The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1911-12-22
When N.lson r,ll

whore Nelson stood when the fatal
shot struck him a little patch only
O few inches squarc-.of the actual
timber of the deck is beneath the
plate II is so tiny that II wears o de.
prcssingly pinched aud economical
look II section Of the deck Of ade.
Quatc size had been preserved, and
rallied In, It would have been much
more impressive.
AT Of the quarterback, and on a
higher level is the poop Artists are
apt to sacrifice prosaic facts to pictur-
sequences; and both West and Tur-
ner, i'm their pictures Of THE Death OF
Nelson. represent him as being sur.
rounded by a whole crowd Of figures
in artistic costumes and appropriate
attitudes. The qdarter.decks and tops
are crowded while the poop, with it,
array of spectators, resembled moth
ing 80 much as the boxes in theatre
when a popular play is on Maolise
even introduces women into the crowd
on decl.! AS a matter of fact, of
course, the Victory's tops were empty
and her upper-deck, at the moment
when Nelson fell, was almost as max
ed S her tops. The bitter fire from
/ the Redoubtable had cleared it. A
sergeant of marines and a couple Of
seamen formed, with Hardy, the group
Immediately round Nelson. From the
edge of the poop, just above, some
marines and a pair of middies may
have leaned over to watch Nelson as
he attempted to rise. Harry was
stopping over him; they may have
heard Nelson's words, They have got
me at last, Hardy"
That scene has made the quarter
deck sacred for all time. Today the
flags which spelt out the famous sig
nal England expects etc, are paint
ed on the wheel under the shelter OF
the poop, with another cluster of flags
yet more expressive of Nelson's fight
ing genius-his standing battle signal
for Closer action"
A few steps from the spot where
Nelson fell is the hatchway down
which, with his shattered spine, he
was carried AS he passed the tiller
by which the Victory was being steer
ed-her wheel had been shattered
he noticed that the ropes were slack
and he whispered the order to
laughter the tiller ropes"
The Scene in the Cockpit
Down ladder after ladder, hatchway
after hatchway, the poor shot-torn
body was carried, till the orlop deck
was reached. This was deep below
the water-ine. No CLEAN of natural
light, no breath of sun-cleansed all
ever reached it. A little section Of
) this deck aft forms the cockpit. II
is black, low, airless. In the center It
a long, rorught table, dimly lit, at the
, moment when Nelson was carried int
j., it, by couple of lanterns. The tablt
was splashed with blood, for tn,
, wounded came in quick succession
, and the aoiling, bare-armed surgeons
were busy over one shattered ant
, bleeding figure after another Tn,
, floor of the cockpit was packed thicl
with dead or wounded men, for the
Victory, it must be remembered, hat
, 100 of its crew killed or wounded il
the engagement
What scene the cockpit must a
that moment, have presented; tn,
gloom, the heat, the groans Of dyini
men, the ceaseless stream of wound
ed, the cries of the victims on tn
operating table, over whom the SUI,
geons bent. The choking air explain
Nelson's Oft-repeated entreaty Fan
FAM" Always, too, there was tn
- roar of the guns, shaking every tin
= Der in the hull of the Victory, and thi
drew from Nelson the pathetic words
20 Victory, Victory, how you distrac
D my poor brain"
The spot is marked today by cur