The Sun.
London, England, 1828-01-02 00:00:00

LORD COLLING WOOD.

(From a very interesting volume, entitled " Correspon-
dence and Memoirs of Lord Collingwood," just pub-
lished by Mr. Ridgway.
"It has been said, that no man is a hero in the
eyes of his valet-de-Chainbrc ; but that this is not
universally true, is proved by the account which was
given to the Editor by Mr. Smith, Admiral Coiling-
wood's valued servant. I entered the Admiral's
cabin,' he observed, about day-light, and found him
already up and dressing. He asked if I had seen
the French fleet; and on my replying that I had
not, he told me to look out at them, adding that, in
a very short time, we should see a great deal more
of them. I then observed a crowd of ships to lee-
ward : but I could not help looking with still greater
interest at the Admiral, who during all this time,
was shaving himself with a composure that quite
astonished me.' Admiral Collingwood dressed him-
self that morning with peculiar care; and soon after,
meeting Lieutenant Clavell, advised him to pull off
his boots. ' You had better,' he said, put on silk
stockirgs, as I have done, for if one should get a shot
in the leg, they would be so much more manageable
for the surgeon.' He then proceeded to visit the
decks, encouraged the men to the discharge of
their duty, and addressing the officers, said to them,
Now, gentlemen, let us do something to-day which
the world may talk of hereafter.'
In consequence of the glorious result of this
battle, " Admiral Collingwood was raised to the
peerage, by the title of Baron Collingwood, of Cold-
hurtle and Hethpoole, in the county of Northumber-
land, and received the thanks of both Houses of
Parliament. An honourable augmentation was made
to his arms, by the introduction in chief of one of
the lions of England, navally crowned, and sur-
mounted by the ,word " Trafalgar ;" and an addi-
tional crest was granted to him, representing the
stern of the Royal Sovereign. He received the
thanks and freedom of the principal cities of Great
Britain, and a pension was granted by Parliament
of 2,0001. per annum for his own life, and, in the
event of his death, of 1,0001. per annum to Lady
Collingwood, and of 5001. per annum to each of his
two daughters.

At this period the following letter was addressed
to Lord Collingwood by the Duke of Clarence :
" St. James's, Nov. 9, 1805.

" Dear Sir,—As a brother Admiral, and as a sin-
cere well-wisher to my King and country, permit
me to congratulate you on the most important vic-
tory gained on the 21st of October by your gallant
self, and the brave officers, seamen, and royal ma-
rines, under your command, and formerly under my
lamented and invaluable friend Lord Nelson. The
country laments the hero, and you and I feel the loss
of our departed friend. Five-and-twenty years have
I lived on the most intimate terms with Nelson, and
must ever, both publicly and privately, regret his
loss. Earl St. Vincent and Lord Nelson, both, in
the hour of victory, accepted from me a sword, and
I hope you will now confer on me the same pleasure.
I have accordingly sent a sword, with which I trust
you will accept my sincere wishes for your future
welfare. I must request you will let the have the
details of the death of our departed friend; and I
ever remain, dear Sir, yours unalterably,

WILLLIAM."
The following is the last letter written by Lord
Nelson :

" Victory, Oct. 19.
"It was the Rochefort squadron that took the
Calcutta. Yesterday, by the Gucrnseyman, we had
the French officer on board. He belonged to the
Magnanimous, and says that they should have taken
the Agamemnon in the night, but they fancied the
Lisbon and Oporto convoy were ships of war. The
first-rate sails faster than any of them; five sail of
the line, three frigates, and two brigs. Sir Richard
has five sail ; but I think he will have enough on his
hands, and from my soul I wish him well over it.
What a beautiful day ! Will you be tempted out of
your ship ? If you will, hoist the Assent and Vic-
tory's pendants. I had a letter from Sir James
Saumarez yesterday, of October 1. He sent me
some papers : I take it very kind of him. Ever,
my dear Coll, yours most faithfully,
"NELSON AND BRONTE."

Annexed is this note of Lord Collingwood's
" Before the answer to this letter had got to the Vic-
tory, the signal was made that the enemy's fleet was
coming out of Cadiz, and we chased immediately."
The subject of the punishments in the navy is one
which has occupied so much public attention, that
we offer no apology for inserting the following :

" Before the late excellent regulations of the Ad-
miralty had 'directed that a registry and report
should be made of all punishments on board ship,
Captain Collingwood was accustomed, from a very
early period, to keep, in his own handwriting, an
account of those which he inflicted; and to this he
appears to have often referred as matter of compa-
rison and meditation.

" As his experience in command and his know-
ledge of the dispositions of men increased, his abhor-
rence of corporal punishment grew daily stronger;
and, in the latter part of his life, more than a year
has passed away without his having resorted to it
even once. I wish I were the captain, for your
sakes,' cried Lieutenant Clavell one day to sonic
men who were doing some part of their duty ill :
when, shortly after, a person touched him on the
shoulder, and turning round, he saw the Admiral,
who had overheard him. And pray, Clavell, what
would vou have done if you had been captain ?"
I would have flogged them well, Sir.' No you
would riot, Clavell ; no you would not,' he replied;
I know you better.' He used to tell the ship's
company that he was determined that the youngest
midshipman should be obeyed as implicitly at him-
self, and that he would punish with great severity
any instance to the contrary. When a midshipman
mad, a complaint, lie would order the man for pu-
nishment the next day , and, in the interval, calling
the boy down to him, would say, In all probability
the fault was yours; but whether it were or not,
I am sure it would go to your heart to see a man
old enough to be your father disgraced and pu-
nished on your account; and it.will, therefore, give
me a good opinion of your disposition, if, when
be is brought out, you ask for his pardon:—
When this recommendation, acting as it did
like on order, was complied with, and the lad
interceded for the prisoner, Captain Collingswood
would 'mite great apparent difficulty in yielding;
but at length would say, ' This young gentleman
has pleaded go humanely for you, that, in the hope
that you will 1":-!el a due gratitude to him for his be-
nevolence, I will for this time overlook your offence.'
The punishments which lie substituted for the lash
were of many kinds, such as watering the grog, and
other modes now' happily general in the navy.
Among the rest was one which the men particularly
dreaded. It was tho ordering any offender to be
excluded from his mess, and be employed in every
sort of extra duty; so that he was every moment
liable to be called upon deck for the meanest service,
amid the laughter and jeers of the men and boys.
Such an effect had this upon the sailors, that they
have often declared that they would much prefer
having three dozen lashes : and, to avoid the recur •
rence of this punishment, the worst characters never
failed to become attentive and orderly. How he

sought to amuse and occupy the attention of the
men appears in some of these letters. When they
were sick, even while he was an Admiral, he visited
them daily, and supplied them from his own table ;
and when they were convalescent, they were put
into the charge of the Lieutenant of the morning
watch, and daily brought up to the Admiral for exa-
mination by him. The result of this conduct was,
that the sailors considered him and called bins their
father; and frequently, when he changed his ship,
many of the men were seen in tears for his departure.
But with all this, there was no man who less courted,
or to speak more truly, who held in more entire con-
tempt what is ordinarily styled popularity. He was
never known to unbend with the men; while, at the
same time, he never used any coarse or violent language
to them himself, or permitted it in others. If you
do not know a man's name,' he used to say to the
officers, call him sailor, and not you-sir, and such
other appellations; they are offensive and improper.
With' regard to expressions, it may be added, that
after the occurrences at the Note, he hadjthe most
decided objection to the use of the word mutiny.
When complaints were made of conduct which was
designated as mutinous, he would exclaim, ' Mutiny,
Sir ! mutiny in my ship ! If it can have arrived at
that, it must be my fanit, and the fault of every one
of the officers. It is a charge of the gravest nature,
and it shall be most gravely inquired into.' With
this view of his feeling on the subject, the officer
was generally induced to consider and represent the
affair more lightly, or sometimes to pass it over al-
together. His conduct to his officers was of a sinsi-
ler-kind. His perfect knowledge of all matters of
seamanship, and his correct eye, enabled him in an
instant to discover any thing that was out of order
in his ship : and his reproofs on these occasions,
though always short, and conveyed in the language
of a gentleman, were deeply felt ; so that to many
officers, and particularly to the young and careless,
he was an object of dread, and was considered by
all a strict disciplinarian. I have given you, Sir, a
commission,' said Lord St. Vincent to Lieutenant
Clavell, who was then a perfect stranger to Cap-
tain Collingwood, but who never left him till
he was made by him a post-captain, ' into the
Excellent; but remember that you are going to a
man who will take it away from you to-morrow, if
you behave ill.' He treated the midshipmen with
parental care, examining them himself once a week,
and declaring that nothing would give him greater
pain than that any young man in his ship should be
unable to pass ; and when off duty, he did every
thing in his power to make his officers at ease, and
to promote their welfare. With those to whom he
became attached, from observing their attention to
their duty, which was ever the load to his regard,
his friendship and confidence was affectionate and
unbounded. To his own superiors he maintained
the same conduct, demanding and receiving from
them that respect to which, by his character and sta-
tion, he was entitled. On one occasion, the Excel-
lent was directed to weigh when off Cadiz, and to
close with the Admiril's ship, and in running down,
the signal was made five or six times for altering the
course, first on one side and then on the other, and
at length for a lieutenant. Captain Collingwood,
who had been observing this in silence, o"dered his
boat to be manned, as he would go too. On his ar-
rival on board, he desired the lieutenant, when the
order was copied, to bring it to him ; and he read it
while he was walking the quarter-deck, with Lord
St. Vincent and Sir Robert Calder. It was merely
an order for the Excellent to receive on board two
bags of onions for the use of the sick; and on see-
ing it be exclaimed, Bless me ! is this the service,
Sir Robert ? Has the Excellent': signal been made
five or six times for two bags of onions ? Man my
boat, Sir, and let us go on board again !' And
though repeatedly pressed by Lord St.Vineent to stay
dinner, he refused, and retired. When he was in
command as an Admiral, he made it a point of duty
never to give any vexatious and harassing orders of
which he had himself at times occasion to complain ;
and although he was ever solicitous that merit should
be noticed and rewarded, he abstained as much as
possible from interference and complaint. If he had
occasion to remark upon any thing, it was always
done with great calmness, and frequently with con-
siderable point. When he was once particularly
anxious to complete his bread, and to sail imme-
diately, he inquired of the captain, an officer for whom
he had a high esteem, if all the boats were gone
ashore. ' 1 have sent them all,' was the reply, ex-
cept my barge.' Oh I of course,' said the admiral,
a captain's barge must never be employed for such
purposes; but I hope they make every possible use
of mine.' There was one thing, however, which,
as he ever practised it to a remarkable degree him-
self, so he exacted it with great rigour from others,
and that was the utmost economy in the use of the
naval stores. I am really at a loss to know,' he
observes, in writing to Sir James Saumares, ' whe-
ther the enemy will make a push in the dark nights,
or have adopted a policy slower in its operation, but
more certain ; and mean to stay in port till our
ships are worn at sea, and the expense of keeping
them there has brought the finances of the country
to poverty and exhaustion. This is a condition to be
as carefully guarded against as a present invasion, for
the latter will be the certain consequences of the.
former, if ever we are unhappily reduced to it.
Strongly impressed with this belief, my thoughts are
ever bent in economizing, and doing all in my power
to lessen the expense of sailing the ships. The dif-
ference I observe in them is immense; some men,
who have the foresight to discern what our first diffi-
culty will be, support and provide their ships by en-
chantment, one scarce knows how ; while others,
less provident, would exhaust a dock-yard, and still
be in want. I do not think those gentlemen should
go to sea ; they certainly do not regard or feel for the
future necessities of their country.' When instances
of this inattention occurred, his disapprobation at
times broke forth in terms of great severity. That
officer,' he said on one occasion, ' should never sail
without a store-ship in company. He knows as
much seamanship as the King's Attorney-General;
I would not trust him with a boat in a trout stream.'
With reference to the subject of corporal punishment,
it may be observed, that in Lord Nelson's ship it
was almost equally rare; and how well the men under
both these commanders conducted themselves in the
time of trial, it is unnecessary to remark; but that a
contrary -conduct was often productive of different
and most unhappy effects, appears in various parts of
Lord Collingwood's correspondence with the Ad-
miralty. He stated more than once, that some of
the younger captains (although he admits that there
were many honourable exceptions), endeavouring to
conceal, by great severity, their own unskilfulness
and want of attention, beat the men into a state of
insubordination; and that such vessels increased the
number, but diminished the strength of his fleet.
We hare had lately,' he says, in writing to a friend,
two court martial., in which such conduct was
proved, as leaves it doubtful whether it was founded
on cruelty or folly. The only defence which was
urged, was the plea of youth and inexperience; and
yet it is to such youth and inexperience that
the honour and dearest interests of our coun-
try are intrusted.' On one occasion, while his
fleet was much inferior in number to that of the
enemy, he thus speaks to the then First Lord of the
Admiralty, respecting one of the line-of-battle
ships t—' I once intimated that it would be very
agreeable to me if the were ordered to Eng-
land--- from the fleet. I have directed inquiries into
the causes of the complaints which are made on all
sides, without yet knowing where to fix the source
of them—whether in the want of a proper govern-
ment, or in the perverseness of those who are to be
governed. But in her present state I expect no
good service from her, and her example may be per-
nicious. It is for this reason that I am anxious she
should be removed to England; for, even without a
ship in her stead, I shall consider the squadron as
much strengthened by her being withdrawn from
it.' Some alterations were made in consequence of
this communication : that they had been much
needed, will appear from the following extract of
another letter to the same person, written a few
months afterwards It is known to you how much
'trouble I had with the ----, from the dissatisfac-

tion in the ship's company. lam very glad to find
that there are now no symptoms of it remaining.—
Every thing appears to be quiet; but in preparing
for battle last week, several of the guns in the after
part of the ship were found to be spiked, which had
probably been done when that contentious spirit
existed.' The editor has inserted these details re-
specting Lord Collingwood's habits of commands, in
the belief that there are no persons, whatever may
be their rank in the navy, to whom his practice and
example can be uninteresting or uninstructive."

The following is a characteristic letter :
" To J. E. BLACKETT, ESQ.

" Ocean, Jan. 1, 1807.
" I cannot begin this new year so much to my
satisfaction as by offering my congratulations to you
on your birth-day, and my best wishes that you may
enjoy health to see many happy returns of it. I hope
you are with my beloved family enjoying yourselve,
in great comfort ; and long may you live uninvaded
by the sounds of war. What a blessed day it will be
to me when we shall all meet together to celebrate
the new year, to talk of the privations we have suf-
fered in times past, and have only to look forward to
blessings for the future ! I have lived now so long
in a ship, always engaged in serious employments,
that I shall be unfit for any thing but the quiet so-
ciety of my family ; it is to them that I look for
happiness, if ever I am relieved from this anxious
boisterous life, and in them I hope for every thing.
Tell the children thaaiounce is very well and very
fat, yet he seems not to be content, and sighs so
piteously these long evenings, that I am obliged to
sing him to sleep, and have sent them the song.

Sigh no more, Bouncey, sigh no more,
Degs were deceivers never ;
Though ne'er you put one foot on shore,
True to your master ever.
Then sigh not so, but let us go
Where dinner's daily ready,
Converting all the sounds of woe
To heigh phiddy diddy !
" It is impossible that at this distance I can ma-
nage and direct the education of my daughters; but
it costs me many an anxious hour. The ornamental
part of education, though necessary, is secondary,
and I wish to see their minds enlarged by a true
knowledge of good and evil, that they may be able
to enjoy the one, if it be happily their lot, and sub-
mit contentedly to any fortune rather than descend
to the other. How do you feel since you were
blockaded ? Nothing certainly can be more pre-
sumptuous than that decree of Buonaparte's, or more
unjust than the seizure of property in neutral coun-
tries. I shall have great pleasure in being sponsor
to Sir William Blackett's child; and if,it be a son,
and he will make him a sailor, I desire my little
Sarah will begin to teach him his compass, that he
may know how to steer his course in the world,
which very few people do."