New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-10-25
LORD NELSON.
NEW BIOGRAPHY OF THE HERO OF
THE NILE

NELSON. BY John Knox Laughton pp s ssrs ssV;
Macmillan 4 Co. English Men OF Acuoh Serie''
Professor Laughton has shown in this volume
the same care in looking up his facts ana the
same positiveness in asserting them when char-
acterixe his articles In the Dictionary or Ma
tional Biography" He Is, for example severe
with Lady Hamilton, but on grounds somewhat
different from those wherein other writer's U"
the life Of Nelson have established themselves
He does not charge her in single instance
with having drawn Nelson away from MS ou'!
as an officer: nor does he make any mystery
of her conduct or Nelson's he describes hVi
as a kindly soft hearted woman IN spite OF her
offences against society, and ne finds her CUNT!
in her later years of lying-his own woru-ihto
which she fell while trying 10 impress the Eng
lsh Government with the value OF her services
while she was in Italy during the Napoeohic
reriod In order TO deprecate her. ne does no'
find It necessary TO praise Lazy Neisoii' ""
the contrary. he evidently looks upon 'he ia.'ei
ss cold-hsar.ed and selfish. He thinks that
inter the Battle Of the Nile. when Nelson iiiS'
became intimate with Lady Hamilton Lady
,,o,sor rroul6 only have had appear at his
side IN Naples and in the victorious fleet which
=. commanded giving him the enthusiastic
,r.;.s which his vanity demanded. and whlcn
81. va,or and skill had really earned. TO nave
,an, hin, her loyal husband. Instead or that
she wrote him highly proper letters from Eng
land and left him to find warmer affection whef-
over he could. He does not think tha' Lazy
Hamilton beguiled Nelson. The great warrior
ambition and his feeling that he was il-"seu
were more to blame than his affections Tor 'he
Indifference which he showed to the service IN
the Mediterranean
Nelson though he was a man OF discipline as
commander, was never an obedient SUBORDINATE
While Mr. Laughton dscredts the one Famous
example Of his indifference to orders from su-
perior. that Of the bombardment OF Copenhagen
when he is said to have raised his grass 10 HIS
Mind eve co as not to see the signal to withdraw
that futtered on the Flagstaff OF the comnahuei
,n-chief. vet several fragrant examples are dweit
nm in this volume For instance, In his early years.
when a captain in the West Indies he took
dislike 10 his mmander-in-chief Admiral Slr
Richard Hughes First he wearied of Lady hughes
nm account OF her eternal clack. Ihen ne
Thought that Sir Richard bowed and scraped 100
much for him. and, worst Of all. played the hddie'
Thus he worked himself up 10 temper LOT asse''-
ing himself He disobeyed orders demons'ra'NeN
on two points where. even If right, there was io'
,,ood or haste and where the Admiralty might
have been appealed to and its decision aWai'eu
with natience For a long time his principal u'ie
TO renown in the Navy was as 1.-The ieiio" WIN
had the row with old Hughes" other instances
of this disposition Nelson's part were not
rare and unfortunately :he most Migrant oa'e
occurred just when people were busy mixing ms
name with that Of Lady Hamilton. He had lately
won the most complete naval victory on recoiu
the Battle of the Nile. and 1t probably never en-
tered his head that he needed superior at such
q time IN the Mediterranean. Nevertheless the
Admiralty sent him one in the person OF Lord
Keith Almost immediately there was CLASH
The time was that when the French were donll-
pant in Italy and the kingdoms of Naples anu
Sicily were only saved to their legitimate ruer
bv the presence OF the British fleet But MihoIca
was also threatened by the French Meet Which
Rad escaped from Brest. Keith thought tha'
Nelson should send ships to Minorca Nelson re-
fused not only once. but the second time. "heh
the order was repeated for the third time ne de-
tached four ships. The fact that he could 90 'his
ut the last showed that he might have done as
much at first, for the circumstances had NOT
greatly changed. His disobedience was JUSTIFIED
IN his own mind by the necessities OF the case
But others looked for a personal motive
The most obvious explanation was that Nelson
was swayed by the fears Of Lady Hamilton
and her friend, the Queen Of Naples MT Laugh
ton comedies to the many who hold this view
him OF the value of Naples and Sicily to the
cause OF the allies. But without her his con-
duct might have been the same. His resent
.nent was aroused by the presence Of Keith, ana
no expressed this resentment in the same way
that he had expressed similar feelings before.
The author adds considerations OF Nelson's IL
health. especially the results OF the blow on the
head which he had received at the Battle OF
the Nile But the weight of his argument rests
on the fact that Nelson in this instance only
did at a critical moment In his own lfe. what
ne had always done when out Of temper. In
his earlier days. perhaps. his relationship TO
the Walpoles saved him from the natural results
OF his INSTRUMENTATION. Now. the fact that ne
was the IDOL OF the Nation was potent fact
with the Admiralty He was mildly censured
Later when his quarrel with keith orohe out
again. he was advised to return to England
and the advice conveyed in such form as
20 seem like censure. This was undoubtedly
the only discipline that efficacious with
him But what becomes Of the adage that he
only who learns to obey knows how to COM
mand?
II has been pointed out that Farraguts plan
Of battle at New-Orleans an inheritance.
80 to speak, from Washington 1t is curious
that the plan on which the Battle Of the Nile
was won should also have been handed down
70 Nelson rather than invented by him. Nelson
himself described his plan in sentence 10 Loro
Howe by attacking the enemys van ana
centre" ne wrote 1.-The wind blowing directly
along their line. enabled to throw what
force / pleased on few ships. This plan my
friends readily conceived by the signals and
we always kept a superior force 10 the enemy
His attack was just Ike fire carried with the
wind along a line of combustible material. But
the completeness of the victory indicates 10 the
mird OF Mr.. Laughton that Nelson must nave
known several things. In the first place his own