the same as the
other ; and there was hardly anything to mark
the return of that day which human and Divine
authority have combined to render sacred, except
in the selection of company, and the change of
amusements. The servants were under the
necessity of pursuing their ordinary avocations,
instead of enjoying that rest which the law
enjoined, and their improvement required. In
this whirlpool of hurry and pleasure, the domes
tics had neither time for serious meditation, nor
opportunities allowed them to learn their duty.
From those who should have established order

LADY HAMILTON, g
by their authority, and recommended temperance
by their example, no rules of sobriety were
received, nor any useful knowledge gained for
the regulation of the conduct, and the improve-
.ment of the mind. So long as the respective
business of each servant was discharged, entire
satisfaction was given, and no attention was paid
to the manner in which the residue of time was
employed, or to the company that they kept.
In such a place, the dangers attending youth
and beauty were multiplied by the facilities now
•offered of indulging that love of theatrical
amusement which had already been too strongly
¦excited ; by the incessant flatteries which were
.addressed to a credulous ear, and the arts that
were continually adopted to charm away all
apprehension of future misery, in the desire of
present gratification. It was impossible that in
a house like this, the charms of Emma should
pass unobserved by the numerous visitors who
-were on terms of intimacy with the family. To
a figure of uncommon elegance were added
¦features perfectly regular, with a countenance of
such indescribable sweetness of expression, as
iixed the beholder in admiration. The airiness
of her form gave a peculiar grace to her move
ments, and such was the flexibility of her limbs,
-that she might have been considered as a moun-

10 MEMOIRS OF
tain nymph. Her agility, however, though
light and sportive, had nothing in it of boisterous-
activity ; nor in the gaiety which she supported
did there appear any of that levity which seems-
to court instead of repelling temptation. Among
the many attractions which at this period dis--
tinguished the female of whom we are speaking,.
that ofa very musical voice was one which could'
hardly fail, in the situation where she was placed,
to excite attention and inflame vanity. Having
the advantage of a good ear, aided by a retentive-
memory, she was enabled to sing popular airs
with considerable effect ; and the opportunities-
which she enjoyed of frequenting places of public
amusement, served to increase the passion for-
dramatic entertainments. The effect produced
by these exhibitions, was that of adding to her-
love of singing a strong turn for mimicry, which
was encouraged by her companions to such a
degree, as to become the subject of general con
versation. By the folly of those who should have checked -
this propensity, instead of giving it countenance,,
that which was at first a playful act of occasional
humour, productive of a little harmless amuse
ment, settled into habit, and drew off the mind
from those occupations which, diligently followed,
might have rendered this young person a much

LAD Y HAMILTON. 1 1
more usefiil though a less brilliant member of
society. Hereby she acquired a boldness which
proved the leading feature of her character
through life, to which her ruin was owing in the
first instance, and which confirmed her in the
habits of intrigue and extravagance, so com
pletely as to render her the deceiver of her own
heart, while she was imposing on the credulity
of others.

CHAPTER II.

Ah, turn thine eyes
Where the poor houseless shiv'ring female lies.
She once, perhaps, in village plenty blest.
Has wept at tales of innocence distrest;
Her modest looks the cottage might adorn,
Sweet as the primrose peeps beneath the thorn ;
Now lost to all, her friends, her virtue fled,
Near her betrayer's door she lays her head.
And, pinch'd with cold, and shrinking from the
show'r,
with heavy heart deplores that luckless hour.
When, idly first, ambitious of the town.
She left her wheel and robes of country brown.
Goldsmith.

^HE female who hesitates on the
threshold of temptation, by stop
ping to listen with inquisitive
delight to the tale of flattery, is
lost. She betrays her virtue,
by giving encouragement to the
voice of praise, when she should be employed
in examining her conduct, to discover what it
is that renders her an object of admiration.

MEMOIRS OF LADY HAMIL TON. 1 3
Thus it was in the present instance ; and more
could not well have been expected, considering
the circumstances in which this young person
was placed, the gifts with which she was fur
nished, the graces she possessed, and the com
panions with whom she daily associated. Her
first lapse from the path of virtue was occasioned
by an act of good nature ; for in the early part
of the American war, a friend or relation having
been impressed and sent on board the Tender off
the Tower, she had the courage to wait upon
the late Admiral John Willet Payne, ^ then a
captain, and employed in the regulating service,
' Captain, afterwards Rear- Admiral, John Willet Payne,
was the youngest son of the governor of St. Christopher's,^
West Indies, and was educated at the Naval Academy at
Portsmouth. He served in the West Indies, and in the
American War, under Sir Peter Parker, and was aide-de
camp to Admiral Lord Howe at the capture of New
York. After much service on the North American
Station, he was appointed to the Pheenix, Captain Sir
Hyde Parker, and was present in the action with Count
d'Estaing in the West Indies. He was made a post-
captain in 1780, and commanded the Leander, 50 guns,
and the Princess Amelia, of 80 guns. At the conclusion
of the war, 1783, he returned to England, where he
mixed with the best society, and by his agreeable manners
became a special favourite of the Prince of Wales. He
was appointed to the post of Keeper of the Prince's Privy
Seal, and soon afterwards entered Parliament as member
for Huntingdon. On the declaration of war by France in

14 MEMOIRS OF
with a request that he would cause the man to
be liberated. This gallant officer was so much
struck with the appearance of the petitioner,
that he granted her prayer, and became a suitor
in return. These attentions were far from
being unacceptable to one whose principles were
already weakened, and she soon became the
mistress of her new admirer, who spared no
expense in setting off her charms to the best
advantage. But after some time, the late Sir Harry
Featherston i having declared his passion for
Emma in warm terms, her protector consented
1793, he was appointed to the Russell (j^) and took part
in Lord Howe's victory of June i, 1794. In 1796 he
commanded the Imfeteux (80) under Admiral Colpoys,
and Lord Bridport, and in 1797 was made Rear-Admiral
of the Blue. His health failing, he was appointed
Treasurer of Greenwich Hospital in 1799, where he
¦died, November 17, 1802. His brief liaison with Emma
Lyon resulted in the birth of a daughter named Emily.
' Sir Henry Fetherstonhaugh, Bart., of Up Park,
situated on the border of Sussex and Hampshire, between
Havant and Petersfield. His father, Sir Matthew, the
first baronet, purchased the property in 1746. Sir Henry
died at an advanced age in 1846 without issue, when the
title became extinct. During this connection, which
lasted hardly a year, the fair Emma so gained the esteem
of Sir Henry, that their separation at the end of 1781 did
not extinguish his regard for her ; he was her corre
spondent for years afterwards, and his letters testify by

LADY HAMIL TON, 1 5
to yield up the fair one to the opulent baronet,
who conducted her to his seat in Sussex. Here
for some months she led a life of fictitious
grandeur, as the nominal mistress of a noble
mansion, though she soon had the mortification
•of seeing that her real character was known,
and despised, even by those who were under
the necessity of obeying her commands. The
fondness of her lover, the extravagant adulation
of his sporting companions, and the continual
succession of riotous amusements, could not
prevent the intrusion of some bitter recollections,
and an inward feeling of resentment at the
¦occasional marks of contempt which were be
trayed by the honest rustics, who were as yet
far from exchanging their reverence of the in
stitutions of their ancestors, for the frivolous
distinctions, and shameful customs, of the
fashionable world.
Emma, during her residence at Up Park,
displayed her agility in various festive scenes,
and she particularly obtained great applause on
account of her equestrian powers, sitting her
iiorse with uncommon elegance, and rivalling in
their propriety and tone of respect to the favourable
¦opinion he retained for her. In her declining fortunes,
-after the death of Nelson, he often wrote to her, and sent
Jier presents of fruit and game.

1 6 MEMOIRS OF
speed the boldest of her acquaintance. But
this course of dissipation was of short con
tinuance ; and though roses appeared scattered
in every path, the pleasure which they yielded
faded quickly away, leaving nothing but thorns.
behind. After spending the summer and part of the
autumn in the country, the baronet removed
with his prize to London, where, for many
reasons, he avoided exhibiting her in a public
manner, and she was accordingly placed in
private lodgings. For some time the condition
was easy and agreeable enough to prevent the
suspicion of its having any insidious object ;
but when neglect and indifference became too-
apparent to escape observation, the keen sense
of wrong produced remonstrances, which were
received with a coolness that only served to
aggravate resentment, and to hasten a sepa
ration. Thus abandoned in her utmost need, without
either friend, property, or character, this hapless
victim of vanity and deceit was driven ta
encounter the ruthless storm, dependent upon
charms which had already deprived her of
peace, and which were now to provide her a
guilty support. Of the variety of scenes
through which this daughter of vicissitude

LAD Y HAMILTON. 1 7
passed, after experiencing that treachery which
most commonly follows the sacrifice of virgin
innocence, it is impossible to give an account \
and even were the particulars most exactly
remembered, or easily collected, still the re
lation could hardly be attended with any' better
effect than that of ministering to an idle spirit
of curiosity, which seeks amusement in tales of
misfortune, and derives a wretched kind of
pleasure even from the follies of mankind.
The gradations from splendid distinction
gained by the loss of virtue, to the extremity
of want and misery, were so rapid, that In a
few months she was nearly an outcast In the
metropolis, when one of those casual occur
rences, which sometimes produce a complete
turn in human aflFairs, may be said to have
restored her again to society.
The encouragement afforded in this land of
credulity to every species of empiricism, never
fails to stimulate the genius of new adventurers,
whose claims to public support have the greater
chance of being successful, In proportion as they
are removed from decency, or are at variance with
probability. At the period of which we are
speaking, one of those impudent pretenders to
superior wisdom, who are continually taking
advantage of the national thirst for wonder and
3

i8 • MEMOIRS OF
novelty, contrived to fill his pockets at the
expense of the thoughtless and the ignorant,
by an exhibition, which, in any other country
than England, would have subjected the inventor
to exile or imprisonment. This man, who, in
point of education and abilities, ranked above
the general description of quacks, affected to
explain the inmost secrets of nature, and to
unfold all her mysterious operations in the
continuance of each species of animal being,
while to his hearers he ventured to hold out
the infallible charm that was to insure the en
joyment of health, pleasure, and longevity.
The lectures of Dr. Graham,' however, would
' Graham was the son of a saddler, and was born in
Edinburgh in 1745. He studied medicine, and took his
¦degree of M.D. there, and after practising for a while at
Pontefract, went to America, where he posed as a philan
thropic physician, whose sole object was the healing and
benefit of his suffering fellow-men. He returned to
England in 1775, and settled for a time in Pall Mall,
London, where he advertised his wonderful cures of diseases
of the ear and eye, including many desperate cases which
had defied ordinary remedies and physicians. After a visit
to Scotland, where he was sought after by patients of the
highest rank, attracted by the fame of his marvellous skill,
he returned to London, and in May, 1779, opened his
" Temple of Health" in the Adelphi. The object of this
remarkable institution was, in the doctor's own words
" the propagation of a much more strong, beautiful, active,
healthy, wise, and virtuous race of human beings, than the

LAD Y HAMILTON. 19
liardly have answered his purpose, in a lucrative
point of view, if he had not enlivened them by
descriptions and Illustrations, which served to
excite sensations, and to provoke desires that
present puny, insignificant, foolish, peevish, vicious, and
nonsensical race of Christians, who quarrel, fight, bite,
•devour, and cut one another's throats about they know
not what." It was an original scheme, and by its success
the doctor showed he possessed a keen knowledge of
human nature. His address \yas agreeable, his appear-
.ance prepossessing, he had a glib tongue, and almost
¦every qualification necessary to make him what he really
was — one of the most clever and remarkable quacks that
ever existed.
As a crowning attraction to his undertaking, Graham
announced the appearance of the " lovely Hebe Vestina,
the rosy Goddess of Health," who, according to his
.advertisements, presided at " the display of the Celestial
Meteors, and of that Sacred Vital Fire over which she
•watches, and whose application in the cure of diseases
she daily has the honour of directing." The rosy
goddess was the late mistress of Sir H. Fetherstonhaugh,
who, to quote the doctor, " on the celestial throne, will
exhibit in her own person a proof of the all-blessing
.effects of virtue, temperance, regularity, simplicity,
moderation ; and, in these luxurious, artificial, and effemi
nate times, to recommend those great virtues." In other
•advertisements Graham professed to be able to show the
whole art of living with " health, honour, and happiness
in this world, for at least a hundred years.'' One of the
principal means to attain to this patriarchal age was the
frequent use of mud baths, and on stated occasions the
¦doctor exhibited himself, practising his own precepts,

20 MEMOIRS OF
rather stood in need of a restraint than a stimu
lant. When the popularity of these hcentious
discourses began to fail by repetition, the orator
had recourse to a bold device, to awaken the
immersed in mud to the chin, his head covered with a
flowing wig. The beautiful " Hebe Vestina" was also
to be seen in a similar condition, her hair elaborately
dressed in the prevailing fashion, with powder, flowers,
ropes of pearls, and feathers. In 1781 the "Temple of
Health" was removed to Schomberg House, Pall Mall,,
and two new attractions, "The Temple of Hymen " and
" The Celestial Bed," were exhibited to the gaze of
throngs of admiring and jeering spectators. The rooms
were most elaborately furnished, with statues, stands of
armour, stained-glass windows with rich curtains, and the
walls covered with mirrors ; strains of soft music filled
the air, heavy with perfumes, till the audience almost
fancied themselves in an enchanted palace ; at least, so
said the doctor. In another advertisement he announces
that " the enchanting glory of these magical scenes will
break forth about seven, and die away about ten o'clock,.
during which time Oriental odours and ./Etherial essences
will perfume the air, while the hymenaeal sopha blazes
forth with the plenitude ofthe soft lambent celestial fire."
The price of admission to these wonders iwas only " one
shilling," and the Temple was crowded nightly by people
who eagerly paid half-a-guinea to view the " Celestial
Bed," and other novelties, in " the Holy of Holies," as the
shilling advertised only admitted to the body of the hall.
This " Celestial Bed " was Graham's crowning achieve
ment. It was beautifully carved and gilt, supported by
twenty-eight glass pillars, and surmounted by a richly-gilt
canopy, from which crimson silk curtains were gracefully

LAD Y HAMILTON. 2 1
public attention, and to draw around his ros
trum crowded audiences of the weak and the
-wicked, consisting of those who, from inex
perience, could see no deformity in vice, and of
habitual debauchees, who had no higher enjoy
ment. To gratify a depraved taste, and that
¦from the vilest of all motives, the love of gain,
this unprincipled charlatan resolved to Introduce
a new object of attraction, in the person of some
young female, whose figure might render her a
perfect model of health and beauty. The
¦difficulty certainly lay in obtaining an object
w^ho would submit to be exhibited, in a con
dition, the very proposal of which could not but

¦dependent. The bed itself was " magnetico-electric,
•coverings of purple and curtains of celestial blue surround
it, and the bed-clothes are perfumed with the most costly
¦essences of Arabia." The doctor asserted that married
couples without children, but desirous of offspring, would
surely attain their wishes by sleeping in this wonderful
bed — " the only one in the world, or that ev?r existed."
The fee for this privilege was j^ioo per night, and many
:persons with more wealth than brains are recorded as
having paid it. As the novelty wore off the demand
¦decreased, and the price was reduced to £,'^0, then to
j^2 5 per night, and at last whatever sum could be got was
taken. In 1784 the farce was played out, the " Temple
of Health " was shut up, and all the furniture and
apparatus, with the famous bed, disappeared under the
.auctioneer's hammer.

22 MEMOIRS OF
make the most wretched of the sex shudder at
the degradation.! Yet the lecturer was not
mistaken in his opinion of mankind, when he
reckoned upon the complete success of his
scheme, not only in gaining auditors, but in
finding a subject who would consent, for a re
ward, to stand in all the simplicity of nature,
as the representative of the cheerful goddess
of health and inspiring beauty. The event
answered his expectations ; and thus the un
happy fair one, whose misfortunes were owing^
in a great measure to her lovely form and
mimic powers, now became indebted to the same
causes for a deliverance from the lowest state
of misery. Disgusting as this incident must be
to every one who feels the slightest respect for
the honour of human nature, and concern for
the interests of virtue, both of which were
grossly insulted by an exhibition that would
have put a heathen to the blush, still our
' There is not the slightest evidence that such a.
scandalous violation of decency ever took place. "Hebe.
Vestina, the rosy Goddess of Health," was certainly attired
and draped in a classical style for exhibition. The con
nection of Emma Lyon with Dr. Graham, at the furthest
could not have been but a very few months in duration,
probably in the year 1782 ; but she may have officiated
in the "Temple of Health," prior to being under the
protection of Sir H. Fetherstonhaugh, a year or so earlier..

LADY HAMILTON. 23,
indignation ought to be directed against the
lecturer and his hearers, rather than the frail
object of a licentious curiosity and the Instru
ment of gross imposture. But while the fact of
the exhibition stands uncontradicted, the friends
of the female who figured in It have persevered
in denying her connection with the scene. Their
zeal, however. Is more gratifying to the feelings
than satisfactory to the judgment ; for such a
circumstance could not have been related without
some foundation, and the writer of this had the
whole history from a person of the highest
literary character, twenty-four years ago.
Of this strange folly some distinguished artists,
both painters and sculptors, contrived to profit
In their respective lines, by adopting this ele
gant form as a model. Many exquisite pieces
were accordingly painted and chiselled after
this finished production of Nature's workman
ship ; and the remunerations which she received
placed her In a situation above want.
Still it is not to be disguised, that the declen
sion from virtue, and the habits which she had
acquired, left too strong a tinge to be wholly
obliterated even by the blow of adversity, and
the change which she had experienced.
Her admirers increased as the representations
of her multiplied ; and the praises which she

.24 MEMOIRS OF
continually heard, from those who certainly were
the best judges of symmetry and beauty, tended
effectually to wear away the sense of disgrace,
and to reconcile her mind to the blandishments
of guilt.
Among those who were captivated by the
personal graces of the lively and fascinating
Emma, and who devoted much professional
attention to the delineation of her in various
characters, the eccentric Romney ' was by far the
most distinguished in his attachment, and the
most favoured by the object of his admiration.
This artist was then at the zenith of his re
putation, in Cavendish Square ; but his moral
character may be estimated from the fact, that
he had abandoned a virtuous wife and two chil
dren, above twenty years before the period at
which we are now arrived.
The most particular friend and biographer of
the painter, though utterly unable, and no doubt
unwilling, to justify this flagrant instance of
cruelty on moral principles, has yet endeavoured
' George Romney was born at Dalton-le-Furness,
Lancashire, December 26, 1734. He left Lancashire for
London, 1762, studied from 1773 to 1775 in Italy; and
after a successful career of more than twenty years in
the Metropolis, retired, in 1798, to Hampstead; but soon
after, his health failing, he returned to his wife and family,
and died at Kendal, November 15, 1802.

LAD Y HAMILTON. 2 5
to find some motive for the act, which may, as
lie thinks, have the effect of lessening its crimi
nality. This conduct of Romney In leaving a
young family unprotected in a remote part of
the kingdom is ascribed to a romantic spirit of
•enterprize, and to the desire of improving his
mind and his circumstances ; but that " behold
ing in an innocent wife a supposed impediment
to every splendid project, he resolved, instead of
settling as a family man to wander forth alone
into the distant world in quest of professional
adventures." Such Is the sophistry by which the violation
¦of the first of duties Is made instrumentally ex
pedient, If not really necessary, to the attain
ment of distinguished eminence in an intellectual
.and liberal pursuit. But allowing all that the
partiality of friendship can require In behalf of
an esteemed object, we may be permitted to ex
press our concern and Indignation at the con
tinuance of this separation, when the only reason
ever offered for it had ceased to operate, and
when that eminence was completely attained, for
which the connubial state and parental endear-
.ments had been so long sacrificed. It might
have been expected that a man of such exquisite
sensibility as Romney Is described, would, on
•entering into the possession of a noble mansion,

26 MEMOIRS OF
and the enjoyment of an ample income, have-
eagerly called his family to town, to participate
in his good fortune. But the case was otherwise ;.
and while the artist lived in splendour, visited by
persons of the highest rank, and earning be
tween three and four thousand pounds a-year,.
his meek and unoffending partner remained
without any attempt to injure him by an expo
sure of her wrongs ; though such was her-
condition, that she would gladly have received
the scraps which fell from his table. '
Yet of this very man, the indiscretion of
kindred genius has ventured to record, that " in
conversation he was often delightfully eloquent,,
particularly in describing to a friend pathetic;
scenes in humble life, which he often explored ;.
sometimes for the purpose of discovering new
subjects for his art ; and frequently for the-
nobler purpose of relieving distress \ for no man
could be more tenderly alive, both to the duty,,
and the delight of generous compassion, and
evangelical charity ! "
-^ Romney, after leaving his wife with two children in
1762, visited them only once, in 1767, but he provided for-
their maintenance, and kept them from poverty. On his.
return to Kendal in 1799, his youth and health both gone,
his wife, to her honour, after thirty-seven years of neglect,
received him with forgiveness and kindness, and affection
ately nursed him during two years of helpless imbecility...

LAD Y HAMILTON. 27
However tender might have been the feeling,
or extensive the bounty of Romney, he certainly
paid no attention to the consideration, that
" charity begins at home," a maxim, which,
though too often perverted to the low purpose
of screening a niggardly disposition, under the
specious plea of prudence, contains a sound
moral truth, equivalent to the declaration of an
evangelical writer, who practised what he taught
— " If any provide not for his own, and especi
ally for those of his own house, he hath denied
the faith, and Is worse than an infidel."
The charity of Romney was anything but
that which It Is said to have been, for it was
utterly destitute of religious principle, and had
its origin In the school of sentimentalists, where
feeling Is substituted for duty, and the breach of
one obligation finds a covering In excessive sen
sibility. Severe as these rernarks may be
deemed, they are called for by the circumstance,.
that while the painter lived apart from a worthy
woman, to whom he was bound by the most
sacred ties, he lavished his bounty on one who.
was above twenty-five years younger than him
self and with whose character he could not fail
to be acquainted.
But, like Sterne, whom he admired, Romney
had no true feeling ; and his propensities to-

28 MEMOIRS OF
sensual indulgence were well known to all his
acquaintance. With Emma he became enam
oured while painting her picture, as Apelles fell
in love with Campaspe. Certain it is, that the
modern artist had no cause to complain of the
severity of his mistress ; and his fondness for
her was carried to such a pitch, that he often
times neglected the works which he was
¦employed to execute, from a capricious whim to
delineate his idol in some new character or
fascinating attitude.
A colour, however, has been given to this
connection, for the purpose of making it appear
to have been nothing more than pure disinterested
generosity on the one side, and filial attachment
on the other.
The biographer of Romney has touched this
subject with an art, which manifests uncommon
anxiety to relate what may be fairly told, with
out leading the reader to suspect the real nature
of this attachment.
" The talents which nature bestowed on the
fair Emma," says the historian, "led her to
delight in the two kindred arts of music and
painting. In the first she acquired great
practical ability ; for the second she had ex
quisite taste, and such expressive powers, as
•could fiirnish to an historical painter an

LADY HAMILTON. 2^
inspiring model for the various characters,
either delicate or sublime, that he might have
occasion to represent. Her features, like the
language of Shakspeare, could exhibit all the
feelings of nature, and all the gradations of
every passion, with a, most fascinating truth,
and felicity of expression. Romney delighted
in observing the wonderful command she pos
sessed over her eloquent features ; and through
the surprising vicissitudes of her destiny, she
ever took a generous pride in serving him as a
model : her peculiar force and variation of feel
ing, countenance, and gesture, inspirited and
ennobled the productions of his art. One of his
earliest fancy pictures, from this animated model,
was a whole length of Circe with her magic
wand It could not be painted later than the
year 1782, as I recollect a letter from a friend
in that year, describing the very powerful im
pression made by this picture on a party who
then surveyed It. Some years afterwards, I had
a conversation in Romney's gallery on the same
picture, with an opulent nobleman, now no
more, who discovered a faint Inclination to pur
chase It, but It was reserved for a purchaser of
superior taste. A Calypso, a Magdalen, a
Wood Nymph, a Bacchante, the Pythian
Priestess on her tripod, and a Saint Cecilia,

30 MEMOIRS OF
were all drawn from the same admirable
model. I
This statement is intended to impress on the
mind of the reader a persuasion that the painter
was actuated by professional motives only,
which will hardly be admitted as coming within
the limits of probability, by any one ' who has
made human nature his study ; and by those
who ever had the slightest knowledge of the
parties, it will be treated as a most extravagant
idea, that Romney, who had abandoned his wife,
and lived in luxury, should receive such a
visitor at all seasons, and behold her in every
luscious attitude;, from the mere wish of im
proving his own genius. But in truth, had the
artist been possessed of that charity which is
ascribed to him, he would have seen the gross
impropriety of placing an interesting young
woman in characters which could not be even
represented without a wantonness of counte
nance, habiliment, and attitude, wholly repug
nant to the delicacy of that charm, so beautifully
pourtrayed by the poet, in his description of the
mother of mankind :
Grace was in all her steps, heav'n in her eye,
In every gesture, dignity, and love.
' Romney also painted her as Miranda, Serena, Joan of
Arc, Magdalen, Bacchante (for the Prince of Wales), &c.

LADY HAMILTON. 31
Of the numerous pictures of Emma, painted
by Romney, one of the most pleasing represents
her as viewing the sensitive plant, with a
mixture of surprise and delight. This piece,
which is in the possession of Mr. Hayley, has
been twice engraved, and that gentleman relates
its history in the following manner : —
" During my visit to Romney in November,
1786, I happened to find him one morning con
templating by himself a recently coloured head
on a small canvas. I expressed my admiration
of his unfinished work in the following terms :
— ' This is a most happy beginning : you never
painted a female head with such exquisite ex
pression ; you have only to enlarge your canvas,
introduce the shrub mimosa, growing in a vase,
with a hand of this figure approaching its stem,
and you may call your picture a personification
of sensibility.' 'I like your suggestion,' replied
the painter, ' and will enlarge my canvas
immediately.' ' Do so,' I answered with
exultation, on his kindly adopting my idea ;
* and without loss of time I will hasten to an
eminent nurseryman, at Hammersmith, and
bring you the most beautiful plant I can find,
that may suit your purpose.' " '
Granting, as every one must, that this
' Life of Romney, p. 121.

32 MEMOIRS OF LADY HAMILTON.
portrait indicates an uncommon sweetness of
expression, and great liveliness in the counte
nance ; still it would be very difficult to show
In what respect it can be considered as peculiarly
marking the characteristic of sensibility, or how
it is at all deserving of that appellation, unless
it be in a punning association of the figure ' and
the plant. It is a great perversion of taste to
suppose that the feeling, which is moved by the
happiness or the sufferings of others, can be ex
pressed by contemplating an inanimate shrub,
which is wholly destitute of . the power of
exciting joy or sorrow.
With this picture of Emma, as the repre
sentative of a virtue, to the reality of which,
through life, she was an absolute stranger,
though at any time she could easily assume the
appearance of it, the connection between her and.
the painter shall for the present be closed ;
leaving him to the influence of those beauties of
person, and especially to that charming voice,
which lulled in him every serious reflection, by
the dulcet strains of harmony, and the syren
song of pleasure, agreeable to the language of
the amatory poet :
Music so softens and disarms the mind,
Tiat not an arrow does resistance find :
Thus the fair tyrant celebrates the prize.
And acts herself the triumph of her eyes. Waller

CHAPTER III.

There is in human nature generally
more of the fool than of the wise j
and therefore those faculties by which
the foolish part of men's minds is
taken, are the most potent of all.
Bacon.
T the time when the modern
Phryne was the favourite
model of artists, particularly
of Romney and Tresham, she
lived apparently by her needle,
and with such an appearance
of simplicity, as entirely to disarm the neigh
bours of all suspicion. Yet under a plain and
almost a rustic garb, with looks of modest
diffidence, and a voice of persuasive mildness,
were concealed the complete knowledge of all
the arts of pleasure, and every propensity to the
indulgence of her passions.
Having once condescended to become the
living representative of the most voluptuous
4

34 MEMOIRS OF
characters of the Grecian mythology, she made
no scruple of giving to each libidinous figure
all the force and attraction of the naked truth.
In the present instance, it is certain that the
variety of characters sustained, and the capti
vating attitudes assumed to diffiise a bewitching
allurement into the form and expression, suited
to the personification of a Calypso, a Bacchante,
and a Venus, were attended with pernicious con
sequences to a female, who, in her attempts to
excel in this particular line, lost the sense of
virtue, and became completely skilled in the arts
•of intrigue and duplicity.
Though naturally sensual, extravagant, and
ambitious, she had so effectually obtained the
•outward command of her passions at this period,
as to preserve an air of modesty, even while
engaged most eagerly in voluptuous pursuits.
She appeared, indeed, to be the child of nature,
perfectly unconscious of the least design ; and
to her might have been applied in every respect
the very striking and animated description of an
intriguing female drawn by the masterly pencil
of the comic poet :
Coquet and coy at once her air,
Both study'd, though both seem neglected ;
Careless she is, with artful care,
Affecting to seem unaffected. CONGREVE.

LADY HAMILTON. 35
By this address, she contrived to draw Into
.her lure one who was supposed to have been
equally skilled in the mystery of deception with
herself, and who, though he was enthusiastically
devoted to fine forms after the Grecian model,
yet was as inconstant to each object of attraction
as the flitting Insect, which, ranging in every
direction where the loveliest odours are exhaled,
abides not long on any of the flowers by which
they are produced.
Strange, however, it is, that this honourable
.member of the house of Warwick was for once
¦ completely deceived, and caught In his own toils.
The birdlime of Emma's charms, heightened by
the apparent simplicity of her manner, and cer
tainly not rendered the less attractive by her
peculiar neatness in dress, fixed the roving mind
-of Mr. Charles Greville i so effectually, that he
left no artifice unessayed to gain possession of
what he really Imagined to be an uncropt flower,
¦" blushing unseen and wasting its sweetness in
the desert air."
Too much practised In the ways of the world,
and but too well acquainted with the avenues
^ Charles Francis Greville, second son of Francis, Earl
¦ of Warwick, by Elizabeth, daughter of Lord Archibald
Hamilton, was born in 1749, and died unmarried in 1809.
His connection with Emma Lyon lasted about four years,
from 1782 to 1786.

36 MEMOIRS OF
that lead to the female heart, this man of fashion,
who prided himself as much on account of his
amours as on his collection of pictures and his
exquisite taste in the fine arts, became perfectly
enamoured of the lovely nymph, who happened
to cross his path. The enquiries which he made
about her residence, gave him such complete
satisfaction with respect to the virtue and in
dustry of this young woman, as to convince him
that he had discovered an inestimable treasure,
and consequently to inflame his desires. Chil
ling indifference, and peremptory repulses, by in
creasing the difficulties of his pursuit, rendered
him more impatient and determined. Perse
verance he knew would make his attentions at
least respected, even though success should not
ultimately attend his efforts. By degrees his
constancy prevailed : confidence yielded to im
portunity, and with many promises of fidelity, the
lover became rewarded for his assiduity. Quite
overjoyed at his rare fortune, he set about culti
vating those talents of Emma, which his acute
ness could not help discovering, nor his good
taste from admiring. Being himself a con
noisseur in music, he spared neither time nor
expense in providing proper instructions for a
person from whose improvement he anticipated
new sources of gratification.

LADY HAMILTON. 37
The progress of the pupil gave infinite delight
to her admirer ; and such was the force of her
natural genius, that she contrived every day to
evince some fresh excellence, by which means
his affections became perfectly settled ; and a
heart naturally volatile, continued to be bound
in the soft enchantment, even when the novelty
of personal charms had no longer any particular
influence. But how successfliUy art maintained
the dominion which beauty had acquired, will
appear from a trifling incident that occurred not
long after the formation of this connection.
Ambitious of displaying his conquest to the
world of fashion, the lover conducted the lovely
Emma, dressed out in a very elegant style, to
Ranelagh, which was then the favourite theatre
of gaiety and gallantry. Here her form and
agility attracted universal attention, and excited
so much admiration, that for once she gave way
to a natural impulse ; and to increase the ap
plause with which she had been flattered, she
gave the company some delightful specimens of
her unrivalled powers, both In musical expres
sion and flexibility of action. The consequence
of all this was, as might be expected, that a
convulsive sensation of astonishment and rap
ture ran through the whole assembly, the
plaudits of which proved so intoxicating to the

38 MEMOIRS OF
object of them, that she redoubled her exertions,
and called forth renewed peals of applause.
But all these were so many poisoned arrows ta
the heart of Mr. Greville, who brought her
thither rather to dazzle beholders by her beauty
than to gratify idlers by her accomplishments.
He now perceived that she was not only fond
of adulation, but that she actually courted it,,
and was quite in her element when surrounded
by a host of admirers. This was a distressing
thought to one who had in fact placed his affec
tions on Emma, from the persuasion that her
mind was not only uncontaminated by the folly of
the gay world, but wholly ignorant of the art
of gaining its admiration. Being now more
than half suspicious of the deception which had
in reality been practised upon him, he returned
home in a pensive mood ; and so completely
overpowered were his feelings, that he could
not help expressing them, with strong emotions
of concern, at the manifest inclination which
she had shown to " please fools rather than to
respect his sentiments."
Any other woman than Emma would on such
a reproach have thrown herself into hysterics,
or recriminated in language of haughty indigna
tion. But with that superiority of duplicity
which always distinguished her, instead of having

LADY HAMILTON. 39
recourse to such ordinary expedients, she retired
very coolly to her room, and after throwing off
all her elegant attire, she put on the original
cottage dress, in which she had at first made an
impression on the heart of her protector ; then
returning to the place where he sat, she signified
her Intention of relieving him from all further
uneasiness, by returning to that station where he
had originally found her, and where, as she said,
it would always afford her pleasure to receive
him still as a friend. The effect of this declara
tion was electrical : the clouds of jealousy were
dispelled in a moment, and the connection, which
seemed to have been on the very point of dis
ruption, becarae more closely cemented than ever.
Mr. Greville, who was at that time in an
office of considerable distinction at court, main
tained his mistress in a style of elegance corre
sponding to his rank ; and after making every
allowance for her situation, and natural turn for
expense, it must be admitted that at this period
she deported herself in a manner which gave
him and his friends much satisfaction. One
of her first acts, when placed In this state of
splendour, was to send for her mother, who now-
assumed, though by what legal claim cannot be
clearly ascertained, the name of Cadogan.i
' Her mother's maiden name was Mary Kidd, and.
Mary Lyon by marriage. After the death of her hus-

40 MEMOIRS OF
Pleasing as it is to record this instance of dutiful
respect to her parent, from whom she was never
afterwards separated during a space of above
twenty years, it would be still more satisfactory
if the writer could detail correspondent particu
lars of tenderness towards the fruits of this
union. There were three ^ of these children,
two girls and a boy : the names of the former
band she was known as Mrs. Doggen, or Dogan ; but,
on coming to reside with her daughter and Mr. Greville
in Paddington Green, London, her surname was lengthened
to Cadogan, by which she was always afterwards known.
The good woman, though mixing much with high society
through her daughter, still retained some of the plebeian
tastes of her early condition. At an entertainment given
in honour of the English fleet at Naples, at the drinking of
a toast, Mrs. C. exclaimed, "They may talk of their
Lachrymae Christi and stuff, but give me a glass of London
gin before a whole bottle of it!" As there happened
to be a few bottles of gin on board one of the ships,
her wish was speedily gratified. But she certainly pos
sessed some sterling qualities, for Lord Nelson wrote of
her with respect and sent her presents, and Sir W.
Hamilton, who must have known her intimately during
her residence under his roof, left her an annuity of;^ioo
for life.
' This is improbable, and there is no evidence to sup
port such an assertion. If she was the mother of three
children by Mr. Greville, it is remarkable that, in their
correspondence for years afterwards, there is not the
slightest mention of anything of the kind, nor allusion to
any issue as the result of their intimacy.

LAD Y HAMILTON. 41
were Eliza and Anne : the latter was called
Charles, after his father, but the surname of
•each was wholly fictitious ; and even the mother,
w^ho always passed for their aunt, for reasons
which it would be in vain to enquire, and use
less to conjecture, thought proper at this time
to take upon herself the name of Harte.
Nothing perhaps can more strongly pourtray
the moral and political evil of concubinage than
the Insulated condition Into which it commonly
throws the innocent offspring of such illicit
connections. These unfortunate children rarely
¦enjoy the benefit of parental affection ; and to
that social friendship which is cemented by the
ties of legal consanguinity they must for ever
remain utter strangers. Even when they ex
perience proper kindness, enjoy the advantages
•of education, and are raised by an adequate pro
vision or a suitable occupation above the fear of
want, and the reproaches of the world, still the
recollection of their origin cannot but produce
momentary uneasiness, and expose them to occa
sional marks of contempt. Cut off by the im
morality of their parents from the privilege of
bearing a name which may gain them the respect
•of their contemporaries, persons of this descrip
tion are deprived of that powerful Incitement to
.great actions which arises from hereditary virtue.

42 MEMOIR'S OF
Instead of this, they have every reason to con
ceal the particulars of their descent, and for the
most part they have but too much cause to bury
in oblivion the names of those from whom they
derive their being. In general, the pathetic
complaint of one who was himself of this
wretched class, may be adopted by them all :
No mother's care
Shielded my infant innocence with prayer :
No father's guardian hand my youth maintain'd,
Call'd forth my virtues, and from vice restrain'd Savage.
The truth of this was felt by the children of
whom we are speaking ; for in England they
never knew what parental care was ; and when
at last they were taken under the protection of
the mother, it was by the pretext of an alliance
which never had an existence ; while on neither-
side did they obtain the instruction and means
of support for which they had a fair claim on,
those who gave them birth.
In the year 1789 a revolution took place in
the affairs of Emma, which was of the utmost
importance to her whole destiny, and ultimately
to that of others. Mr. Greville being under
the necessity of retrenching his establishment,
by a temporary embarrassment in his concerns,,
endeavoured to convince his mistress of the

LAD Y HAMILTON. 43.
necessity of a separation, on such terms as could
be most accommodating. While this plan was
in agitation, Sir William Hamilton,^ ambassador
at the court of Naples, came to London on some
private business ; and being Introduced by Mr.
Greville, who was his sister's son, to this accom
plished woman, he expressed his admiration of
her person and manners with such warmth, as
suggested a thought to the nephew of adopting
a measure by which he could both benefit the
lady and rid himself of an expensive burthen..
The enchanting vocal powers of Emma, added
to the excellent character which was given of
her by Mr. Greville, quite enraptured Sir Wil
liam, who made an offer, which was readily
accepted, of taking her with him to Italy, for
the purpose of rendering her still more accom
plished. Matters being thus amicably adjusted
to the satisfaction of all parties, the lady and
her mother soon after quitted England for
Naples, to which city they travelled overland
by the way of Germany.
' The date of this affair is entirely wrong. The assured
income of Mr. Greville was .,£^500 per annum, and, by
"keeping up appearances," he had gone beyond his means,
and was considerably in debt. Consequently, the arrival
of his uncle, SirW. Hamilton, in London, in the summer
of 1784, on a long leave of absence, was very gratifying.
to his favourite nephew and prospective heir to his pro
perty. For the real facts ofthe matter, see note page 55,

CHAPTER IV.

There is no reason why we should
not sometimes blame, and sometimes
commend the same person ; for as
none are always right, so neither is
it probable that they should be invari
ably wrong. POLYBIUS.

IR WILLIAM HAMILTON,!
who discharged the office of
envoy at the Neapolitan court
for the long period of thirty-
six years, was in some respects
a very estimable man. He
was the foster-brother of our venerable monarch

' Sir William Hamilton, was a younger son of Lord
Archibald Hamilton, Governor of Greenwich Hospital,
who was a younger son of William, third Duke of
Hamilton. Sir William was born in 1730, and began life,
according to his own account, " with an ancient name
and ;^i,ooo." He improved his fortunes by marrying, in
1755, a Welsh heiress, the daughter of Hugh Barlow, Esq.,
of Lawrenny Hall, Pembroke. As he informed his nephew

MEMOIRS OF LAD Y HAMILTON. 45.
(George III.), to whom, at an early age, he was
appointed equerry, and In whose first parlia
ment .he sat as one of the members for the
Borough of Midhurst. His talents were
respectable, and his manners rendered him a
proper person to act as the representative of
his sovereign in a place which was at that time
the resort of families of the first distinction.
When Sir William (then Mr. Hamilton) suc
ceeded Sir James Grey, as the envoy at the
court of Naples, that city was the centre of
attraction to inquisitive travellers, not only on
account of its natural beauties, and the salubrity
of the climate, but In consequence of the re
markable discoveries which were daily brought
to light in the excavations, where Herculaneum
and Pompeii had been overwhelmed by the
eruptions of Vesuvius. Among the vast influx
of strangers drawn every year to Naples, by the
desire of beholding these interesting curiosities,
years afterwards, he married not from choice, but rather
against his own inclination, but the lady had an estateworth
nearly ^^5,000 a-year, and a watchful regard to his own
interest was the chief motive in this mariage de convenance.
The only issue of this union was a daughter who died in
1775, and the mother left Sir William a widower in 1782.
From 1764 to 1 800 he filled the post of English ambassador
at Naples. He married his second wife, Emma Lyon, or^
Harte, September 6, 1 791, and died April 6, 1803.

.46 MEMOIRS OF
were many learned men from all parts of Europe,
of whose observations the British ambassador
•could not fail to profit ; while they, on their
part, were grateful for his attentions, and soli-
citious of his correspondence. Thus he became
a virtuoso, a naturalist, and an antiquary, by
the peculiar nature of his situation, and the
•conversation which perpetually occurred at his
table. His judgment, however, was such as
enabled him to make a proper use ofthe oppor
tunities he enjoyed, and being of an active mind,
'he was not to be intimidated by ordinary diffi
culties. He explored the beautiful country
where he resided with uncommon diligence,
and repeated his observations on Vesuvius, and
•^other volcanic mountains, with all the patience
and industry becoming the man of science, who
is neither content with a superficial inquiry,
nor satisfied while any objects remain which
he has not completely investigated, or about
which the smallest uncertainty may be supposed
to exist. The value of such a resident in that
part of the world was duly appreciated in his
native country, where he was elected a fellow
ofthe Royal Society, to which learned body he
made many valuable communications that were
inserted in their transactions from the year 1766
to 1794. Most of these papers are descriptive

LADY HAMILTON. 47
of the eruptions which the author witnessed,
•or of districts over which he passed soon
after they had been devastated by earthquakes.
Besides these productions, Sir William Hamilton
favoured the world with a very splendid work,
entitled " Antiquites Etrusques, Grecques et
Romalnes,"! illustrated with plates, in two
volumes folio. His motive in publishing this
collection In a foreign language might, perhaps,
admit of an apology, though it would be
difficult to satisfy any Englishman of the
propriety ;of adopting the French tongue, on
.a subject which by no means required the
assistance of such a mode for the purpose of
elucidation, or the advantage of general circu-
Jatlon. Considered as a classical work, the
Latin would have been the most proper
vehicle ; but when the official situation of the
author is taken into the account, it will be
hardly possible to advance a single reason why
he should have given the preference to the
French language on this occasion, when his
own was equally copious, expressive, and
adapted to the subject. Charles III., King of
I This work was in 4 vols.; the first two were pub
lished at Naples in 1766, the others a few years later.
The profit of the publication was given to the editor
D'Hancarville.

48 MEMOIRS OF
Naples, certainly evinced more discrimination
and sound sense in the disposal of the great
work which he caused to be published, re
lating to Herculaneum, Stabias, and Pompeii,
in two folio volumes. When the editor, Mon
signor Bajardi, who was a learned prelate of
the Roman Church, waited on the king to
receive his directions for the distribution of
the copies, which had been printed at the royal
charge, in order to be presented to the learned,
and deposited in public libraries, the king said
to the bishop, without deigning to . notice the
French, Spaniards, or Italians, " Give five
hundred to the English." Bajardi, who was
a man of liberal sentiments, and far from being
unfavourable to our nation, replied with a bow,
" In that case, I fear, the rest of Europe must
go without their share." To which the king
answered, " Why, then, let the press be set over
again." This monarch, it must be confessed, paid
more respect to the character of the English
nation than the ambassador, who chose to
publish a magnificent work on a general topic
in that very language, which, perhaps, of all
others, was the one that he ought to have
rejected. In 1772, our author printed an octavo

LAD Y HAMILTON. 49
volume of " Observations on Mount Vesuvius,
and Other Volcanoes." This subject he dis
cussed at great length, four years afterwards,
in two folio volumes, bearing the title of
" Campi Phelegrasi, or Observations on the
Volcanoes of the Two Sicilies," to which he
afterwards added a supplemental volume.
The interests of truth, however, require it
to be told, that, great as the diligence of our
ambassador was in promoting the knowledge
of this branch of natural history, his acquaint
ance with preceding writers on the subject was.
but scanty, and he had besides so very slender
an acquaintance with philosophical language,,
as to be under the necessity of calling in the
assistance of others in the arrangement of his
observations. The person to whom he was
under the greatest obligations for the composi
tion of these works was a monk of Mount Etna.
The great merit of Sir William Hamilton con
sisted in his exertions to bring a valuable ac
cession of discoveries to the store of science,
and In giving a liberal patronage to the fine
arts. Even before he left his native land, and
when he was but a young captain In the Guards,
he had evinced his judgment in the formation
of a valuable cabinet of pictures, some of
which were purchased at the sale of Sir Luke
S

50 MEMOIRS OF
Schaub's gallery, and to which he afterwards
made such additions as opportunities offered,
and a limited income afforded. It was, in
fact, this particular bias of his mind for
works of elegance that led him to seek the
appointment which he obtained, and for which
unquestionably he was, on various accounts,
eminently qualified. This situation also
offered some advantages in another point of
view, by enabling him to make such purchases
as would be profitable to himself, and accept
able to his country. Many commissions of
this kind were imparted to the ambassador by
personages of the highest distinction ; and so
well were they executed, as to increase the
number of applications from all parts of Europe.
Among the various objects which engaged
the particular attention of Sir William, the
favourite one was that of collecting the most
beautiful vases, especially those of Grecian
workmanship. When he had made himself
master of a considerable number of these
remains, he caused drawings to be taken of
the finest specimens, from whence engravings
were executed under his own eye, and for the
most part in his own house. Of these a fas
ciculus was published in the year 1791 ; and
another of equal, if not superior beauty.

LADY HAMILTON. 51
four years afterwards. Besides the prospect
•of lucrative advantage from the sale of the
work Itself, the author was actuated by another
consideration, in which he completely succeeded.
The plates were sent to England, that firom
them some Idea might be formed of the
collection which they represented. A nego
tiation was accordingly entered Into for the
purchase of the cabinet at the national expense ;
¦and the royal approbation having been obtained,
parliament voted the sum of seven thousand
pounds for this purpose, after which the vases,
bronzes, and medals, were presented to the
British Museum. There were not wanting,
however, some persons of literary and scientific
reputation, who considered the price set upon
this collection as far above the real value.
The late ingenious Mr. Wedgewood, Indeed,
took occasion to observe. In an examination
before a committee of the House of Commons,
that in his manufactory he had produced
Imitations of the vases, to such a degree of
beauty, as, by exportation alone, brought
three times the money Into England which
the originals had cost the nation. But this
testimony can hardly weigh anything in favour
of the extravagance of the grant, since it was
the consequence of what could neither have

52 MEMOIRS OF
been foreseen, nor even contemplated, at the
time when the negotiation for the purchase
took place. It is not a little extraordinary
that the ambassador should, very shortly after
the disposal of this collection, have formed
another, exceeding the former in number and
value. Antiquities of this description must
have been very common in that country, tO'
have enabled the collector to quadruple the
number of vases in four or five years ; yet such:
was the case ; for early in 1796 we find him
endeavouring to transfer this fresh stock to-
Prussia, through the mediation of the Countess
of Lichtenau, mistress of Frederick William,
which lady was then travelling for her health
in Italy.
In the manner of conducting this business
there certainly was nothing of the dignity of
an ambassador, but much of the finesse of a.
trader in curiosities ; for the dealer, in praising
his wares, took care to say that the Grand
Duke of Russia would be glad of them, but that
he did not wish to see them carried so far tO'^
the north. Adverting to the sale of his first
collection. Sir William magnified the beauty
and number of the present, which, though so
vastly superior in all respects, he declared his
willingness to part with to his Prussian majesty,

LADY HAMIL TON. 5 3
for the same sum as that which he had received
from the British parliament for the articles
¦deposited in the Museum. The proposition,
.however, came to nothing, arid most, if not all,
of these vases, afterwards found their way to
England. That the public minister of a great
nation should be Impelled by any cause to truck
his cabinet for sale in a foreign market, and that
too by the brokership of a courtezan, must
certainly be considered as a proceeding little
in Itself, and totally unworthy of the official
<:haracter of the person who was driven to
-such shifts. But, In truth, whatever were the
motives by which his Excellency was actuated
in these trafiicking concerns, he could hardly
Ihave said with strict justice, when parting with
his treasures, " poverty, not my will, consents,"
since his establishment was liberal, and his
fortune more ample than he chose to acknow
ledge. His purchases at Naples were. Indeed,
large, but his profits upon them were ,so very
¦considerable, that he could not fail to realize a
handsome Income, during the number of years
in which he may be said to have almost enjoyed
.a monopoly In this peculiar line of commercial
speculation. Every picture of value, and every
antique gem, were offered to the English am
bassador, in the first Instance ; and as there

54 MEMOIRS OF LADY HAMILTON.
were not always persons at Naples who would
purchase such articles upon anything like
liberal terms, he, of course, was sure of obtain
ing many bargains, which, by long experience,,
and a most extensive connection, he well knew
how to dispose of to the best advantage.
Flattered as our ambassador was by the
marked attentions which he received from the
most illustrious persons in all parts of Europe,
he had not the smallest reason to complain of
any neglect on the part of his own country.
His situation was not only highly honourable,
but lucrative ; and besides the Order of the
Bath, I he received from his sovereign many
testimonies of personal esteem under His
Majesty's own hand.
^ He was created Knight of the Bath in 1771, and was,
made a Privy Councillor in 1791 .

CHAPTER V.

O you ! whom Vanity's light bark
conveys
On Fame's mad voyage, by the wind
of praise,
With \yhat a shifting gale your course
you ply.
For ever sunk too low, or borne too
high ! Pope.
HAT Sir William Hamilton was
unacquainted with the former
circumstances of the person
whom he now took under his
particular care. Is scarcely cre
dible ; but that a person of his
talents and experience should voluntarily conde
scend to take the cast-off mistress of his own
nephew is too revolting to the feelings of
human nature to be supposed. i The age of
' Sir W. Hamilton was certainly quite aware of the
nature of the connection betw'een his nephew and Miss
Lyon, but the real causes of the subsequent curious

56 • ¦ MEMOIRS OF
this gentleman, his long absence frorn England
and his confidence in the honour of a near
relation, can alone account for an act, which in
any other view would be equally a disgrace to
arrangement that took place between them was for a long
time a mystery. According to reports at the time current,
all equally veracious, the, ambassador, after an absence of
twenty years from England, returned to find his nephew
on the brink of marriage with his mistress ; and to prevent
such a misalliance married her himself Another account
was, that the uncle agreed to pay the debts of the nephew,
on condition of the latter surrendering his mistress to
him. The real motives are not far to seek. Mr. Greville,
regarding himself as the heir of his uncle, had the strongest
objection possible to his relative contracting a second mar
riage with the possibility of children, and much preferred
his forming another union without the sanction of the
Church. He saw also that Sir William was fascinated by
the voluptuous beauty and accomplishments of the quondam
" Goddess of Health,'' and having in contemplation him
self a matrimonial alliance with a lady of rank and fortune,
which would be greatly to his advantage, and to which his
connection with Emma was an obstacle, there was a
double advantage to be gained in getting her off his handf,
and by so doing obliging his uncle and himself. An
agreement was presently arrived at between the uncle and
nephew, by which the former provided securities for the
payment of the debts of the latter, and besides made
some testamentary arrangements in his favour ; and also
stipulated that Emma Lyon should follow Sir W. Hamilton
to Naples, with the ostensible object of completing rhere
her education in music and singing under the care of the
ambassador, but in reality to become his mistress. As

LAD Y HAMIL TON. 5 7
his heart and his understanding. But In sug-
.gesting the single apology that can be possibly
devised for the extraordinary conduct of the
ambassador, no excuse will be thereby afforded
:she was much attached to Mr. Greville, it was represented
to her that the embarrassed state of his affairs made their
separation for a time absolutely necessary, but that after a
few months be would rejoin her in Italy. She certainly
.had no suspicion of the real motive for sending her out of
England till some time after her arrival at Naples, but
telieved the arrangement to be made solely for the benefit
of Mr. Greville and herself. Early in the year 1786
Emma and her mother, under the escort of Mr. Gavin
Hamilton the painter, who was returning to prosecute his
.¦studies in Rome, left England for Naples, where they
arrived on April 26 of the same year. The youthful
beauty soon discovered that she had not been consigned
40 the care of Sir W. Hamilton solely for her educational
improvement, and sent letter after letter of passionate
¦entreaty to Greville, to which he returned no answer. As
an example, showing the depth of her affection, and her
• constancy towards him in her embarrassing position, she
¦wrote in one of her earlier appeals to him, and it is
but a sample of the others: "My dear Greville, I live
¦but in the hope of seeing you ; . . . remember you will
never be loved by anybody like your affectionate and
¦sincere Emma. Pray, for God's sake, wright to me and
.¦come to me, for Sir William shall not be anything to me
,but your friend." When at last Greville replied, it was
to inform her that their connection was at an end, and
.advised her to consider her own interest by yielding to
the wishes of his uncle. Her reply to this suggestion
<;an be best given in her own words : "As to what you

58 MEMOIRS OF
to those who took an advantage of his weak
ness. There was a great want of decency in the
transaction, if the parties had a knowledge
of each other's previous habits and connections ;
but if, as is most probable, his Excellency was
imposed upon by the artifice of the female, and
the disingenuity of her paramour, no language
can be too strong to reprobate proceedings,
which, besides the gross immorality that marked
them throughout, carried the strongest appear
ance of being a confederacy to entrap a credu
lous old man into an impi-udent alliance.
Emma improved greatly ' by the Instructions
write to me to oblidge Sir William I will not answer
you. ... If I was with you, I would murder you and
myself both. ... It is not to your interest to disoblige-
me, for you don't know the power I have hear. Onely I
will never be his mistress. If you affront me I will make
him marry me." But after several months she consented
to the proposals of Sir William, and carried out her
threat of marrying him five years later, in 1 79 1.
' Her operatic and histrionic improvement under the
guidance and tutelage of Sir William, are pronounced by
her contemporaries to have been- extraordinary. Her
singing and acting, we are told, rivalled the performances
of the most celebrated professionals : " With a common
piece of stuff, she could so arrange it, and clothe herself,
as to offer the most appropriate representations of a
Jewess, a Roman Matron, a Helen, Penelope, or Aspasia..
No character seemed foreign to her, and the grace she

LADY HAMILTON. s^-
which were provided for her at the charge of
the ambassador, who at length became sa
thoroughly enamoured, as to make her his wife
in a private manner. It being, however, neces
sary, according to the etiquette of the court of
Naples, that she should be acknowledged by
the English sovereign, previous to presentation
and admission there. Sir William hastened with
her to London, early in the summer of 1791,.
as well to celebrate the marriage, according to
the rites of the Established Church, as to give
his lady that honorary distinction which his
public situation rendered Indispensable. This
circumstance serves as an additional proof that
the ambassador was In a great degree Ignorant
was in the habit of displaying under such representations,
excited the admiration of all who were fortunate enough
to have been present on such occasions. The celebrated
Shawl Dance owes its origin to her invention ; but it is-
admitted to have been executed by her with a grace and
elegance far surpassing that with which it has ever been
rendered on the stage of any of our theatres.'' She was
offered two thousand guineas to sing for the season at the
Opera House, London. A witness of her representations
some years later wrote : " I saw her represent in succes
sion the best statues and paintings extant. She assumes
their attitude, expression and drapery with great facility,
swiftness, and accuracy. Several Indian shawls, a chair,.
some antique vases, a wreath of roses, a tambourine, and
a few children are her whole apparatus."

¦60 MEMOIRS OF
of the footing on which his nephew and Emma
had lived, otherwise it is hardly to be imagined
that any man of common sense and delicacy of
feeling ¦would venture to bring a woman of such
.a description to the very place where all her
former history could not fail to be remembered.
The manner, therefore, in which Sir William
Hamilton brought forward the object of his
choice, however much it might reflect on his
judgment, considering the disparity of their
years and condition in life, did at least free him
from the suspicion of being privy to his own
dishonour. It is not to be credited that such a
man would take a pride in proclaiming himself
a dupe on the subject which of all others renders
the mind most tender to the idea of wrong.
Yet on the supposition that the ambassador was
fully apprised of the precise nature of the con
nection that had subsisted between Emma and
his nephew, he must have been not only this
very dupe, but, what is worse, wholly uncon
cerned at the scandalous degradation into which
he had suffered himself to be inveigled.
A good-natured husband may sometimes be
induced by the remains of affection to throw a
veil over some slight levities, and even to
pardon errors of greater magnitude ; but there
are few even of the most vulgar and depraved

LADY HAMILTON. 6i
description who will take a pleasure In blazoning
their own disgrace.
While, however, justice forbids us to believe
that in the present instance the respect due to-
personal honour was compromised, on the part
of him who was most affected by the folly, no
condemnation can be severe enough for those
who took a pleasure In countenancing it by their
applause. An authority, on which we may rely with full
confidence, has given us a curious account of
the arrival of this remarkable couple in London,
and of the bustle which their intended nuptials
occasioned in the circles of fashion. The
biographer of Romney, having noticed the
hypochondriacism under which his friend
laboured at this time, tells us how very for
tunately he was relieved from his complaint.
" An incident most seasonably occurred
which raised to joyous elevation the sinking
spirits of the artist, for nature had given him a
heart that could most sincerely exult in the good
fortune of those he regarded. The fair Emma,.
whom he had so often painted with admiration
and delight, surprised him by an early visit one
morning, in a Turkish habit and attended by
Sir William Hamilton.
" Romney had ever treated her with the

¦62 MEMOIRS OF
tenderness of a father, which she acknowledged
¦on this occasion with tears of lively gratitude,
in announcing to him her splendid prospect of
being soon married to Sir William, and of
attending him to the court of Naples. ,
" Romney had conceived such very high ideas
of the beauty, the talents, and the heart, of this
lady, that I believe the joy of a father, in the
brilliant marriage of a favourite daughter, could
hardly exceed that of my friend on this occasion.
In his letter dated the 19th of June, 1791, he
¦says : —
" ' At present, and the greatest part of the
summer, I shall be engaged in painting pictures
from the divine lady. I cannot give her any
¦other epithet, for I think her superior to all
womankind. I have two pictures to paint of
her for the Prince of Wales. She says she
must see you before she leaves England, which
will be in the beginning of September. She
asked me if you would not write my Life : — I
told her you had begun it : — then, she said, she
hoped you would have much to say of her in
the Life, as she prided herself in being my
model. So you see I must be in London till
the time when she leaves town.'
" In another letter, dated July 7th, he
¦says : —

LADY HAMILTON. 63
" ' I dedicate my time to this charming lady,:
there is a prospect of her leaving town with ,SIr
William, for two or three weeks. They are
very much hurried at present, as everything Is
going on for their speedy marriage, and all the
world following her, and talking of her, so that
if she had not more good sense than vanity,
her brain must be turned. The pictures I have
begun are Joan of Arc, a Magdalen, and a
Bacchante, for the Prince of Wales ; and
another I am to begin as a companion to the
Bacchante. I am also to paint a picture of
Constance for the Shakspeare Gallery.'
" His intended picture of Constance," says
the biographer, "was, I believe, never begun ;
but his Joan of Arc had a countenance of most
powerful expression. The head was thought
one of the finest that he ever painted from the
features of his favourite model." i
So much has been already said of Romney,
that any farther remark on the character and
conduct of the painter might appear invidious ;
yet the studied partiality with which these
anecdotes are related, and the rapturous lan
guage in which the artist speaks of his living
model, whom he compliments as " a divinity,"
ought by no means to pass without censure.
' Life of Romney, p. 157.

64 MEMOIRS OF
Neither Romney nor his friend could be
ignorant of the scenes through which , this
female had passed : what an insult, therefore,
must it be to the dignity of the sex to place a
person of this description above all woman
kind ! If anything can be supposed to exceed
the indiscretion of Romney, it must be that
of the biographer, who, without any induce
ment or reflection, suffered such prurient
effusions of his friend's folly to meet the
public eye, instead of consigning them to the
flames. The expected marriage took place soon after
by license, I and what is observable enough, the
bride on that occasion took the name of Harte,
though that by which she had always been
known in the country was Lyon ; and this she
owned herself to be the true one, on meeting
with an old fellow-servant sometime after the
death of her husband.
To account for this conduct, we must sup
pose, that having, according to the custom of
persons in her condition, changed her name,
and becoming known to Sir William by that
only, she was under the necessity of adhering to
it, lest by disclosing the truth, some suspicion
' The marriage took place at Marylebone Church,
September 6, 1 791.

LADY HAMILTON. 65
might have risen in his mind of the duplicity
that had been practised upon him.
It reflects litde credit on the leaders of what
is called the fashionable world, that they should
at this period have been so lost to the sense of
decorum, and the respect due to the established
forms and orders of society, as to vie with the
greatest eagerness for the honour of receiving
one whose sole pretension to the distinction lay
in a relation that rather served to aggravate
than to obliterate the errors by which It was
preceded, and out of which it actually arose.
The acquirements in singing and acting which
Emma brought from Italy, and the conquest
which she had made of a man in high station,
now hoary In years, rendered her so very popu
lar among the gay and trifling, that her former
situation, as the mistress of a person then living,
and the mother of children by him, was either
willingly forgotten, or remembered only to pro
duce a laugh at the capriciousness of fortune.
Into one quarter, i however, the folly could not
penetrate, and a public reception at court was
peremptorily forbidden, certainly not from any
fastidious adherence to antiquated rules, nor
from an unreasonable prejudice against obscurity
of birth and poverty of condition, but wholly
through that inflexibility of moral principle
6

66 MEMOIRS OF
which scorns to smile at the folly which it dis
approves, and avoids giving encouragement to
vice, out of courtesy to those who have been
infatuated by its delusive arts. The following
anecdote, which may be relied on as coming
from a quarter that gives it authority, will show
in a very striking manner the contrast between
the sentiments of the sovereign and those of the
admirers of Emma. On the day that Sir Wil
liam Hamilton was married, he had a private
interview with His Majesty, by appointment,
when the king, in course of conversation, men
tioned the report that was circulated respecting
the intended nuptials of the ambassador, adding
with a good-natured smile, " But I hope it is not
true." To this his Excellency immediately
rejoined, " May it please your Majesty, the cere
mony took place this morning."
The qualifications which obtained this woman
the extravagant admiration of the polite circles
where she found admittance, were far from
being such as did any honour to their judg
ment, or furnished an apology for the conduct
of Sir William Hamilton in making choice of
her for a wife. The nature of these accom
plishments is well described in a letter from one
of those who enjoyed most delight in contem
plating them, and who had abundant oppor
tunities of witnessing their effect.

LADY HAMILTON. 67
" In my last letter," says Romney, " I think
I informed you that I was going to dine with
¦Sir William and his lady. In the evening of
that day there were collected several people of
fashion to hear her sing. She performed both
in the serious and comic to admiration, both in
^singing and acting : but her Nina surpasses any
thing I ever saw ; and^I believe, as a piece of
acting, nothing ever surpassed it. The whole
company were in an agony of sorrow. Her
acting is simple, grand, terrible, and pathetic.
My mind was so much heated, that I was for
running down to Eartham to fetch you up to
:see her." ^ In another letter, the artist gives
the following curious anecdote : —
" She performed in my house last week,
;singing and acting before some of the nobility,
with most astonishing powers : she is the talk
of the whole town, and really surpasses every
thing both in singing and acting that ever
appeared. Gallini offered her two thousand
pounds a year, and two benefits, if she would
¦engage with him, on which Sir William said
pleasantly that he had engaged her for life."
Romney was anxious to paint as many por
traits of this favourite model as he could, during
her stay in England, and she frequently sat to
' Life of Romney, p. 181.

68 MEMOIRS OF
him for that purpose. On one occasion, how
ever, the artist being apprehensive that he had
lost somewhat of her esteem, was weak enough
to whine at her capriciousness of behaviour with
the puerility of a lover, instead of treating the
person who behaved in such a way with proper
contempt. The friend to whom he poured out
his silly complaint, and who should have laughed
or scolded him out of his whimsies, encouraged
him in the folly by which he was infatuated,
and sent him a copy of verses, to be presented
as a propitiatory offering to the offended " divi
nity." These stanzas were addressed to Cassandra,
which was one of the characters represented in
a picture of her painted by the disconsolate
artist, whose vapours, however, were dissipated
before the verses reached him, and who thus
expressed the state of his mind to the author : —
" Cassandra came to town on the sixteenth,
and I did not see her till the twentieth ; so you
may suppose how my feelings must have suffered :
she appointed to sit on the twenty-third, and
has been sitting almost every day since ; and
means to sit once or twice a day till she leaves
London, which will be about Wednesday or
Thursday in the next week. When she arrived
to sit, she seemed more firiendly than she had

LADY HAMILTON. 69
been, and I began a picture of her as a present
for her mother. I was very successflil with it,
for it is thought the most beautiful head I have
painted of her yet. Now, indeed, I think she
is as cordial with me as ever, and she laments
very much that she Is to leave England without
seeing you.
" I take it excessively kind in you to enter so
deeply into my distresses. Really my mind had
suffered so very much, that my health was much
affected ; and I was afraid I should not have
had power to have painted any more from
her : but since she has resumed her former
kindness, my health and spirits are quite re
covered." That Romney should have lamented as a
distress the apparent coolness of another man's
wife, while he was totally unconcerned about
the condition and feelings of his own, ought
to have excited indignation rather than pity in
the mind of his friend. Instead of this, the
whole correspondence that passed on the subject
has been printed, with some pathetic remarks
on the acute ^^sensIbility of the painter, and no
moderate encomium on the amiable qualities of
the lady.
Neither of the parties merited the praises
which have been so profusely bestowed upon

70 MEMOIRS OF LADY HAMILTON,
them ; for at this very time they were both in
circumstances which demanded a different course
of action as some atonement for their past
errors. Romney would have been more pro
perly employed in healing the wounds which
he had inflicted on the heart of an unoffending
woman, than in running after a Syren, and cry
ing like a foolish boy when she behaved towards
him with a little levity. With respect to the
object of his admiration, it may be sufficient to-
say, that the extraordinary elevation to which
she had been raised was not owing to any mental
grace, but to attractions, which, however power
ful they might be in exciting pleasure, were far
from having any tendency to promote virtue.
When this woman became so unaccountably the
wife of a man of rank, her proper line of con
duct would have been the study of humility,
and of the means of acquiring a meek and
quiet spirit befitting her new state, and indi
cating some concern for the irregularities of her
youth. The reverse of all this marked her
character at the most interesting period of her
life, when many causes concurred to recommend
a lowly disposition and a serious deportment,
instead of that hilarity and mimicry which pro
cured her the applause, of the thoughtless, and
confirmed her in the love of vanity and the
practice of deception.

CHAPTER VI.

For that fair female troop thou saw'st,
that seem'd
Of goddesses so blithe, so smooth, so
gay,
Yet empty of all good, wherein consists
Woman's domestic honour and chief
praise.
Bred only and completed to the taste
Of lustful appetence, to sing, to dance.
To dress, and troule the tongue, and
roll the eyes :
To these that sober race of men, whose
lives.
Religious, titled them the sons of God,
Shall yield up all their virtue, all their
fame.
Ignobly  Milton.
IT the beginning of September,
Sir William Hamilton and his
lady left England for Naples,
where, on their arrival, some
little difficulty is said to have
been experienced with respect
to the introduction of the wife of the ambas
sador at court, owing to the strict regulations

72 MEMOIRS OF
and ceremony observed by the queen : but if
this report be true, the obstacle did not long
remain, for in a few months her ladyship was
admitted on terms of cordial intimacy at the
palace, and at length she succeeded in gaining
an entire influence over both their majesties,
who frequently visited the English minister in a
friendly way, and received his lady at all times
with the greatest familiarity.
No situation on earth perhaps could have
so well suited the mind of this extraordinary
woman as Naples, which for dissipation stood
unequalled by any city in Europe. Ferdinand
IV. ' gave himself up to the sports of the field,
' Ferdinand was the third son of Charles of Bourbon,
King of the Two Sicilies. He was born in 175 1, and on
the accession of his father to the throne of Spain in
1759, according to treaty, he became King of the Sicilies.
In April, 1768, he married Maria Caroline of Austria.
During his youth his physical welfare was promoted to
the neglect of his intellectual development, and at the
age of sixteen he was considered to be the best shot, the
cleverest fisherman, and the most daring horseman to be
found in his dominions. He was good-tempered on the
whole, and fond of practical jokes. His minister. Sir
John Acton, as his opinion of him, said : " Ferdinand is a
good sort of man, because nature has not supplied him
with the faculties necessary to make a bad one." On his
restoration to the throne of Naples in 1815 he abolished
the Sicilian Constitution, and after a reign of SS years,
died in January, 1825.

LADY HAMILTON. 73
and to excursions in his pleasure-boats. His
great ambition was to be the boldest huntsman
in his kingdom, and the most expert mariner in
the bay of Naples. On most of his enterpriz
ing expeditions against the boars and the foxes
in the woods and mountains, he was accom
panied by the English ambassador, who, at the
age of sixty, prided himself on his agility in
running, his dexterity in fishing, and his skill in
-shooting. The hunting diversions sometimes
continued for several weeks ; and Sir William
¦says, in an account of one of them, written to
his wife : — " The king has killed eighty-one
animals of one sort or other to-day : and
amongst them a wolf and some stags. He fell
asleep in the coach, and awaking, told me he
had been dreaming of shooting. One would
have thought he had shed blood enough."
While Ferdinand and his courtiers were en
joying themselves abroad, the queen and her
ladies devoted all their time to scenes of plea
sure at home. In these festivities, of which
the wife of the English minister had often the
management, and in which she was generally a
principal performer, the utmost latitude was
¦given to every kind of licentiousness. Hardly
a day passed without some new amusement ;
and it seemed as if in this modern Cytherea,

74 MEMOIRS OF
the cares of government, and the duties of
every station, were made subservient to the
study of pleasure. The house of the ambas
sador exhibited, under the plea of hospitality, a
similar round of extravagance ; and, at a time
when the revolutionary spirit, excited by the
commotions in France, was spreading over the
continent, the senses of all orders in Naples, as
well foreigners as natives, appeared steeped in
the lethargy of folly, and to have no feeling for
anything but the grossest objects of voluptuary
indulgence. Corruption pervaded all the depart
ments of the state : and the manners of the
people partook of the principles and example
of their superiors. There was no gradation of
honest industry and virtuous independence
between pride and beggary ; no class of active
citizens, that, from a spirit of patriotism, endea
voured to uphold the credit of their country
amidst the dissipation of the rulers and the idle
habits of poor. At this eventful period, the
greatest economy was necessary in the manage
ment of the revenue, and the most vigilant
measures were required to place the kingdom in
a state of defence ; but, instead of being moved.
by the misfortunes which had fallen upon the
other branches of the Bourbon family, their
Sicilian majesties continued in the same improvi-

LADY HAMILTON. 75
dent course which they had pursued many years,
neither instituting any reform in the administra
tion, nor laying the slightest restraint upon their
own vitiated appetite for frivolous amusements
and sensual indulgence. It is painful to reflect,
that the character of the English nation was
considerably injured by the share which our
ambassador and his wife took in these follies,
being more anxious to cultivate the royal
favour, than to support their own dignity, and
the honour of their country. Sir William
Hamilton did not want talents suited to his
office, but he had lived so long at Naples, and
was so much accustomed to the trifling manners
of the court, and the wretched condition of the
people, that while the one perverted his judg
ment, the other blunted his feeling. It is no^
wonder, then, that a man of this easy temper
should have suffered his young partner to exer
cise all her art in consulting the inclinations of
the queen, when he, at the age of sixty-three,
did the same in following the sports of the king.
It is difficult to say which of the two gained the
completest ascendency, but there can be no doubt
that the influence of the lady was attended with
the greatest consequences ; and it may be safely
affirmed, that the hold which she had over the
mind of the Queen of Naples amounted in effect

76 MEMOIRS OF
to a complete sway over the sovereign. Yet, like
most fi-iendshlps of this sort, where the know
ledge of dangerous secrets gives an advantage to
the inferior, which often provokes resentment on
the one side, and insolence on the other, the two
personages of whom we are speaking had occa
sional bickerings, some of which were attended
with strange and indecorous circumstances.
The freedom of access to the royal apartment,
which had been given to the wife of his Excel
lency, proved at last very irksome, by her fre
quent intrusions when the queen wished to be
alone, or when she was engaged in a private
conversation with some who did not choose to
have their opinions witnessed by a third party.
One day, her Ladyship, going as usual to the
palace, was stopped in her progress through the
rooms by a servant, who respectfully informed
her that her Majesty was engaged, and desirous
¦of being undisturbed by any visitors. The
indignant Emma, who knew that the person
thus favoured was a countrywoman of her own,
and one for whom she felt a great dislike, made
light of the prohibition, and forced her way
into the presence without the least ceremony.
Such a breach of decorum could not well pass
without resentment ; but unfortunately, in the
present instance, the rudeness on the one side

LADY HAMILTON. 77
excited a storm of fury on the other, and a blow
from the queen, applied not very gently in the
face of the intruder, produced another In return,
to the great astonishment of the attendants,
who rushed in to separate the combatants. This
strange conflict, which in any other court would
have been followed by a sentence of perpetual
exclusion, was productive of no other conse
quence than a little idle discourse among the
people of Naples, and some merriment on the
part of the king, and his confidential com
panions. The .temporary gloom occasioned by
this affair was soon dispelled, and her Ladyship
returned to court, apparently in as much favour
as ever. It Is not to be supposed, however, that
the queen was so totally regardless of what was
due to her dignity, as to forget the outrage that
had been committed, and the insult which she
had received ; but an Imprudent familiarity
having brought the parties on a kind of level,
which became more fixed by their mutual
acquaintance with each other's conduct, an act
of oblivion took place, and a reconciliation was
effected. Among other persons of distinction, who^
made Naples their principal residence, a little
after the marriage of the ambassador, the late
Earl of Bristol was one of the most conspicuous.

78 MEMOIRS OF
This nobleman, who was both a spiritual and a
temporal peer, being for many years Bishop of
Derry, spent all his time in foreign countries, to
the entire neglect of his diocese, though it is
one of the richest in Ireland. The prelate, who
was somewhat advanced in years when Sir
William Hamilton returned from England with
his lady, presently became enamoured with her
person and accomplishments. This perhaps may
be considered by some of her admirers as an
evidence of her merits ; but when the character
of his Lordship is known, the attachment will
be found to reflect no more credit on his under
standing, than it did honour to the object of his
esteem. Though an lecclesiastic of the highest
station, the bishop was an avowed sceptic in
religion, the doctrines and institutions of which
he would not scruple to ridicule in the company
of women, treating even the immortality of the
soul as an article of doubt and indifference. He
affected a peculiar singularity in his dress, gene
rally wearing a white hat, and a coat of coloured
silk, so as to have very rarely the smallest
external sign of the episcopal function, and
never showing in his conversation any of that
gravity which became his age, rank, and profes
sion. Besides giving his sanction to every kind
of fashionable amusement, he kept a box at the

LAD Y HAMILTON. 79
Opera ; and even the diversions which in Italy
are freely practised on Sunday evenings never
drew from him any discouragement.
He commonly went by the title of the
count bishop, and his company was greatly
courted on account of his lively conversation,
blunt freedom, and the fund of anecdote which
he possessed. Being on a visit to a friend
in 1782, he related the following pleasant story
of himself : that going to the Grande Char
treuse, whilst the society were at dinner, he
found the convent door shut, and, on knocking,
the porter told him that no one was permitted
to enter while the monks were at their meals :
upon this, he gave the porter a letter to the
abbot from a neighbouring prelate, in which
the bishop called him his brother, the Bishop
of Derry. Immediately after the letter was
delivered, the doors flew open, and the whole
convent, on their knees, met his Lordship,
craving his blessing ; which he, without any
ceremony, delivered to them as he passed
along. The good brotherhood were wholly
ignorant where Derry was situated ; and relying
upon the testimonial which he brought, they
of course took him for a catholic bishop.
Without attempting to undeceive them, his
Lordship blessed them all, throwing out his

8o MEMOIRS OF
benedictions very gravely with his hands.
When the monks became better informed of
his character, they had no doubt a very different
opinion of the efficacy of his blessings.
At the time when Lord Bristol was at
Naples, living on the most familiar footing
with the ambassador, an illustrious personage '
of this kingdom visited that city, where he
was entertained with all the respect due tO'
his family. One evening, there was a splendid
party at his Excellency's house, and among the
rest Mrs. Billington, with several other persons
of eminence in musical science, both singers
and performers. The treat afforded by such
a combination of taste and talent was of course
very great ; but in some of the finest airs, the
young prince marred the music, by interposing
his own powers, with the design of helping
those who would have been better pleased by
his silence. The Bishop of Derry, who was.
naturally impatient, enduired all this for some
time, with only muttering now and then a.
peevish pish or two; but at length the inter
ruptions became so annoying, that he could
contain himself no longer, and turning to the-
royal singer, he said, " Pray cease : you have
the ears of an ass." This coarse censure,
' William Henry, Duke of Gloucester, brother oF
George III.

LAD Y HAMILTON. 8 1
however, produced no other effect than to
stimulate the performer to fresh exertions ;
and he also ventured to sing one or two songs
for the entertainment of the company, all of
whom, with the exception of the bishopr
affected to be uncommonly delighted. His
Lordship, instead of joining in the praises that
were bestowed, and scorning to pay a compli
ment at the expense of his veracity, said to
a lady who sat next to him, loud enough to be
heard by every one in the circle, " This may be
very fine braying, but it is intolerable singing."
Of his uncommon freedom of speech, indeed,
we may form a judgment from his behaviour
at a public dinner given in Germany, by the
late King of Prussia, to the Duke of Brunswick,
and several of the princes of the empire, after
the peace concluded by that sovereign with
the French Republic. The Bishop of Derry,
being offered some capon, declined it, on which
the King of Prussia asked him whether he
disliked that dish : " Yes, Sire," replied he :
" I have an aversion to all neutral animals."
This pointed attack on the truckling politics
of the Prussian monarch brings under our
observation the history of his mistress, the
unfortunate Countess of Lichtenau, whose
origin was nearly as low as that of the heroine
7

82 MEMOIRS OF
of these Mempirs. The countess, in the year
1795, visited Italy for her health, and while
at Naples, she contracted a great intimacy with
Sir William Hamilton and his lady, through
Lord Bristol, with whom she had been ac
quainted in Germany, and who kept up with
her a very extraordinary correspondence. It
was during the residence of the countess at
Naples, that the English ambassador endea
voured, by her interest, to dispose of his second
collection of vases to the King of Prussia,
representing them as not only valuable in the
light of antiquities, but as being particularly
serviceable to the improvement of the porcelain
manufactory in that monarch's dominions.
Though this negotiation was unsuccessful, the
friendship of the ladies continued to be very
warm, at least, so long as the countess remained
in that country. The following curious billet
will serve to elucidate pretty clearly the group
of friends therein mentioned, and particularly
the principles of the Bishop of Derry, of whom
the writer speaks in language very near
approaching to blasphemy. " Naples, zgth March, 1796.
" My very dear friend,
" I desire most anxiously to hear from you,

, LAD Y HAMILTON. 83
how your health is, and when you will return
among us. The good and beneficent Lord
Bristol, who Is In despair at not seeing you,
waits your arrival with the same solicitude as
the Jews looked for the coming of our Lord
among them. My husband salutes you with
all his heart. The good and sincere Denis
speaks of no one but you, and we all join
in wishing that you may not see *** at Rome,
who has been very wicked and dishonourable
here ; but the particulars are too long to be
detailed. I think she will never be permitted to
visit here again. She has betrayed the noble
family at whose house she was cherished, and
has caused therein so much confusion, that it
will be very difficult to restore order. Your
good heart would suffer to see it. Adieu, dear
countess ; continue to love your sincere and
constant friend,
" Emma Hamilton."
The irreligious comparison contained in this
epistle, though It shows the levity of the person
who wrote it, carries at the same time clear
evidence of having been dictated by the old
nobleman himself, who took a delight In such
profane allusions, and in playing most irreverently
with sacred things. His own letters to the wife

84 MEMOIRS OF
of the English ambassador exhibit melancholy
instances of this voluntary degradation of
character, and scandalous abuse of that trust
which demanded at least some outward respect
from one, who, while he ridiculed religion in
his heart, spent the revenues which he derived
firom it in foreign lands upon players, buffoons,
and women of light reputation.
One of the letters of his Lordship concludes
with these delicate lines :
" O ! Emma, who'd ever be wise.
If madness be loving of thee ? "
At another time he says : —
" Yesterday we dined on Mount Vesuvius ;
to-day we were to have dined on its victim,
Pompeii : but ' by the grace of God, which
passeth all understanding,' since Bartolomea
himself, that weather soothsayer, did not foresee
this British weather, we are prevented. In
the meantime, all this week and the next is
replete with projects to Istria, Procite, &c. &c.,
so God only knows when I can worship again
my Diana of Ephesus."
This last allusion, so indecently coupled with
an apostolic benediction, has a reference to the
part of Diana, which was personated by her

LADY HAMILTON. 85
Ladyship with great effect, and of which there
is an engraving executed at Naples, after a
picture painted by the order of her husband.
Yet the bishop was not altogether blind
to the improprieties of his dearest connections
at this very period ; for being one day at Sir
William Hamilton's, and engaged in a conver-
:sation with Emma, a lady was announced of
a character so notorious that, his Lordship
instantly took up his hat and prepared to
¦depart. " Why, my Lord, you are not going,
are you.''" said Lady Hamilton. "Our com
pany is not I hope disagreeable." To this he
.replied, "It is permitted to a bishop to visit
•one sinner ; but quite unfitting that he should
be seen in a brothel."
How justly the Bishop of Derry has obtained
the character of great liberality, will appear
from the following remarks on two unfortunate
princes, who, without the slightest offence of
their own, were driven from their respective
¦countries, by the overwhelming violence of the
revolutionary tempest. In July, 1795, his
Lordship informs his " dearest Emma," among
•other articles of intelligence, " that in Amster-
•dam, and other towns of Holland, there are the
greatest insurrections In favour of that fool the
Stadtholder. All this, however, can only tend

86 MEMOIRS OF
to facilitate peace, but not at all to restore fhat
despicable, odious family of the Bourbons, — the
head of which is now at Verona, where we left
him eating two capons a-day ('tis a pity the
whole family are not capons !) ; and, what is.
more, dressing them himself in a superb kitchen
— the true chapel of a Bourbon prince."
After this cruel reflection on the present
amiable sovereign of France, who would have
expected to see in the same letter such fulsome
corripliments as these }
" Emma ! if that dear Queen of Naples does
not write herself to the Prince D'Oria for me,
I won't look at your beautiful face these six
months, ' coute qui coute.' " At another time,
he says of the. modern Messalina, " Send me
word, dearest Emma, how the invaluable,
adorable queen finds herself. The weather
changed so unmercifully yesterday, that Lovel
and I both grew ill ; and this makes me the more-
anxious to hear of our too sensible and ines
timable queen. My warmest wishes — physical,
political, and moral — ever attend her."
Disgusting as these extracts must be to every
mind, where the sense of honour and the love
of virtue continue to predominate, they are yet
not without their uses, particularly as they serve
to show the pernicious consequences that always

LADY HAMILTON. 87
result to those who abandon the station In which
they are placed for a life of greater freedom. It
has been urged as an excuse for this nobleman,
that he devoted the whole of his ecclesiastical
revenue to the encouragement of the fine arts ^
and the author has been Informed by one who
was intimate with his Lordship, that being at
table, where many Ingenious persons were as
sembled, the prelate said : " Ah, I assure you,
the Bishopric of Derry is a fine thing ; worth
twenty thousand a-year, and all for you gentle
men ! "
This it must be confessed was a strange mode
of appropriating the revenues of the church,
and an extraordinary atonement for the neglect
of his Lordship's episcopal duties. While he
abandoned his station as a lord of parliament,
and as the bishop of a see, which required con
stant inspection, worthless parasites revelled on
his bounty in foreign countries, and a set of
hungry harpies continually hovered around him,
to gather from his prodigal hand that super
fluity of wealth which was neither the product
of his own Industry, nor inherited from his
ancestors, but came to him as a trust to be
employed for the glory of God, the benefit of
his country, and the relief of the poor. The
consequence of all this irregularity was such as

88 MEMOIRS OF
might have been expected. The unsettled life
which he led impoverished his mind, corrupted
his manners, and destroyed his religious prin
ciples. But he suffered for his folly in another
respect, by falling into the hands of the French,
when they ran over Italy, in 1799 ; and these
marauders, without paying the least respect to
his rank or age, threw him into the castle of
Milan, where he endured a close and rigorous
confinement about eighteen months. On re
gaining his liberty at the interposition of the
Austrian court, his Lordship hastened to Rome ;
and after travelling through various parts of
Italy, his constitution, which had been very
active and good, began to manifest signs of
decay. In his last illness he experienced the
usual sincerity of such attachments as are formed
from caprice on one side and interest on the
other ; for all his domestics plundered his
property, neglected him when he wanted their
assistance, and quarrelled with one another about
the division of the spoil. In this wretched
state, remote from his family, surrounded by a
host of mercenary ingrates, and unsupported
by the consolations of religion. Lord Bristol
breathed his last, in the seventy-third year of
his age, at Albino, near Rome, August the Sth,
1803. Of this event Lord Nelson gave an

LADY HAMILTON. 89
account to his fair friend and correspondent,
with a manifest reflection on the bishop, for not
having remembered Lady Hamilton by a testa
mentary bequest. His Lordship concludes his
letter with this account of the deceased pre
late : —
" There will be no Lord Bristol's table. He
tore his last will a few hours before his death.
It is said that it was giving everything to those
devils of Italians about him."
Such was the character and the end of Frede
rick Hervey, Earl of Bristol, ^ and Bishop of
Derry, who dissipated a long life, a princely
fortune, and respectable talents. In the pursuit
of pleasure, from the same motives which ac
tuated the Epicureans of old, whose creed and
practice were comprehended In the resolution,
'" Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die."
"^Frederick Augustus Hervey was born 1730, made D.D.
and Bishop of Derry in 1768, and succeeded his brother
as fourth Earl of Bristol in 1779. He married Elizabeth,
•daughter of Sir Jermyn Davers, Bt. Any addition to the
traits of his character as given in the text would be super
fluous. After his decease at Naples, July 8, 1803, his
xemains were sent to England for interment, on board the
Monmouth. Mr. Elliot, the British Minister at Naples,
wrote to Lord Nelson, that, knowing the superstitious dread
¦which sailors have of the presence of a corpse on board
:ship, he had caused the body to be packed and shipped as
¦an antique statue.

CHAPTER VII.

No levell'd malice
Infects one comma in the course 1.
hold:
But flies an eagle flight, bold, and
forth on,
Nor leaves a tract behind. Shakspeare.

IR WILLIAM HAMILTON
soon found that an imprudent
marriage at his time of llf&
brought with it as many cares
as pleasures ; and he had the
mortification of knowing, that.
the new relation into which he had entered
instead of giving satisfaction at home, was likely
to prove the justifiable pretext for his recall.
This may be gathered from a letter, written
by the ambassador, while he was on a hunting
excursion with the King of Naples, in which he
says, " You see what devils there are in England !'
They wanted to stir up something against me ;.

MEMOIRS OF LADY HAMILTON. gi.
but our conduct shall be such as to be unattack
able : and I fear not an Injustice from England.
Twenty-seven years' service — having spent all
the king's money, and all my own, besides
running in debt, deserves something better
than dismission."
Of this complaint, an explanation may be
requisite, and It is not difficult to find one that
would be ample enough to have warranted the
measure, which his Excellency so feelingly depre
cated. The continent of Europe at that period stood
In the most critical circumstances, for the pro
gress of the revolutionary principles, which had
already succeeded in overturning the constitution
of France, could not be supposed by any rational
understanding to have a favourable aspect on the
peace and happiness of other nations. If ever,
therefore, any time demanded statesmen of
pre-eminent talents and virtue at the head of
their respective courts, and in the office of
ministers from one to another, it was that very
era to which our attention is now directed. In
former days, perhaps. It mattered not much
whether an envoy at Naples was a man of extra
ordinary intelligence or not, as little more was
requisite for the adequate discharge of the duties
imposed upon him than great courtesy of

92 MEMOIRS OF
behaviour, and a dignified support of the cha
racter and honour of his country.
But the tremendous explosion which had now
burst forth in the moral world, rendered many
changes necessary in the administration of the
several governments, particularly in their diplo
matic intercourse with each other. Among the
rest, Naples was one which stood in great need
of an alteration in this respect, and that for the
very reason assigned by our ambassador as the
ground of his pretensions to his continuance in
that situation.
His pursuits and amusements could interfere
but little with his public avocations while that
part of the world remained tranquil ; but the
French revolution gave a shock to every estab
lishment, and portended plainly enough to every
man, that did not wilfully shut his eyes, a long
and sanguinary war throughout Europe. Sound
policy, therefore, pointed out the necessity of
•endeavouring, by virtuous and able agents, to
rouse the sluggish courts to a sense of their
danger, and by making them sensible of their
proper interests, prevail upon them to adopt such
measures as were best calculated to enable them
to maintain their independence against a ruthless
•enemy. Sir William Hamilton might be an excellent

LAD Y HAMIL TON, 93,
connoisseur in bronzes, medals, and pictures ;
but he ought at this time to have given way
to some person ofa more comprehensive genius,
and one whose mind entered deeply into the
circumstances of the times. Instead of that
piercing judgment, which, being always on the
wing, explores every passing occurrence, to trace
the effects which it is likely to produce, the
mind of our ambassador exhibited nothing but
phlegm, except when in the course of his enquiries
some object of great curiosity was offered for his
purchase, or he happened to be engaged in the
hunting parties of the monarch, with whom he
chanced to be a favourite. Of the puerile
character of Ferdinand, a singular anecdote is
related by Sir William, In one of his letters
written during an excursion with his Majesty.
" Yesterday, the courier brought the order of
St. Stephano, from the Emperor, for the Prince
Ausberg, and the king was desired to Invest
him with it. As soon as the king received it,
he ran into the prince's room, whom he found
in his shirt, and without his breeches ; and. In
that condition, was he decorated with the star
and ribbon by his Majesty, who has wrote the
whole circumstance to the emperor.
" Leopold may, perhaps, not like the joking
with his first order. Such nonsense should, ere-

¦94 MEMOIRS OF
tainly, be done with solemnity ; or it becomes,
what it really is, a little tinsel, and a few yards
of broad ribbon."
This was, no doubt, an imprudent act of levity
at a time when so many attempts were making
to level all distinctions in society, and to represent
crowns and mitres, sceptres and croziers, as
nothing better than the baubles of childish super-
:stition, or the ensigns of an arbitrary usurpation
of the common rights of mankind. But if the
King of Naples acted on this occasion in a
manner unbecoming the respect due from one
sovereign to the institutions of another, the con
duct of our ambassador cannot be altogether ex
cused, in writing as he did on the subject. Slight
incidents will sonietimes illustrate the real
character of men, much more than a long train
of public actions. Sir William, in bestowing this
-contemptuous appellation on one ofthe imperial
orders, paid no flattering compliment to the red
ribband with which he himself was decorated ;
and though a man of sense will despise the folly
of those who court such honours for the mere
sake of shining above others, he will not on that
account cast an odium on distinctions, which,
however unworthily they may have been
bestowed, were originally intended as the
rewards of merit, and still continue to be the

LAD Y HAMILTON 95
badges of public approbation. The freedom
with which the ambassador Imparted state
.secrets, and his opinions on public men and
affairs, to his wife, within a few months after
his marriage, cannot be justified by the high
opinion which he entertained of her fidelity and
¦understanding. This very woman he knew had
been already honoured with the particular notice
of Ferdinand, who endeavoured to gain her
private favours by the offer of a carte blanche
for the statement of her own demands.
The paper containing the royal proposals, and
the several letters which the king had written to
her, were, most respectfully, and with much
feeling expression, put by her into the hands of
the queen, who either was, or pretended to be,
very much affected by so extraordinary an
instance of virtue and liberality. " It is, how-
^ The king may have been attracted by the charms of
Lady Hamilton while living under the protection of the
English Ambassador before her marriage to him ; but that
-his written proposals to her were submitted to the inspec-
¦tion of the queen by the person to whom they had been
addressed, is exceedingly doubtful. Lady Hamilton was
not on close terms of intimacy with the Queen of Naples
till long after her marriage, nor was she presented to
the queen till some weeks after her second arrival at
Naples, from England, as the acknowledged wife of the
ambassador. But it may be noticed that a similar story is
related in Solari's " Venice under the yoke of France and

96 MEMOIRS OF
ever, to be feared, that there was more art
than sincerity on both sides, for the one well
knew that her safest course lay in making a
friend of the queen, rather than in shining as
the favourite of a monarch, who could hardly be
said to be his own master ; while her Majesty,
who cared as little about the amours of her
husband, as she did about the propriety of her
own conduct, thought that by attaching such a
person to her interest she should be able to
gratify her love of pleasure, in a variety of ways,
without any observation. Nor was this all ; for-
though these two females, both equally volup
tuous, vain and ambitious, had not the slightest
esteem for each other, they were sensible that
Austria " ; with the additional circumstance, that the
whole affair was but a clever design of Emma Lyon, or
Harte, to enlist the feelings and interest of the queen in her
favour, and so to bring about her long cherished scheme
of marriage with Sir W. Hamilton. Both stories are pro
bably equally authentic ; but that such was the secret
object of Emma for some years before the wished-for event
came off, is evident from a letter she wrote to Romney,.
December 20, 1791. "Tell Hayley," she says, "I
am always reading his ' Triumphs of Temper.' It was
that that made me Lady H  , for God knows I had for
five years enough to try my temper, and I am afraid if it
had not been for the good example Serena taught me, my
girdle would have burst; and if it had, I had been undone,.
for Sir William minds temper more than beauty."

LAD Y HAMILTON. 97
the appearance of an ardent affection would be
for their respective advantage, and the security
of that power which they had but too much
reason to apprehend was in a perilous state.
The queen, who was really a woman of
sharp intellect, could not be altogether uncon
cerned about the dreadful scenes which were
passing in France ; and she knew that in the
event of the flames of war spreading into Italy,
the chief if not the only security her dominions
could hope for lay in an alliance with Great
Britain. Our ambassador was already under
some apprehension of being recalled, and of this
the queen was not ignorant. She, therefore, had
reason to dread such a change, because whoever
might be appointed the successor, it was impos
sible that he could remain any time there with
out witnessing the corruptions ofthe court, the
depravity of the people, and the absolute
necessity of procuring a renovation of the
Neapolitan state.
Her Majesty had been now acquainted with
Sir William Hamilton much above twenty
years, and from him she had nothing to dread,
for which reason she felt It necessary to exert
herself to the utmost in rendering his situation
agreeable at this crisis, and to secure his resi
dence at Naples, by all her influence at the

98 MEMOIRS OF
courts of Vienna and Madrid. Sir William was
in consequence not only distinguished by
numerous marks of favour, but his lady became ¦
the confidential friend of the queen, who
occasionally imparted to her information of
such importance, as when communicated to the
government at home, removed from ministers
all idea of placing an agent who had thus given
them new proofs of his penetration and intelli
gence. Thus, the intimacy which subsisted between
these celebrated women, was cemented by
duplicity, and arose solely from selfish motives,
without having any real principle of regard to
the public weal of either country.
Had the Queen ' of Naples, who at that time
^ The Queen of Naples was Maria Caroline, daughter
of Maria Theresa of Austria and Francis Duke of
Lorraine, afterwards Emperor of Germany. Her husband,
Ferdinand, on attaining his majority at the age of sixteen,
made proposals for the hand of her sister, Maria
Josephine, who, just as the marriage had been arranged,
died suddenly. Maria Caroline then took the place of
her sister, and at the age of fifteen married Ferdinand,
April 7, 1768, and became Queen of Naples. She
inherited the beauty of her mother, with a good deal of
her pride and masculine understanding. General Pepe,
in his Memoirs, says of her, " Her mind was of the most
powerful stamp — by nature she was both proud and
haughty, and she nourished in her bosom the most

LAD Y HAMILTON. gg
Stood at the head of affairs, been actuated by the
smallest degree of parental love for her subjects,
she would have turned her thoughts to the cor
rection of abuses in the administration, and to
the organization of those means by which the
inordinate love of power." She soon discovered the
¦character of her husband, weak both by nature and edu
cation ; and having given birth to a prince, by right of .
her marriage treaty and the laws of Naples, claimed the
right of sitting in the State Council, and of having a voice
in its deliberations. She gave great attention to state
affairs, and though Ferdinand reigned, the queen really
governed Naples. On the advance ofthe French in 1798,
she, with the rest of the royal family, retired to Sicily ;
but was reinstated at Naples by the English fleet under
Xord Nelson. On the appearance of the proclamation
of Napoleon in 1806, that the Bourbons had ceased to
reign, she sought refuge in that island a second time, while
Joseph Bonaparte occupied the throne of Naples. From
Sicily a guerilla warfare was kept up on the mainland,
attended by acts of the greatest atrocity ; and expeditions
were dispatched against different parts of the south of
Italy, to no purpose but to impoverish the Sicilians,
though the queen pawned her jewels toward the payment
of the expenses. From England the Sicilian Court received
,r300,ooo as a yearly subsidy, but the money was
¦squandered among the Neapolitans and Calabrians, and
no commensurate benefit resulted from this lavish expen
diture. By her high-handed proceedings Maria Caroline
became very unpopular in Sicily, the English ministers
were disgusted with their ally, and came to the conclusion
that the best remedy for such a state of things was to
deprive the queen of her influence. All negotiations and

loo MEMOIRS OF
kingdom might most effectually have been de
fended by its own resources. But nothing was
farther from her thoughts ; for though she hated
the republican principles of the French, as tend
ing to subvert every throne in Europe, she
regarded with abhorrence the only proper means
that could be devised for the security of that
where she was placed. Having been long ac
customed to the exercise of power, and habitually
practised in the ways of sensual pleasure, she
had a numerous train of nobles to gratify with
remonstrances with the Sicilian Court proving to be use
less, in 1811 Lord William Cavendish Bentinck was
appointed British minister, and Commander-in-chief ot
the British troops in Sicily. The obstinacy of the queen
defied all attempts at conciliation, and the minister told
her at their last interview, that there must be " either a
Constitution or a Revolution." Maria Caroline resolved
on an armed resistance, but was compelled by the council
to submit and to withdraw from Palermo. The executive
power was vested in the king, and Sicily received a con
stitution, which lasted till abolished by Ferdinand on his
return to Naples in 181 5. The queen, continually in
triguing to disturb the peace and to subvert established
authority, was confined to one of her country seats, and at
length sent from Sicily in an English ship of war to
Sardinia, en route for Austria. She eventually reached
Vienna, and died there, September 7, 18 14, about four
months before the death of Lady Hamilton at Calais, and
less than a year before the final restoration of her husband
and family to Naples.

LADY HAMILTON. loi
great places of trust, and particular dependents
of all sorts to support by pensions. Instead,
therefore, of making any sacrifices for the public
good, or laying a restraint upon her vicious
inclination, at an awful crisis, when the fate of
her nearest relations was in a state of dreadful
suspense, she listened only to those who, like
herself, considered the nation in no other light
than as a vast reservoir purposely created for the
supply of luxuries to pamper their appetites.
To uphold the authority of the court, and to
prevent the introduction of those doctrines,
which were calculated to make the people ac
quainted with the reciprocal duties of sovereigns
and subjects, a most enormous and expensive
system of espionage was carried on, by which
the government became terrible without adding
to Its security.
Such was the country where Sir William
Hamilton, after a residence of near thirty years,
was most anxious still to remain in his official
-capacity, though he was sensible of the disorders
which pervaded the kingdom, and aware of the
dangers by which it was surrounded. It was
natural perhaps for the ambassador to feel a
strong partiality for a place where he had so
long enjoyed ease, honours, and pleasure ; nor
can he be blamed for the feeling which he

102 MEMOIRS OF
expressed at the bare report of his being super
seded. Old age contracted in one office does
not commonly bring with it a conviction of its
own infirmities, nor do the changes that take
place in the sphere where a man has long
moved induce a suspicion that he who has lived
to behold them may have had correspondent
ravages in his own mind and person. So long as
he enjoys health and spirits, he considers these
things as matters of ordinary occurrence ; and
instead of taking a hint from the revolutions
which he beholds, to retire in time, he adheres
more closely to his situation, assigning as his
reason for this determination the years he has
spent in the office, and the experience which
he has thereby acquired. Thus it was in the
present instance, though nothing was more easy
than to have shown that the grounds alleged for
the residence of Sir William at Naples were such
as puoved the necessity of his recall. During
his long abode in that place, the character of
the court, and the state of the nation, had beea
greatly degraded ; and of late years this deteriora
tion had proceeded with a velocity that . ought
to have made an intelligent and virtuous observer
more disgusted at such a sink of debauchery,
than desirous of continuing to witness its folly
and its downfall. But, like the patriarch of old»

LADY HAMILTON. 105
the ambassador had been so long accustomed to
the scenery and manners of Naples, that he
could not bear the Idea of withdrawing from it,
though the political hemisphere began to give
alarming symptoms of pouring down an over
whelming torrent on that and all the neighbour
ing states.
Wrong as it was in Sir William to cling thus
closely to his appointment, at a juncture which
was pregnant with events, against which he
could be ill provided by his studies and habits,
still greater blame attaches to the councils of
those who complied with his wishes in continu
ing him, when they ought to have been sensible
that an energetic administration at home must
be crippled in its exertions, if It does not
employ legislations of a similar character
abroad. Unfortunately, however, while the
greatest zeal was manifested by the English
government for the preservation of social order
throughout the family of Europe, the good
intentions of our ministry were frustrated by
the superior talents of the agents who were
employed in foreign courts by the other powers..
It may seem strange that political discussions
should have a place In such a memoir as the
present, but as great events often spring from
little causes, there will be no difficulty In show-

104 MEMOIRS OF
ing that the marriage of Sir William Hamilton,
and his consequent reluctance to quit Naples for
England, brought after it a train of momentous
circumstances, which ended in a separation of
the once united kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
Our design here is somewhat above that of
affording a little momentary entertainment to
the lovers of anecdote, and those who take a
delight in reading the details of human folly and
depravity. Even the intrigues of Cleopatra, her
vice and extravagance, might have been buried
in oblivion, had it not been for their political
effects, the history of which could not well be
understood without a minute account of her
character, and a narrative of her conduct and
connections. Differing in degree, but corre
sponding in disposition and adventures, the
wife of the English ambassador at Naples
has obtained, and will continue to occupy, a
place in history, which therefore gives the
particulars of her life more importance than
such a subject could otherwise possess.
Sir William Hamilton and his lady both
choosing, for many substantial reasons, to remain
in Italy rather than to return to their native
country, employed themselves with the greatest
assiduity in cultivating the favour of the king
and queen, who on their part were, for reasons

LADY HAMILTON. 105
just as liberal, equally desirous of retaining his
Excellency at their court. The ambassador
accordingly did all that lay in his power to
gain the goodwill of the monarch, by presenting
him with double-barrelled guns, procuring brass
carronades for his yacht, and, what was worse,
by spending that time In field sports which
ought to have been employed in counteracting
the influence of the French, German, and other
agents, by endeavouring to infuse an energy
into the Neapolitan government, and laying
before every member of it a full exposition of
the evils which threatened the existence of the
state. The apathy of Sir William at this period
was rendered still more culpable by the part
which he suffered his lady to take in the private
pleasures of the queen, to whose propensities and
connections he was far from being a stranger.
The palace of Naples might Indeed have rivalled
that of Agrippina, In the nature and variety of
wanton amusement, and the arts made use of to
gratify the vilest passions. Nor did that govern
ment In tyranny and cruelty fall short of the
JRoman empire in its worst state ; as the follow
ing instance will sufficiently prove. There was
an English banker at Naples of considerable
reputation, on whom the English ambassador
was accustomed to draw his bills, and Lady

io6 MEMOIRS OF
Hamilton did the same, by her husband's per
mission. But her demands in this way became
at length so quick and exorbitant, that Mr,
Mackinnon, the banker, though he had authority
to advance money on a public account to his
Excellency, thought it prudent to refuse com
pliance with her Ladyship's order, till he should
receive further instructions.
Whether this act of resistance to her will
produced what followed, must be left to the
judgment of the reader ; but so it was, that
the next day a file of musketeers surrounded
the banker's dwelling, and having taken Mr..
Mackinnon into custody, they carried him to-
the castle Del Ovo, where he was closelv
confined, and exposed to every nuisance.
After remaining in this durance some time,
without knowing the cause of his imprison
ment, or having the means of bringing his
case before a legal tribunal, a basket of iced
fruits was brought him one day as a present.
This article of luxury, which is always a choice
treat at Naples, could- not fail to prove very
acceptable to one who had been compelled ta
live on the coarse fare of a prison. Mr.
Mackinnon, however, having experienced some
civilities from the officer of the guard, fortu
nately gave him an invitation to partake of

LADY HAMILTON. 107
this agreeable entertainment. The officer, look
ing at the fruit, and then at the prisoner, asked
him how It was possible that a man who had
lived at Naples so long as he had done, should
think of receiving conserves, or anything of this
kind, from unknown persons ; on saying which,
he gave some of the contents of the basket to
a dog, which died In convulsions in a few
minutes. The gentleman, whose life was thus attacked
by the most infamous means, contrived to make
his escape by the assistance of some friends, who
sent into the castle a large basket, or hamper,
filled with clothes. Soon after, one of the
strongest porters in Naples was employed to
bring out this basket. In which the banker was
deposited, covered with linen so effectually as
to be completely concealed. The porter with
out knowing what he was employed to carry,
staggered under his load till he came outside the
castle, and on reaching a low and narrow bridge,
he placed the basket on the parapet, where It
actually rocked to and fro by the violence ofthe
wind, which blew very hard from the sea.
Luckily, however, the labourer, after resting a
little while, and execrating his heavy burthen,
took It again upon his shoulders and arrived
safely at the place appointed, without meeting

io8 MEMOIRS OF LAD Y HAMILTON.
with any molestation. It may naturally be
supposed that Naples was no longer a safe
residence for one who had thus eluded the
vengeance of his enemies ; and Mr. Mackinnon
accordingly made the best of his way out of a
country which was overrun with spies, and
wholly destitute of justice. On his arrival in
England, in very distressing circumstances,
which were aggravated by the loss of his
wife, he laid his case before government, and
printed a statement of his sufferings, but with
out meeting with any recompense.

CHAPTER VIII.

A rebellion or an invasion alarmj
and puts the public upon its defence;
but a corruption of principles works its
ruin more slowly perhaps, but more
surely. Berkeley.
^HE murder of the virtuous but
too gentle Louis XVI. and of
his accomplished queen, by the
wretches who profaned the
name of liberty in France,
seems at last to have roused
the Neapolitan court to some apprehension of
their danger ; and when the war broke out that
year, this state made a common cause with the
other powers against the new republic, which
threatened to annihilate every monarchy in
Europe. In August following, the inhabitants of Tou
lon, and the neighbouring parts, being wearied
out by the sanguinary oppressions of the

no MEMOIRS OF
revolutionary government, determined to throw
off the yoke, and to put themselves under the
protection of the English. For this purpose a
•deputation waited upon Admiral Lord Hood,
then commanding on that station ; and his
Lordship perceiving the importance of the pro
position, readily acceded to it, at the same time
taking every step that he could to preserve the
Toulonese from their inveterate enemies. Know
ing the necessity of a military force under such
circumstances. Lord Hood dispatched Captain'
Nelson of the Agamemnon to Sir William
Hamilton at Naples, requesting his good offices
with the government there, to send such a
supply of troops as could be spared. On the
arrival of the English ship in the bay, the
captain waited on the ambassador, who intro
duced him to their Sicilian majesties. In a
' Nelson at this time — September, 1793 — was thirty-four
years of age, and had not lost his eye nor right arm. He
was caressed by the nobles, feasted at Court, and he and his
crew styled by the king " the Saviours of Italy and of his
dominions." In a letter to his brother William, Nelson
says : " The king received me in the handsomest manner ;
I was three times with him out ofthe four days, and once
to dinner, when I was placed at his right hand before our
ambassador and all the nobles present" This was the
first time Nelson and Lady Hamilton met, and it is clear
from his lettersjto his wife, that he regarded her only as
any^honoured guest would an agreeable hostess.

LAD Y HAMIL TON. 1 1 r
letter which the brave commander wrote to his
wife, giving an account of his mission, he says :
" Lady Hamilton has been wonderfully kind
and good to Josiah" (the son of Mrs. Nelson
by her former husband). " She Is a young
woman," he adds, " of amiable manners, and
who does honour to the station to which she is
raised." Of this first aquaintance, which afterwards
proved so extremely important in Its conse
quences, a strange account has been related In
a book purporting to be the authentic Memoirs
of the Life of Lord Nelson, compiled by one
Harrison. I The statement In that work of the
introduction of Nelson to her Ladyship Is so
palpably contradictory to truth and common
sense, that it is a wonder how any person could
ever have invented it. Having noticed the
surrender of Toulon to Lord Hood, and the
arrival of the Agamemnon at Naples, this bio
grapher says : —
" In the meantime. Captain Nelson had been
introduced to the king and queen of Naples,
from whom he met with a most cordial and
gracious reception : nor must his singular
previous introduction by Sir William to Lady
Hamilton be passed over without particular
' Published in 2 vols. Svo, 1 806.

112 MEMOIRS OF
notice ; on the result of which so much of the-
fehcity of this exalted hero's future life seems
evidently to have in a superlative degree de
pended. On Sir William's returning home,
after having first beheld Captain Nelson, he
told his lady that he was about to introduce a
little man to her acquaintance, who could not
boast of being very handsome ; ' but,' added
Sir William, ' this man, who is an English
naval officer. Captain Nelson, will become the
greatest man that England ever produced. I
know it, from the few words of conversation I
have already had with him. 1 pronounce that he
will one day astonish the world. I have never-
entertained any officer at my house, but I am
determined to bring him here. Let him be put
in the room prepared for Prince Augustus.'
Captain Nelson was accordingly introduced to
her Ladyship, and resided with Sir William
Hamilton during his short stay at Naples ; and
thus commenced that fervid friendship between
the parties, which continued to glow, with ap
parently increasing ardour, to the last moment
of their respective existences, whom it has been
Lady Hamilton's severe lot to survive.
" The introductory compliment which has
been paid by Sir William Hamilton to Captain
Nelson's transcendent abilities, was not ill

LAD Y HAMILTON. 113
requited by one of the latter's first salutations
of the worthy envoy : ' Sir William,' said he,
in consequence of the dispatch made use of In
obtaining the Neapolitan troops, ' you are a
man after my own heart : you do business In my
own way. I am now only a captain, but I will, ,
if I live, be at the top of the tree.'
" These reciprocal good opinions of eacfe.
other," continues the pretended historian, " which ..
form the basis of all substantial friendships, ,
could not fail to unite such excellent and^
enlightened minds in a sincere amity. It
can never appear wonderful, then, that Lady
Hamilton, herself a person of very considerable
talents, and possessing a warm and affectionate;
heart, naturally attached to splendid abilities,
should be forcibly struck with the pleasing
manners, extreme goodness and generosity of
mind, and evident proofs of comprehensive
intellect, which she continually witnessed In
the new friend of her intelligent husband,,
during the few days of his continuance at:
Naples. " The frank and friendly attentions of her
Ladyship, at the same time, it must necessarily
be supposed, made no slight impression on the:
susceptible bosom of Captain Nelson, who was
charmed with the characteristic sweetness of

114 MEMOIRS OF
disposition which she so fascinatingly displayed
for the promotion of his ease and comforts."'
Some excuse might seem to be justly due to
the reader for so long and fiilsome an extract,
filled with falsehood from beginning to end ;
but when he knows that the volumes from
whence it is taken were put together under the
eye and by the dictation of the very woman
who is flattered in the tale, he will see in the
whole romantic representation a complete re
flection of her mind.
The simple truth is, that Captain Nelson,
bearing his Majesty's commission, and charged
with particular dispatches to the English resident,
went to his house immediately on his arrival,
and was there, as a matter of course, received
and entertained with the respect due to his rank.
According to the fable. Sir Wilham Hamilton
picked the hero up by chance, or fell into con
versation with hijn accidentally ; and being
pleased with his behaviour, gave him an invi
tation to his house ; a circumstance altogether as
probable as the prediction which the one is said
to have delivered, and the boast which the other
is reported to have made. Nothing of the kind
took place ; nor had the ridiculous story any
'Life of Horatio Lord Nelson, by James Harrison,
vol. i. pp. 10-79.

LADY HAMILTON. 115
Other authority than the fertile coinage of her
Ladyship's brain, and the blazoning illustration
which It received from the amanuensis who was
employed in her house at Merton to put to
gether those memoirs. Every one who knew
'Sir William Hamilton, was too well acquainted
with his phlegmatic character, to believe that he
¦ever caught such a fit of prophetic enthusiasm ;
and with respect to the naval commander, though
it cannot be denied that ambition was his ruling
principle, his understanding was at this time too
good to suffer him to play the gasconading part
which is here described. Certain it is, that the
visit was productive of momentous effects ; but
whether these conduced anything to the felicity
or the fame of the hero, remains to be developed
in another place. The whole fictitious narra
tive, however, affords another evidence of this
woman's extraordinary duplicity, and of the folly
with which it was invariably blended, since It
cannot but occur to every person of common
discerfiment, that the manner In which Sir
William is said to have spoken of his new ac
quaintance could not be true ; and they who are
conversant with the etiquette of the service,
must know that the entertainment of an officer
so employed was a regular act of duty, which
¦could not have been omitted without a breach

ti6 .MEMOIRS OF
of good manners. If Sir William Hamilton
never received a naval officer as an inmate inta
his house before Captain Nelson, he must have
conducted himself in a very uncourteous manner
to the various gentlemen of that profession, who,
during his embassy, anchored in the bay of
Naples. But many instances might be adduced
to free the English ambassador from this wrong ;
and there are persons high in the service, now
living, who. have experienced at his house the
most hospitable entertainment.
Such a tale, therefore, destroys itself by
some glaring inconsistencies, which cannot be
cleared without a manifest injury to the parties
who are the objects of its praise. Notwith
standing this, Mr. Southey, the last biographer
of Nelson, in a compendium abstracted from,
other collections, purposely to render it a
manual for seamen, has been imprudent enough
to select this anecdote among others, because it
would, if true, serve to show what an idea was
formed by discerning minds of the peculiar
grasp of Nelson's powers, even before he had
distinguished himself by any exploits, and of
the presentiment which he had of his future
elevation at a time when he could have little
expectation of the kind. The inclination to
invent predictions, and other portents, indicative

/
LADY HAMIL TON. 1 1 7
of the fate of great men. Is of very ancient
date, and has been carried to an extravagant
length in many instances ; but if they were all
examined with accuracy, and compared with
the circumstances to which they relate, most, if
not all of them, would sink into the ordinary
conjectures of human speculation, or be resolved
into the partiality of friendship, seeking for
signs and prodigies after the fact.
Nelson sailed from Naples well pleased with
the success of his mission, and six thousand
soldiers were sent In the fleet belonging to that
nation, to co-operate with the English and the
royalists at Toulon. But though their Sicilian
majesties had a radical hatred to the new state of
things in, France, and were very glad to lend what
assistance they could towards the suppression of
the anarchy which prevailed there, neither they
nor their ministers adopted any course for the
reformation of their own states. It Is remark
able enough, that at this period an Englishman
¦should have had the direction of public affairs
at Naples, while two of the same nation pos
sessed the particular confidence of the king and
queen. Sir John Acton, a baronet of an ancient
.catholic family in Shropshire, having entered
into the imperial service in 1763, was raised for
bis services to the rank of major-general : and

ii8 MEMOIRS OF
on being sent to Naples, in 1778, he was there
made secretary of state, with the department of
the navy and commerce, and the rank of lieu
tenant-general. In 1780 the administration of
the army was placed under his direction, and in
1785 he was appointed counsellor of state, and
knight of the royal order of St. Janiver, and of
St. Stephen of Tuscany. Four years afterwards
he was made minister for foreign affairs. Sir
John Acton was a man of ability, and much
attached to his countrymen, but he had little
English feeling, and very imperfect notions of
the science of government ; for having been so
many years in the service of an arbitrary state,
and accustomed to nothing but absolute
authority on the one hand, and implicit obedi
ence on the other, he scarcely felt a wish to
raise the people above their degraded condition.
Under the administration of this chevalier,
Naples might, at least, have been prepared for
a great moral and political change, if he had
possessed as much public spirit as private virtue \-
but unfortunately Sir John Acton,' like the
' In a letter from Lord Nelson to Admiral Goodall,
March, 1801, it is stated, "Acton is married to his niece,
not fourteen years of age, so you hear it is never too late-
to do well. He is only sixty-seven." The issue of this
marriage was three children. Sir John died at Palermo,
1811.

LADY HAMILTON. 119
English ambassador, had lived too long out of his
native land, and been too much habituated to
foreign Institutions, to be desirous of promoting
the cause of liberty. One of the most effectual
means of regenerating a weak and disordered
community is by giving encouragement to
industry ; but nothing of this kind took place
at Naples, where a nuisance was not only
tolerated, but even countenanced, which in any
other state would have been considered as an
evil equally injurious to the people, and dis
honourable to the government. The Lazzaroni
of Naples, consisting of many thousands of
vagabonds, without any settled residence or
regular occupation, formed a distinct commu
nity in that , city, not only under the eye of
the sovereign, but distinguished by particular
expressions of his approbation. A conscientious
and Intelligent minister, who considers himself
in the light of a public steward, will see the
obligation which lies upon him to purge out by
every means in his power such disorders as tend
to Injure the public morals, and to disgrace the
state. Sir John Acton, on the contrary, even
at the time when the French revolution glared
as a beacon to all the nations around, never
once adopted any measure for the removal of
this scandalous abuse, though the want of a

I20 MEMOIRS OF
disciplined army, and an appointed navy, both
of which might have been easily supplied, was
perceived and felt every day. But the truth is,
the Neapolitan court relied more for their
defence on the fleet and supplies of Great
Britain, than on their own energies and re
sources. A country so completely lost to its own
'character and interest, was, therefore, little
deserving of our confidence and support; yet
with the generosity which has invariably dis
tinguished this nation, when called upon by the
weaker powers, who have been in danger of
coming into collision with the more formidable,
Naples was favoured as an ally of importance,
and by her arts and promises she obtained more
notice and greater contributions than she was
entitled to, either by her circumstances or
fidelity. At this crisis, when so much depended upon
the inherent morality and loyalty of those states,
who hoped to escape the misery into which the
people of France had fallen through the cor
ruption of their principles, it was evident that
none had any just claim to assistance while they
remained unconcerned about the symptoms of
their own decay. This, however, was the case
with the kingdom of the Two Sicilies at the

LAD Y HAMILTON. 1 2 1
commencement of the revolutionary war : and it
was equally discreditable to the prime minister
there, and to our ambassador, that amidst all
the horrors of the republican tyranny, and the
apprehensions of Invasion, nothing was done to
rouse the Neapolitan court or the people to a
sense of their respective duties. The former
still continued immersed in luxurious habits,
following despicable amusements ; and the
latter, though attached to their king and
-country, were without that impulse to great
exertions which springs from patriotism, and a
grateful sense of national blessings.
While the English were contending for the
liberty and independence of Europe, the King
of Naples and Sir William Hamilton appear to
have been almost indifferent to the struggle,
and unmoved by the perils which were gather
ing in every quarter. The beginning of
1794 presented an awful prospect, and yet In
January of that very year, the ambassador,
being on a hunting excursion, wrote thus to
his wife : —
" By having grumbled a little, I got a better
post to-day {i.e., for shooting) ; and have killed
two boars and a sow, all enormous. I have
missed but two shots since I came here : and,
io be sure, when the post is good, it is noble

122 MEMOIRS OE
shooting I — the rocks and mountains are wild
as the boars. The news you sent me of poor
Lord Pembroke gave me a little twist ; but I
have for some time perceived, that my friends,
with whom I spent my younger days, have
been dropping around me.
" Lord Pembroke's neck was very short, and
his father died of an apoplexy.
" My study of antiquities has kept me in
constant thought of the perpetual fluctuation of
everything. The whole art is really to live all
the days of our life ; and not with anxious care
disturb the sweetest hour that life affords —
which is the present ! Admire the Creator and
all His works, to us incomprehensible ; and do
all the good we can upon earth ; and take the
chance of eternity without dismay."
Though private letters, which were never
intended for the public eye, are not objects of
criticism as compositions, the facts which they
mention, and the sentiments they convey, afford
matter for discussion, as throwing light upon
the events of the time, and illustrating the
characters of the persons to whom they relate.
When we follow the King of Naples among the
woods and mountains, we ought to feel no sur
prise at hearing that his troops behaved like
poltroons at Toulon, where their presence dii

LAD Y HAMIL TON. 1 2 5,
more harm than good to the wretched inhabi
tants ; nor have we much cause perhaps to
censure the backwardness of the Neapolitan
Commodore Fortiguerra in that business, es
pecially when it Is known, that during the
king's absence, a set of foreign agents did all
that lay in their power to divide the counsels
of this miserable government.
The reflections of Sir William Hamilton on
the sudden death of an old acquaintance were
certainly not those of a man whose hopes are
full of immortality. They have all the air of
Pyrrhonism, and breathe nothing superior to the
refined theism of Rousseau, who in his last
moments desired to have a look at the sky,
that he might feast his expiring vision with
objects which he should behold no more for
ever. The following year our ambassador was busied
in arranging a second collection of his vases, of
which he published In folio an elegant set of
engravings, executed with great spirit and accu
racy. About this period, also, he caused a col
lection of plates to be engraved by Rehberg
from paintings representing Lady Hamilton in
a variety of characters and attitudes; but
neither of these speculations, for such they were,.
answered the expectations of the artist who em-

3 24 MEMOIRS OF
barked in the concern, or of his Excellency, who
shared with him in the adventure.
Such were the pleasures and the pursuits of
the English envoy, at a time when his couHtry
was embarked in a tremendous conflict with the
foes of order abroad, and struggling hard to
prevent anarchy at home.
In the summer of the next year the French
republicans succeeded in frightening the timid
cabinet of Madrid into a separate peace ; but
the negotiations were so secretly carried on,
that the other powers had no apprehension of
such an alienation. Lady Hamilton, however,
had the merit of discovering the design before
it actually became public, and she lost no time
in communicating the intelligence to the nearest
commander, who happened to be Captain
Nelson. The manner in which this extraordinary
woman obtained possession of this important
state secret indicated uncommon quickness of
penetration, and great readiness in the choice of
means for the accomplishment of her object.
Being one day with the king when a packet of
letters was brought to him from Spain, she per
ceived that while he carelessly threw down all
as he glanced over them, there was one, which
after fixing his attention for some moments he

LADY HAMILTON. 125
carefully put into his pocket. Rightly thinking
that this epistle contained some intelligence of
peculiar importance, her Ladyship the same day
bribed the page to take it from his master's pocket
during his afternoon's sleep. Having read and
hastily copied this letter, which apprized Ferdi
nand of the intended peace with France, and
consequent rupture with England, she gave it
again to the page, and sent off a dispatch to
Captain Nelson.'
'^ The whole of this story is sheer romance. An im
portant letter from the King of Spain to his brother, the
King of Naples, informing the latter of the intention of
Spain to join France against England, was received in 1796,
and secured by Lady Hamilton, according to the account
given by Lord Nelson in the well-known codicil to his-
will, written on the morning of the battle of Trafalgar.
But it is more likely that the letter, being opened by the
Queen of Naples, was by her sent to Lady Hamilton for
the information of her husband, as, under the cover of
familiar correspondence with her, all political intelligence
that the queen considered of importance to the English
government was transmitted to the ambassador. A letter
from the queen to Lady Hamilton, dated April 29, 1795 (?)•
(published in Pettigrew's "Life of Nelson," vol. 2),
clearly established this. It commences : " My very dear
Lady, — My head is so confused, and my spirits so agitated,
that I know not what to do. I hope to see you to-morrow
morning about ten o'clock. I send you a letter in cypher,
come from Spain— which must be returned before twelve
o'clock, so that the king may have it. There are some

T26 MEMOIRS OF
After this defection of one of our allies, and
a general treachery or imbecility in the rest, it
was found that we had little chance of pre
serving the Italian states, when they were so
entirely dead to their own honour and interest.
Naples, indeed, was one of the last powers that
concluded an armistice with the French, which
was followed by a treaty, in consequence of the
departure of the British fleet from the Mediter
ranean ; and the king on this occasion wrote a
letter to Admiral Sir John Jervis, in which he
lamented this proceeding very bitterly, and be
held the ruin of his kingdom in the retreat of
the British fleet. But as an ingenious writer, in
his account of these events, observes, " The
court of Naples, owing to the spirit of the
queen, who at that time was convulsed at the
name of a Frenchman, appeared ready for
making exertions for the support of the good

facts very interesting to the English government, which I
wish to communicate to them, to show my attachment to
them, and the confidence I feel in the worthy chevalier.
I only beg of him not to compromise me." This is pro
bably the identical letter that Lady Hamilton " bribed the
page to take from his master's pocket during his afternoon
sleep — read and hastily copied," as stated in the text.
It is not at all likely that she had to give herself so much
trouble ; and the date of the letter should possibly be
1796, instead of the preceding year.

LADY HAMIL TON. 1 2 7
cause : but a variety of reasons prevented
this court from acting with a corresponding
degree of energy. The nation was loyal, but
its government had grown feeble : and its
statesmen had no fixed principle of Integrity." '
' Life of Lord Nelson, by the Rev. J. S. Clarke, &c.,
vol. i. p. 251.

CHAPTER IX.

Nothing is more easy than to find
fault with others, but it is vain and-
useless, unless it tend to the correction
or prevention of similar errors. Plutarch,

HE peace which the Neapolitan
cabinet concluded with the
French republic, at the close
ofthe year 1796, was far from
ameliorating the condition of
the nation, or correcting the
evils of the government. The king was cha
grined, indeed, by a measure into which his
necessities had driven him, and the queen was
disgusted at the appearance in her capital of
those revolutionary leaders, who in their own
country had brought some of her nearest rela
tions to the scaffold. But these feelings were
nothing more than the agitation of impassioned

MEMOIRS OF LADY HAMILTON. 1 2 9
minds, mortified at sustaining a disgrace which
they wanted fortitude to prevent, and virtue to
improve. Their Sicilian majesties were indig
nant at the insolencies of the French generals,
and alarmed at the Intrigues which were carried
on In their territories by the emissaries of that
nation. They had also but too much reason to
apprehend that the plan of republicanizing all
Italy was completely determined upon, though,
according to the wonted perfidy of the Direc
tory, it was evident, that previous to the ac
complishment of this object, each of the states
would be exhausted of its wealth, and then cast
aside like a squeezed orange.
Yet with these existing evils, by which they
were surrounded, andthe gulf of ruin yawning
before them, the court of Naples, and those who
were in the administration of affairs, still con
tinued to pursue their accustomed circle of
dissipation, neither changing their own manners,
nor instituting any regulations for the good of
the people. Much as the violence and rapacity
of the French must be detested by every liberal
mind, and despicable as their pretences to liberty
truly were, still it cannot be denied that their
progress In many countries had a tendency to
open the eyes of the inhabitants to those abuses
which facilitated the success of there publicans,
10

130 MEMOIRS OF
and gave them so many advantages over ancient
establishments. The lower orders of the people
could not help repining at their own degraded
condition, nor avoid observing the corruptions
of their rulers, who were without energy to
prevent danger, and, when it came, had no
sentiment of feeling for any but themselves.
No nation can sink so completely into ig
norance and imbecility, as to render the mass of
the population wholly indifferent to oppression,
or contented with their own abject poverty,
while they see their lords rioting at ease, and
indulging in every luxury.
So long as Naples enjoyed the advantages,
political and commercial, of an alliance with
Great Britain, the inhabitants had many sources
of profit, the benefit of which made the greater
part less sensible of the radical evils of their
government, and careless about the scandalous
immoralities ofthe court. But when the march
of the French produced a stagnation of trade,
and frightened away from their shores the gay
and the wealthy, the invalids who courted health,
and the young who came for pleasure, it was
impossible that the Neapolitans, who had been
accustomed for so many years to derive from
these migrations the most substantial advantages,
should not be sensibly affected by the loss
which they had sustained.

LAD Y HAMILTON.

131

In this state of things, by which industry was
paralyzed, and mendicity increased, the higher
ranks remained unmoved at the distresses which
prevailed around them, nor once stopped to
consult upon the means of averting the destruc
tion which was advancing with rapid strides
upon the nation. The retrenchment of useless
expenditure, combined with a vigorous system
of legislation, and an attention to the wants of
the poor, might have done much at this crisis in
conciliating the people, and stimulating them to
the defence of their country Instead of all this,
matters were suffered to become worse every
day, and an army of spies was kept up to ob
serve the conduct of families, and the discourse
of individuals. Amidst all this public distress
and private suffering, the palace of Caserta
exhibited the same festivities and revelries, to
call them by no worse a name, that had defiled
this royal residence In former times. Many
persons were taken up, and cast Into the various
prisons of the kingdom, under the general
charge of being republicans or jacobins : but
though it is probable that some of these cha
racters might have been poisoned by the doctrine
of equality, which then prevailed, their errors
will not excuse the oppressions of the govern
ment by whom these deluded beings were incar-

132 MEMOIRS OF
cerated in gloomy dungeons, for no other offence
than their opinions. Such was the mode by
which the weak rulers of this state vainly
thought to suppress the murmurs of the people,
and to prevent a revolution. Being destitute oF
public and private virtue, they were mistrustful
of all around them, and naturally concluded,
from the cast of their own minds, that the rest
of mankind were as vicious as themselves.
Severity, perhaps, might in some instances
have been necessary for the general safety, but_
nothing could be more unjust, than to drag
poor men from the bosom of their famihes, load
them with irons, and imprison them without a
hearing, while thousands of thieves were living
under the protection of the government, and
midnight assassins were let off with a compara
tively trifling punishment. Such was the actual
state of Naples at the period of which we are
speaking ; and yet, though the queen was active
in these efforts to keep down the progress of
free inquiry, she has found admirers and apolo
gists even in this country. To her courteous
manners and uncommon ingenuity alone can
this partiality be ascribed ; for as sovereign
princes seldom descend to a familiar intercourse
with persons of inferior station, the reception
which strangers experienced at the court of

LAD Y HAMILTON. 1 33
^Naples, where they were entertained with re-
jmarkable hospitality, made them blind to the
deformities of the state, the depravity of the
great, and the miseries of the people. In the
oppressions which were exercised, as well as In
the follies that were practised, the wife of the
English ambassador had a leading concern, and
¦she frequently urged on the mind of the queen
the necessity of vigorous measures against those
who propagated calumnies to the disadvantage
•of the royal character, and doctrines calculated
to awaken In the people a sense of their degra
dation. That her Sicilian majesty should be
deeply impressed by these representations was
.natural, considering the deplorable fate of her
own sister, the unfortunate Maria Antoinette of
France ; nor was she to be blamed for pursuing
such a course as appeared to be most likely to
prevent a similar calamity In her own kingdom.
But she should have considered that the only
•effectual method of securing the loyalty of the
people, was by rendering herself deserving ofit,
and studying to improve their condition and
morals. Both the queen and her adviser were
bitter enemies to the revolutionary principles,
and inflexibly bent on the destruction of those
who had the effrontery to assert the right of
subjects to Investigate and censure the conduct

134 MEMOIRS OE
of their rulers. Lady Hamilton and her hus
band never failed in their interviews with the
King and Queen of Naples to dwell on the
advantages which England had experienced in
the prompt and vigorous steps that had been.
taken to repress sedition, and to check the pro
jects of those who aimed to subvert the consti
tution. All this had a very powerful effect
upon minds already alarmed for their safety,
and conscious that their subjects had but too
much reason to complain. But there was a wide
difference between the two nations ; and the
proceedings adopted in England for the preser
vation of the public tranquillity were the result
of legislative inquiry, and strictly within the
letter and spirit of the constitution, while in
Naples private resentment and personal ani
mosity might easily be gratified under the
pretence of guarding against the dangerous
designs of the disaffected. Besides, in that
country, the objects of suspicion or dislike were
separated from their friends, and without legal
advice, which indeed could be of no service in
a state where it depended on the will of the
government whether these unfortunate persons
should have the advantage of a trial or not.
Lady Hamilton has been immoderately praised
for her fidelity to the Queen of Naples, and for

LADY HAMIL TON. 1 3 5
her zeal in opposition to the revolutionary de
signs of those who were inimical to monarchy.
It would, however, have been a far more
honourable testimony, to have recorded her
exertions in the cause of humanity, and her
interference on the behalf of those sufferers who
were experiencing the vengeance of a corrupt
and arbitrary ministry. At all events, it was
little to the credit either of her Ladyship or her
husband, that the British character should be so
injured, as to be charged with countenancing
measures that would have disgraced Constanti
nople or Morocco.
When the ascendency of the French could no
longer be prevented, nor their demands refused,
the state prisoners at Naples, who had been
confined on suspicion of having sinister designs
against the public peace, were brought to a
hearing, and discharged. It is not improbable
that the republicans carried themselves at this
time with a consummate degree of arrogance,
nor is it unlikely but that some of those who on
this occasion experienced their fraternal kindness
were dangerous characters, and actuated by the
worst of motives. Nothing, however, in the
conduct of the one or the other could justify
the unfeeling language of Lady Hamilton to
Admiral Nelson, in a letter dated from Naples,

136 MEMOIRS OF
the 30th of June, 1798. " The jacobins have
all been lately declared innocent, after suffering
four years' imprisonment ; and I know they all
deserved to be hanged long ago : and since
Garrat ' has been here, and through his insolent
letters to Gallo, these pretty gentlemen, that
had planned the death of their majesties, are to
be let out on society again. In short, I am
afraid all is lost here ; and I am grieved to the
heart for our dear charming queen, who deserves
a better fate I "
This passage furnishes a complete evidence of
the share which our countrywoman had in the
internal concerns of that kingdom, and, what is
worse, of the bad manner in which her influence
was exercised. An abhorrence of jacobinism,
when properly understood, was laudable ; and a
tenderness for the interests of the queen did
credit to one who had experienced so much of
her kindness. But it is shocking to see with
what levity this woman could speak of an im
prisonment of four years, without a trial, in a
country like Naples, where the murderer had
more chance of meeting with lenity than a man
of principle, whose only crime was that of
' The French Minister at Naples, and " a most im
pudent, insolent dog," according to another letter of Lady
Hamilton.

LAD Y HAMILTON.

'37

baving so much stern virtue as to reprehend
boldly the errors of government.
In this letter to the English admiral, her
Ladyship speaks most indignantly of the French
encroachments, and her conviction that " the
•court of Naples would be obliged to declare
war. If they meant to save their country."
Sir William Hamilton was also convinced of
the great danger which menaced that kingdom
about the same time, and of the only hope
¦which remained to its ministers ; for in a letter to
Earl St. Vincent,' then commanding our fleet In
' Lady Hamilton also, doubtless with the approval and
knowledge of the queen, wrote to Lord St. Vincent, giving
him a piteous account of the daily troubles and vexations
¦of her Majesty, and urging and imploring him to take
speedy measures for the protection and safety of her friend
and the royal family. The high-flown reply of the
Admiral to this appeal was more in the style of Don
Adriano de Armado, than in that of the stern and un
bending disciplinarian who commanded the British fleet.
On May 22, 1708, he wrote : " My dear Madam, — I feel
myself highly honoured and flattered by your ladyship's
charming letter. The picture you have drawn of the
lovely Queen of Naples and the Royal Family, would
rouse the indignation of the most unfeeling of the creation
at the infernal designs of those devils, who, for the scourge
of the human race, govern France. I am bound by my
oath of chivalry to protect all those who are persecuted
and distressed, and I would fly to the succour of their
Sicilian Majesties, was I not positively forbid to quit my

138 MEMOIRS OF
the Mediterranean, his Excellency says, " Not
withstanding its apparent peace with the French
republic, this monarchy is threatened with im
mediate destruction. The last message from
the French Directory at Paris was exactly the
language of a highwayman — ' Deliver your
money, or I will blow your brains out.' As it
is natural for a person in danger of drowning to
catch at every twig, your Lordship will see that
the greatest hope this government entertains of
being saved frdm impending danger, is in the
protection of the king's fleet under your Lord
ship's command."
But the court of Naples had no right to look
for such a support, after having acted with so>
much indifference to the great cause in which it
had embarked with the other allies, at a time
when the encroachments of the French might
have been stopped by a cordial co-operation on
the part of the confederated powers, and by the
fiall exertion of all their means for the restora
tion of order to distracted Europe. A rein
forcement, however, was sent to the British
post before Cadiz. I am happy, however, to have a knight.
of supreme prowess in my train, who is charged with this
enterprise, at the head of as gallant a band as ever drew
sword or trailed pike. — Your true knight, and devoted
humble servant, St. Vincent."

LADY HAMILTON. 139
commander, and a separate squadron, under
Nelson, was detached to watch the motions of
an armament then preparing for sea at Toulon,
That officer lost no time in apprizing Sir William
Hamilton of his appointment : and It is but
justice to the latter to say that he manifested
great activity in fiirthering the views of his
friend, and the good of the service. The
expedition at Toulon naturally excited much
alarm at Naples ; and when it appeared off that
coast, conjecture was very busy about its des
tination : but Buonaparte relieved the king, by
a message stating that his fleet had another
object than Sicily. Nelson, In his pursuit,
touched also at the bay of Naples, merely to
gain Intelligence, and to request the assistance
of some light vessels, of which he was in want.
On this business he employed Captain Trou-
brldge : and here we are under the disagreeable
necessity of copying a tale from the Life of
Nelson, which was manufactured under the
direction of Lady Hamilton shortly after the
death of the hero. According to this account,
Troubridge was sent to obtain permission for
the British fleet to victual and water in any
of the Sicilian ports; " With this view," says
the author of the narrative, " the captain
reached Naples at five in the morning, when-

140 MEMOIRS OF
Sir William Hamilton immediately arose, and
communicated on the business with the king of
the Two Sicilies and General Acton ; who, after
much deliberation, agreed that nothing could
possibly be done which might endanger their
peace with the French republic. Lady Hamil
ton, in the meantime, aware what would be the
decision, and convinced, by all she heard from
Captain Troubridge, of the importance to the
British fleet, as well as to the real security of
the Neapolitan and Sicilian territories, that the
ports of these countries should by no means be
•closed against those who were alone able to
protect them from the force or perfidy of
General Buonaparte ; without consulting any
thing but her own correct judgment, and well-
intentioned heart, she contrived to procure from
some being of a superior order, sylph, fairy,
magician, or other person skilled in the occult
sciences, as many in Naples, aswell as elsewhere,
positively profess themselves to be, a small as
sociation of talismanic characters, fraught with
such magical and potential influence in favour
¦of the possessor, that the slightest glance of the
mystic charm no sooner saluted the eye of the
.Sicilian or Neapolitan governor, than he was in
capable of regarding any other object except
what the bearer presented to his dazzled view.

LADY HAMILTON. 141
or of hearing any other Injunction but that
which the same person addressed to his aston
ished ear ; while his tongue was, at the same
time. Impelled to secrecy, by the dread of an
assured death. Possessed of this treasure. Sir
Horatio had immediately sailed ; but, as his
possession of this talisman was to remain a pro
found secret, till those periods should arrive
when It must necessarily be produced, the same
sort of correspondence continued to be kept up
between the parties, as if no such favour had
been conferred on the hero by any friendly en
chantress whatever."
The language in which this story Is told
perfectly corresponds with the credit that is due
to It ; for in none of the Arabian romances Is a
wilder fiction to be found. But it is necessary
to complete the fable, from the only authority
on ¦wrhich it rests. After relating the unsuccess
ful search of Nelson in his first visit to the
coast of Egypt, and his return to Sicily, as well
for refreshment as in quest of the enemy, the
writer gives this extraordinary relation : —
" Such instructions had been sent to the
Governor of Syracuse, through the preponder-
ancy of French interest at this period, that he
would have found it difficult even to enter, and
probably have obtained little or no refreshment of

142 ¦ MEMOIRS OF
any kind, though much was absolutely necessary,
¦had he not, very fortunately, experienced the
beneficial effects of Lady Hamilton's powerful
influence, secretly exerted, in the only quarter
which was not rendered impenetrable, by the
¦menacing insinuations of the then Gallic resident
at Naples. It was the assistance he now pro
cured, by virtue of the talismanic gift received
from Lady Hamilton, and without which he
could not, in any reasonable time, have pursued
the French fleet, and possibly might never have
come up with them, that he so solemnly recog
nized, a short time before his death, as to make
it the subject of a codicil annexed to his will, in
which he expressly bequeaths that lady to the re
muneration of his country''^
True it is, that this great man did so recom
mend her Ladyship to the gratitude of the
nation, and equally true it is that she continued
through life to abuse the government for not
conferring on her a pension adequate to the
extraordinary services which she affected to have
rendered on this as well as on other occasions.
In her own memorial to the minister, she ob
serves, " The fleet itself, I can truly say, could
not have got into Sicily, but for what I was
happily able to do with the Queen of Naples,
' Harrison's Life of Nelson, Vol. i. pp. 244, 252.

LAD Y HAMIL TON. 143
and through her secret instructions, so obtained
on which depended the refitting of the fleet in
•Sicily, and, with that, all which followed so
gloriously at the Nile." ^
According to this story, the claims of Lady
Hamilton were of a very strong nature ; and
many persons have, In consequence, been dis
posed to censure the successive administrations
•of the country for a supposed injustice to her
Ladyship, and disrespect to the memory ofthe
' Though empowered by his instructions to take by
orce any supplies he needed from the Sicilian ports
Nelson was thoroughly convinced that by the instigation
of Lady Hamilton, a secret letter was written by the
Queen of Naples "to all governors of the Two Sicilies,"
¦ordering them to receive the British fleet with hospi
tality, and that in consequence of this he was willingly
¦furnished with all that he required at Syracuse. On the
last day of his life he wrote in the noted codicil to his
will. " The British fleet under my command could never
have returned the second time to Egypt had not Lady
Hamilton's influence with the Queen of Naples caused
letters to be wrote to the Governor of Syracuse, that he
was to encourage the fleet being supplied with everything,
.should they put into any port in Sicily." That the queen, in
opposition to the king and council, who through fear of
the French had decided that but three or four English
:ships should be adraitted into any Sicilian port, privately
£ent a letter or letters in favour of Nelson, is generally
granted, but the part really taken by Lady Hamilton in
the matter has been the subject of much discussion, and
Temains doubtful.

144 MEMOIRS OF
illustrious friend who took so lively a concern
in her interests. But if Nelson himself was
deceived by female artifice, of which, unhappily,
too many proofs are blended with his brilliant
exploits, the dispassionate reader will not be'
disposed to charge the British government with
ingratitude, for having rejected those preten
sions, though they came supported by the
powerful weight of his authority. On this
account, therefore, a few words will be necessary,
that an opprobium so injurious to the national
character may be removed, and that future
historians may avoid staining their pages by
quotations from fabulous narratives.
When Nelson sailed in quest of the enemy,
he received considerable assistance from Sir
William Hamilton ; who was in the confidence
of the King of Naples, and the intimate friend
of the Minister Acton. Ample means were at
the disposal of our ambassador for the good
of the service, and he employed them well on
the present occasion ; by keeping small vessels
on the lookout along the coasts, and active
agents employed in various parts of Sicily..
The Neapolitan cabinet, or at least that part
of it which had the conduct of affairs under the
queen's influence, had, many months before this
period, made an urgent application to the Court

LAD Y HAMILTON.

MS

of London for assistance, and the presence of
a British fleet. When the squadron, therefore,
arrived, and in such force as to relieve, in
a great degree, those states from their fears,
who were most apprehensive of falling beneath
the republican dominion, the government of
Naples must have been wholly regardless of its
fate, if it had withheld such assistance from
its deliverers as could be supplied without any
hazard. So far indeed were their Sicilian Ma
jesties fi-om wanting the inclination to grant
what was required in the first instance, that an
immediate consultation was held on the subject,
and various instructions were sent to different
parts of the kingdom, enjoining the respective
authorities to afford all the relief in their power
to the English fleet. Policy, indeed, was used
in this business ; and while public orders were
sent for the purpose of satisfying the French
ministers, private injunctions were dispatched,
not only to the municipal officers in the several
districts, but likewise to many noblemen, and
others, whose loyalty could be relied on, and
who were known to be ardently affected to the
English. There was, however, no need to " spur
a free courser ; " for the Sicilians, both high
and low, had such a rooted animosity to the
French, that it would have been impossible to
II

146 MEMOIRS OF
have restrained them from contributing the most
prompt and efficient aid to our ships, on their
arirval in any of their ports. Such indeed was
the fact ; for no sooner did Nelson appear off
Syracuse, than his fleet was surrounded with
boats and vessels of all descriptions, laden with
articles of provision. The stores of private
houses were opened to supply his necessities, and
every peasant in the mountains was happy to
bring down the produce of his garden and his
vineyard, for the comfort of the English. But
had it been otherwise, and had French influence
¦so far prevailed over common humanity in this
instance, every one who knows the naval power
of this country will be convinced, that neither
water nor other articles of life would be wanting,
w^here guns could command respect, and money
procure a supply.' It is not meant to deny
that the British envoy acted with a be
coming energy on this occasion ; or that his
wife failed to use her influence, both at Naples
' By the secret orders of the Admiralty to Nelson, he
¦was instructed — "to treat as hostile any ports within
the Mediterranean (Sardinia excepted) when provisions
•or other articles you may be in want of, and which
they may be enabled to furnish, shall be refused;" and
by the " Additional Instructions " of Lord St. Vincent
he was advised that — " their Lordships expect a favour
able neutrality from Tuscany and the Two Sicilies ; in

LADY HAMILTON. 147
and in Sicily, for the advancement of her friend's
wishes, and the good of the cause in which
he was engaged. The part which Sir William
H^amilton took was consistent with the duties
¦of his station, and his lady assisted him in
the business with her wonted activity and ad
dress. But when this Is granted, no more
remains to be claimed ; for an accredited minister
¦could not well have done less, without subject
ing both himself and his employers to censure.
That the fleet of Nelson was more quickly
victualled than it otherwise would have been,
through the exertions of the ambassador, and
the friendship that subsisted between Lady
Hamilton and the queen, may be true ; but
that without their interference no supplies could
have been obtained in Sicily, or an admission
into its ports permitted, is too gross for belief
The English admiral, with an inferior force,
had, not long before, entered Sardinia in distress ;
and yet he paid no respect to the prohibition
that was issued by that monarch against the
admission of our ships into his harbours. It
any event you are to extract supplies of whatever you
may be in want of, from the territories of the Grand
Duke of Tuscany, the King of the Two Sicilies, the
•Ottoman territory, Malta, and the ci-devant Venetian
•dominions, now belonging to the Emperor of Germany."

148 MEMOIRS OF
is not, therefore, to be credited, that this in
trepid officer would have hesitated for a moment
in acting with the same promptitude at Sicily,
if a churlish spirit and vacillating policy had
presumed to thwart him in his great purpose,
by withholding fi-om his squadron that supply
which he could have obtained on the instant,
without asking leave of the governor, or availing
himself of any other influence than that which
he commanded.
The gallant admiral was indeed persuaded
that her Ladyship had rendered him great ser
vice in his search after the French fleet, and he
had perhaps a commendable wish to procure
for her a substantial benefit from the British
government; but it is to be lamented, that,
for the attainment of this object, anything-
like art or exaggeration should have been.
practised. Lady Hamilton did not want fi-iends in power-
to bring forward her case in the strongest
manner, which would in all probability have
been successful, had she been contented with.
resting her plea for a pension on the simple
ground of her husband's long services, without
setting up pretensions of her own, and such
as could not stand a strict investigation : but
when the assumption was made, she lost that

LAD Y HAMILTON. 149
interest which otherwise might have been
•exerted in her behalf Ministers could not,
«ven with their utmost incUnation to do honour
to the sentiments of Nelson, sanction what was
manifestly a perversion of facts, and which,
if true to any extent, would have been a re
flection on the character of an envoy, whose
years and experience rendered him too respect
able to suffer such a stain on his memory, as
must have been the case if a grant had been
made to his wife, for a public service which
it belonged to him to discharge. They who
demand more than is their due, are always in
danger of losing what they might have gained
by candour and moderation ; since it is in the
jiature of things that we should examine
marrowly into the conduct of those who en
deavour to take an advantage of our credulity.
There was something in the nature of this
•claim so important, as connected with the
national glory, that an explicit statement, and
an accurate detail of circumstances, became
.necessary for the purpose of showing its truth
.and Its value. Instead of this, the writer of
the Life of Nelson, who was hired to set
•off the subject to the best advantage, found
Jiimself so embarrassed, that he could not ven-
iture to tell his story in an unvarnished manner ;

ISO MEMOIRS OF
but he clothed it in a fantastical drapery, suited
to the pantomimic trick in which he was con
scious of being an agent.
The victory of Aboukir diffiised a general
joy over the countries which had been trem
bling at the gigantic progress of the new re
public. Naples felt as if she had been released
fi-om the grasp of the destroyer ; and the
honourable Captain Capel, who touched there
in his way home with the dispatches, gave this
account of his reception to the admiral : "I
am totally unable. Sir, to express the joy that
appeared in every countenance, and the bursts
of applause and acclamations we received.
The queen and Lady Hamilton fainted : in
short. Sir, they all hail you as the saviour of
Europe." The conqueror himself, in a letter to Lady
Nelson, thus described the feelings of the
Queen of Naples, and the exultation that
prevailed in consequence of his achievement :
" The kingdom of the Two Sicilies is mad witL
joy : from the throne to the peasant, all are
alike. According to Lady Hamilton's letter,.
the situation of the queen was truly pitiable :
I only hope I shall have not to be witness to-
a renewal of it. I give you Lady Hamilton's.
own words : ' How shall I describe the trans-

LADY HAMILTON. 1 5 r
ports of the queen ? ' Tis not possible : she
cried, kissed her husband, her children : walked.
frantic about the room ; cried, kissed, and em
braced every person near her ; exclaiming,
O brave Nelson I O God bless and protect
our brave deliverer I O Nelson, Nelson ! what
do we not owe you ! O victor, saviour of Italy I
O that my swoln heart could now tell him
personally what we owe to him 1 ' "
It Is observable, however, that at this time
Nelson had a repugnance to visit Naples for
the purpose of refitting his ships ; and, in a
letter to Lord St. Vincent, he says of his voyage
thither, " I detest It ; and nothing but absolute
necessity could force me to the measure. Syracuse
in future, whilst my operations lie on the eastern
side of Sicily, is my port, where every refi-esh-
ment may be had for a fleet."
Naturally fond as the hero was of pleasure,
and vain of honours, he seems, at this period,
to have dreaded that seat of dissipation to which
he was now approaching, and where the syren,
by whom his life became afterwards ruled, was
then preparing her softest allurements and most
powerful enchantments. The reception which
the admiral experienced at Naples is thus de
scribed in a letter to his lady, for whom he still
continued to cherish the fondest affection, and

152 MEMOIRS OF
to whom he delighted to impart the sentiments
by which he was actuated, and the occurrences
which distinguished his eventful life :
" The poor, wretched Vanguard arrived here
on the 22nd of September. I must endeavour
to convey to you something of what passed :
but if it were so affecting to those only who
were united to me by bonds of friendship,
what must it be to my dearest wife, my
friend, my everything which is most dear to
me in this world ? Sir William and Lady
Hamilton came out to sea, attended by numer
ous boats, with emblems, &c. They, my most
respectable friends, had really been laid up and
seriously ill ; first from anxiety, and then from
Joy. It was imprudently told Lady Hamilton
in a moment, and the effect was like a shot ;
she fell apparently dead, and is not yet perfectly
xecovered from severe bruises. Alongside came
my honoured friends : the scene in the boat was
terribly affecting : up flew her Ladyship ; and,
exclaiming, ' O God, is it possible ! ' she fell
into my arms, more dead than alive Tears,
however, soon set matters to rights ; when
alongside came the king. The scene was, in
its way, as interesting : he took me by the hand,
calling me his deliverer and preserver, with
every other expression of kindness. In short.

LAD Y HAMILTON. 153
all Naples calls me Nostro Liberatore. My
greeting from the lower classes was truly affect
ing. I hope some day to have the pleasure of
introducing you to Lady Hamilton : she is one
of the very best women in the world : she is
an honour to her sex. Her kindness, with Sir
William's, to me, is more than I can express.
I am In their house ; and I may now tell you,
it required all the kindness of my friends to
;set me up. Lady Hamilton intends writing to
you. May God Almighty bless you, and give
lis, in due time, a happy meeting ! "
The scene mentioned in this letter as having
been so terribly affecting, was no more than one
of those fine pieces of acting which fired the
brain of Romney, the painter, and made him
¦desirous of running into Sussex to bring up his
friend, the poet, to witness a performance which
he wanted words to describe. The truth is, that,
as the boat drew near to the Vanguard, Lady
Hamilton began to rehearse some of her thea
trical airs, and to put on all the appearance of a
tragic queen. There was a great swell, at this
time, in the bay ; and, just as the barge reached
the ship, the officer, who saw through her
affectation, exclaimed, with an oath, that, if she
did not immediately get up the side, the conse-
»quences might be dangerous ; for that he could

154 MEMOIRS OF
not be answerable for the safety of the boat.
On this, our heroine laid aside her part, till she
reached the gangway, where, instead of fainting
on the arm of Nelson, she clasped him in her
own, and carried him into the cabin, followed
by Sir William Hamilton, and the rest of the
company. Here the author of the historical romance,
which we have already been compelled to notice
more largely than could have been wished, re
lates a strange incident, which, as he says, would
have afforded abundant matter for observation in
the days of superstition; but which, without pre
viously ascertaining the fact, is gravely attempted
to be accounted for on natural principles.
" While the company were partaking of some
refreshment in the cabin of the Vanguard, a.
small bird familiarly perched on the admiral's
shoulder. On the circumstance being remarked
— ' It is,' said he, ' a very singular thing : this
bird came on board the day before the battle
of the Nile : and I have had other instances of
a bird's coming into my cabin previously to
former engagements.' This," adds the writer,
" is the most remarkable, as the same thing is
said to have afterwards happened prior to the
battle of Copenhagen." '
' Harrison, vol. i. p. 320.

LAD Y HAMILTON. 1 5 5
The narrator of this prodigy dismisses it by
supposing that these were merely birds of pas
sage, which mode of reasoning might be satis
factory enough for a solitary instance ; but
philosophy itself will be confounded by the
frequency of the recurrence on the eve of
different battles, in remote parts of the world.
But the story stands on too slender a basis to-
require either moral argument, or the aid of
science ; and It would have been creditable in
the writer of Nelson's life, had he suppressed
an anecdote for which he could adduce no legiti
mate authority. Supposing such a circumstance
to have occurred at Naples, it is accounted for
more rationally by what Is told, in this very
memoir, of the practice of the Lazzaroni, who
kept small birds in wicker cages, which on the
approach of the hero of the Nile they opened,
and gave the little prisoners their liberty. One
of these birds most probably entered the cabin
windows of the Vanguard, and attracted the
notice of the admiral ; but the rest of the story
carries too much the air of invention to merit
farther attention.
However commendable it might have been.
in any Individuals to show their gratitude by
some signal acts of liberality and splendour, for
the decided turn given to the affairs of Europe^

iS6 MEMOIRS OF
in the defeat of the French fleet on the coast of
Egypt, little can be said in praise of the ex
travagant shows, which, on this occasion, were
displayed by our ambassador at Naples. The
pageantry of these entertainments, and the pro
fusion of expense that was incurred, to gratify
an idle vanity, were wholly unworthy the
•character of that nation which this waste was
intended to honour. But the mummery ex
hibited by the British envoy in that capital was
equally impolitic and frivolous ; since, while it
was conceived in the spirit of the French, it
tended to irritate them and their friends more
bitterly against the Court of Naples.
The birthday of Nelson happening a little
after his arrival, furnished an occasion for a fete
which was given by Lady Hamilton ; and such
was the attention of the court, that though it
was a time of state mourning, the sables were,
by order, laid aside in honour of the day. In
a letter to Lady Nelson, dated September 28,
1798, the admiral says : —
" The preparations of Lady Hamilton for
celebrating my birthday to-morrow are enough
to fill me with vanity ; every ribbon, every
button has Nelson, &c. The whole service is
marked H. N. glorious first of August. Songs
and sonnetti are numerous beyond what I ever

LADY HAMILTON. 157
could deserve. I send the additional verse to ' God
save the King,' ' as I know you will sing it with
pleasure. I cannot move on foot, or in a car
riage, forthe kindness ofthe populace : but good
Lady Hamilton preserves all the papers as the
highest treat for you."
At this festive scene, which consisted of a
ball and supper, eighteen hundred persons are
said to have been entertained ; but the harmony
was somewhat interrupted by an altercation be
tween the admiral and his son-in-law, which.
might have been attended with serious conse
quences, if Captain Troubridge and another
officer had not conveyed the young man out of
the room.2 The occasion of this disturbance
' This additional verse, from the pen of Miss Knight
ran thus : — "Join we great Nelson's name.
First on the rolls of Fame,
Him let us sing.
Spread we his fame around.
Honour of British ground.
Who made Nile's shores resound,
God save the King."
2 This was Nelson's fortieth birthday, and the grand'
fete cost Sir W. Hamilton over 2,000 ducats. In the
saloon, underneath a magnificent canopy, was erected a
rostral column, bearing the words, '' Veni, Vidi, Vici,'
and the names of the heroes of the Nile. The feelings
of Captain Nisbet were excited by wine and anger, but a

158 MEMOIRS OF
was some intemperate language which Mr.
Nisbet incautiously applied to Lady Hamilton,
whom he accused in plain terms of having sup
planted his mother in the affections of the
admiral. The terms in which this accusation was con
veyed, and the time chosen for making it, cannot
certainly be justified ; but on the other hand it
ill became the lady who was the object of it to
relate the adventure at all, much less in a manner
that served to throw the whole odium upon the
indiscreet relative of her admirer, without the
slightest explication of the cause of that rude
behaviour which she was so careful to set forth
in the blackest colours in the life of the hero.
Whatever might be the conduct of the
young man who has been so severely censured,
and however much it is to be lamented that
he should not have deported himself with more
decorum ; still, if he had not perceived some
very unbecoming circumstances in the inter
course which excited his resentment, it is not
to be supposed that he would at a public
entertainment have provoked the vengeance of
reconciliation between him and his stepfather was efiiected
by the mediation of Sir W. and Lady Hamilton. Nisbet's
temper was probably quick, and his manners the reverse
of polished. See note at end of Chapter.

LAD Y HAMILTON. 159
his powerful friend by insulting the wife of the
English ambassador. Had not the consciences
of the parties been a little affected by the
course and unseasonable sarcasms which were
then thrown out, it is most reasonable to believe
that some degree of punishment would have
been inflicted, and a proper apology required
as an atonement for the outrage. On the
contrary, though Nelson was for the moment
highly exasperated, and the lady ever after
felt a rancorous hatred against Mr. Nisbet, they
both suppressed their emotions, and endeavoured
to soothe one whose observation they dreaded.
This was invariably the practice of the modern
Calypso, who no sooner discovered any symp
toms of jealousy or disgust in the friends of
the hero, than she immediately began to exert
ber diligence in flattering them by her assiduities
and attentions. Many instances might be ad
duced of this consummate art ; and thus it
was at the period of which we are speaking,
for instead of acting with the becoming dignity
-of Insulted virtue, she employed all her allure
ments to deceive the young man who had
branded her with the foulest Invective, and
she succeeded so well in her schemes, that
Nelson, writing to his wife shortly after the
•disagreeable scene which took place on his

i6o MEMOIRS OF
birthday fete, expressed himself in this language t
" The improvement made in Josiah by Lady
Hamilton is wonderfiil : your obligations and
mine are infinite on that score : not but Josiah's
heart is as good and as humane as ever was
covered with a human breast. God bless him,
I love him dearly, with all his roughness.".'
That this great commander acted with duplicity,
may perhaps to some appear too harsh a con
clusion, and yet it can hardly be denied that
his language and his conduct were somewhat
at variance at this time, for which the most
plausible account seems to be, that he was
now so completely under the influence of an
' Lady Hamilton in a letter to Lady Nelson, dated
the same month, December, 1 798, says : " Lord Nelson i&
adored here, and looked on as the deliverer of this
country. I need not tell your Ladyship how happy Sir
William and myself are at having an opportunity of
seeing our dear, respectable, brave friend return here,
with so much honour to himself and glory for his country.
We only wanted you to be completely happy. Josiah
is so much improved in every respect, we are all de
lighted with him. He is an excellent officer and very
steady, and one of the best hearts in the world. I love
him much, and although we quarrel sometimes, he loves
me, and does as I would have him. He is in the way
of being rich, for he has taken many prizes. He is
indefatigable in his line, never sleeps out of his ship,
and I am sure will make a very great officer.

Lab"^ MAMiiLTrciDR AS Bacc:

LADY HAMILTON. i6i
artful woman, as to have forgotten the respect
that was due to the dignity of his character.
Of this influence a striking proof appears in
a letter written by him to Earl St. Vincent
in which he says, " I believe Lady Hamlltorv
has written so fiilly, and, I will answer, so ablv
on all subjects, that but little remains for me to
say. Your commands respecting the queen
were executed with so much propriety, that
if I had never before had cause for admiration-
it must then have commenced. Her Lady
ship's and Sir William's inexpressible goodness
to me is not to be told by words, and it
ought to stimulate me to the noblest actions ;
and I feel it will."
The weakness manifested in this letter shows
how much the heart of the writer had been
affected by the wiles that were practised upon
him, and how strangely he was attached to the
interest of the queen, whose court he had not
long before characterized as completely Infamous.
The day after the entertainment which has
been just described, his Lordship, In a dispatch
to his commander-in-chief, thus expressed his
honest feelings : " I am very unwell, and the
miserable conduct of this court is not likely
to cool my irritable temper. It is a country of
fiddlers and poets, whores and scoundrels.''
12

i62 MEMOIRS OF
That Nelson should with such sentiments
continue to be fascinated by those who formed
a part of this wretched community, is greatly
to be lamented, but this instance serves to
prove that human nature is sure to be overcome
where a man has not fortitude enough to run
away from temptation. The valour which
" seeks reputation in the cannon's mouth " is
of a different quality from that calm and stedfast
virtue which resolutely opposes the blandish
ments of vice. Our brave commander, who
suffered himself, contrary to his better judgment,
to be lured into the circle of folly, saw plainljp--
enough that he was in a perilous con/iition,
and while he continued to be infatua/ted by
an attachment to the seat of pleasure, 'he had
the good sense to condemn the fri/volous
manners, and corrupt principles, of thosepersons
with whom he had a daily intercourse,-' \
It may however be wondered, that,' with-this
impression on his mind, he should s£ill remain
so strangely prepossessed in favour of those,
who, if they did not exactly correspond with
the description which he drew^ did at least
give their countenance to those characters, by
admitting them to their private parties and
public entertainments. Nelson could not have
known the Neapolitans sO exactly as to have

LAD Y HAMILTON. 1 63
painted them in the way he did, but through
the information which he obtained from his
English friends ; and therefore. If he had not
been as blind to their failings, as he was quick-
sighted to the deformities of others, he would
have despised them for their meanness and
bypocrlsy, in associating with persons, who,
in any other place, must have been expelled
from society. At an entertainment which was
given by the admiral on board of his own
ship to a large party of the Neapolitan nobility,
Lady Hamilton, in the midst of the feast, said
in a low voice to an officer now high in the
service, " In all that company before you, there
is not a woman that Is virtuous, nor a man
that does not deserve the gallows." Yet these
very persons were the chosen friends of the
ambassador and his wife. These made up the
assembly who celebrated the admiral's birthday ;
and these, in short, constituted that precious
set for whom he made the most dreadful
sacrifices. But if such was the court of Naples, their
conduct cannot be justified, who for many
years gave a particular sanction to the depravity
which prevailed there ; nor can any apology
be found for the attempts which were made
to uphold that system of corruption and oppres-

i64 MEMOIRS OF LADY HAMILTON.
sion, by the power of the British navy, and
by the influence of our national character.

NOTE.
Captain Josiah Nisbet was the only son of Dr..
Nisbet, of the island of Nevis, West Indies, who died
insane about eighteen months after his marriage. His.
widow, Frances, became the wife of Captain Nelson,
March iz, 1787, when her son Josiah was three years
old. He served as midshipman on board the Agamemnon'
(64), and as lieutenant in the Theseus (74), with his step
father, whose life he saved by binding his shattered.
arm when wounded in the disastrous attack upon Santa
Cruz, July 24, 1797. By the interest of Nelson he
was promoted, and appointed to the command of the
Dolphin, attached to the Mediterranean fleet. In Decem
ber, 1798, he was made post-captain, and commanded-
the Thalia (36), on the Mediterranean station. His
conduct was not considered satisfactory by Lord St.
Vincent, who made a complaint against him to his
stepfather. Early in January, 1799, Nelson, in a letter
to St. Vincent, said: "Let me thank you for your goodness
to Captain Nisbet, I wish he may deserve it ; the thought
half kills me;" and in another letter to Captain Ball, a few
months after : " I hope Captain Nisbet behaves properly ;-
he is now on his own bottom, and by his conduct must
stand or fall." The desired improvement evidently did not
take place, as in October of the sarae year. Nelson wrote
to Admiral Duckworth, concerning the Thalia : " I wish
I could say anything in her praise. Perhaps you may be
able to make something of Captain Nisbet, he has by his^
conduct almost broke my heart." Shortly afterward*
Captain Nisbet ceased to command the Thalia, and was
never more actively employed.

CHAPTER X.

Never did base and rotten policy
Colour her working with such deadly
wounds. Shaksfeake.

E^

1

HE naval victory gained on the
coast of Egypt, and the con
sequent disasters to which It
exposed the flower of the
French army, commanded by
the most fortunate of the re-
•volutionary generals, stimulated Austria to
¦embark in a new war, with the hope of crushing
the insolent republic. In this design it found
a willing ally in the court of Naples, which
¦engaged to raise eighty thousand men for the
-common cause. Ferdinand, Indeed, showed
more energy on this occasion than he had ever
displayed before, but unluckily his soldiers
wanted courage, and General Mack, their
commander, seems to have been deficient both

i66 MEMOIRS OF
in talents and honesty. The king marched
with thirty-two thousand men to Rome, but the
cowardice of his troops gave the enemy an
easy victory, and he was glad to hasten back
to his capital for the purpose of saving himself
and his family.
Nothing now remained for the court but to
remove to Sicily, which was effected by the
prompt assistance of Lord Nelson, whose
squadron was then fortunately lying in the bay.
Great address was requisite in the management
of this business ; but it is no more than justice
to Lady Hamilton to state that she displayed
throughout the whole of the concern an equai
degree of heroism and judgment. Having dis
covered a subterraneous passage, which led from
the royal apartments to the seashore, she ac
companied Lord Nelson one evening by this
way, and thus arranged secretly the proper steps
for conveying on board his ship the most valu
able of the property.
An accident, however, occurred, which had
very nearly proved fatal to the whole design,
for a bell having been touched, gave an alarm.
to a sentry at a little distance, who would have
gone to the place, had not her Ladyship, with
great presence of mind, hastened to the man
with an apology for unintentionally making the

LADY HAMILTON. 167
noise, and requesting him to avoid disturbing
the family. By this quickness, she succeeded
in preventing any discovery, and the conveyance
of the treasures through the passage to the boats
continued till the royal fugitives were ready for
their departure. Of these transactions, which
were obliged to be conducted with great privacy
to prevent giving any cause for suspicion to the
Neapolitans, an account was drawn up by Lord
Nelson himself, and transmitted to Earl St.
Vincent, from which it will be proper to extract
some particulars : —
" On the 14th of December," says his Lord
ship, " the Marquis de NIza, with three of
the Portuguese squadron, arrived from Leg
horn, as did Captain Hope, in the AlcmenCy
from Egypt. From that time the danger for
the personal safety of their Sicilian majesties was
daily Increasing ; and new treasons were found
out, even to the minister of war. The whole
correspondence relative to this important busi
ness was carried on with the greatest address,
by Lady Hamilton and the queen, who, having
been in constant habits of correspondence, no
one could suspect them. Lady Hamilton, from
that time to the 21st, every night received the
jewels of the royal family, &c., &c., and such
clothes as might be necessary for the very

!r58 MEMOIRS OF
large party about to embark, to the amount, I
am confident, of full two millions five hundred
thousand pounds sterling. On the i8th.
General Mack wrote that he had no prospect of
stopping the progress of the French, and en
treated their majesties to think of retiring from
Naples, with their august family, as expeditiously
as possible. From that day, various plans were
formed for the removal of the royal family from
the palace to the water-side. On the 19th
I received a note from General Acton, saying
that the king approved of my plan for their
embarkation. During that day, the 20th
and 2 1st of December, very large assemblies
of people were in commotion, and severa.
were killed. On the 21st, at half-past eight,
P.M., three barges, with myself and Captain
Hope, landed at a corner of the arsenal.
I went into the palace, and brought out the
whole royal family, put them in the boats, and
at half-past nine they were all safely on board
the Vanguard, Samnite, and Archimedes, with
about twenty sail of vessels, left the bay of
Naples. The next day it blew much harder
than I ever experienced since I have been at sea.
Your Lordship will believe my anxiety was not
lessened by the great charge that was with me ;
but not a word of uneasiness escaped the

LADY HAMILTON 169
Sips of any of the royal family. On the 25 th,
at nine, a.m.. Prince Albert, their majesties'
youngest child, having ate a hearty breakfast,
.was taken 111, and at seven, p.m., died in the
arms of Lady Hamilton. And here it is my
duty to tell your Lordship of the obligations
which the whole royal family, as well as myself,
were under, on this trying occasion, to her
Ladyship. They necessarily came on board
without a bed, nor could the least preparation
be made for their reception. Lady Hamilton
provided her own bed, linen, &c., and became
their slave ; for, except one man, no person be
longing to the court assisted the royal family.
At three, p.m., being in sight of Palermo, his
Sicilian majesty's royal standard was hoisted at
the main-top-gallant mast-head ofthe Vanguard.
At two, a.m., December 26th, we anchored,
and at five I attended her Majesty and all
the princesses on shore ; the queen being so
much affected by the death of Prince Albert,
that she could not bear to go on shore in a
public manner. At nine, his Majesty went on
shore, and was received with the loudest
acclamations, and apparent joy."
ThesCj Indeed, were the genuine effusions of
loyal attachment on the part of the Sicilians,
Tvho, having for many years groaned under a

170 MEMOIRS OF
wretched government, now entertained a con
fidence that the presence of the king among
them, and the establishment of his court at
Palermo, would ameliorate their condition, and
correct the abuses of which they had but too-
much reason to complain. The event proved,
however, that the minds of the weak and.
vicious are not changed by the difference of
situation, or improved commonly by the visita
tion of calamity. Their Sicilian majesties, and
the parasites around them, no sooner recovered.
a little from the fears which depressed their
spirits on leaving the ancient capital of their
dominions, than they began to indulge in those
habits to which that very loss was to be
attributed. Ferdinand found on this island an
abundant employment in shooting ; and his
queen, with Lady Hamilton, and other favourites,
sought relief in balls and card parties. V/hile
the inhabitants of Sicily were astonished at the
splendour and gaiety which prevailed, they were
mortified to perceive that nothing like a
reformation of public abuses took place, but
that, on the contrary, all posts of honour and
profit, as they became vacant, were conferred
on the Neapolitans. This scandalous policy
corresponded with the shameful extravagance
which marked the conduct of the court, though

LAD Y HAMILTON. 1 7 1
at the same time, every ducat was wanted for
the service of the state. To the miseries of the
lower orders, this profligate government was
wholly insensible, and, as Is usual with depraved
minds, Instead of reflecting on their errors, and
endeavouring to seek for some mode by which
to regain the goodwill of mankind, and to
obtain internal tranquillity, they had recourse to
amusements of the most frivolous kind, thinking
perhaps that such a course was an indication of
fortitude. But if they so deceived themselves,
It was Impossible that such proceedings could
succeed In imposing either upon the Inhabitants,
or the English who were compelled to witness
this round of licentiousness.
While these follies were acting in Sicily, the
city of Naples was in a state of such confusion,
that any man of patriotic sentiments might have
been of essential service. When the army
failed in its duty, the populace rose against the
French, drove in their advanced posts, and would
have succeeded in exterminating the whole, if a
man of enterprise had been at their head ; for
such was their energy and determination, that
when the invaders planted artillery in the streets,
the Lazzaroni rushed upon the guns, and stabbed
the soldiers. Still there was no virtue In this
zeal, though by judicious management it might

172 MEMOIRS OF
have been rendered beneficial to the cause of
general order, in destroying a horde of
marauders, who came into that country, as
they did everywhere else, for plunder and
ambition, under the pretence of liberty and
equality. The loyalty of the Neapolitans was not the
result of principle, but passion, and they hated
the French, because their progress indicated a
change of old customs, and the subversion of
institutions which the people regarded with
•superstitious reverence, though they neither
enjoyed any benefit from them, nor could offer
the smallest reason for their attachment.
There were many intelligent persons, on the
other hand, who hailed the entrance of the
French with delight, thinking that by the
instrumentality of these invaders, they should
be able to organize their country, and place it
¦on a respbctable footing among nations. Much
indulgence certainly is due to the revolutionists
•of Naples, though their patriotism was far from
that purity which in more enlightened parts has
guided the conduct of great and good men in
the arduous work of regenerating states, with
out having recourse to foreign assistance, or
internal violence.
Such, however, was the wretched condition

LADY HAMILTON. 175
of the kingdom, the imbecility of its govern
ment, and- the poverty of the people, that nO'
political change could well be for the worse ;
and therefore some excuse may be made for
those who were glad to avail themselves of any
means that offered for bringing In a new system,
by which it was at least possible that the
country would obtain some improvement..
When it is considered that the persons who-
entertained these sentiments, and who thought
it their duty to act upon them, were men of the
principal families in Naples, while the adherents
to the old order of things consisted for the most
part ofthe retainers of the court, and a lawless
rabble, we shall see some cause to respect the^
motives of the one, and to pity the folly of the
others. Nor should it be forgotten, that the
revolution in this nation, by which the govern
ment was changed from a weak monarchy into-
a romantic republic, was neither stained by
regicide, nor disgraced by persecution : and well
would it have been for the cause of humanity,
and the honour of the British character, if the
restoration of the sovereign, which was effected
solely by our navy, had been marked by equal
liberality and moderation.
It was no doubt our duty, as the ally of
Ferdinand, to re-establish him upon his throne,.

174 MEMOIRS OF
by freeing his country of the intruders ; but, in
doing this, great care and caution became neces
sary, to avoid meddling between him and any
description of his subjects. How this obvious
course of policy was regarded, now remains to
be shown ; for unfortunately the subject is so
necessarily interwoven with these memoirs, that,
to have passed it over in silence, or in a cursory
manner, would have been inconsistent with
truth and justice.
Cardinal Ruffo, the vicar-general of the
kingdom, and high in the confidence of Ferdi
nand, received a commission to use his exertions
in raising the Calabrese to arms, for the restora
tion of the monarchy. His Eminence acted in
this business with a zeal well suited to the
object which he had in view, and the character
¦of the people whose feelings he was employed
to rouse. With the cross in one hand, and the
sword in the other, he proclaimed a crusade
against the modern infidels ; and so powerful
were his exhortations, that he quickly gathered
to his standard a motley assemblage, which he
dignified with the title of the Christian army ; '
consisting of peasants, animated by an attach
ment to their country ; priests, fired with
^ Lord Nelson styled Ruffo — " the great devil who com
manded the Christian army."

LAD Y HAMIL TON. 1 7 5
¦enthusiasm for their religion ; and vagabonds,
who had no other principle than the love of
plunder. But whatever were the elements of
this crew, it cannot be denied that their leader
was legally authorized in the measures which
he adopted ; and, accordingly, as the representa
tive of his sovereign, he was assisted by the
British ships on the coast, together with the
Russians and the Turks, who formed part of
the alliance against the French republic.
The capture of Naples depended on the sur
render of the fortress of St. Elmo, which over
awes the town, and of the castles of Uovo and
Nuovo, which command the anchorage. The
first was in the possession of the French, and
the two last were garisoned by the Neapolitan
revolutionists. The forts were all strong by
nature, and well furnished with the means of
defence ; besides which, it was known that the
enemy had a powerful fleet in the Mediter
ranean, the object of which could hardly be
doubted. Under these circumstances, the
cardinal felt himself justified in consenting to
terms of capitulation with the Insurgents, by
which their persons and property were secured
on condition of surrendering up the castles
which they held. To this treaty the Russian,
Turkish, and British commanders were sub-

176 MEMOIRS OF
scribing parties ; but, thirty-six hours after the
agreement had been signed, and while the flag
of truce was yet flying on the Seahorse frigate.
Lord Nelson appeared in sight with his whole
squadron, and, by a signal, annulled the treaty
which had been regularly formed, and solemnly
ratified.' Thus by a spontaneous movement, without
inquiry or deliberation, the British admiral took
upon himself to abolish an agreement in which
he was not concerned, and over which he had
no legal control, even on the supposition that
the terms had been injurious to the rights of the
Sicilian crown. But, in truth, there was nothing
in the treaty itself that could justify this breach
of an express contract ; for in shielding the
revolutionists from the vengeance of the court,
which, like all vicious governments, was as
sanguinary in prosperity as it had been abject
in its fall, the cardinal acted with a moderation
' The greater part of the belligerents in the castles
were subjects of the King of Naples, but supporters of
the Parthenopeian Republic. On the arrival of Lord
Nelson, he, as the representative of Ferdinand, decided.
that the capitulation could not be carried into effect
without the sanction of that sovereign, as Cardinal
Ruffo had exceeded his powers, and disobeyed his instruc
tions in granting terms to rebels ; he being empowered to
grant no terms but those of unconditional surrender.

LADY HAMILTON. 177
which did him honour, and a policy that re
flected credit on his understanding. In the
cabin of Lord Nelson's ship, he defended, with
energy, the treaty, which he had full authority,
by his commission, to enter into ; and which
our admiral unquestionably could not abrogate
by any other plea than that of power. A long
altercation took place. In which Sir William and
Lady Hamilton acted as interpreters, but with
out making any impression on the cardinal, who
could not, on common principles of morality,
allow that the breach of faith was vindicated by
the bad characters of those to whom a pledge
of indemnity had been given. Much abuse has
been thrown on this man, both by the admirers
of Lord Nelson and by the advocates of demo
cracy ; the one endeavouring to screen the hero
from the reproach which this transaction has
cast on his memory, by the supposed treachery
of the cardinal ; while the others have, with
equal truth, aspersed Ruffo as the unprincipled
tool of a despotic government. But when the
whole of the history is examined with that
calmness which becomes every inquiry into
moral actions, it will appear that the man's
views, in the present instance, were such as
indicated an enlarged mind, equally honest,
humane, and independent. Had the cardinal
13

178 MEMOIRS OF
been of that trimming disposition which he is
described by one party, he would not have
opposed the royal will and Nelson's declaration
in the manner he did ; and if his Eminence was
really the worthless being his enemies have
painted, it was easy for him to have devised
some means to save his interest with the court,
by allowing that he had acted without sufficient
authority. Instead of this, the cardinal adhered
inflexibly to the measure, on the simple ground,
that it could not be departed from without
infamy ; which surely was a strange degree of
obstinacy in a man who is represented as of a
shuffling disposition, and void of all honourable
feeling. But let the cardinal have been as bad as
possible, he conducted himself, in this instance,
with a much more lively sense of just dealing
than those who thought proper to destroy that
treaty which he and three other official persons,
acting as the representatives of their govern
ments, had entered into for the general good.
Should it be said, that too much notice has been
taken of this transaction, which has eclipsed the
reputation of our naval hero beyond the possi
bility of justification, it is sufficient to observe
that Nelson was now under an influence, which,
unfortunately for his fame, led him aside from
that course of duty, a perseverance in which

LADy HAMILTON. 179
would have preserved him from many other
¦errors. No sooner was the court of Naples in
a state by which it was enabled to exercise its
vengeance, than a sanguinary determination was
formed to sacrifice all who had distinguished
themselves in the revolution ; and, finding that
the chief of these partizans were included in the
amnesty granted by the late treaty, as having
composed part of the garrisons in the two castles
on the bay, It was immediately resolved to re
peal what had been done, under the pretext that
the measure was contrary to the king's express
command. So far the nefarious business affects
the character of their Sicilian majesties, and their
confidential advisers only ; but in all that follows,
the British ambassador and the admiral were
equally implicated. Lady Hamilton was indeed
at the bottom of the whole ; and the malignity
of her disposition, and the hardihood of her
counsels, appeared conspicuous In every part of
this dark affair. In the cabin of the Foudroyani
she conducted herself with extreme violence
towards the cardinal, whose words were so
much perverted by her management and that
of her husband, as to produce considerable
agitation in the mind of Nelson, who naturally
conceived, from the zeal of his Eminence, that
be was adding insult to fraud. When, there-

i8o MEMOIRS OF
fore, Ruffo found that all his reasoning and
statements were ineffectual, and that, instead of
bringing the admiral to conviction, he was only
wasting his own patience and inflaming the
passions of his Lordship, he withdrew in disgust
at the treatment which he had received, and.
which certainly was such as did no credit to the
urbanity or the justice of those who affected to
have no other rule of action than the sense of
public duty.'
The behaviour of Nelson to Captain Foote,.
who was a subscribing party to this treaty, was
marked by circumstances which were far from
reflecting any honour on the judgment or the
candour of this celebrated commander. That
officer could not have acted otherwise than he
' The account of this transaction as given in the text
is much exaggerated, and has but little foundation in fact..
The dispute on board the Foudroyant lasted two hours,
till Sir W. Hamilton, quite exhausted with acting as
interpreter, sat down, and requested his wife to take his
place. The change had no effect on the cardinal, who
would agree to no proposals ; when Nelson concluded the
discussion by observing that as he found an admiral was
no match for a cardinal in talking, he would try the effect
of writing. He then delivered to Ruffo his writtea
opinion that the capitulation ought not to be carried into
execution without the sanction of the King of Naples and
the English Commander-in-Chief in the Mediterranean,
and the interview was at an end.

LAD Y HAMIL TON. 1 8 1
did, without incurring a severe responsibility,
and laying himself justly open to censure : for
it was not his place to Interfere In such regula-
lations as the minister of the Sicilian monarch
thought best to adopt for his master's interest
on the shore of Naples ; and, therefore, in sign
ing the treaty, he conducted himself strictly
within the line of his professional duty.
Contracts have always been accounted as so
very sacred, even among savage tribes, that,
when they have even proved disadvantageous
and impolitic on the one side, much Inconve
nience has been commonly endured for a time,
rather than that a specific agreement should be
violated. Many instances might be produced
where chicanery has been practised on the
ignorance and credulity of negotiators, and
¦others, where agents have exceeded their
powers ; and yet the states whom they repre
sented have rather chosen to endure a consider-
.able inconvenience than set a bad example, by
.-annulling a formal agreement, on the faith of
which so much dependence has been laid. In
the present case it should be considered, that the
persons who were In possession of these castles
had, on their part, put so much confidence In
ihe engagement of the allies, as to deprive
themselves of the chance of escape. Now if

i82 MEMOIRS OF
these contracting parties to the pledge contained
in that agreement were without authority, they
must have deported themselves to the persons
composing those garrisons in a manner totally
unworthy of the commissions which they bore,
and of the characters which it was their duty to-
sustain. But Lord Nelson, by his abrogation,
directly charged these officers with having ex
ceeded their powers, and promising what they
had no right to grant. In doing this, it became
his Lordship to have made a strict investiga
tion into the business, and to have shown the
authority by which he presumed to dispose of a
treaty at his own pleasure. Instead of entering
upon the first, he announced his decree by a.
signal, before he had made himself at all
acquainted with the terms of the agreement, the
grounds upon which it had been made, or the
nature of the sanction with which it was clothed..
How he was authorized to take this high office
upon himself, in setting aside an express agree
ment signed by four persons of competent rank,
has never yet appeared in any other way than
that of an unproved charge against the cardinal,
for having gone beyond the orders of his
sovereign. But were this allowed, it would not
reach to a justification of the admiral, who had
no right to annul the treaty, merely because he

LADY HAMILTON. 183
conceived it to be imprudent in itself, and an
unwarrantable proceeding on the part of the
Sicilian minister. Such a mode of interpreting
the expediency and validity of contracts, would
throw the whole code by which nations have
hitherto consented to be guided into confusion ;
and nothing could be relied upon, In the shape
of a written agreement, where the sword should
be suffered to determine the legality of the
instrument. That it did actually do this. In the
present case, cannot be denied ; and the con
sequences which immediately followed showed
too plainly for what purpose the treaty had been
set aside. Among other persons of distinction
sheltered in one of these castles was the Prince
Francisco Caraccioli, a nobleman, nearly seventy
years old, who was highly beloved by the
Neapolitans, as an excellent officer, having been
long at the head of their marine service. This
respectable man accompanied the royal family to
Sicily ; but when the new republic was estab
lished, and an edict was issued, decreeing, that
those who did not return within a limited time,
should forfeit their estates, Caraccioli unfortu
nately hastened back to Naples, to preserve his
patrimony. There he was soon solicited to-
take the command of the navy, and with this
request he was induced to comply, most

1 84 MEMOIRS OF
probably from the fear of incurring the resent
ment of those who had everything at their dis
posal, and who could, of course, in a moment,
have deprived him of his property and his life.
Caraccioli certainly had many excuses to make
for his conduct ; and even if he had not, the
fact of his having served forty years with credit,
independent of his private virtues, ought to
have weighed as an atonement for the venial
transgression of a few days, during which no
outrage had been committed by his orders, and
when the king's cause could not have been
injured by his being at the head of the marine.
But when a wealthy man has rendered himself
obnoxious to a vicious and despotic government,
he will find that all his merits have no other
effect than that of sharpening the axe by which
his fate is to be determined. Caraccioli, per
ceiving that his destruction was determined
upon, and seeing that the English commander
had violated the only means by which his life
could have been saved, endeavoured to effect
his escape in disguise. The distribution of
money, however, among the peasantry, and the
offer of ample rewards for the apprehension of
the proscribed revolutionists, quickly brought
this venerable old man within the grasp of those
who thirsted for his blood. He was taken in

LAD Y HAMIL TON. 185
the disguise of a peasant, and hurried on board
of Nelson's own ship ; which thus became, by a
most unnatural act, a jail for the imprisonment
• of those who were neither subject to our laws,
nor could be brought from their own shores to
be confined there, without manifest injiistice.
Whatever might have been the crimes of
Caraccioli, he ought not to have been received
on board an English ship as a prisoner; andthe
very act of doing it was an Indelible stain upon
our national character, which all the profes
sional merit of the person who allowed It could
not efface. But what followed this detestable
business can never be palliated by casuistry, nor
defaced by splendour. It must for ever stand
as one of those spots, which, in the midst of all
that Is gaudy and dazzling, will obtrude them
selves on the memory, to humble the pride of
man, and teach him that the greatest of mortals
are not those who astonish the world by their
heroism, but those who enlighten It by their
virtues. Within an hour from the time that this poor
old man was brought on board the Foudroyant,
a court-martial of Sicilian officers, the president
of which was his determined enemy, assembled
in that ship by the orders of Lord Nelson, to
try the subject of another state for treason.

i86 MEMOIRS OF
That Caraccioli was found guilty by this junto,.
who had no authority for what they did, was a^
matter of course. The court was as complete a
mockery of justice as it was an outrage on^
humanity. The wretched prisoner was tried,-
but without having the means of defence ; for-
he had no time to prepare himself, either by
legal advice or the production of witnesses^
The King of Naples, who could alone grant a
commission for his trial, was at Palermo ; but
Sir William and Lady Hamilton were on board
the Foudroyant ; a circumstance that will
sufficiently account for the indecent hurry with
which the proceedings were hastened, and for
the catastrophe which ensued. It was in vain-
that Caraccioli alleged, in his excuse, that he
had been compelled to enter into the republican
service, though, if he had proved it by the fiiUest
evidence, it would neither have operated in his
favour on the trial, nor stayed the execution,,
which had been obviously predetermined with
as much certainty and justice as the decree of an
Eastern divan. Caraccioli was found guilty,
and received sentence of death ; the report of
which being communicated to the British-
admiral, he signed the warrant for its being
carried into effect the same evening, by hang
ing the prisoner at the yard-arm, on board a..

LAD Y HAMILTON. 187
Sicilian frigate. The unhappy prisoner acted
with firmness, though the disgraceful manner
of his death gave him great uneasiness ; and
he solicited to be shot, saying to Lieutenant
Parkinson, who had the charge of him — " I am
an old man. Sir, I leave no family to lament me,
and therefore cannot be supposed to be very
anxious about prolonging my life : but the
disgrace of being hanged is dreadful to me."
The lieutenant, who felt as a man and an officer
on this occasion, went to Nelson with the
request of the prisoner ; but the only answer he
could obtain was to go and mind his duty.
Caraccioli then asked the lieutenant if he
thought that an application to Lady Hamilton
would not be likely to have some effect in
changing the sentence. The lieutenant, anxious
to oblige an unfortunate gentleman, for whom
he entertained a personal respect, went to seek
her Ladyship, who could not be found. This
woman, however, was in the cabin all the time ;
and she knew, as well as Nelson, the intent of
the application ; though she neither had the
civility to hear what the kind-hearted Parkinson
had to say, nor humanity enough to interpose
in favour of one to whom she and Sir William
owed many obligations. But though the
ambassador and his wife could not find It in

i88 MEMOIRS OF
their hearts to speak a favourable word in the
behalf of an old acquaintance, they had sufficient
•strength of mind to view the last horrible scene
of the tragedy, which was executed at five
o'clock the same evening, at the fore-yard-arm
•of a Sicilian frigate, commanded by one of
Caraccioli's bitterest enemies. As if, however,
revenge could not be carried far enough, the
rites of sepulture were forbidden to the body,
which was thrown overboard in the bay of
Naples, when it might easily have been taken
on shore and interred with decency.'
' The account given in the text, of the case of Caraccioli,
is wrong in almost every particular. Far from being a
-venerable old man, Caraccioli, at the time of his execution,
was scarcely fifty years old, and instead of " committing
no outrage '' while commanding the republican na-vy,
his gunboats fired on the town of Annunciata, and on the
Sicilian frigate Minerva, which ship he had himself com
manded in the service of Ferdinand. Captain Troubridge,
as well as Nelson, at first considered that Caraccioli was
forced to act as he did, against his own inclination, but
were compelled by conclusive facts to alter their opinion
of him. ' On the 1st of May Troubridge wrote to his com
mander : " Caraccioli, I am now satisfiedis a Jacobin." Lord
Nelson had been invested with almost unlimited powers
by the King of Naples, and as Commander-in-chief of
the English and Sicilian ships, had full authority to order
Caraccioli for trial. The prisoner himself admitted this,
by petitioning the English Admiral to grant him another
trial. Count Thurn, the president of the court-martial.

LAD Y HAMILTON. 189
This savage act, which would have disgraced
the most barbarous horde In the inhospitable
wilds of Africa, was followed by an incident that
could not fail to make a deep Impression on
superstitious minds. Three weeks after the
execution, when the king returned from
Palermo, a Neapolitan, who had been fishing
In the bay, came one morning to the Foud
royant, where he assured the officers that Carac
cioli had risen from the bottom of the sea, and
was coming as fast as he could to Naples,
swimming half out of the water. The story of
the fisherman, which at first gained little credit,
was soon confirmed, for the same day Lord
Nelson, indulging the king by standing out to
sea, the ship had not proceeded far, before the
officers of the watch beheld a body upright in
the water, directing its course towards them.
Captain Hardy soon discovered that this was
actually the body of Caraccioli, notwithstanding
was the senior Sicilian officer present, and instead of being
the "determined enemy" of the prisoner, was, according
to Captain Brenton, "a man of unimpeachable in
tegrity." The sentence on Caraccioli given at twelve
noon, was that he should be hanged in two hours after, at
two p.m. The warrant for the execution, issued by Lord
Nelson, fixed the time at five in the evening, and neither
Sir William nor Lady Hamilton were present as
spectators.

igo MEMOIRS OE
the great weight which had been attached to it ;
and it became extremely difficult to decide in
what manner the extraordinary circumstance
should be communicated to the king. This
was performed with much address by Sir
William Hamilton ; and with his Majesty's
permission the body was taken on shore by a
Neapolitan boat, and consigned to Christian
burial. The coxswain ofthe boat brought back
the two double-headed Neapolitan shot, with a
portion of the skin still adhering to the rope by
which they had been fixed. These were weighed,
out of curiosity, by Captain Hardy, who ascer
tained that the body had risen and floated with
the immense load of two hundred and fifty
pounds attached to it.'
Another victim to a vengeful despotism was
Dominico Cirillo, the king's physician, who had
taken a part certainly in the late revolution, but
whose age and talents ought to have operated
in his favour. This venerable old man, however,
was also executed, though it has been said that
Lady Hamilton and the queen solicited his
pardon on their knees : but they who can believe
that these women acted such a part with
sincerity, may with equal reason vindicate them
' Mr. Clarke's Life of Nelson, from the particular
communication of Captain Hardy, vol. ii. p, 189.

LADY HAMILTON. igx
for their virtue. Ferdinand could not have
resisted the application, either of the one or the
other ; and Lord Nelson, in his note of the
transaction, has admitted that the old man was
sacrificed because he refused to confess his
crime : but the British admiral has not gone
so far as to say that any measures were taken
by him and his friends on the side of mercy
It Is evident, indeed, that all their influence
went a different way, for his Lordship says :
" Eleonora Fonseca had been a great rebel ;
and Dominico Cirillo, who had been the king's
physician, might have been saved, but that he
chose to play the fool, and lie ; denying that he
had ever made speeches against the government,
and that he only took care of the poor in the
bospitals." '
Of the part which Lady Hamilton took in
these sanguinary proceedings, no doubt can be
formed by any one who knew her character and
' Cirillo wrote a pathetic letter to Lady Hamilton, en
treating her good offices in his behalf, in which he said :
" Milady, you are a sensible and charitable lady, I know
your sentiments of humanity, therefore, you alone may do
everything in my favour. You are the intimate friend of
Lord Nelson, he justly esteems you, and he has the power
from the King of Naples to dispose of everything.^' This is
conclusive as regards the authority exercised by the
admiral in the bay of Naples.

192 MEMOIRS 01
history, for she made no scruple, during her
residence in Italy, to exult in the triumph which.
by her means had been gained over the enemies
of the Queen of Naples. But when her Lady
ship returned to a country where these transac
tions could not fail to be investigated and
exposed, she felt great alarm, and made use of
every engine in her power to make it appear
that she had borne no part in the persecution of
the unhappy Neapolitans. Some hireling writei-s
and publishers, who were entertained at her
house, received from her papers and oral infor
mation for the purpose of elucidating the history
of the revolutionary war, and they readily con
sented to defend the reputation of this female
at the expense of truth, though the principles of
these very men were at the same time of the
most violent republican stamp.
Such was the power of Lord Nelson at this-
period ; and so predominant was the influence
of Lady Hamilton over his mind, that the
slightest intimation of their wishes in the cause
of mercy must have prevailed : and, therefore,
when we contemplate so many executions as took.
place after the restoration of the monarchy, it is
impossible to acquit either her Ladyship or her
friend of the charge of having countenanced the
tragical scenes, which, by their mediation, might

LAD Y HAMILTON. 193
have been prevented.' It would be a mockery
of the feeling of human nature to allege. In
justification of this neglect, that such an inter
ference with the course of justice at Naples was
inconsistent with the public duties of the British
ambassador and the noble admiral. We have
seen, indeed, that these persons were not so
scrupulous in sentencing the subject of another
nation to death on board an English ship of
war; and surely they who could take upon
them to try a foreigner for an offence committed
against his own sovereign, might have been as
laudably employed in endeavouring to render
the monarch popular, by advising him to exer
cise the highest prerogative of his crown, instead
of remaining silent, when the voice of policy,
no less than humanity, was calling for mercy.
But that divine attribute had no advocate in the
councils of Naples ; and, therefore, though it
^ The good offices of Lady Hamilton were constantly
requested by prisoners awaiting trial, or under sentence,
to their advantage. Lord Nelson, in a letter to Mrs.
Cadogan, said of her : " She (Lady H.) is perfectly well,
but has her time so much taken up with excuses from
rebels, Jacobins, and fools, that she is every day most
heartily tired. Weare restoring happiness to the kingdom
of Naples, and doing good to millions." According to
Captain Brenton (with whom Lady Hamilton was no
favourite) : " Sir William and Lady Hamilton, and Lord
Nelson, saved many." 14

194 MEMOIRS OF
should be granted that our countrywoman, who
then figured with such splendour at that court,
had no direct concern in promoting the work of
vengeance, which plunged thousands of families
in misery and lamentation, we cannot give her
the credit of having in a single instance dried
up the tears of the afflicted. No widow ex
perienced her consoling pity — no sorrowfiil
mother had to thank her for exerting the
influence which she possessed in behalf of a mis
guided son, whose only guilt was that of having
been carried away by a delusion, which had at
least much in it to deceive the wise as well as
the ignorant, and to impose upon the virtuous,
while it became an instrument of wrong in the
management of the wicked. It is, therefore,
surprising, that an able writer, who has bestowed
great attention on these events, of which he has
given a very luminous account, should have
thought proper to call in question the part that
was evidently borne by Lady Hamilton in the
cruelties of the Sicilian government ; but while
it is admitted that the wife of our ambassador
had great power with the heads of that state,
and that she feasted her eyes on a spectacle from
which anv other woman would have turned with
horror, it is said by way of apology for her
character : —

LAD Y HAMIL TON. 1 95
" Of her being present at the execution of
Caraccioli, there cannot be the least doubt, but
it is to be hoped, for the honour of her sex, and
of her country, that she never directly, or in
directly, encouraged that vindictive spirit which
too much pervaded the councils of the king, and
the administration of the Neapolitan state junto,
.after his Majesty had returned to Palermo.
" Emma Lady Hamilton, one of the most
extraordinary women of the age, amidst all her
faults, was more noted for her general attention
and hospitality, than for any deliberate acts of
cruelty towards the Neapolitans, by whom she
was in general adored. In the voluptuous court
of the Sicilian monarch, her fascinating person
commanded a very powerful influence ; but In
a situation of so much delicacy and danger, she
never forgot the character that was expected
from the wife of an English ambassador, nor
was deficient In any of those courtesies and
friendly attentions which mark a liberal and
humane disposition. From the arrival of the
British squadron at Naples, she had exerted her
self to support that good cause, for which
Admiral Nelson had been detached : and having
in this respect rendered some service, the natural
vanity of her mind led her to imagine, and to
endeavour to make the noble admiral and others

196 MEMOIRS OF LAD Y HAMILTON.
believe, that from her alone proceeded the
means of performing those great events whicb
threw such a splendour on the favourite object
of her idolatry. Her leading passion was the-
love of celebrity ; and it was this passion, added
to the above delusion, which gradually brought
on that fatal and highly wrought attachment
which she formed for the hero of Aboukir ; for
it was the hero, and not the individual, which
had captivated her glowing imagination. Its
ardour, as it increased, overpowered the natural
kindness of her disposition, and eventually in
volved her in an endless succession of private-
altercation and public disappointment." '
' Mr. Clarke's Life of Lord Nelson, vol. ii. p. 188.

CHAPTER XI.

Beauty, though injurious, hath strange
power. Milton.
HEN the monarchy was restored
at Naples, It was natural to ex
pect that the court would either
have returned to the ancient
capital, or have adopted mea
sures to heal the wounds which
had been inflicted, by correcting the evils under
w^hich the people groaned. But nothing of
the kind took place, and Ferdinand, instead of
-softening the horrors produced by civil war,
and of acting like a magnanimous prince, who
wishes to appear as the father of his family,
hastened back, with the British admiral and the
ambassador, to Palermo, there to enjoy his
rsports and follies ; while the persecuted Nea
politans were hunted down by hired blood.
Iiounds, and hurried to the prison and the

1 98 MEMOIRS OF
scaffold, without the least compunction or senti
ment of pity. The only security any man had
in that state, from the vengeance of the trium
phant party, was in his poverty ; but, while he
thus found protection in his misery against the
eagerness of spies and informers, he was, on
the other hand, exposed to the certainty of
perishing by famine, which now began to stare
with a ghastly aspect on the wretched inhabitants
of this beautiful city.
There is a peculiar kind of cruelty in vicious-
and effeminate minds, by which, though they
do not imbru^ their own hands in blood, they
avoid interposing any good offices to repress the
vindictive spirit of others ; and this want of
virtuous feeling for the sufferings of their fellow-
creatures leads them to shun the places where
they would be called to exercise the duty of
humanity. These persons content themselves
with that negative virtue which consists in
being silent when great oppressions are com
mitted, and in withdrawing from scenes of
horror, which, though their influence could not
have altogether prevented, their presence might
have served to render less painful and disgusting..
They who abandoned the Neapolitans to the
fury of assassins, the rapacity of informers, and
the merciless resentment of an unprincipled

LADY HAMIL TON. 1 99.
government, probably thought that they were
acting witha strict regard to justice, and according
to the dictates of sound pohcy. This frigid
indifference to the calamities of mankind would
have been, under any circumstances, disgraceful
to those who knew the value of a free consti
tution, and had the experience, in their own
country, of equal laws ; but, in the present
instance. It was accompanied by a wanton levity,
which proved that the distresses of Naples, and
the violence of its oppressors, gave little un
easiness to our ambassador and his friends.
Lord Nelson, on his return to Sicily, accepted a
ducal title,' with an estate, from Ferdinand ; yet
it has been said that the admiral did not consent
to the proposal till it had been urged by Lady
Hamilton on her knees. Whether this story
rests on a legitimate foundation, can hardly be
determined ; since the only authority which it
ever had, was the testimony of the person who
is said to have exerted herself in so uncommon
a manner to aid the gratefiil intentions of his
Sicilian Majesty. Had Nelson been less vain
and solicitous of titles than he was the reverse,
' The Sicilian Dukedom of Bronte, with an estate,
worth about ^£3,000 per annum. The first act of Nelson,
after accepting this reward, was to charge the estate with
an annuity of ;^5oo for life to his father.

200 MEMOIRS OF
such a tale might have passed without any ob
servation on its improbabihty ; but it certainly
becomes doubtful, when it is known that he
ever attached an extraordinary value to this
distinction, which, when coupled with the
character of the personage who conferred it,
and the class of nobility with whom it associated
our countryman, was far from being an object
of congratulation. It would indeed have been
creditable to Nelson had he declined this honour ;
and, resting satisfied with the unpolluted favours
of his own sovereign, preserved the indepen
dence of his character. By enrolling his name
among the nobles of Sicily, and accepting an
estate in that island, for having replaced Ferdi
nand on the throne, this great man tacitly sanc
tioned the acts of that monarch, and the cruelty
which he displayed towards his unhappy subjects.
Painful as it is to make these reflections, they
are powerfiilly suggested by the transaction
which we have been obliged to record ; and the
glory of Nelson would unquestionably have
shone with greater lustre, if he had resisted
with firmness the prostituted titles of an in
famous court, at a time when the hand that
held out the gift was stained with blood.
On the arrival of the Foudroyant at Palermo,
the queen came on board, where she embraced

LADY HAMILTON. 201
iady Hamilton, and the same moment hung
round her neck a a chain of gold, to which was
suspended a portrait of her Majesty, superbly
set with diamonds, and having this motto on
the back, " Eterna Gratitudini ! "
Five days afterwards, while her Ladyship was
at the palace with the queen, two coach-loads
of costly dresses were secretly sent to the house
•of the ambassador, with a picture of the king
richly set in jewels, worth a thousand guineas,
for her Ladyship ; and another of her Majesty,
of the same value, for Sir William Hamilton.
The whole of the presents made by their Sicilian
•majesties on this occasion amounted In value to
¦six thousand guineas.
On the 3rd of September, an idle piece of
mummery was exhibited in the royal gardens at
Palermo, to celebrate the recovery of Naples by
the exertions of Lord Nelson.
To transcribe the ridiculous account of this
childish puppet-show, as given by Lady Hamilton
in the life of Nelson published under her author
ity, would be insulting to the judgment of the
reader, since it is Impossible that any English
man could be pleased with the description of
the Temple of Fafne, erected on that occasion,
and of the three wax figures, representing Nel
son, the ambassador, and his wife ; the latter

202 MEMOIRS OF
being, very appropriately, no doubt, in the
character of Victory, having on her robe the
names of' all the heroes who were distinguished
at the battle of the Nile. At this silly fete,
the queen is said to have expressed herself thus
to the Turkish admiral, who was present :
"On this day last year we received from Lady
Hamilton intelligence of this great man's victory,,
which not only saved your country and ours,
but all Europe 1 "
Such was the farce with which their Sicilian
majesties thought to obliterate the impression
made by the tragedy of Caraccioli, and of the
numerous other victims of their revenge at
Naples. In returning to Palermo, the noble admiral
committed an error which tarnished his pro
fessional reputation as much as it affected his
private character. His presence was certainly
not necessary at that place, but it was unques
tionably wanted in other parts of the Mediter
ranean. Commodore Troubridge, who had the
greatest personal regard for Nelson, was deeply
chagrined at being left to conduct the operations.
on that coast ; while his friend was indulging
himself in a round of frivolous amusements,
and yielding to the dalliance of female allure
ments. It was impossible that such proceedings

¦¦-.il -'I

LAD Y HAMILTON. 203
could pass without observation ; and they did,
in fact, occasion much animadversion both at
home and abroad. The Sicilians looked upon
the admiral with contempt, and bestowed upon
him an opprobrious epithet, characteristic of the
influence which Lady Hamilton had gained over
the hero : and, so undisguised was this attach
ment, that many persons of high rank and
integrity took the freedom of remonstrating
with his Lordship upon the Impropriety of his
conduct. One naval friend In England expressed
his sentiments in this remarkable language,:
" They say here, my good Lord, that you are
Rinaldo, in the arms of Armlda ; and that It
requires the firmness of an Ubaldo and his
brother knight to draw you from the en
chantress." This allusion was pointed enough,
but the reprehension administered by his friend
Troubridge was much more severe : " Pardon.
me, my Lord," said that honest seaman : " it
is my sincere esteem for you that makes me
mention It. I know you can have no pleasure
sitting up all night at cards : why then sacrifice
your health, comfort, purse, ease, everything,
to the customs of a country wh^re your stay
cannot be long ? Your Lordship is a stranger
to half that happens, or the talk It occasions :
if you knew what your friends feel for you, I

.204 MEMOIRS OF
am sure you would cut all the nocturnal parties.
The gambling of the people of Palermo is
publicly talked of everywhere. I beseech
your Lordship leave off. I really feel for the
•country." At another time the same valuable officer
wrote to the admiral from Naples : and his
letter is too descriptive of the two capitals to
be omitted in this place.
" 1 dread, my Lord," said Troubridge, " all
the feasting at Palermo. I am sure your health
will be hurt. If so, all their saints will be
damned by the navy. The king would be
better employed digesting a good government.
Everything gives way to their pleasures. The
money spent at Palermo gives discontent here :
fifty thousand people are unemployed ; trade
discouraged ; manufactures at a stand. It is
the interest of many here to keep the king
away ; — they all dread reform ; — their villainies
are so deeply rooted, that if some method is
not taken to dig them out, this government
cannot hold together."
The deplorable condition of Naples at this
time, owing to the brutal ferocity of the dominant
party, is thus strongly portrayed by the same
intelligent observer : " There are upwards of
forty thousand families who have relations con-

LADY HAMILTON. 20s
fined. If some act of oblivion is not passed,
there will be no end of persecution ; for the
people of this country have no idea of anything
but revenge ; and, to gain a point, would swear
ten thousand false oaths. Constant efforts are
made to get a man taken up, in order to rob
him." It is to be lamented, however, that these re
monstrances had little effect on the mind of the
person to whom they were addressed ; and the
festivities of Palermo seem, in truth, to have
completely overpowered his moral faculties. Of
this an extraordinary instance occurred, with
respect to two rich Spanish vessels, laden with
quicksilver, lying in the harbour of Palermo,
when these gaieties where going on there . The
value of these ships was duly appreciated ; and,
at a dinner given by the British envoy, a con
sultation was actually held' about the best means
of getting possession of them. After various
measures were proposed, it was agreed to ask
Ferdinand's permission for the boats of the fleet
to cut the Spaniards out of the harbour. This
arrogant request was accordingly made by Lady
Hamilton, in an entire confidence that his
Majesty could not refiise so equitable a demand
to those who had recovered for him the throne
of Naples. But, weak as the king was, he had

.2o6 MEMOIRS OF
not altogether lost his spirit nor his under
standing ; so that, turning indignantly from the
dishonourable proposal, he asked " whether they
took him for the Dey of Algiers, by asking him
to allow an act towards a friendly power which
the most barbarous of the African states would
reject with abhorrence."
The persons who could thus solicit Ferdinand
to violate, in their favour, the rights of hos
pitality and the laws of nations, manifested their
tenderness, about the same period, towards the
suffering people of Malta, who were actually
reduced to the most miserable condition for the
want of food, when the island of Sicily could
have furnished them with abundance. Com
modore Troubridge, in a letter to Nelson, dated
New Year's Day, 1800, gives an affecting picture
of the state of Malta, with no very honourable
mention of the gentle feelings of the British
ambassador : " My Lord," says Troubridge,
" we are dying off fast for want. I learn, by
letters from Messina, that Sir William Hamilton
says. Prince Luzzi refused corn some time ago ;
and Sir William does not think it worth while
making another application. If that be the case,
I wish he commanded at this distressing scene
instead of me. Puglia had an immense harvest.
Near thirty sail left Messina before I did, to

LADY HAMILTON. 207
load corn : will they let us have any ? If not,
a short time will decide the business. The
German interest prevails. I wish I was at your
Lordship's elbow for an hour : all, all will be
thrown on you, rely on it. I will parry the
blow as much as Is in my power. I foresee much
mischief brewing. God bless your Lordship —
I am miserable. I cannot assist your operations
more. Many happy returns of this day to you :
I never spent so miserable an one. I am not
very tender-hearted ; but really the distress here
would move even a Neapolitan." While thou
sands were starving for want at Malta and
Naples, there was nothing but riotous waste at
Palermo, with continual shows and successive
entertainments on board the English ships In the
harbour. ' Sometimes the fleet made short trips
to sea ; not to look after the enemy, but to
gratify the king and Lady Hamilton ; particularly
the last, who appeared in the admiral's barge
like Cleopatra ; and, in point of extravagance,
she certainly did not fall short of that volup
tuous and accomplished woman. One of these
disgraceful scenes is thus described by an eye
witness : The ships were all decorated with
' Through the influence of Lady Hamilton, three ships
laden with corn, and;^7,ooo were sent to the relief of the
Maltese, by the Queen of Naples.

2o8 MEMOIRS OF
flags, firing salutes, and manning the yards, as
the royal party sailed along, followed by above
one thousand boats, in many of which were
bands of music playing, Nelson and Lady
Hamilton leading the van, in a twelve-oared
barge. The king, in one of eight oars, was not
paid much attention to : but he amused himself
with the princely sport of shooting sea-gulls.
The whole party visited the Minotaur com
manded by Sir Thomas Louis, where they par
took of a cold collation, and returned in proces
sion to the Foudroyant ; on reaching which ship,
royal salutes again were fired. The dinner on
board was served on tables reaching the whole
length of two decks ; the cannon being even.
removed to make way for fruit and chocolate
tables on each side. This degrading spectacle, so
unbecoming a British ship of war, affected Lord
Nelson very seriously, and he could not help
showing his feelings, though unfortunately his
resentment was soon dispelled by that charm
which then bound him in spite of his under
standing. He left the dinner party very early ;.
and, taking a turn or two upon the quarter-deck
with one of his officers, appeared, for a little
while, extremely agitated ; and, at last, as he
looked at the strange scene before him, he mut
tered, " Curse upon such doings ! I wish there

LAD Y HAMILTON. 309
was an end of them. My ship looks for all the
world like a pastry-cook's shop ! " When Lady
Hamilton perceived his thoughtful manner, she
arose immediately from the table, and, hastening
to the hero, conducted him lovingly back to the
company ; where, by her arts, he soon appeared
to have lost his uneasiness. When the evening
came on, the ships were illuminated, and salutes
were fired at the drinking of every toast, which
were repeated from the forts on shore.
Another remarkable instance of the folly Into
which great men can fall, when they suffer
themselves to be led away from the path of
duty by the allurements of pleasure, happened
shortly after the expensive entertainment which
has just been described. One of Nelson's
favourite amusements was to go about the
streets in disguise, accompanied by Lady Hamil
ton, who could adopt any character, and perform
it to great advantage.' Having taken a cheer
ful glass on a fine evening, he proposed to his
dulcinea to take a ramble about the city, which
was acceded to, and they accordingly sallied
forth, laughing at all they met, but without
* According to Mitford, who apparently was an eye-wit
ness, " Lady Hamilton at Palermo frequently accom
panied Nelson in nocturnal rambles, dressed in sailor's
clothes." 15

2IO MEMOIRS OF
being known until they entered a house of
entertainment, where a party of English officers
were enjoying themselves with their ladies.
Here our hero and his friend indulged in the
humours of the place, thinking that they were
undiscovered ; but it chanced that the boatswain
of the Foudroyant looked into the room with a
midshipman, and recognized the admiral. The
boatswain, being a man of pleasant manners
and address, contrived to watch his Lordship
and his companion from place to place, till they
reached the ambassador's house, after which, the
two shipmates, out of a frolic, went to court,
which was very easy of access to British officers.
There the boatswain attracted the notice of the
king, who entered into conversation with him,
which ended by conferring on the man one of
the honours of knighthood. This afterwards
became known to Lady Hamilton, who followed
the unfortunate chevalier with inexorable ven
geance, and the admiral, at her instigation,
turned the boatswain, notwithstanding his new
dignity, before the mast ; but the midshipman
escaped with a reprimand for having been a
party in a frolic, which, to say the most of it,
was far from deserving censure, and least of all
from those who were guilty of exhibiting in
their own conduct an unpardonable degree of
levity and indiscretion.

LADY HAMILTON. 211
A volume would not suffice to narrate the
disgusting circumstances which occurred at
Palermo ; but though the dissipation daily wit
nessed there gave just offence to every man who
felt for the honour of his country, and the
•sufferings of those who were injured by these
proceedings, there was still more to be depre
cated in them than the mere waste of time and
money with which they were attended. The
service itself was materially affected by the in
fluence of Lady Hamilton, who had so much
command over her admirer, as to interest herself
in the promotion of some persons who did little
honour to the recommendation.
It is also a fact, that vessels were purchased
for the use of the fleet, which proved of no
other utility than that of increasing this woman's
patronage. Such proceedings could not escape
public observation, and to have permitted the
continuance of them would have been a criminal
negligence on the part of the administration.
The obvious mode of remedying the evil
without animadverting on the conduct of the
admiral, was that of recalling the ambassador, a
measure which ought to have been adopted long
before, in which case probably many evils would
have been prevented, and the glory of our great
hero would have remained unsullied. Mr.

212 MEMOIRS OF
Arthur Paget was appointed to supersede Sir
William Hamilton, very much to the disquietude
of his lady, and the mortification of Lord Nelson,
who saw in the proceeding a marked disappro
bation of the line of conduct which he and his
friends had pursued on this station. But instead
of considering the matter in the only proper
light, as an act of imperious necessity at an
eventful period, when every sacrifice for the
public good became indispensable on the part of
individuals, no less than of government, his
Lordship immediately came to the resolution oF
giving up his employment, and of returning to
England with his friends ; and such was their
patriotism, that they gladly encouraged him in
this design.
Lady Hamilton, however, had some consola
tion in the midst of this disgrace, by receiving
from that strange monarch, the Emperor Paul,.
the cross of the order of Malta, being the first
Englishwoman on whom that distinction was
ever bestowed, and the last perhaps that ever
would have desired it. Leave was solicited of
our court to confirm the honour by a special
grant to wear it ; but though much was done
for this purpose, the application was treated.
with dignified silence.
Another remarkable instance of royal favour

LAD Y HAMILTON. 2 1 3
with which this extraordinary woman was dis
tinguished, cannot be passed over ; though it
was one that did little credit to her sensibility
or that of her husband. The King of Naples
requested that her Ladyship would consent to
suffer a model of her to be taken in a perfect
state of nature, as large as life ; and this was
actually done to gratify the taste of the monarch
and the vanity of the lady, whose marble figure
adorned the royal apartments with all the
-elegance of Venus.
But these honours could not allay the dis-
^quietude which was occasioned by the mandate
of recall, a circumstance that gave all the parties
concerned in it so much uneasiness as to lead
them to commit an act of the most unkind and
indecorous nature against an individual who had
done them no wrong. When Mr. Paget arrived
in Sicily, Sir William Hamilton, instead of
paying him proper attention, and entering upon
such explanations as were requisite for his par
ticular guidance, and the benefit of the nation,
hastened with his wife on board the Foudroyant,
and sailed for Malta. Soon after their return
to Palermo, the whole party, accompanied by
the queen, with three of the princesses, and
Prince Leopold, embarked for Leghorn, where
.they landed on the i6th of June, 1800.

214 MEMOIRS OF
Here her Sicilian Majesty presented to the
admiral a picture of the king set in diamonds
and emeralds ; while to Sir William Hamilton
she gave a snuff-box of gold, with the pictures
of the king and queen on the lid, set round with
diamonds ; and his lady received, at the same
time, a superb diamond necklace, with the
cypher of the names of all the royal children.
After remaining about a month at Leghorn,
an alarm was spread that the French were
advancing, on which the populace arose, armed
themselves from the arsenal, and demanded that
Lord Nelson should lead them against the
enemy. Here, as we are told, the eloquence of
Lady Hamilton succeeded in prevailing upon;
the whole of the infuriated mob to return their
arms to the place from whence they had been.
taken. Notwithstanding this extraordinary
gallantry in the people of Leghorn, their royat
and noble visitors thought it most prudent to-
set off early the next morning for Florence,
where they remained two days, and received the
most respectful attentions. After continuing at
Ancona about a fortnight, they embarked in
two Russian frigates for Trieste, from whence:
the queen immediately proceeded for Vienna,
followed by Lord Nelson, and Sir William and
Lady Hamilton. In this capital they remained

LADY HAMILTON 215
six weeks, partly on account of the weakness to
which the travelling had reduced Sir William,
and partly out of compliance with the urgent
entreaties of the Queen of Naples, who, as the
mother of the Empress, wished to do all the
honours that lay in her power to the companions
of her journey.
Among others who were eager to entertain
the English visitors, the Prince and Princess of
Esterhazy distinguished themselves greatly by
their hospitality, as well out of respect to
Nelson, as in return for the civilities which they
had experienced at Naples from our ambassador.
The strangers were received with uncommon
marks of distinction at the palace of Eisenstadt,
belonging to the prince ; and during a stay
there of four days, a hundred grenadiers, each
six feet in height, constantly waited at table,
where every delicacy was served up in profusion.
A grand concert was also given in the chapel,
under the direction of Haydn, whose oratorio
of the Creation was performed in honour of
the guests.
It Is said that the Queen of Naples was very
solicitous that Lady Hamilton should return
with her to Italy ; and that when she could not
prevail, her Majesty made an offer of settling
upon her Ladyship an income of one thousand

ai6 MEMOIRS OF
pounds a-year, which was refused by Sir William
and his wife, on the ground that the acceptance
would subject them to suspicions at home.
This story is much of a piece with some others
which we have been obliged to notice ; and
though the relation of it was designed to display
the disinterested character and delicate senti
ments of the parties, who are represented acting
in a manner so very unlike themselves ; yet
when it is known that Lady Hamilton
afterwards made applications to the queen for
pecuniary aid, without receiving even an
answer to the request, some doubts may reason
ably be entertained of the truth of the narrative.
From Vienna the travellers proceeded by invita
tion to see the Archduke Charles, who was then
at Prague, and after a splendid reception there,
they departed for Dresden, where they took
water,' and thus pursued the remainder of their
^ Mr^. Trench, who at this time was residing at
Dresden, and intimate with Mr. Elliot, the British
Minister there ; has recorded in her diary the impressions
made on her by Sir W. and Lady Hamilton, Lord Nelson,
and their fellow-voyagers, Mrs. Cadogan, and Miss Knight.
She evidently regarded all of them as very odd and
eccentric persons, and her account of the departure of the
party from Dresden on October loth, is very diverting.
"The moment they were on board, there was an end of
the fine arts, of the attitudes, of the acting, the dancing.

LAD Y HAMILTON. 2 1 7
journey to Hamburg ; at which city the hero
of the Nile was welcomed with universal
acclamations ; and some very singular anecdotes
have been related of the enthusiastic veneration
in which he was held by the people of Germany.
One of these is too remarkable to be omitted in
this place, though some particulars in It have
the appearance of being apocryphal. A wine
.merchant of Hamburg, who was above seventy
years of age, one day requested to speak with
Lady Hamilton, and informed her that he had
some excellent old Rhenish wine, of the vintage
•of 1625, of course one hundred and seventy-
five years old, which, as he said, had been in his
own possession above half a century. This, he
observed, had been preserved for some very
extraordinary occasion ; and one had now arrived
far beyond any that he could have expected.
The old gentleman, therefore, who had been so
careful of his wine for an indefinite time and
and the singing. Lady Hamilton's maid began to scold
in French about some provisions which had been forgot,
in language quite impossible to repeat, using certain
French words which were never spoken but by men of
the lowest class, and roaring them out from one boat to
.another. Lady Hamilton began bawling for an Irish
¦stew, and her old mother set about washing the potatoes,
•which she did as cleverly as possible. They were exactly
Jike Hogarth's actresses dressing in a barn." Mrs. Trench

2i8 MEMOIRS OF
purpose, requested her Ladyship to exert her
good offices to prevail on Lord Nelson to accept
of six dozen bottles, that, as he said, " part of
this extraordinary liquor might have the honour
of flowing with the heart's blood of the im
mortal hero, a reflection which could not fail
to render the donor the most fortunate man in
existence during the remainder of his days."
His Lordship being informed of this curious
application, came into the room, and took
the old gentleman very kindly by the hand,
though at the same time he declined the present.
He was, however, prevailed upon at last to
accept of six bottles, on condition that the
merchant should dine with him the next day.
This was cheerfully acceded to, and a dozen
bottles were sent ; on which the admiral re
marked, that as he yet hoped to have six more
victories, he would keep that number of his
was not at all favourably impressed with the person or
manners of Lady Hamilton, whom she thus describes r
" She is bold, forward, coarse, assuming, and vain. Her
figure is colossal, but excepting her feet, which are-
hideous, well shaped. Her bones are large, and she is
exceedingly embonpoint. She resembles the bust of Ariadne,
the shape of all her features is fine, as is the form of
her head, and particularly her ears. Her ruling passions
seem to me vanity, avarice, and love for the pleasures of
the table."

LAD Y HAMILTON. 219
friend's wine on purpose that he might drink a
bottle after each. This his Lordship did not
fail to remember on coming home after the
battle of Copenhagen ; when he devotedly
drank the health of the old wine merchant.
On the arrival of the party at Hamburg,
Lord Nelson wrote home for a frigate to
accommodate himself and his friends ; but this
not being granted as promptly as It had been
expected, a packet was hired at Cuxhaven,
which, after a rough passage of five days,
entered Yarmouth on the 6th of November.
Three days afterwards, his Lordship, accom
panied by Sir William and Lady Hamilton,
reached London, but instead of separating, as
they ought to have done for a little while, out
of respect to private feeling and public decorum,
all three proceeded to take up their residence at
the same hotel, where Lady Nelson and the
venerable father of the admiral already occupied
apartments. It is impossible to account for so-
flagrant an Indecorum on any other ground than.
an absolute intention of giving offence to the
sensibility of a wife, knowing, as Lady Hamilton
did, that the notoriety of her connection with
Lord Nelson had been long and loudly talked.
of, not only in Italy, but in England. She had,
indeed, received many communications on the

:22o MEMOIRS OF LADY HAMILTON.
subject from some of her correspondents, and
particularly from her old protector, Mr. Greville,
who apprised her of the rumours which were in
•circulation to her disadvantage. Any woman,
therefore, who had the smallest regard for her
own character, or respect for the feelings of a
wife and a father, would have avoided the
slightest occasion of giving them uneasiness, at
the very first interview between them and their
gallant relative.' But, as if Lady Hamilton
had lost all idea of propriety in the climate
where she so long danced the circle of pleasure,
the sober customs of England were treated by
Jier with utter contempt ; and she evinced also
such a total insensibility to the mental wounds
which her presence inflicted, as showed but too
clearly a determinate plan to effect that fatal
breach, which shortly afterwards she was
•enabled to accomplish.
' On the arrival of Lord Nelson and his fellow-
travellers in London, November 9, 1800, the party
-separated ; Sir William and Lady Hamilton going to Mr.
Beckford's house in Grosvenor Square, which had been
_placed at their service, and Nelson to his wife and
father, at Nerot's Hotel, King Street, St. James's.

CHAPTER XII.

Bright characters lose much of their
splendour at a nearer view ; and many,
who fill the world with their fame,
excite very little reverence amongst
those that surround them in their
domestic privacies. Johnson.
OON after the return of Lord
Nelson to England, great un
easiness was felt by those who
had his honour and the peace
of his family really at heart, in
consequence of his attachment
to Lady Hamilton, and her treatment of his meek
and accomplished partner. An instance of this
occurred within a fortnight ; and it was of so dis
gusting a nature, that if the relation were not
calculated to throw a light on the characters, the
scene should be buried in oblivion. A house
having been taken for his Lordship in Dover

222 MEMOIRS OF
Street,' he had of course many visitors of dis
tinction, among whom, one day, was a lady of
very high rank, who paid him and Lady Nelson
much polite attention, but without deigning to
notice Lady Hamilton, though the admiral en
deavoured to bring the latter forward as his
particular friend. This circumstance was not
likely to pass unobserved, and when the duchess
retired, much contemptuous language ensued on
the subject of her behaviour, in which abuse
Lady Nelson did not concur, but preserved an
absolute silence ; for which she drew upon her
self some very opprobrious epithets from her
husband. That day the company at dinner
happened to be numerous, and during the enter
tainment, Lady Hamilton conducted herself with
a marked malignity towards Lady Nelson, in
which the admiral was weak enough to partici
pate. At length the cunning woman, whether
from real illness, repletion, or vexation, with
drew to her own room ; and when Nelson
perceived that she remained absent longer than
common, he harshly demanded of his wife'
where Lady Hamilton was, and who was with
her. Lady Nelson mildly replied, " that her
own woman had been sent to attend her Lady
ship ; " on which his Lordship flew into a
' Arlington Street

LAD Y HAMILTON. 223
violent passion, and insisted that she should
instantly go and wait upon Lady Hamilton
herself. Without resenting this rudeness and
want of feeling, Lady Nelson arose from table,
and went as she was directed ; but soon after
wards the impatient hero hastened also to the
apartment, where he found one lady very sick,
and the other holding the basin for her accommo
dation. Instead of being affected, as he ought
to have been, by this act of condescension, his
Lordship became more furious, and directly
charged his gentle partner with being the cause
of the distressing state in which he found his
favourite. On being asked the reason for this
accusation, he inveighed bitterly against his wife,
as having injured the virtuous sufferer, by
calumniating aspersions and jealous insinuations ;
•on which, Lady Nelson instantly applied to
Lady Hamilton, and asked " whether there was
anything in the treatment which she had re
ceived since her arrival in England that could
justify what she then heard \ " This appeal was
so powerful, as to have for the moment the
effect of eliciting a frank confession that there
was no ground for what had been so harshly
alleged : on which, the astonished Nelson,
turning to the speaker, exclaimed : "that her
soul was as black as hell ; for that she had con-

224 MEMOIRS OF
tinually been poisoning his mind with stories
of Lady Nelson's jealousy and illiberality."
Roused at this keen reproach, the sick lady
started up, and swinging poor Lady Nelson by
the arm round the room, she tauntingly said :
" There, madam, only serve him as I have done
you, and he will know better how to behave
himself." ' It might have been expected, that
after this discovery of the treachery of the
woman who had allured him by her wiles. Lord
Nelson would have broken the fatal chain in.
which he was held. This, however, he wanted
resolution to perform ; and, on the contrary, he
became more enchanted than ever ; which is
accounted for by the fact that the fair com
panion of his cruises and his travels was now
in a state which indicated the appearance of aa
evidence that their friendship had been some
what more than platonic. The prospect of this
living witness excited no other uneasiness in the
parties than that which arose from the sense of
their being unable to give a legitimate name to-
the fruits of their intercourse. Though they
were both married, Lady Hamilton had reason
to think from the age of her husband that the day
of her emancipation could not be far distant :
but the case was otherwise on the opposite side,
' This story must be taken cum grano salis.

LAD Y HAMILTON. 2 2 5
where little chance appeared of a dissolution by
the death of the wife, and none at all of a
separation being effected by her indiscretion.
To this may be ascribed the rancorous hatred
which Lady Hamilton conceived against the
woman whom she had so cruelly Injured, by
alienating from her the affections and civilities
of her husband. In Italy the impediment to her
ambition might have been removed without
much difficulty ; but in England, the only thing
that could be done, was to widen the breach,
and to triumph in the wrong. Sir William
Hamilton being far advanced in years, was easily
imposed upon by fictitious ailments, which were
devised as the occasion of frequent sickness, and
other symptoms that required seclusion. He
and his lady were now settled in a house in
Piccadilly,' overlooking the Green Park : and
here Lord Nelson was much oftener to be found
than at his own home, of which a curious testi
mony has been kindly Imparted to the editor by
the professional gentleman who was employed
in preparing the lease of the premises. " At
the time," says he, "when I went over the
house with the upholsterer and a servant, who
showed us the rooms for the purpose of taking
' No. 23, Piccadilly, to which the Hamiltons removed
from Grosvenor Square. 16

226 MEMOIRS OF
a schedule of the fixtures, I observed an ema
ciated weather-beaten person, rather shabbily
dressed, follow us from room to room with
seeming anxiety. At length he said, ' Pray,
gentlemen, what is it you are about i" ' I
answered, ' We are taking a list of the fixtures
in the house, to annex by way of schedule to
the lease.' ' Oh, oh,' he replied, ' if that be
the case, I think you should include me in the
list.' He then seemed satisfied and left us.
After his departure I inquired of the servant
who this person was, when, to my great surprise,
he told me it was Lord Nelson. I had looked
but cursorily at him, and from the old crumpled
hat he wore, and the striped old brown great
coat thrown over his shoulders, and his general
appearance, I took him for some foreign refiigee
and hanger-on of Sir William's, as he had much
the appearance of the French priests with whom
the streets at that time were crowded. I tried
afterwards, and made excuses, to go into several
rooms to correct the hst, in order to get another
look at the veteran, but without effect."
The great object which his Lordship had now
in contemplation was a separation from his wife,
and to become a fixed resident in the same house
with the woman who had contrived to seduce
him from the paths of peace. This last business

LADY HAMILTON. 227
required some little management, and the way
in which it was effected did no more credit to
the ingenuity pf the contrivers, than the motives
by which they were actuated did honour to
their morality. It was represented to Sir
William Hamilton, that his noble friend was
actually driven from his domestic comforts by a
series of persecutions and reproaches, which had
completely destroyed his tranquillity. These
complaints were heightened from day to day,
sometimes by his Lordship, and at others by the
artful Emma, who had cunning enough to excite
the resentment of her husband against Lady
Nelson, by the reports of insults that were
never offered, and of calumnies which were
never uttered. At length his Lordship sur
prised his old friend one day with the declaration
that he had no longer a house to put his head in,
as he chose to express himself ; on which Sir
William, turning to Emma, exclaimed : " Do
you hear what Lord Nelson says } Our house
is large enough : shall we give him the use of
it } " As this was what her Ladyship expected,
she at once signified her assent ; but the hero
observed, that such a proceeding would in all
probability make the world talk, and therefore
must be avoided. "A fig for the world,"
replied the knight. " I have lived too long to

228 MEMOIRS OF
mind what , the world either thinks or says ore
such matters ; so you have no more to do than
to plant yourself here without further scruple
or delay." ' Such was the friendship of Sir
William, and in this magnanimous contempt of
public opinion he was supported by his lady,.
who certainly through life never manifested
much respect for those sentiments which have
usually been considered as the rule of good
manners. Nothing could be more ridiculous than to
describe the admission of Lord Nelson into the
family of Sir William Hamilton as an act of
charity, and yet so it has been represented by
some impudent panegyrists of the insidious be
trayer of an aged husband's honour, and the
destroyer of a virtuous woman's happiness. If
Lord Nelson had really any cause for dissatis
faction in his own habitation, he was far from
being under the necessity of seeking an asylum
elsewhere ; but least of all should he have ac
cepted the invitation of the man, with whose
wife he was more than suspected of carrying on
a scandalous intercourse. The parties were all
' Lord Nelson did not make the house of the
Hamiltons his home when in London, till after the birth
of his daughter Horatia, and his return from the Baltic in
1801.

LAD Y HAMIL TON. 2 2 9
acquainted with what people said, both in
England and everywhere else ; this outrage,
therefore, upon public decency, the utter disre
gard of private feeling, afforded too plain a
testimony of their want of sensibility, who were
¦so far from being careful to avoid giving offence,
that they were not even guided by common
prudence in preserving appearances. The father
of Lord Nelson, then on the verge of eighty,
still continued his kind attentions to his
daughter-in-law, with whose virtues he had been
so long acquainted, and in whose sorrows he
could not fail to participate. Uncommon exer
tions Indeed were made by his Lordship, and
those who courted his favours by flattering his
follies, to remove the ill impressions which this
connection had produced on the mind of the
good old man. But though he bore his facul
ties meekly, and at length ceased to complain,
because he saw that it would be useless, nothing
can be farther from the truth than the assertion
that he was rendered easy by the arts which
were used to lull his suspicions. Other branches
-of the family, indeed, took little pains to satisfy
themselves on the subject, and the consciences
of some were made of such flexible stuff, that
the strange fact of Lord Nelson's living under
the roof of a man, whose honour was not much

230 MEMOIRS OF
respected by the circumstance, was so far from
giving them any concern, that they quickly
transferred to the lady of the mansion those
attentions which they had been accustomed to
pay to their own amiable, but now insulted and
deserted, relative.
It has been falsely said that this excellent
woman was totally indifferent to her husband's
glory, and yet that the rank to which she had
been elevated produced such an effect upon her
mind, as to prove extremely mortifying to the
rest of the family ; both which accusations could
not be true ; for if she was so proud of her title,
as she is stated to have been, she must also have
felt some satisfaction at the means by which it
had been acquired. But, in reality, no woman
ever deported herself with more humility, in all
the changes which she passed through, from the
time when she refused the most advantageous
offers for the sake of Nelson, and placed her
property at his disposal, to the period when by
a cool, and still more cruel act, he succeeded in
prevailing upon her to sign a deed of separation.'
' There was no formal deed of separation. On the
arrival of Lord Nelson and his friends in London, Lady
Nelson soon saw with her own eyes more than enough to--
confirm all the rumours that had reached her of the at
tachment of her husband to Lady Hamilton. One evenings

LAD Y HAMILTON. 231
Let it, however, be remembered, when all the
aspersions of sycophants and liars are consigned,
with the authors of them, to the regions of in-
a day or two after his return, being with him and tbe
Hamiltons at a. theatre. Lady Nelson, unable to control
her feelings, fainted in the box in which they were sitting.
On December l9th,leavingLadyNelsonin London tospend
her Christmas alone, Nelson, with SirW. and Lady Hamil
ton, set out for Fonthill in Wiltshire, on a visit to Vathek
Beckford, who was a cousin of Sir W. Hamilton. Their
journey was a kind of triumphal progress;; they were
feted at Salisbury, and escorted to Fonthill by Yeomanry,
Volunteers, and bands of music. Nelson returned to
London December 29th, and in about a fortnight after
wards the final rupture between him and his wife took
place, and they never lived together again. He probably
saw Lady Nelson for the last time on January 13, 1800, the
day he started for Plymouth to sail with the expedition to
Copenhagen. His last letter was written to her on board
the St. George, off Copenhagen, March l, 1 801. During
his absence in the Baltic, March to June, 1801, the breach
between the pair seems to have widened, and Nelson
resolved to make the separation final. On April 25th he
wrote to his agent and friend, Alex. Davison : " My dear
Davison, — ^You will, at a proper time, and before my arrival
in England, signify to Lady N. that I expect, and for
which I have made such a very liberal allowance to her
(;£l,6oo per year), to be left to myself, and without any
inquiries from her, for sooner than live the unhappy life
I did when last I came to England, I would stay abroad
for ever. My mind is fixed as fate ; therefore you will
send my determination in any way you may judge proper ;.
and believe me ever your obliged and faithful friend.
Nelson and Bronte."

ass MEMOIRS OF
'famy, that the man who, in the height of his
splendour, cast off the partner of his humbler
days, and the sharer of his obscurity, for an
«extravagant and wheedling wanton, bore this
candid testimony to the dignity of virtue, on
the day of separation, which was the 13th
of January, 1801 : "I call God to witness
there is nothing in you, or your conduct, I wish
otherwise." After this last interview, his Lord
ship, accompanied by his reverend brother, set
off for the west of England, on which route a
regular correspondence was kept up with Lady
Hamilton, who at this time was troubled very
much, as her husband informed his noble friend,
with " convulsive complaints in the stomach,
and vomitings, which required some confinement,
and obliged her to take a little tartar emetic ! "
This was written on the 20th of February, and
at the beginning of the following month Sir
William says, " Emma is certainly much better,
but not quite free from bile."
It was in this interval that the child was born,
about whose origin so much mystery is supposed
to exist.' The birth took place in Sir William
' This infant was born about the 30th or 31st of January
1801, at 23, Piccadilly. In less than a fortnight after its
birth it was taken by night to 9, Little Tichfield St., Mary
lebone, and delivered to a Mrs. Gibson, who had the care

LAD Y HAMILTON. 233
Hamilton's own house, where every care and
precaution had been adopted to keep the matter
as secret as possible from him, and from one or
two prying members of his own family, though
less scruple was observed with respect to another,
that had at least an equal interest in the event.
Professional attendance was not necessary, where
a well-practised mother resided on the spot :
and as soon as the patient was capable of moving
about, which, owing to her remarkable constitu
tion, was tolerably early, the Infant was conveyed
by her in a large muff, and in her own carriage,
to the house of the person who had been pro
vided to take charge of It In Little Tichfield
Street. On this occasion her Ladyship was
; accompanied by Lord Nelson's confidential
agent, Mr. Oliver, who had been brought up
.from the age of twelve years in the house and
runder the protection of Sir William Hamilton
at Naples. The condition of the infant, when
brought to the appointed nurse, plainly showed
the hurried process by which it came into the
world ; and from all these circumstances the
reader may judge whether any one but a mother
-ofthe child for some years, during which time (according
to the testimony of Mrs. Gibson's daughter) Lord Nelson
" often came alone, and played for hours with the infant
-on the floor, calling her his own child."

^34 MEMOIRS OF
would have conveyed a new-born babe in her
own carriage, to the house of a woman with
whom she had no acquaintance, and that too
accompanied by an old confidential steward ?
But should any doubt still be started on the
subject, the subsequent acknowledgment of the
infant by the parties who were most concerned
in the history of her origin must wholly remove
the smallest shade of scepticism from the mind
of the incredulous. That Lady Hamilton made
no scruple of admitting the relation, after the
death of her husband, can be easily proved ; and
in what estimation the noble lord regarded the
infant the world has not to learn.' It has been
' The most conclusive evidence on the subject is a
letter written by Lord Nelson to Lady Hamilton direct,
without any of the Mrs. Thomson mystification, March
1, 1801, which contains the following : "Now, my own
dear wife — for such you are in my eyes, and in the face of
Heaven — -I will give full scope to my feelings, for I dare
say Oliver will faithfully deliver this letter. You know,
my dearest Emma, that there is nothing in this world that
I would not do for us to live together, and to have our
dear little child with us. I never did love any one
else. I never had a dear pledge of love till you gave me
one ; and you, thank my God, never gave one to anybody
else." The letter, which is unquestionably genuine, con
cludes with this postscript : " Kiss and bless our dear
Horatia — think of that." It shows the confiding and un
suspicious nature of Nelson, and how little he knew of
the early history of his " dearest Emma," that he believed

LADY HAMILTON. 235
said, indeed, that being his godchild, and adopted
by him on that account, his affection for her
became ardent to a degree of paternal fondness.
But the.iruth Is, that in the proper sense of the
word, she was not his godchild, for he neither ap
peared at the font In person, nor by proxy. About
a fortnight after the birth, indeed, and when the
child was rendered an object fit to be seen and
removed, she was taken in a coach to Sir
William Hamilton's house, to be shown to Lord
Nelson, who came to town for the purpose. At
this time also the child certainly was privately
baptized, but not by the curate or minister of
the parish. That ceremony, by whom or in
whatever way performed, could not authorize a
himself to be the father of the only child she ever had.
The letters Nelson received from Lady Hamilton in the
bearly art of 1801 he carefully destroyed, and in a letter
to her, dated March ist of the same year, he says : "I
burn all your dear letters because it is right for your sake,
and I wish you would burn all mine — they can do no good,
and will do us both harm, if any seizure of them, or the
dropping even one of them, would fill the mouths of the
world sooner than we intend."
On October 21, 1803, when off Toulon, Nelson wrote to
the child : " My dear Child, — Receive this first letter
from your most affectionate father," and ending with,
"Be assured that I am, my dearest Horatia, your most
affectionate father. Nelson and Bronte." Other letters
of a similar character could be quoted, but the specimens
given are perhaps enough. {See note at end of volume.)

.236 MEMOIRS OF
registry of the fact ; and, therefore, it was found
expedient, about two years afterwards, to have
the rite duly solemnized in the parish church of
St. Marylebone, where a curious difficulty oc
curred for the want of proper instructions being
given to the person who had the charge of the
infant.' When the usual question was asked by the
officiating minister, he received for answer, that
the name of the child was " Horatia Nelson,"
by which he accordingly baptized her, though it
' The child was baptized at Marylebone Church, May
13, 1803, and entered in the register (falsely) thus:
-'Baptisms 1803. May 13. Horatia Nelson Thompson, B.
29 October, 1800." On February 5, 1801, Nelson wrote to
Lady Hamilton, addressing her as Mrs. Thomson : " My
¦dear Mrs. Thomson, — Your dear and excellent friend-has
desired me to say that it is not usual to christen children
till they are a month or six weeks old, and as Lord Nelson
will probably be in town as well as myself, before we go
to the Baltic, he proposes then, if you approve, to christen
the child, and ^that myself and Lady Hamilton should be
two of the sponsors. ' It can be christened at St. George's,
Hanover Square, and, I believe, the parents being at the
time out of the Kingdom, if it is necessary, it can be stated
— born at Portsmouth, or on the sea. Its name will be
Horatia, daughter of Jobem and Morata Etnorb. If you
read the surname backwards, and take the letters of the
other names, it will make, very extraordinary, the names
of your real and affectionate friends Lady Hamilton and
myself, but, my dear friend, consult Lady Hamilton."

LAD Y HAMILTON. 237
was intended by her friends that the first should
have been the Christian, and the latter the sur
name. At the time of the registry this error
was discovered when too late, and as the parents
could not be stated with safety, the entry pre
sents the insulated peculiarity of a child regu
larly baptized, and registered without the name
of either father or mother.
The name of Thomson, which was afterwards
added to the baptismal one of Horatia Nelson,
was merely adopted from necessity, to complete
the register ; and how it came to be assumed in
this Instance It will be proper to explain.
Apprehensive that something of a very delicate
nature would necessarily occur in their corre
spondence, Lord Nelson and Lady Hamilton
agreed to write to each other under the fictitious
characters of Mr. and Mrs. Thomson, and the
letters so designated always passed through the
hands of their confidential agent. But as an
epistolary intercourse with Lady Hamilton had
been kept up, ever since their first acquaintance,
with the knowledge of Sir William, it was still
continued at the time when this secret one was
conducted ; and in some of those letters his
Lordship occasionally mentioned Mrs. Thom
son and her child, in terms of great affection,
but in such a way as to prevent any suspicion
or discovery.

238 MEMOIRS OF
Thus, shortly after the circumstance took
place in the house of Sir William Hamilton, his
Lordship, in writing to Emma from Deal, has
these remarkable expressions, pointed plainly
enough to her, though sufficiently cautious and
•circuitous to deceive the knight : —
" You cannot think how my feelings are alive
towards you ; probably more than ever ; and
they never can be diminished. My hearty
endeavours shall not be wanting to improve and
to give us NEW TIES of regard and affection. I
have seen and talked much with Mrs. Thom
son's friend. The fellow seems to eat all my
words when I talk of her and his child ! He
says he never can forget your goodness and kind
affection to her and his dear, dear child. I have
had, you know, the felicity of seeing it, and a
finer child never was produced by any two per
sons. It was in truth a love-begotten child I I
am determined to keep him on board ; for I
know, if they got together, they would soon
have another. But after our two months' trip,
I hope they will never be separated ; and then
let them do as they please."
At the time when his Lordship saw the child,
an incident occurred, which proved for what
purpose the name of Thomson had been
assumed. The nurse, who had charge of the

LADY HAMILTON. 239
infant, on entering the house, was met by Sir
William Hamilton, who inquired her name and
business. The housekeeper being present,
immediately answered that this was Mrs.
Thomson with her child, who had come to wait
upon Lord Nelson, by appointment, to solicit
his favour. On hearing this, the poor old
gentleman kindly expressed his wishes for her
welfare, and his admiration of the infant which
¦she held In her arms. Now, as this woman's
name was not Thomson, and she neither bore
any relation to the child, nor had a petition to
present, the whole fabrication was obviously
intended to deceive Sir William, and of course,
the assumption of the appellation was altogether
a trick, to cloak an improper connection.
While Nelson lay In the Downs, at the time
•of the expedition against Boulogne, he wrote as
follows to his " dearest Emma " : —
" You need not fear all the women In this
world ; for all others except yourself are pests
to me. I know but one ; for who can be like
my Emma '^. I am confident you will do
nothing which can hurt my feelings ; and I
will die by torture, sooner than do anything
which could offend you. Give ten thousand
kisses to my dear Horatia.
" Yesterday the subject turned on the cow-

240 ME'MOIRS OF
pox. A gentleman declared, that his child was
inoculated with the cow-pox ; and afterwards
remained in a house where a child had the
small-pox the natural 'way, and did not catch it.
Therefore,' here was a full trial with the cow-
pox. The child is only feverish for two days ;
and only a slight inflammation of the arm takes
place, instead of being all over scabs. But do-
you what you please."
Notwithstanding this opinion in favour of
vaccination, the child was inoculated at the
close of the summer, for the small-pox, by the
advice of Dr. Rowley ; and during the disease,
a furnished house was taken, purposely for the
nurse, in Sloane Street, by Mr. Oliver, who also
resided there, till the recovery was complete.
Trifling as this may appear, it proves the
tenderness of the relation, and the absolute
conviction which Nelson had that the child was
his own ; and how he regarded the mother, is
manifest from the following expressions in a
letter written at Deal, the i8th of August, this
year. " May Heaven bless me very soon with a.
sight of your dear angelic face. You are a
nonpareil I No, not one fit to wipe your shoes.
I am, ever have been, and always will remain,
your most firm, fixed, and unalterable friend."

LADY HAMILTON. 241
If anything could aggravate the inhumanity
with which Lady Nelson was treated, through
the whole of this eventful year, it was the pain
ful consideration, that the woman who had
robbed her of peace was entrusted with the
office of separating her wardrobe from the
things belonging to his Lordship, in Norfolk ;
and after ransacking the whole, sending her
what she pleased. A man of truly liberal
sentiment would have shuddered at such an act
of indelicacy ; and had Lady Hamilton pos
sessed the smallest degree of shame, she would
have declined the commission, with a recom
mendation that It should be performed by some
of his Lordship's female relations. Instead,
however, of being actuated by anything like
sensibility, this unfeeling woman exulted In the
conquest which she had made, and gladly did
she seize every opportunity that her ascendency
over the mind of Nelson afforded of inflicting
a fresh wound in the heart of his wife.
This summer, Sir William Hamilton, at the
desire of his noble friend, completed the pur
chase for him of Merton Place, in Surrey, about
eight miles from London ; and the object which
his Lordship had in this acquisition was to
accommodate all the parties under one roof, and
to leave the estate as a testimony of his friend-
17

242 MEMOIRS OF
ship to Emma. Here was another instance of
Sir William's excessive meanness ; for while he
readily acceded to his friend's wishes, he took
care to modify his own will accordingly ; and
knowing that his widow would be thus com
fortably settled, he bequeathed her only seven
hundred pounds a year,' leaving all the rest of
bis property, which was considerable, to his
nephew, and other relations.
In the whole of this business, and the im
provements which were made on the farm.
Lady Hamilton had a principal concern, as,
indeed, her interest, and that of the child, had
been the sole inducement to the purchase.
Though his Lordship had not seen this estate,
he was resolved to be pleased with the situation,
and with all that was done to render the house
and grounds agreeable, merely because the place
was adorned by the presence and talents of his
charmer. 2
' Sir W. Hamilton left his widow an immediate legacy
¦of ;£8oo, and an annuity of j^8oo for life, charged upon
his Welsh estate.
" On October i6, 1801, Sir William Hamilton wrote
from Merton to Lord Nelson : "My dear Lord, — We have
now inhabited your Lordship's premises some days, and I
can now speak with some certainty. I have lived with our
dear Emma several years. I know her merit, have a great
opinion of the head and heart that God Almighty has been

LADY HAMILTON. 243
" You may rely upon one thing," says he,
"' that I shall like Merton ; therefore do not
be uneasy on that account. I have that opinion
of your taste and judgment, that I do not
believe it can fail in pleasing me. We must
only consider our means ; and for the rest,
I am sure you will soon make It the prettiest
place In the world." Adverting then to the
child, who naturally engrossed much of his
thoughts, he says : —
" Whatever, my dear Emma, you do for
my little charge, I must be pleased with.
Probably, she will be lodged at Merton ; at
least, in the spring, when she can have the
benefit of our walks. It will make the poor
mother happy, I am sure ."
The following passage In the same letter
cannot be passed over without observation.
*' Have we," inquires his Lordship, " a nice
.pleased to give her, but a seaman alone could have given
a fine woman full power to choose and fit up a residence
for him without seeing it himself. You are in luck, for
in my conscience I verily believe that a place so suitable
to your views could not have been found, and at so cheap
a rate — you might get a thousand pounds to-morrow for
your bargain. It would make you laugh to see Emma
and her mother fitting up pig-styes and hen-coops.'' At
Merton, Nelson spent the greater part of the time he was
in England, from October, 1801, to May, 1803.

244 MEMOIRS OF
church at Merton ? We will set an example
of goodness to the under parishioners." Thus,
like many who flatter themselves that an external
respect for the forms of religion will be admitted.
as an equivalent for the observance of its-
precepts, this great man imagined that his ranlc
and character would give so much effect tO'
his constant attendance at church, as to render
his private obliquities of no moment to society.
Such an " example of goodness to the under
parishioners '' was very proper as far as it went ;
but if any of those persons made an inquiry
into the manners of the family at Merton:
Place, they would have been very little edified
by the appearance of his Lordship and his-
friends at the parish church. It is to be
lamented, that this letter should contain a
melancholy evidence of the noble writer's
notions of that purity of heart which can alone
render worship acceptable, or example effica
cious ; for thus he speaks of his aged parent,.
and his virtuous wife : —
" I had yesterday a letter from my father :
he seems to think that he may do something
which I shall not like. I suppose he means
going to Somerset Street. Shall I, to an old
man, enter upon the detestable subject : it may
shorten his days. But I think I shall telli

LAD Y HAMILTON. 245
liim that I cannot go to Somerset Street to see
bim. But I shall not write till I hear your
opinion. If I once begin, you know, it will
all out about her, and her ill-treatment to her
son. But you shall decide."
This subservience to the will and counsels
of the deceiver showed the weakness to which
his Lordship was now reduced ; and It is a
fact, that while to every one else the artful
woman represented Lady Nelson as endea
vouring to sacrifice the interests of her husband's
lelations to the aggrandizement of her son,
she filled the mind of the admiral himself
with the grossest falsehoods of her Ladyship's
cruelties to her own child. Let It not be for
gotten, however, that Nelson's letters to his
wife, and his last solemn asseveration, made at
the time of their separation, completely refute
aoy Insinuation to her disadvantage ; while at
the same time it must be admitted that his
"writing in the way he did was neither a proof
of his candour nor magnanimity. It was yet
w^ithin remembrance when the language of the
hero to his lady was like his conduct, warm,
manly, and liberal; indicating a heart wholly
uncorrupted, and animated by the sentiments
of honour and love. Greatly, therefore, is it
to be lamented, that he should now have fallen

246 MEMOIRS OF
so low as to asperse the same woman with
the coarsest epithets when writing to another
man's wife, whom he scrupled not to flatter
in this fulsome manner : " I assure you, my
dear friend, that I had rather read and hear-
all your little story of a white hen getting Into
a tree, an anecdote of Fatima, or hear you
call, ' Cupidy, Cupidy 1 ' than any speech I
shall hear in Parliament : because, I know,
although you can adapt your language and
manners to a child, yet that you can also-
thunder forth such a torrent of eloquence, that
corruption and infamy would sink before your
voice, in however exalted a situation it might
be placed."
In October his Lordship joined his friends at
Merton, between which place and Sir William's
house in Piccadilly the winter was divided
with considerable gaiety, and a perpetual round
of visitors, among whom were several of the
Nelson family, particularly the present head
of that house, who unquestionably was far from.
being deficient in his attentions to the idol
of his brother's devotions. This noble Lord
cannot be accused of having displayed any zeai
against the ascendency of Lady Hamilton over
the mind of his illustrious relative ; nor did
he ever show the least disapprobation of that

LAD Y HAMILTON. 247
authority which she exercised, where the presence
of a wife would have been a more graceflil
object. In the summer of 1 802 Lord Nelson, accom
panied by his brother, with Sir William and
Lady Hamilton, made a tour through the
midland counties into South Wales ; but at
Blenheim the party experienced considerable
mortification In the slight that was put upon
them by the noble family, none of whom con
descended to make their appearance, while these
visitors were viewing the mansion. This ap
parent contempt gave so much offence to the
hero of the Nile, that he reflased the refresh
ments which were offered ; and his Cleopatra,
putting on one of her high airs, said, " I told
Nelson that if I had been a queen, after the
battle of Aboukir, he should have had a prin
cipality, so that Blenheim Park should have been
only as a kitchen garden to it."
At this extravagant flight, it is said that the
gallant chief shed tears, and in an impassioned
tone of resentment, occasioned by the reception
which he and his companions had experienced,
he observed, " That he had yet more beds of
laurel to gather." Now had this great man duly
reflected on the character and dignity of the
house of Spencer, he would have seen more

248 MEMOIRS OF
to admire than to censure in their conduct on
the present occasion ; since whatever inclination
the members of that family might have to
show their respect for so distinguished a com
mander, it was evident that they had more for
the interests of virtue. The noble inhabitants
of Blenheim would very gladly have welcomed
Nelson under their roof ; but when they found
him so accompanied, that a particular attention
could not be paid to him without giving some
countenance to an improper connection, they
prudently retired from observation. If his
Lordship had brought Lady Nelson with him,
instead of the woman who had supplanted her
in his affections, he would have met with different
treatment ; and, therefore, when he proudly
declined the proffered refreshments, he ought to
have considered whether, in fact, he had not
himself committed a much greater offence than
that which he resented. There were other per
sons of distinction, in the course of this tour,
who felt themselves bound to withhold their
personal attentions from the noble admiral, out
of a sense of superior duty, and a persuasion that
they ought not to sanction, by their complai
sance, the presence of unblushing infidelity.
Is it to be endured, that because a man has
rendered uncommon services to his country.

LADY HAMILTON.

249

and gained a splendid name by his talents,
he may, therefore, dispense with the ordinary
¦forms of civil life, and set at defiance those
rules of action which constitute the vital spring
of social order ? Shall valourous deeds, and
¦extraordinary powers, atone for the violation of
private duty, or be admitted as an apology for
the breach of those institutions which all ages
have concurred in pronouncing sacred .''
Though Lady Hamilton found some pliable
dispositions in England, of both sexes, who were
ready enough to favour her with their company,
because they wished to court the friendship
of her admirer, she had the mortification
of seeing that the public feeling was of a much
sterner cast, and that the body of the people,
while they followed the hero with their accla
mations, pitied him for his weakness as a man.
Of this mixed sentiment the party experienced
many instances during their journey through
the Principality, as well as In various parts of
England ; ' but they had been so long used to
' The party consisted of Nelson, his brother the
Rev. Dr. Nelson and his wife, and Sir W. and Lady
Hamilton. They first went to Oxford, where Nelson and
Sir W. Hamilton were honoured by the degree of D.C.L. ;
then to Gloucester, Monmouth, Brecon, and Milford
Haven ; feted, cheered, and escorted at every place. The

2SO MEMOIRS OF
the dissolute manners of Italy, as to " care
for none of these things." At all the enter
tainments which were given, by corporate bodies,
and other public assemblies, in honour of the
admiral and his companions. Lady Hamilton
never failed to enliven the festive board by her
vocal powers, the charming effects of which.
were constantly trumpeted to the world through
the medium of the newspapers.
At the beginning of September, the travellers
returned to Merton, where, for the most part,
they continued to reside during the following
winter ; but in March, Sir William Hamilton,
being taken seriously ill, was conveyed to his
house in Piccadilly, where he died on the 6th
of April, in the presence of his wife and Lord
Nelson. In his last moments, he is reported
to have addressed himself to his Lordship in
object of the journey was to see the improvements on
Sir W. Hamilton's Welsh estate, and the development of
the harbour at Milfoid, which had been effected by Sir
William's nephew, Mr. C. Greville, under Parliamentary
authorization. On August ist, the anniversary of the Battle
of the Nile, there was a grand dinner and great rejoicings-
at Milford Haven. From Milford the party went to
Swansea, thence to Monmouth, Ross, and Hereford ;,
from Hereford, to Worcester, and from Worcester to-
Birmingham (where medals were struck to commemorate
the visit) and from thence to Coventry and Warwick, on
their way home.

LAD Y HAMILTON. 251
these words : " Brave and great Nelson ! our
friendship has been long, and I glory in my
friend. I hope you will see justice done to^
Emma by ministers, for you know how great
her services have been, and what she has done
for her country. Protect my dear wife ; and
may God bless you ; and give you victory, and
protect you in battle ! '' Then turning to his
Lady, he said, " My incomparable Emma, you
have never in thought, word, or deed, offended
me ; and let me thank you again, and again,
for your affectionate kindness to me, all the time
of our ten years' happy union."
By a codicil to his will, made about a week
before his death. Sir William bequeathed to his
noble friend a picture of Emma In enamel ;
and his Lordship, in a strain of uncommon
generosity, settled upon her, two months after
wards, an annuity of twelve hundred pounds,
to be paid in monthly portions. This was
equivalent to the pension which had been granted
to Sir William at the expiration of his embassy,
and the continuance of which was solicited In
vain by his widow. There was a striking
contrast between the conduct of Nelson, and
that of Sir William's family, particularly the
nephew, who compelled her Ladyship to quit
the house in Piccadilly within a month after

252 MEMOIRS OF
the death of her husband. Thus she found
the instability of that friendship which is
cemented by selfish motives ; and she might, if
prudence had been admitted to her counsels,
have learnt from hence, that the admiration
which is not excited by virtue has never any
chance of being matured into esteem. This
harsh treatment on the part of her oldest
acquaintance and protector was embittered by
the silent contempt thrown on her memorial
for a pension, as the relict of an ambassador,
and as one who had particular claims of her own
for a liberal allowance from Government. But
it was so well known by the cabinet, that the
Sicilian embassy had neither been honourable in
the management, nor economical in the expendi
ture, that no regard was paid to the petition
of her Ladyship, though it was supported by
the powerful exertions of her noble friend,
whose recommendation of her claims brought
with it so many unplfeasant recollections, as
tended, in a great measure, to defeat the object
which the parties had in view.
It has been said that Lord Nelson, on the
death of Sir William, removed into private
lodgings, being actuated by a delicate regard
to the widow's reputation, and a laudable care
to avoid giving any handle to a censorious

LADY HAMILTON 253
world. The motive, had it existed, was cer
tainly proper, but It is strange that the mind
in which it arose should not have seen the
necessity of observing the same line of conduct
in the country as in London, since if there was
anything wrong in his continuing under the
roof of Lady Hamilton in Piccadilly, after
the death of her husband, there was just as
much in her living with him at Merton. It is
much to be lamented that this wish to avoid
giving occasion for the surmises and rumours of
the ill-disposed part of mankind, did not result
from the conscientious principle of having
endeavoured to merit the confidence of the
good, which would have led the hero, and the
object of his admiration, to study such a line of
conduct as might have placed them, like the
wife of Caesar, above all suspicion.

CHAPTER XIII.

This then is liberty, the truth to tell j
To our dear country wishing all things
well. Euripides.

OON after the death of Sir
William Hamilton, his widow
took a house in Clarges Street,
between which and Merton her
time was divided ; but within a
few weeks she was deprived of
the company of her noble friend and admirer,
in consequence of his being appointed to the
command of the fleet in the Mediterranean.'
In a letter written to her from thence, his Lord
ship gave this extract from one which he had
sent just before to the Queen of Naples : " I
left Lady Hamilton the i Sth of May ; and
' Lord Nelson was appointed Commander-in-chief in
the Mediterranean, May 16, 1803, and sailed from Ports
mouth in the Fictory, in company with the Amphion, Cap
tain T. M. Hardy, May 20th following.

MEMOIRS OF LAD Y HAMILTON. 255
SO attached to your Majesty, that I am sure
she would lay down her life to preserve yours.
Your Majesty never had a more sincere,
attached, and real friend, than your dear
Emma. You will be sorry to hear that good
Sir William Hamilton did not leave her in such
comfortable circumstances as his fortune would
have allowed. He has given it amongst his
relations. But she will do honour to his
memory, though every one else of his friends
•call loudly against him on that account."
In all this, however, the noble writer judged
wrong ; for when the rise of this woman is
-considered, the settlement of seven hundred a-
year will hardly be thought by any reasonable
person to have been an inadequate provision.
Besides, as economy had never been one of her
virtues, Sir William knew well enough that a
Jarger annuity would only have increased her
extravagance ; and the event proved that he
acted with judgment in this disposal of his
property. What honour she did to the
memory of the man who had elevated her from
a low situation, and one, indeed, that was worse
than servile, to affluence and dignity, will appear
from the fact that she declined the publication
of his papers, letters, and memoirs ; though
when Nelson fell, her first consideration was

2S6 MEMOIRS OF
that of hiring a mercenary scribbler to write
such a history of the hero as should set forth
her virtues and talents, in unison with his merits,
to the best advantage. A literary friend of Sir
William Hamilton urged the propriety of
giving to the world a biographical account of
one who had so eminently distinguished himself,
not only in a diplomatic capacity, but as an
antiquary, and a scientific observer. This sug
gestion having been treated very disrespectfully,
induced the person who made it to write rather
freely to her Ladyship on the subject ; and then,
with her usual address, she endeavoured to recall
the words which had been uttered in contempt
of a civil and disinterested proposal. The
letter which she wrote by way of apology was
as follows : — '¦'¦ Clarges Street, April z'^rd, 1803.
« Sir,
" I was very much surprised on receiving your
letter this morning, as I cannot think what you
mean by my being offended, nor who could
have told you so. Mr. O. spoke to me about
your wish to have some information about Sir
William's pursuits, whilst on his embassy at
Naples, which, I said, I should be very glad to
give you myself, as many persons had asked me

LADY HAMILTON. 257
the same ; but I had been so very unwell, I had
not either health or spirits to enter on the sub
ject with strangers. But I told Mrs. G. if you
would do me the favour of calling in Clarges
Street, I should be very glad to see you, and tell
you myself many very interesting anecdotes of
that great and good man. This is all that
passed on the occasion, nor can I account for
what you wrote me, as I never spoke to any one,
but merely to give the message to Mrs. G. as I
thought by so doing I might have been of
service to you and Mrs. W. to whom I beg my
compliments, and am,
" Sir, your obedient
" humble servant,
" Emma Hamilton.
" P.S. If you will let me know by a line any
morning, you will favour me by calling, I will
be at home."
Now this was all mere duplicity and affecta
tion, for nothing more was recommended to her
Ladyship than the publication of her husband's
life, and correspondence, as far as related to his
literary connections and philosophical researches ;
instead of which, she contented herself with
communicating orally some trifling stories and
amusing incidents, and thus the business ended ;
18

2s8 MEMOIRS OF
nor has any memoir of this remarkable cha
racter yet appeared, though it is evident, from
the length of his residence in Italy, the variety
of his engagements, and the extent of his
acquaintance, that such a work would have been
highly acceptable to the world of letters. But
the truth is, she felt so much hurt at the
manner in which the property of Sir William
had been bequeathed, that she cared as little for
his honour after his death, as she had been
mindfiil of it in his lifetime. In the attentions
of the Nelson family, however, she became con
soled for the supposed neglect with which she
had been treated by her husband and his friends.
The niece of the noble admiral was settled in
the family of her Ladyship, that she might
profit by the instructions and example of such
an accomplished person. This was certainly a
very extraordinary proof of friendship and con
fidence on the part of the young lady's parents,
though there were not wanting persons who
looked upon it in a light not at all flattering to
the discretion of his Lordship's relations. Dr.
Nelson, having obtained through his brother's
interest, a prebendal stall in the church of
Canterbury, was very assiduous at this period in
his respects to Lady Hamilton, who spent part
of the summer with him at that city, accom-

LADY HAMILTON. 259
panied by Mrs. Billington.' The inhabitants
of Canterbury were not a little surprised at the
appearance of such visitors in the house of one
of their reverend dignitaries ; and more so,
when it was proposed that these enchanting
females should delight and edify the frequenters
of the cathedral with a sacred duet. This offer,
however, was far from being relished by the
guardians of that venerable fabric ; and the
'respectable citizens had so much Boeotian dul
ness, that at the end of their cards of invitation
to the new prebendary and his family, they
made it a point to subjoin this curious condi
tion, "But not Lady Hamilton." These old-
fashioned people in the country seem to have
fancied that when the voice of the world was
loud respecting the dominion of this woman
over the mind of the hero, his nearest friends
ought to have discountenanced the rumour by
treating her with distant respect. It undoubt
edly did wear a strange aspect, that while an
amiable wife was discarded for no offence, all
the relations of the admiral, and particularly
his brother, whose station in the Church called
-for the greatest circumspection, should be
diligent in cultivating the acquaintance of the
person who had made such an inroad on the
' The well-known actress.

26o MEMOIRS OF
harmony of their family. That they were
ignorant of the interest which Lady Hamilton
possessed in- the affections of their noble
relative, can hardly be supposed ; and to the
sentiments of the public on that unhappy con
nection, it was impossible for them to have been
strangers. Not long after the sailing of Nelson, another
female infant made its appearance at Merton,
which obtained the name of Emma ; but it died
early the following year, in a convulsive fit.'-
From the letters which his Lordship wrote to-
the mother, while he was employed off Toulon,
it is necessary to make a few extracts, as con
firming, beyond all doubt, his absolute devoted
ness to Lady Hamilton, and showing that the
footing on which they lived was perfectly well
known to his most intimate friends. " I re
joice," says he, " that you have had so pleasant
a trip into Norfolk ; 2 and I hope one day to
' This second "Little Emma" died in March, 1804.
= The trip to Norfolk was made in the summer oF
1803, and in the following year Lady Hamilton visited
the Boltons (Nelson's sister and her husband) at Braden—
ham Hall, Norfolk. In the same year, 1 804, she spent
some time with Nelson's brother, the Rev. Dr. Nelson, at
Canterbury. The doctor's daughter, Charlotte, afterwards.
Lady Bridport, resided for months with Lady Hamilton in
London, and at Merton, till the death of Nelson in 1805^

LADY HAMILTON. 261
•carry you there by a nearer tie In law, but not
in love and affection, than at present." Then
.alluding to his excellent wife, who had been
aspersed, as usual, In one of her rival's en
snaring epistles, his Lordship adds, " I -wish
you would never mention that person's name.
It works up your anger for no useful purpose.
Her good or bad character of me or thee no one
•cares about." Thus the completest evidence is
afforded not only of the entire control which
JLady Hamilton had over the mind of Nelson,
but of her baseness in calumniating the woman
whom she had supplanted. Had the hero felt
as became him, he would have resented the
malignant arts which were made use of to in-
ilame him against the person who, of all others,
had the strongest claim upon his gratitude and
protection. But if anything could add to the
severity with which his injured lady was treated
.at this period, it was the cruel neglect of those
branches of the family who had formerly
•courted her company, and been pleased with
her correspondence. Finding that such an
intimacy would be no longer agreeable to their
illustrious relative, and that, on the contrary,
the only sure method of securing his favour lay
in flattering the object of his admiration, these
persons took special care to avoid giving him

262 MEMOIRS OF
any reason to complain of a want of courtesy
where they knew it was most acceptable. They
were indeed plainly assured by his Lordship,
" that in manifesting their kind attentions tO'
Lady Hamilton, they would be sure of a warnn
place in his heart."
After the death of Sir William, he conducted
himself towards her as his wife, they having
actually pledged their faith to each other in that
capacity ; and in the month of August the
same year he wrote to her in these strong terms,
when anticipating a speedy blessed meeting r
" The thoughts of such happiness, my dearest
only beloved, makes the blood fly into my head..
The call of our country is a duty which yoii
would deservedly in the cool moments of
reflection reprobate, was I to abandon it : and
I should feel so disgraced, by seeing you
ashamed of me no longer saying, ' This is the
man who has saved his country 1 this is he who^
is the first to go forth to fight our battles, and
the last to return, and then all these honours to-
reflect on you ! ' Ah ! they will think, what a.
man ! What sacrifices has he not made to-
secure our homes and property ; even the
society and happy union with the finest and
most accomplished woman in the world. As yoa
love, how must you feel ! — my heart is with.

LADY HAMILTON. 263
you : cherish It. I shall, my blessed beloved,
return — If It pleases God — a victor; and it
shall be my study to transmit an unsullied name.
There is no desire of wealth, no ambition that
could keep me from all my soul holds dear.
No ; it is to save my country, my wife, in the
eye of God, &c."
About two months afterwards, his Lordship
expressed himself in these terms : " As for old
Queensberry, he may put you Into his will, or
scratch you out, as he pleases : I care not. If
Mr. Addington gives you a pension, it is well ;
but do not let it fret you. Have you not
Merton? It is clear — the first purchase — and
my dear Horatia is provided for ; and I hope
one of these days that you will be my own
Duchess of Bronte; and then a fig for them
all 1 — I am glad to find, my dear Emma, that
you mean to take Horatia home. Aye ! she is
like her mother ; will have her own way, or
kick up a devil of a dust. But you will cure
her : I am afraid I should spoil her ; for I am
sure I would shoot any one who would hurt
her." It appears that Lady Hamilton at this time
had formed the romantic scheme of leaving
England, accompanied by the niece of Nelson,
Horatia, and Oliver, with the view of being

.264 MEMOIRS OF
received on board the Victory ; but much as
the admiral desired a meeting, he had too much
good sense to accede to so imprudent a measure,
especially as he had himself given orders that
no women should be carried to sea in his ship.
His remonstrance on this subject was tender, but
£rm and judicious. " I know my own dear
Emma," said he, " if she will let her reason have
fair play, will say I am right : but she is, like
Horatia, very angry if she cannot have her own
way. Her Nelson is called upon, in the most
honourable manner, to defend his country 1
Absence to us is equally painful : but if I had
either stayed at home, or neglected my duty
abroad, would not my Emma have blushed
for me? She coidd never have heard of my
praises ; and how the country looks up. . . .
I am writing, my dear Emma, to reason the
point with you ; and I am sure you will
see it in its true light."
These sentiments did credit to the under
standing of the writer, and it would have been
happy if he had acted with equal steadiness in
every instance where his judgment had to
contend with his passions. Lady Hamilton led
a life of such extravagance at this period, that
the allowance which she enjoyed from his
Lordship, and the annuity derived from the

LADY HAMILTON. 265
will of her husband, proved inadequate to the
supply of her wants. Surrounded by a set of
needy parasites, both her house in town, as well
as that in Surrey, exhibited a continual round of
luxury and gaiety, that could not be supported
even by the liberal means which she possessed,
and the occasional presents she received. His
Lordship frequently gave her some gentle
monitions on the necessity of economy, and the
propriety of living more at Merton than In
London, because it would be attended with less
¦expense. The watering-places also, to which
her Ladyship was in the habit of going In the
summer months, gave him some uneasiness, on
account of the charges which attended these
excursions : but so long as they did Emma
service, he consoled himself under the pressure,
at the same time observing that "It was ex
pedient to be great economists, to make both
ends meet, and to carry on the intended im
provements at Merton." The following is a
good remark, but it was lost upon the person to
whom it was addressed : " Your good, angelic
heart, my dearest beloved Emma, will fully
agree with me : everything is very expensive ;
and even we find it, and will be obliged to
economize, if we assist our friends : and I am
sure we should feel more comfort in it than in

266 MEMOIRS OF
loaded tables, and entertaining a set of people
who care not for us."
But his fair angelic friend was of a very
different opinion, and all his moralizing on
order and frugality was wholly thrown away,
as he found to his vexation, though nothing
could operate upon his infatuated mind to lay
any restraint upon her conduct. He saw,
however, enough in this imprudence of the
mother to make it necessary to provide a
permanent settlement for the child, that she
might not be too great a sufferer by parental
folly. His Lordship thus mentions the subject
in March, 1 804 : " I shall, when I come
home, settle four thousand pounds in trustees'
hands for Horatia ; for I will not put it in my
own power to have her left destitute : for she
would want friends, if we left her in this world.
She shall be independent of any smiles or
frowns 1 "
This resolution he was happily enabled to
accomplish, and thus the child of his dearest
affections was secured from that misery into-
which she would most probably have fallen but
for this moderate provision ; since from the.
liberality of the femily to which she had an
equivocal relation she could hardly hope for any
support. It would have added to the prudence

LADY HAMILTON. 267
of the measure if Nelson had taken care also
to preserve Merton for the child ; and no-
doubt it was his opinion that by this purchase
he had effectually provided an asylum for her
in the event of losing her parents. The manner
in which Lady Hamilton deported herself, and
the company she kept, might have taught him
the propriety of some proceedings for this
purpose ; but whenever demands were made
upon him, he found it impossible to resist them,
though he fretted within himself, and vented
his murmurs of disapprobation to the person
who, while she occasioned his embarrassments,.
had no feeling for his uneasiness.
One method which she had of gaining her
point was by alarming the fears of Nelson with
insinuations concerning the great offers that
she pretended to have received from noblemen
of high distinction. These intimations, which
were the mere coinage of her invention, had
the effect desired on his Lordship's mind, and
made him still more dutiful and attentive to
the commands of this artful and rapacious
woman. Among others whose civilities she
contrived to turn to an advantage in this
manner was the late Duke of Queensberry,
who followed her, as he did every handsome
woman that came in his way, with as much

268 MEMOIRS OF
-assiduity as if he had been in the prime of his
days. At Merton and in Piccadilly this silly old
man was quite delighted with the enchanting
attitudes and vocal powers of the lively widow,
who on her part was not backward in using
every art to please the amorous dotard. Nelson,
however, had discernment enough not to be
afraid of any serious proposal coming from that
quarter, for he knew that the Duke, whatever
might be his propensities, was a determined
enemy to matrimony, of which institution he
generally spoke with contempt. But the
presents which were made to this nobleman,
with the express view of propitiating his good
graces in behalf of Lady Hamilton, and to
secure the remembrance of her in his will, did
little honour to the persons from whom they
came, and who in their correspondence treated
him with unmeasured ridicule.'
While Nelson was in the Mediterranean, he
discovered, what he might have found out long
before, if his passion had not blinded his judg-
^ On April 9, 1804, Nelson wrote to Lady Hamilton :
¦" I have wrote to the Duke ; but, by your account, I fear
lie is not alive. I write because you wish me, and
because 1 like the Duke, and hope he will leave you some
money. But for myself, I can have no right to expect a
farthing; nor would I be a legacy hunter for the world j
I never knew any good come from it."

LADY HAMILTON. 269
ment, that there was no real principle of friend
ship in the Queen of Naples for his beloved
Emma, though her Majesty had vowed towards
that lady "eternal gratitude." To all his letters
on the subject ofthe necessities of Lady Hamil
ton, and the strong claims which she urged odj
her behalf, the Queen returned very ambiguous
answers, which drew from his Lordship some
severe observations on her character and conduct ;
while Lady Hamilton avenged herself by re
lations of the Queen's amours, in doing which
she had not wit enough to perceive that she was
at the same instant bringing her own reputation
under suspicion, for having been so long asso
ciated with a personage of that description.
But during this year she had various causes
of vexation, and multiplied evidences that the
esteem of Nelson could not secure the attach
ment of her old friends ; for a violent quarrel
arose between her Ladyship and Mr. Greville
about the construction of his uncle's will, and
the payment of her annuity. The business was
indeed settled, but not much to the satisfaction
of her Ladyship ; and the admiral was so greatly
provoked at the intelligence, that he was almost
tempted to urge a suit at law.
But one of the most extraordinary instances
of human weakness appears in the following

270 MEMOIRS OF
letter, which , Nelson at this time wrote to 'his
child, who was then only three years old : —
'¦'¦ Victory, April \ith, 1804.
" My dear Horatia,
" I send you twelve books of Spanish dresses,
which you will let your guardian angel, Lady
Hamilton, keep for you when you are tired of
looking at them. I am very glad to hear that
you are perfectly recovered, and th^j^vQUj(R'fe"^a
very good child. I beg, my dear 'Hor^la, that
you will always continue so ; which wijU be a
great comfort to your most affectionate (^
"Nelson and

At the same time he ^^ a letter to his niece,
in which he mentions this cfliWin the following
manner : " I feel truly sensible of your kind
regard for that dear little orphan, Horatia.
Although her parents are lost, yet she is not
without a fortune : and I shall cherish her to
the last moment of my life ; and curse them who
curse her, and Heaven bless them who bless her !
Dear innocent ! she can have injured no one.
I am glad to hear that she is attached to you ;
and, if she takes after her parents, so she will to
those who are kind to her."
There was certainly a degree of duplicity in

LAD Y HAMILTON 2 7 1
"writing thus to a female relation, on a subject
which did not require any correspondence at
all ; but there was a much greater meanness in
suffering this young lady to reside in a depen
dent capacity with Lady Hamilton, whose dissi
pated turn of mind was well known to all the
visitors at Merton. Whatever were the accom
plishments of her Ladyship in other respects,
few persons, who had any regard for the sub
stantial attainments which constitute the great
excellence of the female character, would for any
consideration have placed a favourite daughter
in such a family.
The company at this place was of a descrip
tion not very likely to improve the morals or to
enlarge the mind of a young person ; for here
might be found Italian singers and English
performers, newspaper editors, and miserable
poetasters, adventurers without character, and
ladies whose names were no recommendation at
court. Much has been said of the great loyalty
of Lady Hamilton ; and her advocates have
expatiated on this supposed virtue ; but if
she really merited the encomiums which have
been so extravagantly paid her on this ac
count, she would hardly have encouraged the
most rancorous party writers, virulent satir
ists, and determined republicans, at her table.

272 MEMOIRS OF
The names of these persons could easily be men-*
tioned, and the author of this memoir is neither
unacquainted with the freedom of the conversa
tion which took place at the orgies of Merton
Place, nor with the communications which were
there made on political subjects.
At the beginning of the year 1805, this
woman had the vanity and impudence, when
writing to Mr. Alexander Davidson, to subjoin
what she properly enough called " some of her
bad verses on her soul's idol ! " Disagreeable
as it is to dwell upon this shocking connection,
to which so many persons gave their counte
nance, whose situations in life called for another
line of behaviour, the present volume would be
incomplete without this specimen of Lady
Hamilton's poetical talents, and of the delicacy
of her moral principles, for both which she has
been celebrated by her flatterers : —
EMMA TO NELSON.
I think I have not lost my heart.
Since I with truth can swear,
At every moment of my life.
I feel my Nelson there !
If from thine Emma's breast, her heart
Were stolen, or flown away.
Where, where, should she my Nelson's love
Record, each happy day ?

LAD Y HAMILTON. 273
If from thine Emma's breast, her heart
Were stolen, or flown away.
Where, where, should she engrave, my love
Each tender word you say ?
Where, where, should Emma treasure up
Her Nelson's smiles and sighs ?
Where mark with joy each secret look
Of love from Nelson's eyes ?
Then do not rob me ol my heart,
Unless you first forsake it ;
And then so wretched it would be.
Despair alone will take it.

19

CHAPTER XIV.

Fair laughs the morn, and soft the
zephyr blows,
While proudly riding o'er the azure
realm,
In gallant trim the gilded vessel goes ;
Youth on the prow, and pleasure at
the helm ;
Regardless of the sweeping whirlwjnd*s
sway.
That hush'd in grim repose expects
his coming prey. Gray.

HEN Lord Nelson arrived at
Portsmouth, after his unsuc
cessful pursuit of the combined
French and Spanish fleets, in
August, 1805, Lady Hamilton
was at Southend with Mrs.
Billington and Horatia ; but on receiving the
agreeable intelligence, she hastened to Merton,
where the rest of his Lordship's family also
assembled to welcome the hero. One person,
indeed, was wanting ; nor did any mediating

MEMOIRS OF LADY HAMILTON. 275
voice offer a soothing word to Induce the gallant
admiral to see his lady, even as an old acquaint
ance ; and it Is a melancholy fact that she never
had a single interview with him during his last
residence In England. But at Merton all was
gaiety on this joyous occasion, and crowds of
visitors went thither every day to pay their
respects to his Lordship, and the ascendant who
ruled his affections. Such was the morality
which distinguished the zealous admirers of this
great man, that they appeared to have laid aside
In his presence those feelings which usually
actuate honourable minds, on witnessing scenes
of impurity, and being obliged to endure, for a
moment, the company of women who have lost
all sense of shame. That any of the persons
thus admitted to a familiar intercourse with the
noble owner of Merton Place, and the lady
who presided at his table, could be ignorant of
the attachment which subsisted between them,
cannot be supposed, since it is well known that
neither of the parties took the precaution of
casting the slightest veil over their connection.
On the contrary, they both gloried In it, and
it was customary for his Lordship, at receiving
bis visitors, to introduce them to the mistress of
the place, " who unfortunately," to use his own
phrase, " was not yet Lady Nelson."

276 MEMOIRS OE
When this brave man was at Naples, he
expressed his contempt of that court as being
the " seat of fiddlers and poets, whores and
scoundrels ; " yet it is no less strange than true,
that his house at Merton exhibited frequently
groups of characters not a whit more respectable
than those whom he so emphatically described
in Italy. Opera singers and ballad makers,
foreign noblemen and their mistresses, with
English players, gamblers, and musicians, were
the favourite guests of Lady Hamilton ; though
no doubt the qualities and pursuits of some of
these personages were studiously concealed from
the knowledge of his Lordship. It may, how
ever, well excite surprise, that he should not
have felt disgusted at the svcophants who sur
rounded his table, and whose manners, for the
most part, were as coarse as their principles.
But so long as Emma was gratified by the
adulation which she received, her noble friend
appeared to be under an obligation to the persons
who bestowed it, especially as he enjoyed a large
portion of the incense.
Among other persons who were entertained
at Merton was Dr. Wolcot, generally known by
his poetical appellation of Peter Pindar. This-
eccentric character, having indulged rather freely
one evening in his favourite potation, set fire

LAD Y HAMIL TON. 2 7 7
to his night-cap on going to bed. The cap
belonged to Lord Nelson, and the next morning
the bard pinned a paper to it with these lines :
Take your night-cap again, my good Lord, I desire ;
For I wish not to keep it a minute :
What belongs to a Nelson, where'er there's a fire,
Is sure to be instantly in it.
It had long been the desire of Nelson that
Lady Hamilton should take Horatia home to
live with her ;' and this she not only engaged to
do in her letters, but she actually informed him
that the child was settled at Merton, which
circumstance did not happen till his return,
because her Ladyship was unwilling to have
such a restraint on her amusements as this
charge would necessarily have occasioned. But
at this period, the child was fixed with her, and
a small settlement was made for life on the
person who had brought her up. Insignificant
as such circumstances may seem, they serve to
throw light on the history of this extraordinary
connection, as well as on the characters of those
'In a letter already quoted, Nelson says to Lady
Hamilton : "I am glad you are going to take her
¦^Horatia) home ; and if you will take the trouble with
Eliza and Ann " (the children of his sister, Mrs. Bolton),
•" I am the very last to object."

2 78 MEMOIRS OF
who were the depositories of the herb's con
fidence. The present Earl perhaps may recollect who-
it was that, after the death of his brother,
ordered the nurse to hand over to him the
instrument by which the annuity was settled
upon iher, and the bitterness with which the
poor woman was treated for bringing only a.
copy of the deed, which, on receiving, he hurried
out of the room ; but when he discovered that
this was not the original, he hastened back, and
behaved with such outrage as to hurt the feelings
of his own wife, who was insulted by him for
taking the poor woman's part.
That document was framed under Lord-
Nelson's inspection by his own solicitor and
executor ; its validity therefore required no-
proof : nor was it doubtful for what services the
grant had been made. This of course is an.
additional testimony to the fact that the child
was admitted by the admiral to be his own ;.
though, if the slightest shade of uncertainty
could be supposed to exist in the mind of any
unbiassed person, it must be removed by this
codicil to his will : " I give and bequeath to
Miss Horatia Nelson Thompson, who was bap
tized on the 13th of May last, in the parish of
St. Mary-Ie-bone, in the county of Middlesex,.

LADY HAMILTON. 279
by Benjamin Lawrence, curate, and John Wil-
lock, assistant clerk, (and who I acknowledge as
my adopted daughter)the sum of ^4,000 sterling
money of Great Britain, to be paid at the ex
piration of six months after my decease, or
sooner, if possible ; and I leave my dearest
friend Emma, Lady Hamilton, sole guardian of
the said Horatia Nelson Thompson, until she
shall have arrived at the age of eighteen years ;
and the interest of the said ^^4,000 to be paid to
Lady Hamilton, for her education and main
tenance. This request of guardianship I
earnestly make of Lady Hamilton, knowing
that she will educate my adopted child in the
paths of religion and virtue, and give her the
accomplishments which so much adorn herself,
and, I hope, make her a fit wife for my dear
nephew, Horatio Nelson, who I wish to marry
her, if he proves worthy, In Lady Hamilton's -
estimation, of such a treasure as I am sure she
will be."
Infatuated as this extraordinary man un
questionably was by the delusions which were
so cunningly cast over his mind, still it is clear
from this expressive declaration of his senti
ments, that in truth he regarded the child in the
nearest possible light ; for, had she been an
orphan cast upon his bounty, he would have

28o MEMOIRS OF
stated who were her parents ; and, if she had
been the offspring of any obscure persons, he
would hardly have recommended her in the way
he did to his nephew, of whom he was always
very fond. The impudent writer ofthe memoirs
of Lord Nelson, composed under the inspection
of Lady Hamilton, allows plainly enough that
this was his Lordship's child ; though he in
sinuates at the same time that the mother was
dead at the time when that scandalous account
was published. But if this was the case, why
was not the name ofthe woman mentioned ; and
how happened it that no one ever claimed any
parental relation to the infant, from the time of
its birth, except Lord Nelson and Lady Hamil
ton } But to put this matter beyond all doubt, a
passage from one of his Lordship's last letters to
the woman who had alienated him from his
connubial duties will show the entire conviction
which he had that this child constituted the link
that united him to the object of his admiration.
" I entreat, my dear Emma," says he, " that you
will cheer up : and we will look forward to
many, many happy years, and be surrounded
by our children's children. God Almighty can,
when He pleases, remove the impediment."
Shocking and profane as the last observation
is, for it could have only one meaning, that

LADY HAMILTON. 281
which precedes it is an express acknowledgment
that there was then existing a living pledge of
their mutual attachment ; for, otherwise, the
language Is absolute nonsense. In speaking of
children, his Lordship could not allude to the
distant prospect of a union after the death of
his wife ; for both he and Lady Hamilton were
now arrived at a period when issue was hardly
to be expected. His cheering remark, therefore,
must have been grounded on the object which
they already enjoyed, and the fond hope that
the honours of Nelson would descend to the
fruits of that alliance which his Lordship had
projected between his nephew and the child
whom he called his adopted daughter.
The author of the scandalous memoirs has
spoken of the loves of these persons in terms of
admiration ; though he allows that had Lady
Nelson died, their marriage would certainly
have taken place. Now this hireling knew, for
he had the documents before him at the time,
that, while Sir Willianl Hamilton was living, a
correspondence was carried on between his lady
and Nelson, which went far beyond the limits
of Innocent esteem and virtuous friendship.
Here we are compelled reluctantly once more
±0 notice that abominable Insult upon all truth
.and modesty, because it exhibits another , atro-

282 MEMOIRS OF
clous instance of her Ladyship's utter want of
integrity and delicacy, even where the honour-
of her hero was particularly affected by the story
which she invented. Not content with evincing
the unqualified supremacy which she had over
the heart of Nelson, this intriguing woman was-
resolved to participate in the glory which ex
clusively belonged to him, and to have her share-
of the laurels which he so proudly earned. As-
she pretended to have contributed most effec
tually to the victory of Aboukir by her influence-
in Sicily, so she had the hardihood to claim the-
merit of having been the cause of that at Tra
falgar. To substantiate this assumption, she-
dictated to her amanuensis at Merton the follow
ing tale, which appeared first in the historical
romance published by Lady Hamilton's means ;
and, what is still worse, it has been most
imprudently copied from thence into Southey's-
Life of Nelson. The story is as follows : " When-
Captain Blackwood arrived at Merton with the:
news that the combined fleets had arrived at
Cadiz, Lord Nelson is stated to have treated it-
lightly, having no intention to go to sea again,
and contenting himself with saying, ' Let the-
man trudge it who has lost his budget : ' but,"
observes the narrator, " amid all this allegro of
the tongue to his friends at Merton Place,.

LAD Y HAMIL TON. 28 j
Lady Hamilton observed that his countenance,
from that moment, wore occasional marks of
the penseroso In his bosom. In this state of
mind he was pacing one ofthe walks of Merton
garden, which he always called the quarter-deck,
when Lady Hamilton told him that she per
ceived he was low and uneasy. He smiled and
said, — ' No ! I am as happy as possible : ' adding,
that he saw himself surrounded by his family ;
that he found his health better since he had
been at Merton ; and that he would not give a
sixpence to call the king his uncle. Her Lady
ship replied, that she did not believe what he
said ; and that she would tell him what was the
matter with him. That he was longing to get
at these French and Spanish fleets ; that he con-
isidered them as his property, and would be
miserable If any other man but himself did the
business ; that he must have them as the price
and reward of his long watching, and two years
uncomfortable situation In the Mediterranean ;.
and finished by saying, — ' Nelson, however we
may lament your absence, and your so speedily
leaving us, offer your services immediately to go
off Cadiz : they will be accepted, and you will
gain a quiet heart by it. You will have a
glorious victory ; and then you may come here,
have your otium cum dignitate, and be happy."

284 MEMOIRS OF
He looked at her Ladyship for some moments ;
and, with tears in his eyes, exclaimed, — 'Brave
Emma I good Emma ! if there were more
Emmas, there would be more Nelsons. You
have penetrated my thoughts. I wish all you
say, but was afraid to trust even myself with
reflecting on the subject. However, I will go
to town.' He went accordingly, next morning,
accompanied by her Ladyship, and his sisters.
They left him at the Admiralty, on the way to
Lady Hamilton's house in Clarges Street ; and
soon after received a note, informing them that
the Victory was telegraphed not to go into port,
and begging they would prepare everything for
his departure. This," says the biographer, " is
the true history of that affecting affair. Her
ladyship feels, most severely, that she was the
cause of his going : but as she loved his glory,
she could not resist giving him such advice."
Now in all this history, as the writer calls it,
there is not one particle of truth ; for Captain
Blackwood called at Merton by appointment,
to apprize him of the news ; immediately on
which, and before Lady Hamilton knew any
thing of the matter, his Lordship expressed his
satisfaction at the intelligence, being convinced
that he should be able to give Villeneuve a
drubbing. He accordingly began to arrange

LADY HAMILTON. 285
matters for his departure ; having. Indeed,
already held consultations with the Admiralty
on the subject. Bound, as Nelson was. In the
fascinating arms of his Dalilah, he had not lost
his sense of public duty, nor his love of glory.
But though he cannot, in justice, be deprived
ofthe merit of having acted with perfect free
dom of mind, in following the call of honour to
the last wreath which it procured him, yet a
melancholy evidence appeared under his own
hand to prove how completely his affections
remained spell-bound to the last day of his
existence. In the morning, when he was pre
paring for action, with the enemy in view, he
drew up the following statement, as a kind of
testamentary bequest.^
" Whereas the eminent services of Emma
Hamilton, widow of the Right Honourable
Sir William Hamilton, have been of the very
greatest service to our king and country, to my
knowledge, without her receiving any reward
from eitlier our king or country :
" First, that she obtained the King of Spain's
letter, in 1796, to his brother the King of
Naples, acquainting him of his inclination to
declare war against England ; from which
letter the ministry sent out orders to the then
' October 21, 1805.

.286 MEMOIRS OF
Sir John Jervis, to strike a stroke, if opportunity
afforded, against either the arsenals of Spain, or
her fleets : that neither of these was done, is not
the fault of Lady Hamilton ; the opportunity
might have been offered.
" Secondly, the British fleet under my com
mand could never have returned the second
time to Egypt, had not Lady Hamilton's
influence with the Queen of Naples caused
letters to be wrote to the governor of Syracuse,
that he was to encourage the fleet being supplied
with everything, should they put into any port
in Sicily. We put into Syracuse, and received
every supply ; went to Egypt, and destroyed
the French fleet.
"Could I have rewarded these services, I
would not now call upon my country. But as
that has not been in my power, I leave Emma
Hamilton, therefore, a legacy to my king and
country ; that they will give her an ample
provision to maintain her rank in life.
" I also leave to the beneficence of my country
my adopted daughter, Horatia Nelson Thomp
son ; and I desire she will use, in future, the
name of Nelson only.
" These are the only favours I ask of my
king and country, at this moment, when I am
going to fight their battle.

LADY HAMILTON. 287
" May God bless my king and country, and
all those I hold dear ! My relations it is need
less to mention ; they will, of course, be amply
provided for."
That his Lordship felt the truth of what is
stated in this paper cannot be questioned ; but
it has been already seen that her Ladyship's
merits, even as here represented, were greatly
overrated ; and that in reality she had no claims
at all for acts which her husband ought to have
performed ; while of the first it may be said,
that however adroitly It was managed, it had
more art in it than honesty.
When it was ascertained that the wound
which Nelson received was mortal, his thoughts
fluctuated wholly between his glory and his love.
*' I am going fast," said he : " it will be all over
w^ith me soon. Let my dear Lady Hamilton
have my hair, and all other things belonging to
me." Afterwards he observed, " What would
become of poor Lady Hamilton if she knew my
situation ! " On being informe4 ofthe number
of ships captured, he expressed his satisfaction,
and then reverting again to the subject most
interesting to his mind, he said, " Take care of
my dear Lady Hamilton, Hardy : take care of
poor Lady Hamilton." Among his last words
were these : " Doctor, remember me to Lady

288 MEMOIRS OF
Hamilton, remember me to Horatia ! ' Tell her
I have made a will, and left her a legacy to my
country." ' If any further evidence is necessary as to the parentage
of Horatia, an extract or two from the letters of Lad-y
Hamilton is here given. While staying with Nelson's-
brother, the Prebendary, at Canterbury, she wrote to
Nelson on Oct. 4, 1805, a letter which the admiral never
received, or it doubtless would have been destroyed, like
most of the others which came from the same person.
After a little gossip, she says : " I send you a letter of Miss
Conners, as their is much in it about our dear girl (Ho
ratia). I allsoe had one from my mother who doats on her.
She says she could not live without her. What a blessing
for her parents to have such a child. — God spare her to
them." In another letter, sent from the same place a few
days after, and which Nelson never saw, as Trafalgar was
won, and he had gloriously fallen, before it could reach
him, Lady Hamilton writes : " I was obliged to send for
Mariana down, and my mother can ill spare her. She
gives me such an amiable account of our dear Horatia. I
have now had her so long at Merton, my heart will not
bear to be without her. You will be even fonder of her
when you return. Dearest angel, she is. Oh, Nelson !
how I love her, and how I idolize you, my dearest husband
of my heart." Years afterwards, when Horatia was about
twelve years of age, she was out of favour, temporarily,
with her mother, who smartly scolded her in a letter she
wrote to her on Easter Sunday, 181 3 : —
" Listen to a kind good mother, who has ever been to you
affectionate and truly kind ; and who has neither spared
pains nor expense to make you the most amiable and most
accomplished of your sex. I grieve and lament to see the

LAD Y HA MILTON. 289
Thus fell that illustrious commander, of
whom, if we have been compelled to relate some
circumstances that cast a shade over his private
character, it has solely risen from the necessity
of obeying the voice of truth, and of doing
justice to the cause of injured virtue ; not from
a wish to wound the feelings of the living, or to
disparage the real merits ofthe dead.
increasing strength of your turbulent passions. I shall
go to join your father, and my blessed mother ; and may
you on your death-bed have as little to reproach yourself,
as your affectionate mother has. I shall to-morrow look
out for a school for your sake, that you may bless the
memory of an injured mother. — Emma Hamilton."
This letter was evidently written in a moment of irri
tation, and Horatia probably not so blameable as here
represented. At all events, the threat of sending her to
school was never carried out.

20

CHAPTER XV.

when you are liberal of your loves and
counsels.
Be sure you are not loose : those you
make friends.
And give your hearts to, when they
once perceive
The least rub in your fortunes, fall
away
Like water from ye, never found again
But where they mean to sink ye.
Shakspeare.

^HE death of Nelson had a pro
digious effect upon the public
mind, and the grief at his loss
was equal to the exultation pro
duced by his victory! : yet his
beloved Emma could not help
mixing much affectation with her real sorrow ;
and while she lamented the breach which had
dried up the great stream of her pleasure and
ambition, she made such a parade of her concern
as tended to excite a suspicion that her affliction
arose more from a sense of disappointment than

MEMOIRS OF LADY HAMILTON. 291
¦from real affection to the hero. Of this, indeed,
a striking instance appeared in her conduct at
the theatre, when Braham brought forward the
favourite song of the "Death of Nelson," inthe
-opera of " Thirty Thousand." Her Ladyship
was present at the very first representation, and
at the conclusion of the song she fainted away.
The house of course was thrown into confusion,
and her Ladyship was conveyed to a private
apartment till she recovered. She attended at
the second performance, and again fainted. The
same scene was exhibited on the third night,
and likewise on the fourth, till at length the
managers, expecting the regular return of this
exhibition, prepared for it, adding to hartshorn
and other restoratives a cordial of greater po
tency. The plain truth is, the whole was a
mere trick, for she always contrived to secure
one of the most conspicuous seats in the house
with the obvious design of playing her part to
the greatest advantage.
The manner in which Lord Nelson remem
bered her Ladyship in his will' had a powerful
' By the will and codicils, Lady Hamilton was left-.-
his diamond star, a sum of ^^2,000, an annuity of ^^500 per
annum for life charged on the Bronte estate in Sicily,
Merton Place, with its furniture, gardens, and grounds ;
and the yearly interest of the :£4,ooo settled on his
-daughter Horatia, till she was eighteen years of age.

292 MEMOIRS OF
effect no doubt in consoling her mind under the
loss she had sustained by his death ; and the
neglect which it produced on the part of those
who out of complaisance to him had been.
accustomed to treat her with superabundant
kindness, was somewhat alleviated by the con
viction that her dominion over him was not
shaken even by the terrors of dissolution.
Her picture and that of Horatia adorned his
cabin, and these objects were contemplated by
him with as much delight as the representations
of saints are beheld by the devout Romanist.
Here let us close the catalogue of Nelson's in
firmities, and the mournful display of his inex
cusable failings ; but before the curtain is drawtK
over the weak part of his character, it is necessary,
for the great end of moral instruction, that a
caveat should be entered against that unpardon
able but too common error of making the
splendour of great actions and transcendent-
talents an excuse for aberrations from the line of
private duty, and the still more shameful practice
of setting off occasional fits of devotion, and
rnstances of liberality, as an atonement for
habitual adultery. That this extraordinary man
had a general reverence for religion, and that he-
possessed many excellent qualities of the heart
and understanding, cannot be denied ; yet,.

LADY HAMILTON. 293
.amidst all this, it must be said of him that he
was not so much a virtuous man as an admirer
-of virtue, and that religion in him was not an
active operating principle, but a fluctuating
sentiment of mental feeling.
It is greatly to be lamented that few If any
exertions were made by those who enjoyed his
confidence to draw him from that perilous sltua-
-tion into which he had been deluded ; while, on
the contrary, it seemed to be the study of them
all to encourage him in his folly, by redoubling
their attentions to the enchantress who had be
witched him, in proportion as they saw that he
was gratified by these courtesies. His nearest
relations, instead of being scandalized by the
¦connection which he had formed, were eager to
^gain his favour by courting the smiles of his
;mistress ; and while his unoffending wife was
left to pick up the casual pity and consolations
-of strangers, the woman who had succeeded in
^exiling her from the house and heart of her lord
revelled in luxury, surrounded by all the
branches of the family, vying with each other
¦for her friendship, and ambitious of the honour
•of receiving her Into their habitations.
But no sooner did the moving power cease
¦by which these persons were stimulated to cul-
-tivate the good opinion of a female, who had a

294 MEMOIRS OF
sovereign contempt for the laws by which the
social relations are preserved, than they all
gradually dropped the mask, and abandoned the:
fescinating Emma, because she could no longer
further their views, or promote their interest.'
Some who had lived under her roof for
months, and even years, who were entertained
daily at her table, where they laughed at her-
witticisms, and were enraptured by her melodies,
slunk away, as if they were anxious to discard
her from their memories. Nay, there were not
wanting others, who, after seeking her company
with the most ardent professions of esteem, and
feeling proud of her correspondence, now turned.
^ This assertion is far too sweeping, and contrary to
fact. Soon after the publication of the first edition oF
these annotated memoirs in 1891, the editor was favoured.
with a communication from Major-General Montgomery
Moore, grandson of Mrs. Matcham, Lord Nelson's sister ;.
which authoritatively refutes some of the statements made-
in that work. On the passage in question, the General
says. Nelson's relatives after his death did not abandon
Lady Hamilton. "Lady Hamilton was a frequent visitor-
at my grandfather's (Mr. Matcham) place, Ashfold Lodge,
Sussex, for years after Lord Nelson's death, and my
mother always spoke of her periodical visits to them as-
gala days, which the children of the family always looked
forward to. In 18 11 she was godmother to my uncle,
Mn Nelson Matcham, the youngest son of Nelson's-
si§ter."

LAD Y HAMILTON. 295
the heel upon her, and took a pleasure in mag
nifying her errors, forgetting that in so doing
they condemned themselves for the want of
delicacy, candour, and gratitude.
While her admirer lived, these birds of
passage had no dislike to the hospitalities
which she delighted to afford, but his death
produced a wonderful alteration in their sense
of propriety, and in the expression of their
feelings. Their conduct plainly Indicated by
what principles they had been guided in seeking
for the acquaintance of a woman on whom they
now turned their backs, and whose character
was thus admitted by themselves to have been
undeserving of esteem at the very period when
she was the object of their flattery.
All these proofs, however, of the capricious
ness of that friendship which results from mer
cenary motives, failed to operate on the mind
of Emma, in producing a change of manners,
and an attention to economy. Even the ex
tinction of her fondest hope, by the catastrophe
of the hero to whom she was attached, had not
the effect of correcting her love of pleasure, or
of moderating her propensity to extravagance.
She strove to counteract the mortification pro
duced by the contemptuous neglect which she
experienced in one quarter, by enlarging the

296 MEMOIRS OF
circle of her acquaintance. In the choice of
these new friends she certainly was far from
being over-scrupulous, and none who felt any
concern about the moral qualities of their as
sociates would have been much at their ease in
the companies that were usually assembled at
Merton Place. The consequence of all this was
soon felt in the embarrassments occasioned by
the wanton profiision and indiscriminate waste
which prevailed in her household, when the
reservoir that had formerly supplied the means
of indulgence was dried up. With ordinary
prudence, indeed, the income which she derived
from the settlement of her husband, and the
donations of her noble admirer, would have been
amply sufficient for her support in a style fully
commensurate with her rank and pretensions.
But the cast of characters which she delighted in
consisted of creatures whose sole object was to
devour all that came within their reach : and
while they fastened like locusts upon the fertile
spot which allured their presence, the moment
that a change took place in its circumstances,
they were the first to fly away. There were
indeed two or three persons who offered their
advice to this improvident woman, with the
view of turning her from this course of dissi
pation and ruin ; but all their counsels were

LADY HAMILTON. 297
thrown away, till the clamours of creditors
became too numerous to be slighted, and their
measures too hostile to admit of compromise or
delay. Within a few years after the death of
Lord Nelson, an account was taken of her Lady-
-shlp's debts, by three gentlemen of reputation ;
and it being found that she owed about eighteen
thousand pounds, it was deemed necessary to
¦dispose of the effects in Surrey, as well as the
property in London, by which about a surplus
of little more than two thousand pounds was
saved from the wreck.' This was a lesson
which ought to have made a deep impression on
the most thoughtless mind : but though the
person who had been so severely taught still
possessed more than one thousand pounds a-year,
she soon contracted fresh debts, by continuing
to pursue the same career of folly. About this
' In November, 1808, a meeting of the friends of Lady
Hamilton was held at the house of Alderman Sir John
Perring to see what could be done to relieve her from her
pecuniary embarrassments and difBculties. A statement
of her debts, &c., was submitted, and the result of the con
ference was, that she gave up Merton Place, and other
^jroperty, in trust, to Sir J. Perring, Mr. Alexander
Davison, and three other gentlemen, with power to sell,
if they thought it necessary, for the benefit of her creditors
.and the settlement of her affairs. Six of her sympathizers
present at the meeting subscribed over j^3,ooo for her
immediate benefit.

298 MEMOIRS OF
time her mother died, at an advanced age, ir»
private lodgings in Bond Street ; and her re
mains were interred in the new burying-ground
at Paddington.
It is at least some relief from the general dis
gust excited by the consideration of a scene of
levity, that there was one feature of virtue
uniformly perceptible through the complicated.
course of deception, voluptuousness, and de
pravity ; for through the whole of her life,
Emma behaved with the most dutiful regard
to her parent, of whom she was not ashamed,
even when her table was graced by persons of
high distinction. Let this then be remembered
to her praise, when the flagitiousness of her
conduct in wounding the peace of an excellent
woman, and tarnishing the laurels of a hero,
who but for those arts which she practised
would have shone with unspotted lustre, shall
be mentioned with regret and indignation.
After the death of Nelson, Lady Hamilton
was extremely piqued at the munificent grants
which were showered by Parliament upon the-
several members of his family, while all her
claims, and the recommendations of the departed
chief, were disregarded. The declaration, in
the form of a codicil, which his Lordship drew
up, and attested in her favour, the last day of

LAD Y HAMILTON. 299-
his life, having been delivered to his brother,
was kept by him till the earldom and the Parlia
mentary rewards were all settled; and then,
with an air of triumph, he threw her the paper,
because he knew that it could be of no other
use to her than as an additional proof of the
hold which she maintained to the last over the
heart of the illustrious writer.' This, indeed,
' The Reverend William Nelson, D.D., first Earl
Nelson, was possibly a very commonplace kind of
person, who wanted, and took for himself, all he was-
enabled to get in the shape of preferment or money ;
but the grave charge against him of concealing the
codicil of his brother's will, till all that Parliament would
grant was voted to him and his family, is quite contrary
to fact, and has no foundation whatever. The purport
of the note was well known to many persons — some of
them staunch friends to Lady Hamilton, and in high
positions — weeks before the funeral of Lord Nelson took
place, on January 9, 1 806. Some months before the
Parliamentary grant was made to the Nelson family, the
Hon. George Rose, M.P., and Paymaster to the Forces,
in writing to Lady Hamilton on December 9, 1 805, in
formed her, that she would learn from Captain Hardy,
" that Lord Nelson, within the hour preceding the com
mencement of the action in which he immortalized his;
name, made an entry in his pocket-book, strongly recom
mending a remuneration to you for your services to the
country when the fleet under his command was in Sicily,
after his first return from Egypt, on which subject he had.
spoken to me with great earnestness more than once.""
He goes on to say that he would lay the memorandum.

300 MEMOIRS OF
was but a bad return for all the kindness which
the new lord had experienced himself, and
particularly for the liberal manner in which his
daughter had been entertained at Merton, where
ibefore the Prime Minister, and support its request with
all his influence. " My application must be to Mr. Pitt,
but the reward (to which I have not the slightest hesita
tion in saying I think you are, both on principle and
in policy, well entitled) must, I conceive, be from the
I'oreign Secretary of State." The pension Lady Hamilton
sought for would most probably have been granted to
her, but for the almost unexpected decease of Mr. Pitt.
When Earl Nelson, on December 23, 1805, went to
Doctor's Commons to prove the will of his brother, he
took the pocket-book containing the note, or codicil, with
him, and conferred with Sir W. Scott, the Judge of the
Consistory Court, as to the best manner of treating it, as
the memorandum had no relation to any portion of
ithe deceased Admiral's estate. It was decided that there
was no reason for proving this note with the other codicils,
and the Earl left it in the care of Sir W. Scott (who was
a sympathizer with Lady Hamilton, and of opinion that
she had strong claims on the Government for a pension)
-for more than seven weeks. At the expiration of that
time the Earl took away the pocket-book, and, to quote
Jiis own words, " gave it to Lord Grenville " (who had
.succeeded Pitt as Prime Minister); " and at the same
time he read it to his Lordship, and strongly pointed out
to him the parts relative to Lady Hamilton and the
-child ; and in doing this Lord Nelson observed to Lord
Grenville, that he thought he was most effectually pro
moting the interest of Lady Hamilton, and doing his
¦duty, in which Lord Grenville acquiesced." On receiving

LADY HAMILTON. 301:
she was a settled resident several years. But
nothing better could well be expected of one,
who, after his advancernent to the peerage,
with its lucrative consequences, continued to-
bold tenaciously his ecclesiastical preferment, in
opposition to his brother's dying request, that it
might be relinquished in favour of the friend
who attended him in his last moments.' This,
therefore, is one instance among many which.
might be adduced to show, that whatever be the
policy and justice of acting liberally towards
those who greatly distinguish themselves In the
cause of their country, there ought to be some
prudence and discrimination in apportioning
national honours and rewards. When a brave
commander falls in battle, let his widow and
children, if he has any, be properly remunerated ;
but there surely is little wisdom in conferring
high distinctions and immense grants upon
collateral branches of the family, without con-
the memorandum from the Earl, Lady Hamilton immedi
ately registered it at Doctor's Commons, and charged him
with withholding it for the purpose of putting as much as
he could ofthe money voted by Parliament into his own
pocket, to her disadvantage.
' The Rev. A. J. Scott, chaplain of the Victory, in.
whose arms Nelson died. He was made D.D. by royal
mandate, but never obtained the prebendal stall at
Canterbury Nelson intended him to have.

302 MEMOIRS OF
sidering whether they have either virtue of
talents that may entitle them to such favours.
As Nelson died without legitimate issue, the
most proper course would have been to have
created his lady a peeress, in her own right,
with an ample estate to support the title. In
doing this, Government would have marked its
respect for virtue, at the same time that it
expressed a due regard for the extraordinary
services of the gallant admiral : but by passing
the widow entirely aside in the distribution of
honours, and pouring the whole, with immense
prodigality, upon persons whose own merits
would never have raised them to eminence,
something very like neglect bordering on in
justice was committed.
Here then was a justifiable ground of com
plaint ; but Lady Hamilton most unquestionably
had no right to make any, since the very nature
of her demands prevented them from being
attended to by any ministers who retained a
reverence for private virtue. But while the
suffering widow of Nelson ' neither murmured
against the Government, nor resented the con
duct of her relations, the woman who ought
to have preserved an absolute silence was loud
' Lady Nelson was granted by Parliament ;£z,ooo per
annum for life. She died May 4, 1 831.

LADY HAMILTON. 303
and vehement on the subject of her pretended
wrongs. She also caused the life ofthe hero to
be printed. In which her merits were displayed
with great parade, and a bitter anathema was
•denounced against the British nation, should it
•still continue deaf to her claims. She afterwards
printed a memorial, setting forth more in detail
these services, and the ill-treatment which she
bad experienced, not only from Government, but
from individuals who owed her the greatest
obligations. Though these representations were
properly disregarded, because they rested for
the most part on fallacious grounds ; still. It
cannot be denied, that the orphan, who was so
feelingly bequeathed to the nation by the dying
Nelson, has a just call upon the country for an
adequate provision suited to her origin. Let
not the faults of the parents be visited on the
head of the innocent : and while so much has
been showered upon persons, whose good-fortune
is owing solely to their alliance in blood to this
distinguished commander, it would be cruel to
withhold a portion of the public bounty from
the child of his dearest affections.
It Is to be lamented that our great hero did
not himself take better care of this beloved
object, by his testamentary settlement, than
leaving her under the sole guardianship of Lady

304 MEMOIRS OF
Hamilton, with an encomium upon her Lady
ship's moral and religious qualities, which, he
must have known, she did not deserve. As a
proof how well she merited this confidence and
praise, it may be mentioned, without any injury
to the survivor, that she made it her chief study
to instruct the young Horatia, when seven or-
eight years old, in theatrical action, declamation,
and singing. So imprudent indeed was the
mother, as to cause the child to exhibit before
large companies in various characters, to sho-w
her agility, the elegance of her attitudes, and
the powers of her memory in recitation. ,
Much as Lady Hamilton had to complain of
the inconstancy of her most intimate acquain
tance, and of the want of gratitude in those
upon whom she placed the greatest dependence,
there were a few persons of rank and affluence,
who still admired her accomplishments, and
contributed to the supply of her wants. The
principal of these was the late Duke of Queens
berry, who had followed her with delight in
former days, and who cheerfully renewed an
acquaintance with her on the return of Sir
William to England. When her Ladyship was
obliged to part with Merton,' and to lay down
' In September, 1808, while at Richmond, she offered;
Merton, with its furniture, to the Duke of Queensberry-
for 1, 1 5,000, but the offer was not accepted.

LADY HAMILTON. 305
her catriage, his Grace generously furnished a
house for her at Richmond, and allowed her a
sufficiency, by which she was enabled again to
set up an equipage. His presents also were
very large ; and when he died, at the close of
the year 1 8 10, he bequeathed to her one thou
sand pounds, with an annuity, charged upon his
personal estate, of five hundred more. But as
the extent of the legacies appeared to go beyond
the means of defraying them, an application to
the Court of Chancery put a restraint upon the
payment, and her Ladyship derived no advantage
from the benevolent intentions of her noble
friend. This disappointment was rendered more
severe by the folly of enlarging her establish
ment on the expected increase of her income.
Fresh difficulties were the consequence, and
many efforts were made to extricate her Lady
ship from them by renewed application to
Government ; and even the patriotic flind at
Lloyd's was moved to bestow a liberal grant
upon one, who, it was alleged, had rendered
essential service to her country. But none of
these petitions proving successful, and most of
her private friends falHng off in the time of her
utmost need, an execution was entered upon her
property, the whole of which was sold by auction
in Bond Street, not even excepting the presents
21

3o6 MEMOIRS OF
which she had received from Lord Nelson,
including among other valuable articles, the box
with the freedom of the city of Oxford, given
by that corporation to the hero of the Nile.
But misfortune did not end here, for other
creditors, being vexed at the loss which they
had sustained, arrested her Ladyship, in the
summer of 1813, and she was conveyed to the
King's Bench, within the rules of which prison
she resided,' with her daughter, enduring many
privations, and feeling the instability of friend
ship, and the uncertainty of human enjoyments.
But, as if this extraordinary woman had been
destined to endure the utmost mortification
from the ingratitude of the worthless parasites
who formerly basked in the sunshine of her
prosperity, while she was thus in confinement,
some of her confidants had the unparalleled
impudence to publish the letters which passed
between her and Nelson, adding to that scan
dalous collection several others, from various
persons of eminence. It has been too generally
supposed, that Lady Hamilton, in the season of
her affliction, yielding to necessity and resent
ment, suffered these sad proofs of infidelity to
be given to the worid ; but in this she has been
greatly wronged ; and amidst all her faults, the
' At 12, Temple Place.

LADY HAMILTON. 307
Tsreach of faith in this instance, cannot with
justice be added to the number. At the time
when she was silly enough to cause a vindica
tion of her conduct abroad, and her connection
with Nelson to be written, she took a man and
his family into her house, who lived there,
•entirely at her expense, for the space of two
years. This wretch having constant access to
all her papers and correspondence, thought
proper to select from the mass what he conceived
would be useful to his ends on a future day.
When therefore the unhappy woman, who had
so indiscreetly misplaced her confidence, could
no longer be of service to those who had fattened
upon her bounty, a foul advantage was taken of
ber helplessness, by publishing this correspon
dence, and artfully making the world believe
that it was done with her consent. In vain did
the sufferer protest against the iniquity of the
deed, and assert her ignorance of the design ;
for the public declaration which she made to
that effect only served as an advertisement to
the work. In doing this, she acted by the
counsel of a very worthy gentleman; but she
would have been better advised, in applying to
the Court of Chancery for an injunction to stop
the publication of private letters, which were
her exclusive property, and had been treacher-

3o8 MEMOIRS OF
ously obtained from her for the worst of
purposes. This was the only effectual course
that could have been adopted in such a nefarious
business ; but unfortunately it was never thought
of by Lady Hamilton, or by the few friends
who remained firm in their attachment, when
the storm of adversity came upon her in the
evening of life. After being in confinement
above ten months, she obtained her discharge-
through the kindness of one of the city alder
men,' who pitied her case, and thought, that,
with all her errors she had been cruelly treated.
Immediately on her liberation, she withdrew to
the Continent, and took up her abode near
Calais,^ till she could have an opportunity of
' Alderman J. J. Smith.
^ Lady Hamilton, in fear of being re-arrested at the
suit of a coach-builder, fled from London to Calais in the-
early summer of 1814. She resided first at "Hotel
Dessin," then at a farmhouse a little way in the country
for some three months ; and finally in apartments in the
Rue Francaise, where she died, January 15, 18 15. The
stories of her destitution during the last few months of
her life are greatly exaggerated, and mostly fabulous. In
a letter written by her to her nephew, the Hon. R. F..
Greville, September 21, 1814, she says : " The best meat
here five pence a pound, 2 quarts of new milk 2 pence, .
fowls 13 pence a couple, ducks the same. We bought
two fine turkeys for four shillins, an excellent turbot for"
half a crown, fresh from the sea, partriges five pence the
couple, good Bordeux wine white and red for fiveteen pence-

LADY HAMILTON. 309
seeking an asylum among her former acquain
tance in Italy, to which country she looked,
¦with some degree of certainty, as affording a
-secure retreat from the chilling contempt and
severity that had so roughly assailed her vanity
in her native land. But, as if she had been
¦destined to find no resting-place In this world,
her means were so contracted, that she could
not follow her inclinations ; which disappoint
ment, with the agitated state of her mind,
owing to the injury she had sustained by the
¦outrage committed upon her private papers,
preyed upon her spirits, and brought on a
disorder which soon assumed an alarming aspect.
>She had for some years lost that elegance of
form which In former days rendered her an
¦^^object of general admiration. This corpulency
was increased by a gross voluptuary Indulgence,
(the bottle, but there are some for ten sous halpeny. . . .
Horatia improves in person and education every day.
She speaks french like a french girl, Italian, german,
¦english, &c." This is anything but starvation, and being
idependent on charity for subsistence ; and Lady Hamilton
had at least, to the last, the interest of the ,/^ 4,000 settled
on her daughter, as well as the wreck of her property
she had brought with her from England, to keep her from
absolute poverty. Her daughter, writing years afterwards,
in 1874, says: "Although often certainly under very
"distressing circumstances, she never experienced actual
avant."

3IO MEMOIRS OF
and an indolent course of life, which brought onr
bilious complaints and flatulency. During the-
whole of her illness she was attended with the
greatest affection by her child, and this alone
gave her comfort in her distressing situation ;
and when, at last, she found that there were no
hopes of a recovery, she employed the little
time that remained in preparing such documents.
and memorials as might be of service to this
interesting object, who was now about to en
counter the rude storms of the world, without a_
relation or guardian to take a tender interest in
her welfare. This consideration pressed heavily
on the mind of the dying parent, who mani
fested the most affectionate concern for her child,
by endeavouring to soothe her mind, and to
allay her fears, gi-ving her advice for her future
conduct, and settling her affairs in such a
manner as appeared best adapted to secure the
property which had been set apart for her use,
from any attempts that might be made to injure
the rights of the orphan and the destitute. A_
sealed packet was also carefully entrusted to her
hands, but with strict injunctions that it should
not be opened till the attainment of her
eighteenth year ; which corresponded also with.
the particular settlement in the codicil added to
the will of Nelson, providing for the main-

LADY HAMILTON. 311
tenance of this very child under the denomina
tion of his adopted daughter.
The author of these sheets had long suspected
that her Ladyship was secretly attached to the
Romish faith ; and her most intimate friends
who knew her in Italy will probably recollect
some particulars, which would serve to
strengthen the persuasion that she had been
reconciled many years ago to that Church.
One circumstance which may be mentioned was
that of her having a confidential monk to attend
her, who passed as her tutor In the languages,
but who, it is strongly suspected, acted as her
confessor. In England, indeed, she went some
times to the parish church, but occasionally she
is known to have visited a Catholic place of
worship : and though persons of her character
have seldom any fixed principles of religion, yet,
towards the close of life, they have generally
some serious compunctions and reflections,
which incline them to embrace any persuasion
that holds out the strongest encouragements to
hope. That this extraordinary woman called In
the assistance of a priest of the Romish Church
in her last moments is certain,' nor Is it less so,
' Lady Hamilton was visited by a Roman Catholic
priest on her death-bed, and was 'ouried according to the
Roman Catholic rite. The testimony of her daughter

312 MEMOIRS OF
that he administered to her the solemn viaticum,
which no ecclesiastic of his communion can
impart to any but baptized members and con
verts. It has been said, that there was no
Protestant minister in the place, whose assistance
could be procured at this awful period ; but
though perhaps that may be true, it is equally
so that she must have been formally admitted
to the peace of the Church by a solemn recog
nition, before absolution could be pronounced,
or the, eucharist, as the seal of her pardon, be
administered. Thus did one of the most extraordinary
women of modern times terminate, on the
1 6th of January, 1815, her course of un
common vicissitudes, in a foreign land, sur
rounded by strangers, and so oppressed by
poverty, that her remains were nearly consigned
to a spot of ground appropriated to the lowest
description of the poor, for the want of means
to defray the expenses of a decent funeral ; when
an English merchant at Calais, shocked at the
circumstance, undertook the charge ; and all the
respectable gentlemen of this nation, amounting
Horatia on this matter is conclusive. Writing in 1874,
she says : " The service was read over the body by a
Roman Catholic priest, who had attended her at her
request during her illness."

LAD Y HAMILTON. 313
to about fifty, attended as mourners at the inter
ment, which was duly performed in the principal
cemetery of that place. The same generous
person, who so humanely provided a decent
.sepulture for the dead, extended also his pro
tecting hand to the child that she had left, and
who was now in danger of suffering for her
mother's folly and extravagance. But the
liberal merchant rescued the drphan from the
machinations of those creditors In France, who,
according to the laws of that country, would
.have detained her for the debts of her parent.'
' Most of these statements are entirely incorrect.
Lady Hamilton was interred in a piece of ground just
outside the town of Calais, which was used as a public
cemetery till 1 8 16. The ground was shortly after this
time u?ed as a timber yard, and all vestiges of the graves
it contained were swept gradually away. On the news of
the decease of Lady Hamilton reaching England, Mr.
Matcham, and not Earl Nelson, went over to Calais, and
brought her daughter Horatia back to England with him,
<lisguised in boy's clothes, as under the French law she
was liable to be arrested for her mother's debts. On her
arrival she was placed under the guardianship of Mrs.
Matcham, in accordance with the last wishes of Lady
Hamilton, and remained with her until she was sixteen
or seventeen years of age. She afterwards resided with
Mr. Bolton (Lord Nelson's brother-in-law), till she became
the wife of the Rev, Philip Ward, sometime Vicar of
"Tenterden in Kent, in February, 1822. By him, she
liad a large family, and died in the 81st year of her age.

314 MEMOIRS OE
On her arrival in England she was entrusted to-
the guardianship of Mr. Matcham, the brother-
in-law of Lord Nelson, and who, there can be
no doubt, will watch over her interests with.
that concern, which he would have felt it his
duty to discharge, had she been committed to
him by the special request of his departed
friend. Thus did the last " scene of all " in the-
" strange eventful history" of the once en
chanting Emma comport with the rest of her
chequered existence; for her life was a series of
marvellous adventures, from the time when she
went barefooted in a Welsh village, to her
entrance upon a state of dissipation in London,.
where her extraordinary beauty and accomplish
ments rendered her an object of universal,
admiration, and occasioned her transplantation
to a soil perfectly suited to her taste for pleasure,.
March 6, 1881. This account of the bringing of Horatia
to England, was furnished to the editor by General Mont
gomery Moore, and completely disposes of the false but
oft-repeated story of the journey of Earl Nelson to Calais,
and the atrocious meanness he exhibited when there, in
endeavouring to obtain possession ofthe plate and trinkets.
Lady Hamilton had pledged in her distress, without pay
ment; refusing to repay any expenses incurred, &c., &c..
The Earl being at the time in England, could not possibly
have had the slightest connection with any part of the-
business.

LAD Y HAMIL TON. 3 1 $
and to the versatile powers of her genius. How
she figured in that land of voluptuous delight,
and the effects which her influence produced, it
will be for history to record, and posterity to<
lament ; but after her return to England she-
began very soon to experience the mutability of
fortune, which she wanted prudence to improve ;.
and, indeed, as her adversity came on, her folly
increased, till at length, solely from that cause
she was driven into exile, where she closed her
days in sorrow and poverty, unpitied by those
around her in the hour of sickness, while her
wretched remains were indebted for a grave to
the hand of charity.

SUPPLEMENTARY NOTE.
Since the note on page 23; was written, by the courtesy
of J. C. Holding, Esq., of Kingsclere, Newbury, the pos
sessor of the original, the editor is enabled to give in
extenso, the text of the first letter Nelson wrote to his
daughter : — "Victory, off Toulon, Oct. 21, 1803.
" My dear Child, — Receive this first letter from your
most affectionate father. If I live it will be my pride to
see you virtuously brought up, but if it pleases God to
call me I trust to Himself, in that case I have left Lady
Hamilton your guardian.
"I therefore charge you, my child, on the value of a
father's blessing, to be obedient and attentive to all her
kind admonitions and instructions. At this moment I
have left you, codicil dated the Sixth of September, the
sum of four thousand sterling, interest of which is to be
paid to Lady Emma Hamilton, your guardian, for your
maintenance and education. I shall only say, my dear
child, may God Almighty bless you and make you an
ornament to your sex, which I am sure you will be if you
attend to all dear Lady Hamilton's kind instructions, and
be assured that I am, my dear Horatia,
" Your most affectionate Father,
"Nelson and Bronte.
" To Miss Horatia Nelson Thompson."

INDEX.

Acton, Sir, J., 117 ; Nelson on his marriage, 118, 140,
168.

Beckford, W., 231.
Billington, Mrs., actress, 80, 259, 274.
Blackwood, Capt. H., 282.
Cadogan, Mrs., 39; anecdote of, 40; at Dresden, 217 j
death of, 297.
Capel, Capt., 150.
Caraccioli, Prince, 183 ; his trial and execution, 186-7,
188 note.
Cirillo, Dr., his letter to Lady Hamilton, 191.
Davison, A., Nelson's letter to, 231, 297.
Derry, Bishop of. Earl of Bristol, 78 ; anecdotes of, 79,
80, 81, 87; letters from, 84-5; his opinion of the
Bourbons,_86 ; his death, 88 ; note on, 89.
Ferdinand, King of Naples, 72 ; his hunting, &c., 73 ;
anecdotes of, 93, 95, 125 ; with his army, 166; at
Palmero, 198.
Fetherstonhaugh, Sir Henry, 14.
Graham, Dr., 19 et seq.

,3 1 8 INDEX.
<jreville, Mr. Charles, 35, 38 et seq.; his parting with
Emma Lyon, 43 ; his arrangement with Sir W.
Hamilton, 56-7, 219, 269.
Hamburgh wine merchant's present to Nelson, 217.
Hamilton, Emma, Lady, baptized, 2 ; nursery maid at
Hawarden, 4 ; in London, 4 ; mistress of Capt.
Payne, 14 ; at Up Park, 15 ; with Dr. Graham, 19
et seq.; painted by Romney, 30; with Mr. C.
Greville, 35 1?? seq.; at Ranelagh, 37 ; goes to Italy
with Sir W. Hamilton, 43; her attitudes, 59, 123 ;
returns to London, 61 ; marries Sir W. Hamilton,
64; leaves England for Naples, 71 ; fracas with
Queen of Naples, 77 ; proposals of King of Naples
to, 95 ; letters, to Countess of Lichtenau, 82 ; to
Romney, 96; to Mr. C. Greville, 57-8; to Nelson,
1^6, z8S ndte ; to Lady Nelson, 160 »fl?^; to Horal
288 note ; to R. F. Greville, 308 note ; on board 1
Vanguard, 152; celebrates Nelson's birthday, 15
aids the Queen of Naples and family in their escape
from Naples, 167 ; with Cardinal Ruffo on board
the Foudroyant, 179 ; her good ofiices, 193 ; presents
from the Queen, 201 ; at Palermo, 208 ; rambles
with Nelson, 209; at Dresden, and "Irish Stew,"
217 note ; in London, 222; strange scene there, 224;
visits Fonthill with Nelson, 231 ; her indisposition,
232; at Merton, 243; visits Blenheim and South
Wales, 247; at Canterbury, 259; visits Norfolk,
260 ; her verses to Nelson, 272 ; her embarrassments,
296 ; in King's Bench prison, 305 ; flight to Calais,
308 ; death and burial, 3 1 1, 313.
Hamilton, Sir W., takes Emma Lyon to Italy, 43 ; his
family, &c., 44-5; his publications, 47-9; created
Knight of the Bath, 54 ; his arrangement with his
nephew, 56-7 ; marries Emma Lyon or Harte, 64 ;
returns to Naples, 71 ; letters from, 90, 93, 121, 137,
242 ; life at Naples, 103-4; entertains Nelson there,
1 1 2-1 3; on board the Foudroyant, 180; recalled,
213; at Dresden, 216; returns to England, 219;
offers Lord Nelson his house, 227 ; death of, 250.

INDEX. 319
Xnight, Miss, verse by, 157.
liiCHTENAu, Countess of, 52, 81 ; letter of Lady Hamilton
to, 83.
Lyon, H., father of Lady Hamilton, 2.
Mackinnon, banker, anecdote of, 106-7.
Matcham, Mrs., 313 note.
""Mrs. Thomson," 236-7, 239.
Nelson, Horatia, birth of, 232; her baptism, 236, 239;
Nelson's letters to, 235, 315 note; bequest to, 278 ;
at Calais, 308 note, 313 note.
Nelson, Lady, letters to, 150, 152, 160, 231, \So note;
with Lady Hamilton in London, 222-3, 231 note,
302.
Nelson, Lord, at Naples, 1 10-13 ; orders of the Admiralty
to, 146; letters from, to Lady Nelson, 150, 152, 160,
231 ; to Lord St. Vincent, 151, 161, 167 ; to A.
Davison, 231 note ; to Lady Hamilton, 234, 236, 238,
239, 240, 243-4-6, 261-2-3-4, 268, z8o ; to Horatia,
235 note, 270, 315 note ; to Queen of Naples, 254 ;
recovers Naples, 176; with Cardinal Ruffo, 180;
Duke of Bronte, 199; fete at Palermo, 207 ; visits
Vienna and Dresden, 216; returns to England, 219 ;
with Lady Nelson and Lady Hamilton in London,
222—3; anecdote of, 225; his father, 229; rupture
with Lady Nelson, 231 ; purchases Merton, 241;
visits South Wales, 247 ; appointed to the Mediter
ranean command, 254 ; at Merton, 275, 283 ; codicil
to his will, 285, 299 note; death, 287.
Nelson, Rev. W. (Earl Nelson), 258, 298, 299, 313.
Nisbet, Capt. J., at Naples, 157 ; account of, 164 note.
-Oliver, Mr., 233, 2^^ note, 240.
Parkinson, Lieut., and Caraccioli, 187.
Payne, Admiral J. W., 1 3.
Powell, Mrs., actress, 5.

320

INDEX.

Queen of Naples, 73 ; fracas with Lady Hamilton, 77,.
96 ; notice of, 98-9 ; her letter in favour of Nelson,
125, 132, 140, 143 note; transports of, on hearing of
the victory ofthe Nile, 151 ; at Palermo, 201 ; sends.
corn to Malta, 207 ; letter of Nelson to, 254.
Queensberry, Duke of, 268, 304.
Romney, G., painter, 24-30, 68-9 ; life of, by Hayley,
28-31, 61 et seq., 67-8, 96.
Ruffo, Cardinal, Nelson's opinion of, 174; his treaty, set
aside, 176; on board the Foudroyant at Naples, 179.
St. Vincent, Lord, letter to Lady Hamilton, 137.
Scott, Rev. Dr., 300.
Trench, Mrs., amusing note from her diary, 216.
Troubridge, Capt., 140, 1 57 ; letters to Nelson, 203-4,*
206.
Up Park, Sussex, 14.
WoLCOTT, Dr., verses by, 277.

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2. Scandinavian. Contents. — The Lost Bell (Isle of Rugen). Tales frora the Prose
Edda. The Origin of Tiis Lake, &c.
3 Russian and Polish.
Contents. — Prince Peter and Princess Magilene. The Old Man,
his Wife, and the Fish. Ivashka with the Bear's Ear. The
Stolen Heart. Princess Marvel, &c.
4. North American Indian.
Contents. — A Legend of Manabozho. The Discovery of the
Upper World. The Funeral Fire, &c.
' ' These dainty little books supply a pleasant and fairly adequate
popular introduction to the national stories and legendary lore of
the past. The whole of these diverting and graceful stories illus
trate the truth of Sir Walter Scott's remark, that the mythology of
one period passes into the romance of the next century, and then
into the Nursery Tales of subsequent ages." — Standard.

Highland Brigade, its Battles and its Heroes.
By James Cromb, Author of "The Highlands and Highlanders of
Scotland." New Edition, with Appendix. Illustrated. Crown
Svo, cloth extra, 2s. 6d.
Heraldry, Ancient and Modern, including Bou-
tell's Heraldry.
Edited and revised, with additions by S. T. Aveling. With 488
Illustrations. Square Svo, buckram, top edge gilt, 12s.
Hazlitt's Complete Works.
Containing Miscellaneous Essays and Life of Napoleon Bonaparte.
Neiu Edition, 6 vols, crown Svo, cloth extra, 30s.
Homer, The Iliad.
Translated by Alexander Pope, with Notes by T. A. Buckley,
M.A., F.S.A., and Flaxman's Designs. "Standard British
Classics." Demy Svo, cloth, top edge gilt, 7s. 6d.
Half-calf, gilt or antique, los. 6d.
 The Odyssey.
Translated by Alexander Pope, with Notes by T. A. Buckley,
M.A., F.S.A., and Flaxman's Designs. " Standard British
Classics." Demy Svo, cloth, top edge gilt, 7s. 6d.
Half-calf, gilt or antique, los. 6d.
Irish Diamonds.
A New Collection from all sources of Irish Wit, Humour, Bulls,
and Good Stories. With Six Illustrations by Phiz (H. K.
Browne), fcap. Svo, cloth extra, is. 6d. ; or picture cover, Is.
"It is the best collection of Irish characteristics we know." —
Echo.
Lamb (Charles), The Complete Works of.
Edited, with Notes and Illustrations, by Percy Fitzgerald,
M.A., F.S.A., 6 vols, cro-wn Svo, cloth, 31s. 6d.
Temple Edition, 6 vols. i2mo, cloth, 21s.
" The raost complete collection of the writings of Charles Lamb
extant." — Daily News.
This Edition contains a large number of hitherto Unpublished letters.
It also comprises many writings of Lamb, in the shape of Criti
cism, Essays, and Poetical Pieces, not hitherto identified.

Lamb (Charles), Memoirs of.
By Sir Thomas Noon Talfourd, D.C.L., one of his Executors.
Edited and annotated by Percy Fitzgerald, F.S.A. With
Portraits of Lamb (5), Coleridge, Munden, Godwin, and Words
worth. Crown Svo, cloth extra, top edge gilt, edition limited
to 600 copies, 7s. 6d., net; also 150 copies on Van Gelder
hand-made paper, with proof impressions of the portraits on
India paper. Royal Svo, cloth extra, edges untouched, each
copy numbered as issued.
Macaulay's Lays of Ancient Rome.
Printed at the Chiswick Press on hand-made paper, fcap. Svo,
3s. 6d.
Marlowe (Christopher), A Sketch of his Life
and Times.
By J. G. Lewis. Demy Svo, is.
Motley's Rise of the Dutch Republic.
A History. 3 Vols. Demy Svo. [Shortly,
Napoleon Bonaparte.
Life of, by William Hazlitt, 3 vols, crown Svo, cloth extra, top
edge gilt, 155.
Pepys' Diary, 1659 to 1669.
With Memoirs and Notes by Lord Braybrooke. " Standard
British Classics," demy Svo, cloth extra, top edge gilt, 7s. 6d ;
half-calf gilt, or antique, los. 6d.
Rees' (J. Rogers) With Friend and Book in the
Study and the Fields.
Fcap. Svo, printed on hand-made paper. Cloth extra, top edge
gilt, 4s., net ; c^litto, large paper edition, demy Svo, limited to
90 copies, Ss., net.
Contents. — Stonhenge and Emerson. Amesbury and the " Idylls
ofthe King." Lewis Morris and his " Songs of Two Worlds."
Winterslow Hutt and Hazlitt. James Harris and "Hermes."
Bemerton and George Herbert. The Poetry of George Mere
dith. Fielding and "Tom Jones." Poe and "The Raven."
Sarum Close and Coventry Patmore, &c., &c., &c.

Rogers' Memorials of the W^est, Historical and
Descriptive.
Collected on the Borderland of Somerset, Dorset, and Devon. By
W. H. Hamilton Rogers. Illustrated by an exquisite etched
frontispiece, after Newbury, beautifully Coloured Heraldic Plates,
numerous portraits and engravings of Ancient Monuments,
Churches, Housei, facsimiles of autographs, &c. Svo, half-
moro., 2IS.

 Strife of the Roses and Days of the
Tudors in the West.
By W. H. Hamilton Rogers, F.S.A., Author of " Memorials
of the West." Illustrated by RoscoE Gibbs, with 30 full-page
plates, I2s. 6d.
" All the learning and research which Mr. Rogers has expended
on this pleasant volume would avail nothing, if they had not been
accompanied by the enviable gift, which has enabled him to relate
with a touch of poetic realism these stories, which he has un
earthed in the bypaths of English History." — Speaker.
THE MEMOIR LIBRARY.
Under this title it is intended to issue from time to time a series of
Memoirs (taking the word in its widest sense) that will, it is hoped, be
of universal interest.
It will embrace the most celebrated works in this department of litera
ture as well as a number of less known books that are either of historical
or literary importance, or sought after as presenting a picture of life at
different epochs.
They will be carefully printed and furnished with portraits on copper,
as far as possible in the mezzotint style. Crown Svo, cloth extra, 5s.
The first two volumes will be —
Memoirs of Emma Lady Hamilton.
With Anecdotes of her Friends and Contemporaries. Edited
and Annotated by W. H. Long. With Three Portraits of Lady
Hamilton, after Romney.
Confessions of J. J. Rousseau.
With Portrait. 56S pp.
Other Volwnes to follow.

Sheridan's Dramatic Works.
Demy Svo, " Standard British Classics,'' cloth, top edge gilt, 7s. 6d. ;
half-calf extra, los. 6d.

STANDARD BRITISH CLASSICS.
" A notable list of reprints." — Manchester Guardian.
These have been prepared to meet the demand for a Series of
Library Editions of the best Authors at a moderate price. Demy
Svo, cloth extra, top edge gilt, 7s. 6d. ; half-calf or half-vellum»
extra, top edge gilt, los. 6d.
I. Pepys' Diary, 1659 to 1669.
With Meraoirs and Notes by Lord Braybrooke.
2. Evelyn's Diary, 1641 to 1705.
Withftiemoirs and Notes by William Bray, F.S.A.
3. Gibbon's Roman Empire.
A New Edition in 4 Volumes, with all the Author's Notes.
4. Walton and Cotton's Complete Angler.
Illustrated. Edited by G. CHRISTOPHER Davies.
5. White's Natural History of Selborne.
Illustrated. Edited by G. Christopher Davies.
6. Chesterfield's Letters to his Son.
Complete Edition, with Notes.
7. Sheridan's Dramatic Works.
8. Swift's Choice W^orks.
Including " Gulliver's Travels," " Tale of a Tub," &c.
9. Bacon's Essays and Other W^orks.
Including "Advancement of Learning," "Wisdom of the Ancients,"
" New Atlantis," &c.
10. Dante's Vision.
Translated by Gary, with Notes and Index.
II. Homer's Iliad.
Translated by Pope, with Notes by Buckley, and Flaxman's
Designs.
12. Homer's Odyssey.
Translated by Pope, with Notes by Buckley, and Flaxman's
Designs. Other Volumes to follow.

10
Stock Exchange Speculation.
Its Science and Practice. By "Ursa Minor." Fcap. Svo, is.
Shelley (Percy Bysshe).
The Complete Poetical Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley. The
Text carefully revised, with Notes and a Memoir by William
Michael Rossetti. 3 vols., crown Svo, cloth, 21s. ; large
paper edition, 3 vols., demy Svo, cloth, hand-made paper, 36s.
Only six sets remain.
' ' We gladly predict for this edition a popularity which it so well
deserves. We must also add that it possesses the merit of in
cluding many pieces of Shelley's not usually found in previous
editions of his works, and some not hitherto printed." — The
Standard. " This will in future be ihe edition of the ' imperishable poems.' "
— Liverpool Daily Post.

-Memoirs.

With new Preface by William Michael Rossetti. Crown Svo,
cloth, 3s. 6d.
Sleeping Beauty in the Wood.
Illustrated by G. W. Brennemann. With six full-page plates,
beautifully printed in colours by the Aquarelle process, and
numerous Illustrations in the text. 4to, cloth extra, 3s. 6d. ; or
in picture cover, 2s. 6d.
Sporting Birthday Book.
Quotations from Major G. J. Whyte Melville, Mh Egerton War
burton, Captain Clark Kennedy, Somerville, &c., arranged and
collected by A. E. Studdy. With 14 Illustrations, square
i2mo, cloth, gilt edges, 5s.
"In this delightful little volume there are hundreds of cheering
strains ; no dreary introspective nonsense concerning life, is it
worth living ? and so on. No, life is here depicted as it should be
felt — something jocund, exhilarating, enjoyable, and enjoyed." —
Land and Water.

Swift's Choice Works.
Including " Gulliver's Travels," " Tale of a Tub," &c. Demy Svo,
"Standard British Classics," cloth extra, top edge gilt, 7s. 6d, ;
half-calf extra, los. 6d.

II
TERRIBLE TALES.
A Collection of really good Sensational Stories, by Authors of
repute at home and abroad, many being especially translated for
this edition, and some appearing for the first time in English.
Fcap. Svo, paper is., or cloth, top edge gilt, at is. 6d. each.
I. German.
Contents.— The Crystal Dagger. A Strange Bride, &c.
2. French. Contents. — The Mysterious Sketch. The Lyons Courier, &c.
3. Italian. Contents. — The Bridal Wreath. Domenico Matteo, &c.
4. Spanish. Contents.— The Golden Bracelet. The Green Eyes, &c.
Vaughan's Hours with the Mystics.
A Contribution to the History of Religious Opinion. By Robert
Alfred Vaughan, B..'\.. Fifth Edition. 2 vols., crown Svo,
cloth, i6s.
" There is not a page nor a paragraph in these ' Hours ' in which
there is not something worth recollecting, and often reflections very
wise and very weighty indeed. No one can rise from the perusal
ofthe book without finding himself, if not a better, at least a more
thoughtful man, and perhaps a humbler one also, as he learns how
many more struggles and doubts, discoveries, sorrows, and joys, the
human race has passed through than are contained in his own
private experience." — Charles Kingsley.
Walton and Cotton's Complete Angler.
Illustrated. Edited by G. Christopher Davies. "Standard
British Classics," demy Svo, cloth extra, top edge gilt, 7s. 6d. ;
half-calf gilt or antique, los. 6d.
Whist, The Encyclopaedia of.
To which is added Words of Advice to Young Players. By Sir
Wm. Cusack-Smith, Bart, izmo, cloth extra, gilt edges, 2s.
" It is a dainty little volume, containing all manner of sound in
formation about the best and most scientific games. Mrs. Sarah
Battle herself was not a greater enthusiast about the game of whist
than Sir Williara Cusack-Smith." — Scotsman.
"Under subject-headings, alphabetically arra:nged, the raeaning
of the terms, the rules which apply to thern, and suggestions for
the guidance of players are given in successive paragraphs. It is a
little work which young players will find instructive, and old ones
suggestive." — Bookseller.
White's Natural History of Selborne.
Illustrated. Edited by G. Christopher Davies. "Standard
British Clas:sics," demy Svo, cloth extra, top edge gilt, 7s. 6d. ;
half-calf gilt or antique, los. 6d.

12
PORTRAITS.
The undermentioned series of portraits can be supplied in two-
states, viz. :
Royal Svo, India proofs before letters, 2s. ; demy Svo, prints, is.
I. Coleridge (Samuel Taylor).
Photogravure from an engraving by W. SAY, after Northcote.
2. Godwin (William).
Photogravure from an engraving by G. Da WE, after Northcote.
3. Hamilton (Emma Lady).
Engraved on copper by Mayer, after Romney.
4.  (as Sensibility).
Photogravure from an Engraving by Richard Earlom, after
Romney.
5.  (as Bacchante).
Photogravure from an engraving by C. Knight, after Romney,
6.  (Sir William).
Photogravure from an engraving by W. T. Fry, after Grignon.
7. Lamb (Charles).
Photogravure from an engraving by Henry Mayer.
8. Ditto. Engraved on steel by Edward Smith, after Wm. Hazlitt.
9. Ditto. Photogravure from a water-colour in the British Museum by
G. F. Joseph.
10. Ditto. Photogravure frora the sketch by Maclise in the Dyce and
Forster Collection.
II. Munden (in Lock and Key).
Photogravure from an engraving by Thos, Lupton, after
G. Clint.
12. Nelson (Horatio).
Photogravure from an engraving by Turner, after R. Bowyer.
13. Shelley (Percy Bysshe).
Photogravure after G. Clint.
14. Wordsworth (William).
Photogravure from an engraving by Thos. Lupton, after B. R,
Haydon. LONDON: 18, BURY STREET, W.C.

YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRAHY

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